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Category: US Politics

McCain’s Betfair price moves above 40%

McCain’s Betfair price moves above 40%

Could they both be heading towards evens? The chart shows the changing John McCain price on the heavily-traded Betfair betting exchange over the past 24 hours. There’s no doubt where the money is going – on John McCain who is now at his highest level ever on this market. My approach to this is to bet against Obama rather than for McCain so you are covered in the event of something untoward happening to the GOP nominee. You would also…

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Continuation Thread: Will McCain be overshadowed?

Continuation Thread: Will McCain be overshadowed?

How will he compare to Obama and Palin in his acceptance speech? John McCain has many qualities, but being a big-venue orator is not first amongst them. Having seen Obama put on a remarkable show last Thursday in Denver, John McCain saw his VP pick, Governor Palin, deliver a superb address last night. She managed to enthuse the Convention Center to an extent not seen previously this week, and has received glowing reviews in the midst of a hostile media…

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Continuation thread: Will Palin hit it out of the ballpark?

Continuation thread: Will Palin hit it out of the ballpark?

How will the big VP acceptance speech be received? Sarah Palin will tonight accept her party’s nomination for the Vice-Presidency of the United States. The big headline speakers leading up to her keynote address will be three of the men whom John McCain beat in the primaries: Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Rudy Giuliani. Also speaking are three of the women whom we suggested might be his selection for VP: Meg Whitman (CEO, Ebay), Carly Fiorina (CEO, HP) and Hawaii…

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Are the Democrats playing this one wrong?

Are the Democrats playing this one wrong?

Should they be holding-off an all-out attack on Palin? Since Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain’s choice as VP, she has come under more intense scrutiny than any of the other three major candidates on the ticket. Her daughter’s pregnancy, her views on abortion and sex education and creationism, her apparent membership of the Alaskan Independence Party, and the continuation of Troopergate. Now her judgement over the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ and the influence of her pastor are being thrown…

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Palin’s daughter is pregnant

Palin’s daughter is pregnant

How will this impact – could Palin be forced off the ticket like Eagleton in ’72? Live prices for the GOP VP candidate are here. Populus Poll: Con 43 (n/c) Lab 27 (n/c) Lib Dem 18 (n/c) Double Carpet

Republican Convention may be postponed

Republican Convention may be postponed

I’m at Denver International Ariport, and have just met up with an Executive Producer of a large corporate news channel. In the course of our conversation, he intimated (and said I could publish on condition of anonymity) that there is a reasonably strong chance that the Republican National Convention due to begin in Minneapolis-St-Paul, MN, next week might be postponed. Apparently, some members of the McCain campaign and the RNC are concerned that, after the criticism over Hurrican Katrina and…

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How do the Republicans match this?

How do the Republicans match this?

Might Minneapolis-St. Paul look like something of a damp squib? For all the criticism levelled at the Obama campaign for being ‘presumptuous’, it is difficult to deny that they put on a pretty spectacular show at the end of an optimistic and, for Democratic Party activists, uplifting Convention. I managed to get a Community Credential at the very last moment, so made it in only a couple of hours before Obama spoke. The atmosphere is difficult to describe – somewhere…

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Why not Condoleezza Rice?

Why not Condoleezza Rice?

Is there an obvious, but bold, choice being overlooked? Choosing a running-mate is a about as difficult a decision as a Presidential candidate can make. The rules are not complex (e.g. do no harm, bring a state or demographic if you can, and ‘complement’ the nominee), but the decision is not easy. Back in December, I said that I struggled to see any of the Republican Party candidates as a Vice President to one of the others. All seemed to…

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