Election 2012: Bleader, Chicago Reader

Urine trouble!: American Masters, with Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly

Sam Worley — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:10:00 -0600

When Americans went to the polls earlier this month to select their new leader, I shared in their concern about what the postelection season could look like. As a "writer," what would I do at work all day long if I couldn't spend my time making lowest-common-denominator jokes about lowest-common-denominator politicians?…

White House turkey begs your pardon

Sam Worley — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:44:53 -0600

Last night, trying to take the temperature of America, I watched the first two episodes of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo on YouTube while I sewed, for the second time, holes that had appeared more or less simultaneously in each front pocket of a pair of pants. (The leading indicator of this problem is the cold metallic feel of coins hitting your thighs on their way down your pant legs, a 100 percent metaphorical experience.)…

Could the natives be restless?

Kate Schmidt — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:45:00 -0600

On election night I was in one of presumably few places in Chicago where the name "Rahm Emanuel" drew boos. The campaign for Green Party congressional candidate Nancy Wade was hosting a viewing party at the Globe Pub, and the message to Chicago Democrats was "stop drinking the Kool-Aid."

"In Chicago we live in something more like a dictatorship than a democracy," said Wade, who served on her local school council before becoming involved with the Occupy movement and MoveOn.…

Mr. Smith Screws Up Washington

J.R. Jones — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:00:00 -0600

In the history of American movies, has there ever been a scene with more pernicious consequences than the filibuster in Frank Capra's classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Well, maybe Travis Bickle's mirror monologue from Taxi Driver, but even Travis could hurt only one person at a time.…

America—a constitutional theocracy

Michael Miner — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:30:00 -0600

Major League Baseball’s response to 9/11 was to add the singing of “God Bless America” to the seventh-inning stretch. Eleven years later the Irving Berlin song continues to be sung and I can't be the only person who thinks the ritual long ago wore out its welcome.…

How social media might be hurting presidential elections

Tal Rosenberg — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:00:00 -0600

Every election I've followed in my lifetime has been influenced to some extent by technology. The earliest one I can recall is the 1991 mayoral race, when Richard M. Daley was elected to a second term.…

The dwindling minority of white male voters

Michael Miner — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:36:00 -0600

"Obama received the votes of barely 1 in 3 white males," says the front page of Thursday's Tribune. Making white males about the only significant minority that didn't favor the incumbent.…

Dread of what the oligarchs will try next

Tony Adler — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:24:29 -0600

During the winter of 1979, after Jane Byrne beat Daley-machine seat warmer Michael Bilandic to become mayor of Chicago, Mike Royko began his daily newspaper column like so:

"It was the most stunning upset in the long, wild history of Chicago politics and this column is about the single most important person involved in that incredible upset—the remarkable individual who made it happen.

"And who would that be?

"No, I'm not talking about some brilliant campaign manager, or media manipulator, or generous back-room financier, or any of the other political operatives who usually get top billing in day-after-election stories.…

Sure and certain doom ahead for America

Michael Miner — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:43:24 -0600

The future could not look darker . . .

"An Obama second term means that the movement toward European-style social democracy continues, in part by legislation, in part by executive decree.…

View of Obama from his backyard: "You need another four years"

Mick Dumke — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:05:00 -0600

Just before three this afternoon, a woman with a limp cast her ballot in the St. Philip Neri school gym at 72nd and Merrill and rushed through the drizzle outside to a waiting car. "That felt good!" she said.…

Is Big Bird in trouble?

Deanna Isaacs — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:00:00 -0600

When the national bipartisan arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts reviewed arts policy stands in the presidential race (including support for NEA, NEH, and arts education), there was a clear divide: on seven of seven issues, Obama supports the arts and Romney either doesn't or hasn't indicated whether he would. Here's the tally.…

Abortion was the most important election issue for women, but not really

Mara Shalhoup — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:50:00 -0600

It’s no small relief that the end of this campaign season means we get to say goodbye—at least temporarily—to the sometimes phony, sometimes offensive courtship of that most coveted voting block: women.

The minds of women were puzzled over throughout this election cycle, even by other women (“there’s little consensus on which issues and priorities we collectively care about”). But really, women are not that mysterious.…

My vote—public knowledge

Michael Miner — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:42:30 -0600

I expected my Election Day Bleader post to say this:

My wife and daughters waited in line three hours Sunday at Horner Park to vote early. I was in and out of my usual voting site in 20 minutes Tuesday morning.…

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A president shall be forged in the loins of the nation's breadbasket

Sam Worley — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:40:00 -0600

In the last presidential election, Sarah Palin provided the strongest suggestion of local "color." John McCain had his backstory (Vietnam) and Barack Obama had his (Muslim); Joe Biden was your east-coast everyman, and Palin took it upon herself to rep a different kind of backwoods style than Washington generally sees, at least at the level of executive power.…
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Election picks that can't miss, based on years of research and random guesswork

Mick Dumke — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:30:00 -0600

Like everyone else who's been scouring Nate Silver's latest posts, I find myself thinking I've got a handle on this election.

Sure, the polls are close, I live in a Democratic bubble, and I turn the sound off every time a political ad comes on the tube during a break in the game.…
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Escape to Canada?

Steve Bogira — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 06:54:35 -0600

If Mitt Romney wins Tuesday, I'm hopping on a plane this week and splitting for Canada.

If Barack Obama wins, I'm still flying to Canada.…
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You don't mean a thing if you ain't in a swing (state)

Steve Bogira — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:20:00 -0600

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are neck-and-neck in the national popular vote. And so tomorrow, across this great nation, there will be one thing left for their supporters to do: call everyone they know in Cleveland or Milwaukee and lobby for their candidate.…
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How close is the presidential race?

Steve Bogira — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:26:02 -0600

"It's a tie game, and there's a loose ball," Neil Newhouse, a Mitt Romney campaign pollster, told the New York Times this weekend.

If that's the case, President Obama could simply send the Chicago Bears defense to Ohio to grab the ball and run it in for the winning TD.…
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This week, we're writing about dread—guess why

Tal Rosenberg — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 08:09:38 -0600

Welcome to Dread Week, this week's Variations on a Theme. Why dread?…
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Your early-voting election guide, plus results of our totally scientific early-voting exit poll

Steve Bogira — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:02:29 -0500

It's not too late to vote early. Chicago voters can vote until 5 PM today, or between 9 AM and 5 PM tomorrow, the final day for early voting.…
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Vote, for 20 percent off at Semiramis

Mike Sula — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:45:00 -0500

Of course you're voting on Tuesday. You're no motherscratcher.…
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Romney campaign looks for any port in a storm

Sam Worley — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:47:00 -0500

If I were Mitt Romney I'd be wicked pissed right now. ("Gosh!"…
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Hurricane Christie lifts Obama

Steve Bogira — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:21:00 -0500

New Jersey governor Chris Christie blew through the national TV talk shows this morning, lauding President Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy.

"The president has been all over this, and he deserves great credit," Christie said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.…
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Screw this election—let's talk about past elections all week

Tal Rosenberg — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 07:15:17 -0500

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the word election? The 1999 Alexander Payne film?…
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Rahmnesia

Steve Bogira — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:24:46 -0500

A week ago, President Obama began poking his rival, Mitt Romney, with a new term: "Romnesia." A press release from his campaign helpfully offered the pronunciation and definition:

"Romnesia [Rom-nee-zhuh] Noun—a condition affecting Mitt Romney, who has shifted his positions from 'severely conservative' to 'severely kidding'—conveniently forgetting the conservative promises he’s made over the past six years that he’s been running for president."

In a campaign speech yesterday morning in Ybor City, Florida, Obama elaborated on the ailment.…
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