Patchwork Nation blog
McCain’s core voters and his elusive ones
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.30.2008 / 10:57 AM EDT
Washington – For the Republicans, the primary season wound up being more of a sprint than a marathon. Sen. John McCain’s last well-financed challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, dropped out of the campaign on Feb. 7, leaving the GOP nomination fight all but settled.
Yet, most of Senator McCain’s wins were not overwhelming after that […]
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Obama’s email efforts easily outpacing McCain’s
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.27.2008 / 6:34 AM EDT
Since June 1, both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain have been busy on the Web, e-mailing their supporters at a clip of one or more every other day.
But a look at these e-communications reveals stark differences in the sophistication of Senator Obama’s and Senator McCain’s electronic outreach and hints at broader trends in […]
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Where Obama’s race is an issue – and where it isn’t
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.26.2008 / 10:24 AM EDT
For Sen. Barack Obama, who will be the first African-American nominee for president of a major party, the matter of race poses some unique challenges.
Analysts often argue, for instance, that polling data on African-American candidates are inaccurate because respondents don’t like to admit to racial bias to a stranger on the phone – making it […]
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Cindy who? Mrs. McCain awaits an introduction
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.25.2008 / 9:57 AM EDT
As the news media have turned their focus to the potential first ladies, a repeating story thread has emerged about Michelle Obama. She has been cast as “opinionated” or “outspoken” or “assertive,” as the press assesses whether she helps or hurts Sen. Barack Obama in his quest for the White House.
It is a complex calculus, […]
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It’s all about you, the Patchwork Nation reader
Posted by James Gimpel | 06.24.2008 / 10:24 AM EDT
So who exactly are Patchwork Nation fans, at least so far?
Here on the Patchwork Nation website is a reader survey, which all comers are invited to complete, that captures information about our audience’s demographics, basic political commitments, and related background characteristics.
The survey responses are nothing like a scientific representation of American voters, […]
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‘Burbs may be Obama base; Latino-rich communities, not so much
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.23.2008 / 10:57 AM EDT
WASHINGTON Sen. Barack Obama’s protracted nomination fight with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton not only seasoned the Democrats’ young standard-bearer for the general election, it also showed the kinds of places where he’s strong and those where he needs to focus his fire if he’s to prevail in November.
For a while, in the Ohio […]
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The traveling habits of Obama and McCain
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.20.2008 / 9:11 AM EDT
With the general election fight joined between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain some trends are starting to crop up in the campaigns’ travel patterns.
A look at travel since May 22 (the last time we checked on their schedules) shows John McCain running ahead of Democratic rival Barack Obama in the race for the White […]
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The first lady campaign and Michelle Obama as Rorschach
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.19.2008 / 8:58 AM EDT
With the competition out of the way, John McCain and Barack Obama are under the media microscope nearly 24/7. Under examination: everything from friendships to college term papers to, of course, spouses.
Every four years, there’s a discussion about the wives of the two candidates and what the would-be first ladies bring to their husbands’ campaigns. […]
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‘Middle-class tax cuts’ and reality in 2008
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.18.2008 / 9:07 AM EDT
The “who will tax you more” contest has been joined on the presidential battlefield. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have been beating the issue on the campaign trail, talking about tax winners and losers in the next administration.
“Left to their devices, Democrats will impose a massive $100 billion tax hike, almost $700 per taxpayer […]
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Floods change Iowa and farm policy calculus for Obama and McCain
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.17.2008 / 9:27 AM EDT
The number of disparate outside elements that can influence a presidential campaign is vast. There are terrorist strikes and mass layoffs and gasoline prices, even the weather.
In August 1992, hurricane Andrew blew through southern Florida and southwest Louisiana, causing more than $26 billion in damage. At the time, President George H.W. Bush was criticized for […]
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Where economic hardship is acute, and why that counts in ’08
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.16.2008 / 11:42 AM EDT
Now that the 2008 general election campaign is under way, there can be little doubt that the No. 1 issue is “the economy, stupid”… again. Across the country, voters voice concerns about their financial and job situations as well as the national economy’s downward track.What does it mean for Barack Obama and John McCain as […]
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Father’s Day, ‘traditional families’ and the 2008 campaign
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.13.2008 / 8:12 AM EDT
On Sunday, dads around the country will sneak off to the golf course or the ballgame and receive countless cards, ties, and pencil holders from their children. Sunday is Father’s Day.
The holiday got us at Patchwork Nation thinking: What exactly do families look like in the 11 community types? Where does the “traditional family” have […]
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In Philadelphia, McCain sees tough road in big cities
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.12.2008 / 9:11 AM EDT
PHILADELPHIA – Sen. John McCain entered a town-hall meeting Wednesday to the strains of “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the film “Rocky.” That’s how candidates typically try to win over voters in the City of Brotherly Love, where the movie was based.
Even so, if a list of dos and don’ts exists in Philadelphia politics, […]
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Obama, McCain see “Monied ‘Burbs” as key
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.11.2008 / 8:32 AM EDT
Voters living in the “Monied ’Burbs,” make way for John McCain and Barack Obama.
Three of four events Senator McCain is holding between today and this weekend are in the wealthy suburbs classified as “Monied ’Burbs” in Patchwork Nation.Senator Obama’s schedule for Wednesday and Thursday also features two “town hall” meetings in the same type of […]
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Obama and McCain face tough task on “education reform”
Posted by Dante Chinni | 06.10.2008 / 9:44 AM EDT
Early June generally means three things in the United States: the temperatures get higher, the days get longer, and somewhere “Pomp and Circumstance” is playing on a loop.
With high school seniors lining up to graduate, it’s a good time to look at education in Patchwork Nation’s 11 community types and what role the issue will […]
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