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empire state of mind

By Colin Campbell 10/16/12 10:30am

empire state of mind

(Photo: Getty)

New Yorkers Finally Have Their Moment in the Presidential Race

One month ago, President Barack Obama took one of his more fashionable visits to New York. After an event at Waldorf-Astoria, Mr. Obama headed over to a second star-studded soirée hosted by Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z at the 40/40 Club in Midtown. There, a hundred guests who paid $40,000 for the privilege, lounged on sofas in a dark, glassy room to watch Mr. Obama pitch the importance of reelection. But Mr. Obama wasn’t there to ask for votes.

No, the president was in New York City, as is almost always the case when he visits, to fundraise among the city’s moneyed elite. And those individuals–the ones who sat at the 40/40 Club next to a tower of 350 bottles of $300-plus Jay-Z-endorsed Armand de Brignac champagne–represent the New Yorkers Mr. Obama cares about. His Republican adversary, Mitt Romney, is exactly the same.

But it’s not their fault that New York has been relegated to be the A.T.M. of the presidential race; nor is it anything new or special. Thanks to the winner-takes-all system by which the heavily Democratic state awards its presidential delegates, Mr. Obama is guaranteed to win the Empire State no matter how much time he or Mr. Romney campaign in Elmira or El Barrio. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/21/12 1:42pm

empire state of mind

(Photo: Wikimedia)

Poll: Americans Kinda Like New York; Hate New Jersey

Forget the streams of tourists, we finally have some data to confirm what we already knew about our state’s popularity.

Over the course of four months, Public Policy Polling asked respondents nationally what their impressions of each state were. And the results were good: 40% of Americans gave New York a favorable rating, placing it in the top 15 or so states.

However, New York also shows some level of unpopularity. The Empire State’s 29% disapproval rating is tied for the second highest in the country, behind only its hated rival, New Jersey, which is disfavored by 32% of Americans. And, unlike New York, only 25% of Americans approve of the Garden state, giving it the third worst spread in the country, ahead of only Illinois and California.

The top scoring state was Hawaii, which had 54% approval and mere 10% disapproval. But it would take a real grouch to disapprove of Hawaii, right? That’s not even a fair competition. Read More