John McCain was a major player in campaign finance reform. The McCain-Feingold Act, ironically, is coming back to haunt him. Political Action Committees (PACs) are allowed under the new regulations, provided that the committees do not coordinate with any campaign receiving federal funds. There are no limits as to how much a PAC can spend, [...]

Clive Crook of the Financial Times and the Atlantic Monthly nails it on the head:
Democrats speak up for the less prosperous; they have well-intentioned policies to help them; they are disturbed by inequality, and want to do something about it. Their concern is real and admirable. The trouble is, they lack respect for the objects [...]

The last week has been a big one for catastrophists, with the market meltdown decimating Wall Street and Hurricane Ike sweeping through flyover country. The campaigns, however, seem to have backed off.

McCain’s nomination of Sarah Palin electrified bored Republicans and fired up the Democrats, but the energy seems spent now. It seems both campaigns are [...]

Two weeks after the Sarah Palin nomination shook up the presidential race, we seem to be settling into a new campaign narrative, one which should deeply concern John McCain and his advisors.
Below is a screen capture of the most popular stories on the New York Times website. I grabbed it today, September 14:

Nine of [...]

After a disastrous two weeks following the Palin announcement, Obama’s campaign finally seems to be recovering from the shock and fully recognizes the value Sarah Palin brings to the McCain campaign.
As I’ve mentioned before, Obama’s strengths in the “ground war” of voter turnout make a McCain victory in November unlikely. But McCain could still [...]

Election years are stupid! Every four years the American public is forced to listen to politicians talk about how good they are. We get to hear them make promises that we are certain they will not keep. The main thing that happens to me is utter confusion.
Let us start with a little background. I was [...]

Every election since 1960 has gone to the candidate that was the superior on-camera performer.
1960: Kennedy over Nixon.
1964: Johnson over Goldwater
1968: Nixon over Humphrey
1972: Nixon over McGovern
1976: Carter over Ford
1980: Reagan over Carter
1984: Reagan over Mondale
1988: Bush over Dukakis
1992: Clinton over Bush
1996: Clinton over Dole
2000: Bush over Gore
2004: Bush over Kerry
Barack Obama is clearly the [...]

Obama has staked his campaign tent with the twin pegs of Hope and Change. McCain promotes the image of a maverick who reaches across the aisle in bipartisan cooperation.
This week, both candidates will put their money where their mouths are. The Republican and Democratic presidential nominees have issued their first ever joint statement, saying they [...]

John McCain energized and invigorated conservatives with his pick of Alaska governor Sarah Palin for his running mate. She’s young, vibrant, and not afraid to shake things up a bit.

She also gave birth to a baby with Down Syndrome this past April.

Obama’s campaign initially attacked her lack of experience but quickly backed off. Bloggers [...]