In just two short years, the face of America looks very different...and well-represented, for a change:

Two Years Ago:

Today:

Mark Nickolas is the Managing Editor of Political Base.

I realize that I'm going to get a ton of grief for this from my friends and colleagues, and I really hate it when I find myself siding with the Republican Party on policy -- because they're just so predictably wrong on almost everything they utter these days -- but...

Yesterday, the auto company bailout bill passed the House by a margin of 237 to 170. One member voted "present" and 26 members didn't bother to vote. After checking the roll call vote, I noticed that more than half of 26 non-voting members were those who either lost...

I've been sadly amused today watching the cable news bloviators discuss whether Caroline Kennedy is "qualified" to replace Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the U.S. Senate and, frankly, the whole debate shows how disconnected and self-absorbed the pretentious inside-the-Beltway crowd is about who they wish to admit into their...

One of the interesting factoids about President-elect Obama's (D) choice of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as secretary of state is that protocol will dictate that Clinton sit immediately to the right of Obama in cabinet meetings, making for great photos and a fascinating dynamic. The vice president sits immediately...

It seems that nothing is going to get in the way of the continued marginalization of the RNC communications' shop -- as known as Fox News -- now that they've helped to sweep Republicans out of power in Washington for many years to come. Just when you think that Fox...

Turns out that Hillary Clinton (D) and President-elect Obama (D) met yesterday in Chicago, presumably to talk about the possibility of her being named Secretary of State.

My two cents: I love the idea. It would be great if Obama named Clinton as his very first cabinet appointment...

One thing that's as shameful as the ever-present problem of 'false balance' that the traditional media rams down our throat each day, is the misleading stories they publish which are rooted in the fallacy of 'false equivalence.'

In a nutshell, false equivalence is an exercise where a reporter holds...

Not to rain on our post-election parade...but here's some food for thought...Among the yet-to-decided U.S. Senate races is the Alaska seat where 7-count convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) is seeking re-election. The last count I've seen shows him with a modest lead.

While it seems quite likely that...

One of the most important challenges in running a political campaign is distilling and defining a central message or rationale for your candidacy. Equally important is to do the same for your opponent. The best campaigns manage to effectively define themselves and their opponent.

Along those lines, one of the...

Twenty years later and John McCain (R) is still lining his campaign pockets with contributions associated with Charles Keating, who you'll recall was Cindy McCain's business partner prior to the infamous Keating Five scandal which tarnished McCain's own political career.

On July 31, 2008, campaign finance records show...

Yesterday's big New York Times story on the state of the presidential race says the final days will find both campaigns buried in red states:

Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, are planning to spend most of their time in Florida, Ohio, Virginia,...

If you want another prime example of why we should stop relying on (or even listening to) the opinion of critics -- be they political pundits, movie critics, or fashion editors -- allow me to highlight last month's widely-read fashion assessment of Sarah Palin's (R) wardrobe by Washington Post Fashion...

Back in June, many of us laughed and laughed at the idea that John McCain (R) and the RNC was putting the top staff to Rudy Giuliani's (R) disastrous presidential campaign to run the general election ground game.

Recall that Giuliani's campaign manager -- Mike DuHaime -- is McCain's...

Here's a quickie.

If you've been watching cable news today no doubt you've noticed their obsession over how the vice presidential candidates will perform this evening, especially whether Joe Biden (D) will make a gaffe and whether Sarah Palin (R) will give us another 'moose in the headlights' moment.

But...

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Shortly, voters will elect the 44th President of the United States. If they chose Barack Obama (D), Democrats would take back government after an eight year absence. So, what...

The momentum shift away from John McCain (R) is now complete as none of the four daily tracking polls show him in the lead this morning. The final holdout -- Rasmussen -- now has the race tied, and it's the only daily tracking that shows McCain within 4 points. I...

Today, the stock market took another major tumble, with the Dow Jones dropping 450 points (more than a 4 percent drop).

But much more importantly is the fact that the broader market (S&P 500) fell 57 points to 1,156 (almost a 5 percent drop). I say "more importantly" because one...

The anxiety and bed-wetting that many Democrats have been experiencing about the state of the presidential race over the past few weeks should be subsiding as the Palin effect is wearing off and we're seeing clear signs that the McCain bounce is over and the pendulum is swinging back to...

One item that I've discussed a great deal here has been that of the failing bank (Silver State Bank) that John McCain's son -- Andrew McCain -- ran as a member of the bank's board of directors and its audit committee. (See previous stories below)

Well, we have an update....