CNN Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

Excuse my New York City-centric viewpoint, but Mike Huckabee just implied in the debate that the Upper East Side of Manhattan is a liberal bastion. He’s wrong. In the 2013 mayoral election, Democrat Bill de Blasio lost the Upper East Side to Republican Joe Lhota, despite de Blasio’s winning by 49 percentage points citywide. I believe Huckabee was referring to the Upper West Side, which de Blasio won by 49 percentage points.

If George Pataki sounds out of touch with contemporary Republicans … it may be because his part of the country has shifted away from the GOP as much as pretty much anywhere else in the U.S. In 1980, when Pataki was first elected mayor of Peekskill in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County voted for Ronald Reagan by 19 percentage points over Jimmy Carter. In 2012, Westchester County voted for Barack Obama by 25 percentage points over Mitt Romney. And in Peekskill itself, Obama won the 2012 election by 44 percentage points.

Life expectancy in Syria has fallen 20 years since the start of fighting, from a robust 74 years just three years ago. This photo speaks to the level of desperation on the ground — giving context to the reason people are fleeing.