Presidential Politics: 01/17/08

Thursday, January 17, 2008

RCP Links 1/17/07

Early Morning Update

The Perils of Identity Politics - Christopher Hitchens, Wall Street Journal
Dems Can't Ignore White Working Class - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
McCain No Longer a Maverick in S.C. - David Paul Kuhn, The Politico
Can Romney Catch On? - Jay Cost, HorseRaceBlog
Black Dreams, White Liberals - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
Rethinking Iran - Samantha Power, Time
Stopping Iran: The Case Still Stands - Norman Podhoretz, Commentary
A Political-Risk Outlook for 2008 - Ian Bremmer, RealClearPolitics

Real Clear Politics Thursday

RCP Afternoon Edition

Can John McCain Mend Fences? - David Freddoso, National Review Online
Huckabee Goes National on a Shoestring - Laura Meckler, Wall St. Journal
Obama: The Visionary Minimalist - Cass Sunstein, The New Republic
Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton? - Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe
Why I Like Fred Thompson - Alicia Colon Commentary
The Hypocrisy of Suppressing the Vote in Nevada - John Fund, WSJ
GOP Funk Slows Turnout, Money - J. VandeHei & J. Harris, The Politico
Will Dems Ever Acknowledge Progress in Iraq? - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call
Democrats Winning the Debate on Taxes & Economy - Democracy Corps
Open Letter to NY Times Readers - Daniel Finkelstein, Times of London
Latest Polls: South Carolina, Florida & New Jersey / Videos: Election '08
RCP Blog: Hillary on NV Suit | PM Line / Politics Nation: Mitt Done n/SC?

RCP Morning Edition

Clinton Pulls Race Card, Obama May Fold - Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
Misstep in a Liberal Minefield - George Will, Washington Post
Old Warrior, Go Home - Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
In Michigan, Mitt Finally Sold the Real Romney - Byron York, USA Today
Will Romney 3.0 Work Outside of Michigan? - Duffy & Tumulty, Time
South Carolina is Thompson's Turn - Quin Hillyer, The American Spectator
The Use and Abuse of Reagan - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics
Class, Not Race, Divides the Democrats - Marie Cocco, Newsday
A Democratic Field Without an Executive - David Broder, Washington Post
Clinton's 'Vetting' Attack - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Can Giuliani Get Into the Game in Florida? - Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call
Notes on the GOP Race - John Ellis, RealClearPolitics
Democrats Go Upscale in '08 - Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
The Education of Ben Bernanke - Roger Lowenstein, NY Times Magazine
What Can We Infer from $900 Gold? - Paul Hoffmeister, RealClearMarkets
School Choice Isn't Enough - Sol Stern, City Journal
The Ideology of Canada's "Liberal" Elites - David Warren, Ottawa Citizen
RCP '08 Charts: Democratic Nomination | Republican Nomination
RCP Blog: SC Track: Steady as She Goes / Politics Nation: Vegas Time

Editorials

The War in Afghanistan - Washington Post
Republicans' 2008 Senate Prospects Look Dismal - Washington Times
A Political Fight Coming on Trade - The Hill
The New York Times' Killer-Vet Lie - New York Post

Political News & Analysis

Clinton Accuses Obama of $1 Trillion Tax Increase - Associated Press
Candidates Flood State in Dash to the Wire - The State
In South Carolina, the Campaign Mud Arrived Before Santa - NYT
GOP Funk Slows Turnout, Money - Politico

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The story on the McCain side from Michigan

This is from a campaign volunteer for the McCain campaign who spent 2 months in Iowa working to bring out caucus-goers in support of the senator. Owen recently sent pictures and material from his blog from Michigan: (I love the picture of the FOX station-wagon, as John Stewart put it recently).

I went with the advance team this morning to set up for one of McCain's four events today. "Advance" are people who set up an event hours before the principal ever takes the stage. They're in charge of set design, sound, placement of people, preparation of note cards (VIPs, elected officials, and others who need to be thanked), press area, registration, coat check, and myriad other details that need to be in order for an event to run smoothly.

Hanging the McCain Sign

Today's event is at Hope College, a campus with 3,000 students in Holland Michigan.

Officially, the event is sponsored by the College Republicans, who have publicized all over campus and the city. We were expecting around 300 people, but the event hasn't even started yet, and we're already at standing room only, starting to run into the hall, and there's still a line outside in the snow of people waiting to get in.