Think back two years when the Barack Obama presidential campaign allowed donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards to contribute.  See this 2008 link to get the details.  After reading the 2008 story you would wonder why President Obama would bring up...

If your not a Washington Post Sunday reader this piece may be of interest as November 2nd and the 2012 election approaches.

In some ways the current U. S. Senate race resembles 1978…..Senator Jennings Randolph was challenged by two term Governor Arch Moore…..Randolph won by 4,717 votes…..Manchin like Randolph stays in close touch with West Virginia families and communities. As the mid-term...

RANDOLPH COUNTY…..Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito was dynamite last night…..the headline speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner…..best job ever…..talked with  enthusiasm for November…..Joe Manchin’s hands would really be full if she had entered the race. Carolyn Jackson...

WHAT A WEEK…..John Raese moves ahead in poll put out by a Democratic leaning NC firm…..was this a ploy to motivate the Democrat base…..if so the opposite happened…..the poll lit a fire of enthusiasm among WV Republicans…..they increased nasty “Media Alerts”…..not to...

The PHILLIPSBILLBOARD.COM Sunday called attention to the single ballot planned for WV’s November election.  It suggested Republicans should be concerned.  At this point   Governor Manchin and Republican John Raese should be concerned.  They should step forward and...

When George Allen was coach of the Washington Redskins he coined the phrase “the future is now.”  In government the past should not be forgotten but  “the future is now.” David Brooks in today’s NYT offers Republicans a thoughtful view about the future.

Political Tidbits….. Three days in Charleston…a high powered football game in Huntington…..an evening in Roane County…..at Bob and Anita Ashley’s home honoring Shelley Moore Capito….offers a lot of Political Tidbits. Charleston talk….. impact of the Rasmussen poll on...

Most of us wonder what the economic plan of President Obama is.  Two recent stories  in The Washington Post confirms what we all expected – there is no plan or if there is it changes every day.  This theme is captured by Michael Gerson on September lst.  That same day...

Labor Day…..the traditional start of political campaigns…..came early…..candidates have been going full blast for months…..early bird gets the worm? Even county Republican organizations are opening headquarters earlier than usual…..remember these are not normal...

Earlier I wrote about these not being normal times.  Our “moving vacation”, as I like to call it, has ended.  Today I spent catching up on my political newsletters.  I found an item on POLITICO from a Gallup weekly tracking report.  It reports an historic midterm...

These are not normal times.  A Rasmussen poll taken after Saturday’s special primary election reveals a close race developing for the U. S. Senate seat of the late Senator Byrd. It appears the big factor is the “drag of Barrack Obama” is having on Governor...

After Saturday’s election I have had time to reflect on the forthcoming November election while completing a driving vacation. You may recall a Rasmussen survey in July where seventy-one percent (71%) of West Virginia voters approved of the job Governor Manchin is...

Healthcare reform continues to drive the mid-term elections and the down fall of President Obama.  While traveling I had an opportunity to read the comments of the new president of the Canadian Medical Association.   He appears to be sounding the alarm of what to...

Thought I would share some of my morning reading.  It will not cheer our Democratic readers and Republicans should not cheer too soon.  Along time ago it was said “a day is a year in politics”. House Democrats, already facing a perilous midterm landscape, wake up this...

WV voters will participate in two firsts this week …..a Saturday election…..and a special election to choose a United States Senator…..it will be interesting to see if a Saturday election improves turnout. Governor Manchin’s low key campaign may impact turnout by...

Polls are where you look to see how a candidate is doing.  Inside political observers “follow the money”.   Below is my Saturday morning reading.  You decided how it looks at this point in the mid-term election. ************************** “RNC has just $5m for final...

Today’s reading uncovered an Op-Ed by Governor Mitt Romney in the Boston Globe.  He addresses the important concern of most West Virginian’s to “Grow Jobs and Shrink Government.

Everyone knows the media searches for an August story.  Well Obama gave it to them.  He just cannot stand to take a vacation or be quite when others are resting and playing in August.  Guess that is why he stirred up the mosque story.  You may want to read more from...

Here is what I have been reading today…..political newsletters are great…..don’t you agree?  Arianna Huffington's “Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream,” out Sept. 7: “During the 2008 campaign,...

During the nearly twenty-five years Jenny and I spent in Washington we learned about the eighteen month burnout of political appointees.  This was true for White House staff, a cabinet office, or an Assistant Secretary in a department.  I thought you might find it fun...

The primary in four states earlier in the week signaled a big win for Washington outsiders.  A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll does not paint an optimistic picture of voter mood.  It leads one to believe the country is in for an unpredictable midterm election in...

WV Coal Association annual meeting was the venue for politics this weekend….. Friday’s informal gathering found the leading characters on the mountain…..the only U. S. Senate candidate on hand was Governor Manchin…..he and First Lady Gayle were a hit…..as a team and...

The Republican National Committee convenes this week for its summer meeting.  With all the attention on the mid-term election the national press will be out in full force.  The last thing needed is another Michael Steele story as the GOP finalizes plans for the fall...