From today’s postings 5/23/08
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I will be a guest on Head-On with Bob Kincaid today at 6:00 PM ET. Listen to Bob from 6:00 to 9:00 PM ET every weekday on the Head-On Radio Network.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Cynthia Ruccia of Clinton Supporters Count Too says the website I posted yesterday is a counterfeit site, and it’s trying to raise money and collect people’s addresses. CSCT is currently operating off the hillaryis44.org website.
Does Obama’s tepid finish spell trouble against McCain? (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama may be on his way to the Democratic presidential nomination, but if so, he’s walking rather than racing across the finish line in a lukewarm close that could signal challenges heading into the general election.
Democrats Should Be More Democratic (by Froma Harrop at Real Clear Politics)
There was unfortunate symbolism in Barack Obama’s choice of Des Moines as the place to celebrate his delegate milestone on the day of the Kentucky and Oregon primaries. The Iowa caucuses were the first contest of the nominating process, and Obama’s success in them launched his campaign into the big time. But they were also the start of a deeply undemocratic process… So Hillary Clinton has a point when she adds up a popular vote in her favor that excludes certain caucuses from the count…
[T]he Democrats’ discussion of delegate math is already moving to Electoral College math, and here the skies turn cloudier for their likely candidate. One fear is a repeat of 2000, when Democrat Al Gore got a plurality of the popular vote, but Republican George W. Bush won on the basis of the Electoral College tally. Not very democratic, was it? If Democrats ever intend to again argue that the raw numbers should determine the next president — and not an archaic system that can frustrate the democratic will — they might start by setting a better example.
Electoral-Vote.com, May 22, 2008 (270 needed to win)
Clinton 310 McCain 211 Tie 17
Obama 242 McCain 285 Tie 11
Click through to see the maps.
Clinton Stronger in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania (Political Wire)
A new set of Quinnipiac polls show Sen. Hillary Clinton is the stronger candidate against Sen. John McCain in the swings states of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Florida: Clinton 48%, McCain 41%; McCain 45%, Obama 41%.
Ohio: Clinton 48%, McCain 41%; McCain 44%, Obama 40%.
Pennsylvania: Clinton 50%, McCain 37%; Obama 46%, McCain 40%.
Fla. delegates sue DNC (WTSP-TV Tampa)
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Three Florida Democratic delegates to the party’s presidential nominating convention have sued their national party in another attempt to get the state’s Jan. 29 renegade primary recognized. An unpledged super delegate, a Clinton supporter and an Obama backer are the three plaintiffs in the case filed [Thursday] in federal court.
No Quarter has the video of Lou Dobbs interviewing one of the parties to the suit.
Clinton camp: Uncommitted Mich. voters should not go to Obama (The Hill)
Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), said Thursday he misspoke at a breakfast with reporters earlier this month when he said the campaign was open to conceding Michigan voters who voted “uncommitted” to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). On a conference call with reporters, Harold Ickes, another senior campaign adviser, said the position of the campaign going into the May 31 meeting of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) rules and bylaws committee is that the delegates representing those uncommitted voters should be considered uncommitted.
Absolutely. Obama made his own bed in Michigan, now let him lie in it.
Florida (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
For a guy with self-proclaimed good judgment, [Obama] has boxed himself into a corner. With his lead in the delegate count, [by refusing to seat the Florida delegates] he comes off looking petulant. If he’s the presumptive nominee, if he can not lose under any circumstances, where’s the harm of seating all of the delegates? What is he holding out for?… A leader would just agree to seat them. A man who is confident of winning would just take the hit and make peace. So, are we to conclude that he is not a leader or not confident of winning? Or both? And what is that saying to the superdelegates?
How to Thwart Hillary’s “Evil” Plan On FL/MI (Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
Ezra Klein joins the legion of ridiculous Obama bloggers with this gem: “[Clinton’s] now pursuing a political strategy meant to defeat Obama and ensure the party regrets his nomination. She will do this by convincing voters in Florida and Michigan that his campaign has wronged them and should be severely punished. It’s an attempt to poison the well, to deny his campaign 44 electoral votes, or about 1/6th the total needed to win.”… Ezra says Obama has won already. So how to thwart “the evil woman?” It’s obvious isn’t it? COUNT THE VOTES AND SEAT THE DELEGATES in Florida and Michigan!! That would thwart her evil scheme wouldn’t it? I tell you, some of these Obama bloggers are just insane now.
Forgotten nothing, and learned nothing (by lambert at Corrente)
[The Daily Howler on John Judis:] “And if some voters didn’t appreciate the potential breakthrough that Obama’s candidacy represented, many in the Democratic primaries and caucuses did—and so did the members of the media and Obama’s fellow politicians. And as Clinton began treating Obama as just another politician, they recoiled and threw their support to him.” Politicians, sure. That’s their job. But “journalists” “threw their support”? You mean — gasp! — the press is picking our President for us? Sure, why not? Think back to 2000, 2004—What could go wrong? Reason enough to die in the last ditch for Hillary, so far as I’m concerned. The Village is always wrong about everything.
Officials say Obama starts search for running mate
WASHINGTON - Likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama has begun a top-secret search for a running mate, fresh signs that the general election campaign is well under way and the primary race against Hillary Rodham Clinton is basically over.
Remember how angry it made us when George Bush started choosing his cabinet before all the votes in Florida had been counted? Watch the HBO docudrama, Recount, (review below) to remind yourself.
The ugliest election (by Gary Kamiya, Salon)
From the overly decorous Gore team to the bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court, HBO’s enraging docudrama shows the Florida recount like it was.
Legitimacy, Not Unity (by Anglachel)
The increasing rejection of Obama by voters is a measure of his declining legitimacy… Lack of legitimacy means relying on force to win. If you have to bully people to make them be quiet, you have lost legitimacy. If you have to remove votes from the contest in order to win, you have lost legitimacy… Unity is power to quell dissent, legitimacy is power under conditions of dissent.
Electability Nevada Style (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
This from Ras[mussen] hurts my Horace Greeley Go West Young Obama Theory:
NEVADA
Obama 40 McCain 46
Clinton 46 McCain 41
It seems that Horace Greeley is demanding a Unity Ticket too.
The only unity ticket *I* want is Clinton/Obama.
Walk a Mile in Our Shoes! (by PaganPower at No Quarter)
Some wonderful women have come up with a very creative and fun way to express to the DNC just exactly how we all feel about the DNC’s decision to disenfranchise millions of American voters. And how we protest loudly as they participate with absolute silence when the ugly face of misogyny has become commonplace and acceptable within this nomination process. I am certain that this is something everyone should participate in.
Backwards. And in high heels. Visit their website for details.
The ‘Not Clinton’ Excuse (by Marie Cocco, Washington Post)
A woman? Yes. But not that woman. It is the platitude of the moment, an automatic rejoinder to any suggestion that Hillary Clinton has struggled so desperately — and so far unsuccessfully — to grasp the Democratic presidential nomination in some measure because she is female. It isn’t the woman part, the rationale goes. It’s the Clinton part: that “polarizing” persona and “unlikable” demeanor. The unappetizing thought of President “Billary.” The more inspirational quest by Barack Obama to become the country’s first black president. Yet the question remains: If not now, when? If not Hillary, who?… Clinton cleared the hurdles often cited as holding American women back, yet she is unlikely to surmount the final barrier. So you have to wonder. Is it something about Hillary, or something about us?
From a member of the Hillary’s Voice message group:
[Discussing] gender in politics on PBS newshour. Mari[e] Cocco says her last article (May 15) generated over 8,000 emails from all over the world in response. The emails from mostly women but also some men ran about 12 to 1 in agreement with her article.
You Can Believe Us (by digby)
… or you can believe your lying eyes. It’s been quite amusing reading and watching the media absolve itself of sexism over the past few days but I think it’s getting a little bit out of hand when Republican “analysts” blithely assert during election coverage on national television that Senator Clinton can accurately be described as a “white bitch” — and everyone calmly sits around discussing whether it’s true or not. In fact, it’s mind boggling.
Click through to watch the video.
Gender bias is largely ignored (by Bill Maxwell, an African American columnist for the St. Petersburg Times)
Honest people of all hues acknowledge that race has been a factor in the primaries and will be one in the general election… We have been far less willing to acknowledge that gender bias is also a factor… Listening to Clinton detractors, I was reminded of Shirley Chisholm, the first black person to run for president… “That there is prejudice against women is an idea that still strikes nearly all men — and, I am afraid, most women — as bizarre. … Part of the problem is that women in America are much more brainwashed and content with their roles as second-class citizens than blacks ever were.” She explains that during her 20-plus years in politics, she and other women did as much or more scut work as men, but men almost always reaped the prized rewards.
Hating Hilary (by Andrew Stephen, New Statesman, U.K.)
History, I suspect, will look back on the past six months as an example of America going through one of its collectively deranged episodes - rather like Prohibition from 1920-33, or McCarthyism some 30 years later. This time it is gloating, unshackled sexism of the ugliest kind. It has been shamelessly peddled by the US media, which - sooner rather than later, I fear - will have to account for their sins… The danger is that, in their headlong rush to stop the first major female candidate (aka “Hildebeast” and “Hitlery”) from becoming president, the punditocracy may have landed the Democrats with perhaps the least qualified presidential nominee ever… By election day on 4 November, I suspect, the US media and their would-be-macho commentators may have a lot of soul-searching to do.
It would be nice to see some soul searching among the American punditry, Andrew, but they are seldom self reflective. And when they do look in the mirror, they always find ways to absolve themselves of any blame for their ridiculousness.
GENDER AND RACE—AND HACKS: (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
There’s no bigger hack than the Post’s Dana Milbank… In [Wednesady’s] column, he pretends that the claim of misogyny only makes sense if you’ve drunk “the Clinton Kool-Aid.”… Milbank finds a pair of statements about Clinton’s chances which didn’t seem to be driven by misogyny. That means that he’s free to ridicule the whole foolish notion! But read his whole column if you want to see the way a pure hack “reasons.”… [N]o real human reasons this way. But Milbank is a paid press corps hack. They’ve played you this way for many years.
Obama’s Super Delegates & Money Machine (Politically Drunk On Power, a conservative website, providing verifiable information below)
There’s no doubt that the Obama money machine is in full force. We know for a fact that through the end of February, Obama had contributed more than $710,000 to the campaigns of Federally Elected Supers, while the Clinton campaign contributed $236,000. But this information is scarce as PAC’s tied to the Obama campaign have not updated their disclosures to the FEC since March. Just think about how much money has flowed from Obama’s coffers, and the coffer’s of his primary supporters and 527’s like Move On, since March. Obama’s campaign has suffered defeat after defeat since the end of February, he has consistently lost support among the very groups that make up the backbone of the electorate, yet Supers continue to flock to him.
Fact Check: Obama’s outreach to foes questionable (Associated Press)
Barack Obama’s willingness to meet Iranian, Cuban and other hostile leaders who would not get face time from John McCain stands as a distinctive element of his foreign policy. Distinctive, yes, but clearly defined? Not quite. Obama’s openness early on to meeting Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, without preconditions has given way to equivocation. He said this week he’s not sure “Ahmadinejad is the right person to meet with right now” and other figures in Iran have more power. Nor is it certain lately at what point he, as president, would speak personally with some of the dictators he says should be engaged.
A Consumer’s Guide to Obama and the Company That He Keeps (by Daniel J. Kelley, Chicago Daily Observer)
For all of Obama’s inflated claims as to his “twenty years” of community service, Englewood looks just as blighted today as when this latter day disciple of Saul Alinsky began organizing the community. I cannot point to a single accomplishment that Obama can claim credit for as a legislator in Springfield or in Washington other than fattening his own bank account… Despite adopting the pose of a reformer, Obama has seldom criticized corrupt practices in Chicago’s City Hall. He has been entirely mute on political slate making issues… “Pay to play” seems to be another disturbing constant in Obama’s meteoric political rise. He always seems to be available to the highest bidder.
Look homeward, Obama (by Dan Conley, Salon)
[O]ver the past 25 years, Chicago politics has evolved. The city is still divided along racial lines, and other layers of government here — from the Illinois Statehouse to the Cook County government — feature as much grandstanding and as many ad hominem attacks as anywhere. But anyone who doubts that a toxic political environment can be overcome should look to Chicago. Consensus has become more conspicuous than conflict. Deal-making is more important than showboating. In short, the city’s politics has become post-partisan. It’s a concept that should be familiar to anyone who has followed Obama’s presidential bid.
Yes, but the post-partisan wonderland we’re talking about here is a combination of Democratic machine corruption with Republican machine corruption, the Illinois Combine that Patrick Fitzgerald is fighting. See Evelyn Pringle’s articles at Scoop and at OpEd News).
Final Chapter - Curtain Time for Barack Obama (by Evelyn Pringle at OpEd News)
For reasons discussed in Parts I through V of Curtain Time, Obama’s downfall will be what he claims was a “boneheaded” mistake in entering into real estate deal with [political fixer Tony] Rezko in June 2005, less than a month after Rezko received a $3.5 million loan from the Iraqi-born billionaire, Nadhmi Auchi, who ended up with Riverside Park, a $2.5 billion 62-acre development project in Chicago. However, judging from the indictments in Board Games unsealed so far, Obama’s legal culpability at this point anyways, stems from his involvement in setting up and receiving money from the pay-to-play schemes.
As far as we know, the money received was for campaign donations, not personal use, but that just makes it so much clearer that we have GOT to get money of out the political process. At all levels of government. Rather than reforming the process, Obama has shown his adeptness at being part of it.
Canada aide at heart of Obama leak to quit: media
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A top Canadian official blamed for triggering the leak of a memo that cast doubt on the sincerity of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama will quit his job soon, Canadian media reported on Thursday.
In fall preview, McCain slams Obama on military service (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — Republican John McCain launched a harsh attack on Democrat Barack Obama’s lack of military credentials Thursday, charging that the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination has “zero understanding” of veteran’s issues.
This is Mr. Nice Guy, but wait until McCain’s oppo research team gets rolling.
Unleashing Hell (by digby)
So I hear that Tim Griffin has abandoned his quest to become a fearless crime fighting lawman to go back to being the nasty dirty trickster he was born to be… If you want to see Griffin in action, you can watch Digging the Dirt the BBC documentary on oppo-research from the 2000 election… [I]t’s a mistake to underestimate how good the Republicans are at this and how powerful a strong narrative can be. The press is torn this time out because they have been focused on their loathing of Clinton and have always worshiped McCain. But soon Pied Pipers like Griffin will be unleashing hell on Barack and the media kewl kidz will likely be following right behind him. In any case, it is better to be prepared for it than pretend it can’t happen.
Apostate Lines (by digby)
I must admit that even with my dark and unrelenting cynicism toward the media that I’m a little bit shocked to see op-ed pieces appear in quick succession in two of the nation’s most prestigious newspapers calling Barack Obama a “Muslim Apostate.” They don’t make the assertion that Obama is a Muslim, which he certainly isn’t, only that Osama bin Laden and other Islamic fundamentalists consider him one since his father was “born a Muslim.” This apparently means that bin Laden will be able to rally the Muslim world against America because Obama has abandoned the true faith. I’m sure I don’t need to explain how silly this is… It is completely believable to me that these two papers are too stupid to know that they are propagating a Nixonian dirty trick. But we shouldn’t be.
Whistling in the Dark (by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
This election is going to be nasty and the Republican 527’s will have a field day come November which is why I think it was a big mistake for Obama to cut funding to David Brock’s Progressive Media group. The two things Conservatives are very good at are personal political attacks and obstructionism. And without a filibuster proof Congress they will do everything they can to block legislation and try to destroy the Democratic brand and regroup.
Moles Wanted (CityPages )
In preparation for the Republican National Convention, the FBI is soliciting informants to keep tabs on local protest groups.
Nobody’s listening to me when I tell you that the Bush administration will use every function and feature of government to make sure John McCain is elected in November.
McCain spends months on standby; Democrats rev up
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republican John McCain has been slow to take advantage of his potential head start for the presidency against Democrats, who are better organized and generate more excitement among voters.
McCain rejects pastor’s endorsement
Republican John McCain on Thursday rejected endorsements from two influential but controversial televangelists, saying there is no place for their incendiary criticisms of other faiths.McCain rejected the months-old endorsement of Texas preacher John Hagee after an audio recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land. McCain called the comment “crazy and unacceptable.” He later repudiated the support of Rod Parsley, an Ohio preacher who has sharply criticized Islam and called the religion inherently violent.
AP: McCain appears cancer-free, healthy
FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. - Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records reviewed by The Associated Press.
Lots more really good stuff at MakeThemAccountable.com.
Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com
