Clearing the Field

National Review by Michael Barone | Jun. 7, 2008 (Opinion)

Almost precisely at the midpoint between the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 and the general election on Nov. 4, the general-election campaign is on. Neither party's nominee swept the primaries. John McCain's narrow popular-vote margins in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, and most of the Super Tuesday states, combined with the Republicans' winner-take-all delegate allocation rules, effectively gave him the Republican nomination on Feb. 6. Mike Huckabee made ... Full Story »

Posted by Fabrice Florin

See All Reviews »

View

4.4

by Steven Meyer - Oct. 1, 2008

Barone argues persuasively this election will hinge on different combinations of key states that those familiar from 2000 and 2004. Both sides intend to lengthen the playing field, seriously competing in opposing color states and forcing the opposition to expend resources in supposedly safe states. He also illustrates the possible negation of the 'old rule' that hard economic conditions favor the Democrats, an observation backed by polling data and in a way I had not seen a national reporter advance as such before.