CNN thrives thanks to '08 coverage

Odds are you’ve been watching more news than usual over the past several months in order to follow the daily drama and suspense involved in the unfolding of this momentous campaign. You’re not alone. An article in today’s New York Times discusses how this riveting primary season has been a major boon to CNN.

Whether watching one of the debates saved to my DVR, checking in on Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room, being mesmerized by John King’s nimble fingers manipulating the touch screen map of voting results, gazing into Anderson Cooper’s piercing blue eyes, or perusing CNN.com for election updates at work, I must confess that I have spent as much time with CNN lately as I have with many of my close friends.

Highlights from the NYT article include background about CNN’s trajectory over the past few years, including key decisions about editorial direction and programming; details about the management style of the president of the CNN news group, Jim Walton; and the status of the bitter competition between CNN and its main rival, Fox News. A spokeswoman for Fox News even attacked Walton’s reputation for keeping a low-profile by saying: “When the debates are over and CNN slides back down to MSNBC’s level, we assume Jim will return to the comfort of Time Warner’s witness protection program.” Ouch!

The Superdelegate

Just when I thought that I had finally understood most of the American political process, I came across the super-delegate today in class. Just in case there is anyone else out there who got thrown off by this, a super-delegate is a delegate that is not chosen by the primary or caucuses in each state, but is seated based on their current or former office. Most importantly, they can support any candidate for nomination. After reading this up, I am surprised that there has not been much coverage or mention on the super-delegate in the press, especially seeing as how close it is getting on the democratic front... maybe someone can help shed some light on this? 

Jayz - Simmons - Obama

http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/jay-z-russell-simmons-endorse-obama-mos-def-responds

Please view this link. I am wondering if the world of hip hop affects candidates in a positive or negative light. Positive aspects to me include things such as

image
celebrities create trends
geared toward youth
embraces african americans

Some of the negatives:

The lyrics in many hip hop songs support violence, drinking, drugs, etc..
Reflects the candidates image as being associated with supporting things such as violence


I think that the positives aspects outweigh the cons in todays society. However, I feel that some will detract from supporting Obama because of soem of the things that hip hop represents. It poses an interesting subject.

Angie Harmon / Republicans in Hollywood Party

here's the Angie Harmon quote:

Add Angie Harmon to the list of celebrities publicly supporting their favorite presidential hopefuls.

Her pick? Republican John McCain.

"There are a lot more people in L.A. voting for McCain than you think,” Harmon said in the newest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “We have an underground Republican Party!”

Picking Off Swing Voters

One of the more interesting topics that I have read a few articles about in the past few weeks is the projected match-ups between McCain and Obama or McCain and Clinton. A couple of weeks ago, initial polls seemed to indicate that Obama had a higher chance of defeated McCain and that he was actually projected by some to beat Clinton in a head-to-head voters. A very new interesting article by the Washington Times article sheds new light on the issue. A full 23%, repeat 23% for dramatic effect, think Obama is the most likeable candidate. If a full quarter of Republicans support Obama as their top choice, that bodes very well for the Democrats to try to secure victory in 2008. While McCain has many likeable qualities for conservatives, there are also issues such as Immigration which will upset a number of conservatives, allowing Obama to have a chance to win the election if he win the primary. This article contributed to this post:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080304/NATION/326810167/1001

Can Hilary win?

I believe that Hilary can turn to the race if she becomes more vulnerable. I heard a student make a very important suggestion for the Hilary Campaign; she said that she feels that Hilary should ask her supporters what else could she do to better serve the public. She make an important distinction is saying that she should not say what should I do now, but more like what more can I do?
Hilary’s debate in which she told Obama that she feels honored to be in this presidential election and she admitted that she has faced difficulty in her life. This approach that she took in this debate was very effective and it was heart felt to watch her be more personable and share a more sensitive side of her personality. It also seemed effective because she put down her guard and was finally vulnerable to the public. If Hilary continues to do what she did in this debate she might be in the position for her to steal the nomination away from Obama and finally shift the campaign in her favor.

Democratic Unity

The past couple of weeks, my blogs have focused on the current situation of the Democratic Party. I have strongly emphasized that there is a lack of unity in the party and looked at whether this will hurt the Democrats in the general election. Before the primaries, it seemed like the Democrats had the election in the bag. Now, the lack of unity amongst the party has drawn concern on whether or not the Democratic Nominee will win the election in November. As a citizen who would like to see the Democrats regain the Oval Office, I have grown more and more concerned about the current state of the party.

I was very intrigued when I came across an article today entitled "Bringing the Democrats together." NBC News Producer Ken Strickland addressed and validated a lot of my concerns. I became more worrisome when I discovered that Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania shares my opinion that the unity issue is bigger than many people realize. He answers my question from last week believing that carrying out the nomination process is going to make it harder to unify the party for the general election. Casey believes that the only way the democrats can win in November is for Obama and Clinton to achieve "real unity, not just consensus." He further goes on to say, "It's one thing for Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton to work together [on] principles, but it's much harder to get your workers, your supporters to really work together and not just go through the motions. If we just have the veneer of unity and people going through the motions, John McCain wins." Do you agree with Casey's thoughts? Do you think it will be possible for the Democrats to achieve real unity?

Lastly, Strickland made me look at this whole thing from a different perspective. He questions "who's going to help heal the wounds of the party when the nominee is finally selected." I took that even further and am now trying to answer, which candidate, Obama or Clinton, will have the ability to reunite the party in time for the November election.