Blog Entries

Women and Politics: What is your Next Step?

ljp@gwu.edu — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:41:07 +0100

Nancy Bocskor, Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University.

The statistics are clear: women make up less than 17% of the U.S. Congress yet 51% of the population. As The White House Project Founder, Marie Wilson, said many years ago, “Add women, change everything.”

Studies abound about why women choose to not run for office:� [...]

GW to Cross 250,000 Alumni Milestone at May 2012 Commencement

ljp@gwu.edu — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:54:36 +0100

Video + Infographic Feature Alumni Community Highlights

This May’s GW Commencement will mark a milestone in the lives of the class of 2012, and for the university at large. May 20, 2012 will mark the first time that the university community includes more than a quarter million living alumni.

As the video and infographic that accompany this story illustrate, it is not just the quantity of alumni – 250,000+ – but the quality and interconnectedness of this [...]

Monday, May 7, 2012 Battleground Poll Results

ljp@gwu.edu — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:32:45 +0100

President Obama’s job approval rating has significantly increased over the past four months to 53 percent among voters according to a new POLITICO-George Washington University Battleground Poll released today. Last November his favorable approval rating was at 44 percent, marking a nine point increase. Read the full press release.

Press Release
Poll Results

Questionnaire and results
Graphical results

Analysis

Republican Analysis
Democratic Analysis

PR [...]

POLITICO-George Washington University Battleground Poll: Romney Polls Even with Obama

ljp@gwu.edu — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:22:17 +0100

WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are essentially tied among voters at 48 percent and 47 percent respectively, according to a new POLITICO-George Washington University Battleground Poll released today.

“With the closing of the Republican nomination race, Mitt Romney has solidified his base in this Battleground Poll,” said Christopher Arterton, GW professor of political management. “But, wheth [...]

Secretary LaHood Talks Cell Phones, Light Rail, Cooperation

ljp@gwu.edu — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:23:41 +0100

Stopping distracted driving and encouraging bipartisanship are top of secretary’s priority list.

April 23, 2012

In a wide-ranging town-hall style discussion in GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood touched on bipartisanship in the White House and Congress, Americans’ interest in light rail and other public transit options and his personal campaign to stop distracted driving. The event, “On the Go: Ensuring a Quality Transportation Sys [...]

Why the 2012 Race Should Be About Obsolete Law

ljp@gwu.edu — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:35:23 +0100

the Atlantic

by Adjunct Professor Ron Faucheux

The people are ahead of the politicians. They fervently believe government is broken and they want it fixed. Inexplicably, few candidates for the White House or Congress this year are offering the bold reforms voters want.

A recent nationwide poll* my firm conducted for Common Good, the nonpartisan reform coalition, found that strong majorities of voters see obsolete law--and the useless programs and regulations it spawns [...]

Women and Politics: What is your “Next Step”?

ljp@gwu.edu — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:47:20 +0100

by Adjunct Professor Nancy Bocskor

Studies abound about why women choose to not run for office: family responsibilities, the rough-and-tumble process of politics, not feeling qualified. As I like to tell students, men wake up and declare, “I’m running for Pre [...]

Get ready now for 113th Congress

ljp@gwu.edu — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:24:30 +0100

by Adjunct Professor David K. Rehr, Ph.D.

Association Trends

03/22/2012

There are more than nine months left of this session of Congress. There’s still a lot to do and our government relations people need to stay fully engaged advocating on behalf of our membership.

But it is also not too early to begin thinking about the 113th Congress. In fact, insist your team begin to reach out to potentially new members right now. More than 50 members in the House [...]

Campaign Amateurs and Campaign Pros (Re: Last Night's Elections)

ljp@gwu.edu — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:52:27 +0100

by Dr. Michael Cornfield

duckrabbitpolitics

If you are a campaign amateur, interested in and even passionate about politics, you might be concluding from the way last night's results have been reported and discussed that Santorum gained on Romney.

Wrong. Romney won more delegates last night than Santorum.

And the way Romney won them illustrates the difference between a pro and an amateur. For example: Santorum won the most votes in Alabama, and in the narra [...]

Your job is to create a great board

ljp@gwu.edu — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:28:23 +0100

by Adjunct Professor David K. Rehr, Ph.D.

03/08/2012

The 72,000 trade associations all have one thing in common – the CEO and the association staff all ultimately report (and work for) a board of directors.

Let’s face it. As CEOs, we have all worked for great boards, with capable and successful individuals who passionately care about the association, its membership, and the industry the trade association represents. But in our drive for success, we sometimes forget [...]

The Man With the Dog on His Car Roof: Or, The Curious Case of the Unpopular Nominee Presumptive

ljp@gwu.edu — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:10:13 +0100

by Dr. Michael Cornfield

duckrabbitpolitics

For decades now, media accounts by journalists and campaigners of how the race for the presidency is faring have complicated our understanding of the nomination and election process.

This year, the narrative has an unusual feature: a nominee presumptive, someone who has a huge advantage in the contest to win delegates, who appears unshakably unpopular. As our pollsters put it, he's "upside down," with higher unfa [...]

McCain: GOP campaign 'Greek tragedy'

ljp@gwu.edu — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:21:15 +0100

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Ex-Republican presidential hopeful John McCain says the party's nominee could be so damaged by the primary campaign he'd be unable to beat U.S. President Obama.

"This is like watching a Greek tragedy," McCain told the Boston Herald. "It's the negative campaigning and the increasingly personal attacks ... . It should have stopped long ago. Any utility from the debates has been exhausted, and now it's just exchanging cheap shots and personal shots followed [...]

Wonkbook: In Michigan, a win that made Romney look weak

ljp@gwu.edu — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:18:16 +0100

Washington Post - by Ezra Klein

On Tuesday, after outspending his opponent by 2-1, Mitt Romney managed to win his home state by four points. That's a win. But it's a win that makes Romney look weak, not strong.

Republican presidential candidate, former Mas [...]

DNC: Romney out of touch

ljp@gwu.edu — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Posted by CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin 02/29/12

(CNN) - A day after Mitt Romney pulled out victories in Michigan and Arizona, the Democratic National Committee is out with a new video slamming him as out-of-touch.

The two-minute, web-only video is a compilation of Romney’s campaign gaffes and news personalities asking, in the words of CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, “whether he has trouble connecting with voters.”

Its re [...]

PolitiFact changes rating on Rubio’s ‘conservative America’ remark

ljp@gwu.edu — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:26:51 +0100

Washington Post - by Erik Wemple 02/27/12

Bill Adair, the boss of PolitiFact, said to me last week in response to all the pressure put on his site’s fact-checks by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow:

When we’ve been criticized in the past, we have looked at our work and in a few cases have changed our ratings. I don’t know if we’ll do that this time.

Well, they did.

PolitiFact has revised its rating of a statement made earlier this month by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-F [...]

Democratic Pollster Says Santorum's "Blue Collar Politics" Make Him More Competitive ...

ljp@gwu.edu — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:22:00 +0100

US News and World Report - by Lauren Fox 02/27/12

A Politico/ George Washington University poll released Monday reveals former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney fares better against President Barack Obama than former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. But Democratic Pollster Celinda Lake admits, as time goes on, that number could change to show Santorum's more difficult to defeat in the general election.

"Santorum does have a certain appeal in terms of blue collar politics, a [...]

Poll: Obama holds double digit lead over Romney and Santorum

ljp@gwu.edu — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:15:03 +0100

CNN - by Paul Steinhauser 02/27/12

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama holds double digit leads over the top two GOP presidential candidates, according to a new national survey.

A Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll released Monday indicates Obama topping former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 53% to 43% in a hypothetical general election matchup, with the president leading former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania [...]

President Obama’s approval rating at 53 percent in latest Politico-GW Battleground Poll

ljp@gwu.edu — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:13:35 +0100

ABC affiliate WCJB,Gainesville, Florida (video) 02/27/12

New Politico-GW Battleground Poll has President Obama leading all four Republicans trying to ...

ljp@gwu.edu — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:12:30 +0100

Various CBS affiliates (video) 02/27/12

President Obama up 10 points on Mitt Romney in latest Politico-GW Battleground Poll

ljp@gwu.edu — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:11:04 +0100

Bloomberg Television (video) 02/27/12