News Roundup, 2/19/08: Watching the World

Yesterday was seemingly a bigger day in international news than American politics, and the leading stories concerning major change were Kosovo's independence from Serbia and the Pakistani elections.

Among others, Senator Joe Biden was on hand to observe, and made no small amount of noise about pulling military aid to Pakistan if the election was stolen. President Pervez Musharraf's party was soundly defeated and, in an environment where a great focus was on the legitimacy of the elections and the possible tumult that would follow any perceived chicanery, the streets are quiet, except for the usual celebrating that takes place when democracy engineers a changing of the guard. Pakistan will get a new parliament, a new prime minister, and a new take on government. The only question is whether the new rulers will try to remove Musharraf from his place of power in government.

Of course, that is not to say that nothing was going on in American politics. For instance, editorial intern Curtis Rochelle provided this report on the Democratic presidential candidates' activities in Texas, including links to event calendars and some footage of speeches by Senator Clinton from around our state. The extensive travels of both candidates around the state are an indicator (in case you needed one) that Texas is competitive for them, and a big deal.

Endorsements are also a big deal, and Obama picked a up a big one in Chet Edwards yesterday. The endorsement race is hard to keep up with in congressional primaries, let alone in presidential politics, but Rep. Edwards casts a large shadow in Texas politics, and so the media was all over it.

Just how competitive has been a matter of some speculation, but the polls have started to roll in about the climate in Texas, and the latest one from CNN has the Democratic candidates are basically tied, and McCain out in front. If you don't like the looks of this one for whatever reason, just wait a bit. There will be plenty of polls and crosstabs for you to examine in the days between now and March 4th.

The role of various elected officials in the campaigns on each side is always of interest, because the people with significant roles in the general election and the next administration often come from the ranks of those who support the candidates early on. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty looks poised to play a big role in McCain's campaign between now and November, and some talk has begun of whether he might be the most realistic pick for McCain's running mate at this point.

And for more on McCain, we ponder the strategy he seems to be engaged in these days of attempting to influence how the Democratic race will turn out. I am still convinced, from a political process / analysis standpoint, that McCain should probably be more focused on winning hearts and minds in his own party, but as he is likely to be the Republican nominee, I am also convinced that any bad strategy on his part is just fine.

And of course we have some primary contests to attend to today: Hawaii, Washington, and Wisconsin are up, and recent reports show that Wisconsin is looking competitive. We'll keep you posted on what is sure to be another exciting day in politics.