Uncategorized
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Busted Brand
Fundamental to the marketing of any brand is the establishment of trust: A brand builds trust when promises are met and destroys that trust when promises are broken. It’s a fact of life in retail and true in the world of retail politics. Barack Obama has been busy trying to improve the Democratic Party brand.…
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NFL Shorthand
The start of the NFL season brings thousands of previews. This isn’t unusual, but no league is easier to forecast at the top nor harder to forecast in the middle and bottom. Here’s a very concise look at the NFL. New England is the best team. Indianapolis is second and those two are followed by…
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Bye-Bye, Boomers
In a moment of unusual candor for a political professional, John McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis admitted earlier this week, “This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.” Cynical as the sentiment may sound, he may well be right. Now that the…
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(Still) Down in New Orleans
New Orleans marked the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by getting ready for yet another deadly storm, evoking memories of the deadly combination of wind, water and government negligence that devastated one of America’s great cities three years ago. Even before Hurricane Gustav came roaring in this week, there was ample evidence that the city…
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For the Bible Tells Me So…
“Let he who is without sin be the one to throw the first stone….” John 8:7 Imagine the fun that right-wing, fundamentalist Christians and their henchmen bloggers would have if 17-year-old mother-to-be Bristol Palin were black. It’s not hard. Visit any news Web site and read the comments that flow from the mention of teen…
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White Women Will Decide
Sen. McCain’s vice presidential pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has injected some much-needed energy into the Republican campaign. The risky but potentially game-changing selection provides a choice to the white and Hispanic female swing voters who may be decisive in this year’s election. Will they make Sen. Barack Obama the first black president? Or…
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Pit Bull Palin
She wasn’t Hillary Clinton. Sarah Palin did many of the things she needed to do last night. She established herself as a politician with gumption, a candidate who would not shy away from battle, a conservative who would carry her small-town ideals to the corridors of Washington. She billed herself as an advocate: for special-needs…
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From Piyush to Bobby
The story of Piyush “Bobby” Jindal reads like an assimilation fairytale: A son of immigrants rises through the ranks to become the first Indian-American governor at 36, overcoming racial boundaries in his home state of Louisiana. As Hurricane Gustav threatened his state, Jindal took center stage to preside over what was shaping up to be…
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Must-See TV
Sen. John McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate is like The Jerry Springer Show at its smarmiest. Her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. The state legislature is investigating her for firing a state official who refused to dismiss Palin’s ex-brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper after…
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Obama and the Suicidal Left
During the Democratic National Convention in Denver, I sat on a panel about hip-hop and politics with a number of well-read and highly regarded thinkers in the black community. At one point a fellow panelist commented that it was impossible to criticize Barack without being considered a sellout. That statement inspired a thread of commentary…