James E. Campbell
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Campaign Finance Reform: Taxing and Redistributing Campaign Contributions
James E. Campbell - June 10, 2010
We need a sensible campaign finance system that encourages competitive elections and respects the rights of campaign contributors.
The current campaign finance system is a byzantine, convoluted, ill-conceived, nonsensical, patched and re-patched, ineffective, embarrassing mess. Just take a look at the Federal Election Commission’s website along with two aspirin and call your doctor in the morning if the headache persists.
This is a system that only Rube Goldberg would be proud of.
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A “Failure to Communicate” and the Attacks on Palin
James E. Campbell - October 7, 2008
This past week, one of the greatest film actors of our times passed away. I am not sure that any other actor appeared in as many great films as Paul Newman. In thinking about what has been happening in this year’s election, one of the most memorable lines from one of Newman’s great movies came to mind. The line was not his, however. It was from Strother Martin’s character in the movie Cool Hand Luke. The line was “what we have here is ‘failure to communicate.’”
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The Presidential Candidates Issues Quiz
James E. Campbell - July 8, 2008
In most elections, we learn about the candidates’ positions through their public speeches and statements in debates, but there is always a risk in this. Talk is cheap, and candidates may tell you what is politically expedient in order to win your vote.
This year we can do much better. Rather than relying on what the candidates say, we can look at what they have actually done.
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The Super Delegate Dilemma: The Electoral Vote Perspective
James E. Campbell - May 16, 2008
We are just about 19 weeks into one of the wildest nomination seasons in several generations and things just keep getting wilder. Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, who has all of the advantages of the inevitability bandwagon in his favor and a much bigger bankroll for his campaign than his opponent loses the West Virginia primary contest to Senator Hillary Clinton.
Wild enough that he lost a big primary this late in the game. Worse yet, he was trounced.
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
Is 2008 a “Done Deal” for the Democrats? Not Necessarily …
James E. Campbell - April 29, 2008
An aggressive campaign fought against either a woman or a black opponent is filled with minefields. It is a virtual certainty that the race or gender cards will be played as a defense against any part of the campaign that uncomfortably challenges Obama or Clinton. While Republicans must be careful to avoid any suggestion that their appeals are remotely about race or gender, they must be even more careful not to be cowed into backing off of an aggressive campaign.
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
The “Let’s Give Obama a New Middle Name” Contest
James E. Campbell - March 3, 2008
The president’s middle name is commonly used: JFK, LBJ, FDR, W, William Jefferson Clinton, etc. At the very least, it is going to be oddly awkward to avoid using Obama's middle name. It certainly won’t help to bring the country together and will be a constant irritant.
I have a potential solution to this name problem. Howard Dean and the DNC should organize a contest to give Senator Obama a new middle name.
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
McCain’s Imprudent Apology: A Big Mistake
James E. Campbell - February 28, 2008
McCain made a big mistake on Tuesday when he repudiated and apologized for Bill Cunningham's (the Cincinnati conservative talk show host) anti-Obama remarks in a warm-up to a McCain appearance. From what I heard, Cunningham's remarks were tough but were not over the line and certainly well short of the outrageous things that many liberals say about President Bush all the time.
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
John McCain Is a Conservative–Deal With It!
James E. Campbell - February 8, 2008
The peculiar idea that there is no difference between McCain and either Clinton or Obama is also just not supported by the record. As John Adams said, and as Ronald Reagan reiterated, “facts are stubborn things.” McCain’s critics need to reacquaint themselves with the facts and regain some perspective. In far less academic terms, they need to wise up and stop acting like spoiled brats.
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
Why So Hard on McCain, So Easy on Romney?
James E. Campbell - February 4, 2008
So why do the conservative talk show crowd take Romney seriously? Why are they more forgiving than Mother Teresa when it comes to Mitt Romney and less forgiving than the Ayatollah when it comes to John McCain? Is it overvaluing just what the candidates are saying now? Or are they reading something into these candidates that some of the rest of us somehow don’t see?
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
The Arrest of Sidney Blumenthal, Advisor to Hillary: Yet Another Twist in an Odd Election Year
James E. Campbell - January 17, 2008
Adding to the normal questions raised by this abnormal nomination season is the odd occurrence of the arrest of Sidney Blumenthal, a senior unpaid advisor to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Blumenthal was arrested for DWI in New Hampshire on the Monday before the New Hampshire primary...
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Posted in Campaign 2008, Politics
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