Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Obama, Giuliani Lead Odd Poll

Posted by Greg Hambrick on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 4:18 PM

New poll numbers are out from the American Research Group. I was going to do a good/bad analysis, but I'm not terribly sure how accurate these figures are. I ask that because of the numbers for John Edwards, which go from 31 percent in December to 20 percent in February, to 30 percent in May, to 18 percent in July.

That being said, here are the key points of the most recent poll:

• In three months, Fred Thompson has gone from 10 percent to 27 percent. Considering that he's not officially in the race and some are already predicting his campaign's demise, it may be fair to rename that 27 percent as "undecided."

• Barack Obama moves in to the lead among Dems, with 33 percent as Hillary Clinton falls to 29 percent.

• Likely an indication that we're still too far ahead of this thing, no one in the GOP camp is seeing traction in the polls. Giuliani is maintaining a lead and Romney is still hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent.

• John McCain's support has fallen from 35 percent six months ago to 10 percent today. One has to wonder if all of those high-profile supporters in the legislature are questioning their early endorsements.

Weekly Standard Profile: Sanford is Mr. Oblivious

Posted by Greg Hambrick on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 3:55 PM

The Weekly Standard has a story about Gov. Sanford’s trouble getting along with GOP “allies” in the state legislature, painting Sanford as a maverick looking to shake up the status quo (laugh, cheer, or sneer at your leisure). Aside from referring to “the fashionable South Carolina coast,” the story’s got several gems. Like Sanford's realization that he may be a little slow on his faults.

“My strength and my weakness is that whatever I believe, I really believe,” Sanford told me. “I can be completely wrong, but I’ll really believe it.”

What the story misses is Sanford's total inability to work with the legislature. When you talk with the folks in the House or the Senate, there is an honest frustration that Sanford can't meet them halfway on, well, anything. But, according the the Standard, Sanford is the poor guy just trying to get things done.

Sanford isn’t wrong. He understands, and has since he announced for governor in 2002, that South Carolina’s government is antiquated and cumbersome. It’s literally premodern, having been established by the constitution of 1895 under the guidance of racist ex-governor Pitchfork Ben Tillman and made even worse in 1950 when Strom Thurmond was governor.

Now here’s the rub: Sanford’s fight is not with Democrats but with a legislature controlled by his fellow Republicans. “The good news for South Carolina is Republicans run everything,” says Republican senator Lindsey Graham. “The bad news is we run everything.” And that, Graham says, inevitably leads to tension between the governor and the legislature.

A Sanford aide describes the state’s politics similarly: “In South Carolina we have the Republican party, the Democratic party, and larger than either of them is the good old boy party. They’re interested in one thing — keeping the status quo.”

At the moment, there’s a huge impediment to achieving Sanford’s vision — South Carolinians. As popular as he is, Sanford has been unable to rouse the public to demand sweeping reform and toss out the older generation of Republican senators.

Bizarrely, the story doesn’t mention two key words that likely warranted such a lengthy, glowing look at the governor: running mate.

News Wrap: Star Jones, WSJ, Lobbyists, Kurds

Posted by Greg Hambrick on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 3:21 PM

Here’s the Wrap:

• Star Jones talks about the shame of hiding her weight-loss surgery.

“First, I didn’t know if the surgery would work,” she confesses in the magazine essay. “I had spent my entire adult life telling everyone that I was fine with the way I looked. I never thought I’d have to explain it. But the complete truth is, I was scared of what people might think of me.”

And now, ironically, people don’t think about her. At all.

• The Wall Street Journal buyout is right around the corner.

“After all the high-minded concerns about editorial interest and journalistic excellence, it gets down to who pays the legal fees for the Bancrofts,” Benchmark & Co. analyst Ed Atorino said. “And some of the trustees bailed, fearing they’d get sued by some of the younger trust beneficiaries if they voted against the deal - so much for principles."

• House votes to end bundling. Lobbyists said to be trying out new names for gathering donation money. Maybe “folding” or “clumping.”

• Kurds threaten civil war. Talk about being late to the party.

Richardson Benefits From A Thompson Run

Posted by Greg Hambrick on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 12:49 PM

Call it the Wedding Party law, but any bride will tell you that you don't have more bridesmaids than best men — even if it means calling in your cousin Ricky with the drinking problem and the grabby hands.

Some in the political circles are hedging their bets on a Fred Thompson candidacy, but the mere potential for him to enter the race is helping out a Democrat: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Since the earliest days of the campaign, there's been a focus on the top three in each camp — Clinton, Obama, and Edwards on the Dem side and Giuliani, Romney, and McCain on the GOP side. But with Thompson's surprising climb to the first tier in nationwide and some state polls (even though the cash really hasn't followed) some websites are turning that to a top tier of four.

click to enlarge unknown.jpg

That means that Richardson, who's polling ahead of Edwards in New Jersey Hampshire (though with recognizably less support nationwide) has entered the top tier by default. Now all Richardson has to do is pray that McCain's campaign stays in the running — at least until he gets in a stronger position against Edwards.

UPDATE: Oops on mixing up the New Whatevers. I was probably reading a story about New Jersey and UPS.

Bob Jones The Luckiest Bigoted School Ever!

Posted by Greg Hambrick on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 9:04 AM

Props to the Post and Courier’s Diane Knich for today’s story on Bob Jones receiving state aid while extra money for low-income students of public schools gets nixed.

Last year, low-income public school students received, on average, $1,158 in grants while their private-school counterparts received $3,100, nearly three times as much.

This year, the private school funding will increase to about $3,200 and includes an exclusive new addition: Bob Jones University, says Eddie Shannon, executive director of the Tuition Grants Commission.

Shannon said that although the bill didn’t specifically mention Bob Jones University, “it happens to be the only new one that qualifies.”

Before the legislation was passed, Shannon said, private colleges had to be nonprofit organizations, have a major campus and headquarters in South Carolina and be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Under the new legislation, a private college can meet those criteria or it can simply be a bachelor’s level institution chartered before 1962 with a major campus and headquarters in South Carolina, the latter of which allows Bob Jones to qualify.

I’m not sure why Bob Jones couldn’t get SACS accreditation, but it probably has something to do with this line in the association’s guidelines:

The governing board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and protects the institution from such influence.

What’s funny is that other private, religious schools on the list for state aid have received this accreditation. Why should Bob Jones University be the only school not held to this standard?

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