Presidency
Smart Politics Projections: The Presidency
Through the morning of November 4th, Smart Politics is running a series of electoral projections for national and Upper Midwestern federal and state governmental contests. The twelfth set of projections in the series is for the Presidency. Smart Politics Projections:…
Read MoreCommentary: Why Picking Sarah Palin Was Smart Politics
When I walked into the post office on University Avenue in Minneapolis yesterday, two friendly clerks with whom I’ll occasionally discuss politics exclaimed to me, “You were right!�? Well, not quite. For about two months it is true that I…
Read MoreWe Are Not Traitors: Obama Scores Biggest Applause With Right-Wing Rhetoric
Barack Obama’s speech accepting the Democratic Party nomination was largely well-received and accomplished several things he was perceived to need to do: · Acknowledge Hillary (and Bill) Clinton’s efforts to rally her supporters to his side. · Provide some specifics…
Read MoreObama-Biden: Familiar Bedfellows…Though You’d Never Know It
Most of the weekend’s media coverage of Barack Obama’s pick of Joe Biden to be his vice-presidential running mate focused on two competing, though related, angles: First, that Biden was a good choice because he will shore up Obama’s…
Read MoreSmart Politics on WCCO-TV’s “Good Question”
Smart Politics’ Eric Ostermeier was interviewed by Jason DeRusha on WCCO-TV’s “Good Question” segment during Tuesday night’s 10 o’clock telecast. DeRusha’s Good Question tonight was, “Does the Vice President Pick Matter” Ostermeier explained why a VP pick is not a…
Read MoreThe Decline of a President: Tracing Bush’s Approval Ratings in the Upper Midwest
Despite rising national unemployment rates, high gas prices, and overall economic uncertainty, George W. Bush remains basically no less popular among Upper Midwesterners in 2008 than he was in 2007. A Smart Politics study of nearly 180 public opinion polls…
Read MoreThe Upper Midwestern Voting Bloc in Presidential Elections
Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have been (correctly) labeled as key battleground states in recent presidential elections. With the exception of George W. Bush’s narrow victory in the Hawkeye State in 2004, the three states have voted as a bloc dating…
Read MoreBush Approval Rating Hits All-Time Low in Minnesota
Buried beneath the new horserace numbers coming from the Quinnipiac poll released today of 1,572 likely Minnesota voters is even more sobering news for President George W. Bush (and, perhaps, John McCain) as he finishes his second term: Bush’s approval…
Read MorePresidential Politics in Wisconsin: A Historical Overview
Since Wisconsinites cast their first presidential ballots in 1848, approximately 900,000 more votes have been cast for Republican presidential nominees than Democrats, out of more than 43.2 million votes cast across 40 presidential elections. Wisconsin has been on the winning…
Read MoreWhat Are the Odds of a Third Straight Republican Term in the White House?
Opponents of Republican presidential nominee John McCain have been trying to derail his campaign by tying him to the hugely unpopular George W. Bush. Bush’s approval numbers are still trickling downwards—now in the high 20s to low 30s in most…
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