The End of the Beginning Alas, it is now time to wrap up my Back Seat Driving column. The original idea for this column was to blast off to Mars so to speak and cover the alien yet oddly parallel universe of Democratic nomination politics from my experience in the GOP primary wars. With
The End is Here. The End of the Beginning Alas, it is now time to wrap up my Back Seat Driving column. The original idea for this column was to blast off to Mars so to speak and cover the alien yet oddly parallel universe of Democratic nomination politics from my experience in the
On Saturday I went down to Richmond to catch dinner and a show. The candidates were playing the Virginia Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner and I wanted to see the candidates one last time before the race fizzles out. Sharpton opened the show bringing the house to its feet with his usual act. He
If you listen carefully tonight, you'll hear a sharp crackle as scores of candidate bones break. Five campaigns will end today, even if the candidates refuse to admit it and stagger on for another two weeks. Election nights must have drama, so there will be bushels of talk tonight about last stands in Wisconsin
Manchester, NH — The GOP fuglemen sit on the sidelines here and watch, as lonely as Kucinich volunteers. The action this year in New Hampshire is on the Democratic side, with a big independent vote as well. Some Republicans can't resist the fun and sneak out for a little excitement on the bad side
Two weeks until the Iowa caucuses and three things can now happen. Most likely? Dean steamrolls through Iowa and charges on to the nomination. Second most likely: Gephardt narrowly beats Dean in Iowa and sets up a sharp contest on Feb 3rd (Groundhog Tuesday), which could be a real opportunity to put the good
It was two in the morning when my phone rang. I could hear a lot of arguing in the background. "Hello, Murphy ... How much! You guys are all for sale, what's your price? NAME IT!" I'd never spoken to John Kerry before. "Well, um, thanks Senator, but I'm a Republican and while I'm
I've received a smattering of emails in the Backseat Driving inbox asking why I don't much mention the candidacy of retired General Wes Clark. It's mostly because I don't think he has a chance. But since the latest heap of ever bouncing N.H. poll numbers has shown a minor bounce for the General, I
Is Dick Gephardt now the main alternative to Howard Dean? With 50 days remaining till the Iowa caucuses, Gephardt is the only candidate holding his own with Howard Dean in a critical place, Gephardt's Fortress Iowa. The Gephardt victory scenario is as follows: win Iowa, roll into NH with momentum and beat an ailing
For months the Democratic primary has been infested by a plague of cable TV debates and they've been a waste of time for nearly everybody, especially the candidates. Voters wait for the real debates on real local TV during the last weeks before the primaries. Those debates move numbers and should be treated with