Monday Morning Must Reads
Relative Power: We Elect Our Leaders, and Dynasties Are Few, but Sometimes Ascension Looks Like an Inheritance [WaPo] The American people, having won in violent revolution their freedom from the tyranny of kings, quickly surrendered to the idea that certain families are destined to lead -- as long as we get to pick them. Bush. Clinton. Bush. Clinton? While it would be extraordinary in our history for two families to occupy the Oval Office consecutively for decades, political dynasties are as American as mudslinging and pork. Most precocious children can probably recite a few of the most assertive brand names in American history: the brilliant but cranky Adams family, the Roosevelts, Teddy and Franklin, the tragic and cinematic Kennedys. But these well-known repeats only begin to tell the tale of politicians advantaged by their kin.Clinton and Obama on Economic Policy [FDL] Two recent New York Times articles, two weeks apart, provide important insights into how Senators Clinton and Obama describe the nation's economic priorities and the role of government in the economy. In this January 21 Times article, Senator Clinton makes clear she is focused on the need to reverse the excesses of the Bush economic and tax policies: . . . Mrs. Clinton put her emphasis on issues like inequality and the role of institutions like government, rather than market forces, in addressing them. She said that economic excesses — including executive-pay packages she characterized as often “offensive” and “wrong” and a tax code that had become “so far out of whack” in favoring the wealthy — were holding down middle-class living standards. . . .
Super Tuesday: Which Districts Matter? [Slate’s Trailhead] If you live in a state that votes on Super Tuesday, I’ve got some bad news for you: There’s a good chance your district won’t count. California’s 34th congressional district, part of Los Angeles County and the state’s most heavily Hispanic district: worthless. Same goes for the 48th district in Orange County, home to Laguna Beach and Irvine. The state’s 6th district, which overlaps with the uber-wealthy Marin County, could turn out to be equally powerless. What do these districts have in common? They all have an even number of delegates.
La Opinion Endorses Obama [La Opinion] Republican candidates with the most extreme views on immigration were the first to leave the race for the presidency. This is the good news. The strategy of Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo to make scapegoats of the undocumented utterly failed. Nor did it help former Senator Fred Thompson, who used a heavy hand on immigration to show his conservatism. The politics of prejudice g ave them no advantage. This left former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Governor Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain. All were moderate on immigration, but McCain was the only one to maintain his position. Giuliani floundered, and then gave his support to McCain.
McCain: "I Assume That I Will Get the Nomination" [CBS] NASHVILLE, TN -- As John McCain continues to pick up endorsements his numbers in the polls continue to remain strong, McCain sounds confident about his chances for the GOP nomination on Tuesday and at times even for the presidency. “I know that I can win the presidency once I win your nomination,” he told an audience today at a rally in Nashville. After the event he tried to reel back on his bold statement. “I hope I am not too confident about Tuesday. I am guardedly optimistic. I think we’re doing well,” he said… “I assume that I will get the nomination of the party. I assume unifying our party is a very critical item and I believe we can do that and get everybody together and working together. And I’m confident I can do that.”
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