Stories by Andrew Romano

  • The Keystone State... Called for Obama

    11/4/08 at 8:00 PM
    John McCain's plan to win tonight? Swipe Pennsylvania. Alas, it was not to be. At 8:00 on the dot--the moment the polls closed--the networks called the Keystone State for Obama. Without it, McCain now needs to win Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Indiana. If he loses any one of those states, his path to 270 becomes prohibitively steep. If he wins them, he still needs to hold onto the Western states of Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa and Nevada, where Obama has been polling much better than in the east. Stay tuned...

  • Stumper's Election Night Cheat-Sheet

    11/4/08 at 12:32 PM
    If that's not enough detail for you, be sure to check out Nate Silver's exclusive NEWSWEEK timeline of "what to watch for" this evening. Here's a sneak peek:...

  • The View from Brooklyn

    11/4/08 at 10:21 AM
    I left the house to vote at 6:30 this morning--and here's what greeted me at the corner of St. John's and Sixth Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. "I've been voting here for 20 years," one guy told me. "Usually, you just walk right in." Another fellow--slightly older--interrupted. "I've been voting here for 30 years," he added. "Never seen anything like this." Now, my neighborhood--a patchwork of aging Bobos, deeply-rooted African-Americans, young creative types, yupster families and lots and lots of lesbians--is probably the furthest thing from a bellwether in the entire country. But the hour-long line, which covered an entire city block, was probably a good sign for Obama. If he can turn 'em out in a 'hood as safe as Park Slope--and yes, the crowd was probably 99 percent Democratic--I imagine he'll fare pretty well in the places where he's actually making an effort.Developing, as they say.Oh, and please let...

  • 'It Will Be Fun to See How the Story Ends'

    11/4/08 at 8:00 AM
    (Alex Brandon / AP)En route last night to Chicago, Barack Obama came to the back of O-Force One to chat with his traveling press corps, which includes reporters who've barely returned home for 21 months. Here, via spokesperson Jen Psaki, is the transcript:Obama: You guys have been gracious, outstanding, reasonably easy for our crack team here and you know whatever happens tomorrow it’s extraordinary you guys have shared this process with us and I just want to say thank you and I appreciate you. Kathy Kiely: How are you feeling Senator? Obama: I am not going to come back and answer any questions here, Kathy.  Even though you can feel free to keep your tape recorders on. Get some sleep starting on Wednesday. Reporter:  I’m sorry about your Grandmother. Obama: I know you guys have sent a lot of emails individually, collectively. It is very gracious. Embeds—they have been there for the start. Thank you guys, thank you guys. (Walks to the back of the plane) Obama: This is finally...

  • The Filter: Nov. 4, 2008... Election Day Edition

    11/4/08 at 7:53 AM
    A round-up of this morning's must-read stories. NOW GO VOTE!AFTER EPIC CAMPAIGN, VOTERS GO TO THE POLLS(Adam Nagourney, New York Times)The 2008 race for the White House that comes to an end on Tuesday...

  • Dixville Notch Votes!

    11/4/08 at 12:35 AM
    (Cheryl Senter / AP) The polls opened shortly after midnight in the tiny, isolated village in northeastern New Hampshire that has cast the first presidential ballots in every election since 1960. A few minutes later, the voting was done. In the end, fifteen locals had chosen for Barack Obama--and six had sided with John McCain.Dixville Notch isn't a bellwether--nationally or statewide. But the results may have some significance. The town had consistently leaned Republican, with President Bush capturing 80 percent of the vote in 2000 (21 to five) and 73 percent four years later (19 to six). All told, Obama made a small bit of history this morning, becoming the first Democrat since 1968 to triumph in the eager Granite State hamlet. A sign that he'll win the White House? Perhaps. Then again, the last Dem who took Dixville Notch was Hubert Humphrey. And we all know how that turned out.Either way, welcome to Election Day 2008. What a long, strange trip it's been.

  • Can McCain Battle Back to 270?

    11/3/08 at 11:33 AM
    Twenty-four hours. Thirteen states. And only one of them is typically considered blue. If you want to get a sense of how steep a climb John McCain faces in the final day of the 2008 presidential campaign, forget about the national polls. Look at the travel schedules instead. Sure, the last pre-election burst of national numbers is nothing but bad news for McCain. Gallup has Obama trouncing his opponent 55 percent to 44 percent. NBC News and the Wall Street Journal show Obama ahead by eight points, 51-43. The rest of the reliable pollsters give the Democrat leads ranging from six points (Pew, 52-46) to 13 points (CBS, 54-41)--and none shows him polling below 50 percent.  But presidential elections are won in the battleground states, not on the national stage--so at this point we can pretty much afford to ignore those numbers. What we can't ignore is where the candidates have chosen to spend their last full day of campaigning. It's by far the most important indicator ...

  • If McCain Wins...

    11/3/08 at 8:37 AM
    As part of NEWSWEEK's continuing "Press Box" series, here's my take on the challenges that face a President McCain--and the questions Democrats will ask themselves--if Barack Obama loses tomorrow's election: Thoughts? Disagreements? Amendments? Ad hominem attacks? The comments, as always, are yours.

  • If Obama Wins...

    11/3/08 at 8:35 AM
    As part of NEWSWEEK's continuing "Press Box" series, here's my take on what will happen to the Republican Party if Obama wins tomorrow's election: Thoughts? Disagreements? Amendments? Ad hominem attacks? The comments, as always, are yours.

  • The Filter: Nov. 3, 2008... Election Eve Edition

    11/3/08 at 7:23 AM
    A round-up of this morning's must-read stories.THE YEAR OF LIVING ON THE EDGE OF OUR SEATS(Frank Bruni, New York Times)Will one candidate win by millions, or lose by thousands? If there...

  • Bruce and Barack, Born to Run

    11/2/08 at 8:42 PM
    As a native New Jerseyan, I am duty-bound to post this video of the Boss rallying Cleveland for Obama:  Via Richard Wolffe:

  • McCain Hits the Home Stretch

    11/1/08 at 10:55 AM
    With only 72 hours to go, Stumper will periodically highlight "on the trail" dispatches from my fellow NEWSWEEK bloggers Holly Bailey and Richard Wolffe, who will be traveling with McCain and Obama (respectively) through Election Night. Here's Holly on McCain's final countdown:

  • Ad Hawk: McCain's 'Troubling' Association

    10/31/08 at 5:16 PM
    For the past five months or so, Barack Obama relentlessly harped on a single message: You don't like George W. Bush. John McCain is George W. Bush. So vote for me instead.In contrast, McCain has careened between at least eight different themes--in the past 48 hours alone. At a national-security roundtable in Tampa, Fla., he questioned Obama's readiness to be commander in chief. At a pair of "Joe the Plumber" events in Ohio, he claimed that Obama wants to "spread the wealth" around. Meanwhile, he managed to remind voters of Obama's past relationships with Bill Ayers, Khalid Rashidi and ACORN; accuse him of planning cut defense spending in Virginia; characterize him as soft on criminals; warn about the dangers of one-party rule; charge that Obama is just "a typical politician"; and slam him for voting in favor of Bush's 2005 energy bill. All of which, I suppose, was meant to drive one overarching message: that Obama is an unsavory character. Call it the "Choose Your Own Attack"...

  • Why Are the Candidates Suddenly Treating Iowa Like a Battleground State?

    10/31/08 at 2:22 PM
    (Charlie Neibergall / AP) If you'd fallen asleep on Nov. 2, 2004 and awoken, a la Rip Van Winkle, on Oct. 31, 2008, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Iowa is a battleground state. For starters, it flipped from blue to red in 2004. So you'd assume it could swing again. Then you'd check the papers. "Obama Rallies 25,000 is Des Moines" one headline would read; "McCain Chief Claims Iowa 'Dead-Even,'" would read another. At that point, you'd be crazy not to conclude that the Hawkeye State is, yet again, too close to call. The only problem? It's not. Or at least there's not a single shred of scientific evidence that it is. On Jan. 3, the Hawkeye State caucuses catapulted Obama into contention and nearly torpedoed McCain, who committed the cardinal Corn Belt sin of opposing ethanol subsidies. So it's long been clear which candidate Iowans prefer. Since July 10, only four polls--out of nearly 20--have shown Obama leading McCain by less than 10 points. Of those, only o...

  • Halloween Special: The Scary Prospect of Life After the Campaign

    10/31/08 at 11:36 AM
    The end is nigh. For political junkies, the prospect of going cold turkey on Nov. 4 is terrifying--understandably so. In a new series for NEWSWEEK.com, a group of the magazine's political scribes went on camera to discuss life after Election Day--including yours truly. Whether you're horrified (like me, at least a little) at the prospect of life without Stumper or simply horrified at the sight of my sallow, unshaven visage (the medical term for it is "Blogger's Tan"), I thought I'd post the video here. Consider it my contribution to the All Hallow's (and Election) Eve fright-fest.[BrightCove:type='mini';titleid=1889922724;featuredName=null;playerName=null;rsslid=1886196077;rsspid=1691028268;configpid=1378342539;lineupCollapse='true';lineupName=null;stylesheet=null;numItems=3;startMinimized='false';width=500;height=500;podcastURL='http://www.newsweek.com/id/40211';placeAd=99,'video';]Not scary enough for you? Then I'd heartily recommend reading Julia Ioffe's wonderful story over at...

  • Mixed Messages on the McCain Ground Game

    10/31/08 at 10:32 AM
    Everyone knows that Barack Obama has built an unprecedented Democratic field organization this election cycle. But the big question as Nov. 4 approaches is how well McCain--who trails by massive margins in the money race and has invested far fewer resources in field offices and get-out-the-vote efforts--will be able to mobilize his voters. The answer could potentially decide the contest. That's why I found today's papers so intriguing--and confusing. Scanning the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, I stumbled upon a pair of seemingly contradictory reports on the state of McCain's ground game. First the WSJ's Laura Meckler covered the sunny side of the street:...

  • Joe the No-Show

    10/30/08 at 5:02 PM
    From John McCain's rally this morning in Defiance, Ohio: [youtube:j1TT7gt5F0w] Where was Joe, you ask? Perhaps he was meeting with his new, Nashville-based manager, Jim Della Croce. Perhaps he was rehearsing tunes for his potential country album. Perhaps he was plotting a run for Congress ("Joe the Congressman '10!"). Perhaps he was auditioning for a Home Depot ad. Perhaps he was sharing his recent epiphany--as a guy who was "undecided" until last week--that President Obama would bring "death to Israel." Or perhaps he was doing what he's always said he wants to do--that is, "get[ting] on with [his] life and do[ing] [his] job" as a plumber. On second thought, never mind.

  • What's Next? A Black Cat?

    10/30/08 at 1:52 PM
    Over at Sprint to the Oval, my NEWSWEEK colleague Holly Bailey has some ominous color from the McCain caravan. Sign of trouble? Or mere coincidence? We report, you decide: If a reporter wanted to craft a dire lede about the final days of...

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