Reflections on Obama’s UW-Madison appearance

When President Obama came to UW-Madison, I don’t think he – or anyone else for that matter – quite expected the turnout. And while the wait was long – the line stretched for 1.2 miles – I’m really glad I went. But after these difficulties, it was great hearing the speakers (being short, I didn’t see [...]

Republicans’ “Pledge to America” attempts to co-opt key issues

In my previous post, I suggested that although the current iteration of the Tea Party lacks a uniform agenda, the potential for a competitive party to emerge centered around a balanced budget and reduced government spending is relatively high – but only so long as the long-standing national parties do not make a credible effort [...]

Is this 1854?

For all the comparisons between 2010 and 1994 or even 1982, the correct comparison may be to 1854. The fascination with third-parties is longstanding, but the U.S. has always been a two-party system. Political scientists from Anthony Downs onward will tell you that the two-party dominance is largely driven by our electoral system: when the [...]

The rational referee

For anyone who has undergone the process of having an article face peer-review – at a conference or at a journal – it should come to no surprise to them that there is some randomness in the process. We’ve all heard the stories: a paper that is rejected from one conference wins a top paper [...]

The forgotten war

America has always been at war. Even before our focus shifted to the “real” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, America’s “War on Drugs” was in the news. And no one can doubt that this war, like those overseas, claims lives every year. Furthermore, the violence in Mexico points to a growing problem. But are American politicians [...]

What are Democrats thinking?

After my post of last Friday, it seemed only fair to give Democrats an equally hard time about their political strategy. And I’m not the only one: Slate’s Jacob Weisberg is also disappointed in Democrats’ – and particularly President Obama’s – refusal to take a stand on several of the key issues I critiqued Republicans [...]

What are Republicans thinking?

Yes, I know that Republicans have a seemingly-commanding lead in the polls for the midterm elections in 2010. And I know that their base seemed more energized and that their politicians are becoming even more adept at using social media. But I can’t claim to understand Republican strategy – at least not their long-term strategy. [...]

New advertising models: Target them or let them find you?

Just like everyone else, advertisers are trying to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies. Two divergent streams of thought seem to be emerging: making ads more personalized vs. trying to encourage audiences to select into seeing ads. The boundaries are not clear-cut – there are plenty of ads [...]