Hillary’s Voice

All Hat No Cattle

Obama inching closer to Democratic presidential nomination
WASHINGTON - On the rebound, Barack Obama left Hillary Rodham Clinton with fast-dwindling chances to deny him the Democratic presidential nomination after beating her in North Carolina and falling just short in an Indiana cliffhanger.

Transcript: Hillary Clinton Delivers Remarks at Indiana Celebration Event (posted at No Quarter)
Thank you, Indiana. Thank you. Not too long ago, my opponent made a prediction. He said I would probably win Pennsylvania. He would win North Carolina, and Indiana would be the tie-breaker. Well, tonight we’ve come from behind, we’ve broken the tie, and thanks to you, it’s full speed on to the White House.
Click through to read the rest of the transcript, and to watch the video.

Clinton to Fight On Despite Split Result
With her hopes for a shift in campaign momentum deflated by Senator Barack Obama’s commanding victory in North Carolina on Tuesday, his strong showing in Indiana and signs of mounting financial problems, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton nonetheless vowed to fight on, heading early Wednesday for a new round of speeches, rallies and town meetings in West Virginia, which holds its primary on May 13.
And more power to her.

A Plum for Hillary, A Black Eye for the Mayor of Gary, Indiana (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
Shame on the Mayor of Gary, Indiana for withholding the vote results until after midnight, ET. Class Act of the night: Mayor Tom McDermott of Hammond, Indiana. CNN says seniors brought it home for Hillary all by themselves in Indiana. 69% of them voted for her. They made the difference, and they vote in much greater numbers than younger voters.

With no photo IDs, nuns denied ballots in Indiana primary (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — At least 10 retired nuns in South Bend, Ind., were barred from voting in Tuesday’s Indiana Democratic primary election because they lacked photo IDs required under a state law that the Supreme Court upheld last week.

The Math vs. The Problem (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
The math favors Obama and tonight made the math favor him even more. The math is clear. Obama leads in the pledged delegates and he gained 150,000 votes in the popular vote… What is not clear is that Barack Obama can win white working class voters. And to pretend this is not a problem is to play ostrich. I will not do that. In the state next door, Obama could not carry more than 40% of the white vote. He will get wiped out in West Virginia next week. And he will lose badly in Kentucky two weeks from now. Obama is closer to being the Democratic nominee after tonight. But more than ever, his electability is a question mark. Tonight answered none of the questions that surround Barack Obama’s electability. That is simply a fact.

Stalemate (by Anglachel)
So, what now? Local variations will give supporters on either side arguments about relative strength, but the larger picture is that Obama is losing 60% of white voters within his own party, let alone across parties. His scorched earth campaign to claim white racism as the sole and overwhelming cause of his losses puts the party between the Devil and the deep blue sea. He has alienated voters of all ethnicities by forcing the campaign into a black/white racial divide, angering Democrats who are voting against his lack of substantive policies, not his skin color (in truth, at this point, the only things about him that appeal to me are his skin color and his proposed Cuba policy), and antagonizing AAs with his claim that white politicians are conspiring to deny him the nomination, which will make a significant number stay home if he is not the nominee. The political question for me is whether, should he lose the nomination, will he support Hillary? If he does, Democrats win. If he doesn’t, Democrats lose. The party is at a stalemate now. Neither candidate will win with just pledged delegates. Super delegates will break it in favor of one candidate or the other. Do we want to win in November or not?

Obama’s tainted victory (by lambert at Corrente)
I’ve said all along that the reason Obama hasn’t asked for my vote (see bleeding feet, friend with) is because he doesn’t want it. Now Obama über-fan and, for what that’s worth, avowedly neutral DNC fonctionnaire Donna Brazile confirms me in my view. Via TalkLeft: “… Paul, you’re looking at the old coalition. A new Democratic coalition is younger. It is more urban, as well as suburban, and we don’t have to just rely on white blue-collar voters and Hispanics. We need to look at the Democratic Party, expand the party, expand the base and not throw out the baby with the bathwater.”…

[T]hough I think I know What Donna Meant, it’s hard to square that with Obama’s behavior (factoring out his rhetoric, which is by definition meaningless at best). While Brazile says she doesn’t want to throw the baby [now the “old” coalition is a baby?] out with the bathwater, it seems to me, and to many, that this is just what Obama does, by walking back universal health care (and adding insult to injury by running Harry & Louise ads), by dogwhistling on Social Security, by saying Reagan had a lot of good ideas about this, that, or the other, and on and on and on. Both in terms of policy, and in terms of the critical work that so many of have done to combat right wing thinking, Obama is just not there for us, or is outright destructive. When you combine all that with the vile misogyny of so many Obama fans … and the Obama campaign’s casual leveraging of baseless charges of racism … to win temporary political advantage, it’s easy to see how many members of the “old” “coalition” despair both of Obama’s ability to make government work again, and over ideals that many worked years to uphold. Bottom line is that for all Obama’s spinning, he’s not expanding the base, he’s fracturing it.

And now the final act… (by John: south of Melrose at Liberal Rapture)
The road forward is tough for Clinton. She should win large victories in West Virginia and Kentucky in the next 2 weeks. This probably will not do much to move things in her direction. I believe the only thing that can sink Obama now is a revelation so harmful the S.D.’s go running into the night. Allusions abound about such a bit of info - but I certainly know of nothing. If being employed by a terrorist for 8 years doesn’t get coverage by the major media I can’t imagine what will. It would have to be a “Spitzeresque” meltdown - to coin a phrase.

We do need to start thinking about the crack up of the Democratic Party and decide if this is a bad thing. I am not sure it is. The exit polls indicate a severe fissure. I admit to having a moment of not caring one wit for the Democratic party tonight. Donna Brazille’s behavior on CNN is appalling and Howard Dean is a disaster. Pelosi has accomplished nothing and Harry Reid acts like the mayor of Mayberry - not the majority leader. This is not the party of FDR, Truman and Bill Clinton. If working class whites and rural voters have to walk out - so be it.

BHO will be the nominee of college students, college professors, independents and African Americans, apparently voting for him solely because of his race. Good for them. But this is not the Democratic Party I care to be identified with. I won’t vote for BHO in the general. It is a relief to know this. An Obama rout in the general might have a silver lining.

Nuclear nightmare scenario: Guam determines nominee (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
I think what we’re seeing here is a real racial divide. It was engineered, deliberately, by Obama’s campaign in order to separate African Americans from the Clintons. It has worked spectacularly well… [I am] deeply offended … by how Obama has split my party on racial lines and pitted race against their regular party members, as if there was a real split there to begin with. As if I were the enemy. He has pitted Dem against Dem. I am insulted that Howard Dean and Donna Brazile have put their thumbs on the scales for Obama instead of encouraging him to agree to revotes in FL and MI. The thought of voting for him under these circumstances fills me with revulsion. And there’s no amount of cheerleading that Hillary can do to make me change my mind. It’s not her. It’s him.

What Happened [Last Night] (by FrenchDoc at Corrente)
[The] results were exactly what was expected after all. Actually, it’s pretty bad news for BO. His base is young voters and AAs and that’s it… How unelectable is Barack Obama? Let me count the ways:
1. Can’t get decisive wins to end the primary
2. Won’t allow for a resolution on Mi/Fl
3. Alienates the core of the Democratic party
4. Is now officially the “Black Candidate”
5. Can’t win the primary decisively in spite of DNC support, $$$, media love fest, major “progressive” blogs adoration.

Obama Campaign Says Rush Affected Indiana Vote (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
Graceless loser? Via Fox: David Axlerod attributes Hillary’s better numbers in Indiana to Rush Limbaugh. It was an open primary. 11% of voters in the Democratic primary said they were Republicans — half of those said they voted for Hillary. There’s no support for the theory that this 5.5% listened to Rush. It’s just as likely they are sick of Bush and don’t like McCain and prefer Hillary to Obama. 5.5% voted for Obama. Maybe they listened to Rush but decided Obama is the more unelectable against McCain and wanted him to be the nominee to help McCain win in November. Six of one, half dozen of the other. Obama urged Republicans and Independents to register as Dems and vote for him in earlier open caucuses and primaries. I guess what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander in Obama’s world.

Exit Polls Confirm: “Operation Chaos” Abject Failure (by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars)
The numbers are in and they confirm what has been obvious for, oh, 30 years now: Rush Limbaugh is an egotistical buffoon who, in fact, has no influence on anything but the opinions of his few gullible dittohead listeners. The way it’s looking now, Republicans, who account for 11% of the entire Indiana electorate, have voted for Hillary by the same margin that the entire state has. Stick to ruining your own party, Rush. Lord knows you’ve done a fantastic job at that.

Jeremiah Wright’s Wider Toll (by Gary MacDougal, Washington Post, former chairman of the Illinois governor’s Task Force on Human Services Reform and is the author of “Make a Difference: A Spectacular Breakthrough in the Fight Against Poverty.”)
It is easy to be outraged by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s abhorrent remarks, whether accusing our country of willfully spreading AIDS or being deserving of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And, yes, Sen. Barack Obama should have spoken out forcefully much sooner than this week. But Wright has done more, and worse, than tarnish Obama’s presidential campaign. Consider the corrosive effect Wright and others like him have on their communities as they rob thousands of listeners of the American dream: hope that through their hard work they can have better lives. Imagine getting up each morning to go to work in a society that doesn’t want you, doesn’t respect you and seeks to hold you back. Your spiritual leader has told you this, after all.

Mimi Speaks Truth on Rev. Wright & His Ilk (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
Preface: Mimi is a frequent AA commenter who is modest about her insightful, compelling writing
Susan, you are absolutely right… This is no way to help people lift themselves up. You can’t transform your life for the better if you focus on what’s wrong. Organized religion is a business. That’s why I gave up on it. After the Black Nationalism of the 60s swept through the AA community, a lot of churches lost their memberships. then during the Reagan Years and also the whole ‘born again’ movement and the emergence of high profile white Christian ministers espousing political points of view from the pulpit with regard to abortion and ‘family values,’ younger black ministers started following suit, preaching black nationalist theology. They are doing what’s necessary to fill the pews

Are We Getting Two for One?Is Michelle Obama responsible for the Jeremiah Wright fiasco? (by Christopher Hitchens, Slate, thanks to No Quarter)
What can it be that has kept Obama in Wright’s pews, and at Wright’s mercy, for so long and at such a heavy cost to his aspirations?… [H]ow is it that the loathsome Wright married him, baptized his children, and received donations from him? Could it possibly have anything, I wonder, to do with Mrs. Obama?.. I direct your attention to Mrs. Obama’s 1985 thesis at Princeton University. Its title (rather limited in scope, given the author and the campus) is “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community.”.. [A]t quite an early stage in the text, Michelle Obama announces that she’s much influenced by the definition of black “separationism” offered by Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton in their 1967 screed Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America…

I have the distinct feeling that the Obama campaign can’t go on much longer without an answer to the question: “Are we getting two for one?” And don’t be giving me any grief about asking this. Black Americans used to think that the Clinton twosome was their best friend, too. This time we should find out before it’s too late to ask.

Michelle Obama Says ‘Amen’ (by Byron York, The National Review)
Walking onstage to chants of “Yes, we can!” and “Fired up — ready to go!” [Michelle Obama] quickly gets to the heart of her message: There are forces out there who are trying to take away everything Barack has worked for. They — she doesn’t mention anyone in particular but does refer to one “brand name politician” — are trying to win this election for themselves and thereby deny Obama the opportunity to move America to the mountaintop of hope. And they must be stopped.
“We’ve learned that we’re still living in a time and in a nation where the bar is set, right?” she tells the crowd.
“That’s right.”
“They tell you all you need to do is do these things and you’ll get to the bar — ”
“Uh-huh.”
“So you go about the business of doing those things — ”
“Yes — ”
Her husband has been doing just that, Obama explains — raising money, building an organization, winning caucuses, winning primaries, and amassing a large number of delegates. And yet he still hasn’t won, because nothing is ever enough for those unnamed adversaries.
“You start working hard and sacrificing, and you think you’re getting closer to the bar, you’re working and you’re struggling, you get right to that bar, you’re reaching out for the bar, and then what happens?”
“They raise the bar!”
“They raise the bar. Raise the bar. Shift it to the side. Keep it just out of reach.”
“Yes!”
“And that’s just what’s been happening in this race.”

Glenn Beck Brings On Caller ‘Honky Whitesville’ For Attack On Michelle Obama (Think Progress)
On his radio show [Monday], CNN’s Glenn Beck devoted a 15-minute segment to making fun of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and wife Michelle, referring to them as “elitist” for running for president and talking about “just how tough it is in America today for black people.” In the segment, Beck brought on a fictional caller by the name of “Honky Whitesville,” who alleged that he was “working for the Obama campaign.” Beck billed the apparently humorous skit as a way to “make the Obama’s seem a little more relatable to the average person”.
Part of the insanity of the Obama wing of the Democratic Party is that they profess to believe that right wingers won’t use race against their candidate.  They should see the email I’m getting from my right wingers.  Of course, they’ll say it won’t matter to the general public.  The general public won’t be fooled.  Just as they weren’t fooled by the attacks on John Kerry’s strength, his war record?  Just as they weren’t fooled by the attacks on “Mr. Boy Scout” Al Gore’s veracity?  We’re going down the same damn road.

Gore is ‘listening and watching’ (On Politics, USA Today)
“The odds are overwhelming” that the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination will be wrapped up well before the party’s late-summer convention, former vice president Al Gore said today. He also repeated, on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, that he has no plans to endorse either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton any time soon. “I’m simply watching and listening to the campaign,” said the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee and 2008 Democratic superdelegate. “As a delegate to the convention, I will cast my vote at the proper time. I haven’t ruled out making an endorsement prior (to the convention) … but I haven’t been moved to do so.” Gore said he respects both candidates. As for being a “party elder” who might help settle the Obama-Clinton battle, Gore joked that he doesn’t like that title.

About That Crush on Obama (by Kurt Andersen, New York Magazine)

Illustration by Ward Sutton[I]t’s ironic that the media and their fellow upscale Americans are now disposed to like Obama precisely because he resembles them in so many ways. The difference is he’s relatively unsullied, an exquisite, idealized version of themselves: educated, thoughtful, twigged to nuance, a lovely writer, well-traveled, witty, cool, dignified, candid, a little quixotic, a clued-in grown-up but not yet ruined by the ugly facts of Washington life. And, mirabile dictu, a perfectly postmodern embodiment of compromise between the hard binaries of race and age. He’s both white and black. Born on the very cusp of the baby boom and Generation X, he’s both oldish and youngish. And as a skinny, athletic, gentle-seeming, virtually metrosexual man, he nearly splits the difference on gender as well.
And he’s so bland that every one of those constituencies reads into his candidacy whatever it is that they want to believe he believes in—as he said himself, “I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”  And how great is it to see our friend Ward Sutton (the illustrator) back in print?

Chris Matthews’ Clinging Tingling For Obama Nearly “Official” — Then There’s Olbermann’s Blatant Sexism (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
Turns out that Chris Matthews’ leg-tingling* that he discussed recently on MSNBC’s Hardball — aired on a network so blatantly pro-Obama that we all call it MSNBO these days — is not due to restless leg syndrome. It’s a far more serious mental obsessive-compulsive condition that has disabled his ability to be neutral when discussing Obama. Numerous reports confirm this exchange before a Harvard Crimson audience: “Praising Barack Obama throughout his speech, Matthews said the Illinois Democrat is a symbol of the positive change that he believe the country needs… When asked by another audience member how he would respond to the claim that MSNBC officially supports Obama, Matthews responded with typical Hardball wit, “Well, it’s not official.”

Obama Praises the Wrong Conservatives (by Greg Anrig, The American Prospect)
Barack Obama says Republicans have some good ideas, but he is missing an opportunity to point out the difference between traditional conservative governance and the deliberately destructive agenda of today’s conservative movement.

Obama gets the beer right, but he’s still sipping (McClatchy)
RALEIGH - Sen. Barack Obama made a last-minute, surprise appearance at a downtown bar this afternoon, ordering a Pabst Blue Ribbon (beer of the working man) and spending half an hour greeting voters. “Everyone voted?” he hollered, walking up Martin Street as he headed into the Raleigh Times bar about 5:30 p.m.
Oh, but Obama doesn’t PANDER.  Only Clinton panders.  I know, because Whoever Kidnapped Josh Marshall told me so.

McCain ‘confused about where he was’ during judicial philosophy speech. (Think Progress)
During his speech on judicial philosophy today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) appeared to have what Fox News’s Brit Hume would likely describe as a “senior moment.” In his prepared remarks, McCain intended to thank “the students and faculty of Wake Forest University” for their hospitality. But as the AP reports, when he delivered the speech, “he appeared confused about where he was for a moment”
Obama is McCain’s junior by 30 years, and he’s been confused, too, about which town he’s in.  Is that a senior moment, too?

Parsing McCain on the Democrats’ Health Plans (New York Times)
Senator John McCain has been repeatedly suggesting that his Democratic rivals are proposing a single-payer, or even a nationalized health care system along the lines of those in countries like Canada and Britain. The suggestion is incorrect. While both Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York are calling for universal health care and an expanded role for government, they stop well short of calling for a single-payer plan. Mr. McCain has made the assertion several times in recent days, even as he and the Republicans have made repeated calls for accuracy on the campaign trail.

Having Flipped To ‘Securing Our Borders First,’ McCain Flops Back To ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ (Think Progress)
Speaking on the Senate floor in March 2006, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) argued for comprehensive immigration reform, stating that “while strengthening border security is an essential component of national security, it must also be accompanied by immigration reforms.” But while seeking the GOP nomination for president, McCain “encountered anger from hard-line immigration foes,” particularly over his support for a bill that would “have allowed most undocumented immigrants to work toward citizenship.” Thus, in order to pander to the far right during the primary, McCain changed his position, saying the U.S. must secure the borders before undocumented immigrants are dealt with, thereby discarding the “comprehensive” nature of his previous immigration position.

McCain Aides Say Hagee Endorsement Was The Result Of ‘Poor Vetting’ (Think Progress)
In addition to having previously referred to Catholicism as “The Great Whore,” controversial pastor John Hagee said on NPR in September 2006 that Hurricane Katrina was the result of God condemning New Orleans because “there was to be a homosexual parade there” the day the hurricane hit — a belief he recently reaffirmed. Despite Hagee’s radical and bigoted beliefs, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sought and received Hagee’s endorsement for president — one McCain said he was “very honored” to have. Since then, Hagee’s views have garnered more attention, sparking wider questions as to why McCain would accept such an endorsement. In a recent article on the McCain/Hagee saga, Newsweek reports that McCain aides attribute the courting of Hagee’s support to “poor vetting.” But some from McCain’s own party wonder how his views could have “slipped through the cracks”.

FOXNews Sunday: Power Player Carly Fiorina (by Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars)
Good lord, my irony meter is redlining again.  After openly admitting that he doesn’t understand economics as well as he might, who should Republican Presidential nominee John McCain turn to for advice than the unlamented former head of Hewlett Packard Carly Fiorina, who was forced out of HP for her mismanagement and disruptive style?  There’s some serious Bush-level street cred.  Someone who has failed in her most prominent business position?  Hire her!  And FOXNews Sunday can’t help but note in their glossy yet remarkably detail-free profile that Fiorina is even possibly being considered for the VP spot.  But…but…what about Condi?  
Click through to watch the video.

Bonus Quote of the Day (Political Wire)
“The Republican loss in the special election for Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District last Saturday should be a sharp wake up call for Republicans: Either Congressional Republicans are going to chart a bold course of real change or they are going to suffer decisive losses this November.” — Newt Gingrich, in his strategy newsletter.
Don’t laugh.  Do not ever underestimate the Republicans.  Not EVER.

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