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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. It’s an ill wind that blows no good and a rare political season that brings no lessons.
Here are six salient teaching moments inspired by the finally concluded Republican presidential contest. Some are familiar; a few are surprising and all together reveal much about American politics entering the second decade of a still young century.
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04-15-12
Word count: 972
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
The Pennsylvania primary scheduled for April 24th was to be Rick Santorum’s triumphal return — celebrating his resurgence in national politics after his crushing defeat just six years earlier for re-election to the senate.
It’s not turning out that way.
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04-05-12
Word count: 904
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. Irony abounds for Pennsylvania’s upcoming April 24 Republican presidential primary. The greatest perhaps is that Rick Santorum, a former state politician brutally dumped by voters just six years ago, returns to the state as the first Pennsylvanian in half a century to contest seriously the presidency.
Moreover, notwithstanding his defeat of historic proportions in 2006, he seems likely to win the Pennsylvania contest.
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03-22-12
Word count: 878
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. In Greek mythology it’s known as being between Scylla and Charybdis. Logicians sometimes call it Morton’s Fork. And ordinary folks refer to it as finding oneself between a rock and a hard place or between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Whatever you call it, the Republican Party has plenty of it. Super Tuesday’s not so super results have left the GOP in a semi-permanent quandary over their 2012 nominee — one that promises no early or easy resolution.
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03-11-12
Word count: 948
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. Why did he lose so badly? And what does it mean now?
These two inextricably linked questions — why Rick Santorum lost his Pennsylvania Senate seat so decisively in 2006 and what it means for his presidential campaign in 2012 — are increasingly being asked within Republican Party circles.
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02-19-12
Word count: 985
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. Among Republicans, it’s axiomatic: Protracted presidential primary battles in the spring tend to hurt the party’s chances for victory in the fall.
This year, however, that hoary maxim seems to have been turned on its head by the newer GOP conventional wisdom that prolonged nomination contests lead to stronger, battle-tested nominees who win in the fall.
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02-02-12
Word count: 899
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. Rick Santorum’s startling surge in Iowa to a near-first-place finish has stunned much of the political world. Governor Romney called it a “virtual tie,” and a virtual tie it was.
For months the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and putative Republican presidential candidate looked like a sure loser. His polls reflected single-digit support. He had little money, even less organization, and no chance of winning the GOP nomination — or so it appeared.
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01-06-12
Word count: 943
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. The Wall Street Journal, normally no admirer of Barack Obama, nevertheless is proffering some advice for the embattled president. Drop Joe Biden from the 2012 ticket and replace him with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bye Bye Biden? intones the alliteratively gifted Journal.
The newspaper’s not entirely implausible premise is that Clinton might help Obama in some key states and among some key groups that are critical but questionable for the president’s re-election ... |
12-13-11
Word count: 1023
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. As the 2012 presidential election looms ever closer, two hard facts confront American politics.
The first is that Barack Obama — despite enormous obstacles — could still win next year’s presidential election. The second is that he probably won’t.
Both of these propositions deserve close scrutiny.
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12-05-11
Word count: 952
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. Is Herman Cain going to win the GOP nomination? Maybe! Must he now be taken seriously as a credible candidate for that nomination? Unquestionably!
Leading or in second place in virtually every recent national poll, Cain is steadily gaining support while demonstrating impressive resilience. The question is no longer whether Cain is a serious candidate for president; the question is why.
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11-02-11
Word count: 900
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. Some articles make a point; this simply raises one. Why are national Republicans having such a hard time finding a presidential candidate that can beat Obama?
It’s not for lack of trying.
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10-09-11
Word count: 979
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. We pose a hypothetical question. Suppose a certain state, long a political power in national politics, was beginning to lose some of its clout, as its population growth slowed.
Once the second largest state in terms of electoral votes, it had recently fallen to fifth place with only 20 electoral votes, well behind electoral behemoths like California (55 votes), Texas (38 votes) and New York (29 votes).
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09-21-11
Word count: 1047
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. “What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know; it's what we know for sure that just ain't so.” Mark Twain’s famous maxim comes to mind while reading an article we wrote on September 28, 2001, shortly after terrorists attacked America.
Not that we didn’t get some things right.
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09-11-11
Word count: 994
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. The troubling questions assail us in a seemingly unending assault on our national equilibrium.
Is America in trouble? Why does our economy seem to be collapsing? Why do our politicians fail us? What is wrong with our government? What should we do? What can we do?
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08-21-11
Word count: 890
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. The country’s traumatic “debt crisis” may be over, but it’s far from gone. The aftermath of the months-long imbroglio still lingers as we assess the harm done to the nation’s fiscal image, the wreckage to stocks, and the collateral damage to an already fragile recovery.
Worse perhaps, it failed to deal with the nation’s mammoth $14.5 trillion debt.
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08-07-11
Word count: 934
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. It’s an old political proverb: no one runs for vice president except everyone running for president. Okay, we made up that last part.
The actual adage is shorter: no one runs for vice president. But that is patent nonsense. Although they’ll deny it to the bitter end, presidential candidates often end up hoping their party’s nominee will pick them to run as vice president.
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06-26-11
Word count: 935
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. According to an old cliché, there are no dumb questions. But we’re asking one that might seem dumb — one that challenges some cherished assumptions about politics, presidents, and elections.
The question is this: What matters in choosing among presidential candidates? Does it matter if someone is ignorant of U.S. history, prone to eccentric views, belongs to an unfamiliar religion, doesn’t always speak correctly, gets confused about facts, or is given ... |
06-19-11
Word count: 1005
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. It’s an enduring puzzle. On the one hand, Barack Obama seems like a big fat target for his political enemies. Some 18 months before the next election, his job approval ratings remain low, the economy still struggles, foreign policy challenges remain, two wars continue, and the national debt is soaring.
Often the question seems, Can this guy finish out his term? And not, Can he be reelected to another one?
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06-05-11
Word count: 924
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. It will always be remembered as the day Americans learned that archfiend, terrorist-in-chief, Osama bin Laden was dead. Millions rejoiced,rightly, at the death of the very embodiment of 21st century evil.
But bad as Osama was, and significant as his death will be, something else equally important may have happened that day. May 1, 2011, may also come to be remembered as the day a once embattled Barack Obama nailed down his second term.
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05-15-11
Word count: 827
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 | ...Lancaster, PA, USA. It’s been a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes. How does Pennsylvania do it?
How does a state that has long been a political colossus in national elections and hugely important in presidential politics fail so dismally, election after election, to produce presidential aspirants?
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05-02-11
Word count: 986
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The TS-Si News Service
and the TS-Si Research Service are collaborations of TS-Si officials, staff, contributors, and corresponding institutions. The contents do not necessarily convey official positions of TS-Si or its owners, participants, partners, or affiliates.