Month: November 2015

Gore Declines to Endorse Clinton

Buck Banks

It’s still too early, in my opinion, to endorse a candidate or pick a candidate. Everybody can look at how the presidential campaign is developing and get some pretty clear ideas about how they think it’s going to turn out, but I still think it’s premature. The election is still a full year away. I think I’ll wait to wade into it.

— Al Gore “politely but firmly” declining when People asked him if he supports Hillary Clinton for the president in 2016.

Rubio’s Tax Plan Does Not Compute

Buck Banks

$11.8 trillion

Amount that Marco Rubio’s tax plan would reduce federal revenue over the next decade, notes Jonathan Chait. “The entire Bush tax cuts cost about $3.4 trillion over a decade, making the Rubio tax cuts more than three times as costly. … Among the Republican presidential candidates, Rubio is widely considered to be a moderate on fiscal issues. The clarity with which we can now examine Rubio’s plan, juxtaposed against recent events, provides a sense of the ongoing relationship between the Republican Party and economic reality. It remains deeply hostile.”

Leaders In the Polls Always Get Media Attention

Buck Banks

165

Combined number of New York Times and Washington Post articles that were all (or partially) about Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright between the time Obama first launched his presidential bid (Feb. 2007) and his 2008 victory (Nov. 2008), according to First Read. “During that same time period, we found an additional 41 New York Times and Washington Post pieces on Obama and Bill Ayers. And from the start of her campaign (April 2015) until now, we discovered a combined 44 NYT/WaPo articles about Hillary Clinton and her email server. … Bottom line: When you’re atop of the presidential polls, you’re going to get scrutiny — lots of it.”