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American Government 10th Edition
Politics in the News
Clinton Ready to End Bid and Endorse Obama
6/5/2008
Adam Nagourney
Refer to Chapter 10
Essence of the Story
- Ending one of the longest and closest presidential nomination contests in history, Senator Hillary Clinton announces that she will suspend her campaign and endorse Senator Barack Obama.
- Clinton's closest supporters told her that the time to end the campaign was now, when she could maintain her position as a leader in the party. If she was to wait much longer, her prestige would erode.
- Now Obama campaigners are aggressively courting Clinton fundraisers and supporters as they begin to prepare for the general election.
Political Analysis
- It is difficult to understate how historic this primary contest has been, so I will just list the ways:
- The first African American major party nominee
- The most competitive woman presidential contender
- More than 400 million dollars spent in a primary contest
- The closest race in terms of votes and delegate counts since the modern presidential nomination system emerged in 1972
- This is a race you will tell your grandchildren about.
California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban
5/16/2008
Adam Liptak
Refer to Chapter 4
Essence of the Story
- The Calfornia Supreme Court , in a 4-3 decision, struck down two laws that banned gay marriage in that state.
- The Chief Justice wrote that the California constitution "must be interpreted to guarantee this right to all citizens."
- Many religious and other conservative groups attacked the decision, saying that the Court misinterpreted the historical meaning of "marriage."
- The Court left open the possibility that the Legislature could provide benefits to gay couples for something called other than "marriage."
Political Analysis
- This issue will certainly be a part of the 2008 presidential contest, particularly since the case was in the largest state in the country.
- Neither presidential candidate is likely to be on record as supporting gay marriage, however; this still is too politically dangerous of an issue.
- It seems likely that gay marriage changes will be led by courts, not by legislatures.