Daily Archives: Oct. 26, 2008

McCain and Palin bridge Kansas’ split GOP

Oct. 26, 20086:02 a.m.

A USA Today article noted that Kansas Republicans comes in “two shades of red that often clash” – for social conservatives and pro-business moderates.
But John “McCain has really bridged that divide,” said Thomas Frank, author of “What’s the Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America.” “The country club set really like McCain, and values voters really like (Sarah) Palin.”
As a result, and despite Barack Obama’s familial ties to El Dorado, as Kansas State University political scientist Joseph Aistrup told the newspaper, “The question is not whether McCain wins, but by how much.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (158)

Open thread 10/26

Oct. 26, 20086:01 a.m.

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (184)

Dramatic turnaround for Iraq’s ‘Triangle of Death’

Oct. 26, 20086:00 a.m.

Recent days have brought excellent news out of Iraq, which should be doing more to help surge-champion John McCain’s presidential campaign:
With the U.S. military’s handoff of the central province of Babil to Iraqi security forces on Thursday, two-thirds of Iraq is now being secured by the Iraqi army and local police, with backup from U.S. troops. That means Iraqis finally have stood up, allowing Americans to stand down, in 12 of 18 provinces. Babil is part of the area once known as the “Triangle of Death,” which averaged 20 sectarian attacks a week last year.
On a somewhat lighter note, less violence and more cell-tower construction has resulted in reliable cell phone coverage, meaning, as U.S. News & World Report put it, “BlackBerries are back in Baghdad.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Iraq | Comments (39)