Kerwin Swint's Blog, page 2
June 27, 2012
Endangered Species
U.S. Rep. John Barrow, from GA’s 12th congressional district, is a vanishing breed: the lone remaining white Democratic congressman from the deep south, according to Politico.
He has walked a tightrope for several years now – still a Democrat, but a conservative one on many issues, with an independent streak. It worked for him in 2010 when he was last reelected. But that was before redistricting. He now sits in a district tailor-made to elect a Republican.
Can he survive again? If so, he shou...
June 17, 2012
Talk About Being On The Wrong Side Of History…
I’m sorry to say that my home state of Georgia ranks near the bottom of the country when it comes to ethics laws. But it ranks near the top in lobbyist influence.
A report by the Center for Public Integrity ranked Georgia dead last in the country on a set of 330 “corruption risk indicators” including open records law, campaign finance rules, and auditing and budgeting procedures. Georgia received an overall grade of 49 out of 100, an F, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
So, as on...
June 13, 2012
It All Comes Down to Virginia
Mitt Romney will win North Carolina. In my analysis, NC is no longer a swing state. It is also increasingly likely that Romney will carry Florida and Ohio. Missouri and Indiana are also good bets, and Romney will be very competitive in Colorado and Iowa.
But the crucial state is the Old Dominion. The truth is, Romney could carry most of the “swing states” including FL, OH, NC, IA, MO, and CO, but still lose the election if Obama holds onto Virginia. That scenario breaks down to 271 electoral...
June 3, 2012
Kasim Reed: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times
Watching Kasim Reed on Sunday’s Meet The Press had to lift the spirits of President Obama’s reelection team, at least a little. Reed played the role of partisan attack dog infinitely better than his friend, Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker did on the same program last week. Booker, now infamously, questioned the President’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s leadership of Bain Capitol. But when his turn came Sunday, Kasim Reed squared his shoulders and lacerated Mitt Romney the way a campaign surrogate is...
May 15, 2012
The President’s Spring Offensive
The race is on to define Mitt Romney. President Obama’s vulnerabilities as an incumbent this year foreshadow a nasty, mudslinging campaign this fall, from both candidates. The president, his advisers no doubt believe, must define Romney now before independents come to think of him as a preferable alternative. And the Romney team, facing a personally well-liked incumbent in the White House, will have to tear down his tenure in office.
The Obama campaign [not to mention assorted super pacs] wil...
May 9, 2012
Obama: Don’t Call Me An Incumbent
Can President Obama survive the anti-incumbent wave that has taken out several European governments over the last year, led to the defeat of French President Sarkozy, punished German Chancellor Merkel’s party in regional elections, and most recently the loss of the U.S. Senate’s most credible voice on foreign policy Richard Lugar?
Economic anxiety is generally bad for incumbents, and the Obama team is working hard to make the case that a Romney presidency would make things worse. And certainl...
May 2, 2012
Obama Doing His Best Nixon
Richard Nixon isn’t exactly a president to admire or emulate. But Nixon’s choreographed trips to China and Russia during the reelection campaign of 1972 are the stuff of political campaign legend. They showcased him as a world leader and reinforced his campaign strategy.
President Obama’s campaign advisers have read the history books, they’ve seen the old footage of Nixon touring the Great Wall of China. And they’re good students. The President’s trip to Afghanistan was pure political theater...
April 26, 2012
Future Newt
A topic of a lot of conversation today is Newt Gingrich’s future. Yes, he waited too late to drop out of the presidential race – way after he was a relevant candidate with a shot at winning. But he always marches to his own tune, even if that tune is scratchy and off-key, which it sometime is.
I for one marveled at his belief that he could actually win the GOP nomination – someone with his baggage, his history of imperial overreach, and sometimes cloudy judgment. You have to hand it to him tho...
April 12, 2012
Why Romney Shouldn’t Pick Rubio
We’re already deep into the silly season of a presidential election year called “the veepstakes.” It’s a parlor game all the politicos and journalists play that aims to guess at who a presidential nominee, in this case Mitt Romney, will pick as his running mate.
Contrary to all the attention it receives, the selection of a running mate usually isn’t a game changer. Even bad choices aren’t necessarily fatal to a candidate, witness Bush 41’s 1988 victory even after choosing the historically ine...
Why Romney Shouldn't Pick Rubio
We're already deep into the silly season of a presidential election year called "the veepstakes." It's a parlor game all the politicos and journalists play that aims to guess at who a presidential nominee, in this case Mitt Romney, will pick as his running mate.
Contrary to all the attention it receives, the selection of a running mate usually isn't a game changer. Even bad choices aren't necessarily fatal to a candidate, witness Bush 41's 1988 victory even after choosing the historically...
