Finchley 1959 - Explore new Perspectives

AP Photo/Politico March 15 will be the most crucial day (of their lives) for both John Kasich and Marco Rubio. They both need to win their home states, to maintain even their slightest chances of becoming the next President of the United States. However, Donald Trump will e challenging them hard - as they surely must be used to it by now. Super Tuesday 3, here we go! Marco Rubio won Puerto Rico lately, and by a huge margin. It's not a lot of delegates, only 23. But still better than nothing. But what will be more important is that it can be a good indicator for Florida. Florida has over a million Puerto Ricans, and Rubio needs every one of them to win. He really counts on the Latino vote to come out and support him, because without it, it's completely impossible for him to win. However, just because you are from Florida, it doesn't mean that you will win. Especially because Florida is Trump's second home. All of the latest polls, and even from months ago, ha...

AP Photo/Politico Donald Trump is the next President of the United States. Ooops, that is November 9 headline of Finchley 1959, not today's. But Nevada helped Trump a lot. Trump is now on course to win the Republican nomination. He can still be stopped, but the chances of that are decreasing. But surely, even if he wins among the Republicans, Bernie or Hillary can stop him right? Well, even that is doubtful. Last night Trump proved that he is electable. He can win states all around the country. He won with the young, old, evangelicals and both the highly and less-educated people. But most stunningly, he even won among Hispanics. And by a lot. And this is especially a staggering result, as both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have strong hispanic heritages. But even if you add their support, Trump still won. What can stop him now? Marco Rubio came in second, though a lot behind Trump. Rubio always expected to do well here, but since the rise of Trump, no one thought that he woul...

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...

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...

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...

Today, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul became the latest Republican presidential candidate to suspend his campaign. The Senator finished 5th in Iowa, and had a good forecast for New Hampshire. But beyond that, his chances looked grim, as he faced fundraising shortages and a challenger back home. He was the only libertarian candidate and thus his presence greatly widened the debate, but he too was swept away by the rise of political outsiders as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. With his exit, 10 candidates remain in the race to battle it out for the party's ticket. Rand Paul 5th place finish in Iowa was seen as a positive surprise by many, as he managed to defeat the "establishment" governors of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich. But many people who understand how voters think, weren't surprised by Paul's results. Paul's libertarian message is particularly popular among college and young voters. Paul is against big government, and is a firm defendant of pri...

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...

Former New York Governor George Pataki has ended his campaign to be the Republican Presidential candidate in 2016. This comes just over a week after Senator Graham quit too, and just over a month before the first voters head to the polling stations. The moderate Republican Pataki failed to differentiate himself in the crowded 2016 field, and leaves 12 candidates in the race. George Pataki was the Governor of New York on 9/11 and based his campaign strategy on crisis management and foreign policy experience. He was also the only Republican candidate who supported same-sex marriage and one of the first ones to continusoly attack Trump over his comments during the early summer campaign period. Yet despite all of his best effort, he has failed to gain momentum in the polls, and never really polled above 2%. Not even in New Hampshire where he focused his campaign. He also failed to raise enough money to continue, and continues the "Curse of the Governors". Pataki became the ...

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham became the latest Republican Presidential candidate to suspend his candidacy. While Graham consistently received positive feedback from his debate performances, he has failed to convert them to higher poll numbers and fundraising. The veteran Senator had a very strong foreign policy credential, but will be most remembered for his quarrels with frontrunner Donald Trump. Graham's exit leaves 13 candidates in the contest, although the number of candidates with even decent chances is about half of that number. Graham's campaign was always considered to be a long-shot one, but with the endorsement of 2008 nominee, John McCain early on, he was taken more seriously. However even with McCain's endorsement, Graham failed to lift off. Early on he received heavy criticism for being too boring and lacking public speaking skills, but he actually performed really well during the undercard debates. But the emphasis is on the undercard, as he nev...

The last debates of the year for both parties occurred, and now it is time to get ready for the Christmas Campaign. The Democrats met up in New Hampshire, where Bernie Sanders seems to have a small, yet comfortable lead over Hillary Clinton. It may have been the honorary home state advantage, but Bernie Sanders won the debate. He came out very strong and excited, and delivered a great performance. There were two things that could have seriously hurt him. Guns, but he handled those questions well. Data breach. Data breach? What data breach? That's right, no one cares about that. It only showed that the DNC really is against Bernie rise to stardom, but their plan backfired as the Vermont Senator gained more support. The latest polls show that he is increasing his lead in New Hampshire, and he is slowly, but once again chipping away from Hillary's lead in Iowa and nationwide after weeks of stagnating results. Hillary didn't have a bad night either. She was better tha...