Finchley 1959 - Explore new Perspectives

Well well well, Who would have thought? Six months ago nobody, but six days ago everybody. Jeb Bush has quit the Republican race too! The former Florida Governor was an early front runner in this race, but became the latest victim to the Governor's curse, and of course Donald Trump. We are sad to see him go, but he had to! Let's be honest. With his departure, only 5 candidates remain in the race, as Jim Gilmore finally quit as well recently, and as the field narrows ahead of the Nevada Caucus. But who will benefit the most? Trump? Rubio? Cruz? Kasich? or Carson? Bush had everything. He had by far the most money in the bank. The most endorsements at the time, and of course the best name recognition. The name recognition which is also bad because his brother is still hated by a lot of people, despite his popularity among most Republicans. But in overall it is a very useful and resourceful tool to have. But he didn't use them at all. Only in his dying days did he use his...

AP/Politico The heat turned up last night. The Democrats took on each other in Nevada, while the Republicans battled it out in South Carolina. As they will now exchange states, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump can be the happiest and most relaxed. They both won last night, a nd have good chances of repeating this feast in the next vote too! Bernie Sanders had a late surge, but Hillary edged him out, while Trump comfortably won ahead of Rubio. But Rubio did beat Cruz which is terribly loss for the Texan, and we also said goodbye to someone last night. This is what happened on February 20th. Hillary Clinton won in Nevada. But for months her campaign have been saying that this is where they will definitely crush Bernie. And he will be over. Well a 52-48 win is anything but a crush, and Bernie Sanders will not quit for sure. Hillary did win, and we do congratulate her for it! A win is a win. But Bernie proved that he is not only a viable candidate where it is mostly only...

Iowa and New Hampshire have done their job again. The field is narrowing down, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has become the latest candidate to drop out of the Republican race. The outspoken governor was an early frontrunner in this race, however he was hurt by the Bridgegate scandal back home, and was overshadowed in the crowded Establishment/Governor lane and by the rise of political outsiders like Donald Trump. After coming in at 6th place in the Granite State, Christie didn't believe in the race anymore, as he put all his eggs in one basket. It worked for Kasich, not for Christie, and that is why we are saying bye to him now. In the run-up to the 2012 election, Chris Christie was widely favored in the party, and thought of as a potential candidate. He was however not yet ready and did not join, despite the fact that Romney received a surprisingly strong challenge from Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. He did however went on to campaign heavily for Romney la...

AP Photo Last night was the night. After months of speculation, questioning and laugh offs, both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders proved that they are serious candidates, and that they are here to stay for a long time. They both finished second in Iowa, but New Hampshire proved that they are in no way perennial candidates anymore. And what a way to do it, Donald Trump won more than double of his nearest competitor John Kasich, while Bernie Sanders won upwards of 60% too. The question now is if they can continue their streak in South Carolina and Nevada respectively. On the Democratic side, there were no questions at all. After an amazing debate performance, poll leads locally for months and severe recent gains nationally, Bernie Sanders absolutely crushed Hillary Clinton. It is true that the demographics and location of New Hampshire favoured Sanders, but the size of his win is unquestionable. He won in almost every category. He won among males and females, rich and poor, and ...

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has also dropped out of the Presidential Race, just after Rand Paul has done the same. In 2012 Santorum was the surprise candidate of the year, as he won Iowa and became the main challenger to Mitt Romney. Santorum had high early hopes for the 2016 race, but unlike last time around, he never managed to connect with the voters. The lack of support led to low levels of fundraising and polling, and constant relegation to the second tier debates. With Santorum out of the race, only 9 candidates remain in the Republican race, and will try to get the most votes in New Hampshire on the 9th of February. While four years ago he was a champion of the workers and the people who saw Mitt Romney as just another rich man lying to them, this time around he campaigned for Christian vote and made family values a key focus in his strategy. He tried to reform his Evangelical coalition from four years ago and build on it, but he too was surprised by the rise...

Chris Carlson/AP After months of campaigning, Iowa finally voted yesterday! On the Republican side of the Iowa Caucus, Texas Senator surprised Donald Trump. While the Democrats pretty much tied, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders only received slightly less support than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but it is still unclear who won, as a recount is very much possible. All the latest polls, even by Anne Selzer, predicted a Donald Trump victory, even though they all acknowledged that Ted Cruz was not far behind. But in real life, not many people expected Cruz to win, even though if there were serious questions of whether or not Trump supporters are real and if they will actually turn out to vote. Well they were real, but Cruz had more of them. Trump almost even slipped down to 3rd place, as it was confirmed that Rubio's late surge was real. His 23.1% is an extremely good show in a state like Iowa. This was a huge loss for Trump. More precisely his ego. For mo...

AP Photo 2016 Republican Presidential candidate, and frontrunner (by a lot, as he would say), Donald Trump had a great night last night. He held a huge rally at Iowa's Drake University, as he comfortably awaits the next ten days where he has every chance to win the first two states that are voting: Iowa and New Hampshire. Oh, that's right. There was also a GOP Debate going on at the same time, accordingly without Mr. Trump. Everyone was calling Trump out for being scared of Megyn Kelly. Not True. For risking his future as he is neck-and-neck with Ted Cruz. Not True. Trump simply had a problem with the moderators, so he decided to stay away. Rand Paul did the same thing for the last debate, when he had a problem with the criteria. And it looked like Paul made a good choice then, but Trump seems to have made an even better one this time around. People should really be used to this by now. If you disagree with Trump, it means that he is doing the right thing, while also ...

The First Republican Debate of the Year happened last night. It was all about Trump vs. Cruz, Rubio vs. Cruz and Cruz vs. everyone. Ted Cruz was the ultimate winner though. Cruz spoke the most and was the most talked about as well, together with Trump. Earlier this week Trump narrowly retook Iowa from Cruz, but now it really will be a 50/50 race in the first voting state. They used to be on pretty good terms, but as Iowa votes in just over two weeks time, on February 1st, gloves are off and it is all about blood now. Trump and Cruz had several big battles last night. Trump again attacked Cruz on him being born in Canada. It probably doesn't really matter, cause he does seem to be qualified, but some Cruz voters might stay away from him, and in a close race like this, that could decide everything. And by everything we don't only mean Iowa. If Trump wins in Iowa, and then in New Hampshire too, he could have enough of a momentum to go all the way. Yeah, it is scary. So someon...

Is he, or is he not? That is the current question on the Republican side. At least to Donald Trump. And he seems to think that Ted Cruz is not a real American, and should not be eligible to be the President. How is this possible? Well Cruz was born to an American mother, but in Canada. Donald Trump keep questioning if Ted Cruz can legally be elected as President. Cruz is technically a full righted American, so there should be no reason why he couldn't be President. He wouldn't waste all this money on the campaign if he would knew that legally he is not eligible. The whole thing is a total nonsense, and Mitt Romney seems to think so too. A vast array of establishment Republicans have come out to support Cruz on this issue. It seems like they are even keen to support him, in fact anyone, just not Trump. But Trump being Trump keeps bringing it up, and it seems like it may work. Some people may question their support for Cruz, and may switch back to Trump. The candidate with...

Former President Bill Clinton began campaigning for Hillary Clinton this week. With less than four weeks before the first votes are cast, many campaigns are shaking up their tactics. Hillary is now enlisting Bill, Trump has ads and Christie is heading to Iowa. But will these new methods work? Just like Joe Biden though, Bill Clinton is known for his gaffes. In 2008 too, he made some controversial and unfortunate statements, and many saw him as a liability to his wife's campaign. This time around, he has been noticeably missing from the campaign trail, only appearing in some family gatherings with Chelsea Clinton too. However as 2016 arrives, Bill Clinton, one of America's most loved politicians, will start to heavily campaign for Hillary in both Iowa and New Hampshire. This is a change of direction for the campaign as they hope to solidify their lead in Iowa, and fight back in New Hampshire. Bill Clinton though seems to be tightly monitored and censored t...

There is an alternative way of predicting who will be the party's nominee in a Presidential Race. And no, it's not polls. It's the endorsement count from current and former politicians. If a few important and influential politicians back your campaign, they can sway a lot of their supporters towards you. And that could make the difference. Some candidates deliberately want to get the support of a few famous faces, and not that of the general public. Let's see how this applies to 2016. On the Republican side, Donald Trump leads in the polls. By a lot (as he would say). But there has not been a single politician in Congress, or within any higher levels of state government who backed him. Not one. He got one former Virginia representative and a few state legislators from a variety of states, but no one important. Jeb Bush on the other hand leads the endorsement primary. By a lot. Apart from two former Presidents and First Ladies and a Vice President, he a...