US Opinion and Commentary

“VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.” — VOA Charter

Showing Archived Posts

Democrats Standing United?

Posted July 26th, 2016 at 4:51 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed

From the opening gavel through most of the evening, the old Will Rogers trope “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat” appeared to hold true for the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

Bernie Sanders supporters rained boos upon any speaker who uttered the name Hillary Clinton. They also jeered keynote speaker Elizabeth Warren as a traitor to the progressive cause. Not until first lady Michelle Obama delivered a speech that drew near unanimous acclaim did it appear that there would be any semblance of unity.

Sanders closed Monday evening’s session with a strong endorsement of Clinton, taking most of the air out of the Bernie of Bust movement.

Tuesday’s roll call of states to vote on her historic nomination may be the last chance for Sanders supporters to protest Clinton’s rise to head the Democratic Party. After she wins the nomination, it’s all about Hillary.

Her husband ,former President Bill Clinton takes the stage Tuesday night as well as House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, both focused on giving the first woman major party presidential nominee a post-convention boost.

Trump & Clinton: Holiday on the Hustings

Posted July 1st, 2016 at 3:02 pm (UTC-5)
Comments are closed

Heading into the 4th of July weekend, the U.S. presidential race is still relatively close. The Real Clear Politics average of political polls puts Hillary Clinton 4.8 percentage points ahead of Donald Trump.

While it’s still too early to put much stock in polls, it’s notable that a Fox News poll shows a majority of Republicans would prefer someone other than Trump as their party’s nominee.

Trump spent the week blasting the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, taking on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, usually a reliable backer of Republican policies. He also said his former Republican presidential rivals should “never be allowed to run for public office again” because they are breaking a pledge to back the party’s nominee. Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Jeb Bush have yet to endorse Trump.

Clinton spent the week fending off two issues that claw at her credibility. Wednesday’s report from a special House of Representative committee investigating the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and a meeting between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch as an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server is still pending.

With party conventions scheduled for the last two weeks of July, Trump and Clinton are vetting possible running mates and trying to turn around what are still the highest disapproval ratings for any presidential candidate.