Liberal Stance

President-Elect Barack Obama

2008-11-06T11:48:00.002-06:00

Barack Obama 364, John McCain 174

A Change Is Gonna Come

2008-11-04T14:28:00.001-06:00

Sam Cooke

Sarah Palin '12

2008-10-29T17:40:00.002-05:00

ABC News:

In an interview with ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas, the Republican vice-presidential nominee was asked about 2012, whether she was discouraged by the daily attacks on the campaign trail, and would instead pack it in and return to her home state of Alaska.

"I think that, if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we've taken, that would bring this whole … I'm not doing this for naught," Palin said.

Can we possibly be this lucky?

Only in America ...

2008-10-29T17:30:00.003-05:00

Politico:

Move over, Sanjaya, and tell William Hung the news: Joe the Plumber is being pursued for a major record deal and could come out with a country album as early as Inauguration Day.

“Joe” — aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, a Holland, Ohio, pipe-and-toilet man — just signed with a Nashville public relations and management firm to handle interview requests and media appearances, as well as create new career opportunities, including a shift out of the plumbing trade into stage and studio performances.

By Christmas his CD will be in the Walmart sale bin for 99 cents.

By the time I get to Arizona

2008-10-29T11:58:00.005-05:00

If Barack Obama does one more campaign swing out West before election day, he should really consider doing a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.

Quote of the Day

2008-10-29T11:48:00.001-05:00

Barack Obama:

"I’m sorry to see my opponent sink so low. Lately, he’s called me a socialist for wanting to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so we can finally give tax relief to the middle class. By the end of the week, he’ll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in Kindergarten,"

Obama: His Choice

2008-10-29T11:43:00.003-05:00

FTW.

We are 6 days out from election day.

2008-10-29T11:33:00.001-05:00

Charles Meets Barack

We are 7 days out from election day.

2008-10-28T12:56:00.001-05:00

Don't Get Cocky.

Mitt Romney: Obama Presidency 'Very Real Possibility'

2008-10-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

Add Mitt Romney to the long list of Republicans who think GOP presidential candidate Jon McCain is going to lose. In a fundraising email for Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney predicts a victory for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is imminent.

His opponent was handpicked by Chuck Schumer and will be a reliable vote for the Democrats. And as we face the very real possibility of an Obama presidency, that's the last thing we need.

It's more critical than ever that we have a strong Republican leader to act as a "firewall" against bad legislation, tax increases, and increased spending.

The NRSC is once again echoing Mitt Romney's statement with an ad for Republican Senator Gordon Smith. While the NRSC and Mitt Romney are trying to scare people into voting for GOP senate candidates, John McCain is trying to scare people to vote for him because GOP senate candidates are going to lose.

"Republicans launch new campaign theme: All the rest of us are gonna lose, so elect me."

We are 10 days out from election day.

2008-10-25T12:34:00.002-05:00

Al Gore speech on the 1992 election campaign trail.

Quote of the Day

2008-10-11T12:37:00.001-05:00

Steve Benen:

The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.

2008: McCain vs. Obama

2008-10-11T12:07:00.003-05:00

This is my dream map of an Obama victory over Republican John McCain.

We might not even have to wait in till the West election results to come in to declare Senator Obama as the next President. If Obama wins Florida, or Virginia or North Carolina, or Ohio it is going to be next impossible for McCain to win. The Republican candidate would have to hold on to the rest of the Bush states and win at least two states in the Midwest, which is an Obama stronghold.

Currently polling is moving Indiana, Missouri and Clinton loving West Virginia in to the toss-up category. Basically, what I’m trying to say that McCain/Palin are fucked.

Quote of the Day

2008-10-10T09:54:00.001-05:00

Joe Biden:

All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on Youtube and everything else,” Biden said — referring to McCain and Palin tying Obama to Weatherman bomber Bill Ayers and accusing him of “palling around with terrorists.”

“John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him,” he said to cheers. “In my neighborhood, you got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him.“

Obama plays Chess while McCain plays Checkers

2008-10-10T09:49:00.001-05:00

RIP Richard Wright

2008-09-17T08:13:00.001-05:00

Richard Wright, Pink Floyd Founder, Keyboardist, Dies at Age 65

Pink Floyd - Have a Cigar

'John McCain would rather lose his honor than lose an election.

2008-09-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

John McCain's Lies

2008-09-13T08:12:00.002-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain is running a deceitful campaign.

Quote of the Day

2008-08-21T18:47:00.001-05:00

Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor:

"Senator McCain should take the day off at one of his seven homes to consider whether his support for outsourcing, tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas and continued spending of ten billion a month in Iraq is really putting 'country first.' To us, it sounds like just more of the same."

Republican John McCain has a lot of houses.

2008-08-21T11:25:00.003-05:00

So many houses does not remember how many he owns.

Quote of the Day

2008-06-18T09:40:00.002-05:00

Michelle Obama:

“I mean, ‘whitey’? That’s something that George Jefferson would say. Anyone who says that doesn’t know me. They don’t know the life I’ve lived. They don’t know anything about me.”

Conservatives Are Full Of It.

2008-06-17T09:08:00.002-05:00

Former UN ambassador John Bolton claims Iranian missile could possibly ‘hit some military installations’ in the U.S.

The current range of Iran’s Shahab missiles is said to be 1,200 miles, but the United States and Iran are much more than 1,200 miles apart. The approximate distance between Tehran and Washington, D.C. is actually 6,340 miles.

Republican hack Mary Matalin repeats lie about China drilling off the coast of Cuba.

Conservative pundit Mary Matalin insisted on opening more U.S. land, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to oil drilling, claiming that the U.S. is “the only nation” impeding efforts at more drilling. She repeated the conservatives’ current favorite lie: that China is drilling near Cuba, just off the coast of Florida — even though the lie has been thoroughly debunked and Vice President Cheney himself has admitted the story was false.

Barack Obama's Speech on Father's Day

2008-06-16T17:50:00.000-05:00

Everything Is Not About You or The Clintons

2008-06-16T17:32:00.004-05:00

Seriously.

Hiring Patti Solis Doyle, which one can argue is a bad managerial move, is not an insult or a slap in the face to Hillary Clinton. People like Big Tent Democrat at Talk Left and the Clinton dead enders are going to have a melt down when Obama does not pick Hillary Clinton as his Vice Presidential running mate.

John Cole:

So hiring former Clinton staffers is a slap in the face, thinking about nominating a woman other than Clinton as VP is a slap-in-the-face, and, well, pretty much everything is a slap-in-the-face. THE QUEEN BEE DOES NOT HAVE THE NOMINATION, AND EVERYTHING IS A SLAP IN THE FACE.

John McCain: Swimmers Needed 'To Get Bin Laden'

2008-06-14T09:08:00.006-05:00

Apparently the only thing stopping us from getting Bin Laden is the lack of human spies who can swim in between the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, once again giving the American people the straight talk.

“I will look you in the eye and promise you that I will get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice,” McCain said in response to a direct question from one of the 2,000 people in attendance at the college’s Pemberton campus gym.

McCain said the key to ending the long search for bin Landen was to increase the number of human spies abroad.

“We need better human intelligence. We need people who can swim in the water,” McCain said.

As the map above notes, there is no mass of water in between the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. So, what the hell is the very serious John McCain talking about?

Quote of the Day

2008-06-13T10:27:00.002-05:00

DNC Chairman Howard Dean:

“Once again John McCain’s campaign is trying to mislead the American people. Senator McCain should understand that after seven years of a President who has divided Americans and pursued a scorched earth policy full of misleading propaganda campaigns, we need a leader who understands he is the President for all Americans not just his supporters. If Senator McCain likes to brag so much about running a transparent campaign, why is he copying the Bush campaign model by stacking this event with his prescreened supporters? If that is John McCain’s idea of straight talk, the American people are in for a long and disappointing campaign season.”

John McCain on Privatizing Social Security

2008-06-13T10:05:00.002-05:00

Who are you going to believe the John McCain of 2008 or the John McCain or 2004?

John McCain & this Allies of Hate

2008-06-13T09:21:00.004-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, the Republican National Committee and people who are spreading anti-Obama rumors have a common cause to defeat Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. The straight talking John McCain who claims to be a man of principle will not reject or denounce these efforts to slime Obama as a terrorist, muslin, marxist, communist and anti-American. It is the only way McCain can win the Presidency. Fear and Karl Rove tactics will be guidelines John MCain will base this campaign on.

The Obama Campaign has set up Fight the Smears website to debunk the rumors.

Barack Obama is a Black Man and he has a Black Family

2008-06-13T09:05:00.003-05:00

Which is totally unacceptably to Fox News, the Conservative Movement, the Republican Party, unhinged Clinton supporters, hate talk radio and their allies. Sometime between now and November, somebody is just going to go out and say that a N***** can not be President.

In till then, they are going to use code words and dog whistle to make Barack Obama unacceptable.

This will keep happening. Fox News will keep finding ways to remind its viewers that the Obamas are black (and possibly Muslim), Michelle Malkin will continue to make excuses for Fox News’ dog-whistling racism that expose the fact that she’s about as familiar with logical thinking as a rainbow trout is with knitting, and eventually some portion of the Fox News audience will get to the ballot box in November convinced that they’re not really racists, they just know that there’s something about that Obama boy they just don’t like. This is how it will go. Let’s not pretend it’s not part of equation, this election year.

McCain of 2008 vs McCain of 2005

2008-06-12T21:12:00.005-05:00

Who are you going to believe the John McCain of 2005 or the McCain of 2008?

John McCain’s Tax Plan would benefit Wealthy American

2008-06-12T12:58:00.002-05:00

I know, it's shocking.

A detailed analysis of the candidates' tax plans confirms one of Barack Obama's top arguments against John McCain: the Arizona senator's proposals would offer substantial benefits to wealthy Americans.

An analysis of both campaigns proposals by the Washington-based, nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that for people with incomes between $66,354 and $111,645, Obama's proposals would cut their taxes by more than $1000, compared to around $300 under McCain's plan. But for Americans with incomes above $603,402, Obama would raise their taxes dramatically, by more than $115,000 a year, while McCain would cut them by $45,000.

"The Obama tax plan would make the tax system significantly more progressive by providing large tax breaks to those at the bottom of the income scale and raising taxes significantly on upper-income earners," the group concludes. "The McCain tax plan would make the tax system more regressive.... It would do so by providing relatively little tax relief to those at the bottom of the income scale while providing huge tax cuts to households at the very top of the income distribution."

On a related note:

The McCains' marriage has mixed business and politics from the beginning, according to an expansive review by The Associated Press of thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide. The paperwork chronicles the McCains' ascent from Arizona newlyweds to political power couple on the national stage.

As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career - even if the millions remain in her name alone.

Photo of the Day

2008-06-12T11:22:00.003-05:00

(Photo Via Five Thirty Eight)

That is a picture of the signage at an extremely popular (and very good) taqueria in my neighborhood in Chicago. They have a conspicuously large sign which is visible from a major intersection and is probably worth a couple thousand bucks a month in advertising impressions, and have decided to devote roughly the bottom third of it to a homemade testament to Barack Obama.

John McCain is Computer Illiterate

2008-06-12T09:35:00.002-05:00

When asked whether he is a Mac or PC person, John McCain answered:

Neither, I'm an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance I can get.

Fresh off of comparing Senator Obama to William Jennings Bryan and then to President Jimmy Carter, Republican John McCain proves he is a man of the 19th century.

Is Bill O’Reilly a Racist?

2008-06-12T09:27:00.002-05:00

Yes.

Bill O’Reilly:

While discussing ninth-grade students at a school in New Jersey who were suspended for distributing topless photographs of their classmates, Bill O'Reilly stated, "But it's an amazing amount of kids involved with this -- 20 -- in an affluent school district. This isn't, you know, the inner city; you would think that these kids would have some kind of a values system."

Quote of the Day

2008-06-11T15:54:00.002-05:00

John McCain:

On the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I've been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. -- June. 19, 2005

Clueless on Iraq: John McCain

2008-06-11T13:01:00.002-05:00

The Carpetbagger Report:

Whether he’s 72 or 22 is irrelevant — he’s been consistently wrong about Iraq, demonstrating time and again that he just doesn’t understand the basics.

* McCain has been confused about how many U.S. troops are in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about whether the U.S. can maintain a long-term presence in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about the source of violence in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about Iran’s relationship with al Qaeda.

* McCain has been confused about the difference between Sunni and Shi’ia.

* McCain has been confused about Gen. Petraeus’ responsibilities in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about what transpired during the Maliki government’s recent offensive in Basra.

* McCain has been confused about Gen. Petraeus’ ability to travel around Baghdad “in a non-armed Humvee.”

* McCain has been so confused about Iraq, in November 2006, he couldn’t even do a live interview about the war without reading prepared notes on national television.

John McCain: Not Too Important

2008-06-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

The DNC slams Republican John McCain over this "not too important" comment.

Do you want a neo-empire in the Middle East?

2008-06-11T12:37:00.003-05:00

If your answer is yes, then Republican John McCain is your candidate.

Andrew Sullivan:

That's the critical question in this campaign: do Americans want a neo-empire in the Middle East? Do they want US troops permanently stationed in Iraq with up to 60 permanent bases? That's what the Bush administration wants to foist onto Iraq; and that's what McCain believes in. The viral video now buzzing on the Internets is not a gaffe, it's the truth. McCain would love to see US troops stationed peacefully in Iraq for the foreseeable future. To him it does not matter when they come home. What matters is that the casualty rate get low enough to persuade Americans they shouldn't care about another expansion of American empire. In fact, the entire debate about bringing them home is puzzling and frustrating to McCain. After all, why should we bring them home when being there for ever is the point?

John McCain on Bring the Troops Home: Not Too Important

2008-06-11T12:12:00.002-05:00

On NBC's "Today" show, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain was asked whether he could estimate when U.S. troops could leave post-surge Iraq.

"No, but that's not too important," McCain said. "What's important is casualties in Iraq.

Harry Reid, Senate majority leader:

McCain’s statement today that withdrawing troops doesn’t matter is a crystal-clear indicator that he just doesn’t get the grave national-security consequences of staying the course -– Osama bin Laden is freely plotting attacks, our efforts in Afghanistan are undermanned, and our military readiness has been dangerously diminished. We need a smart change in strategy to make America more secure, not a commitment to indefinitely keep our troops in an intractable civil war."

Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:

"I think many of our brave soldiers and their families would disagree that it's 'not too important' when they come home. Knowing when our troops can come home from Iraq is vitally important, because the costs of staying with 140,000 or more troops are getting steeper every day. ... It is long past time to refocus our foreign policy on the many challenges we face, not just Iraq. Like President Bush, Sen. McCain cannot tell the American people when, or even if, Iraqis will come together politically -- which was [the] purpose of the surge in the first place. He can't tell us when, or even if, we will draw down below pre-surge levels. He can't tell us when, or even if, Iraq will be able to stand on its own two feet. He can't tell us when, or even if, this war will end."

Rahm Emanuel, House Democratic Caucus chair:

"Once again, John McCain has displayed a fundamental misunderstanding about the situation in Iraq, our strained military, and American troops and their families. ... With each passing day, the more John McCain talks about Iraq, the more the American people are reminded of how much we need change in Washington -- not more of the same from Sen. McCain."

Senator John Kerry:

Speaking of military families, Kerry said: "To them it's the most important thing in the world when they come home."

Kerry also cast the comments as proof that McCain is befuddled about the situation our military finds itself in. "Our generals have made it crystal clear that we cannot sustain our forces in Iraq at this level," he said.

"Senator McCain, it is important when they come home," Kerry concluded. "It is important when we can revitalize our military."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

"Senator McCain’s statement that it is ‘not too important’ when U.S. troops are redeployed from Iraq is yet another indication how out of touch he is with the effect the war in Iraq is having on the readiness of our military. Addressing the national security implications of the military readiness crisis ought to be considered as extremely important by someone who aspires to be commander in chief.

"The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said again yesterday that our military commitment in Iraq is hindering our ability to meet threats to our national security in places such as Afghanistan. Military leaders agree that the demands of frequent deployments to Iraq are stretching our Army to the breaking point, and that unacceptable strain is being placed on our troops, their families, and their equipment.

"For our military readiness, for the families of our brave men and women in uniform, and for our national security, America needs a New Direction in Iraq -- not the continuation of the Bush-McCain plan for an endless war in Iraq.”

Only a Fool: John McCain

2008-06-09T14:28:00.003-05:00

You Tube is going to piss off John McCain this whole election season.

Quote of the Day

2008-06-09T14:20:00.002-05:00

Obama's Communications Director:

Responding to a McCain attack on taxes on Fox, details whose taxes will go up:

"He's going to raise taxes on those wealthy lobbyists that work for the McCain campaign," he says.

Quote of the Day

2008-06-06T10:09:00.001-05:00

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

“Over the past 16 months, tens of millions of Americans from all walks of life have been inspired to support Barack Obama's historic campaign for President, and with good reason: he is a once-in-a-generation leader who connects with the hopes and dreams of the American people and will deliver the long-overdue change that our country desperately needs”

John McCain Vs. Women’s Rights

2008-06-06T09:48:00.003-05:00

When it comes to women’s health, John McCain is just plain out of touch.

John McCain is one of only a few Senators to earn a Zero percent lifetime rating from Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund, and he only scored that high because the organization doesn’t have a lower rating…. Let’s look at his record:

He voted against requiring health care plans to cover birth control (3/22/03).

He voted against comprehensive, medically accurate sex education (7/25/06).

He voted against international family planning funding (3/14/96).

He voted against funding to prevent teen and unintended pregnancies (3/17/05).

He voted against public education for emergency contraception (3/17/05).

And he voted against restoring Medicaid funding that could be used for family planning for low-income women (3/17/05).

NPR reported (2/2/08) that, “Many Republican voters seem to believe, incorrectly, that the current Republican front-runner, Arizona Senator John McCain, supports abortion rights.”

John McCain wants us to believe that he’s a moderate who supports improving the health of women in the United States, but in fact he’s among the most extreme members of Congress who voted against common sense measures on family planning, sex education and access to basic healthcare.

Barack Obama:

"From the first moment a woman dared to speak that hope - dared to believe that the American Dream was meant for her too - ordinary women have taken on extraordinary odds to give their daughters the chance for something else; for a life more equal, more free, and filled with more opportunity than they ever had. In so many ways we have succeeded, but in so many areas we have much work left to do.”

John McCain Supporter: "How Do We Beat the Bitch"

Photo of the Day

2008-06-06T09:42:00.005-05:00

Barack Obama:

"If you're in a fight, and we are going to be in a fight, you want Jim Webb to have your back."

John McCain Defends Bush's Iraq Strategy

2008-06-06T09:29:00.002-05:00

John McCain will continue Iraq policies of President Bush as President.

John McCain: "I do not support Roe versus Wade"

2008-06-06T09:25:00.002-05:00

John McCain will overturn the law that legalized the women right to choose.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to improve his standing with the party's conservative voters, said the law that legalized abortion should be overturned.

John McCain Opposes Expanded GI Bill, Passes Senate

2008-06-06T09:21:00.001-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain:

By a vote of 75-22, the Senate approved an expanded version of the GI bill today. Proposed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., it's the biggest expansion of the bill in the past quarter-century, according to the New York Times. But it has also been opposed by, among others, President Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion

2008-06-06T09:16:00.002-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain:

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told CNN Wednesday he agrees with President Bush's veto of legislation expanding a children's health insurance program, saying the bill provided a "phony smoke and mirrors way of paying for it."

McCain: Would Be "Fine" To Keep Troops in Iraq for "A Hundred Years"

2008-06-06T09:13:00.002-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain:

The United States military could stay in Iraq for "maybe a hundred years" and that "would be fine with me," John McCain told two hundred or so people at a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire, on Thursday evening.

John McCain Supports Privatizing Social Security

2008-06-06T09:04:00.001-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain will continue to push President Bush policy of privatizing Social Security as President.

John McCain Economic Policy Shaped By Lobbyist

2008-06-06T08:58:00.002-05:00

Swiss bank paid Phil Gramm, McCain national campaign co-chair, to push agenda on U.S. mortgage crisis.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain’s national campaign general co-chair was being paid by a Swiss bank to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain about his economic policy, federal records show.

John McCain Votes to Filibuster Minimum Wage Hike

2008-06-06T08:54:00.002-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain:

Senator John McCain joined his fellow Republicans to vote to maintain a filibuster on the minimum wage hike. This is clearly a vote to win him financial backing and support from the elites, but it is one that should come back to haunt him in his Presidential bid.

A hike in the minimum wage is supported by at least 75% of Americans -- that number includes a large percentage of Republicans. And it's an issue you can use to win -- as Sherrod Brown learned in Ohio, a state where I'm guessing McCain will want to perform well.

2008 will likely be the year when the rightwing economic vision and electoral reality collide into eachother. This vote is a clear example of how that will happen.

Barack Obama, Democratic nominee for President

2008-06-04T08:51:00.003-05:00

Obama Clinches Nomination:

Senator Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday evening, prevailing through an epic battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a primary campaign that inspired millions of voters from every corner of America to demand change in Washington.

Hillary, It’s your turn to Reject & Denounce

2008-02-27T20:54:00.000-06:00

Hillary Clinton, it’s time for you to step up and reject and denounce Adelfa Callejo for her racist remarks about Senator Obama and African-American politicians. During an interview with KTVT in Dallas, Hillary Clinton was asked about Adelfa Callejo who was quoted saying "Obama's problem is that he happens to be black."

She was asked by KTVT in Dallas about a Latina backer who said that black politicians never do anything for Hispanics. Her name is Adelfa Callejo. Apparently she’s 84.
[The question: "She recently told us that African-Americans never help Hispanics when they gain power and influence and that she would never vote for Sen. Obama, and now quoting here she said 'Obama’s problem is that he happens to be black.' How do you react to those comments?"]

The newscaster quoted her saying “Obama’s problem is that he happens to be black.”

Rather than doing the right thing and reject and denounce her comments of her supporter, she laughed it off, according to the transcripts of the interview.

Clinton: "Well obviously I want us judged on our merits. I believe strongly that the fact that we have an Aftrican Ameircan and a woman running for the Democratic niomination is historical and I'm very very proud of that . I wantpeople thought to look beyond, look beyond race and gender, look at our records, look what we stand for, look what we've done and I think that;s what most voters ar looking for."

Q (paraphrase) Is this something you reject and denounce?

"People have every reason to express their opinions. I just don't agree with that. I think that we should be looking at the individuals who are running."

Q - Do you still want her support, though?

Clinton laughed and said, "You know This is a free country. People get to express their opinions. A lot of folks have said really unpleasant things about me over the course of this campaign. You can' take any of that as anything other than an individual opinion."

"I would urge all of my supporters and Sen. Obama's supporters to stay focused on the two of us,. Don't vote on race don't vote on gender, vote on the qualifications each of us present for the presidency."

Q- But you criticized Obama for not rejecting the support from Farrakhan.

"I don't see any comparison at all with what you're referring to and I don't know the facts of what you're telling me over the TV. So I'm just going to repeat that I want people to judge us on the merits."

Well, you are right. There is no comparison between Farrakhan and Callejo. One is an active supporter and involved in your campaign and the other is an private citizen who has no ties to Obama and his campaign.

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton.

It is not good enough, to send a spokesman after the fact to clarify your statements.

Clinton spokesman Doug Hattaway called to say Clinton hadn't heard about the incident, and neither he nor I has confirmed that the TV report was accurate.

"If it was actually said, of course she rejects and denounces it," Hattaway said.

Go and the TV in Texas and reject and denounce Adelfa Callejo and the politics of Karl Rove.

Hillary, Bill Clinton and the whole Clinton campaign needs to go away for the good of the Democratic Party and for the good for American people.

I can’t wait in till March 4th, where the voters will get the chance to reject and denounce Hillary Clinton.

Quote of the Day

2008-02-24T08:56:00.002-06:00

Barack Obama responds to Hillary Clinton latest outburst on the campaign trail.

"You can’t be for something or take credit for an administration and 35 years of experience and then when you run for president suggest somehow you didn’t really mean what you said back then," Obama said to applause at a rally of about 5,000. "It doesn't work that way." [..]

"The truth is that Sen. Clinton supported NAFTA before she ran for president. That is indisupatable. She called it 'a victory' in her book. She told people it has proved its worth. Those are facts."

Hillary Clinton is full of it.

2008-02-24T08:35:00.002-06:00

Via Kid Oakland

Top Five

2008-02-24T07:09:00.002-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Frank Rich:
Clinton fans don’t see their standard-bearer’s troubles this way. In their view, their highly substantive candidate was unfairly undone by a lightweight showboat who got a free ride from an often misogynist press and from naïve young people who lap up messianic language as if it were Jim Jones’s Kool-Aid. Or as Mrs. Clinton frames it, Senator Obama is all about empty words while she is all about action and hard work.

But it’s the Clinton strategists, not the Obama voters, who drank the Kool-Aid. The Obama campaign is not a vaporous cult; it’s a lean and mean political machine that gets the job done. The Clinton camp has been the slacker in this race, more words than action, and its candidate’s message, for all its purported high-mindedness, was and is self-immolating.
- The Carpetbagger Report: Armstrong Williams is full of it.

- Talking Points Memo: Republican Rep. Jack Kingston is a shameless hack.

- Crooks & Liars: Frank Luntz of Fox News has sexual issues he needs to work out away from the cameras. Seriously, get some help.

- Windy City Gridiron: Chicago Bears and Rex Grossman continue their love affair. Sigh.

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton

2008-02-23T15:33:00.002-06:00

For tying to stiff people working for a living while your overpriced and underperforming Campaign lives the high life.

It was just $2,492.63, a pittance, really, alongside million-dollar television buys and direct mail drops.

But with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination enduring a rough patch, Peter Semetis, the owner of a deli and catering business in Lower Manhattan, had been following the news and growing increasingly worried that he was not going to be paid for the assorted breakfast trays, coffee, tea and orange juice he had provided the campaign for an event in mid-December.

“I’m afraid of her dropping out of the campaign and me becoming a casualty,” Mr. Semetis said.

So on Thursday, he went to small claims court and filed suit. Mr. Semetis, 53, said he was hardly a political pundit but like others across the country, he had become caught up in the election in the last year and was able to offer some analysis. “There is potential for her to lose Texas,” he said — an assessment not at odds with the polls — “which would pretty much force her to quit.”

And, what a high life it is.

Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000. And top consultants collected about $5 million in January, a month of crucial expenses and tough fund-raising.

Hillary Clinton Goes on the Attack

2008-02-23T14:00:00.000-06:00

During a Campaign stop in Ohio with Democratic Governor Ted Strickland, Hillary Clinton unleashed one of her last ditch effort to stop Obama march towards the nomination.

Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that a pair of mailings sent to voters by rival Barack Obama's campaign criticizing her health care plan and trade views are false, misleading and a betrayal of his pledge to practice a new style of politics.

"Shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public — that's what I expect from you," Clinton said angrily, waving the mailings in the air.

"Meet me in Ohio, and let's have a debate about your tactics," she added.

It’s going to get ugly. Senator Clinton is going to try to link the Democratic Senator of Illinois, Barack Obama, to Republican Karl Rove.

Enough about the speeches, and the big rallies, and then using tactics right out of Karl Rove's playbook. This is wrong and every Democrat should be outraged," Clinton said.

And to President George W. Bush.

Before speaking to reporters, Clinton sought to draw parallels to an untested Bush in 2000 and Obama.

“So, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Clinton said while her loyal ally, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, also tried to draw a contrast between Clinton and Obama by saying, “She just knows more. She knows more.” [..]

“Do you think people voting in 2000 knew what they were getting?” she said, referring to Bush’s first-term bid for the presidency as a governor of Texas. “People thought they were getting a compassionate conservative. It turned out he was neither. We’ve been living with the consequences of those mistakes.” [..]

He promised change as a compassionate conservative and the American people got shafted and we’re going to have to make up for it,” she said.

Without mentioning Obama’s name, Clinton contended her rival has sought to portray having experience as “a disadvantage” and something “that doesn’t count for much anymore.” But she said, if a person needs a serious operation, they don’t ask for a surgeon who’s never performed the procedure.

Let’s ask ourselves if Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush know what they were getting into in Iraq?

People, let’s get real. Senator Clinton went along with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives march toward war with Iraq not based on the facts on the ground, but on politics. She started to run for the general election way back in 2002. Hillary Clinton thought that no one would ever dare to stand between her and the Democratic nomination.

The politics of Triangulation at it best.

Barack Obama opposed Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush’s Iraq war not when the American people started to question the war, but from day one.

I don’t oppose all wars.

After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration’s pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income – to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

Hillary Clinton the Democratic Senator of New York is the one who is using Karl Rove tactics. She can jump up and down trying to distract us with her smears, but we will not be fooled again. Unlike Senator Clinton with her 35 years of experience, Senator Obama has the judgment to lead and run a campaign from the bottom up not Mark Penn on down.

John 'McLovin' McCain

2008-02-21T14:42:00.003-06:00

Matthew Yglesias:

Certainly it'd be a bit rich of McCain to get outraged that anyone would even suggest that he might engage in sexual improprieties. After all, it's well known that he repeatedly cheated on his first wife Carol, of a number of years, with a variety of women, before eventually dumping her for a much-younger heiress whose family fortune was able to help finance his political career. That's well known, I should say, except to the electorate, who would probably find that this sort of behavior detracts from McCain's "character" appeal.

Nicholas D. Kristof:

Although he was still living with his wife, he was aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich.

That troubled period was perhaps the crucial turning point in John McCain's life, and the decisions that he made then started him on the course that he hopes will take him to the White House in January. In just a few years from those times of soul-searching in his office as Navy liaison to the Senate, Mr. McCain would have a new wife, a new home state and a bright new political star as president of the class of newly elected Republican members of the House of Representatives.

For a candidate running on character and biography, it is also an awkward time to remember: Mr. McCain abandoned his wife, who had reared their three children while he was in Vietnamese prisons, and he then began his political career with the resources of his new wife's family.

Viva Obama!

2008-02-21T13:53:00.002-06:00

Amigos De Obama

Let’s Get Real

2008-02-21T09:19:00.001-06:00

Senator Obama only wins in elections that are contested.

Yeah, but this just goes to show that Obama only wins in states that hold contested elections. Sure, he wins big in caucus states, he wins big in primary states, he wins big when turnout is low, and he wins big with record-high turnout. But what the Obama-worshipping media is overlooking is that in each of the 25 state contests Obama has won so far, his name appeared on the ballot. It's time to stop giving Obama a pass on this critical issue.

Remember, if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama's name will not be on the ballot in November. And only Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she can win when Obama's name is not on the ballot. In fact, she's undefeated in contests where Obama is not on the ballot, making her clearly the more electable general-election candidate.

McCain: Confuse Leadership?

2008-02-20T11:58:00.000-06:00

Last night, Republican John McCain echoed President Bush attacks on Senator Obama in this Wisconsin victory speech.

Or will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without pre-conditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?

Just like President Bush, McCain is full of it. It got so bad, even the very serious Joe Klein calls McCain attacks utter nonsense.

I'm sure, Barack Obama will explain that any meetings with Iranian leaders will be fully prepped by staff in advance, including advance meetings at the ministerial level...but what about the first part of the quote? Utter nonsense. Here's what Obama actually said:
I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an Al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.
And, in fact, Obama was merely saying that he supported current U.S. policy. A month ago, for example, a bomb launched from a CIA predator drone killed the Al Qaeda leader Abu Laith al-Libi in Pakistan. Was McCain opposed to that?

Barack Obama is pushing back against Republican talking points in a way Hillary Clinton would not be able to do. Matthew Yglesias has a summary of conference call with Susan Rice in which she counters McCain and Clinton.

One key point of emphasis was the strange notion coming from the McCain campaign that talking about focused counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan is irresponsible, whereas randomly threatening to start new wars is the height of good sense. As she put it "it's a strange contrast -- he says that somehow it's naive for a presidential candidate to outline how he would deal with that crucial national security challenge, but it's appropriate for him to joke about starting another war." A reporter from the Washington Times challenged her on the "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" business saying McCain was joking. Rice responds that "if he wants to say that he was joking and that's the kind of joke he thinks is funny, that's his perogative." [..]

More broadly, on experience there's a three-pronged attack. First, Obama does have experience, with Rice citing the fact that he authored "crucial legislation to secure the United States from the threat of loose nuclear materials" and serves on committees and subcommittees dealing with foreign relations, veterans affairs, and homeland security. Second, this means that Obama has actually "acquired more traditional washington foreign policy experience" than most presidents including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter (Carter in fact served on a nuclear sub and I'm told this gave him a better understanding of nuclear issues than presidents before or after).

Third, there's more to life than being a prisoner of DC conventional wisdom -- "McCain, like Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney may have years of Washington experience" but they've all made "flawed judgments and as a consequence we're less safe." In a crucial point, Rice observed (emphasis added) that a McCain administration would be "very much a continuation and intensification of the failed Bush policy, remaining in Iraq indefinitely not investing adequately in Afghanistan." According to Rice we need to "show that we have learned from our mistakes in Iraq and elsewhere and are prepared to cooperate and collaborate on the challenges we face," namely al-Qaeda, nuclear proliferation, and climate change.

Steve Benen points out; does anyone seriously believe these are effective lines of attack? Obama wants to kill terrorists and try diplomacy with rivals. And this is bad, why?

You want to know why John McCain think it will work, it DC conventional wisdom. It lead Hillary Clinton to yes on the Iraq War to show that she can be at tough as McCain, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the rest of beltway that went along with fear over principle. Barack Obama is right.

"I don't want to just end the war, but I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place."

On a related note, Clinton supporter Lanny Davis tells Fox News that Obama is Ned Lamont and Hillary Clinton is Joe Lieberman.

Hillary Clinton: Mission Accomplished

2008-02-19T14:31:00.001-06:00

It was the first time a Presidential candidate has arrived on the deck of an aircraft carrier by plan. The jet made what is know as a “tailhook” landing with the plan traveling about 150 mph, hooking onto the last of four steel wires across the flight deck and coming to a complete stop in less than 400 feet.

The exterior of the four-seat Navy S-3B Viking was marked with "Hillary 1" in the back and "Commander-in-Chief in Waiting" just below the cockpit window. On the plane's tail was the insignia of the squadron, the "Blue Wolves."

Moments after the landing, the Hillary Clinton, wearing a green flight suit and holding a white helmet, got off the plane, saluted those on the flight deck and shook hands with them. Above him, the tower was adorned with a big sign that read, "Mission Accomplished."

Press Secretary Taylor Marsh has release the follow text of Hillary Clinton’s speech.

Hillary Clinton announces major primary election operations in America have ended

Remarks by the Hillary Clinton from the USS ~~Abraham Lincoln~~ Bill Clinton
At Sea Off the Coast of San Diego, California

Hillary Clinton: Thank you all very much, Admirals, Captions, officers and sailors of the USS Bill Clinton, my fellow Americans: Major primary election operations in America has ended. In the Democratic primary, I and my supporters have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing the Democratic Party.

In this battle, we have fought for the cause of power, and for destruction of Hope. Our States and our collation are proud of this accomplishment – yet, it is you, the members of Hillary land, who achieved it. Your courage, your willing to face danger for us and for our power, made this day possible. Because of you, our Democratic Party is more secure. Because of you, the ~~Obama~~ tyrant has fallen, and the Democratic Party is free.

Operation it’s going to happen was carried out with a combination of breaking the rules and boldness the enemy did not expect, and the Democratic Party has not seen before. From distant bases of New York and California, we sent Howard Wolfson and Mark Penn to destroy enemy division, or multiple pledged delegates. Taylor Marsh and Lanny Davis charged across 2000 miles of hostile ground, in one of the swiftest advances in the heavy arms in history. You have shown the world the skill and the might of the Clinton forces.

The Election is not over, yet it is not endless. We do know the day of final victory is November 2, 2008, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of voting will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter our fate. Their cause is lost. We will press to victory.

Thank you for serving US and our cause. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless the ~~Clinton~~ Democratic Party.

After Hillary Clinton’s ‘Mission Accomplishes’ speech, Five Star General Mark Penn answered the following questions from reporters.

It’s only February 19 2008, Democrats are voting in Wisconsin and there are still primaries and causes in many other states.

Well, the Clinton forces won all the major battles that really count. Those past and future elections are insignificant and plus winning elections are not a good sign of winning in the general election.

As of now, Obama has more pledged delegates even if you count superdelegates he is still in the lead. How do you still claim victory?

Obama delegates are second- class. We refuse to count them as legitimate delegates.

What is your plan to secure victory in November?

My belief we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

[Snark]

Hillary Clinton is the Popular Vote Leader

2008-02-18T12:04:00.001-06:00

If you only count the states that matter.

In another attempt to deny reality, Paul Lukasiak is making the case that Hillary Clinton is the popular vote leader base on exit polls.

Via Taylor Marsh.

Based on exit polls, among the approximately 16.3 million people who identified themselves as Democrats, over 678,000 more voted for Hillary Clinton than Barack Obama. If we’re going to “let the people decide" who the Democratic nominee would be, shouldn’t we be basing that on the will of Democrats themselves?

Taylor Marsh calls herself a Democrat, but she also allows Larry C. Johnson to continue his racist attacks on Senator Obama on her blog. Taylor Marsh even goes as far to call Larry C. Johnson an expert to legitimize his rants against the Democratic Senator of Illinois. I won’t link to Taylor Marsh and Larry C. Johnson's Obama hate feast.

Paul Lukasiak continues to make this case.

In fact, on Super Tuesday, 295,952 more primary voters cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton than for Obama, yet somehow neither the Obama campaign, nor the media, was paying much attention to Clinton’s lead in the popular vote. If we include all the states that held primaries before Super Tuesday (NH, SC, MI, FL) Clinton was up by 468,024 votes—that was 2.51% of the total votes cast. But talking about that number was not a media priority either.

Only now that Obama has a miniscule lead of 128,736 in the number of votes cast (and that includes assigning all the “uncommitted” votes in Michigan to Obama) has the media focused on total votes cast. This lead represents less than 1% (0.62%) of votes cast in the primary elections held so far, yet it is trumpeted by the media endlessly.

But, since this is actually the Democratic primary, perhaps we should look at how Democrats have actually voted. Based on the available exit polling data, we find that Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead over Barack Obama in the number of votes – As of February 16, 2008, 391,992 more Democrats voted for Clinton than Obama.

Nice play on words. Notice how he does not cite the actually vote totals to support his case. This whole argument is base on unreliable exits polls. Tom in Texas over at Balloon Juice rips apart Paul Lukasiak’s facts.

Apparently, if you only count votes up to Super Tuesday, discount every state that had a caucus, only go by the exit polling, and eliminate any voters who weren’t registered Democrats, then Hillary Clinton*actually has the popular vote lead. In other news, based on exit polling and early voting from 2004 President Kerry will be running for reelection.

Even if you add Florida and Michigan, where Obama was not on the ballot, Hillary Clinton still is not the popular voter leader. Hey, if Mark Penn can dismiss States and Democratic primaries as insignificant. Hillary Clinton supporters can also dismiss actually votes totals as insignificant.

[Update]

Hillary Clinton supporters have no shame. Now, only Clinton’s Superdelegates matter.

A co-chairman of Hillary's Michigan campaign and has a line that's sure to drive a whole bunch of red state governor's up the wall:

"Superdelegates are not second-class delegates," says Joel Ferguson, who will be a superdelegate if Michigan is seated. "The real second-class delegates are the delegates that are picked in red-state caucuses that are never going to vo, te Democratic."

Clinton’s Campaign Rhetoric Insults my Intelligence

2008-02-12T09:57:00.000-06:00

I’m not naïve. I know that spin and rhetoric is part of running a campaign, but it is getting to the point that Clinton’s rhetoric is no longer base on reality. Hillary Clinton and her staff are willing to say anything with a straight face. Mark Penn latest spin would make Karl Rove blush.

"Senator Obama has in fact never had a serious Republican challenger."

The same thing can be said about Hillary Clinton and her Senate campaigns. Does Mark Penn count Bill Clinton’s victories over Bob Dole and George H. W. Bush in the Hillary column? Obama won a contested Democratic primary in Illinois and faced a strong Republican opposition in an open seat. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton had a cleared field in New York Democratic primary. In both cases, the leading Republican candidates dropped out and they won their Senate seats by large margins.

It gets worse, Hillary Clinton campaign pollster/strategist Mark Penn no longer believes in polls. This is like GOP stop believing tax cuts and Ronald Reagan. Even Hillary Clinton is getting into the act.

“I think that both Michigan and Florida should count, because these are two states we have to carry,” she said. “This is not about so much as the ins and outs of the Democratic National Committee as to whether the Democrats are going to win in the fall.

“In Michigan, all of us had a chance to leave our names on the ballot – I chose to do so,” she continued. “My opponents ran a very vigorous campaign to get people to vote ‘uncontested.’ There was a campaign going on – it was a campaign against me, and I still won a majority.

This is dishonorable. Clinton’s campaign manger backed the DNC decision to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates if they refused to return their primaries to their original dates.

We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process, and we believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role."

The Clinton’s campaign could have voice their concerns then and forced the DNC change their policy, but they and the other campaigns went along with the DNC’s rules. It rings hollow now to make a big deal about Florida, Michigan and the election results when you had a chance to bring about real change in the process. The Clinton’s campaign is willing to trash any rules in the pursuit of power.

Quote of the Day

2008-02-08T08:39:00.000-06:00

Senator Barack Obama:

"Whoever wins this Democratic primary... they're the toughest, baddest candidate on the block."

Top Five

2008-02-08T07:24:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- The Nation: Money can't buy you love.
Even the wealthiest candidates can't keep spending $1 million a delegate to maintain losing campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination.

So Mitt Romney has announced that he is "suspending" his spectacularly-expensive bid for a nomination that the blow-dried businessman candidate thought was his for the taking.

If money was all that mattered in politics, the nomination would have gone to Romney. He put an estimated $50 million of his family's money into the initiative, which will probably end up having cost the candidate and his supporters in excess of $100 million.
- Capitol Watch: Finally.
Thanks to Zell Miller, there is a rule to deal with Joe Lieberman.

Lieberman's endorsement of Republican John McCain disqualifies him as a super-delegate to the Democratic National Convention under what is informally known as the Zell Miller rule, according to Democratic State Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo.
After the 2008 elections, Senate Democrats should kick Holy Joe out of their caucus.

- Election Central: A newly released poll from Time magazine.
McCain (R) 41%Obama (D) 48%,
Clinton (D) 46%, McCain (R) 46%
- Think Progress: Sometimes, it seems like Republicans live in a different reality than the rest of us.

- Fan House: Tiki Barber is full of it.

It’s Over

2008-02-07T12:47:00.000-06:00

Mitt Romney suspends his 2008 Presidential Campaign. In this concession speech at C-PAC, Romney continues to be full of it.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Steve Benen over at the Carpetbagger Reports highlights Romney’s greatest camping hits.

Top Five

2008-02-07T07:54:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Think Progress: Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain broken his pledged to return to the Senate and vote on the economic stimulus package. So, what happen to the Straight Talk Express?

- The Carpetbagger Report: Steve Benen covers all of the angles of Hilary Clinton’s money troubles.

- Election Central: The Hilary Clinton Campaign is getting desperate.
Hillary campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle has sent an open letter to the Obama camp, stepping up their debate challenge. The letter argues that voters should get to see more than a single one-on-one debate between the two, and that the two of them should have one debate a week for the next five weeks starting this weekend.

One particular proposed venue would definitely be a sticking point with a lot of Democratic activists: "Senator Clinton believes voters should have more than one opportunity to see the candidates discuss the issues and has accepted five debates between now and March 4th from CNN, MSNBC, WJLA, ABC and Fox News."
- Huffington Post: Hilary Clinton might be ready on day one, but what about after the first day in office?

- Fan House: Shaquille O'Neal is back in the Western Conference.

The Clinton Campaign is Willing to Say Anything

2008-02-06T15:25:00.000-06:00

They are shameless in their rhetoric. Spin is one thing, but the Clinton Campaign’s rhetoric really insults people’s intelligence.

Christopher Orr:

Sometimes, imitation is just the sincerest form of lameness, and Clinton adviser Mark Penn's effort to brand Barack Obama the "establishment" candidate is one of those occasions. As Mike reported, in a conference call this morning, Penn referred to Obama's "establishment campaign of big endorsements, money, and Super Bowl ads." But, of course, Obama's endorsements have appeared to be born more of love than of tribute (in contrast to Clinton's earlier-in-the-process hoard) and his money has come from smaller donors than Clinton's. The Super Bowl ad? Whatever you think of it (I wasn't terribly impressed), it was hardly an establishment move. (Any of you remember Bob Dole's big half-time promo? Me neither.)

Moreover, it's all just so fourth grade. Obama makes headway by framing himself (accurately) as a change agent? Clinton abruptly starts pitching herself as a change agent, too. Obama describes Clinton (again, accurately, at least in relative terms) as the status-quo candidate in last night's speech? This morning we have Penn's I'm-rubber-you're-glue routine. Next thing you know, Clinton will start attending rallies in a men's suit and skinny tie and talking about how much she loves "The Wire," too.

Silly, obvious fibs like this are one reason that so many in the media are skeptical of anything that comes out of the Clinton camp. It's an insult to the intelligence of the people being spun. (Massachusetts was an upset win for Clinton? Obama's the establishment candidate?)

But the worst part of it all is that the GOP has won the last two presidential elections largely by framing the Democratic nominee as book-smart but inauthentic, someone who really doesn't know who they are. Hillary's attempted reinventions over the last few weeks--from establishment juggernaut to counter-establishment rebel; from Strong Woman to Sensitive Soul; from "leader" to "change agent"--are just doing the GOP's general-election work for them.

Don’t Be Fooled, Don't Get Played

2008-02-06T11:45:00.000-06:00

Seriously.

Senator Clinton was supposed to use her base in the Northeast, California, and Arkansas to come out of February 5th with a 150+ pledged delegates lead. It did not happen. Senator Barack Obama will come out of last night vote with more pledged delegates.

Hillary advisers also disputed the Obama camp's claim of a lead among delegates, arguing that they were ahead when you factor in superdelegates.

Who are theses superdelegates? Democratic Party insiders and elected Democratic officeholders. The Clinton campaign is ahead in the delegate count based on superdelgates only. Which is not shocking, the Democratic Party has been the Party of Clinton for the past 15 years or so. If Hilary Clinton wins the Democratic Nomination base on superdelegates rather than pledged delegates her victory would illegitimate.

Well, whoop dee doo that you lead in super delegates, considering that most of those enodrsements were racked up when your campaign was the clear frontrunner. After this weekend, when three of the four states, and 126 of the 185 pledged delegates are determined via caucuses, Obama will stretch out his pledged delegate lead further. On Tuesday, no matter who actually wins the popular vote in Virginia, Obama will stretch out his pledged delegate lead even further by racking up large wins in D.C. and probably Maryland. And then, on February 19th, there is another caucus in Hawaii, and a primary in the non-partisan registration state of Obama's neighboring Wisconsin. Yes indeed, the February calendar is very favorable to Obama.

A campaign that is now on course to be down by more than 100 pledged delegates in two weeks didn't "tie." Just like Mitt Romney, any campaign that is talking about changing delegate allocation rules didn't "tie." A campaign that is plugging its website to try and raise money didn't "tie." A campaign that talks about stopping the momentum currently enjoyed by its opponent didn't "tie." That is a campaign back on its heels. As I wrote last night, this was not a tie, and Obama clearly has the edge.

Now, Clinton can still make a stand in Ohio and Texas on March 4th, where the electorate could be favorable to her in both states. If she fails to score victories there, however, there is no way she can win the pledged delegate count in this nomination campaign. At that point, her only other path to the nomination would be through super delegates and controlling the Michigan / Florida delegation seating process. At best, that is a backdoor path to the nomination that will force a crisis of legitimacy in the Democratic nominee.

Clinton pollster Mark Penn Spins Himself Silly

2008-02-06T11:17:00.000-06:00

You would think Mark Penn would come up with something better than claiming Senator Barack Obama is the ‘establishment candidate’.

This one is worth keeping an eye on, because we'll be hearing more of it in the days ahead. In the Clinton campaign conference call I mentioned below, Hillary pollster Mark Penn repeatedly said Obama was becoming an "establishment candidate" -- a rather strained effort to use Obama's high-profile endorsements to weaken his insurgent appeal.

Asked about Obama's loss in Massachusetts despite the Teddy Kennedy endorsement, Penn again reiterated the fact that voters making up their minds on the last day had broken for Hillary, suggesting (without quite saying) that this was somehow catalyzed by Obama's new high-profile support.

"The more that Senator Obama has shifted to becoming an establishment campaign based on endorsements, people said, `You know, it's really Senator Clinton who has the ideas for change,'" Penn told reporters.

Again: Keep in mind that in advance of yesterday's contest, Hillary had a massive lead in Massachusetts for weeks. Anyway, we'll be hearing more of this.

On a related note, Mark Penn consulting firm has been paid more than 4.3 millions by the Clinton Campaign.

Even if his candidate fails to secure the Democratic nomination, Mark Penn, the chief strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton, has profited quite handsomely.

Through the course of the primary, Penn's consulting firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, has been paid more than $4.3 million by the Clinton campaign, according to a review of campaign finance filings.

That total, compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, includes receipts for tasks ranging from polling and consulting to mail expenses and even photography. It does not include the $1.5 million the Clinton campaign is in debt to the firm.

Clinton: '35 Years of Change'

2008-02-04T09:54:00.000-06:00

Senator Clinton continues to misrepresent her lifework in the nonprofit sector. If you actually look into her history, it tells a different story.

To hear Hillary Clinton talk, she's spent her entire career putting her Yale Law School degree to work for the common good.

She routinely tells voters that she's "been working to bring positive change to people's lives for 35 years." She told a voter in New Hampshire: "I've spent so much of my life in the nonprofit sector." Speaking in South Carolina, Bill Clinton said his wife "could have taken a job with a firm ... Instead she went to work with Marian Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense Fund."

The overall portrait is of a lifelong, selfless do-gooder. The whole story is more complicated — and less flattering.

Clinton worked at the Children's Defense Fund for less than a year, and that's the only full-time job in the nonprofit sector she's ever had. She also worked briefly as a law professor.

Clinton spent the bulk of her career — 15 of those 35 years — at one of Arkansas' most prestigious corporate law firms, where she represented big companies and served on corporate boards.

Top Five

2008-02-04T08:44:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Think Progress: Republican Senator John McCain is horrible in the stump, especially when he is trying to be funny.

- Open Left: Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski is full of it.

- Americablog: Can we stop calling Joe Lieberman a moderate or even a Democrat anymore?

- MyDD: Seriously, Gov. Bill Richardson should make up his mind already.

- Fan House: Wow. It was a great game. The New York Football Giants are the Champs.

Yes We Can!

2008-02-03T07:36:00.000-06:00

Obama 08'

MoveOn Endorses Barack Obama

2008-02-01T11:25:00.000-06:00

MoveOn’s Press Release:

In a resounding vote today, MoveOn.org Political Action's members nationwide voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President. The group, with 3.2 million members nation-wide and over 1.7 million members in Super Tuesday states, will immediately begin to mobilize on behalf of Senator Obama. The vote favored Senator Obama to Senator Clinton by 70.4% to 29.6%.

Senator Obama accepted the endorsement stating:

""In just a few years, the members of MoveOn have once again demonstrated that real change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up. From their principled opposition to the Iraq war - a war I also opposed from the start - to their strong support for a number of progressive causes, MoveOn shows what Americans can achieve when we come together in a grassroots movement for change. I thank them for their support and look forward to working with their members in the weeks and months ahead."

Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org's Executive Director, issued the following statement on the group's endorsement:

"Our members' endorsement of Senator Obama is a clear call for a new America at this critical moment in history. Seven years of the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration have left the country desperate for change. We need a President who will bring to bear the strong leadership and vision required to end the war in Iraq, provide health care to every American, deal with our climate crisis, and restore America's standing in the world. The enormity of the challenges require someone who knows how to inspire millions to get involved to change the direction of our country, and someone who will be willing to change business as usual in Washington. Senator Barack Obama has proved he can and will be that President."

McCain’s Democratic Flirtations

2008-02-01T08:43:00.000-06:00

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain is within days of winning the GOP nomination, but it’s never a good sign when your campaign has to deny that the candidate almost left the Party that he is about to lead heading into the 2008 elections.

Mark Salter, who in 2001 was McCain’s chief of staff and now works for the senator’s campaign, said McCain has not at any moment thought about leaving the Republican Party: “Never at any time. Never.”

The Hill reports Democratic Senators John Edwards, Edward Kennedy and Harry Reid were part of intense recruiting effort along with Senator Tom Daschle and Rep. Tom Downey to bring the Republican Senator to the Democratic side.

In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist. [..]

Other senators who played major roles in the intense recruiting effort, according to Democrats, were then-Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as well as Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

“John [Edwards] at that time was working with McCain on a couple things and there was a sense that because of his relationship that he might be a good person to talk to him,” Daschle said. “He was clearly one of those that we thought could be helpful.”

A source close to Edwards said Daschle’s comments are accurate.

Republicans did take notice of McCain flirtations with the Democratic Party. Former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert believes John McCain was more of an ally of the Democrats than Congressional Republicans.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert questioned John McCain’s Republican credentials today, saying he was always known among the GOP as “the undependable vote” in the Senate and always “allied with Democrats.” [..]

The former House speaker has not had a lot of good to say about McCain in recent years. He contended that on agenda items under the Republican-controlled Congress, “it just seems like everything we did, John was someplace else.”

“It was McCain-Kennedy, it was McCain-Lieberman, it was McCain-Feingold on campaign finance reform,” Hastert said, noting Democratic co-sponsors. “He was against us on tax cuts and his form of immigration reform was to open the gates and let everybody in.”

Asked if he considered McCain a conservative, Hastert said, “In my opinion, he is not.”

To be fair, Dennis Hastert is a Mitt Romney supporter. The Illinois Republican does point to the Keating Five scandal and John McCain's presidential ambitious as the reason why John McCain changed his political ideology.

McCain was one of five senators implicated in the 1989 Keating Five, a congressional scandal alleging federal regulators were pressured against an investigation of Charles Keating, the former chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Assn.

McCain was cited by the Senate Ethics Committee for “poor judgment” but it recommended no further action.

Speaking later to the Tribune, Hastert, who retired from Congress in November of last year, said McCain changed after the Keating Five to become “more of a populist.”

“He was gearing up for a run for the presidency in 2000 so he had to change track and clean up his image, from my point of view,” Hastert said.

Wow, Maybe Rush Limbaugh is right. A John McCain presidential candidacy might tear apart the GOP. It’s going to be fun to watch.

Barack Obama Won the Debate

2008-02-01T07:59:00.000-06:00

This is the moment where it happened.

Top Five

2008-02-01T06:33:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Will Durst: Its funny because its true.
During George Bush's last State of the Union Address, he received his biggest response for announcing this was his last State of the Union Address.
- Think Progress: When did calling someone Juan become funny?

- Marc Ambinder: Who won last night Democratic debate?
I was tempted to call this encounter a draw but I am mindful that there are no zero sum debates in presidential politics.

And twenty minutes of Iraq happened. And so I’ll give Obama the edge. Clinton was forced, for about 20 minutes, to recapitulate her vote on Iraq, over and over again. It was tough for her. She seemed to mire herself in the details of history. [..]

Obama really gives a great answer on the war, talking about the mindset differences between himself and Clinton and stressing the need for a date certain. He’s found a way to create daylight between himself and Clinton on withdrawing from Iraq.
- Open Left: Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez does the right thing and by withdrawing his endorsement of Democratic Congressman Lipinski for the upcoming primary. Congressman Lipinski continues to vote like Republicans Sensenbrenner and Tancredo on immigration while supporting the Republican minority on Iraq. It’s time to send more and better Democrats to Congress. Vote for Mark Pera in the Illinois Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District.

- Fan House: There is no love lost between the New York Football Giants and Tiki Barber.

Wow: Obama raises $32 million in January

2008-01-31T10:51:00.000-06:00

Bloomberg.com Reports:

Illinois Senator Barack Obama raised $32 million in January for his presidential bid, campaign manager David Plouffe said today. [..]

Plouffe said the campaign counted 170,000 new donors in the last month, bringing its total to 650,000.

``Our strongest day of the whole month was the day after the New Hampshire,'' which Obama lost to Clinton, Plouffe said. ``We took a lot of encouragement from that because it showed the resolve of our donor base.''

Hilary Clinton Remained Silent

2008-01-31T10:26:00.000-06:00

ABC news reports on Hilary Clinton tenure on the Wal-Mart board of Directors.

In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers.

Go and read the rest of the report.

Who is actually Running for President? Pt. 3

2008-01-31T10:11:00.000-06:00

Is it Bill Clinton or Hilary Clinton?

It’s never a good sign when a candidate has to make a statement on who is the candidate in the race.

ABC NEWS asked Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., if she personally asked her husband to "tone it down" a little in recent days, and she didn't deny it.

"Well, I'm very proud of his promoting my candidacy, and I'm very happy that he is able to travel as widely as he has been, along with my daughter," Clinton told reporters while campaigning in Little Rock, Ark.

"But this is my campaign, it is about my candidacy," she said.

Top Five

2008-01-31T07:59:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- The Nation: Ralph Nader may run for President, again. After eight years of President Bush, Mr. Nader still remains an unreasonable man.

- Election Central: It over, the dream has ending. Reports are coming out that Mitt Romney’s Campaign is not running TV ads in the February 5th states. Well, there is always 2012.

- Crooks & Liars: Another House Republican decides to retire rather than run for reelection. As it stands now, the total number of retirees is 28. I willing to bet the number might reach up to 35 or so.

- MyDD: After New Hampshire, I’m very weary about polls. If Obama somehow pulls even in California, a cut into Hilary Clinton leads in the Northeast, and carries the south and Midwest he will be the front runner after February 5th. I know there are a lot of ifs, but Obama can still pull off an upset victory over Clinton.

- Fan House: Is Chicago Bear Devin Hester the greatest of all time?

Quote of the Day

2008-01-30T16:26:00.000-06:00

It’s an old quote, but it shows how shameless the Clinton’s campaign is really is. Clinton’s campaign manger backed the DNC decision to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates if they refused to return their primaries to their original dates.

We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process, and we believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role."

The Clinton’s campaign could have voice their concerns then and forced the DNC change their policy, but they and the other campaigns went along with the DNC’s rules. It rings hollow now to make a big deal about Florida and the election results, when you had a chance to bring about real change in the process. The Clinton’s campaign is willing to trash any rules in the pursuit of power.

Immigrant Bashing

2008-01-30T13:51:00.000-06:00

Mitt Romney has been hitting the illegal immigration issue hard every since Iowa to gin up support within Conservative base. In Florida, Mitt Romney at every campaign stop was preaching against Kennedy/McCain Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, trying to tie McCain to amnesty. It worked, Conservative did vote for Mitt Romney over John McCain in the primary. But, Hispanics deliver Florida for McCain.

According to the exit polls Mitt Romney and John McCain tied 33% to 33% among the 89% of the Florida Republicans who voterd last night who were not Hispanic. Among Hispanics, who where 11% of the Florida GOP electorate last night, the vote was 54% McCain, 24% Rudy and 14% Romney. So it was the vote of Hispanic voters who put John McCain over the top in Florida, and gave him the most important win of his fight for the GOP nomination.

Thus, John McCain, the candidate who championed immigration reform, may have had the nomination delivered to him by those Hispanic voters he has been fighting for. And Romney, who has led the anti-immigrant crusade in the GOP field this year, saw this strategy explode on him - as it has virtually every other Republican who has invested in it - last night.

John McCain won the non-Cuban Hispanic vote over Romney by 51 to 21.

McCain does not support the Kennedy/McCain Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill anymore in an attempt to win over Conservatives, but this rhetoric has not been over the top. Immigrant-bashing is still going to play a role in the 2008 elections. The Conservative base always need someone to demonize and ‘Mexicans’ are their next target.

Today — with the nation bogged down in a disastrous war, oil prices at $100 a barrel, climate change cooking the planet and the economy veering into recession — the geniuses vying to lead the Republican Party have decided what's really wrong with America: Mexicans. [..]

Exploiting the spasm of xenophobia that has taken hold of the GOP base helped Huckabee win Iowa — where entrance polls found illegal immigration the primary issue among the party's voters. But top Republican strategists are petrified that pandering to a narrow band of nativists will ruin the GOP's future with the nation's fastest-growing bloc of voters.

It is so bad that Grover Norquist is now the voice of reason within the Republican base.

Grover Norquist, a top ally of Karl Rove, believes that the "vicious" rhetoric by GOP candidates could prompt Hispanics to flee "in droves" to the Democrats. "Talking about a strong border is one thing," Norquist says. "It's when you get into enforcing the law — which means deport — that you lose people's votes. Oddly enough, people resent the idea that you might throw their mother out of the country." [..]

Yet despite such evidence, the Republican candidates continue to undercut one another in a race to the xenophobic bottom. At every event, says Norquist, the candidates "get further and further right — it's not even right, it's just further and further hostile — trying to outdo each other. They somehow think that by putting the word 'illegal' in front of immigrant, they've cleared themselves of any ethnocentric bigotry: 'Oh, I'm only against the illegal ones.' Ha."

That equation, experts say, misses the reality of most immigrants, whose families are a mix of citizens, permanent residents who want to become citizens and undocumented immigrants desperate to get legal status. "When the candidates say they're for legal but not illegal immigration," says Sharry, "what they're saying is 'We want to deport your brother. We want to deport your cousin. The child who came with you — but not the children who were born here — would have to go home.'"

The last paragraph is dead on.

My two brothers and I were born here in America, but my parents were illegal immigrants at the time. Under President Ronald Reagan’s amnesty in the 80’s, my parents were able to become citizens in the 90’s. This issue hits me close, if Reagan’s amnesty was never put into law, the Republicans right now would be trying to deport my parents. Some of them are even go as far as trying to rewrite the Constitution to prevent the children of immigrants born in the U.S.A from receiving citizenship.

Why would I and any member of my family or the Hispanic Community vote for a political party that is trying deport our family members or trying to take the rights of citizenship out the Constitution?

FISA in 30 Seconds

2008-01-30T11:41:00.000-06:00

Senator Russ Feingold explains FISA.

Obama Rip Clinton for Siding with McCain

2008-01-30T10:56:00.000-06:00

The Republican front-runner John McCain is well on this way becoming the nominee of the GOP. On the Democratic side, it’s still a race between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. Both candidates support bring the Troops home from Iraq, but there is a major difference. Only one candidate in the Democratic race did not support the war from the start and let no one deny this truth.

Senator Obama is going to highlight this distinction in a speech in Denver.

It's time for new leadership that understands that the way to win a debate with John McCain is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq; who agreed with him in voting to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; who agrees with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don't like; and who actually differed with him by arguing for exceptions for torture before changing positions when the politics of the moment changed.

Wow.

John McCain can not run the same playbook that President Bush used on Senator Kerry in 2004 with Senator Obama. Hilary Clinton voted for the war in Iraq and Republicans are going to beat her over the head with this fact.

Senator Obama continues….

We need to offer the American people a clear contrast on national security, and when I am the nominee of the Democratic Party, that's exactly what I will do. Talking tough and tallying up your years in Washington is no substitute for judgment, and courage, and clear plans. It's not enough to say you'll be ready from Day One - you have to be right from Day One.

Running Hilary Clinton does not offer the American people a clear contrast with John McCain.

Divide and Conquer!

2008-01-30T10:22:00.000-06:00

The Clinton Campaign has been quietly pushing the idea into the media that Latinos votes won’t vote for a Black candidate. It has now become conventional wisdom, but their race-bating has a price.

But the social costs of the Clintons' strategy might end up being higher than the country is willing to pay. According to Stanford Law professor Richard Thompson Ford, who just published "The Race Card: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse," such political stunts can be "self-fulfilling prophecies."

"It could make black voters more hostile to Latinos," he said. "And Latinos who hear it might think that they somehow ought to be at odds with blacks. These kinds of statements generate interracial tensions."

The fact is that Latino voters has and will support Black Candidates.

University of Washington political scientist Matt Barreto has compiled a list of black big-city mayors who have received broad Latino support over the last several decades. In 1983, Harold Washington pulled 80% of the Latino vote in Chicago. David Dinkins won 73% in New York in 1989. And Denver's Wellington Webb garnered more than 70% in 1991, as did Ron Kirk in Dallas in 1995 and then again in 1997 and 1999.

He could have also added that longtime Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley won a healthy chunk of the Latino vote in 1973 and then the clear majority in his mayoral reelection campaigns of 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1989.

Here in L.A., all three black members of Congress represent heavily Latino districts and ultimately couldn't survive without significant Latino support. Five other black House members represent districts that are more than 25% Latino -- including New York's Charles Rangel and Texan Al Green -- and are also heavily dependent on Latino voters.

As Hispanic voters, my whole family voted for Obama in the Democratic Primary in 2004 even with a creditable Hispanic candidate in the race, Gery Chico. Even time I hear this crap about Latinos won’t support black candidates or the other way around base on race, it gets me ticked off.

Who is pushing this conventional wisdom is only out for one thing, to divide and conquer.

Top Five

2008-01-30T09:10:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- The Stump: Senator Clinton is full of it. Seriously, after all of the misrepresentation and distortion coming out of her campaign now she once again using misrepresentation and distortion to calling for unity. Shameless.

- Think Progress: According to Republican Joe Scarborough, McCain’s platform is ‘Less Jobs and More Wars’. That sound about right.

- Oliver Willis: Is John McCain the Bob Dole of 2008?

- The Carpetbagger Report: Bye, Bye Rudy.
The reality is Giuliani’s position as a credible candidate was a mirage from the start. He started high, thanks to an unearned 9/11 halo and high name recognition, but fell once voters actually got to know him. John Dickerson noted, “The more he campaigned, the more he went down in the polls.”
- Fan House: Damn. Johan Santana is coming to the National League.

John Edwards is Ending his Campaign

2008-01-30T08:45:00.000-06:00

Today, Senator John Edwards will end his campaign for the Presidency.

Former Senator John Edwards, D-N.C., will drop out of the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday.

"It just became clear it wasn't going to happen," a senior Edwards advisor tells ABC News' Rick Klein.

When I hear heard of the news of Edwards dropping out, my first thought was about Senator Kennedy's concession speech in 1980 at the Democratic Convention in New York City.

For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.

I wish you and your family well, Senator.

3-Way Tie in the Florida Democratic Primary

2008-01-29T19:54:00.000-06:00

With the results coming in the Florida Democratic Primary, Clinton, Edwards and Obama are in a 3-way tie in the delegates count.

Total Number of Delegates in Florida – 0

Edwards - 0

Clinton - 0

Obama - 0

As it stands now, the Democratic Primary is a delegate battle for the nomination. The Florida Democratic Party, the Michigan Democratic Party and their leaders did a great disservice to their states. Their cause was a noble one to stop the monopoly of Iowa and New Hampshire. Which I agree with, their domination in the Presidential process must stop. By not following the Democratic National Committee regulations, Florida and Michigan was stripped of all of their delegates.

Those states should have followed the rules and had their primaries the earliest possible which is February 5th. All of the 3 Democratic Candidates would have been in Florida and Michigan campaigning rather than ignoring them due to pledge they took not to campaign in those states.

It pure stupidity, the Presidential nominating process needs to be fixed. So, the next time there is a real campaign in Florida and Michigan.

Quote of the Day

2008-01-29T12:17:00.000-06:00

Democratic U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona:

"I am proud to support Senator Obama as we move forward toward the nomination. This election is not merely about moving the pieces around in Washington D.C., but to fundamentally change the rules of the game. I am proud to help Senator Obama work toward that change."

The Politics of Sitting and Standing…

2008-01-29T11:51:00.000-06:00

… during the President’s State of the Union Address.

Clinton and Obama’s divergent views on the troop surge in Iraq, however, were plainly visible.

When Bush proclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among terrorists there is no doubt,” Clinton sprang to her feet in applause but Obama remained firmly seated. The president’s line divided most of the Democratic audience, with nearly half standing to applaud and the other half sitting in stony silence.

Senator Kennedy:

We know the true record of Barack Obama. There is the courage he showed when so many others were silent or simply went along. From the beginning, he opposed the war in Iraq.

And let no one deny that truth.

Senator Kennedy could have also added when so many other were cheering President Bush on or were silent and simply went along. From the beginning, Senator Obama opposed the war in Iraq.

I’m just staying, let’s compare and contrast.

This is Interesting

2008-01-29T11:17:00.000-06:00

During a Democratic debate, Senator Obama helped out his fellow Democrat at a tough moment.

"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.'"

Senator Obama responses to the President’s …

2008-01-29T09:49:00.000-06:00

… State of the Union Address.

Senator Durbin responses to the President's …

2008-01-29T09:41:00.000-06:00

… State of the Union Address.

Top Five

2008-01-29T08:11:00.000-06:00

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Oliver Willis: Our long national nightmare is almost over.
Let the next year produce a president whose state of the union addresses don't produce embarrassed cringes but rather make our hearts soar with pride fitting of Americans.
- Open Left: RNC Chairman Mike Duncan is full of it.

- Digby: Is former California Governor Gray Davis that clueless?

- Crooks & Lairs: Republican Presidential Candidates McCain and Romney are calling each other names; it got so bad that each of them called the other a liberal.

- Fan House: I first came across Skip Bayless during this time in Chicago as a sports columnist, but now he is a mainstay at ESPN2’s morning show. Skip Bayless should have stuck to writing, he acts like a fool and the TV.

Senator Kennedy Endorses Barack Obama

2008-01-28T20:43:00.000-06:00

For President.

Facts about Obama’s Victory in South Carolina

2008-01-28T18:48:00.000-06:00

Finally.

Now we have mathematical proof that President Bill Clinton is full of it when he compares Senator Obama’s victory in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's victories in 1984 and 1988.

The Clinton camp would like to brush off the weekend primary in South Carolina as not really that representative because so many African Americans voted. That in essence was what former president Bill Clinton was saying when he dismissed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's victory over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by comparing it to Jesse Jackson's victories in South Carolina during his runs for the presidency in the 1980s.

But in fact, the numbers don't bear that out. If half as many black voters turned out, Obama still would have beaten Clinton, albeit not by as large a margin. Let's say, for instance, that African American voters represented just 20 percent of the total electorate in South Carolina instead of the 55 percent they did -- closer to, say, their share of the New York Democratic electorate. Assuming each candidate won the same proportionate support within each racial group, then Obama still would have won the primary with 34.6 percent of the overall vote to 32.6 percent for Clinton and 32.4 percent for former North Carolina senator John Edwards. [..]

But the point is that Obama did not win South Carolina solely because the electorate there was disproportionately African American.