Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 12, 2008 4:10:25 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

50-State Strategy Could Heal Red/Blue Divide

Posted Jul 5, 08 10:20 AM CDT in Opinion,  Politics 

(Newser) – Barack Obama and John McCain each hope to widen the playing field this November, and that could be a good thing for the country, writes Ronald Brownstein for the National Journal. Part of the reason America is so partisan is because it’s politically balkanized. In 2000 and 2004, both candidates resigned themselves to that division, conceding states that will be in play this time around.

Obama is spending heavily in more than a dozen previously red states, and although McCain is more financially constrained, he has visited places where Republicans typically fear to tread. Bush has seemed content to govern “as president of his half of the country,” Brownstein observes. "But simply making enough effort to run competitively in states usually written off to the other side could help the winner as president."

Source National Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Obama Thanks McCain for Calming Crowd

    Oct 11, 08 1:07 PM CDT
    Obama Thanks McCain for Calming Crowd Barack Obama took a moment this morning to thank John McCain for attempting to rein in his angry crowd yesterday. “Senator McCain tried to tone down the rhetoric,” Obama told a rally in Philadelphia today. “I appreciate his reminder that we can disagree while being respectful of each other.” McCain had asked his crowd to exercise such respect and quickly cut off a supporter who called Obama “an Arab terrorist.” More »

  • McCain Booed for Defending Obama

    Oct 11, 08 7:51 AM CDT
    McCain Booed for Defending Obama A raucous Republican rally didn't take kindly to John McCain's defense of Barack Obama yesterday, the New York Times reports. The crowd jeered when McCain said his rival was not someone "to be scared of as president" in response to concerns expressed by a member of his audience. But McCain's defense of Obama was quickly followed by a fresh assault linking the candidate to a political "radical."
    More »

  • Limbaugh Lashes Out at Anti-Palin Pundit

    Oct 10, 08 5:16 PM CDT
    Limbaugh Lashes Out at Anti-Palin Pundit Going so far as to call him a “pig,” Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell has launched a full-on war of words with Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh called Mitchell a "racist nutball" and ridiculed her and other “drive-by journalists” for saying Sarah Palin and John McCain should restrain supporters at their rallies, some of whom have shouted "kill him" and "terrorist."
    More »

  • The Maverick Will Rise Again

    Oct 10, 08 2:01 PM CDT
    The Maverick Will Rise Again Wall Street is reeling, but the real depression has set in among Republicans who seem resigned to losing the White House. "Yet for all the gloom, there are several reasons why this race is by no means over," Victor David Hanson writes for the National Review. The neocon Democrat sees "certain deer-in-the-headlights moments among Obama’s handlers."
    More »

  • Hispanic Voters Turn Against McCain

    Oct 10, 08 1:42 PM CDT
    Hispanic Voters Turn Against McCain With a record of immigration reform, John McCain once appeared a near-lock for the Hispanic vote—but the bloc is instead turning to Barack Obama, Politico reports. McCain is hovering around 26%, nowhere near Bush's historic 40% in the last election. Not only is McCain not getting credit for his prior support of reform, he's being associated with the GOP's general anti-immigration sentiment, thanks in part to Democratic ads. More »

John McCain, center, stands on the shores of the Chester Morse Lake in Washington State, Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Republicans are rarely seen in Seattle, but McCain has made appearances there.   (AP Photo)
In this Saturday, April 5, 2008, file photo, Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a rally at the Adams Center at the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Supporters wear campaign buttons supporting Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., at Obama's campaign stop in Fargo, N.D., Thursday, July 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 9)

Tags

Barack Obama  • John McCain  • Election 2008  • George W. Bush  • partisanship  • red state  • blue states


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Politics Stories