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Pocketbook politics and pitiful pandering, but none dare utter that loathsome “C word”
Posted by James Rickman | 06.18.2008 / 10:20 PM EDT
Well, well, well. Who couldn’t have guessed that high oil prices wouldn’t have become the topic du jour for presidential politics just as floods and relentless summer heat begins to peg the Misery Meter. Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle have offered very different approaches to coping with the issue—though each strategy is […]
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Like a funhouse mirror
Posted by James Rickman | 06.11.2008 / 8:49 AM EDT
I had a strange conversation the other day that made me realize how different the rationale is when it comes to formulating individual political choices.
A friend of mine is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat and apparently always has been. He was bemoaning Barack Obama’s clinching of the Democratic nomination. He had been a devoted Hillary Clinton supporter. […]
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A question of trust
Posted by James Rickman | 05.29.2008 / 12:58 AM EDT
Scott McClellan’s revelations about lies and deceit steadily oozing from the George W. Bush White House like tiny foam pellets from a ruptured bean-bag chair probably come as no real surprise to anyone. The Bush administration’s credibility has been in the sewer now for years.
But McClellan’s confession is a cautionary tale that has emerged at […]
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Question Time
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.25.2008 / 10:08 AM EDT
Less of the time around here does a casual discussion focus on the Obama - Clinton race for the nomination. There has been a definite shift to talking about Obama - McCain. Age, experience, who has (or doesn’t have) a plan for the economy, likewise for energy, who can overcome partisan politics …. these are all in […]
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Food For Thought
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.17.2008 / 9:44 AM EDT
I received an interesting email this week — one of those emails that spreads like a virus because it is interesting enough to warrant taking the time to send along to friends. I did a quick Google this morning and I find that this has been circulating for some time since the release of an […]
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Politics of the Ages
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.11.2008 / 10:05 AM EDT
How much should age matter in evaluating the candidates? Just watching them, both McCain and Obama seem to be younger than their ages. There has already been a good bit of attention to McCain’s advanced age … I think I heard it said that he would be the oldest president if he were to be […]
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A summer of fun awaits
Posted by James Rickman | 05.05.2008 / 1:04 AM EDT
Mercifully it seems as though presidential campaign coverage has slogged beyond the somniferous miasma of petty back-and-forth bickering between the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns and the true meaning of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and into new rhetorical territory.
With last week’s news that the first Americans would begin receiving their political bribes Economic Stimulus checks […]
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Ketchup
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.04.2008 / 8:10 AM EDT
I “mined” my email a bit this morning and found several questions I received that I’ve neglected to try to answer directly, although I think my posts over the past weeks have touched on these topics. Here is a catch-up to be sure I’ve addressed these:
Q. What are you hearing and sensing about the Obama/Hillary dynamic?
I […]
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Couldn’t There Be a Better Way?
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 05.04.2008 / 7:31 AM EDT
There is room for improvement in how we go about choosing our political leaders. The selection of Presidential candidates provides what is, to me, an obvious case in point. IT IS DRAGGING ON! Substantive discussion of the issues that matter seems to have been set aside long ago in favor of trivia and gotchas. The candidates […]
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Many “Elite” Bitter Too
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 04.27.2008 / 12:22 PM EDT
Sen. Clinton has been criticizing Sen. Obama for referring to some small-town Pennsylvanians as “bitter” people who “cling to guns and religion.” Clinton called the comments “elitist, out of touch and frankly, patronizing,”
I don’t know about all that, and I don’t think that any of this controversy was all that meaningful to people in our community. However, I […]
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Campaigns heat up the wrong way
Posted by James Rickman | 04.25.2008 / 8:10 AM EDT
Most of the pundits and press outlets were fixated on what barbs were being traded by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the run up to Pennsylvania—missing an opportunity to get the candidates’ views on what will eventually become the single biggest issue facing our nation and humanity at large.
Few in the political world […]
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Tax Time Commeth
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 04.13.2008 / 6:56 PM EDT
I sat down this morning and slogged my way through our tax return this morning. I thought about there being people all over the country doing the same. It didn’t occur to me as I put myself to it to connect what I was doing to the presidential election, but then I got distracted and […]
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Lull
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 04.06.2008 / 7:58 PM EDT
I have to say I didn’t perceive much interest or discussion around here this week about presidential politics. If there was anything new being talked about, or anything that is all that important to be talking about at this juncture, it isn’t capturing much attention. Maybe it’s because it is Spring break from school here […]
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Desperate measures
Posted by James Rickman | 04.02.2008 / 11:27 PM EDT
Apparently even the “Monied ‘Burbs” aren’t insulated from the sweeping economic woes that have Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bracing for possible recession. That probably means The Economy is going to be on a lot of people’s minds come the November presidential election.
Los Alamos is an affluent community that was hailed last year as having […]
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What’s a young person to make of it?
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 03.30.2008 / 10:26 AM EDT
This week, I have a son who turns eighteen. One of the things that means is that he now becomes part of the electorate. Having a son of that age means that I know a bunch of young people of about that same age and from time to time there is an opportunity to get […]
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