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Category: General

Who thought this was a good idea?

Who thought this was a good idea?

Did nobody realise how McCain would respond? It appears from the photo above (hat-tip to Drudge) that the stage for Barack Obama’s historic address tomorrow evening will be classical in design, with a facade resembling a Greek or Roman temple. McCain’s campaign has ‘gleefully’ responded, calling it the ‘Temple of Obama’ and have sent out an email of their magazine “Audacity Watch”. This chimes with the video that they made mocking Obama’s messianic following, called ‘The One‘. After his international…

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Is Biden going to be a one-term VP?

Is Biden going to be a one-term VP?

If he wins, might Obama choose a different running-mate in 2012? I posted a comment about a month ago raising a question that has been asked by several people on here, and that becomes more pertinent with the selection of Joe Biden as his running mate: Might Obama choose ‘an old hand’ in 2008 to allay fears about his inexperience, but then (if he wins) choose ‘a potential successor’ when running for re-election in 2012? The initial premise has been…

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Greetings from Denver

Greetings from Denver

36 hours to go until the Democratic National Convention kicks-off in Colorado After a nine-and-a-half hour flight, and some incredibly poorly-planned packing, I’ve arrived in Denver! The city is already gearing up for the massive logistical challenge of catering for around 50,000 political junkies; airports on Terror Alert Orange, helpers with DNC badges everywhere, and customs officers managing cues of quintessentially English reporters delighted to be getting the best overseas gig of the year. I spent the flight sat next…

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Who but Hillary is box office?

Who but Hillary is box office?

How far will Barack go to secure a successful convention? I’m travelling through France, the only internet access I’ve got is on my phone and have not been able to keep up with PB threads or the news. But from what I can gather Obama’s running mate has not yet been announced and the speculation and betting goes on. And the more I have thought about it over the past 24 hours the more I have become convinced that Barack…

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Is this the next leader of Scottish Labour?

Is this the next leader of Scottish Labour?

Henry G Manson says the 11/4 on Cathy is a good value bet Cathy Jamieson is the acting Scottish Labour Leader following the resignation of Wendy Alexander. She was the party’s Deputy Leader before this contest and has previously been Minster for Justice and for Children. As the election race progresses her rivals for the top post, Iain Gray and Andy Kerr, risk being outshone by this feisty woman with a canny eye for a headline . The nominations from…

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Gordon says Labour will win

Gordon says Labour will win

MORI put the Tories 24% ahead The Guardian is reporting this evening that Brown was in bullish mood about Labour’s election chances as he talked to journalists on the long flight to China for the Olympics. According to Deborah Summers he “..rejected Tory claims that it was now impossible for Labour to win the next election. “We are going to go on and win,” he said. “We are getting on with the job. You will find, as we get into…

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Will Cameron move to sack Spelman?

Will Cameron move to sack Spelman?

Are her days as Chairwoman of the Conservative Party numbered? Several of today’s Sunday Papers are running with stories that Caroline Spelman (Con – Meriden) used £100,000 of taxpayers’ money to top-up the salary of her Chief of Staff, Simon Cawte. This would be allowed if his work had been confined solely to supporting her work as an MP, but he apparently was engaged in political work on behalf of the Conservative Party through Mrs Spelman’s role as the then…

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What are the politics of GB’s Olympic successes?

What are the politics of GB’s Olympic successes?

Are there dangers in Labour claiming the credit? After more extraordinary sessions for the British teams in the Olympic games and it was inevitable, I suppose, that a politician should pop up and claim that they did it. So step forward minister, Andy Burnham, who’s been arguing on SkyNews that a lot of the success is down to the Labour government. But it’s dangerous stuff trying to claim credit in this way. Firstly it appears to detract from the performances…

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