ANALYSIS
2008 changes US elections forever
New York Times Nov 4, 08 5:11 AM CST
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Campaign drama has overshadowed the fact that 2008 has permanently changed the way elections are fought in America, the New York Times reports. From now on, supporters will be organized in new ways and funds will be raised differently, due primarily to brave new media worlds. With the help of tools like YouTube that didn't exist in 2004, even methods of attack—and response—have changed dramatically.
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Automatic calls can backfire, too
Newsweek Nov 1, 08 2:21 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As Election Day looms, America's phones are ringing off the hook. Voters—especially in swing states—have received hundreds of millions of robocalls this year. But voters, curious about the novelty calls 10 years ago, increasingly associate them with ugly scare tactics. "Next week Robo-Call supposed to tell black people election canceled," quipped Will Forte on last week's Saturday Night Live .
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New York Daily News Oct 23, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Elizabeth Hasselbeck has been invited to bring her spunky conservatism to the stump with Sarah Palin, the New York Daily News reports. Hasselbeck will take off for Florida this weekend to join the GOP veep pick on a tour around the state. “I will be flying there to travel with her,” Hasselbeck said. “That's an honor, I'm excited to do it, and I'll have some stories I'm sure on Monday.”
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The other No. 2 has been pulverizing McCain with gusto in swing states
New York Times Sep 20, 08 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser)
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He may be getting less press attention than Sarah Palin's pets but there's another vice-presidential candidate in this race and he's been blasting John McCain all across the Rust Belt, the New York Times reports. Joe Biden barely mentions Palin in his fiery speeches to crowds of varying size, but he is unsparing in his criticism of the "out-of-touch" McCain.
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Candidate to go on the attack as party frets about Palin
New York Times Sep 12, 08 9:12 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Barack Obama campaign kicks off its leaner, meaner approach today, reports the New York Times , going on the offensive with a New Hampshire speech and new ads in an attempt to wrest momentum back from the GOP. The candidate's strategists say it has long been the plan to get more aggressive closer to November but, as poll numbers have shifted, many Dems are seeing echoes of John Kerry's 2004 post-convention slump.
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Candidate accused of smearing Palin
New York Post Sep 10, 08 6:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain's campaign has accused Barack Obama of bringing politics down to barnyard level after he compared its talk of change to "putting lipstick on a pig," the New York Post reports. McCain representatives charged that the line was a thinly veiled personal attack on Sarah Palin, and demanded the candidate apologize.
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ANALYSIS
Goofs slid off Biden,
but Gore and Quayle were ruined
Newsweek Aug 24, 08 5:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Joe Biden’s reference to Barack Obama as “clean” won’t do the Democrats much harm. But Obama’s description of religious, rural folk as “bitter” just might. You just never know which political gaffes will do the most harm, Jonathan Alter writes in Newsweek . “Modern campaigns are about flinging 10 things against the wall every day and hoping something sticks,” he says.
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Supporter exacerbates existing condition
Washington Post Aug 13, 08 5:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Cindy McCain ended up with a mild wrist sprain today after an overeager supporter shook her hand with a little too much vigor at a fundraiser, the Washington Post reports. McCain ended up in a Michigan hospital for X-rays and is now wearing an arm sling that should cut down on her handshake duties. She's had previous trouble with the wrist—in fact, she broke it while shaking hands on the campaign trail in 2000.
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Prerecorded political messages from stars irk many voters
San Francisco Chronicle Aug 5, 08 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Not everyone is starstruck by phone calls from Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay-Z, or Scarlett Johansson. The appeals to get out and vote are prerecorded messages known as "robocalls," which have become the cheapest and most popular form of political advertising, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Now a DC group is attempting to disconnect them.
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Washington Post Aug 4, 08 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Buoyed by recent Democratic gains in Virginia and President Bush's unpopularity, Barack Obama is taking aim at the once reliably red stronghold, the Washington Post reports. John McCain’s campaign is optimistic that he will carry the state, which Bush won twice by wide margins, but a top adviser cautions that even though the state has gone Republican since 1964, you can’t just “add water every 4 years.”
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OPINION
Campaign wunderkind Obama should be doing better
Washington Post Jul 28, 08 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain is a “wooden” candidate running a poor campaign, while Barack Obama is “the most spectacular campaigner of his generation”—so why can’t Obama climb over the 50% mark in polls? It’s a matter of the white working men Obama hasn’t convinced, writes Robert Novak in the Washington Post . As it stands, McCain could “back into the presidency, just as he backed into his party's nomination.”
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Rigors of the campaign trail giving candidate some welcome wrinkles
Politico Jul 4, 08 6:50 AM CDT
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"By the time I’m sworn in, I will look the part," Barack Obama quipped to donors Wednesday. Indeed, the long and grueling campaign is swiftly aging the relatively fresh-faced candidate, Politico writes; he's showing more wrinkles and his hair is getting grayer by the day. In sharp contrast to the unflattering coverage given to erstwhile rival Hillary Clinton's appearance, however, many say that Father Time is giving Obama's image a boost.
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McCain, Obama signs duel for space on Governator's lawn
New York Times Jun 13, 08 8:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have worked different sides of the political aisle for decades, but the California first couple's agreement to disagree is getting its most high-profile workout this year, the New York Times reports, as Arnold backs McCain and Maria champions Obama. Signs for the rival candidates compete for space outside the couple's home, and both are considered key backers for their candidates in an important state.
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Barack Obama caught in the middle of two campaign phases
New York Times May 14, 08 4:17 AM CDT
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Barack Obama is feeling like a winner but unable to start campaigning like one, the New York Times reports. The almost-nominee can't go after John McCain the way he would if he had the nomination sewn up for fear of infuriating Hillary Clinton's supporters, aides say. He also is still unable to completely write off Clinton's challenge for the Democratic nomination.
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Analysis
Usual factors don't affect Clinton and Obama
Washington Post Apr 6, 08 7:16 PM CDT
(Newser)
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How does a Democratic candidate know it's time to quit? Common indicators like low funds, indifferent press, and fading support may not apply in this year's race, where both hopefuls have enough of all three to last to the convention. Instead, one may quit when fighting on hurts that candidate’s political future, writes John Dickerson in the Washington Post .
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Plenty of time to turn
this thing around,
advisers believe
Washington Post Feb 21, 08 3:04 AM CST
(Newser)
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As Barack Obama continues to bask in the glow of a string of impressive primary victories, Team Clinton is pulling out the stops to capture important wins in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania. Clinton advisers have hardly given up hope. They're optimistic Hillary can accomplish the latest victory blueprint: nail pending debates against Barack, exploit the extra time to convincingly re-present her appeal to voters, and win over the super delegates they believe will ultimately determine the Democratic nomination.
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