Battleground States '08

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Secret About Bush

Most of the media, both Left and Right are ivy league educated and well paid. In the last two years, they have almost always called the voting public wrong. This is simply because they lack very little in common with the average American.

Less than 16% of American adults have degrees and less than 1/4 have taken college courses. Many have no idea which party runs Congress, who the Vice President is, and how many branches of power govern the nation. Radio, to most, means music and the written word is found on the net. In fact, the majority of bloggers believe their opinions are the equal of any professional pundit.

Once upon a time, public opinion was created in the pulpit. That gave way to newspapers and radio. The early sixties brought t.v. news power.

And in 2004, the talk show mafia mistakenly believed that they and their pajama clad bloggers had donned the mantle of opinion maker and power broker.

Thus, it came as some surprise when NONE of the issues the Conservative media deemed important seemed to be shared by the "base" and when the candidate they personally endorsed failed to win the GOP ticket.

I have spent most of my career judging the interest and desires of the public. I could have told the Talk Show Media that there is a huge difference between getting a few hundred listeners to speed dial politicians and getting busy Americans out to vote. I could have explained that most Americans do not live in border states and those 12 million to 20 million illegals have FRIENDS and FAMILIES-citizens that DO vote and do want to see some path to citizenship for their loved ones. I could have told them what the GOP and Liberal political genius (Rove and Morris) have said over and over...20% of voters lean Conservative and 20% lean Liberal...and it is the 60% that are NEITHER that decides who becomes Chief of the greatest military the world has ever seen, who appoints judges that can save babies or find rights in the constitution that allow same sex people to marry. It is this majority, MODERATE and BUSY, that decide which party gets to fund our troops, raise or lower our taxes, and move us closer to Europe or bring us back to our own proud heritage.

And I could have told them one more thing. Something that would have shocked them beyond speech.

Most of those 60% LIKE G.W. Bush.

You see...the only time that 60% was really paying attention to politics and world affairs was the weeks after 9/11. And the one person they saw...on that mound, telling the world that they would hear from us was Bush. He was the man that kept this nation from another attack for near 8 years. You better believe that when and if any of them think of the day when Bush will no longer be at the helm, it scares them.

As far as most Americans believe, politicians always tell you what they think you want to hear--and politicians cannot be trusted. Everything parked at Bush's doorstep neither angered or shocked them.

Really.

They like him for the same reason that the media elite loathes him. Bush has more in common with them than the media. The majority of Americans claim to be church going Christians--just like G.W. Most have wives that are educated but not overly ambitious--just like Laura. Most have kids that sort of put up with their parents--just like the Bush girls. And friends and family and a history that has good and bad but not extremely.

And in the end Bush was like every other guy. Did his work to the best of his ability in sometimes the most trying of times.

Obama loves calling McCain a "third Bush term". As Romney's condemnation of McCain's illegal immigration stand may have pushed many Hispanics into voting for McCain...Obama's "condemnation" just might do the same for the 60% who participate in very little polls--

Except the one that really counts.

Monday, June 2, 2008

New Hampshire - The New England Front

New Hampshire went red in 2000 and blue in 2004. The vote totals showed that last election every single town went for Bush and every single city when for Kerry giving Senator Kerry a narrow win. New Hampshire is decidedly purple right now. A popular Democrat is governor and our Senators are Republican. New Hampshire is also a growing state and has had a significant increase in population largely from MA an obviously blue state. However, Senator McCain is beloved in New Hampshire. He did 100 town halls, and he has a fiercely loyal and hard working group of voluteers up here. With his military service and his consistent opposition to pork barrell spending he is well suited for the 'Live Free or Die' state.

I write for NH 4 McCain, and will be providing updates on the Battleground State of New Hampshire.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Pennsylvania: The Ultimate Battleground

In the 2000 presidential race, Al Gore defeated George W. Bush in Pennsylvania by 51% to 46%, a little more than 200,000 votes out of 4.75 million cast. In 2004, the race was closer, with John beating GWB by roughly 51% to 49%, with 145,000 votes separating the two candidates out of 5.7 million cast. Pennsylvania is a Blue state -- but just barely.

In 2008, John McCain is polling slightly ahead of Barack Obama. Pennsylvanians should expect to see a lot of both candidates this summer and fall as they fight for our 21 electoral votes. As you recall, Hillary Clinton won the Democrats' Primary by a hefty 9.2%. The Democrats have a big registration edge, but Obama (especially after the "bitter" comments) is not very popular among Democrats outside Philadelphia.

If John McCain wins this state -- and does the same in neighboring Ohio (another battleground state) -- he'll probably be President-elect early on the morning of Nov. 5.

I write regularly about Pennsylvania politics on: http://pennsylvaniaforjohnmccain.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008