http://donklephant.com Big Teeth. Huge Ass. Surprisingly Reasonable. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:30:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Liberty Counsel and 90% of the nation's leading Conservative Evangelical activists met privately this week to discuss backing McCain.The group concluded that they have many shared values with McCain, in addition to writing a letter recommending Mike Huckabee for VEEP. http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/evangelicals-call-for-huckabee/ Tom Daschle, one of Obama's top aides, confirmed that Senator Clinton is indeed on the shortlist and added that Barack is "sincerely considering" Clinton. "I think he needs two things, first somebody who can become president in the case of a tragedy and secondly, somebody with whom he can work closely," ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/obamas-seriously-considering-clinton/ Rep Caroline Cheeks Kilpatrick opened her mouth following a meeting with Obama’s Veep Vetters to let the world know Sam Nunn is one of the shortlisted names. But who is this former Georgia Senator – and what does this consideration say about Obama? Congressional Credentials:  Chairman of the Board of ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/obama-veepwatch-who-is-sam-nunn/ Senator John Warner of Virginia has asked the Energy Department to look into setting a national speed limit that would best optimize the nation’s gasoline use. A 55 mph limit could save 167,000 barrels of oil each day. In 1974, Congress mandated a 55 mph speed limit in part to combat ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/the-return-of-a-55-mph-speed-limit/ Earlier today, former Republican senator from North Carolina, Jesse Helms died at the age of 86. Helms, often a controversial figure, was one of the Republicans who led the expansion of the GOP base to included blue collar workers and especially evangelicals and other social conservatives. A staunch opponent of ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/rip-jesse-helms/ In this podcast we discuss (1) the shake up in the McCain Campaign, (2) Obama's statement on revising his Iraq strategy, (3) Obama and his history with low income housing subsidies for private developers and (4) rumors about McCain's VP announcement timetable... [Listen Online] or [Download] [Subscribe to 2008Central.net's Presidential Election Podcast] Feel ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/2008centralnet-presidential-election-podcast-070308/ The Houston Chronicle looks at a worrisome trend for the American healthcare industry as it pertains to Texas. New data reveals that only 58% of Texas doctors now accept Medicare, down from 90% in 1990. Only 38% of Texas primary care doctors accept the government insurance. As Medicare payments are ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/texas-doctors-abandoning-medicare/ Some Independence Day linkage... Polling Average, McCain vs. Obama: Obama +5.7 Voters see both McCain and Obama as flip-floppers. Obama calls for a new national service program. President Bush's deputy CoS is leaving the White House. Tom Schaller throws water on Obama's potential in the South. The NRA dedicates $40 million to the election, $15 million ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/the-links-flip-flopping/ Have a safe and happy 4th of July. http://donklephant.com/2008/07/04/happy-independence-day/ Early American political bloggers Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were active participants in a polarized political discussion. For political bloggers and readers, there are few things as interesting as an analysis of umm... political bloggers and readers. In recent weeks three studies have been getting attention from bloggers, focusing on ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/polarized-partisan-politics-promotes-popular-participation/ Earlier today I criticized simplistic coverage of swing voters. Fortunately, for those interested in a more comprehensive look at crossover voting, John Avlon has a great column over at Politico. Avlon, author of Independent Nation and former chief speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani, is a guy who knows a little something ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/a-good-look-at-crossover-voting/ Obama gained one and McCain lost one today, after McCain had closed the gap significantly the previous day. The details...As would be expected from any methodology involving repeated sampling from a large population, there have been slight fluctuations in the daily reports of Gallup Poll Daily tracking rolling averages (each based ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/gallup-obama-leads-by-4-4/ What happens when Christians prank each other? Prank 3:16 finds out when they attempt to convince a particularly devout fan of the Left Behind series that the Rapture has just happened...and she wasn't part of it. One note...Prank 3:16 says that their goal is "to provide wholesome programming while teaching Christian principles." ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/a-hilarious-christian-prank/ http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/co-dependence-day/ I covered this back on June 27th, and at that time the group had around 550 members. What a difference a week makes, eh? Not only that, this group is now the biggest on his website now. TPM points to a story from USA Today about the group...In recent days, Obama ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/anti-fisa-group-on-obamas-website-reaches-14600-members/ Former Congressman Harold Ford simultaneously frustrates and impresses the RCP's Tom Bevan ... and me, too. http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/in-case-you-missed-it/ Why is it when a major news organization writes about swing-voters or undecideds or even “moderates” the story is either written with condescension or with an anthropological reverence, like they’ve uncovered some primitive and mysterious tribe? The latest “report” on undecided voters comes from the AP and is based on ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/undecided-voters-analyzed/ I know I've personally stopped drinking bottled water as much as I can. There just doesn't seem to be much point to it here in the US. Sure, I can understand for personal and public emergencies, but regular personal use just seems like a waste anymore. What do you think? http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/bottled-water-is-it-worth-it/ With leaners Obama - 49% McCain - 44% Without leaners Obama - 47% McCain - 40% The "with leaners" numbers stays the same today, which represents 4 straight days with 0 movement, a fact that is freaking Rasmussen out. Seriously, pollsters don't know what to do when numbers are steady. I hear they're drinking...a lot. However, Obama ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/rasmussen-obama-up-by-5-7/ Obama - 52% McCain - 35% Connecticut is usually a pretty faithfully blue state, so the sole reason I post this is Obama only lead McCain by 3 points last month. The demo details...In Connecticut, Obama has a solid 58% to 30% lead among women, but just a five point advantage among men. ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/rasmussen-obama-up-17-in-connecticut/ Obama - 48% McCain - 43% Well, how about that? A state that Bush won by 20 points in 2004 and 25 points in 2000 has the potential to go blue? Also, last month the numbers were reversed, so this represents a +10 net gain for Obama in a state many wouldn't think ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/rasmussen-obama-leads-by-5-in-montana/ But just because these leaders are backing McCain doesn't mean that their followers are going to fall in line lock-step. In fact, after reading this article, I think some may find a distinct distaste for how these folks are framing their decisions. First, TIME has the details about who was there...The ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/03/christian-conservative-leaders-back-mccain/ Not that this is any big surprise, but many claimed he would have problems with this voting bloc after the primaries. Gallup's numbers prove otherwise... As Gallup points out, these numbers are bigger than Kerry's, but not as big as Gore's, although this may just a shift from Democrats general over ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/hispanics-breaking-big-for-obama/ McCain isn't saying that Rick Davis is being replaced, but it's obvious a power shift is happening because I can't help but think that Steve Schmidt will be tasked with many things that Rick Davis has failed to do so far. From Politico:Steve Schmidt is taking over the day-to-day operation of ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/mccain-shakes-up-campaign/ I'm taking off for a few days over the holidays and most likely won't be updating the blog very much from tomorrow afternoon to Sunday night. But have no fear, I've enlisted my fellow Donklephants to help out with posting. A few of them will be pitching in to keep you ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/im-on-vacation-from-73-to-76/ Meanwhile, 31.5% consider themselves Republicans and 27.5% are unaffiliated...but we'll just call them Independents because that sounds better. That's the latest party ID findings from Rasmussen, and it just speaks to how damaged the Republican brand is this season. Perhaps Kerry losing in 2004 was a blessing in disguise for the Dems? ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/41-of-voters-consider-themselves-democrats/ McCain gets a net three gain today after Obama loses one and the Arizona senator gains two. The details...These slight Obama bumps have proven to be short-lived, and from a larger perspective there has not been a dramatic restructuring of the race in recent weeks. For example, Obama has averaged 46% ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/gallup-obama-leads-by-2-6/ With leaners Obama - 49% McCain - 44% Without leaners Obama - 46% McCain - 40% Again, same story, different day. Absolutely no change in the numbers...so nothing new to report except that the race is very stable...at least according to Rasmussen. They even go so far as to call this stability "amazing." The 5 day w/leaners: 07/02/2008: ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/rasmussen-obama-up-by-5-6-3/ In a Rose Garden news conference today, President Bush said he hopes to be able to shift troops from Iraq to Afghanistan by the end of this year. While there’s nowhere near a guarantee that Iraq will be stable enough for this kind of redeployment, the move would likely cause ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/afghanistan-could-prove-tricky-for-democrats/ With new questions about massive credit card debt and unpaid taxes, and questions still looming as to where Cindy invests her money and why she won't fully disclose her tax returns, the McCain camp is becoming increasingly nervous that the lack of transparency may hurt them come this fall. Politico points ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/more-focus-being-given-to-cindy-mccains-finances/ I'm sure you've heard the reports of what this process actually feels like (a slow drowning), so I'll spare you Hitchens' explanation. Instead, let's look at the aftermath...The interrogators would hardly have had time to ask me any questions, and I knew that I would quite readily have agreed to supply ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/christopher-hitchens-gets-waterboarded-tortured/ I'm seeing more and more of these stories pop up, and I can't help but think there's a reason. If the GOP knows how to do anything, it's seed the media with messaging aimed directly at a candidate saying "Hey, wake up!!!", and these latest articles about McCain seem to ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/gop-having-trouble-seeing-mccains-game-plan/ It’s not quite the beer question, but a new AP/Yahoo! News survey reveals that more Americans would rather barbecue with Barack Obama than John McCain. This must be crushing for McCain who made barbecuing a central component of his VP hunt. McCain is currently losing the cook off by 7 points, ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/02/obama-leads-in-all-important-bbq-poll/ And that number is pretty much exactly where Gallup says Bush's historic disapproval numbers are at. Coincidence? I think not... In fact, McCain's "maverick" brand is in real trouble with Independent voters... Pretty much the exact same numbers as the combined for the entire sample. Hell, even 45% of Republicans are "Very" or ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/gallup-68-very-or-somewhat-concerned-mccain-will-continue-bushs-legacy/ He was quoted yesterday... "I love Kathleen Sebelius. I think she is as talented a public official as there is right now. Integrity. Competence. She can work with all people of all walks of life, but I promised that I am not going to say anything about my vice president until ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/obama-hints-at-sebelius-as-vp/ Again, Rasmussen and Gallup show the same numbers today. A very steady race indeed. No details of note today. More tomorrow... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/gallup-obama-holds-5-point-lead/ Inspired by this NY Times article. http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/pixel-slinging/ I have expended more than a few words criticizing Keith Olbermann for his kid-glove (fawning? sycophant?) treatment of Barack Obama, particularly his coverage of Obama's flip-flop on opposition to the very bad FISA compromise. Last night Olbermann reversed himself (sort of) and expressed some mild criticism of Obama's position on ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/olbermann-agonistes/ Some exciting news about making it much harder for HIV to grab ahold of your immune system. From Wired:Viruses enter cells and take them over, but to get inside, they need a handhold. HIV pulls itself in by grabbing onto a protein called CCR5, which decorates the surface of T-cells, which ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/gene-editing-promises-hiv-immunity-for-all/ McCain - 50% Obama - 44% No change from last month with these numbers, but it should be noted that Bush won this state by 20 points in 2004, and 17 points in 2000. The details...While McCain has a solid 57% to 38% lead among men, Obama leads 49% to 44% among women. ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/rasmussen-mccain-leads-by-6-in-mississippi/ McCain - 48% Obama - 41% This is down from a 10 point lead a month ago. The details...McCain leads by seventeen points among men but trails by two among women. Obama has a huge lead among voters under 30 while McCain leads among those 30 and older. McCain is supported by 85% of ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/rasmussen-mccain-leads-by-7-in-florida/ Obama's play for the evangelical vote continues...but, unlike his predecessor, he's less interested in what faith can do and much more interested in how the faithful can help. From AP:Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/obamas-plan-for-faith-based-initiatives/ Emboldened by the recent 2nd amendment ruling, the National Rifle Association will spend $40M this fall, $15M of which will be used to paint Obama with the usual gun hating colors. Anybody want to bet they'll use Obama's "bitter" comments against him? Oh wait...they already have:“Our members understand that if Barack Obama ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/nra-to-aim-15m-at-obama-this-fall/ With leaners Obama - 49% McCain - 44% Without leaners Obama - 46% McCain - 40% As noted by Rasmussen, the numbers are exactly the same as yesterday...and even they're surprised at the stability of the race. With leaners included, Obama has stayed at 49% for the past 10 days. Without leaners, McCain has stayed at ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/rasmussen-obama-up-by-5-6-2/ David Brooks has has an interesting analysis of Barack Obama’s donor base, which is heavily reliant on well-educated, information-age workers. Once, the wealthy were solidly Republican. But the information age rewards education with money. There are many smart high achievers who grew up in liberal suburbs around San Francisco, L.A. and ... http://donklephant.com/2008/07/01/obamas-wealthy-educated-supporters/ He doesn't apologize...There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past ... http://donklephant.com/2008/06/30/wes-clark-responds/ Okay, I've finally heard some of things that Bud Day said on the conference call, and McCain better get rid of this guy or he has no right getting upset about what Clark said. In any event, Bud Day still claims that the Swift Boaters were okay because they were ... http://donklephant.com/2008/06/30/john-mccains-swift-boater-needs-to-go/ I thought this was another great speech by the Illinois senator, not only because it frames patriotism in a way that I think a majority of Americans can relate to, but also because it speaks to the idea of dissent being patriotic. Take a look... What did you think? http://donklephant.com/2008/06/30/obama-on-patriotism/ McCain - 53% Obama - 43% Last month it was McCain/Obama, 51/41, so there's not much change, and no doubt it's a sizable lead, but I'll say again that this is a state Bush won by 17 points, so just the simple fact that Obama is nearly within single digits is somewhat ... http://donklephant.com/2008/06/30/rasmussen-mccain-up-by-10-in-georgia/ For the first time in a while, the daily polls from Rasmussen and Gallup show the exact same numbers... The details...Obama previously led McCain by a statistically significant margin -- peaking at seven points -- right after Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign for the Democratic nomination in early June. However, this ... http://donklephant.com/2008/06/30/gallup-obama-leads-by-5-3/