Image details: Bob Barr Announces Presidential Run served by picapp.com
I’m happy to report that one political party is entirely ready for November (aside from a little campaigning between now and then). The Libertarian Party confirmed Bob Barr as their presidential nominee this weekend after six rounds of balloting. Barr chose Wayne Allyn Root (another presidential candidate) as the vice presidential nominee and Barr’s running mate. Root is another ex-Republican, as well as a TV celebrity and sports handicapper.
During the short Libertarian convention, that political party also took care of some other business, including a rewrite of the party’s platform. The …read more

Image details: Hillary Clinton Holds Pennsylvania Primary Night Rally served by picapp.com
Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary with 55% of the vote last night. She picked up 75 delegates, while Barack Obama picked up another 65. But for all the smiles and speeches, Democratic voters are pretty much in the same spot as they were last week: Obama still has a respectable lead over Clinton — although not enough to actually get him the nomination.
As the Democratic nomination process drags onward, I think that both Obama and Clinton are doing more harm than good: the only way that this contest …read more

Well, bother! Right after I write about how necessary it is for John McCain to stay on his toes despite winning the nomination, I get a whole stack of reports on Mike Huckabee leaving the race. Maybe McCain can afford to step down his campaigning — entirely shutting down remains a poor strategy because he needs to get a head start on November.
It looks likely, though, that the McCain campaign will reduce their spending for the next couple of months.

As of this morning, John McCain has nailed down the Republican nomination. He’s got the delegates to just walk in and make his speech when the convention rolls around. You could argue that McCain might as well just shut down until the convention — why spend money contesting primaries when he’s already won?
In other election years, McCain might have been comfortable doing just that: not necessarily shutting down, but turning his attention to the long view. He could have focused on getting voters for November in those states yet to hold their primaries. I don’t think he can afford to …read more