As a belated item for President’s Day I have created this mousepadwith Lincoln’s picture and a quote from his second inaugural address. Although something with words like “with malice toward none, with charity for all” hardly seems like it should be posted in the Politics category.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ex-presidents Clinton and Bush have become friends according to the New York Times . It gives me some hope that we can find our way to a place where we realize we don’t always have to agree with each other to be friends.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I had another democratic friend who referred to to the study that said that Red states were not as smart as Blue stats and made what seems like a logical assumption that Republicans are dumber than Democrats. I read another article yesterday that said that Democrats make less money and are more likely to be urban and poorer. Those facts seemed like an odd combination to me so I did a little more research. The facts, as usual, are more complicated. I refer you to this web sitefor an in depth analysis. The most interesting statistics I found were these (originally from UPI) about voting patterns from the 2002 mid-term election. They show a trend that is reported to be true also for the presidential elections. Basically the Democratic party does better with both ends of the educational spectrum and the Republicans with the center.

 2002 House Elections      Education  Level    %  of total GOP Share  White     No HS               3%          53%     HS Grad             22%         56%     Some College        30%         61%     College Grad        26%         63%     Some Postgrad       20%         54%  Black     No HS               7%          2%     HS Grad             25%         4%     Some College        38%         10%     College Grad        22%         16%     Some Postgrad       8%          19%  Hispanic     No HS               14%         27%     HS Grad             22%         31%     Some College        35%         35%     College Grad        18%         55%     Some Postgrad       11%         40% 

Popularity: 2% [?]

Bush has not even taken his second oath of office and The Moderate Voice points out an interesting ABC article on a possible run by Senator John McCain in 4 years.

The country’s most politically unpredictable politoco is sparking speculation that he has already launched an unofficial 2008 Presidential bid. And if you look at several strands and piece them together, it seems logical.

Popularity: 1% [?]

CNN reports that Ohio finally made it official that the 2004 election is over. Much of the delay comes from the provisional ballots that were allowed this time around. I still have to wonder about provisional ballots. It seems that delays are pretty inevitable. Was it so terrible to require people be registered in advance?

Popularity: 1% [?]