The View from Down Here: Election recap
Brendan and Gavin perform a verbal autopsy on last week’s presidential election, looking at the impact of Hurricane Sandy, the campaigns each candidate ran, the changing demographics of the electorate, the economy, the role of the media and so much more. Where does the conservative movement and the Republican Party go from here? Was this a disaster for the party? Was this a ringing endorsement of President Obama and the progressive agenda? With the election now in the rear-view mirror, we’re also having a think about the future of The View from Down Here and we’d love to hear from you about what you’d like. We’re leaning towards a monthly show with an ongoing focus on US culture, religion and politics from a Kiwi perspective. Email us on podcast at station15 dot co dot nz and let us know if that sounds good, or if you have other thoughts.
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The View from Down Here: ELECTION PREVIEW
After months and months of anticipation and expectation, we’re now less than 48 hours away from the first polls closing as the US elects its next president. Three New Zealanders try to read the tea leaves from thousands of miles away, looking at the state of the race at this late stage, analysing how last-minute events can — or did — change the race and finally making a prediction on who will win. Join Brendan, Tim and Gavin as they break it all down with a distinctly New Zealand flavour. And if you think some Catholic leaders are being tough on the Democratic Party and its policies, watch this video we mentioned in the show. Enjoy the election, y’all. Whatever the outcome, we’ll be back to analyse it next week and see who was right and who was wrong.
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The View from Down Here: October 25, 2012
With under two weeks to go until the presidential election, that naturally dominates this week’s show, covering the story from many angles — the final debate, the polls, the campaigning, the reaction in swing states and the Al Smith Dinner, to name but a few. But Brendan and Gavin also find time to talk about a couple of other important stories, including an analysis of the “War on Religion” in the US and the canonisation of the first Native American saint (see awesome photo) and another woman whose ministry to lepers in Hawaii laid the path for her canonisation. Enjoy the show, and check back next week for another View from Down Here.
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The View from Down Here: October 19, 2012
Another week, another debate (or two) and another show packed with a couple of New Zealanders’ views on what is unfolding in the US presidential election. Did Obama win the second debate? Was Biden’s performance forceful or overly aggressive? And what to make of the bishops’ rebuttal of Biden’s comments on the contraception mandate? Those stories and much more in this week’s show as Brendan and Gavin chew the fat. If you want some analysis on one of the second presidential debate’s most contentious moments — the moderator’s on-the-run fact checking of Obama’s use of the phrase act of terror — click here. Or if you want to have some fun with the electoral map and see how the race might pan out, click here. Less than three weeks till the election and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
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The View from Down Here: October 9, 2012
The presidential campaign had a possibly game-changing moment last week with challenger Mitt Romney almost universally declared the winner of the first presidential debate and seeing his poll numbers take a nice jump. But will it last? What do the new unemployment figures mean? Will the vice-presidential debate be meaningful? And why is David Letterman calling Romney a felon? Brendan and Gavin also find time to talk about a soon-to-be-canonised American religious sister and declining birth rates. Thanks for listener feedback, too. We’d love to hear from more of you out there.
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The View from Down Here: October 2, 2012
It’s a pretty heavy show this week, with talk the Pope and bishops giving clear instructions on the role of Christians in politics. Brendan and Gavin also talk about the polls and the Catholic vote, the religion of past presidents and the state of the presidential race. The ongoing saga of the Libyan consulate attack and murder of four Americans also gets some attention, especially the administration’s poor handling of the situation, possibly bordering on telling falsehoods to the American public. There is a little light relief after all that; here’s the clip Brendan referenced from Bill Bailey.
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The View from Down Here: September 25, 2012
Well, they say video killed the radio star. Could the Mitt Romney video and talk of the 47 per cent kill the Republican nominee’s presidential campaign? It’s six weeks till the election, and talk of the campaign dominates this week’s episode of The View from Down Here. Brendan and Gavin talk about the leaked Romney video, the likely damage it will cause and the overall state of the race. Will the Obama administration’s mishandling of the Libyan terrorist attack on the US embassy hurt him? Or is it still all about the economy? And what of that Jesus’ wife gospel nonsense? A busy show. We hope you enjoy it.
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The View from Down Here: August 28, 2012
With about 10 weeks till the presidential election, The View from Down Here returns with a typically busy show, with discussion of a poll formula that’s predicted the past eight elections, the choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s VP candidate, a couple of convention controversies, a couple of foot-in-mouth situations and efforts to hold the campaigns accountable for spreading falsehoods. Included in the discussions is this exchange between CNN’s Anderson Cooper and DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Enjoy the show.
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The View from Down Here: August 8, 2012
It’s been another sad week in the US, with the massacre of several people at a Sikh temple. Brendan and Gavin offer their View from Down Here on the tragedy, as well as a host of other stories including the start of the Health and Human Service mandate on birth control — click here for George Weigel’s article mentioned in the show — and Clint Eastwood endorsing Mitt Romney. The new San Francisco archbishop and an increasingly nasty war of words between Republicans and Democrats also feature.
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The View from Down Here: August 1, 2012
Since when did buying a chicken sandwich become a cultural issue? When supporters of same-sex marriage decided it was time to boycott Chick Fil-A stores because the president of the company said he supports traditional marriage between one man and one woman. Brendan and Gavin talk about the controversy, and similar controversy erupting in New Zealand. Meanwhile, back in the US, Mitt Romney had a gaffe-filled international tour, questions about President Obama’s religion and a pro-life activist getting a visit from the FBI.
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