barrycasselman: THE PRAIRIE EDITOR: The Race To Date

Saturday, February 1, 2020

THE PRAIRIE EDITOR: The Race To Date

The 2020 presidential race, and especially the Democratic
nomination contest, is about to enter an important new stage
when some actual preferences of voters are counted in primaries
and caucuses.

Until now the process has been organizational, promotional and
speculative with the Democratic field initially stuffed with 28
candidates of various former and current political officials,
including a vice president, governors, senators, members of
Congress, mayors --- as well as two self-funding businessmen.

The 28 initial aspirants are now reduced to 11, with two frontrunners,
two reasonably close to the frontrunners, two hoping for a breakout
moment, and two billionaires spending unprecedented sums with
unconventional strategies.

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary
are imminent. They have often been important in the past, but are
less likely to be so in this cycle following a Super Tuesday when so
many states and delegates have been front-loaded into the process.

Iowa might be less about determining the winner and more about
who withdraws next. Pete Buttigieg needs to revive a sagging effort,
and Amy Klobuchar (from neighboring Minnesota) has to show new
strength in her own region. Polling in Iowa is very inexact because
of the nature of the caucus, but 4-5 candidates seem able to win
delegates, and there might be multiple claims of victory. Unless
there is a surprise result, Iowa could be inconclusive.

New Hampshire is eight days later. Again, it more likely will
produce more losers then winners. Elizabeth Warren is from
neighboring Massachusetts (as is Deval Patrick). If Bernie
Sanders from next-door Vermont does well in Iowa, he will need
to do so in New Hampshire as well.

Joe Biden will need to do well on Super Tuesday and in South
Carolina where he has had a large polling lead. Michael Bloomberg
has taken a pass on Iowa and New Hampshire, and bet his political
megafarm on Super Tuesday. He is spending enormous sums, and
seems to be getting some results in new polling. He could be the
wild card of 2020.

The impeachment trial had sidelined the four senators running
for president, but after Iowa and New Hampshire the full field will
be on the campaign trail, and impeachment controversies will no
longer dominate media coverage and distract the Democratic race.

There are announced opponents of President Trump for the
Republican nomination, but if he is acquitted in his impeachment
trial, there is no serious contest. Whether or not the unsuccessful
Democratic impeachment effort produces their desired impact of
hurting the president’s re-election --- or backfires to help him ---
will be a major factor in this cycle, but this lies ahead.

Iowa and New Hampshire might signal that no Democrat will
clinch his or her nomination before the party’s Milwaukee national
convention in late July.

There are a great many maybes and ifs ahead in this election cycle,
but it has now begun in earnest, and there is no going back for
either party to try to do it differently.

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Copyright (c) 2020 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.

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About Barry Casselman

BARRY CASSELMAN is an author, journalist and lecturer who has reported and analyzed American presidential and national politics since 1972.

He founded, edited and published his first newspaper when he was 29. He has been a contributor to many national publications, including The Weekly Standard, realclearpolitics.com, Politico, Roll Call, Washington Examiner, The American Interest, Utne Reader, Campaigns and Elections Magazine, American Experiment Quarterly, Washington Times, The Rothenberg Political Report, Business Today, Election Politics, Business Ethics Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, Washington Insider, and American Commonwealth.

His regular op ed columns and other commentary in print, and on the internet, are distributed through the Preludium News Service. His blog ‘The Prairie Editor” has an international readership and appears on his website at www.barrycasselman.com .

He was a political analyst for WCCO-AM (CBS) for several years, for KSJN-AM (Public Radio International), and for KUOM-AM (National Public Radio). He has also broadcast on RAE in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and beginning in 2000, he produced and broadcast for Voice of America. In 2006, he presented news commentary on LBC, the independent 24-hour news radio network in London, England. He also provided election night analysis in 2006 for Minnesota Public Radio. In 2008, he returned to WCCO-AM for periodic national election commentary. Beginning in 2011, he began weekly commentary on the 2012 presidential campaign on a national radio podcast program originating in Dallas, TX.

Casselman was the original host of “Talk To Your City” on the Minneapolis Television Network, and was a frequent political commentator for KTCA-TV (PBS). In 1992 and 1994, he presented election night analysis for the Conus coast-to-coast All News Channel. In 1996, he provided live coverage from the presidential primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire for All News Channel nationwide. He has also appeared on C-SPAN. In 2008, he was interviewed by ABC-TV Evening News with Charles Gibson.

He has covered national presidential primaries, caucuses and straw polls since 1976, and attended Democratic and Republican national conventions since 1988. He has traveled throughout the United States to report on significant political events, including the national congressional debate in Williamsburg in 1996, the presidential debates, national conventions and events of the Democratic Leadership Council, Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee, United We Stand America, Reform Party, National Governors Association, NAACP, AFL-CIO, Christian Coalition, CPAC, Green Party and the Independence Party.

In 2012, he was invited to be a civilian participant in the 58th annual seminar on national security at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA. Also in 2012, he was a speaker at the Jefferson Educational Society's Global Summit IV. At that event, he received the Thomas Hagen "Dignitas" Award for lifetime achievement.

From 1990-2011, he was the executive director of the non-profit International Conference Foundation, and hosted more than 500 world leaders, foreign journalists and other international visitors. At the non-partisan Foundation, he also organized four national symposia: the first on low-income housing with then-HUD Secretary Jack Kemp; the second, a highly-acclaimed conference on “Locating the New Political Center in America” with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and leading spokespersons of the Clinton administration as well as newly-emerged independent groups; the third, a symposium on public communications with then-Governor Tom Ridge, former White House press secretary Mike McCurry, Tony Blankley and other national figures; and in 2003, a symposium on homeland security with Secretary Ridge and leading local and national experts. During this time, he also organized numerous smaller conferences, tours and events for the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State for its International Visitor Program and its Foreign Press Center programs. In 2008, he organized a special program for international media and visitors attending the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The Foundation also sponsored programs presenting domestic and international authors and their books.

In 2007, Mr. Casselman helped create and plan the nationally-broadcast and podcast dialogue between former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich at the Cooper Union in New York City, and he continued to work on related debate and public policy discussion projects in the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.

Mr. Casselman has been a lecturer on public policy at Princeton University’s annual international business conferences in New York, and its regional conferences in Chicago since 2005; He also has been a guest lecturer at George Washington University, Carleton College, The Chautauqua (NY) Institution, Gannon University, Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Santa Barbara City College, University of St. Thomas, Metropolitan State University, Augsburg College, University of Minnesota, Jefferson Educational Society, and on the international voyages of the Queen Elizabeth 2, Sagafjord, Vistafjord and Royal Viking Sun. He has made presentations on journalism and the arts at Carleton College, University of Minnesota, College of St. Catherine, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Walker Art Center, Metropolitan State University, Mercyhurst College and the Brazilian Writers Union in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

His non-fiction book North Star Rising was published in 2007 by Pogo Press, an imprint of Finney Company. In 2008, Pogo Press published Minnesota Souvenir, Casselman’s history and visitor guide for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul. He was editor and co-author of the book Taking Turns: Political Stalemate or a New Direction in the Race for 2012, a preview of that year's national election.

He has been cited in Michael Barone’s Almanac of American Politics and in William Safire’s Political Dictionary. Casselman has invented a number of political words and phrases which are now in frequent usage, and listed in various online dictionaries.

He is also a widely-published American poet, short story writer and playwright whose work has been translated and published in Europe, South America and Asia. He is the author of four published books of literary prose and poetry. His work has been frequently anthologized. Two of his plays, in collaboration with composer Randall Davidson, have been performed by the Actors Theater of St. Paul, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Donat’s Ensemble of Wales, and by independent productions at the Union Depot in St. Paul and the Foss Theater at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. He has provided original texts for two award-winning experimental films, as well as texts for other independent short films and videos.

Barry Casselman was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. with major honors from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.F.A. at the Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa. He has also studied in Paris, and attended the University of Madrid. He now lives in Minneapolis.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

THE PRAIRIE EDITOR: The Race To Date

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