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February 29, 2008
Will Hillary have a Monday Surprise up her sleeve?
This Monday Matt Drudge posted a photo of Obama in a turban and African garb and claimed the picture was being circulated by Clinton campaign staffers (a claim she denies). The previous Monday, Hillary Clinton made headlines when she accused Obama of plagiarizing his speeches from Deval Patrick and circulated YouTube videos comparing the two.
Is it just me, or is there something about Mondays that brings out the dirtiest of politics?
It's almost a given that next Monday, before a primary day that may be more influential than Super Tuesday in deciding the nominee, Matt Drudge will have a juicy surprise waiting for us. Any bets as to what that might be? Perhaps a dug-up photo of Obama and Farrakhan somewhere within 100 feet of each other? Or maybe Hillary will open up find her voice again?
(Note: I'm not claiming her previous tears were anything other than a genuine expression of emotion, but it is worth noting that both times she has made news for crying, or nearly crying, during this campaign have come on Mondays before major elections--once before New Hampshire and again before Super Tuesday).
Betting closes Sunday at midnight.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 6:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
History of war... through food
This is a hilarious and delicious history lesson--the wars of the past century re-enacted using the food of each nation.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 1:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 28, 2008
Torture
This was FDR's America. This is George Bush's (warning: graphic).
Notice a difference?
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 6:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 26, 2008
Thinking about religion
A new study of more than 35,000 adult Americans by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life suggests the days of "inherited" religion may be passing; Americans no longer automatically stick to the religion of their parents.
If you include switches from one form of Protestantism to another, 44% of Americans have changed their affiliation or dropped their connection to a faith since childhood. America is still a highly-religious nation--only 4% describe themselves as atheist or agnostic--but religion's hold on individual identity seems to be loosening. Another example: Over a third of married Americans are married to someone of a different faith.
Other findings:
- Protestants make up just 51% of the U.S. population, meaning "that segment of Christianity is close to becoming a religious minority." Young people are helping fuel that trend: While 62 percent of Americans 70 and older are Protestant, only 43 percent of Americans ages 18-29 are.
- Catholics are the religious group with the greatest loss of adherents, with former Catholics making up about 10% of the U.S. population.
- The greatest growth between childhood and adulthood is for those unaffiliated, which includes atheists and agnostics. That category saw an 8% increase, whereas Protestants and Catholics saw declines.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 8:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 19, 2008
Obama could swing several key states in general election
I've long thought Obama would be a stronger candidate in the general election because of his starker contrast with Republicans (particularly on the war in Iraq) and Hillary's high negative numbers in the polls. But recent polls show just how much stronger he would be against McCain. In several key states—Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, and Virginia—it could swing the election. In all four, he's currently beating McCain in head-to-head polls. Hillary loses substantially.
Take a look:
- McCain - 45%
Obama - 51%
McCain - 48%
Clinton - 45%
- McCain - 41%
Obama - 51%
McCain - 52%
Clinton - 41%
- Barack Obama - 52%
John McCain - 42%
Hillary Clinton - 42%
John McCain - 49%
- Barack Obama - 46%
John McCain - 39%
Hillary Clinton - 35%
John McCain - 49%
The comparison may be moot, as I think tonight's victory in Wisconsin unofficially secured the nomination for Obama. But anything can happen, and I think it will take a victory in Texas to end the primary race.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 10:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bill Clinton makes Obama's case for him
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 4:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 7, 2008
Water wars: Tennessee, Georgia revisit border dispute
Georgia senators have found an innovative way to tackle the historic drought that has left them desperate for water: They recently voted to reinvestigate what they say was a flawed survey in 1818 that mistakenly marked Georgia's border one mile south of the 35th parallel, which happens to run through the Tennessee River.
The story goes, surveyors charting out the 35th parallel were either frightened by a nearby Indian party, used flawed math, or were drunk and drew the line too far south.
From the Tennessean:
This isn't the first time lawmakers tried to reopen the argument. The resolution traces attempts to resolve the dispute as far back as 1887, when North Carolina — another border state involved in the dispute — authorized its governor to appoint commissioners and a surveyor to meet with neighboring delegations over the boundary.More recently, Georgia legislators urged the governor in 1971 to launch joint surveys with North Carolina and Tennessee, but the border fight was never settled.
Georgia has eyed the Tennessee River for generations, but its interest has grown with the recent drought. Atlanta, which experts say relies on the smallest watershed among major U.S. metropolitan areas, needs water.
This is probably a relatively harmless dispute that will be resolved with a compromise. But it may be a good indicator of things to come on a global level as nation states compete for increasingly scarce water resources.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 2:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 6, 2008
"We are the ones we have been waiting for"
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 12:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 2, 2008
Yes We Can
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 12:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 1, 2008
Was Edwards really the working class candidate?
It seems as if John Edwards has been getting more press since he left the race than he ever did as a candidate. Much of it comes from speculation about who will receive the bulk of Edwards' supporters.
In his latest column, Paul Krugman asserts that "the working-class voters Mr. Edwards attracted have tended to favor Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Obama."
Which got me to thinking, "Do working-class voters really favor Edwards?" Yes, he ran a campaign based on an extremely populist, blue collar message. But when you look at exit poll data, that message doesn't seem to be resonating with his target audience (if, in fact, that was his target audience). In South Carolina, for example, Edwards' greatest support was from families making $200,000 or more and his lowest support came from families making under $15,000. His support seemed to steadily increase with income, in fact.
Here's how the South Carolina Edwards vote breaks down:
Under $15,000: 14%
$15,000 - $29,999: 15%
$30,000 - $49,999: 16%
$50,000 - $74,999: 22%
$75,000 - $99,999: 26%
$100,000 - $149,999: 24%
$150,000 - $199,999: NA
$200,000 or more: 29%
Clinton's support in South Carolina was relatively stable across all income groups, and Obama's was the exact opposite of Edwards. Obama drew support from 45% of voters making more than $200,000 (his lowest level), and won 59% of voters making less than $15,000 (his highest level).
The trends weren't identical, but were similar, in other early states. Edwards did better with working class voters in some other contests, as did Hillary. But Obama doesn't seem to have the problem with working class Democrats that some assume.
I'm not exactly surprised that Krugman would spout an opinion, particularly a hit on Obama, without doing research. I am surprised that other journalists have made the same assumption without looking at a lot of actual data.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 3:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack