… There hasn’t been a lot of recent polling on the public perception of the Iraq War, but there has been some. And that polling suggests that — especially in a Republican primary election — the war is not the toxic topic that it was in 2008. CONT. Philip Bump, […] Read more »
Republicans 2016: What to Do With the Donald?
Whatever you think of him, Donald Trump is a stick of dynamite thrown into the presidential pond. All the boats have been rocked, and given Trump’s potential for more explosiveness, the political waters show little sign of settling down anytime soon. Donald Trump is so special that we’ve created a […] Read more »
It’s not just Trump: Voter anger fuels outsider candidates
This has become the summer of the political outsider, as a cast of interlopers upend and dominate the presidential nominating process in both parties. The surging candidacies of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are fueled by people’s anger with the status quo and desire for authenticity in political leaders. Across […] Read more »
Is the Trump balloon about to burst?
At least until this weekend, Donald Trump has kept defying all expectations. The political experts (myself included) were predicting that he would fizzle as a candidate soon and were viewing Trump 2016 a political fad, a fringe candidate who has captured the attention of reporters. … What happened? Why has […] Read more »
As campaign heats up, Republican candidates are rushing to the right
… On social issues ranging from abortion to same-sex marriage, much of the Republican field has now taken positions that are at odds with mainstream American opinion. For example, 3 out of 4 Americans say a woman should be able to obtain a legal abortion if she becomes pregnant as […] Read more »
Drama and Comedy in the Race for the White House
In their first prime-time debate last night, ten candidates for next year’s Republican presidential nomination were pummeled with challenging questions. One columnist called it less a debate than an interrogation. The result was both entertainment and substance, displaying agreement on some familiar issues but revealing divisions on others. CONT. To […] Read more »