White House Bureau Chief James Downie returns for one last column. He will, however, be covering the College Democrats’ trip this weekend to Virginia.

(Note: this column’s title meant to be followed by a voiced guitar strum, a la the 80s classic). 

Well, here’s my last column. No, please stop cheering–it makes me sad. On March 21, 2006, (two years, seven months, and one week ago) Senator Joe Biden kicked things off by announcing his campaign for president. At the time, the frontrunners in the two parties included Bill Frist, John Kerry, George Allen, and Al Gore, not to mention the 15 or so candidates who actually ended up entering the race, only to lose to the two senators whose names now occupy our ballots.

It was always expected that, without an incumbent on either side, this race would be dramatic. And yet the 2008 campaign still managed to exceed expectations, still kept our attention even in the doldrums of the never-ending primary, still held the top slot in almost every news cycle. One of two very different men ask for the chance to deal with the worst economic crisis in many, many years. All you need to do is vote. It may be a 1-in-10 million chance of making a difference, but it’s the most important thing you can do to get the country you want.

Also, if you’ve taken any time to read this column over the past eight months (whether you liked it or not), thanks. I appreciate it. And now, for one last time, the news: Read more…

White House Bureau Chief James Downie resumes his duties.

Normally, I’ve tried to begin these dispatches with a semi-relevant segue. Yet, as of tomorrow, there will be only two weeks left before the end of the presidential campaign. Frankly, the election at this point needs no introduction, so let’s just jump right in. And now, the news:

Rollin’ in the Benjamins: Senator Barack Obama raised $150 million in September. $150,000,000. That is a staggering amount of money. John McCain, who is bound by public financing rules, only has $47 million left to spend in October. That sound you hear is every TV and radio in the country running Obama ads.

Palin in the Big City: Governor Sarah Palin appeared on SNL last weekend, and you can see videos from the (meh) episode here. Read more…

White House Bureau Chief James Downie takes a break from studying to file another dispatch:

It’s midterm time. For most, this time of year  inevitably leads to at least one or two sleepless nights, and many sleep-light nights. Of course, there’s always that one person who just has to brag about how little they slept, or how many all-nighters they pulled. Yes, we know you worked hard – now we have our own books to study and papers to write. Go back to your home in Butler and get lost in a stack of Red Bull cans, because we do not care.

After all, for lack of sleep, nothing we do will compare to what Senators McCain and Obama, and their staffs (and the reporters covering them) are going through this month. They bounce from rally to rally, often in several different states over the course of a day (so each rally can be on different local newscasts). The candidates shake thousands of hands, while their staffs have to respond even more instantaneously (if that is possible) to the rapidly changing newscycle, not sure which little story of hundreds will lead the newscasts and newspapers that night. And everyone has to do so without making a single mistake. All this runs until the final exam on November 4, with the American people as the graders. Rest assured, the staffs will be sleep-deprived, and the candidates will be hoarse.

And now, the news:

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White House Bureau Chief James Downie returns with an early prediction on who will win the White House.

Recently I was rewatching the most recent season of the hit BBC show Top Gear. For the non-Anglophiles among my reader(s?), Top Gear is technically a car show, but it’s really much more about three middle-aged British “blokes” clowning about, driving fast cars, and staging epic stunts/races (including one to the North Pole) — with all the top production quality of the best American television. Anyways, last season they staged a race across Japan (which starts at 6:10 of this video), with one driving, and the other two taking the famous bullet train. After several hours, one side won — by only three minutes.

Sometimes, races are really that close. Most races, though, never reach the dramatic heights in the closing stages that the pre-race hype suggests they will. In fact, sometimes it is the blowout that becomes news. In politics, pundits have been blessed over the past eight years with two amazingly close presidential elections, and the greatest primary season since primaries began. This October, though, the only drama is on the baseball diamond. Barring a scandal of Lewinsky proportions, Senator Barack Obama will win in November. It’s now the same question that we had with Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps: Obama will win, but by how much?

Due to Bwog space restrictions, you’ll have to read below the fold to find out why. And now, the news:

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Bwog’s White House Bureau Chief James Downie files another dispatch.

Before I dive in, I’d like to extend my sympathies to any New York Mets fans reading this. By this, I mean I’d like to, but I can’t: as a Washington Nationals fan, I consider any season with a sniff of the playoffs to be a success.

Speaking of close-run things, we have only just begun the series of debates that could make this election as close as 2000, or could blow it wide open as in 1980. The campaigns are playing harder and harder as the number of undecided voters shrinks. Then, of course, there’s the whole Wall Street crisis. And now, the news:

Debate Redux and Reax: Friday night’s debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama was a close fight in the media’s eyes. Focus groups, though, such as this CBS poll, gave the debate to Obama by significant margins, many saying that his emphasis on the middle class and clear competence in standing up to McCain helped him. The past few hours, though, have seen far more important news.

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White House Bureau Chief James Downie continues his dispatches from the trail:

“Six weeks. Four candidates. Two winners. It all comes down to this.” If I were a bad copy writer like those who seemed to be advertising and writing last night’s Emmys (cheers to Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek for Damages!), that’s how I’d lead in. 

And while that would be hackneyed, cliched and overly dramatic (also known as “Heroes-like”), it would be wrong to think that nothing will change as the campaign ramps up to the first of three debates this Friday, and the last six weeks of the campaign. Whatever ground lost must be made up almost immediately, as the candidates jockey for the position of favorite heading into the debates, and then Election Day.

And now, the news:

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The school year has started again, and so Bwog’s “White House Bureau Chief” Jim Downie resumes his dispatches.

Gather ’round, Terrible 12s, and I’ll tell you a story. See, way back in your senior year of high school, Bwog decided to ask me to write a weekly column about the election. I’ve been told the selection process involved “a dartboard.” This was back when we were still waiting for Super Tuesday, Clinton was still the favorite, John McCain was only just completing his comeback in the Republican primary, and the New York Giants had just saved the world from the only thing that could ever make Boston sports fans more annoying. I was young and innocent, and I was dazzled by the possibility of my name up in lights.

Actually, that’s a lie: I was bored, and it seemed like a fun thing to do at the time. I agreed, in exchange for a promise that I would be the first to know when somebody figures out what’s tasty about Tasti-D-Lite (I’m still waiting).

So what’s the idea behind Political Weekly? As I wrote in my column, ”The idea: “it’s not for political junkies. It’s for normal people.’ Sometimes serious, sometimes witty, sometimes nutty, and sometimes not even political (or linked).” It’s a combination of keeping you informed and helping you procrastinate. And now, the news (ten imaginary bucks to the first Anglophile who gets that reference):

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Bwog’s Political Columnist Jim Downie returns to live-blog some random speech.

No doubt 2012 is wondering why Bwog is employing a political columnist, and why he’s live-blogging alongside almost every other political website in the country. I can’t answer the first question, but, since I’m here, I might as well live-blog the first presidential nominee with a Columbia undergraduate degree.

9:18: Dems have trotted out 25 retired generals onto the stage. Subtle.

9:25: At the bottom of its graphics, CNN has a Nantucket Nectars-inspired “Facts” box. It’s wonderfully distracting.

9:30: Joe Biden introduces a parade of random people to attest to Obama. So far, we have a union man from Michigan and a teacher from Ohio. Again, subtle.

9:33: These are some of the most animated speeches we’ve seen, actually. Though, in fairness, following Al Gore would make anyone look animated. 

9:35: A woman with a graduate degree is shouting “¡Buenas noches!” Lou Dobbs’s head just exploded. 

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Bwog White House Bureau Chief Jim Downie’s Political Weekly returns for a special end-of-times/beginning-of-times look at the Democratic nomination and a wrap-up of last month’s campaign trail happenings.

And then there were two. One year, three months and twenty-four days after declaring his campaign for the Democratic nomination, Senator Barack Obama finally crossed the elusive delegate threshold and declared victory. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer (normally as blase as his first name is silly) was heard to declare time and again “people are seeing history being made.” His soothing voice and Helfand-esque beard made this blogger want to be a ridiculously small part of that “history,” and so Political Weekly returns for its first of several irregular summer appearances. Whether this post will live up to that history is another story — probably a story of complete failure.

And now, the news:

IT’S OVER! SWEET LORD, IT’S OVER: As of writing, Senator Obama looks set to end the night with around 2150 delegates — about 32 above the 2118 needed to numerically clinch the nomination. Fortunately for his campaign, this allowed him to declare victory on the last primary night, when the networks were all ready to cover his victory. His speech, at a packed arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, can be found here, and video of the start of the speech can be found here.

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Every week this year seems to have its Super Tuesday. It’s time once again to check in with White House Bureau Chief Jim Downie for the last Political Weekly of the semester. 

Reading week is the time when Columbia students (supposedly) “take it to the next level.” Unbelievably, the same is still true today of the Democratic presidential candidates. That’s right, it’s Super Tuesday 4.0, what may turn out to be the most important day of the campaign. With Hillary Clinton carrying the momentum, Barack Obama looking for a new victory to try and close the deal, and John McCain, well, doing absolutely nothing except shaking his head at yet another Democratic hara-kiri.

On another note, this will be the last column of the semester, due to exam-related circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no grand movie theme to go out on, but rest assured this column will return in the fall (and possibly make an occasional summer appearance) with even more news to keep you procrastinating. And now, the news:

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Bwog’s coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign continues with Jim Downie’s Political Weekly, now back to its regularly scheduled Monday broadcast. 

This week in politics is like the eye of a hurricane (or at least a tropical depression): stuck in between two supposedly significant weeks. Life on the campaign trail continues incessantly: campaign strategists will scheme for votes, blogs will comb ever deeper for “news,” newspapers will ignore their impending doom as a mass media, and America will eagerly await the coming summer vacation for the next semi-attractive white girl to be kidnapped so they finally get some enjoyable news again. Political Weekly also soldiers on, bringing you the news you might have already found while procrastinating.

(Also, in honor of the Ron Paul fans who did not realize I was not comparing him to “former mayor” Rudy, but rather “Samwise Gamgee” Rudy, all introductory taglines will reference Lord of the Rings. Whether I’m proud that I can do this is something I’d rather not confront.)

And now, the news:

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Today’s the Pennsylvania primary, which means that it’s time for another very special Tuesday edition of White House Bureau Chief Jim Downie’s Political Weekly. 

April 22nd, 2008: Known in the rest of the world as the first of two European Champions League semifinals, Americans know it as Super Tuesday 3.0. Unlike its predecessors of March 4 and February 5, April 22 has had the distinction of being declared not-so-definitive weeks before it actually arrived. Barring a shock upset by Senator Barack Obama in Pennsylvania tonight, the contest will continue at least until May 6 (also known as Super Tuesday 4.0). Of course, many other famous products have taken a long time before getting it right, such as Macintosh (22 years until Mac OS X / the iPod), airplanes (several thousand years until the Wright Brothers), and AOL (when pigs fly). All this while John McCain continues to laugh happily in his corner.

And now, the news:

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Another very special Tuesday installment of Political Weekly with Bwog’s White House Bureau Chief Jim Downie.

It’s spring, which means that Columbia can remove those unsightly tarps from the lawns just in time for prospective students to think that Columbia always looks this happy. Of course, spring is also the time of year when the thoughts of young men and women turn to love (and when writers look for new and witty ways to use that cliche). On the campaign trail, though, love is not exactly in the air, as the Democratic race grows more and more tense while the next round of primaries move closer. 

“Bitter”-gate: The big story this past weekend was Senator Barack Obama’s words at a San Francisco fundraiser, where he said of Pennsylvania voters “So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain both jumped on the comment, letting America know that Pennsylvanians are actually incapable of feeling bitter. Clinton also spent the weekend honing her new “I love guns” image, trying to paint Obama as too “elitist” for the general election. Almost immediately, Obama hit back, and yesterday he got even tougher, referring to Clinton as “Annie Oakley,” and even shouting “shame on her!”

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Jim Downie’s Political Weekly returns to its regularly scheduled broadcast time with a campaign trail synopsis that doesn’t involve George Krebs or Alidad Damooei.

As elections draw nearer, the candidates continue to slog it out on the campaign trail. The whirlwind schedule of endorsements, media, flyering, and stumping becomes even more repetitive to both the candidates and their audiences. Though there’s a certain thrill for the candidates, everyone looks forward to the day when the results are finally in.

But enough about CCSC elections (ba-dum-cha!)—let’s talk about the presidential campaign. Just over two weeks away from “The End” version 3.0 (Pennsylvania on April 22), with promises that, barring complete Sptizer-esque meltdown, there will at least be “The End” version 4.0 (Indiana and North Carolina on May 6), the campaigns continue to slog through the most remarkable election in recent memory. Seriously, if you’re not excited by this never-ending campaign season, then…well, then you’re probably normal. And now, the news:

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White House Bureau Chief Jim Downie returns with news from the campaign trail (on a Tuesday!). April fools?

Spring means baseball, and on Sunday night, your blogger’s favorite baseball team, the Washington Nationals, opened their new ballpark in DC (with a win over the Braves, by the way). The number of people who thought last year that this Democratic primary would still being going when baseball started? Even fewer than the number of people who thought that all four top seeds would be in this year’s Final Four (that sound you heard after Kansas beat Davidson? Pool experts screaming as the novices celebrated their winning brackets).

As the primary campaign on the Democratic side drags on for at least another month (see below), people continue to ask: when is this going to end? And now, the news:

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