New School Politics

If you're a first time visitor, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, which will keep you up to date with all the latest New School Politics posts. Thanks for visiting!

Just prior to closing my computer tonight I had remembered I wanted to share an article I read from the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal.

Russian oil production, for years a vital source of new supplies for world markets, is showing signs of a slump, adding to uncertainties that have helped push oil prices to record highs.

Russian output fell for the first time in a decade in the first three months of this year, according to the International Energy Agency, which represents industrialized oil-consuming countries. It said Russian production averaged about 10 million barrels a day, a 1% drop from the first-quarter of 2007.

The article also contained a troubling comment by CitiGroup analysts, “Russian oil production growth is no longer to be taken for granted.”

Bloomberg is showing that oil closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $113.58. Current crude prices seem to be out pacing Goldman Sach’s March predictions for future oil prices.

Tacking on $15 a barrel to all of its oil estimates, Goldman now sees average selling prices of $95 a barrel for 2008, $105 a barrel for 2009 and $110 a barrel for 2010. The high end of its range is now $135 a barrel — but Goldman hinted that prices could be headed even higher.

While Goldman believes their oil forecast to be bullish, compared to current market trends they may actually have been quite conservative. Only time will tell where future commodity prices go, but I would be highly skeptical of anyone who anticipates a large slump in demand or a sudden miraculous increase of supply.

To read the rest of the WSJ article please follow this link, you will however need a WSJ account to access it and other pieces located in the online archives.

Popularity: 21% [?]

It appears that the US press is finally beginning to catch onto the global food crisis. I have been following the situation since last year seeking alpha sent me an email regarding the rise in commodity prices. Indeed, within certain industries and areas of interest (foreign policy and human development) the rapidly rising global commodity prices have been troubling for some time.

Until this past week, however, the only two sources I found even covering the ever worsening situation were Foreign Policy Magazine, and the Financial Times (which in my estimation is one of the best papers in the world). The global food crisis has many route causes, one of which is overpopulation. In fact the emerging food shortage is occurring because of rising living standards and increased demand (mainly fueled by growth in Asia).

In addition, climactic events such as droughts and flooding (whether or not they can be associated with climate change is irrelevant) are also decreasing the amount of arable land, along with political instability are only intensifying problems. Finally, energy prices are also undercutting production capabilities by raising prices in everything from cultivation to transportation.

In fact, ForeignPolicy.com has been posting almost daily updates about food related riots happening around the world.

Now the FT is reporting that the situation has worsened:

“The global food crisis intensified on Tuesday as Kazakhstan, one of the world’s biggest wheat exporters halted foreign sales and rice prices shot to a record high after Indonesia stopped its farmers from selling the grain abroad.”

“Indonesia – which joins Vietnam, Egypt, China, Cambodia and India in banning foreign sales – was expected to export the grain this year due to a bumper crop. Corn futures prices in Chicago last week hit a record $6.16 a bushel, up 30 per cent in the past three months.

Indonesia’s export ban boosted the price of rice futures in Chicago to a all-time high of $22.17 per 100 pounds, up 63 per cent since January. Wheat prices moved higher to $9.11 a bushel and traders warned prices could rise further as the Kazakhstan ban together with restrictions in Russia, Ukraine and Argentina have closed a third of the global wheat market.”

The rising commodity prices and the trillion dollar financial industry meltdown are bad enough, add a global food crisis to the mix and we could find ourselves within the midsts of a full fledged depression.

To stay up to date on the worsening news I suggest www.FT.com, www.foreignpolicy.com, and the only two US news sources that have been covering the situation for some time-Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

On a related note-it may be worth following the worsening water situation. If the world finds itself struggling for capital and credit along with shortages of food and potable water, we will be in an awfully poor situation.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Here was a good article that I found in today’s Op-Ed section of the NYT.

“I haven’t read much Karl Marx since the early 1980s, when I taught political philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Still, it didn’t take me long this weekend to find my copy of “The Marx-Engels Reader,” edited by Robert C. Tucker — a book that was assigned in thousands of college courses in the 1970s and 80s, and that now must lie, unopened and un-remarked upon, on an awful lot of rec-room bookshelves.”

“My occasion for spending a little time once again with the old Communist was Barack Obama’s now-famous comment at an April 6 San Francisco fund-raiser. Obama was explaining his trouble winning over small-town, working-class voters: “It’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

To read the rest of this article please follow the link to the NYT page.

Another take on the Obama controversy comes from Peter Wehne. It takes a slightly different take than the one written by Bill Kristol but provides an equally important analysis.

Senator Barack Obama finds himself in the midst of a controversy in the aftermath of comments that he made at a private fundraiser in San Francisco on April 6, during which he explained his difficulty appealing to working-class voters in Pennsylvania. He said, “It’s not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment. . . .”

Senator Obama’s words are significant because they were said off-the-record, meaning they provided a more authentic glimpse into the attitudes of Obama than a carefully scripted event. Nonetheless, his words were not merely careless; his comments were based on a carefully constructed, if deeply condescending, explanation.

To read the rest of the article please follow the link to the National Review Online.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Any student of modern history can attest that the cold war era saw an international system structured in a bi-polar manner. On the right was the United States, its satellite states, and its allies; on the left was the Soviet Union with its satellite states, and its Communist allies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the international system that the world had become accustomed to suddenly collapsed. Like all current affairs, to fully comprehend the nature of today’s international system we must first analyze those of the past.

Lire le reste de cet article »

Popularity: 26% [?]

John McCain’s campaign released what is being billed as the first ad of the general election. It is titled 624787 (in reference to his navy issued serial number). The advertisement does not discuss policy so much as the Republican candidate himself. The ad was powerful and it was a good way to introduce him and his story as a naval officer and POW to American’s in a positive light while the Democrat’s continue to spill blood.

Lire le reste de cet article »

Popularity: 29% [?]

In all honesty, I am getting very sick of how the Obama campaign calls foul when someone even makes the most basic observation about his skin color. We already know that 9/10 African-American’s nationwide have voted for him in the Democratic Primaries held so far-so if they are so willing to confront and identify with Obama’s race, why isn’t he himself?

______________________________________________

Here are some quotes from the video of his sermons-

“The government lies, the government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color, the government lies, and the government lies!”

“Barack knows what it means to be a black mean living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people, Hillary can never know that, Hillary ain’t never been called a N****r.”

“Hillary is married to bell, and Hillary has been good to us; no he ain’t, bill did us just like he did Monica Lewinski, he was riding dirty.”

“The government gives them the drugs, gives bigger prisons, passes the three strike law and then wants us to sing god bless America? No no no, not bless America, goddamn America! That’s in the Bible, for killing innocent people, god damn America for treating its citizens as less than human.”

“We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and the black South Africans and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done over seas is now brought back into our own front yards.”

“If they don’t find weapons of mass destruction they gona do just like the LAPD and plant them some weapons of mass destruction.”

_________________________________________________

Well apparently, he has been confronting his race and his personal identity with his long time close friend and Reverend, Jeremiah Wright. After hearing Wright’s comments it would be an understatement to call them objectionable; they are down right despicable, racist, sexist, and anti-American. They are some of the most offensive comments I have heard from anyone this close to any political candidate. Not only did Wright marry Michel and Barack Obama in his church (a sign of the couples close relationship with the minister), but according to the Huffingtonpost.com, he is an official member of the Obama campaign staff. He is a sitting member on Obama’s African American Leadership Committee. Now, we can all expect Wright to loose that post quickly after these videos were leaked online, but what does it say about Obama that he was on his committee in the first place? It is apparent that Obama has known about these remarks, again he has been a member of the Chicago based Church for over 20 years.
I would not be raising this as an issue if a. the remarks were not so offensive, b. Obama did not have him as part of the official campaign, and c. if Obama and his staff did not accost anyone who raises Obama’s skin color in any way shape or form.

According to Reverend Wright, all things being equal, his followers should vote for Obama simply because of his skin color. Now explain to me how that isn’t playing the race card, especially when he is an active member in Obama’s campaign?

I do not mean to demean Obama’s accomplishments (which are however lacking compared to those of say Bill Clinton, John McCain, or Mitt Romney), but lets be serious for a second-Obama was not part of the generation of struggling and oppressed African American’s fighting for their most basic forms of human dignity. He is no Martin Luther King, he never marched in the streets with water guns and attack dogs violating his natural rights. No! Barrack Obama did not grow up facing race riots in Watts or KKK killings in Mississippi; instead he attended one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Obama went to the exclusive Punahou preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. The school has had over $50 million in recent renovations and has received massive contributions from alumni such as AOL founder Steve Case. It does not sound to me like that child hood education is reminiscent of what most minority students face in their early years, especially considering the location of exotic Hawaii where the mixed racial population meant that people would likely have not even noticed Obama’s skin color.

His father left when he was only 2 and he spent several years raised in a single parent household (I too live in a single parent home, does that hardship also qualify me to be the commander and chief?). He spent several years in Indonesia (something his campaign claims gives him foreign policy experience; does that mean my summers in Greece also qualify me to rule the free world?) and later returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents while finishing his secondary education.

In his own memoirs, he claimed that he tried using drugs to cope with his identity crisis, according to Jeremiah Wright however, it is the US government who provided those drugs to Barrack Obama so as to subjugate him because of his race. If Obama’s campaign says that by not dropping Ferraro from Hillay’s campaign, that Hillary was endorsing and condoning Ferraro’s racist remarks, then wouldn’t it be fair to say that by not dropping and disowning Wright that Obama is endorsing the theory of a massive government conspiracy to subjugate African-American’s?

My point by bringing up Barack’s past is not to suggest that he was some rich and entitled young man. He had to work hard to transfer from Occidental to Columbia and he had to have displayed talent in becoming the head of the Harvard Law Review. Despite this, it is clear that Obama has played the race card. He cannot be the man who transcends race in one sentence, while in another is pandering and fully excepting the support of someone who espouses black nationalism.

John McCain recently came under fire for having the support of an evangelical Christian support him who believes that it is America’s duty to destroy Islam. There is one clear difference-McCain is not an active member of Rod Parsley’s church, he and Cindy were not married by him, and Parsley does not sit as an active member on his campaign.

Before Obama calls for one more staff resignation or formal apology because of what someone says about his race, he needs to disassociate himself from this radical and racist Reverend once and for all. Unless he does that he will remain the biggest hypocrite of this campaign. He is permitting Wright and others like him to advertise him as an African-American who understand their hardships and their pain, while at the same time he says to white America that he transcends racial boundaries. His childhood makes it apparent that he has little in common with the average American, let alone oppressed minorities; for his Reverend to suggest otherwise is despicable and a disservice to the hardships that civil rights activists fought for.

Popularity: 44% [?]

John McCain has all the national security credentials he needs. He was one of the few to stand up to the failed Iraq policy and to question the Bush administration; he can be partially credited with the succesful change in policy we see today. While McCain also has a good reputation on spending, his economic qualifications (not that Obama’s or Hillary’s are noteworthy) are lacking.
Mitt Romney, a man who I see as an ideal candidate for his Vice Presidential pick (I of course did support his bid for president), has the economic qualifications that McCain needs on the ticket with him. Of course,
McCain is already known to the American people as someone who is a hero, tough on spending, and right on Iraq. Romney over the course of the last 8 months is someone who has built tremendous name recognition and many are now aware of his accomplishments in business, as the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic chairman, and as Governor of the State of Massachusetts. Mitt Romney should be John McCain’s running mate in his November presidential bid.

There are several qualifications that McCain’s running mate will need to satisfy:

1. Executive
2. True Conservative
3. Bring in additional states
4. Have a strong base of support
5. Be media tested

1. McCain needs to pick an executive for his running mate. I would be hard pressed to find a person more experienced (perhaps General David Patreaus in Iraq, but it is rumored he is planning for a run after 2012) than Governor Romney. Romney was of course the lead consultant for Bain Capital, then the manager of their investment fund, the chairman of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics (where he turned a $500+ deficit into a $300 million surplus), and Governor of Massachusetts. As Jim Cramer said, “Romney is the best business man in North America.” That is quite a statement coming from Cramer and that kind of language speaks volumes about his expertise in dealing with the economy. No one could argue with what a job he did in Utah’s Olympics where he is still to this day hailed as a hero (to understand why, research the financial disasters that typically follow Olympics such as in Atlanta, Athens, etc…). An associate I know who is an active member of the US Olympic Committee, former Gold Medal champion, and Hillary Clinton supporter even admitted to me that Governor Romney was one of the most professional individuals she ever worked with. Coming from someone across the aisle, that is something that should also speak volumes about his leadership ability. While his time in Massachusetts was short, he did manage to energize the economy, pass education reform, balance the budget, and is the only Governor in the Union to have addressed healthcare. His healthcare plan is far from perfect, but two things should be noted. A-he was a Republican elected in Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the country. B-He was successful in legislating in the state. This is significant because one of the primary jobs of the VP is to act in the Senate as a representative for the administration in power (and of course break tied votes). Romney has proven that he is capable of running the country in the event that something happens to McCain, and also that he can perform all of the tasks required of a Vice President with tremendous skill.

2. John McCain needs to pick a true conservative to be his Vice Presidential candidate. There are some who claim that Romney was a flip-flopper, or that he lacked “social conservative” credentials, but in the last days of the campaign it became apparent that he was whole heartedly accepted by the conservative movement in the party. He is the only prominent Republican who can ensure that the powerful “wall street conservatives” do not stray to the left and fundraise for either Obama or Hillary. Romney has been a strong fiscal conservative all his career and despite what he said in his 1992 senatorial bid against Ted Kennedy (the strongest opponent Kennedy has yet faced), Romney did com down on the “right” side of life while he was Governor of Massachusetts. Aside from Newt Gingrich , I cannot think of a more prominent conservative; but again like many strong conservatives, Gingrich lacks the vital executive experience that Romney carriers. McCain and his Vice Presidential Search Committee will be hard pressed to find any prominent conservative as qualified as Mitt Romney.

3. Mitt Romney won by overwhelming margins in Wyoming, Utah, and many other strongly conservative states during the primary season. I have been to three western states since Christmas (Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho) and I noticed that almost every Republican I encountered in all three states were Romney supporters. Additionally, Mitt Romney worked very hard to strengthen his social conservative message in evangelical states during the primary season and it is doubtful that he will have much more convincing to do. He and Mike Huckabee were the two candidates fighting over the socially conservative voters, but Huckabee lacks the important ability to also court true fiscal conservatives at the same time. It should be important to note that Romney had the best record in attracting a broad range of self identified conservatives in the primary season, Romney is one of the only men who has the ability to repair the coalition that Ronald Reagan built. Governor Romney also was of course the Governor of Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the country. That in itself is a feat that the McCain campaign should examine closely, I doubt that there are too many other individuals who could perform as well in both conservative states and liberal ones as Mitt Romney. His 1992 senatorial bid against Ted Kennedy was also one of the most difficult fights Kennedy has ever faced in his long standing Senatorial career. While McCain can attract many independents in the next election, he will need someone like Romney to garner the support of the parties true conservatives. Unless Bloomberg had entered this race, there is not another executive in the country aside from Mitt Romney with the ability to get overwhelming support of the business vote. Romney can attract the conservative votes that McCain needs in November and for that reason alone he should be on McCain’s short list.

4. Mitt Romney already has a strong base of support. At the end of his presidential bid, Romney was hailed as a true conservative at CPAC2008 and there were literally tears in the room when he announced with withdrawal from the race. Romney did manage to correct his message at the end of the campaign to that of the “economic leader” and “business expert”, he was the one who could “bring change to Washington.” It is clear that Romney has the support of many conservatives in the party who are still hesitant of McCain. If McCain wants to sure up these votes, he should turn to Romney. Romney also has one of the best campaign teams ever assembled. It is no secret that he is most likely planning a ‘12 run (a source close to Romney has confirmed that to me in an email), and that is ready to go on a moments notice because of his continued political aspirations. Romney’s campaign team would be a tremendous asset to McCain (someone who is a notoriously bad campaigner). The key to Romney’s campaign team is also his finance staff led by Spencer Zwick , one of the most talented fundraisers in the GOP. Of course, the amount of money Romney raised pales in comparison to that of the Democratic candidates, but even without his own personal contributions his financing ability vastly outstripped all of his Republican rivals. The Bush administration is also pushing for an M&M ticket. While this fact may deter some who fear connections with Bush as a possible hinderance in the next election, it is important to remember that Karl Rove, perhaps the greatest campaign strategist alive is not only a strong proponent of the ticket, but is also a McCain advisor. If the ticket did not provide the best possible means for a Republican victory, I doubt Rove would be calling for it.

5. Like John McCain, Mitt Romney is media tested. He faced a brutal race with demeaning attack ads when he ran against Ted Kennedy’s political machine in 1992. He had to fight an uphill battle for his gubernatorial race in Massachusetts, and he won. He also faced much scrutiny against John McCain and the other Republican rivals during the primary season. Many claimed he was the best debater of the GOP nominees and with the exception of Barrack Obama, he certainly had the best TV presence of anyone on either side of the race. While there may be many other conservatives in the race who have good records, none of them have the spotless personal record that Romney has and very few people in the country have the media exposure that he possesses. Romney is cool in front of the camera, that is another trait the McCain campaign should look upon very favorably.

Mitt Romney satisfies all of the qualifications to be President of the United States, let alone a running mate. If it were not the personal dislike between McCain and Governor Romney, the ticket would be obvious and it would already be solidified. Yet, these are two adults who have spent the last twenty fives years of their lives negotiating (legislating for McCain, business for Romney) and who both know how to put past differences behind them. After spending years in the Hanoi Hilton, I believe that Senator McCain can forgive Romney for the policy attack ads he ran against him in the primary states. Whatever personal reasons McCain has for disliking Mitt Romney he needs to overcome them. For the future of the free world, these two men should be able to overcome their personal squabbles, if not-perhaps neither are fit to sit in the oval office.

Popularity: 39% [?]

One of the best political shows on television was MSNBC’s Tucker, a witty, hilarious, and accurate hour long talk show every day at 6 PM on MSNBC. According to the morons at Crooks and Liars, “Carlson will remain at MSNBC as a contributor for the time being, but at last, there’s a chance we’ll see a reality based, progressive show in that time slot.”-Oh great, another “progressive” show to go along with the socialist propaganda that is Keither Olberman. The article continues to say, “Rumor has it Air America Radio’s Rachel Maddow is working on a show for the network — we can only hope she gets her shot. She’s earned it.” The thought of Rachel Maddow, on the air instead of Tucker Carlson is enough to make me sick; it would be just like NBC (a network that can basically take responsibility for getting Obama elected) to cancel a unique and non-polarizing voice among a sea of partisans who work on cable news.
In any case, I (like many people) want a talking head that isn’t a yes man to either the far left or the far right. Of course, this is what we have come to expect from cable news network; perhaps at least Tucker could move to a network that won’t fire him for having views that don’t align with Olberman and Abrams, Fox do yourself a favor and give Tucker a call.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Today billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City wrote an OP-ED piece in the New York Times that confirmed he will not be seeking the run for the white house this election. It does seem to suggest that perhaps the deciding factor in his bid for the white house was who received the Republican ticket.

Mayor Bloomberg may have billions of dollars to spend on an election, but unless he saw a serious void between the two parties he would have no reason to run. McCain and Obama are both candidates who will attract many independent voters (voters who Bloomberg would have depended on in his White House bid) and with McCain only several dozen delegates away from the Republican nomination it seems clear that at least one of the political parties will be offering a candidate who will bridge the bipartisan divide and evolve from “traditional party orthodoxy,” as Bloomberg said in his article.

The most telling quote from Bloomberg’s piece in the New York Times suggests that if Obama gets the nomination from the Democratic Party, that both he and McCain will have to fight for his endorsement. “If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach — and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy — I’ll join others in helping that candidate win the White House.”

Obama’s rhetoric promises to unite America and the two parties; McCain has been an affectionate son of America’s independent voters for 8 years and his record in the Senate is one of fierce independent (and perhaps maverick) behavior. For the first time in American presidential politics the independent votes may be seriously contested by both Republican and Democratic candidates.

If the race shapes up to be close, Bloomberg’s endorsement is one that could be vital to a victory in New York-a victory that both candidates will be tirelessly seeking.

Here is an excerpt from the piece, follow the link or pick up the February 28th NYT to read the article-
______________

WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must know better. They must know we can’t fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can’t fix our immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can’t fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless challenge. And they must know that we can’t keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.

The vast majority of Americans know that all of this is true, but — politics being what it is — the candidates seem afraid to level with them.

______________

Popularity: 29% [?]

As Ryan reported earlier, Governor Romney has officially dropped out of the 2008 presidential race. With his announcement, many of his supporters, including myself, will back John McCain. Romney did several things with his well timed announcement at CPAC, he has made himself into perhaps one of the most respected conservative elder statesmen in the party and he has also set himself up well for a second bid for the nomination in 2012. Additionally he has given McCain the nomination and has spared the Arizona Senator from having to fight him off in a war of attrition.

By “suspending” his race at CPAC today, Mitt Romney will ensure that his race ended on a high note-in front of a friendly audience where he was declared a hero and a son of the party. For the next several nights, clips from his speech will be played on the prime time political shows and the Sunday talk shows; the media will portray Romney as perhaps one of the most respected men in the Republican party and we should all expect him to have a very prominent place with a speech at the convention this summer. In the event that McCain does not win (or if he does not seek a second term after becoming POTUS) Romney will be in a very good place to restart his presidential bid. By not fighting on, Romney and his entire campaign will be treated with respect from the GOP. The Governor will have a broad base of support in the future. Indeed, a second presidential bid for Romney in 2012 could be much easier. He will have the issues of his religion, conservative values, and military experience behind him. The next president will most likely either withdraw from Iraq or oversee a period of significant improvements in the theater which will put less emphasis on the war and thus less importance on personal military experience for the commander and chief (something Romney lacks). Additionally, he addressed his Mormon faith during this election and in the last few weeks it has become evident that the Republican Party was willing to look past it and embrace him despite his unorthodox religious beliefs. The GOP establishment and even the social conservatives have accepted the Massachusetts Governor over the past few weeks and would be willing to support him in the future. This is good news for his future campaign manager as it means he no longer has to be marketed as the “least objectionable” Republican candidate; instead, he can run on his managerial experience and business and economic prowess while knowing he has the support of the national security and Christian conservatives. All of the faults Governor Romney had that precluded him from attaining the Republican nomination will be ignored or not considered vital if he does seek to run a second time.

Governor Romney did a great service to the Republican Party today. By ending his presidential bid, he has made John McCain the Republican nominee-it is mathematically impossible for either Ron Paul or Mike Huckabee to win the nomination-perhaps months before the Democrats have a front-runner. The Democratic party has been generating a lot more excitement and raising significantly more money than any of the Republican candidates in this election, but if the Democratic race goes to the convention (which looks likely), John McCain will have an additional six months to raise money and build a very strong grass routes campaign. This extra time will be crucial for McCain to mend the bruises between the national security, economic, and social conservatives and could enable the Republican Party to once again rally behind one candidate. In comparison, the Democratic Party is split down the middle and is embattled in a political civil war pitting the African American voting block against the female voting block and the educated Democratic activists against the working class. Contrary to what all of the pundits thought a few months ago, the Democratic Party may be on the verge of falling into shambles while the Republicans may rally together. If Hillary Clinton goes into the Democratic convention with less delegates than Barrack Obama, but wins the nomination because of the loyalty of her super-delegates expect a full-scale revolt from many Democratic voters.

Whether or not Mitt Romney is offered or accepted the vice presidential spot on the Republican ticket, it can be said that he has had an enormous amount of influence on the party today and has perhaps provided the adhesive bandage the party needed to once again secure the White House in 2008. The situation will continue to improve in Iraq and by this November many Americans will be against the withdrawal and surrender that Democrat’s are calling for. John McCain’s opposition to the Bush strategy will demonstrate to moderates, independents, and strong conservatives that he knows how to win the war.
Aside from winning the nomination outright, I cannot see any other way for Governor Romney to make as big of an impact on the party as he did today.

Popularity: 34% [?]