Presidential Candidates As Batman Super Villains

With all the silly political talk of comparing the Bush Administration to Batman, I thought I’d take a look on the lighter side and compare various Presidential candidates to different Batman villains. This isn’t serious political analysis, but dammit, I have this site as a forum and I intend to use it. (And frankly, if it’s good enough of a topic for Wall Street Journal editors, It’s good enough for me.) I picked super villains arbitrarily. I don’t want to get into a “who is Batman and who is evil” argument. That’s just boring.

Barack Obama as Harvey “Two Face” Dent: The idea that spawned this post. While others are doing strange things like comparing Dick Cheney to Batman or something like that, given that the arch of the story is the rise and fall of newcomer and beacon of hope DA Harvey Dent, I’m surprised there’s not more comparisons between the two. There’s this article, sure. But that seems more intent on criticizing platitudes than it does at looking at something deeper: are figures of hope like Obama and Dent doomed to failure? Clearly they are doomed to dim. Wile the article criticizes Obama for lack of particular details, it’s ultimately Dent’s drive for only results that dooms him. When pushed towards the edge by his horrific scaring and in TDK the (spoiler!) death of Rachel Dawes, Dent is concerned only with the ends, not with the means, of resolving problems. One gets the feeling that more contemplation on platitudes would have helped him, not hurt him. So I think Obama differs in that respect. On the other hand, that side of Dent always existed; it was just hidden by both his meteoric rise and previous success. After all, anyone can keep their secrets hidden while succeeding.

Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton as Ra’s al Ghul and Talia al Ghul: In the comics, they are father and daughter; here they are husband and wife. Let’s just gloss over that difference. In the comics, Ra’s could not be killed thanks to the Lazarus Pits; where he could rise from the dead. Surely, this reminds everyone of the numerous times that Bill himself rose from what was surely political death. The intrigue between the al Ghuls rivals the reported intrigue between Bill and Hillary. Bill has actively and inadvertently hurt Hillary in the past, as any sane person would admit. In the comics, this antagonism even leads Talia and Batman to sleep together. Similarly, Hillary and Obama used to be close allies, with Hillary even fundraising for Obama at one point during his Senate run, the political equivalent of sex if there is any. Moreover, this also means that the normal Clinton confidantes are known as the League of Shadows. Just as in Batman Begins, they are regarded as formidable by Ra’s, but in the end do absolutely nothing to help him, and only allow the enemy to take him down. One can imagine Obama as Batman goading Bill to please bring on four pawns (Mark Penn, Harold Ickes, James Carville, and Terry McAulliffe) instead of just four. Although in reality, it’s because the four will get in each others ways. Of course in this analogy, Hillary as Talia has her own henchwomen, who are none the more competent (Patti Solis Doyle) for the most part. (You’ll never, ever hear me say anything negative about Maggie Williams, mostly because I think she would have me killed for real.)

Tom Tancredo as the Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka The Scarecrow: A candidate who bases his entire campaign on fear. But more than that: Tancredo never intended go through with his campaign. In Batman Begins, Ra’s al Ghul states that Scarecrow believes the plan was to hold the city to ransom. It seems Tancredo’s entire campaign was based on the premise that he would hold the Republican Party hostage unless they elected someone he agreed with. And then they decided not to anyways.

John McCain as the mob. Yes the mob as a whole. Carmine Falcone, Sal Maroni, the whole bunch. In the comics and in the Dark Knight there are factions of the mob, just like they are factions of McCain supporters. Rick Davis, John Weaver, Mike Murphy, Steve Schmidt and others all had their time to be in control before circumstances forced them out, and they all do not like each other, and do not work well together (as seen in the mob scene in The Dark Knight before the Joker arrives. Each of them backstabs and steals from the other, ostensibly to protect the rest). Moreover, there is no control over them from the mob as a whole. McCain is said to be a laissez faire manager just as the mob as a whole favors looser rules. Moreover, McCain absolutely seems to abhor Barack Obama, just as the mob abhors Dent for the type of change he wishes to bring. They want things to change to, but jsut to the way things used to be. They are in a way as old as McCain is. In the movies, the mob is somewhat like McCain in that they refuse to go away. Like the Hydra, you can cut off one head, but two more will sprout in its place. McCain similarly seems to never go away no matter how many times he seems out. Like the mob turning to Joker in the Dark Knight, McCain also seems to have no good plan whatsoever, and changes plans on the fly when things turn out to be different than he thought. Does this say anything about what McCain is doomed to be? I don’t think so. The mob keeps on existing, but never in the same format. It’s certainly not predestined in any movie that the mob will lose. Indeed, the only comparison seems to be that McCain’s campaign could turn out to either be the Joker tormenting the mob’s opponents, or the Joker later threatening the entire barge full of mob associates with death. Also like the mob, McCain functions better when backed into a corner. Lastly, McCain lacks a certain shine and appeal that the mob also lacks in comparison to other “freak” type villains.

Mitt Romney as Oswald Cobblepot, AKA the Penguin: Whereas the Penguin used his ownership of the Iceberg Lounge to gain entry into Gotham, Romney uses his leadership at Bain Capital for much the same purpose. There was always a question of taking what Penguin says as truth: he never comes across as sincere. Romney may not have come across as insincere as Penguin did in, say, Batman Returns, but his numerous problems with flip-flopping caused serious problems for him this cycle. Moreover, his sons are everywhere, just like the Penguins were seemingly in Batman Returns. And just as the Penguin in One Year Later seemingly abandons crime for a legal presence, Romney also aborted what was a previous hard line stance against McCain suddenly to endorse him shortly after Super Tuesday. Most superficially, the Penguin is the high society type criminal compared to all the rest; similarly, Mitt Romney seems the most high society of all the candidates, due in large part to his massive wealth. Note: If there is one supervillain Romney is not, it is Deadshot.

John Edwards as Waylon Jones, aka Killer Croc: The easy choice for Edwards is Two Face. Running a completely different campaign than his first time, being an impressive trial lawyer and all. But in reality, the specific flaws and details of Edwards this cycle have nothing to do with the flaws and defining characteristics of Harvey Dent. Killer Croc is the one villain whose entire existence is almost entirely defined by his appearance: his reasons and justifications for doing what he did are inconsequential, if they exist at all. In this campaign, despite the support he got (which, compared to all but Obama and Clinton, was very substantial), Edwards was doomed because of the perceptions he allowed to be created about himself: the expensive haircuts, the video of him combing his air, etc. Essentially that he came to be defined in the market place as someone really, really vain. Killer Croc is the only Supervillain similarly concerned with image. While Edwards allowed himself to be defined by his, Croc hid and acted out because of his image. And yes, there’s also that small matter of Edwards sneaking around in basements of hotels being stalked. Very Croc-ian.

Dennis Kucinich as Jarvis Tetch, aka the Mad Hatter: Like the Mad Hatter was inspired by Lewis Carroll, Kucinich seems torn out of a different era of politics, one where William Jennings Bryan and Eugene Debs were the constant candidates. The delusion of the Mad Hatter strikes me as exactly the same as the delusion of Kucinich that he can win. His many tricks in the comics are similar to Kucinich’s tricks in politics. Tetch was seemingly run over by a train, only for it to turn out to be a trick; similarly, Kucinich was thought done when he ran the city of Cleveland into bankruptcy, only to emerge years later as a Congressman. Moreover, anyone who is not his supporter wonders why he is still trying. I’ll just end with that there’s something of a physical resemblance as well.

Fred Thompson as Bane: Bane was introduced in the comics as essentially the negative version of Batman: awesome power, awesome intellect. He ended up breaking Bruce Wayne’s back. But I’m not comparing Thompson to that Bane. I’m comparing him to the Bane in Batman and Robin, the horrible fourth batman movie. In that movie, going on the legacy of the comic book Bane, Bane instead becomes an unimportant tool who only serves as muscle; That is regularly noted as one of the worst transitions from comics to movies ever. Thompson similarly entered the race to great fanfare, only to find out he was far too little far too late. Thompson, like Bane, was a supposedly fierce character who when put into a campaign fizzled beyond what anyone expected. The comic Bane is the Fred Thompson that people expected; the awful film version is the one people got. I also have no problem comparing Holly wood to a South American prison. Many suggest that a new interpretation of Bane in the current Batman series could be widely successful; I’m not so sure. Wildly intelligent, strong, and athletic people tend to not sneak around in masks. While the true believers may never admit it, the concept at heart just is not very believable. Note: Just because Thompson and Clayface both were actors does not make them similar in any meaningful way.

Ron Paul as Lennie Adkin, aka Anarky: One sentence in Wikipedia says it all: “Lonnie Machin, a teenage prodigy who, believing in Anarchism, creates improvised gadgets and attempts to subvert government in order to improve society.” Paul himself was not young - the opposite of it - but he certainly attracted youth en masse to his libertarian oriented campaign. And while some would say the dominant Paul story as the racist old newsletters, Paul had no chance to win before or after that story broke. Moreover, Paul’s campaign innovated on the internet in ways few others have ever done, either their notable moneybombs and extensive social networking (and comment bombing). Moreover, the obvious comparison is in the goals of Adkin and Paul: both wanted substantially smaller governments (Adkin clearly went further than Paul). Does Adkin’s failure indicate that Paul’s crusade will never be successful? I don’t think so. There will probably never anytime soon be an extensive, successful libertarian movement, but there can certainly be small steps made in that direction. As a bonus, the character was created in part from Paulite hero and Alan Moore creation V from V for Vendetta.

Rudy Giuliani as Eddie Nashton, aka The Riddler: The Riddler, simply put, is known for leaving riddles after crimes; it’s a dare to be caught, whereas conventional wisdom would normally lead criminals to, you know, try to get away with the crimes they commit. The defining tactical decision of the Giuliani campaign was skipping all the early states that conventional wisdom said he had to at least get a symbolic if not a real victory in for him to be competitive in later states such as Florida. He decided not to. Moreover, the Riddler is covered with question marks all over his suit that give away not only his identity but also his only useful sentence was a Riddle to lead people to him. And while Giuliani’s innumerable references to 9/11 were not at all that pathological, there was clearly something in Joe Biden’s joke that ever Giuliani sentence contained a noun, a a verb, and 9/11. In short, Giuliani was the Riddler in that a lot of his campaign was built on one very simple and repetitive riddle.

Mike Huckabee as Arthur Brown, aka The Cluemaster: The Cluemaster was a failed game show host, and if there’s any four word phrase in Batman history that could define Huckabee, it is ‘failed game show host’ - with the possible exception of ’successful game show host’. The rise of Huckabee’s campaign was in large part due to his charm, and the fall of his campaign was ultimately responsible for his inability to transcend that charm as, say, Ronald Reagan did. The comic plight of Cluemaster is largely not very similar, except that Cluemaster ends up doing surprisingly well and survives a battle even when many thought he was dead from being shot in the chest. Similarly, Huckabee’s campaign refused to die even when it was mathematically impossible for him to win.

Bill Richardson as Catwoman: Get your gender jokes out of the way, I’m not interested in them. Good? Ok. The essence of the history of Catwoman as defined by Wikipedia: “Selina Kyle, starting as a criminal who wore a cat-themed costume and often operated as a burglar, has a love/hate relationship with Batman. For years, she skirted on the edge between villain and antiheroine. However, she has largely reformed in recent years, adopting the role of the guardian of Gotham’s crime-infested East End, though she still comes into conflict with Batman on occasion.” This mirrors Bill Richardson in many ways. First of all, Catwoman is the ultimate resume villain: she’s done it all. For evil, for good, she’s been there. If I had a nickel for every time Richardson said “Look, I’m a governor” this election as to prove what he has done, I would be able to hire someone to write this post. Moreover, Richardson essentially had a love-hate relationship with all his opponents. Clinton supporters liked him when he defended Hillary during debates, and then were outraged when he first appeared to help Obama on Iowa Caucus night and then endorsed Obama after allegedly promising not to. (Obama supporters were the opposite). In the end, Richardson was distrusted by all and left to run hos own state which was shockingly bad in most rankings. Similarly, the most recent Catwoman movie was shockingly bad by even the most generous standards. The Catwoman character, like Richardson, is championed by a small minority who think it is essential to Batman; others think its inclusion in any TDK sequel would be repetitive and boring. I’d be inclined to agree with the latter. The Catwoman character is played out and in the end not very interesting. A jewel thief who is athletic? In the Nolan’s Gotham, that’s about as small and pointless as they come. Meanwhile, just like some predicted Richardson would be a dark horse candidate, once people got a long look at him,  he disappointed; the more the Catwoman character has been exposed in movies, the less popular they have gotten. It’s fair to say that to some extent the character was a failure in Batman Returns and was again surely a disappointment in Catwoman. Also, Catwoman would probably defend cats as innocent ipso facto them being cats, just as Richardson accidentally defended Alberto Gonzalez in the first debate just because he was Hispanic.

Duncan Hunter as Garfield Lynns, aka Firefly: I don’t even have to add comment on this one. Wikipedia on Firefly: “Garfield Lynns, an orphan who became a pyromaniac and has developed a fireproof suit and flamethrower to further pursue his ‘hobby’. He was originally known as a cunning criminal who invented numerous weapons that use light to commit crimes with.” And Eve Fairbanks on Duncan Hunter: “During the trip, we stopped at a gold mine, and Hunter got the idea that the Brobdingnagian ore haulers (whose wheels alone are ten feet tall) would make good troop vehicles in Iraq since they’d resist IEDs. (Possibly true, but they also resist steering.) These kind of pie-in-the-sky, mad-inventor brainstorms earned the nickname “Hunter Specials” among staffers on the committee he chaired, Armed Services. I wondered occasionally if Hunter’s ruthless thrashing in the GOP primaries had dampened some of his unusual style of enthusiasm, but apparently it didn’t. This morning’s Post carried the story of a Hunter Special for the ages: He submitted a request to our embassy in N’Djamena, Chad, to personally hunt and serve wildebeest to needy Darfurian refugees there. ” Wow. Easiest one yet.

Last but never least: The Joker after the jump. ….

Read more

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Ron Paul To Make “Major Announcement Tonight”

What could it be?

From the campaign’s press release:

Presidential candidate Ron Paul will make a major announcement tonight during a rally coinciding with the Texas GOP State Convention.  The event will be held from 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm at the Hilton America Hotel in downtown Houston, right across from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

There has been wide speculation about the future of the limited government movement that has been inspired by Dr. Paul’s presidential bid. This event comes on the heels of revelations this week that Dr. Paul will hold a rally to celebrate liberty and Republican traditions in Minnesota during the GOP convention this September.

If you’re interested in watching, you can see a live stream of the video after the jump (when the event actually takes place later tonight).  Feel free to post any thoughts on what you think he’ll be saying.

Video… Read more

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Presidential Candidacies, Even Failed Ones, Offer Increased Influence To Candidates

This is hardly scientific, but it’s worth noting that presidential campaigns, even failed ones, have a tendency of increasing a candidate’s influence/power (as one would expect).

Below is a table indicating the candidate’s power ranking in their respective chamber for the years 2005 through 2008.  It’s worth noting that the sudden changes in some of the rankings between 2006 and 2007 is mostly the result in changeover from Republican to Democratic control.

[Table=7]

[Table=8]

[* = former candidate]
[Source: Congress.org]

In retrospect, some campaigns, which at the time made no sense at all, make at least a bit more sense now, while some continue to haunt my brain to this day.

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Blog Buzz Watch (February 9-15): McCain Gets More Blog Mentions Than Ron Paul

Below are graphs that display the number of mentions in the blogosphere for Democratic and Republican candidates between 2:30 AM 02/09/08 through 2:30 AM 02/09/08…

Democrats

Republicans

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February 9 Results: Kansas Caucuses, Louisana Primary, Nebraska Caucuses, Washington Caucuses

For the Democratic Party…

• Louisana Primary (56 delegates at stake):
  • Results not available yet, click here for latest
  • Notable News: Obama campaign requests assistance after reports of voting irregularities
• Nebraska Caucuses (24 delegates at stake)
  • Obama wins
  • No final numbers yet, click here for the latest
• Washington Caucuses (78 delegates at stake)
  • Obama wins
  • No final numbers yet, click here for the latest

For the Republican Party…

• Kansas Caucuses (39 delegates at stake)
  • Mike Huckabee (59.%), John McCain (23.5%), Ron Paul (11.2%)
  • Final results and delegate allocation here
• Louisiana Primary (20 delegates at stake)
  • Results not available yet, click here for the latest
• Washington Caucuses (18 delegates at stake)
  • Results not available yet, click here for the latest

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2008 Campaign Weekly Roundup (February 4-8, 2008)

A roundup for February 3-8 on the Democratic side…

• Super Tuesday Results:
  • Hillary Clinton won Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
  • Barack Obama won Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah.
  • The winner of New Mexico is yet to be determined, but with 99% of precincts reporting Hillary Clinton is currently ahead by 1,123 votes.
• Delegate Standings Projections (including superdelegates):
  • Hillary Clinton: 1076
  • Barack Obama: 1006
• The Obama campaign has stepped up its argument that if Hillary Clinton is the nominee elected Democratic officials in conservative areas may suffer from a backlash by sending out a mailer that blames the Clintons for Democratic losses between during the 90’s and the 2000 election.
• The Clinton campaign clashes with MSNBC and just two days after TPM asks “Is Obama Being Hurt By MSNBC And His Other Media Worshippers?”
• Debatarama: Hillary Clinton challenges Obama to a debate a week (including one on Fox News) between now and March 4. After some back forth, the campaigns eventually agreed to hold two debates - one in Ohio and one in Texas.
• Obama campaign pushes for the release of Hillary Clinton’s tax returns.  When pressed on this issue during a press conference call, Clinton Communications Director obfuscated by asking “When will Senator Obama release the complete details of his relationship with Tony Rezko?”
• Barack Obama picks up Washington’s Governor Chris Gregoire; Clinton gets Rep. Norm Dicks.
• Fund Race: Following reports that Hillary Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million dollars, the Obama campaign used this information to kick off a fundraising blitz, which the Clinton campaign countered.  Now that the dust has cleared, the totals so far since Super Tuesday show Obama with an edge, but Hillary Clinton isn’t getting blown away:
  • Barack Obama: Over $7.5 million (figures disclosed yesterday, so this number is sure to be higher now)
  • Hillary Clinton: About $8 million; 75,000 new donors (figures disclosed today)
• Bill Clinton promises to be nice going forward, clarifies his role in a Hillary Clinton administration; JW criticizes.

A roundup for February 3-8 on the Republican side…

• Super Tuesday Results:
  • John McCain won Arizona, California, Connecticu, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma.
  • Mitt Romney won Alaska, Colorad, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Utah.
  • Mike Huckabee won Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia.
•  Delegate Standing Projections:
  • John McCain: 724
  • Mitt Romney: 281
  • Mike Huckabee: 196
  • Ron Paul: 14
• Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign on February 6 and noted that he was motivated in part out of concern that continuing his quest would help get Obama or Clinton elected, which would mean surrender to terrorists (Romney’s argument).
• Fred Thompson endorsed John McCain and called on the rest of the party to get behind McCain.
• Mike Huckabee promises to carry on with his campaign and demonstrated his commitment to the trail by appearing as a guest on the Tyra Banks Show (you have respect anyone that wants something so bad that they’re willing to sit across from Tyra for an hour…*shudder*).
• James Dobson backed Mike Huckabee; Huckabee’s connection to televangelist Kenneth Copeland are likely to be the subject of a Senate investigation into Copeland’s ministry (we blogged about Huckabee’s connection to Copeland in late January).
• Ron Paul’s blimp was grounded after being vandalized.
• Question: Ron Paul making a third party run?  Answer: No.
• Cindy McCain taken to task on her “grudge list” among other things.

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Results: West Virginia Closed Convention (Republican)

West Virgina’s primary isn’t until May, but the Republican Party held their convention today. The convention determined the allocation of 18 of the 30 delegates to the Republican Convention. Read more

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Romney’s Hucked

Mitt Romney lost the GOP caucus in West Virginia this afternoon. It was repeated voting until someone got over 50%.

After the first round of voting, Marc Ambinder wrote:

After the first round of balloting in West Virginia, Mitt Romney was solidly in the lead with 41% of the votes, followed by Mike Huckabee with 33% and John McCain with 16%.

Since 50% is needed to win all 18 delegates, a second balloting is underway.

But sources say that representatives for John McCain called many of his reps in WV and asked them to vote for Huckabee…in order to thwart Romney on the second ballot.

Well you can guess what happened. All the candidates’ representatives, even Paul, ganged up on Romney. This is a state that Romney absolutely had to have, and now he needs a bigger miracle.

The Romney camp is … not so happy over this deal. To say the least. The campaign manager Beth Myers went off:

“Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain’s inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney’s campaign of conservative change.

“Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today’s first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party.”

The good news for Romney? Hugh Hewitt did not think he needed West Virginia. Hewitt is being pretty optimistic on Romney, I’ll say that much.

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Live Blog Of CNN / LA Times / Politico Republican Debate In California (January 30, 2008)

[NOTE: If you're looking for coverage of the CNN/LA Times/Politico Democratic Debate in California between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, you can find our live blog of that debate here]

Tonight is the CNN/Los Angeles/Politico Republican Debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. It will begin at 8pm est and will air on CNN and will stream live at both CNN and LA Times‘ websites. The participating candidates will be Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.

7:45: 15 minutes to go. I’m not sure what the seating locations will be yet, but I do know that McCain’s staffer won the first pick for location on the stage and had to call back to headquarters to confirm the location.

7:49: Format: No rules, No time limits. I guess ever since Wolf Blitzer threw out the rules at the last debate, CNN’s just decided to really go wild.

7:58: Lou Dobbs is expressing outrage (not necessarily about anything specific…just outrage…he wants you to know that he’s very disturbed).

8:00: And here we go! Anderson Cooper begins with a history lesson about the room they’re in. Usually, I’m opposed to these kind of explanatory intros, but given the fact that the debate is being held under the old Air Force One, I can understand the need to explain what the deal with the plane is.

8:03: First question, are Americans better off now than they were 8 years ago? Mitt Romney says that that’s a question for President Bush, then launches into defense of his record in Mass. Anderson Cooper gets indignant and wants an answer, Romney shows viewers that he’s able to stand up to Anderson Cooper, but does offer some discussion of the problems he sees in America now.

8:06: McCain says he’ll bring some straight talk, offers a bit of gloom and then talks about making the Bush tax cuts permanent. McCain states that he believes Americans are better off now than they were 8 years ago, if you look at everything.

8:07: Huckabee plainly states that he doesn’t think we’re better off now than we were 8 years ago, states that the President isn’t solely responsible, so is the congress. Huckabee says that Americans want someone that is honest and straight with them. I wonder if he’s aware that McCain already has that catchphrase locked up?

8:09: Paul states the problems are caused by foreign policy and we must acknowledge that those policies need to come to an end.

8:12: Romney takes a shot at McCain’s conservatism by noting McCain’s NY Times endorsement. McCain reminds Romney that both of Romney’s hometown papers, which know him best, endorsed him over Romney. Ouch. McCain continues to talk up his conservatism by mentioning some people that support him.

8:15: Romney defends his record on job growth by noting that some of the negative data on job growth included a time period under the former Governor. He also explains the fee increases under his administration. Romney also touts the work he did on health care and notes that when he left there was a balanced budget and a small surplus.

8:18: Huckabee talks conservatism: lower taxes, streamlining the government, amendment banning gay marriage and a life amendment. Something about these, “who is more conservative” questions seem sort of pointless at some point.

8:21: McCain is asked about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s environmental law proposals, which are much different than the steps that the Bush Administration would take towards combating climate change. Given the impending endorsement for Arnold, obviously McCain needs to tread lightly and he does. He responds by noting that he believes in federalism, which has really turned into code for “I won’t force you to do something. Please don’t shy away from me because of this issue.” McCain then gives his oft used version of Pascal’s Wager for support of green technology.

8:25: Romney says that he supports states’ rights to control and regulate their own emissions. Huckabee then tries to explain why Federalism is good, he then goes on to state that Alexander Hamilton was wrong. Uhhhh….he’s having a difficult enough time staying in this race against Romney, McCain and Paul…I’m pretty sure injecting Hamilton into this race would only make it worse for him. *sigh*

8:29: Paul asks for some time to discuss and issue and Cooper denies him. For a debate that wasn’t really supposed to have rules, Anderson Cooper seems awfully indignant.

8:33: Talk turns to the economy…excuse me while I relocate to the top floor of my building, preferably a seat near the edge…

8:35: On the economic stimulus: McCain says that we will probably need more. Wow! This is like saying that we need more puppies, fluffier pillows or locations that have Coke Zero available from the fountain.

8:36: McCain is challenged on his initial opposition to Bush’s tax cuts on the grounds that they favored the rich too much. McCain states that he was a foot soldier in the Reagan revolution…then proceeds with obfuscation.

8:40: The topic changes to immigration. Huckabee thinks we need to secure the border. He says that two things need to happen in order to do that: 1) build border fence and 2) all current illegal immigrants will need to go back to their home countries and wait in line. Ultimately, Huckabee thinks this is the most compassionate and kind thing…

8:41: Romney is asked about his statement that most illegal immigrants could be deported within 90 days. He didn’t initially recall saying it, and the questioner offered him the quote. Romney talks about being courteous deportation. For example, if the family has a child in school, you let the child finish that school year first. Romney reemphasizes he would not allow illegal immigrants to remain here permanently, then suggests that McCain’s legislation would have allowed for such a thing.

8:44: McCain is asked if his legislation were to come to the floor of the Senate today, and he states that it won’t happen. After being pressed, he states that he would not vote for it because it’s clear that people want the borders to be secured first. It seems somewhat inconsistent for McCain to tout sticking to his principles and ignoring the majority on Iraq…yet, so freely acknowledging deference to the will of the American people on the immigration issue.

8:47: Huckabee is asked if Reagan’s appointment of O’Connor was the right call. He won’t answer the question, but then launches into a discussion of why it’s important to support life and how he would want judges that were pro-life. Ron Paul is given a chance to respond, he says he wouldn’t have nominated her because of her view towards the constitution. Both McCain and Romney dodge the question and instead state the types of judges they would appoint. In a bold move, McCain cites Alito and Roberts as examples of the kinds of conservative judges he’d support. Romny ups the ante and cites Alito, Roberts, Thomas and Scalia as the type of conservative judges he would nominate (Yea, that’s right, take that John McCain). Then, stupidly, Romney takes a shot at O’Connor for apparently not following the Constitution enough and for legislating from the bench. I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat, hardcore liberal or conservative, if you think Justice O’Connor was a bad Justice, then you’re either completely uninformed or completely incapable of making evaluations. Sheesh, and I thought Huckabee was going to take home the award for baseless attacks on historical figures (yes, I know O’Connor’s still alive, but she’s done enough to be part of history).

8:57: And we’re back. Maybe, they’ll finally include Ron Paul in this last half hour.

8:58: Romney is asked about Peggy Noonan’s contention that George W. Bush destroyed the Republican party. Romney states that George W. Bush showed everyone that when America is attacked, we’ll respond. Uhhhh….is that really the best defense he could give?

9:00: Romney promises success in Iraq, which he defines as no safe havens for terrorists in Iraq. He strongly stated that he does not have a date for withdrawal and does not support a timetable. He accuses McCain of being un-Reagan like by raising the issue before the Florida primary and indicates that it may explain the results of Florida.

9:03: McCain reiterates his argument by reading the quote to Romney. Romney asks him what it means. Romney continues to try and defend himself. The audience seems to be on Romney’s side on this issue. Romney and McCain bicker. McCain’s tone during this exchange, reminds me of my grandfather’s tone when we were having an argument about cathode ray tubes once (he used to be an engineer).

9:06: Anderson Cooper regains control, unfortunately, it required his blue steel look in order to calm things down. Cooper asks Romney why he wouldn’t comment explicitly on the surge back in 2006 as he was preparing to announce his run. Romney is mad and accuses McCain of “Washington style” politics.

9:08: McCain responds to the Washington style politics line, by reminding Romney of the negative ads he used against him and Huckabee. He also reminded everyone that Romney used millions of his own dollars in his campaign so far.

9:10: Paul is asked about McCain’s line that we could be fighting in Iraq for the next 100 years. So let me get this straight, the rare chance they include Paul, it’s to ask him a question about John McCain? Paul states that both Romney and McCain are parsing over minor details of the same general policy - both supported going in and both support continuing the war. Paul’s gotten the loudest cheers so far.

9:12: Anderson Cooper asks Huckabee the same question given to Paul. Huckabee complains about not getting time and questions. Then casually says in regards to the 100 year fighting line, “oh it doesn’t take that long.” Then goes on to say that he’ll stay however long it takes to win.

9:13: Huckabee is asked what he sees when he looks int Putin’s eyes. Huckabee states that Putin has taken actions that lead to concern and that we need to have a foreign policy that emphasizes strength. Advocates a stronger military, you know, for deterrence. Is he actually arguing that a return to mutually assured destruction is the only viable foreign policy vis-a-vis Russia at this point? *sigh*

9:17: Romney explains geopolitics: Russia using energy to control policy, China “the wild west of energy” using energy and giving nuclear power to influence policy, Al Qaeda using terrorism to influence policy and the USA, which stands for free enterprise and freedom of the individual. I don’t even know how to respond to this painfully oversimplified explanation of geopolitics. However, would Romney’s analogy make Chris Patten the Wyatt Earp of China? I think so. But aside from that, Romney didn’t even discuss the topic (that he himself said he’d address), which was how he’d deal with Russia.

9:21: Romney’s argument: people ultimately look to Governors and not Senators to lead this country. He was a governor, ipso facto, he should be the next leader. Aside from that, he worked in the private sector, and then goes on his economic argument rant…

9:23: Romney is asked why he’s more qualified to be Commander-in-Chief than McCain. Romney doesn’t believe you need military experience to be Commander-in-Chief. Romney says that he prefers chess to checkers (I’m serious).

9:24: McCain responds, takes an irrelevant shot at Romney for having led corporations that fired people. Another ouch. McCain mentions Tom Ridge for the second time this evening.

9:25: Ron Paul states that these people don’t understand that the President isn’t supposed to run the economy and reminds everyone of that fact. Paul then discusses the monetary system. Paul’s discussion of substance causes Andersoon Cooper to become impatient.

9:28: Huckabee complains more about time. Then talks about less government and why it’s important. He states that governors are good presidents because they understand that no issue is isolated..that everything is connected. Metakuya Oyasin.

9:30: Anderson Cooper graciously gives all of the candidates 1 minute to explain why Ronald Reagan would endorse them. This is an appalling question for several reasons, none the least of which is Nancy Reagan’s presence in the first row.

9:31: Mitt Romney says Ronald Reagan would support him because he’d lower taxes. McCain says that Reagan wouldn’t support someone that changes positions and that Regan would support him because he held firm on Iraq and because he was a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution.

9:32: Ron Paul talked about how he supported Reagan in 1976, when only 4 other members of congress did and how Reagan campaigned with him. He states that Reagan was very sympathetic to the gold standard (an issue that Ron Paul is very much in favor of).

9:33: Huckabee doesn’t presume to know who Reagan would endorse. Then speaks to the goodness of Reagan and how it’s important to recapture that can do spirit.

9:34: And we’re done.

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On Political Coverage This Weekend

The Clinton campaign pushed hard for free media coverage in primetime this week, and was rebuffed:

Insiders tell TVNewser the Hillary Clinton campaign was prepared to give exclusive access for the next 48 hours to ABC’s 20/20, but because of a scheduling conflict, ABC News passed on the offer. Sources tell us the campaign had wanted ABC to accompany Sen. Clinton for a 48 hour period beginning today, with the report airing Friday night on 20/20.

With the Super Bowl airing Sunday, and thus presumably lower than normal viewership for 60 Minutes, an appearance on 20/20 would have been the Clinton campaign’s best shot at getting a prime time network audience before Super Tuesday. Nightline’s Cynthia McFadden will spend tomorrow with the candidate for a “day in the life” story which will air tomorrow night.

Candidates are not going to get much of a chance after the CNN debates to change the perception of them before Feb. 5, with the Super Bowl this weekend. Unless someone does something dramatic on Saturday, I suppose, but even then…

The debates tomorrow (for Republicans) and Thursday are looming especially large.

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2008Central.net’s Presidential Election Podcast (01/27/08)

This podcast looks at (1) results of the South Carolina Democratic Primary; (2) a brief discussion about the media coverage of identity politics and (3) a look ahead to the Florida and February 5th primaries…

[Subscribe to 2008Central.net's Presidential Election Podcast]

Feel free to email us questions/suggestions for next week’s podcast (you can also email an audio file of your question and we’ll include it in the podcast).

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Live Blog Of MSNBC Republican Debate In Florida (January 24, 2007)

7:30: Time Russert and Brian Williams (henceforth, Bri-Wi) are moderating this debate, and participating are John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul. I’m looking for Huckabee and Giuliani to be particularly aggressive, as a bad finish in Florida could really hurt them.

As an aside, today is the one year anniversary of this little site. So for those of you who have stuck around for all 1,053 posts now, I’m sure you realize how damned lucky you are to have us. But enough about us, you’re here to see two old white men question five other old white men about who should replace another old white man. How thrilling!

8:46: MSNBC says the debate is “DO OR DIE.” in large all-cap font. Note this, because your children will want to know about the time that four presidential candidates were all killed on stage by a major news company. In other words, don’t expect this debate to be a subtle discussion of minor differences.

8:59: Want to skip us as middlemen and watch it yourself but don’t have cable? Screw you! Seriously, though, watch here. Brian Williams just told people not to cheer to give people at home misleading impressions. And now he’s thanking military people in the audience.

9:01: Lyndon Johnson was at the university when it opened. Hillary Clinton just issued a press release that it takes a president to open a school.

9:02: Candidates are tired; apparently, they requested the debate only goes 90 minutes instead of 2 hours at their request. Tim Russert looks angry.

9:03: Romney is asked about the stimulus plan, and contrasts it with Bush’s. Is he disappointed? Romney says it is effective, he just wishes it went further. Romney somehow says that a permanent tax cut is equivalent to a rebate or no taxes on capital gains. Talks about creating jobs and the mortgage crisis. He sounds like he’s somewhat competant, but pandering at the same time.

9:05: McCain says he will vote for the plan, and is disappointed it does not make the Bush tax cuts permanent. McCain talks about people having uncertainty in their budget for 2010, and it sounds like a punch line. Segues into pork barrel talk. Talks up the rate cuts by Bernanke and the need for tax cuts. He’s completely trying to erase any doubts of him on the tax issue.

9:07: Giuliani says the package is OK, but does not go far enough. Talks up his surrogates introducing legislation (Dreier and Bond). Says there is no difference between temporary and permanent. Says that if America over taxes, spends, sues, or regulates that America loses. Specifically excludes military spending. Said he is worried about London overtaking NYC as financial center.

9:09: McCain is asked about a quote that said he did not know the economy well enough. He flatly denies the quote and says he is well versed. Cites support of Jack Kemp and Phil Gramm and his experience in the Senate on the “Congress committee.” I’m not sure about any of the credentials he’s mentioning here.

9:11: Does Huckabee trust Romney on taxes or fees? What an awfulo question. Huckabee demurs, and says its about voters. He talks up him balancing the budget. Huckabee says that we’ll borrow money for the package from China and buy Chinese packages (Did Duncan Hunter take over as speech writer?) Huckabee says that a bigger priority ought be building infrastructure, and says 95 should be widened. I’d love to know his plan for widening the Cross Bronx.

9:13: Does Romney trust McCain and Giuliani on taxes? He says he respects them despite differences but share a common goal. Cites his bipartisanship in solving problems without raising taxes. Talks about the surplus. Criticizes McCain for not voting for the Bush tax cuts the first time, and says that the POTUS needs to understand the private sector like he does.

9:15: McCain says that the people who had fees raised by Romney thought they were a tax increase. Flat joke. Talks at length about needing to cut spending to cut taxes at first. Talks at length about pork barrel spending.

9:17: Paul is brought in and asked about government intervention. Says the fed cutting interest rates and printing money is the problem. Says less regulations and taxes is the problem. The dollar is crashing and it’s hurting foreign policy, and we’re spending money on an empire, etc. Criticizes no one cutting money overseas.

9:18: This is very antiseptic, with almost no interaction between candidates. Bri-Wi asks Giuliani about banks borrowing money from overseas. Giuliani first talks about his trip to Ground Zero with a Saudi prince, when he found out that the prince criticized American foreign policy. Says that is fundamentally different from investments where there is no other reasons behind it, and a mutuality of interest. Moves in Japan buying into America that brough Japan and America closer together. Wants America to sell something to the world. Not sure what, exactly.

9:21: A poll showed Democrats with an 18 point lead of trust on the economy. Russert lkists a bunch of stats that showed problems with the economy over the past 6 years. McCain says Democrats will increase government and raise spending, calling that ’straight talk.’ He just mentioned 10 minutes ago that the Bush administration was the worst at increasing the size of government since LBJ, and now that? He concludes by talking about taxes and Democrats like he’s a 5 year old.

9:24: Huckabee takes credit for not being in Washington. Then says it’s not all on Bush as he kept us safe. Huckabee takes credit for being the only one to say the economy was doing bad at the CNBC economic debate a few months ago. Huckabee says that trickle down may be true, but trickle-up is a sign of a bad economy coming. Funny, but conservatives probably won’t buy it.

9:25: Romney takes the bold stance of running on his record. Attacks Washington and says promises are never met. Cites spending, Social Security, immigration, and foreign oil. Blames both parties, and says Republicans are the party of change.

9:27: Giuliani says he is the only one to turn around an economy. And yes, Huckabee and Romney both took credit for a turnaround earlier. Cites his stimulus plan being touted by the Club for Growth.

9:28: Paul says he cannot be identified with a high spending crowd, but Republicans need to fix their goals. Says America is moving into a new era. Sure, I guess.

9:29: Local question for McCain, about the military being on the verge of breaking and the economy being on the edge of breaking. How will McCain manage staying in Iraq militarily and economically? He says no one in the military says we cannot stay. Attacks Clinton for wanting to withdraw. Says no one complains about troops around the world a mere ten minutes after Paul complained. Dodges the economic issue completely.

9:31: Barry McCaffrey says the army is too small and needs to be doubled. How do you do that without a draft. Romney says that he wants to add 100k. He says he incentivized it in Ma, and the GI Bill needs to be better funded. Segues into attacking Democrats for prioritizing getting out over winning in Iraq. Worried about Al Qaeda taking over Iraq, then says safe haven. Says Clinton is arrogant for taking credit of the surge, that it is the blood of troops and Petraeus, not “Gen. Hillary Clinton.” Apparently Florida is Clinton bashing territory.

9:34: Will you go to the country and say the war was worth it? McCain says it was worth getting rid of Hussein, and mishandling the war was the problem. Russert presses him on it being a good idea, and McCain repeats the answer and says yes (stupid Russert question). Giuliani attacks answers on polls. Giuliani attacks Clinton for going with the polls. Wow, Hillary bashing gone overtime. Talks about polls not pushing you around.

9:36: Paul says it was a bad idea to a smattering of applause (clearly NOT a majority). Cites the 1998 resolution. Does not want America to start wars.

9:37: Huckabee says he and “the Democrats” supported Bush; talked about the ‘potential’ of WMD and compares them somehow to damn easter eggs. Says you cannot second guess.

9:38: Romney steals McCain’s talking points on the issue. MSNBC thankfully shows McCain nearly laughing. He’s worried about Al Qaeda being a ’superpower.’ Says now is more important than ‘the beginning.’

Bri-Wi scolds the audience for applauding, and we go to a break.

They accidentally leave the mic on, and Russert tells Williams that he finds something unbelievable. Probably the drollness of the questioning.

9:43: Williams is angry candidates went off stage during the break. Candidates question each other! Romney talks about the rise of China and Asia and being a tougher competition. To Giuliani: How do we protect American industry in this light; how do we compete economically. Giuliani jokes that he won’t answer. Giuliani talks about getting to know a country through trade. I’m waiting for him to talk about getting to second base. Instead he talks about the ability to sue in China. Says people coming out of poverty are potential customers. Again with the used car salesman technique. Says China needs to buy what we have. What is that? Who knows! Segues to the military, and attacks Bill Clinton for the peace dividend of cutting the military. Really all out on Clinton tonight. That’s almost verbatim from Romney’s stump speech at the end.

9:46: McCain goes for the jugular on the Fair Tax. He asks Huckabee about a sales tax costing more of the lower class burdens and what accounts for the resonance. Huckabee says it ends nonsense of the IRS. Huckabee says the prebate in the FairTax solves those regressive problems. Poor choice for McCain; you cannot criticize the FairTax in this forum. Says that pimps and drug dealers will now pay taxes, and jokes they are non-Republicans. I’m not sure about those though. They’re businessman at heart!

9:50: Russert asks about those paying 15% or less compared to 30% in the flat tax. Huckabee talks about a hidden corporate tax in every products. He’s not an economist.

9:51: Paul to McCain, and he’s thrilled. Paul is asked about a Presidential Group on Economics and if we will know what they are doing. McCain jokes that everyone wants to see more sunshine. Again goes back to Kemp and Gramm. He’s looking worse and worse on the economy by the second by having to answer a second question. He goes back to Phil Gramm AGAIN for a 1982 tax cut. Says he would rely on him.

9:53: Huckabee says that Romney supported the 2nd Amendment and the ban on assault weapon ban and Brady. Romney says the ban at hand was from the lobbies coming together, and compares himself to Bush on the issue. He now says we need no new legislation. He supported a ban that did not pass and now says that we need no new legislation? I’m confused.

9:55: Giuliani asks Romney about a national catastrophic fund, attacking McCain two or three times for not supporting it. McCain interjects about who the question is for. Romney says that he does support some sort of effort to provide insurance against disasters. Talks about people who live in both Florida and Massachusetts. Ah, now we’re in a Republican debate. Says no subsidization should be involved. Compares the unworkable economics to what he did in health insurance. Giuliani asks about mandates and Romney says that’s different. He either sounds like he doesn’t know anything or he is a master, depending on your perspective.

9:58: McCain for some reason gets only 30 seconds. Says there are other ways to solve and the bill being passed is just a handout. Says he’ll get everyone together. 1,000 people together is going to make something MORE workable?

9:59: Giuliani is asked about global warming and not accepting a cap on greenhouse gases. He says that you need new technology, citing nuclear power, that new and exciting technology. And clean coal. Talks incentives for new industries. Gives a laundry list of other programs. Compares to the man on the moon, in what may have been taken from the line in Clinton’s stump speech. In reality, it just shows when they both grew up.

10:01: McCain says he’s in favor of cap and trade. Says a global agreement has to include India and China. He says global warming is real and could affect Florida. Says it’s a win even if there is no climate change.

The last break, this time without mics left on.

10:06: Bri-Wi laughs in Giuliani’s face about his doubt in polls, and asks Giuliani about falling polls and terrible results. Compares himself to the NY Giants lulling people into a false sense of superiority. I find it amusing he deems how he has been crushed as “close” but, you know, more power to you, Rudy.

10:08: McCain is asked about the GOP getting behind him when a lot of people do not like him, citing a quote by his mother. Says he got Alito and Roberts through and he won Republicans in NH and SC. Mentions climate change and Israel. Says that he is proud to be a conservative but there are times to stand up, citing Rummy, the bridge to nowhere, and Abramoff. Says his country comes before his country.

10:10: Romney is asked about Bill Clinton and says he is scared of Bill in the White House with nothing to do. Yikes. Russert asks him what it means, and Romney demurs and says America does not want a team. Talks Hillary raising taxes and that the Clintons are Washington and what is Washington is wrong. Compares himself to Reagan.

10:13: Russert asks about how much of his own money he spent. He says that he spent less than Corzine, Forbes, or Bloomberg. He refuses to answer. Says that he owes no one anything. Tries to turn it into an advantage. Russert pushes again about buying an election; Romney says he’s concerned about America. He cares!

10:14: Bri-Wi asks about 44% say a Mormon president would have problems uniting the country. Romney says it’s absurd, and he’s probably right, so I’m not going to write about it. Finishes with another attack on Clinton, comparing her to ‘the Europe of old.’ You heard it here, she wants to fund the Medicis!

10:17: Does Paul want to abolish Social Security? Yes, he says, but not overnight. He’d use military savings to fund it as long as it is needed and let the young people get out.

10:18: Huckabee is asked about saving Social Security. Huckabee wants to get off a joke about Romney’s sons that seems really out of place and seems beneath him, something I didn’t even think was possible 5 minutes ago. Huckabee says that the Fair Tax will save social security. When Russert points out its unlikely, Huckabee compares it to going to the moon. This is borderline delusional and Russert gives up.

10:20: Russert asks about Reagan raising the cap on the payroll tax. Romney says he won’t do that because it is a ‘double whammy’ in that hurts people and slows the economy. WHAMMY. Talks up personal account and a different calculation for wealthier Americans, and pushing the retirement age up. Says it will not change for anyone on or near retirement.

10:23: Why is Giuliani airing a campaign in Spanish? He says that he’s comfortable reaching out if a group of people speak another primary language. Segues as quickly as possible to illegal immigration to not embarrass himself further. Somehow adds that speaking other languages in a global economy is a good idea.

10:24: Giuliani is asked about wet foot dry foot law, and asks why there is a different policy than Iran or Venezuela. Giuliani says there is a presumption for Cuba that anyone fleeing is presumed to flee persecution. Does not really address wet foot dry foot.

10:26: Does Huckabee agree with what Norris said of McCain being too old? Huckabee jokes about Norris beating too old. Says that age is not a problem with McCain, and it is not an issue for him. Again, just a little too silly.

10:28: McCain jokes that he’s going to send Stallone to attack Norris. Now that’s appropriate.

10:29: The New York Times is endorsing McCain and Clinton; says that Giuliani’s arrogance is breathtaking. Giuliani attacks the New York Times to a smattering of applause and touts his record. Apparently forgetting the NYT defended him on those trips to see his now third wife.

10:30: Romney is asked about attacks on his flip flopping. He says he is not worried, and says he can point to his record.

10:32: McCain says his temper is not an issue. He takes time to say Giuliani is an American hero and that everyone is a good person.

10:33: Huckabee is asked about a quote that his faith giving a ‘queasy feeling.” Says that is not his problem, and in America you have to respect different opinions, even no faith; then says faith is really, really important.

10:34: Will Paul hurt the party with a 3rd party candidacy? He says he is more worried about Republicans keeping to their issues, and maybe people should be more worried. Says Republicans used to fight the Dept. of Education and used to fight to stop wars. Says being strict on the Constitution is important. He’s getting really ignored tonight, not one cheap shot. The Paulites again break the agreement and che