I have high hopes for “The Marriage Ref,” the new show NBC cooked up to try to become relevant again.

They hauled in Jerry Seinfeld and a bunch of other peacock stars to try to joke about people’s marital conflicts.

The show offers funny moments, for sure, but Alec Baldwin, Eva Longoria, and Tina Fey are not improv comics, so the conversation is pretty obviously scripted and edited, stripping it of most of its chemistry.

Sort of like marriage itself, actually. (more…)

There’s nothing like a candidate who can beat the odds.  I’m not talking about an underdog who defies the odds like Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts (R) or Mark Begich of Alaska (D).  I’m not talking about someone like Texas Governor (and professional pretty-boy) Rick Perry, who on Tuesday, pushed back against a primary challenge from popular sitting senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. (more…)

Every good campaign needs a strong theme song.  Bruce Springsteen’s No Surrender will forever be associated with John Kerry’s 2004 campaign for the Presidency.  Hillary Clinton went with a Celine Dion song in 2008, though her husband, President Clinton, preferred Smash Mouth.  Artist will.i.am made the Emmy-winning Yes We Can for the Obama campaign, though Stevie Wonder’s Signed Sealed Delivered served as the 2008 Obama anthem.  Mike Huckabee tried to use Boston’s More Than A Feeling until he was asked to stop.

A few weeks ago on DRIVE TIME, we began exploring the idea of what songs might work for Maine’s 2010 gubernatorial candidates.  If an exciting Presidential campaign merits a soundtrack, surely an exciting gubernatorial race does as well.  Instead of just picking an anthem, we decided, candidates should rewrite the songs.  I’ve taken the liberty of rewriting the beginnings or main verses of some songs that I strongly suggest the candidates use.  Choose wisely! (more…)

More cartoons by Rob Tornoe

One of the most difficult things any political analyst can do, is divorce himself from his own personal philosophical point of view when making a judgment on the nature of something that happens in the world of politics.  All too often, we see what we want to see, and can not get past our own particular brand of tunnel vision to see what is really happening.

The Massachusetts election has very real lessons that must be learned by Democrats, or they will face similar problems in each and every race they run in 2010.

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Let’s be clear about one thing: Tuesday’s vote was not a referendum on the Obama Presidency, nor was it a referendum on healthcare reform–at least in the idea that Bay State voters completely repudiated an Obama push for reform.  Scott Brown’s come-from-behind win was from a combination of factors.
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Recently I wrote an article, published in the Portland Press Herald, where I identified Maine as the poorest of the 48 continental US states (as measured by per capita GDP adjusted for the cost of living).  I contrasted Maine with the wealthiest US state (Wyoming) and made some recommendations for state fiscal policy. (more…)

By Derek Viger

Recently, Chris Queally wrote an editorial against gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler’s support of charter schools in Maine.  Mr. Queally’s arguments against charter schools are flawed.  I would like to address some of his arguments and set the record straight.

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Two weeks ago, Second District Congressman Mike Michaud joined 63 members of his own party and 176 Republicans to vote for the Stupak/Pitts Amendment to the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

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