Dick Morris from Creators Syndicate

A Tale of Two Debates for 09/29/2008

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There were two debates last night: the first half on the economy and the second half on foreign policy. Obama won the first half, and McCain won the second. But it was not a draw. The economy is the most important issue, and a great many people watched only the first half of the debate. Unlike a horse race, it is the opening, not the finish, that is the most important.

Barack Obama enter ...

Updated: Mon Sep 29, 2008

There Is Still Time, John McCain for 10/01/2008

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Trailing six points in Rasmussen's poll, having fallen four points since he suspended his campaign last week, the question for John McCain is: Haven't you learned anything?

His failure to do much of anything in Washington, after teasing the whole country and riveting their attention on him by suspending his campaign, has let the voters down — and they are turning away from McCain.< ...

Updated: Wed Oct 01, 2008

Palin Wins Big With a Reagan-Like Flair for 10/04/2008

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Last night was a big, big win for Sarah Palin.

She showed originality, charisma and sass — a style that is refreshing and different in our politics. She didn't just win the vice-presidential debate, she showed that she belongs with Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as among the best communicators of our modern political times.

Her sallies against big government were brilliantly ...

Updated: Sat Oct 04, 2008

The Obama-Ayers Connection for 10/08/2008

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In the best tradition of Bill Clinton's famous declaration that the answer to the question of whether or not he was having an affair with Monica depended on "what the definition of is is," Obama was clearly splitting hairs and concealing the truth when he said that William Ayers was "just a guy who lives in my neighborhood."

The records of the administration of the Ch ...

Updated: Wed Oct 08, 2008

Gallup Polls and the Dow Average -- McCain's Problem for 10/13/2008

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

For McCain to win this election (which he still can), the furor over the stock market will have to calm down so that popular attention can focus on Barack Obama. For all of the deluge of media that has engulfed the American people, they can only keep one subject on their mind. All media have only one focus at a time. And, if you are in the spotlight, you are almost certain to self-destruct.

...

Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008

The Nuts at ACORN Could Cause Obama Fall for 10/15/2008

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As Obama lengthens his lead, the Republicans are praying that the election becomes close enough for the Democrats to steal. But, meanwhile, ACORN, the radical community group, is becoming an embarrassment for Obama. It is not as if its shenanigans are likely to tip the result, with the Democrats so far ahead, but as they are raided by the FBI in state after state (11 so far) they are becoming i ...

Updated: Wed Oct 15, 2008

Obama Shows His Cool, but McCain Draws Blood on Taxes for 10/17/2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The short-term impact of the third debate will be to help Barack Obama. But the long-term implications may give McCain a needed boost. Obama looked good, but McCain opened the tax-and-spend issue in a way that might prevail.

Obama took the worst that McCain could hand out and came out looking good. McCain was the more aggressive debater, but Obama looked like the better president. The co ...

Updated: Fri Oct 17, 2008

Joe the Plumber Paves Way for Tax Offensive for 10/20/2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The most important political contribution of Ronald Reagan to the American political dialogue was his ability to move the issue of taxes from its economic populist cast into a populist, blue-collar issue. But under Bush, the issue switched back to one of class warfare, as an increasing number of Americans paid no taxes at all and the rates on those who did pay them were lowered. Now a chance en ...

Updated: Mon Oct 20, 2008

The Populist War: Economic vs. Social for 10/22/2008

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As the election enters its last two weeks, social populism wars with economic populism to become the major outlet for American anger, angst, and to satisfy its demand for change. In his book “The Populist Persuasion,” Michael Kazin articulates the difference between these two types of populism: economic and social.

Economic populism, the staple of the Democratic left, villainizes Wall St ...

Updated: Wed Oct 22, 2008

What McCain has to do to Win for 10/27/2008

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The most reliable surveys put McCain five to seven points behind Obama as we enter the last week of this interminable campaign. In a race that will be famous for years afterward for its volatility, it is not too late for the Republican to pull out a victory.

It's happened three times in the past 30 years that a presidential race shifted dramatically in the final week.

In 1980, Rea ...

Updated: Mon Oct 27, 2008

McCain Gains In All Three Tracking Polls for 10/29/2008

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Zogby, Rasmussen and Gallup all report McCain closing to 5 points back. Zogby had him 12 back, Rasmussen 8 and Gallup 6 in their previous polling. McCain's use of the Joe the Plumber and the tax issue in his ads is working.

Unilaterally, McCain agreed to disarm himself by refusing to use perhaps his most potent weapon in exposing Barack Obama: the Democrats' relationship with the Rev. Je ...

Updated: Wed Oct 29, 2008

McCain Surges Among Young Voters for 11/01/2008

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A massive shift in younger and older voters is roiling the presidential race according to new data from the Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll concluded Oct. 28-29. Younger voters — under 45 — once Obama's base, now are evenly divided between the two candidates. But voters over 65 have shifted sharply to the Democrat in the past week.

Voters under 45 supported Obama by 52-38 in t ...

Updated: Sat Nov 01, 2008

President Obama: A Trustee in Bankruptcy for 11/05/2008

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

While the Democrats and Barack Obama have won the presidential election and come close to a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, they will be handicapped by the financial condition of the nation they will inherit. Think of a trustee or conservator of a bankrupt company. Obama will find his options substantially constrained by reality, if not by the partisan animosity of the Republicans.

...

Updated: Wed Nov 05, 2008

An Election the Republicans Needed to Lose for 11/06/2008

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

If ever there was an election that was not worth winning, it was the contest of 2008. While it was hard-fought on both sides, had John McCain won, it might have spelled the end of the Republican Party. As it is, the party is well-situated to come back in 2010 and in 2012, if it learns the lessons of this year.

Simply put, all hell is about to break loose in the markets and the economy. T ...

Updated: Thu Nov 06, 2008

Obama's 'Change': Back to the Democratic Washington Insiders for 11/10/2008

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

What's with Obama's choice of old-time Clinton cronies and recycled Washington insiders to run the transition to his new politics of change?

Can't the anti-Washington-insiders president-elect find anyone who isn't a Beltway has-been?

Judging by the appointments to his transition committee and leaks about possible top staff and Cabinet choices, Obama appears to be practicing the po ...

Updated: Mon Nov 10, 2008

Sarah Palin Saved GOP From Landslide Defeat for 11/12/2008

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

As Richard Nixon wrote, "History is written by liberals." But the story of the 2008 campaign is too important to cede the analysis of what happened to them. A close analysis of the returns indicates several key realities:

— Sarah Palin made a vast difference in John McCain's favor. Compared to 2004, McCain lost 11 points among white men according to the Fox News exit poll ...

Updated: Wed Nov 12, 2008

Hillary for Secretary of State -- Is Obama Kidding? for 11/15/2008

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Hopefully, it's just a rumor started by the Clintonistas, but is Barack Obama seriously considering appointing Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state? If he pulls the trigger on that appointment, he will deserve what he gets.

Obama would do well to remember the history of Harry Truman and Jimmy Byrnes in 1944. Byrnes, known as the "assistant president" in FDR's third term, w ...

Updated: Sat Nov 15, 2008

Hillary Appointment: The Audacity of Broken Promises for 11/19/2008

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

If Barack Obama appoints Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state, it will send a cynical message to his supporters: Change is something they can still only hope for. Because if Obama relies on this unqualified Washington insider to fill one of the most important positions in his 'outsider' administration, it will represent neither change nor hope, just more of the same.

Instead of &quo ...

Updated: Wed Nov 19, 2008

What Hath Obama Wrought? for 11/24/2008

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

It still is hard to believe but, if Hillary's "confidantes" are to be trusted, Obama is about to appoint her secretary of state and she is about to accept.

This appointment represents the capstone of betrayal of Obama's promise to be the "change we can believe in." Having upended the Democratic Party, largely over his different views of foreign policy and the war in I ...

Updated: Mon Nov 24, 2008

What Is Happening With the Economy? for 11/26/2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

The subprime mortgage crisis is only the Sarajevo that caused the financial collapse. The real reason is the massive explosion of debt at all levels and in all forms that has engulfed the world.

Since 1992, the total debt in the world has gone from a level equal to global gross domestic product to a level that is now 3.7 times as much as global GDP. This debt explosion, explained in Char ...

Updated: Wed Nov 26, 2008