Steffen Schmidt

IAFC Blogger

Steffen W. Schmidt, University Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Iowa State University, WNYC blogger, and chief Political correspondent of Insider Iowa.

Steffen Schmidt appears in the following:

Opinion: No Gold Coins at the End of the Fiscal Cliff Rainbow

Friday, November 30, 2012

If the talks fail and we go off the cliff the million-dollar question becomes, "who will be blamed for the failure?"

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Opinion: Good on GOP for Quitting Grover Norquist's Preposterous Tax Pledge

Monday, November 26, 2012

The pledge is now 20 years old, and polls show that if anything, it is a burden on Republicans as the nation struggles to preserve popular programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid.

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Comments [4]

Opinion: The Ames Straw Poll is Woodstock for Politicos - Don't Kill it!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Instead I recommend that Iowa Democrats also hold a straw poll ever four years on exactly the same date so that we can have an event during the straw poll called "Dueling Polls."

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Opinion: GOP's Furor over Susan Rice Means it Hasn't Learned its 2012 Lesson

Monday, November 19, 2012

The first headlines the GOP is making post-election are for going after Susan Rice, the current UN ambassador whom Obama wants to nominate as the Secretary of State. Not a smart move.

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Opinion: The 5 Mistakes that Cost Romney the Election

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

We know that Barack Obama won the 2012 election by a convincing margin of electoral votes and a healthy popular vote. But we should also acknowledge that Mitt Romney, whose Secret Service name was Javelin, lost the election. Why?

According to the Washington Post, "Romney told the donors he believed ...

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Comments [9]

Opinion: In Obama and Senate Wins, 2012 is Year of the Woman

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Women gave Obama 55 percent to Romney’s 43 percent - a massive gender gap that has to be a huge alarm bell to Republicans.

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Opinion: A Guide to Handicapping the 2012 Election

Monday, November 05, 2012

My advice is to not look at individual polls when trying to predict the outcome of a presidential election. Instead, here are several indicators that have proven helpful — and more accurate. 

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Opinion: The 2012 October Surprise

Monday, October 29, 2012

From Donald Trump to Gloria Allred, there's been a lot of talk about "The October Surprise" as the election enters its final sprint. Well, there is an October surprise and it's about to hit the East Coast.

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Comments [8]

Opinion: Romney Scrambles to Be Obama-lite on Foreign Policy

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

After the debate, Romney's spin masters, including former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, had a very difficult time after the debate explaining how Romney's foreign policy would be different from Barack Obama's.

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Opinion: In all Four Critical Ways, Obama Won the Town Hall Debate

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The second Presidential debate was a very animated event. The wireless mike walk around format allowed both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama to get close to voters as they asked questions and also got into each other’s space and face. Town Hall meetings are not supposed to be “mano a ...

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Opinion: How Obama Can Turn the Libya Conversation Around

Monday, October 15, 2012

By not changing the narrative of the attack against the US consulate in Benghazi the Democrats have shown remarkable political naïveté and disorganization.

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Opinion: Martha Raddatz Wins Lively Debate in a Landslide

Friday, October 12, 2012

Anyone who thought that debates were, well, boring was proven wrong. That’s good for civic engagement, for getting the next generation excited and involved in politics.

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Opinion: After Loose Airplane Seats and Salmonella, Why isn't Deregulation a 2012 Issue?

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

It’s daunting and depressing not to see more storytelling in this election campaign of the tragedies of not having robust and sufficient regulation of services and products

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Opinion: So What? It Doesn't Matter that Obama Lost the First Debate

Thursday, October 04, 2012

in the average election year, you can accurately predict where the race will stand after the debates by knowing the state of the race before the debates.

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Comments [25]

Opinion: 7 Things to Watch for in the First Presidential Debate

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

With polls closer than you think, Wednesday night's debate could be a game-changer. Here's what we're watching for.

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Explainer: Why Don't Both Parties Search for New Voters?

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

I find it shocking that there isn’t more outrage at the profoundly undemocratic intentions behind both the lack of motivation to register the unregistered and deliberately making it m...
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Opinion: Did Obama Lose Interest in the Arab Spring?

Monday, September 17, 2012

Serious questions remain as to whether, after the overthrow of dictatorships, the U.S. failed to aggressively follow-up to help in the building of civil, security, economic, and polit...
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Comments [3]

Opinion: How Libya Will Affect the 2012 Election

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

While 9/11 was off-limits for campaign politics, the murder of Americans in Libya was not.

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Comments [8]

Opinion: In Iowa, Campaigns Tailor Messages for Swing Voters

Monday, September 10, 2012

Now that the conventions are over, both campaigns will pivot to the swing states where they still need to make the case to crucial undecided voters. In my home state of Iowa, the campaigns are turning up the heat over every eligible pocket of the state.

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DNC Dispatch: WATCH - Dustup Over Jerusalem in Dem Party Platform

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

So you’re running a political convention. You want excitement. You want Kumbaya. You want above all unity. But on Wednesday night during the early part of the evening session, unity was about to go down the toilet!

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