Painting of Potus 7: Andrew Jackson a/k/a "Old Hickory"

click Andrew Jackson to enlarge

President Jackson is probably best known for his mug starring on the Twenty Dollar Bill. As you probably know, his nickname was Old Hickory. He was a hero in the War of 1812, where he took the British for a ride. Jackson was a polarizing figure who nevertheless dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s.

In the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, Jackson's 5,000 soldiers stomped the Brits. Out of 7,500 British soldiers, the British had more than 2,000 casualties vs. Jackson's 13 killed and 58 wounded or missing.

Possibly the most shameful legacy of Andrew Jackson's presidency was his advocacy of a policy of "Indian removal." In his December 8, 1829 Annual Message to Congress, Jackson stated:

"This emigration should be voluntary, for it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed that if they remain within the limits of the States they must be subject to their laws. In return for their obedience as individuals they will without doubt be protected in the enjoyment of those possessions which they have improved by their industry."

Andy was responsible for a number of POTUS firsts: he was the first populist president to not rise from the aristocracy; he was the first President to have his vice-president (John C. Calhoun) resign, and he was the first to marry a divorcee. Most importantly to the partisans among us, he helped shape The Democratic Party. He may have believed in democracy, and been a Democrat, but sadly, he "owned" up to 150 slaves, who worked his nearly 1,000 acre plantation.
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The Barackus Caucus in Seattle

We went to our local caucus as we usually do. One difference this time around--instead of 18 people, our caucus had 94 people.



In our precinct, the vote went 72 for Obama and 22 for Clinton, or, five delegates for Obama, and two for Clinton. The majority of the undecided later went for Clinton, although not enough to give us an additional delegate to the county convention.

Interestingly--and this may be an anomaly--of the 72 Obama voters, about 15 were women. On the Clinton side, about 12 of our 22 voters were women. Keelin made a good speech for Hillary Clinton, and even brough up my Joe Lieberman argument. A lot of Obama supporters seem to think he will nominate George Clooney for VP, rather than the tired old hack or wardheeler he will inevitably have thrust upon him. They also seemed to believe he would end the war January 21st, fix the economy within a few months, and become fast friends with many of the other world leaders.

In the end, of course, we'll all pull for whichever candidate ends up on top. At the moment, Obama definitely has momentum. But all it takes is one little F**k-up to reverse that momentum. He's been pretty steady so far, but that only means he's due for one. This time, 'though, all of our skin will be in the game.
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Michigan, Nevada, and South Carolina: The Candidates scramble

click to enlarge the presidents


I am happy to see the race become a race again. Most of us wrote off McCain last summer and he's back! Romney came on strong for a while. Then Huck emerged from the shadows (was he, with his sidekick Chuck Norris, and his sometimes amazing performances on The Colbert Report just a flash...a mime, a momentary blip. Soon enough, Senators Biden and Dodd dropped out. And then, Obama gave Senator Clinton a serious ass-whuppin in Iowa, McCain surged in New Hampshire, and Clinton came back and bloodied Obama's nose. Edwards just can't seem to make any headway, but if you're a solid third, you get to live another day. The one-time front-runner Giuliani seriously needs a win (and things have to be grim around the home office with senior staff was placed on payroll hiatus). I always expected Giuliani would do something a little crazy, but instead he has just faded away. There is only so long you can milk being the Mayor of 9/11. Fred Thompson, on the surface is just the kind of folksy guy (remember, I said surface) that could mount a surge from the base, from Larry Lunchbucket, and even, I once thought, from Independents and disaffected Democrats. He jumped into the race, mystifyingly late, with a skeletal organization, and ended up an also-ran. [ed. note: that also means no more Jeri Kehn roundups on All This Is That, 'though we're overdue for one].

It feels like the race has narrowed to Huckabee, McCain, and Romney on the G.O.P. side, and Obama , Clinton, and Edwards for the Dems.

We have one race tomorrow, and two others very soon (Nevada comes down on Saturday). The Republican candidates hope to milk the frustration in the struggling and dejected blue-collar state of Michigan. The Dems (the front runners anyhow) have decided to quit playing the race card, since it appears to be losing votes for both Barack and Hillary.


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New national polls show Senator John McCain leading the Republicans after his startling comeback in last week's New Hampshire primary. And let's face it: Mitt Romney is fighting to save his campaign in Michigan, where he was born, and where his father was governor. Losing Michigan will be about six more nails in the coffin.

Senator Clinton seems to still be on top of the Dems nationally, leading Senator Obama 42 to 27 percent, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll (which seems so wrong!). However, another survey by ABC News and The Washington Post shows a far tighter margin...42 to 37 percent, just barely outside the range of the statistical margin of error.

A national poll shows McCain with a national lead of 33 percent to 18 percent over Ex-Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucus contest. Michigan is a close race between the Huck, McCain, and Romney, with Romney having a slight edge right now.
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