Westmonster: “US Presidential Election 08”

Poll

Lunchtime Poll: Britain backing Obama?

Yesterday we asked you whether age-old hate-figure/iconoclast Margaret Thatcher should be receiving a grandiose state funeral. The results were a lot closer than Westmonster initially expected - 43% of you reckoning that the Iron Lady should get that most public of send-offs, while 57% of you stating that you… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 15 Jul 2008 12:00 PM.  
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Our American Cousins

Bush: one final tour of Europe

With all the fuss over the recently-resolved Obama/Clinton face-off, it's been pretty easy to forget the man who is all set to step down from his exalted White House position. Well, y'know, save for a few reminders like an inceasingly unstable global economy, spiralling oil prices and the vastly… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 8 Jun 2008 10:08 PM.  
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Roundup

Media roundup: Clinton for Vice President?

So Hillary Clinton has essentially conceded defeat to opponent Barack Obama, but this may not spell the end for a politically active incarnation of Mrs. C - oooohh no, not with rumours circulating that Obama may decide to choose her as his Presidential running mate. Let's take a look… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 4 Jun 2008 12:13 AM.  
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Our American Cousins

Bill Clinton: 'my wife is doomed'

If at first you don't succeed, a wise man once said, try, try and try again. And then give up. No point being a whining ninny about it. It looks like the Hillary Clinton camp may finally be heeding this advice (that's the 'giving up' part, by the way,… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 3 Jun 2008 12:18 AM.  
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Our American Cousins

US Election Running Mates: the search begins

Ah, those wonderful differences between British and American terminology. Here on this drizzly isle, a 'running mate' would presumably mean that schoolfriend who used to sneak cigarettes and cider into P.E lessons so you could both occupy yourselves during an afternoon of cross-country jogging. In the States, however, the… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 22 May 2008 9:22 PM.  
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Ministry for Crowd Control

Obama draws 80,000 strong crowd...

After charming a crowd totalling 80,000 yesterday, Barack Obama has officially had what the NY Times has described as his 'wow moment'. According to news reports, the scene which unfolded on an appropriately sunny day in Portland, Oregon took part on the banks of the Willamette River. Obama was dwarfed… read more…
Written by Oli Anderson on 19 May 2008 12:18 PM.  
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Our American Cousins

Bill Clinton unsurprisingly dislikes Obama

'Stand by your man,' Tammy Wynette once sang, not realising that many of her listeners may have to do exactly that. And - following Hillary's forgiveness towards those cheeky little cigar-meets-intern antics a decade back - Bill Clinton clearly owes his wife a favour or two. Consider it returned.… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 29 Apr 2008 11:02 PM.  
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Our American Cousins

Huckabee: potential Vice President?

Rumours are beginning to fly that former Republican leadership candidate Mike Huckabee - he of the frankly astonishing HuckChuckFacts commercial - may well end up as running mate for possible president John McCain. Huckabee is remaining calm about the whole thing, but has stated that the position would be… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 28 Apr 2008 10:41 PM.  
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Ministry for Cheapshots

Hillary to solve world's nut cracking problems..

Ladies and Gentlemen, Westmonster is proud to introduce you to the solution to all of your nut cracking needs: the Hillary Clinton Nutcracker. Standing as the most obtuse of the Anti-Hillary merchandise available for sale in America, the Hillary Nutcracker acts as a fine example of post-feminist understanding and ideological… read more…
Written by Oli Anderson on 28 Apr 2008 12:17 PM.  There are 1 comments so far. 
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Our American Cousins

George Bush: comedian

Move aside, Hicks. Take a hike, Kinison. And you, Bruce - take that needle out of your arm and pack yer bags, Lenny-boy. There's a new comic genius in town, and he's a high-profile name guaranteed to draw in the crowds. True, the crowds might all be intent on… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 27 Apr 2008 11:04 PM.  
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Cesspool on the (New) Jersey Shore

Springsteen on Obama: 'Born to Run'

Perhaps it's a sign of our age, but Westmonster thinks Bruce Springsteen, well, rocks. We're even setting aside our hatred of the Gunners to see him at the Emirates next month. But one reason we've always loved him, aside from his music, is that he's an original. So we were… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 16 Apr 2008 5:11 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Hilary Clinton: not interested in guns or churches

It must be frustrating when - as a politician - someone keeps questioning you about an issue you'd like to avoid. A prime example being, of course, Jeremy Paxman's head-to-head with Michael Howard on Newsnight, in which the same question was asked so many times it began to resemble… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 13 Apr 2008 10:18 PM.  
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VOX-POPPED!

US Election: famous Londoners have their say

Sure, London is well and truly caught in the grip of its own mayoral fever, but that doesn't mean we're turning a blind eye to events happening on the other side of the Atlantic. Apart from the next series of American Idol - we're not too bothered about that,… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 10 Apr 2008 11:14 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Basil Fawlty: Obama's speechwriter?

Should Barack Obama win the Democratic nomination for U.S. president, he'll need all the help he can get to beat John McCain in the fall. Apparently all too aware of this fact is John Cleese — ex-Monty Python, ex-Basil Fawlty — and he's offering to do something about it. In… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 9 Apr 2008 10:01 AM.  There are 1 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Condi Rice: future Vice President?

What with the persistent Obama/Clinton face-off snaring the majority of the headlines, it's easy to forget that the Democratic Party leadership contest is simply a prelude to another event - the small matter of an American general election. There's a very real chance that Republican candidate John McCain could… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 7 Apr 2008 10:50 PM.  There are 1 comments so far. 
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Our American Cousins

Barack Obama: The Endorsements Continue

Democratic hopeful Barack Obama has received his latest welcome boost - an endorsement from Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar. Klobuchar is a 'superdelegate', which means that - while sounding like a particularly rubbish comic book hero obsessed with sitting down and talking things over - she is one of around… read more…
Written by C J Davies on 31 Mar 2008 10:42 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Dems race gets dirty

Things are getting a bit nasty in the Dems race, as this blog discovered:… read more…
Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 31 Mar 2008 12:58 PM.  
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Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Telegraph's Gore '08 'scoop'

Maybe Telegraph Washington correspondent Tim Shipman is worried his plum D.C. assignment could be in jeopardy. In a major scoop, The Sunday Telegraph writer managed to re-hash a week-old, long-shot theory initially floated by Time hack Joe Klein, that Al Gore could unite a divided Democratic party in a brokered… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 31 Mar 2008 12:00 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Senator Clinton (D-Belfast)

Even 231 years after callously throwing the King overboard, the colonies still can't seem to let go of Britain — we've even become an issue in their Presidential campaign. This time, participants in the Northern Ireland peace process are being called upon to confirm or refute Hillary Clinton's attempt to… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 13 Mar 2008 9:50 AM.  There are 1 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Obama a ritmo de mariachi! Olé!

As part of our continuing effort to bring the best of the US Presidential campaign to the UK, Westmonster presents the following video (via Andrew Sullivan). Produced by the people of AmigosDeObama.com, it provides a glimpse into what it may take for the candidate to make inroads into the Latino… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 28 Feb 2008 1:59 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Oba-meter: February 26th

With the Republican nomination sewn up by John McCain, Westmonster moves its focus to the Democratic competition. We've outlined the 4 things Barack Obama needs to do in order to beat Hillary Clinton — sweep February's post-Super Tuesday contests, make no gaffes, win Ohio or Texas on March 4th, and… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 26 Feb 2008 9:48 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

McCain bimbo eruption?

Westmonster has a pretty good memory of Bill Clinton's parsing during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. So we read avidly the New York Times' front-page John McCain bimbo/lobbyist eruption story, and the response(s) from McCain's campaign to see what we could read in the tea leaves. From McCain's responses, he thinks… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 21 Feb 2008 9:31 AM.  
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Ministry for the Margin of Error

Hillary's glass ceiling

Today's Rasmussen Reports US Presidential Tracking Poll contains a nugget of information that shows why Hillary Clinton might very well be screwed, even if she somehow amazingly comes back to defeat Obama for the nomination: "Nationwide, Obama is viewed favorably by 55% and unfavorably by 42%. McCain’s numbers 51% favorable,… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 20 Feb 2008 4:52 PM.  There are 1 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Oba-meter: February 20th

With the Republican nomination sewn up by John McCain, Westmonster moves its focus to the Democratic competition. We've outlined the 4 things Barack Obama needs to do in order to beat Hillary Clinton — sweep February's post-Super Tuesday contests, make no gaffes, win Ohio or Texas on March 4th, and… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 20 Feb 2008 7:37 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

The Next! Biggest! Primary! (Not.)

One could almost smell the quiet in the US presidential campaign at the weekend, as bad weather put the brakes on campaigning in America's Dairyland state of Wisconsin. Polls put Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton within 5 points in this state that could either (a) cement Obama's frontrunner status heading… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 18 Feb 2008 3:51 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Clinton's worry: No 'White Bitch Month'?

Westmonster just couldn't let this one go. In Maureen Dowd's otherwise very thoughtful New York Times piece that seeks to explain why Hillary Clinton — as wife of Bill — is not a fair test case for evaluating whether or not America is ready for a woman president, she drops… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 13 Feb 2008 3:06 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Obama: What it's gonna take

This week's conventional wisdom — and oh, how Westmonster is tired of hearing about the conventional wisdom — is that Barack Obama has finally broken through and is steamrolling toward the Democratic Presidential nomination. Bully for him. The steamroller has been derailed at every turn in this primary season, and… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 12 Feb 2008 2:50 PM.  There are 2 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Like Hope, But Different…

Best parody of the Obama "Yes I Can" video Westmonster has seen yet… this one takes on John McCain.… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 5:06 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Choose your own adventure!

Westmonster thinks Bon Jovi may have said it best: "It's all the same, only the names have changed." The media have been writing the same story about the US Presidential campaign for months now, and we figured we'd let our readers get in on the act. Fill in the blanks,… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 10:11 AM.  There are 1 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

The Banana Republic of America

After another weekend of primary votes in the US, there's only one thing of which Westmonster can be certain — Iain Dale can set foot in the Oval Office, but he's constitutionally barred from being President. Phew! The weekend's brewing drama takes place in the Republican nomination contest, where Mike… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 9:01 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Huck: the new Mitt?

so, it looks like we know who holds the purse strings in the Romney household. Now that Mitt's gone, apparently having viewed the numbers indicating he'd need a sweep of remaining primaries to even have a remote shot at the Republican nomination, the Quixote role falls to Mike Huckabee,… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 8 Feb 2008 11:45 AM.  
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Wager at your own peril

With all due respect to our friends at politicalbetting.com, Westmonster just couldn't wait to get this one up. It seems that in today's trading, contracts at Intrade for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are trading more or less at par — mirroring the down-the-middle delegate split from Super Tuesday's contests.… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 6 Feb 2008 4:40 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Everyone wins, except Romney

Super Tuesday is over, and unless your name is Mitt Romney, you have something to hang your hat on. If your name is John McCain, you can sleep comfortably knowing that your strongest competition has effectively been knocked out of the race, and you are now the presumptive nominee. If… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 6 Feb 2008 9:19 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Super Tuesday primer

What you need to know to navigate the sea of analysis currently washing at the Internet's shores: UPDATE (11:42am GMT): Obama has pulled ahead in New Mexico by less than 1,000 votes with 92% of precincts reporting. This may effect delegate counts. Democrats Clinton took: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New… read more…
Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 6 Feb 2008 8:32 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac: Thames Edition

US Dems hold London vote/prom

You have to hand it to the Americans… when it comes to exporting "democracy" overseas, they're the world leaders. Their particular brand of democracy was on show tonight at Bayswater's Porchester Hall, where Democrats Abroad — the international wing of the US Democratic Party — held the London edition of… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 5 Feb 2008 10:25 PM.  
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Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Your not-so-comprehensive guide

When Westmonster passed by the local newsagent this morning, we were excited to see a massive tease for "Your comprehensive 8-page guide to the make or break night in the race for the US presidency." We're all over Super Tuesday, and we were keen to see what sort of whizbangery… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 5 Feb 2008 4:57 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Handicapping Super Tuesday

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday in America, and it's shaping up to be a unique election day. Millions have been spent, thousands of miles logged, hundreds of barbs tossed, and it's all supposed to culminate in tomorrow's 22-state voting extravaganza. But — at least for the Democrats — it may decide… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 4 Feb 2008 3:42 PM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Iraq turns debate for Obama

Yawn. Stretch. When Westmonster left you… er… just a few hours ago, we said we'd be back to you in the morning with debate reaction, and here we are. The consensus amongst pundits agrees with Westmonster that this was a civil debate, heavy on policy, with very few risks taken… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 1 Feb 2008 8:32 AM.  There are 2 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Few punches, no knockouts

Westmonster stayed up well into the night, shouting for blood like a Roman at the Colisseum, in anticipation of last night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. We had our popcorn ready, and we were looking for some smackdown. Next time, we'll set Sky Plus. For those who would… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 1 Feb 2008 3:10 AM.  
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Cesspool on the Potomac

NY Times breaks Clinton scandal

Hillary Clinton's got to be sitting around thinking, "Bill hasn't screwed me for years, and now he's done it twice in a week!" After the ex-President's fierce attacks on Barack Obama sabotaged Hillary's chances in the South Carolina primary, today the New York Times reports that in 2005 (a) Bill… read more…
Written by Andrew Levy on 31 Jan 2008 3:54 PM.  There are 2 comments so far. 
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Cesspool on the Potomac

Is the O-mentum back?

On the Democratic side, a raft of new polls from Super Tuesday primary states came out yesterday, and they indicate that Barack Obama may be narrowing the gap on Hillary Clinton in some key Feb 5 contests. This set of polls — the first to be taken after Obama's landslide… read more…