Potpourri

The Presidential Race is More Interesting than You Have Been Told

The Zogby organization has long been regarded as a credible polling agency by the mainstream media (MSM). In fact, John Zogby’s polls are cited very often by the major news networks when discussing the possible outcomes of various political races. Thus, it is surprising that no mention of “The Zogby Electoral College Map,” as it pertains to the presidential race, has been made by the MSM. This is a shame, since the data collected by Zogby points to an exciting and interesting race for president.

For instance, according to Zogby’s data, many state polls are close between McCain and Obama. He identifies twelve states that are too close to call at this point. In six of those twelve states, John McCain trails Barack Obama by a much smaller margin in each than Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, polls in each state. These six states include the much talked about Ohio and represent sixty-six electoral votes or twenty-four percent of the total needed to be elected president. A political drama could be developing here that the MSM should be happy to cover. You talk about reality TV. Barr, with virtually no money and media exposure compared to Obama and McCain, is polling at eleven percent in New Hampshire, ten percent in Nevada, eight percent in Colorado, , and even eight percent in Ohio. The really big story is that Barr, probably because he is considered a conservative more than a libertarian by rank and file voters, is taking votes away from the moderate Republican McCain, which could cost the “Straight Talker” the election. It would be a pity for the MSM to miss this story or perhaps they haven’t and are just choosing to ignore it.

R.I.P. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa

Last week, Zambia and all of Africa lost a great statesman when Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, the president of Zambia passed away in a French hospital. Mwanawasa served his country as head of state for seven years. In that time, his policies were instrumental in bringing inflation down into the single digits, which is no small accomplishment for a developing economy in Africa. Because his administration provided a relatively stable political and economic environment, Zambia was able to attract foreign investment, thereby providing more jobs for its people. However, in his view, he fell short of lowering unemployment in Zambia, and because of this he will be remembered as the president that actually apologized to his country for his shortcoming.

Article Author: Kenn Jacobine

Kenn Jacobine is an international educator currently teaching history for the American School of Doha, Qatar. He has also taught at international schools in Ecuador, Mali, and Zambia.

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