Articles

The New Rules of Politics

January 30, 2008

In the aftermath of the Florida primary, some new rules for winning the nomination have emerged and some old rules have been ratified. As we head toward the 23 contests next Tuesday, it's worth considering a few of them.

The new rules include:

- The big bounce is gone. Winning gives a candidate a jump in the polls, but nothing like in years past. For example, in 2000, George W. Bush led in South Carolina by double digits the day before the New Hampshire primary and was behind by high single digits the day after his loss. Having nearly one out of every five voters change their preference in two days is an earthquake. This time around, we've only seen tremors.

FULL ARTICLE: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120173791597330347.html

Related Article

149a958453718670aa1a6468128cd9de
May 07, 2026 |
Article
Hand it to President Trump. He got the Indiana scalps he wanted. He and his allies targeted seven incumbent Republican state senators up for re-election this year. At least five lost their primaries on Tuesday. A sixth leads by three votes. ...
F8f455ff93ef76dfb7493bfce4b0c79c
April 30, 2026 |
Article
As Republicans face a tough election, they must remember the words of Zhang Yu, a commentator on the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”: “Attack is the secret of defense.” ...
2727fb82a2598be9b3ac46723573f42e
April 23, 2026 |
Article
The Republican Party faces problems. The Democratic Party is a mess, too. In September 2018, before Democrats flipped 42 House seats, Gallup found that 44% of Americans approved of the Democratic Party while 52% disapproved. ...
5cb7e86527b6ae36e11b6818ff336937
April 16, 2026 |
Article
It’s all so sordid. Faced by a growing number of sexual-assault accusations, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) ended his campaign for governor and resigned from Congress. ...
Button karlsbooks
Button readinglist
Button nextapperance