Swing State Project

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Thursday, May 18, 2006

A View From the North

Posted by James L.

When DavidNYC first approached me with the opportunity to join the Swing State Project as a guest blogger, I immediately said yes (after changing my pants, of course), but with one major caveat: that my presence on the front page will undoubtedly raise more than a few eyebrows. The long and short of it is that I’m Canadian. Granted, I am a Canadian with a borderline-unhealthy interest in U.S. electoral politics, but a Canadian nonetheless.

You may be wondering why someone from Canada has been engaging in U.S. political discussion and keeping tabs on local races in the U.S. Fair question. It could be that the fate of the free world hinges on the political direction of the U.S., but the honest assessment is that I’m an elections junkie in a region with a devastatingly boring political climate. In my home province of Alberta, the government has only changed hands between political parties twice in the last 100 years, and not once in my lifetime. Yawn. For the real juicy stuff, you’ve just gotta look south, baby. And, as a Political Science major with a focus on North American and international politics at the University of Alberta, the U.S. is constantly under my microscope. I think that I’ve built up enough knowledge on American politics to speak coherently on the subject, but I have no doubt that being more intimately involved in this blog will provide many more opportunities to learn. I’m sure it’ll be a blast.

Also, let me be clear about my role here: I’m not here to tell you who to donate to (I’ll leave that to David), or to provoke discussions on international politics, or to wedge ideological debates within my entries. To me, the Swing State Project is about one thing, and one thing only: meat ‘n’ potatoes, nitty gritty U.S. electoral analysis and discussion. That's the reason I'm here and that’s not going to change.

Last but not least, thanks again to DavidNYC for letting me borrow the keys. I’ll try not to take her out for too many joyrides, old man…

Posted at 02:03 AM in Site News | Technorati

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Comments

No joke: I would have introduced myself earlier, but I was on the ropes all evening watching my Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks senseless.

Posted by: HellofaSandwich at May 18, 2006 02:09 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Oh yeah, and I'm now retiring the "HellofaSandwich" moniker for good on SSP. You can still catch me using it over on MyDD and DailyKos, of course.

Posted by: James L. at May 18, 2006 02:14 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Nothing wrong with being Canadian with an interest in US politics. I'm Australian myself!

Posted by: BENAWU at May 18, 2006 04:24 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

You're in good company. I'm a former Poli-Sci student at Queen's and a current parttime lurker here att SSP.

PS ... Heck of a game last night.

pete.

Posted by: pejo at May 18, 2006 09:20 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

James, you couldn't have went with "HeckuvaSandwich" for the front page here? ;)

Posted by: RBH at May 18, 2006 09:34 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Nice to meet you. Looking forward to reading your posts. :)

Posted by: boyblue at May 18, 2006 10:17 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Good to see you front-paged, James. Looking forward to it!

Sarah

Posted by: Sarah R Carter at May 18, 2006 12:09 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

That's okay, I've had an "unhealthy interest" in Canadian politics as my partner is from Quebec, the diametric opposite of Alberta..LOL.
Congrads & Best wishes on your new position.

Posted by: Predictor at May 18, 2006 02:16 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Hehe, thanks Predictor.

I guess it only adds fuel to the fire that I'm dating a girl who lives in Brooklyn.

Posted by: James L. at May 18, 2006 02:31 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

btw, i am curious to the origins of the "hellofasandwich" name? just HAVE to ask, haha.

Posted by: boyblue at May 18, 2006 07:31 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I'm taking that one to the grave, blue.

The grave.

Naw, I was just really hungry when I picked that name. ;)

Posted by: James L. at May 19, 2006 05:12 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment