Ken shares his thoughts on political news and history in his blog.
It was late at night, the end of the 2004 Republican national convention, the last one ever for President George W. Bush. People were filing out of Madison Square Garden when a group of delegates began chanting: “We want Jeb! We want Jeb!” There were still two months to go before the contest against Democratic …
Read moreWeighing The Pluses And Minuses Of A Jeb Bush Candidacy
Edwin Edwards probably put it best. “The only way I can lose this election,” he famously once said, “is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.” That, in a nutshell, describes the tolerance for scandal in Louisiana. Or at least the understanding of it. Edwards, a former congressman …
Read moreIs There Such A Thing As A Sex Scandal In Louisiana? Freshman Rep. McAllister Will Find Out
And then there were two. The votes have been tallied, and our Political Junkie March Madness tournament has been whittled down to a Battle of the Pauls. Senator Rand Paul and Congressman Paul Ryan are the two candidates left in our grand challenge to predict who the Republican Party’s 2016 nominee will be. Now it’s …
Read moreWho Will Be The Champion? PJ March Madness’ Final Round Begins!
A week ago, there were 32. Now we’re already down to our Final Four in the Political Junkie March Madness tournament! We are already halfway through our Semifinal round, and it’s time for you cast your votes to determine the competitors in next week’s final face-off! Take a look at our Semifinals bracket below, and …
Let’s make it clear from the outset: not many people have gone directly from Mayor to President. I think the actual number is zero. Not that there haven’t been those who tried. Think Democrats Sam Yorty of Los Angeles and John Lindsay of New York in 1972. And there was Larry Agran, the mayor of …
We’ve completed our first two rounds of competition during this year’s Political Junkie March Madness tournament! The votes and the predictions are in, and now we’re headed to the Quarterfinals! We received 133 votes during the three days of our Round of 16, and we had a few more interesting upsets. But now we’re getting …
We asked you to cast your votes, and you did! With 124 ballots cast over three days, half of the 32 challengers in our GOP March Madness bracket pool have been sent back home. But we still have four more rounds in our tournament, and now it’s time for you to determine who our Elite …
Read morePolitical Junkie March Madness Goes to the Sweet 16
Five years ago, we asked you, our wonderful Political Junkie fans, to participate in a great celebration of democracy and timely sports metaphors. Our first Political Junkie March Madness pool in 2009 gave you the chance to predict the GOP’s nominee for 2012. Well, we are excited to announce that Political Junkie March Madness has …
The identities of several more of those “C” unknown campaign buttons have been ascertained (see Feb. 22 PJ). Here’s the latest: (1) Louis Collins, a Republican, was elected lt. gov. of Minnesota in 1920. He got the “little corporal” nickname for his bravery in World War I. (2) Thomas Carmody, a Democrat, was elected …
The Russian advance into Crimea, Sen. John McCain says, “has exposed the disturbing lack of realism that has characterized our foreign policy under President Obama.” Mitt Romney says Obama’s failure to act “has diminished respect for the U.S. and made troubles worse,” that the president’s “tough talk about a red line in Syria” sent a …
Read moreWill Crimea Become A 2014 Campaign Issue? A Look Back At Earlier U.S.-Russia Crises