Ben Goddard

It makes for a good news story, and it is almost necessary as the Republican Party line going into the 2010 elections, but predictions of an electoral disaster for Democrats in November are premature. Especially if they finally do get a healthcare reform bill passed — no matter the parliamentary hoops they jump through to do it. And by the way — all the inside-the-Beltway hand-wringing over tools like “reconciliation” and “deem and pass” are largely lost on voters out in the real America. They think the Congress operates with smoke and mirrors anyway.

We now have what appears to be the final healthcare reform message strategy from both the White House and the Republican leadership. The Republican talking points are that no one in America likes this bill and the Democrats are playing procedural politics to ram it down everyone’s throat. The White House has found the enemy, and it is insurers.

Most political analysts have been speculating over the imminent death of the Democratic Party.

Out on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains is a small business that has managed to survive robust and rough economic times for nearly 30 years. 

Last evening a movie about life, death and the survival of our planet premiered at Universal Studios in Hollywood.

I must first state the obvious: Almost any other Democrat with any other campaign team running with any other strategy would have held off Scott Brown’s Massachusetts momentum and saved that Senate seat for the Democrats.

Much of the political chatter about healthcare reform in the past week has been of the glass-half-empty variety. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had to make too many deals.

Nothing beats word of mouth. Advertisers lust after the buzz that creates a “tipping point” of desire for their products. Political strategists crave the “chatter” that builds momentum for their candidates. All of this still holds true in the digital age. If anything, “going viral” has become the next Holy Grail for products and political campaigns.

Maybe it comes from nearly three decades of political involvement in the Golden State, but I’ve always considered California something of a bellwether — the canary in the coalmine when it comes to early warning signs of political trends. The most recent Field Poll, a widely reported and quoted and generally accurate reading of California tea leaves, suggests rough seas ahead for state governments. The clear message from voters is that they are mad as hell at the governor and the State Legislature and want some serious changes, but they are not sure their leaders are up to the job.

As the White House debates how to respond to Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s call for additional troops in Afghanistan, two powerful allies are said to be pushing for an escalation of U.S. forces. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton seem to have done a mind meld on Afghanistan policy.