Pete Spiliakos

1.  Ryan made a strong case against the Obama economy without coming across as either mean spirited or self-interested.  Ryan also did a good job of framing the election as a referendum against crony capitalism and corporate welfare.  It’s not for nothing that this guy is a . . . . Continue Reading »

I’m not on twitter, but I looked up Ross Douthat’s feed.  In one tweet Douthat argued that Ryan was an answer to a question the median voter wasn’t asking.  According to Douthat, the problem wasn’t that Romney “lacked vision” but that persuadable . . . . Continue Reading »

The news has come out that Romney is announcing his running mate later today.  The speculation (for what it is worth) is focusing on Paul Ryan.  So let me tell you a quick story. I was watching Ryan on television one day and he talked about some great advice he got.  Barney Frank . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, I guess it depends on the alternative.  I agree that Romney would be better off with a positive, reformist message.  One of the reasons that the campaign has revolved so much around the latest Obama smears is that there is a hole where Romney’s positive message should . . . . Continue Reading »

So I read Jay Cost’s article comparing LBJ’s strategy in 1964 to Obama’s strategy today. I’m not sure that the analogy holds up on the level of tactics.  Sure LBJ tried to paint Goldwater as an unacceptable extremist. He succeeded.  Jimmy Carter tried to do . . . . Continue Reading »

Some thoughts, 1.  Do we have any idea what he thinks about any domestic policy matter? 2.  The norms of campaigns have developed in such a way that national candidates have to comment on a wide variety of issues and have a finely tuned sense of the dynamics of national-level popular and . . . . Continue Reading »

So I was watching the 6:00 PM Fox News show.  It is a pretty good straight news program. They focused on Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Paul Ryan, and Marco Rubio as the four who are being looked at the hardest to be Romney’s running mate.  The Weekly Standard came out . . . . Continue Reading »

So I was watching one of the cable shows this week (can’t remember which) and one of the talking heads said that the Romney campaign was looking at the electoral situation as being somewhat like 1980.  In the summer, Carter and Reagan were close in the polls, but Carter’s support . . . . Continue Reading »

I don’t fully buy it, but this is what I see: 1.  The polls that show Obama ahead show a larger percentage of self-described Democrats than did the 2008 election exit poll.  By comparison, the 2010 poll showed an equal number of self-described Democrats and Republicans.  If you . . . . Continue Reading »

When looking at how much “risk” Romney wants to take on in picking a running mate, it helps to look at what kind of positive message Romney wants the public to hear in the fall campaign (that is distinct from the obvious negative message that Romney will run regarding economic . . . . Continue Reading »