New Hampshire independents hold the keys to victory-Jessica N.

Summary: In New Hampshire, the undeclared voters hold most of the power in an election. Instead of choosing a candidate based on party affiliations, these independents choose a candidate on their personality. One plus side of being an undeclared voter in New Hampshire is that they can vote in either party’s primary. The undeclared makes up 45% of the 830,000 registered voters of New Hampshire. When asked why he does not declare himself as republican or democrat, he explains that he does not like being told what to do. Most residents agree, and register as undeclared because they consider themselves “independent-minded people”.
Impact on 2008 Election: Instead of playing the republican or democrat card while campaigning, candidates now have to sell their individual ideas instead of their parties. Because a large percent of voters in New Hampshire are registered as independent, the candidates must work harder to sell themselves and what they really want to get across. There can be no bluffing or generalizations if a candidate wants to win, especially in a state as important as New Hampshire.
Focus Question: Do you feel it is smarter for a candidate who is more dependent on his or her party ideals to creat something to tell voters that may not be something they will carry out, or should they simply be less noticeable in a state such as New Hampshire?

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/24383.html

Edwards 36 hour bus tour – Steve P.

Summary: With the N.H. primary comming near and most of the candidates done with their campaigning John Edwards is hard at work on a 36 hour bus tour, his second in the last month.  With this non-stop tour Edwards hopes to gain similar results in the Granite state as he had in Iowa, hoping on comming in second or a strong third. While Edwards doesnt feel that he needs to win N.H. to get the nomination, he is still focused on having a positive showing so that he can come in strong on super tuesday and in South Carolina. Edwards still feels very strong about his chances on super tuesday and is working around the clock so that he can still look viable when that day comes.

Response: With this 36 hour bus tour Edwards seems to be putting alot of work into second place. From the video interview with one of the Edwards’ capaign senior advisor Leo whatshisname it doesn’t seem like Edwards has any intention of winning in the Granite state. I cant help but feel that if Edwards is going to spend all of this energy in a last ditch attempt to get second place he might be cutting himself short. At the same time however second place is a key move for the southern Democrat. Right now Edwards is riding on his very low margin victory over Clinton in Iowa and if Edwards comes into South Carolina with a second place victory in N.H. aswell, he will look like a much more powerful candidate. Still going out for second place dosnt sit well with me, its going to be essential that Edwards comes in with a victory (a first place victory) in  South carolina to have a chance at taking Super Tuesday.

Question: Is John Edwards spending too much energy on second place? if the guys gotta do this for second, whats he gotta do for first?

Is Giuliani Waiting Too Long? – Rob O.

Summary: The once front runner for the Republican party Rudy Giuliani is now in a bit of a bind. After coming in sixth in the Iowa caucus, his chance at winning the New Hampsire primary may turn out in a similar fashion. After spending 40 days in-state Giuliani is now putting a halt on spending on his campaign in New Hampshire seemingly saving his funds for later contests, by doing so he is taking a huge risk. With Huckabee’s win in Iowa and McCain’s resurgence in the election have pushed Giuliani away from the lime light of the Republican party.

Impact on the 2008 election: Once a viable candidate for the republican nomination it seems that Giuliani has put him self out of the running for the presidential nomination. By not dedicating any resources into these early primaries Giuliani has lost the momentum that he had before the primaries. Instead McCain and Huckabee have taken his place, Giuliani had been the Republican answer to Obama who was able to attract independent voters, without a candidate such as this the Republican party may have given the Democratic nominee a slight advantage when it comes time for the nation presidential election.

Question: Why is it that Giuliani seems to be forgetting about these early primary elections?

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1700738,00.html?cnn=yes

Sex Is Still An Issue – Will H.

Summary: Today, during a campaign even in Salem, Oregon, sexism reared its ugly head one more time. She delivered her centerpiece line, “Everybody in this race is talking about change. But what does that mean?” What we can safely assume to be an ignorant man responded to this statement by waving a yellow sign and yelling three powerful words.

 ”Iron My Shirt”

Mrs. Clinton politely asked for the lights to be turned on and two men were abruptly removed. Once the crowd had settled down after this horrible act, Hillary responded with, “As I think has just been abundantly demonstrated, I am also running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling.” Before she had even finished her statement the crowd had erupted in cheer.

Impact on 2008 Election: While this occurrence has little affect on the 2008 election, it certainly raises a point that has become somewhat forgotten: prejudice. This is one of the few times in American history that we may have a president that is black or female.  By the beginning of the primaries, race and gender had taken a backseat role. Instead, the real things were what a candidate was being judeged on. These were their stance on issues and their plans. Speaking for myself, I started hearing less and less about Obama’s race and more and more about his stances. Now however, this event shows me that prejudice in this country is still going strong. Acts like these make me disgusted and show the true color of people.

Focus Question: Do race and gender still play as big of a role as they did in fall and winter of 2007, or has the race for the White House been more about a candidate’s platform? 

Do you think it’s feasible for a person of color or a female to run for presidency without their appearance being brought into play in the near future? Or do you think that it will take many elections with female and minority candidates for the human race to accept all individuals for who they are, not what they look like?

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/iron-my-shirt/

Huckabee’s New Face For New Hampshire- Andrew L.

Summary: After winning Iowa using his large support from Evangelical Christians Mike Huckabee must retool his conservative message for New Hampshire. During his speeches and television ads in Iowa he portrayed himself as a strong moral Christian leader, but in NH all references or allusions to his position on abortion, gay marriage or talk of “activist judges” was gone. This was done in an effort to portray himself as more of a mainstream candidate with a strong fiscally conservative message rather than a social conservative message. Along with all the other candidates, republican and democrat, he mentioned change and standing up to Washington and not giving in to big businesses. This was done because “surveys have shown that GOP voters here tend not to be weekly churchgoers, and conservatives here are more concerned with fiscal issues than social ones.”

              
Response: This bothers me in many ways and it’s not because Huckabee is a Christian conservative who garners support from evangelicals, but it’s because he isn’t properly displaying his views. By changing his tone or his message on the importance of religion in his political decisions he is misleading voters. A campaign should show voters how you would govern during the presidency and switching the primary focus of your campaign to sway more evangelical Christians in one state or moderate progressives in another is entirely wrong. I’m not saying it is just Huckabee or Republicans, it is everyone. Honestly I think the media needs to stress this idea more and start to crack down on candidates who keep switching what they stand for.

Question: Why do you think the candidates switch there message from state to state, how could this be helpful or detrimental to their campaign?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/06/politics/main3679922.shtml

Fineman:The Huckabee Problem-Nick M

Summary: Howard Fineman of Newsweek begins to analyze Mike Huckabee’s roots as a Baptist minister and in doing so realizes the magnitude of the Evangelical vote in America in this article. He starts by telling of Huckabees image as a “Christian Leader,” he is an ordained Baptist minister but no one can ever find videos of his sermons of services. Huckabee also tries to focus on the more secular aspect of himself when in the national spotlight. Fineman cites a conversation with the candidate, “he’d rather talk about the guitar his folks bought him at JCPenney, or about the bravery of the Founding Fathers, or about his long (and in many ways impressive) track record as governor of Arkansas.” Fineman also writes that the thought of Huckabee in the White House scares some of Washington’s secular conservatives. He says that people may not be able to handle a candidate who advocates a 23% sales tax, rejects the science of evolution or has difficulty locating Pakistan. It is Huckabee’s stance on many secular issues that may hinder his support from Washington. Fineman concludes with an overview of the Evangelical base that was over one-third of President Bush’s reelection vote in 2004. It is the largest voting block in the nation and could prove to be a huge asset for Mike Huckabee later in the year.

Impact on the 2008 election: Every candidate has a long history before his/her conquest to become President. Mike Huckabee’s past is the only one out of the major candidates that religion is directly tied into it. The fact that Huckabee is an ordained minister and had used the phrase, “taking this nation back for Christ” at a Baptist convention years ago to fire up supporters could help and hinder his chances for the White House. There is no doubt that he is the leading candidate for the Evangelical vote, but the main factor that every candidate needs to unite his/her party could be blurred a bit if his image continues as the candidate for Evangelicals only. In order for Mike Huckabee to gain serious momentum and a better chance of winning the nomination, (and definitely the general election in November) he may have to abandon some of his religious leanings. The only question is could this lead to him also abandoning his roots?

Focus Question: Now that Mike Huckabee is under the national spotlight continuously, could his past and present religious views end up helping or hurting him in regards to winning the Republican nomination?

Article: <a href=”http://www.newsweek.com/id/84583″></a>

Obama, McCain play ‘uniter’ card in New Hampshire-Kevin O.

Summary: With the New Hampshire primaries coming up, both Barack Obama and John McCain, the two front-runners in the race, are using a strategy that hasn’t been seen before. Both candidates are calling themselves “uniters” that want to appeal to not only their own party and the independents, but also to the opposing party. President Bush called himself a “uniter not a divider” when he was running for office, but he wanted to unite the republicans and attack the democrats, in the 2008 election, this is not the case. Recent polls in the Granite state show that both Obama and McCain have favorable opinions in the opposing party. Recently though, independent voters in New Hampshire are leaning more to the Democratic side, the same independents that helped McCain win the Republican primary in 2000. On Sunday while speaking in Salem, New Hampshire, McCain showed that he was different from Obama in that his experience in foreign policy would draw the independents back to him. Impact on the 2008 Election: With Obama’s suprise victory in Iowa and McCain leading the polls in New Hampshire, this “uniter” strategy will help them sway the independent voters toward their cause. Not only will either candidate draw the independent voters to themselves, but they also might draw support from the opposing party. There is no doubt that the New Hampshire primary will be a heated battle in for both parties. Question: Seeing that this “uniter” card is working for both Obama and McCain, why won’t other candidates use this same strategy?

Obama Talks With Sawyer About Campaigning and Family- Mike S.

Summary- Barack Obama has been under attack lately by Hilary Clinton as she falls behind in the polls. “Sort of depressing lately” is the words used by Obama to describe her tactics. Today Obama pushed into a “double digit” lead over Hilary Clinton in New Hampshire primary. Clinton has attacked Obama saying that he is not the “agent for change” and that he voted for funding of the war in Iraq. Obama has explained that his views have changed and that was back in 2002 right after September 11. Hilary has said that she has been scrutinized more then Obama and that he has to learn to take it. He goes on to describe his experience on the campaign trail with his family.

Reaction- I feel that Hilary is feeling desperate. It looked to her before the Iowa cacus that she was going to with the Democratic nomination hands down, but she was wrong. I feel like this is a last attempt to gain back support and doing it by putting down Obama. I feel that this isn’t going to help her one bit.

I also feel that her telling the world the amount of scrutiny she has been put under in the past year compared to everyone else is not the way to go about it. It is almost like she can’t take back what she likes to dish  out for lack of a better explanation.  I feel that Obama will take New Hampshire and keep pushing ahead in the polls.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=4096174&page=1

Clinton Talks About Strains of Campaign – LisaG.

Summary: According to reporters, Hilary Clinton was not doing too well when she spoke out to the public on Monday, January 7th in New Hampshire about why she feels she is the best Democratic candidate in the presidential race. In the eyes of the people, many think that Clinton is focusing too much on policy and want to see more of her human side. Questions were asked concerning Clinton’s verge of tears and if they were staged considering that Clinton is in a tough fight against Senator Barack Obama. Obama chose not to comment on Hilary’s breakdown and did not answer whether Clinton should drop out of the race or not. Not helping Clinton, Democrats Barack Obama and John Edwards have been continuously putting up a tough fight throughout this process. Through Clinton’s uneasy day, she emphasized that she has many idea’s for the future and that our children’s futures are very important.

Impact on the 2008 Presidential Election: Considering that Hilary is in a very tough position and Obama seems to be the stronger Democratic candidate, Hilary’s breakdown can hurt her even more as time goes on. Many people are looking for a candidate that will be strong and keep a positive outlook in many situations they are faced with. Since Hilary was on the verge of tears, Americans may view her as someone that cannot handle even the thoughest situations.

Question: In the past, since Hilary has rarely showed her sensative side, do you feel that Hilary’s breakdown on Monday will hurt her in the future or do you think Americans will be able to relate to her better as a candidate?

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/us/politics/07cnd-campaign.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Poll: Obama, McCain leap ahead in N.H. – Ali V.

Summary: According to a poll conducted by USA Today/Gallup Poll from January 4 through January 6, it is predicted that Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain will come out victorious in New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday. It is evident that the results of the Iowa caucus have further swayed Democratic voters in favor of Obama, since Hillary Clinton had appeared to be the favorite prior to Iowa. Also, these polls highlight the influence of religion among Republican voters in that they have concluded Huckabee to be the least electable Republican candidate in New Hampshire, a less conservative state, whereas he was the candidate of choice in Iowa, a conservative Christian state.

Reflection: Each primary and poll conducted during this time will influence following primaries, and the overall national election. These are crucial times in which voters are making their final decisions on which candidate they wish to support in the election. It is clear that winners of caucuses and primaries influence who people will later support, and so this poll conducted for the N.H. primary influences voters and helps to predict who will ultimately be the next president.

Question: In comparing the results of this poll with that of the Iowa caucus, it seems that Obama is the steady leading Democratic candidate, while there are extreme differences in opinions of the Republican candidates. Based on the results of the Iowa caucus and of this poll, which Republican candidate do you think will ultimately be nominated by the Republican Party as their candidate for president?

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-06-poll-newhampshire_N.htm