And What They Should Be By Oliver DeMille People are getting tired of the presidential election. It’s too much bad news, week and after week, too many talking heads just saying the same old negative things about the other side, and too many mistakes, gaffes and 10-second clips getting blown way out of proportion. But all of that is just … [Read more...]
An Election Disaster
September 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
By Oliver DeMille There are six weeks to go before the 2012 election, and currently President Obama is way ahead. If the election were held today, according to the average of polls, not only would President Obama be re-elected but he would sweep the election. This election will come down to the top swing states, as I’ve stated in the past, … [Read more...]
Façade Society, Façade Politics
August 3, 2012 by 2 Comments
John Adams on How to Fix Washington D.C. in 1791 and 2012 "Odd, that so many should favor frames that seemed to be trying to outdo the art they held." ~Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law In the old American West, a façade town featured two- and sometimes three-story buildings lining Main Street, so visitors to the town would be impressed with … [Read more...]
Common Wisdom versus Greatness in the American Election
July 18, 2012 by 1 Comment
By Oliver DeMille The common wisdom says that incumbent presidents run on their record, and that the state of the economy determines presidential elections. According to the numbers, right now the common wisdom is wrong. The economy is still sputtering, but 51% of voters in battleground states like President Obama’s handling of the economy … [Read more...]
Robert’s Rules of Chess
July 6, 2012 by 3 Comments
By Oliver DeMille When Chief Justice Roberts sided with the liberals to uphold Obamacare, it sent a shock wave through conservatism. After all, Mitt Romney had lauded Roberts as the example of the kind of Justices he’d select if elected president, and Roberts was seen as a clear conservative by most Republicans. With one vote, he angered … [Read more...]
A Vital Leadership Trend that Isn’t Yet a Thing
June 29, 2012 by 1 Comment
by Oliver DeMille We need a whole new level of leadership. And we need it soon. Just consider some of our pressing national challenges: 75% of current Americans worry that another recession is coming. U.S. consumer confidence in June is at a six-month low. The average price of a gallon of gas in the United States was $3.88 at the … [Read more...]
Type A Voters and the Simple Fix
June 8, 2012 by 3 Comments
By Oliver DeMille Raghuram Rajan of the University of Chicago recently said in Foreign Affairs (May/June 2012): For decades before the financial crisis of 2008, advanced economies were losing their ability to grow by making useful things. "But they needed to somehow replace the jobs that had been lost to technology and foreign … [Read more...]
Next…?
May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
THE NEXT BIG TREND: Pooled Sovereignty by Oliver DeMille I recently spent two days in a Barnes and Noble reading the bestsellers on current trends and issues. I do this as often as I can—at least three times a year. Sometimes I emphasize business bestsellers, and other times I focus on political books. When I was too ill to do these visits … [Read more...]
Predicting Elections
April 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
By Oliver DeMille There are various methods and matrices for predicting elections, none of them infallible. But one does come pretty close. When an incumbent president is running for reelection, the growth rate of discretionary income citizens have during the first two quarters of the election year always accurately predicts the … [Read more...]
The Summer of 2012
April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
What to Expect as the Year Heats Up By Oliver DeMille The temperatures are rising for summer, not just literally but also in politics, economics and culture. There are several important trends that are sure to influence the months ahead, and indeed the summer of 2012 promises to be both historic and memorable. Each of us should consider … [Read more...]
