Monthly Archives: February 2008

Archive of posts published in the specified Month

The Limits of Intelligence

Much has been said of Obama’s intelligence. Oprah said he is brilliant. While he appears an intelligent politician and a personal class act, much more is required for the office he is seeking. Kennedy was surrounded with some of the

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The Joy of Laffer

Noted economist Arthur Laffer was hosted by Fickling and Company. The architect of the Laffer Curve and supply side economics, the intellectual basis of the Reagan revolution related why he thinks the tax policy of the candidates is so critical.

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Will Obama Win the Jewish Vote?

So far Obama seems to have some solid Jewish support but I question if it will last the campaign. Jews vote at twice the rate of other ethnic groups and their numbers are concentrated in electoral rich blue states like

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But I Am a Better Candidate Despite the Votes

Hillary makes a very good point that she is carrying the big states with the most electoral votes who are most likely to vote Democrat. Many of the states Obama has carried will not likely vote Democrat. Therefore she has

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Quotes from the Road

A few recent additions to my collection of quotes: “The whole world has divided itself into conservatives and progressives. The business of the progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the conservatives is to prevent the mistakes

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My Travel Malfunction

I took my daughter to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana this weekend to look around again. At the airport the guy checking baggage verified, “You both going to Bloomington?” I was surprised because usually we flew into Indianapolis and drove

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Is Obama Peaking?

In an article in OpinionJournal by Daniel Henninger, he raises points about the sustainability of Obama’s ‘miracle’. A few points he noted: A Gallup noted 84% of Americans are satisfied with their lives. How much influence will the message of

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How to Find a Lobbyist

While the McCain Feingold bill sought to reduce influence peddling and big money control of politics, it got the problem precisely wrong. What initiates corportate lobbying is the broader array of federal regulations. Big companies try to influence regulation to

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The Flawless Mirror of Free Speech

The attempt to assassinate Danish Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard because of his cartoon depicting Muhammend with a bomb in his turban reminds us that the threat of Islamic theo-fascism is not limited to the Middel East, and simplistic “exit strategies” will

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Religion in the Political Discourse

Mitt Romney endorses McCain, practically ending any chance for Huckabee. Do you think those disparaging comments Huckabee insinuated about Romney’s Mormon faith had any influence on his decision? It pays to keep religion distant from the political discourse.

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Spitzer Doesn’t Get It

From the WSJ 2/15/08 New York finished 50th in Chief Executive Magazine’s survey of best places to do business. The Tax Foundation rated New York 48th in receptive business climate. Governor Eliot Spitzer’s response is to propose to tax internet

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Two Ironies of Modern War

Number 1. The greater the military’s ability to isolate combatants, the longer the war will last. Israel and the United States have developed incredible precision to take out enemy combatants while sparing civilian lives. This is the result of the

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A Fast Path to Citizenship

In his Boston Globe editorial, columnist Jeff Jacoby proposes a single solution to two problems: let immigrants serve in the military and gain a fast path to citizenship. He notes that one in five union soldiers in the Civil War

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Confirmation and Information

Does the rise of McCain signal the demise of right wing talk radio? Wishful thinking from the opponents of conservative radio predicts that the selection of their least favorite option shows that they have lost their influence in the Republican

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Election Outcomes

McCain Beats Hillary by a wide margin, attracting 90% of the independents and 20% of the democrats. Hillary flames out like a Howard Dean amidst fundraising scandals. McCain beats Obama by a decent but narrower margin, getting 65% of the

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Obama Steam Roller

Obama has won the last ten states and he just won DC, VA, and MD with stunning margins, nearly doubling Hillary’s vote count in every state. He won almost every minority group, even the women in some states. My opinion:

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Super Delegates

If Obama wins the committed delegates he could lose if the Super Delegates side with Hillary. The Super Delegates are unique to the Democratic party; they consist of governors and current and past party leaders like Bill Clinton and Al

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Clinton Election Transgressions

Bill Clinton sits on corporate boards and receives lucrative speaking fees all over the world, including likely from foreign nationals. The money goes into an account shared with his wife, a presidential candidate. Bill is not a candidate so he

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Rejecting Victimhood

In Barak Obama we see the rejection of the black victimization role model. Absent are appearances of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Present are articulate speeches and optimistic messages and the absence of race as a differentiating factor. Present also

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Hillary’s Money

from WSJ Political Diary Barack Obama edged closer to one of the enduring Clinton mysteries, the exact source of their sizeable personal wealth. Asked by the New York Times yesterday about news that Hillary Clinton had written her campaign a

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