5.10.2009

mclaughlin predictions 02-08-08

MR. BUCHANAN: The Democratic attack on McCain will begin, and the theme will be "McCain represents Bush's third term, except he'll give us 100 years in Iraq."
An easy call, but true. +1
MS. CLIFT: McCain's missed vote on the economic stimulus package will come back to haunt him in the fall.
This was buried under all the other mistakes McCain made. It never really became a major issue. +0
MS. CROWLEY: The upcoming Lebanese parliamentary session to elect a new Lebanese president has become a tug of war between Syria, the Arab League and Iran, and Iran will prevail.
Well, any good news for Hezbollah would be seen as good for Iran. And Hezbollah is pretty popular in Lebanon, so this isn't exactly a bold prediction. In any case, a Christian, Michel Suleiman won the election, which wasn't a "tug of war", but a negotiation. Suleiman did have the support of Hezbollah, but also the support of Western leaders. All in all a net gain for Hezbollah, as they established themselves as a legitimate presence in Lebanese politics, but not necessarily for Iran. +.50
MS. FREELAND: The Fed will continue to lower interest rates.
In the months since February 2008, the interest rate ticked upwards only twice. But not a difficult prediction. +1
MR. MCLAUGHLIN: Robert Mugabe, the head of state for 28 years in Zimbabwe, will handily win re-election again next month but will resign from office before July of 2009.
Mugabe lost the first round of elections, but since no candidate received a plurality, a run-off was held. Due to violence and corruption, Mugabe's opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, dropped out, and only then did Mugabe get his "handily won" re-election. Oh, and he is still President. +0

SCORECARD

Buchanan 1.25
Crowley 1.35
Zuckerman 1.0
Clift 1.0
McLaughlin 1.25
Freeland 1.0

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