Hillary’s Voice

Hillary Approval up 6% in Gallup; Hillary 3% Better vs. McCain than Obama (by campskunk at Alegre’s Corner)
So, after all the slings and arrows hurled by the cheetos [folks at Daily Kos], what’s happening with Hillary’s popularity? She’s doing just fine, thank you. A Gallup poll released [Tuesday] shows her at 80% approval among Democrats, up six percent from when she suspended her campaign in June. Looks like the cheetos are all hot air… none of the real Democrats are listening to them.

And how is Obama doing against McCain? well… it ain’t pretty. Say goodbye to the tenuous lead Obama had over McCain in the daily tracking poll. The combination of the Biden bounce and the start of the convention put Obama down two points to McCain for the first time since May 25th, three months ago. [Emphasis added.] The Obama campaign lost their electoral vote lead last week, and now the popular vote lead. They must be sweating bullets. I wish I felt sorry for them, but… A CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted Aug. 23-24 found the [Clinton and Obama] running similarly in trial heats versus McCain, with Obama and McCain tied (47% to 47%) but Clinton having a slim but not statistically significant advantage over McCain (49% to 46%)

Union Station protest at the MSNBC kiosk (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
We got ourselves a posse and went down to Union Station in front of the MSNBC kiosk. We protested and shouted slogans (in NPR-speak) and completely drowned out the Obamaphiles.

We had a lot of support from passersby. I was very encouraged that there were many sympathetic people. I don’t think the Obama people knew what hit them. They’ve had such a free ride for so long. No one challenged them. no one was skeptical. They have been handled with kid gloves like pampered little brats. But in the face of all of the people they’ve been calling stupid, old women, they seemed oddly subdued. Chris Matthews made an appearance and stood there silently while some of us finally got a chance to tell him how we felt to his face. The coward waited until we left before he came down from the stage to talk to the crowd.

Poll: More than half of Clinton backers still not sold on Obama (USA Today)
DENVER — Fewer than half of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s supporters in the presidential primaries say they definitely will vote for Barack Obama in November, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, evidence of a formidable challenge facing Democrats as their national convention opens here today. In the survey, taken Thursday through Saturday, 47% of Clinton supporters say they are solidly behind Obama, and 23% say they support him but may change their minds before the election. Thirty percent say they will vote for Republican John McCain, someone else or no one at all.”
So, of course, instead of honoring Hillary and wooing her supporters, they want to take away her roll call vote. On this, the 88th anniversary of the day women were granted the right to vote, they are in the process of suppressing the delegates’ right to vote for the first woman to be a viable presidential candidate. It’s almost cosmic in the level of insult.—Caro

All Hat No Cattle

CNN Forced Obama to Send Early Text Message (Political Wire)
Sen. Barack Obama planned to name Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate by text message at 8 a.m. ET Saturday morning, but was forced to move up the announcement when CNN broke the story after midnight. The message instead went out just after 3 a.m. ET.
So the 3 AM text message wasn’t meant as a slap at Hillary? Sure. And he was only scratching his cheek, not giving Hillary the finger, in Pennsylvania. If you’re going to be a low-down, dirty dealer, Barack, don’t try to make excuses for it.—Caro

Here’s what’s really happening at the convention:
Tensions boil between Obama-Clinton camps (Politico)
DENVER — As Democrats arrived here Sunday for a convention intended to promote party unity, mistrust and resentments continued to boil among top associates of presumptive nominee Barack Obama and his defeated rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton… One senior Obama supporter said the Clinton associates negotiating on her behalf act like “Japanese soldiers in the South Pacific still fighting after the war is over.” A prominent Obama backer said some of Clinton’s lieutentants negotiating with the Obama team are “bitter enders” who presume that, rather than the Clintons reconciling themselves to Obama’s victory, it is up to Obama to accommodate them.

This ticket is the most upside-down thing the world has seen since the crucifixion of St. Peter (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)

AP: Obama’s Choice of Biden Shows Lack of Confidence (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
The Associated Press’ analysis of Sen. Barack Obama’s pick of Joe Biden to be his VP: It shows a lack of confidence on Obama’s part: “The candidate of change went with the status quo. In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.”

Caucus Fraud: Coming soon to your convention (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
After all, what is a party convention but one giant caucus? And what has Obama’s campaign been up to the last couple of months but figuring out new ways of intimidating, bullying, deceiving and poaching Hillary’s delegates? This stuff is second nature to the Obama campaign by now. After all, It worked so well during the primary season.
John Siegal of WeWillNotBeSilenced said they will have copies of the DVD if anyone needs one in Denver.—Caro

Thanks to Ann MacNaughton, via email:
Great news! Texas SD 13 Clinton Delegate John Grothues reports this morning: …[W]e have received instructions from the Hillary people to vote for Hillary the first time. Then vote as our conscience dictates. Which for most of us means - Hillary again and again. You can be sure and can tell everyone, that I can conceive of no way that I can be bullied to change my vote.

Obama, the Human Rorschach Test (by Pat Racimora at No Quarter)

Barack Obama is a Human Rorschach Test. People see what they want to see… Obama himself said it best: “I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.” –The Audacity of Hope
People are ENCOURAGED to see what they want to see. And therein lies the recipe for disillusionment.—Caro

Catching Up (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla)
Today I met a friend for lunch… As an African-American female professional, she knows all about having to prove herself and is skeptical that Obama will be much help to the middle class. (She’s also a staunch Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in the primary.) “I don’t hear him addressing my issues,” she said. “Just a lot of meaningless talk, no one wants to talk about the people getting squeezed in the middle. Sounds more like a marketing campaign to me.”

Fox News: Another Poll Gives Obama Three Point Lead (Political Wire)
Sen. Barack Obama has a slim lead over Sen. John McCain, 42% to 39% with 14% undecided, according to a new Fox News poll. Key finding: “McCain has slightly stronger backing from his party: 82 percent of Republicans support him compared to 78 percent of Democrats that support Obama.”

Click here for more political and media news headlines.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Obama Drops in Electoral Vote Forecasts (Political Wire)
For the first time, Sen. Barack Obama dropped below 270 votes over at Electoral-Vote.com and Sen. John McCain is actually ahead in the RCP tally.

NBC/WSJ Poll: McCain halves Obama’s lead (NBC News)
[P]erhaps the biggest factor keeping the presidential race close has been Obama’s inability to close the deal with some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters. According to the poll, 52 percent of them say they will vote for Obama, but 21 percent are backing McCain, with an additional 27 percent who are undecided or want to vote for someone else… Clinton edges [McCain] by six points in a hypothetical match up, 49 to 43 percent. [Emphasis added.]

GWU Poll: Obama Loses National Lead (Political Wire)
The new GWU Battleground poll shows Sen. John McCain just edging Sen. Barack Obama, 40% to 39%.

Hillary NOT Releasing Delegates (by Alegre)
I just got a note from a friend who was on a conference call with Hillary yesterday. I want to get two things out here for you guys to ponder…
1) Harold Ickes said the new magic number is … 2211.
2) Hillary said a few words about unity and winning in Nov. but she said NOTHING about releasing her delegates.
Not a word.
So let’s keep our head down - contact as many delegates as we can in the coming days - and stay strong.

Poll shows McCain in 5-point lead over Obama
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, wiping out Obama’s solid 7-point advantage in July and taking his first lead in the monthly Reuters/Zogby poll.

Too close for comfort:
POLITICO’s 2008 Swing State Map as of 8/20/08

As of June 3, 2008, when Hillary was forced out of the race (thanks to Ann MacNaughton for the reminder):

LAT/Bloomberg Poll: Presidential Race Tightens (Political Wire )
The latest Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows the presidential race remains tight, with Sen. Barack Obama edging Sen. John McCain, 45% to 43%. “More striking than the head-to-head matchup, however, is the drop in Obama’s favorable rating” which “has sunk to 48% from 59%” since the poll in June. “At the same time, his negative rating has risen to 35% from 27%.”

McCain gains on Obama in Quinnipiac poll (On Politics, USA Today)
Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain 47%-42% in the latest national survey of likely voters by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. A month ago, Obama led 50%-41%… Today’s reading from Gallup’s daily tracking poll: Obama, 45%; McCain 44%. Yesterday it was 46%-43%, Obama leading.

Matt Davies

ELECTABILITY: NOTICE A TREND OVER THE SUMMER? (from Ricki Lieberman, via email)
Electoral vote August 16: Obama 275 McCain 250 Ties 13
Electoral vote August 4: Obama 316 McCain 209 Ties 13
Electoral vote July 18: Obama 325 McCain 199 Ties 14
Electoral vote June 19: Obama 344 McCain 194
Obama’s going DOWN. McCain’s going UP.—Caro

Poll: Voters prefer McCain to handle Russia (Hot off the Trail, McClatchy)
By a large margin, voters think John McCain is better qualified than Barack Obama to handle Russia, according to a new poll released today by Quinnipiac University. That has helped McCain gain slightly on Obama, who still leads nationally. In July, Obama led by 50-41 percent, or 9 points. Now, Obama leads 47-42, or 5 points. Since the Russian fighting in Georgia put Russia back on the political radar scope, likely voters preferred McCain to handle such an issue by a margin of 55-27 percent, the survey found.

Tuesday: Fear of Foolishness (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
Wouldn’t it just be embarrassing for [Obama] if we made him cancel his [coronation] plans? Damn right it’s embarrassing. But considerably less so than losing the election in the fall, the third in a row, in a year when Democrats had every possible advantage going for them. We could not lose, we told ourselves. And now, we’re looking like the biggest losers on the planet. Who will take us seriously after this?

Bought and Paid For! (By Nancy Pelosi) (video, by GeekLove)
[Click through to see] my latest video working again with Dr. Lynette Long’s excellent piece “Bought and Paid For!” on how Nancy Pelosi’s PAC to the Future paid of Superdelegates to support Obama. “Superdelegates weren’t counting how many of their constituents had voted for Senator Clinton or Senator Obama, but rather how much money was being put into their war chests by the Obama campaign and the Democratic hierarchy. This money, moved from one candidate to another via PAC’s, would determine their endorsements and ultimately the nomination.”

Time To Worry? McCain By 3 In Colorado (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft )
So say the Rocky Mountain News poll: “Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are neck-and-neck in Colorado, solidifying the state as a key, swing area that will be pivotal in deciding who becomes the next president of the U.S… Overall, Coloradans favored McCain 44 percent to 41 percent, but the gap was within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points. McCain also had a slightly higher approval rating, 55 percent to 53 percent, also within the margin of error.” This is the first time I have seen a non Rasmussen poll with McCain leading in Colorado. Yes, it makes me worry. Colorado is pivotal to an Obama electoral map strategy. I thought he would win it easily.

Stolen Nomination? You bet. (MakeThemAccountable)
The 2008 Democratic Party nomination for the presidency was stolen from Hillary Clinton and given to Barack Obama by certain members of the party leadership.
Click through to read the deep, dark secret that the party leaders want to keep the public from knowing.—Caro

Barack Obama Has Learned: The Clintons Will Never Go Away (by Michael Barone, U.S. News & World Report)
 They have to let Hillary have her say [at the convention], given how many delegates she has. And they can hardly ignore the only politically successful Democratic president of the last 40 years. That means there’s a risk that the convention will not be an ideal television extravaganza for the Obama campaign. But that’s the price they pay for not sweeping the primaries. Hillary Clinton won more popular votes and more delegates in the primaries than Barack Obama. Obama won the nomination because of the big delegate margins he won in caucuses and because superdelegates went along with him. [Emphasis added.]

Gallup Daily: McCain, Obama Tied at 44%
John McCain and Barack Obama are tied at 44% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking report of registered voters’ presidential preferences. These numbers reflect a slight drop in Obama’s support compared with what it has been thus far in August.

But he’s a great fundraiser, right?

$52 million in June$51 million in July

Bumps from Clinton donors in June and July, and he’s starting downhill again. How about that $300 million by mid-October, Barack?

Hillary Clinton Gives The Atlantic Its Best Traffic Ever (FishbowlNY, Media Bistro)
Via Politico comes word that Joshua Green’s article at The Atlantic that details the inner workings of the Hillary Clinton campaign has clocked 1.3 million page views, giving it an all-time high and nearly tripling what the site receives on a daily basis.
I still haven’t figured out why the media pushed and shoved Hillary to get out of the race. Their readership and viewership skyrockets when she’s in the forefront of the news. Honestly, these folks are killing their own livelihoods. The experts agree with me. See below.—Caro

News outlets should stay away from the political conventions
“Unless a brokered convention threatens to break out, these political gatherings tend to produce very little real news,” writes Jack Shafer. He suggests reporters stay home and let political junkies turn to C-SPAN for convention coverage.
See also Jeff Jarvis: “Covering conventions is an waste”. However, if they’d help us mount an insurrection, they’d again start to get lots of coverage over politics.—Caro

We want a floor fight! (by sm77 at The Confluence)
Run! Run for your lives! It’s that crazy cat lady army!

Update from yesterday: The wonderful hope bong graphic I posted was created by the one, the only, the inimitable NewHampster.

Hillary’s Growing Shadow (by PatRacimora at No Quarter)

The more the DNC and Obama ignore a candidate who deserves her day, the more they drag their feet about what to do with her, the larger and larger the shadow over Obama grows. Denver may end up being more about Hillary Clinton than Barack Obama!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clinton Will Be Put Up for Nomination (Political Wire )
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s name will be put up for nomination at the Democratic National Convention, according to Marc Ambinder. “Within the past week, Clinton advisers informed the Obama team that many of Clinton’s staunchest supporters felt strongly that something had to be done, and that Clinton had concluded that, in part for the sake of unity, their wishes ought to be respected. They heard back immediately: the Obama campaign had always been open to having her name placed in nomination alongside his.” However, “the exact choreography has not been worked out.”
They’ve always been open. Uh huh.—Caro

Inspired by Stephen Colbert (If anyone knows how to credit this graphic, please let me know at caro-at-makethemaccountable.com)

Chasing the Mythical ‘Obamacan’ Masses (by Andrew Romano at Stumper, Newsweek, thanks to vastleft at Corrente)
[The Obama campaign held] a conference call with reporters to unveil “Republicans for Obama,” a branch of its operation designed to show that “Republicans are coming together in support of Senator Obama to bring change to Washington.”… [But] are there enough rank-and-file Republicans whispering their support at Obama rallies to actually make a difference on Election Day?… [T]he answer seems to be “no.” In fact, John McCain’s share of the Democratic vote has typically–and surprisingly–been larger than Obama’s share of the Republican vote. In other words, it’s not that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright scared the Obamacan masses off, as some pundits have theorized–it’s that they never existed (in any unprecedented way) to begin with.
Didn’t I say this back in February? That Democrats who thought Republicans crossing over during the primaries to vote for Obama would help his chances in the general election were smoking the hope bong? Somehow, Obama managed to fool an awful lot of the Democratic Party leaders with this nonsense. Those leaders are going to look so very stupid if they go ahead and nominate this guy, and he loses, after Bush & Co., with the advice of Karl Rove, use every function and feature of government to get McCain elected. And speaking of hope bonging, see below.—Caro

They think they can keep us penned in.
Chain, chain, chain, chain of fools (thanks to Sarah at Corrente)

7 worrisome signs (Politico)
A few weeks back, Time magazine was musing that John McCain was in danger of sliding from “a long shot” to a “no-shot.”… [Now, Obama’s supporters are] suffering a pre-Denver panic attack, watching as John McCain draws incrementally closer in state and national polls – with Rasmussen’s most recent daily national tracker showing a statistical dead heat… Americans may want divided government. Some Democratic operatives think a possible landslide for their party in congressional races could backfire on Obama. “Fairly or not, folks think he’s pretty liberal and nobody wants a pair of Pelosis running things,” says a New York-based Democratic consultant.
Yeah, that way so liberal Nancy Pelosi. Wouldn’t want to elect another one of THOSE. So how many years have we had single-party governance since Richard Nixon was first elected president in 1968? There were the four years of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, two years of Clinton’s, and six years of Bush II’s. That’s 12 out of the last 40 years. Interesting, isn’t it?—Caro

Media Tenor: Race Heats Up As Candidates Go On Offensive
• Candidates increase criticisms of each other
• McCain pulls ahead in polls and predictions
• Experience gap continues to weigh on Obama

Are You Good Enough For Barack Obama? (by Uppity Woman at No Quarter)
I have some very bad news, readers. I am a dismal failure. Alas, I just took the Obama test: Are You Good Enough For Barack Obama?. As as you can see, I did very poorly… Sigh………..here’s my score.

Honestly, I don’t know where I went wrong! I mean I said I wasn’t bitter! Ok Ok, maybe it was all those Honesty questions. Or maybe it’s because I don’t speak a lot of different languages like he doesn’t does. I mean, I even gave him he benefit of the doubt a few times just like his blind followers do all the time. That means I lied. But all I know is I failed miserably. I make a terrible Obama sycophant! I feel so left inadequate now.

What, me worry? Why polls aren’t worrying Obama’s team (by Carol Marin, Chicago Sun-Times)
Finally, for John McCain, a week to smile about. “Obama fatigue,” a virus that’s afflicted the GOP presidential candidate for sometime now, was discovered in a new Pew survey to have spread to 48 percent of the populace. And recent national polls now place McCain and Barack Obama in a statistical dead heat. Gallup’s numbers have Obama 46, McCain 43. RealClearPolitics’ national average is about the same, Obama 46.9 to McCain 43.3. What does it mean? Next to nothing. And Obama’s team not only knows it, it thrives on it.
Uh, sure. They don’t care. More likely, they don’t want anyone to THINK they’re worried.—Caro

So you thought the problem of Barack and Michelle Obamas’ 2005 mansion purchase was dead and buried. Well, not any more. A reader of my website who is a tax accountant of many years, one who specializes in criminal matters, says he believes the Obamas have a tax problem.

Simply put, the allocation of purchase price between the Obamas’ lot and the lot next door, which were both owned by the same couple and had long been sold together, makes no sense unless the amount paid for the lot adjoining the Obamas’, by the wife of now convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, was specifically meant as a favor to the Obamas, so that they could afford their mansion. If so, the difference between what Ms. Rezko paid for the side lot and what it was actually worth would be construed by the IRS as income to the Obamas. After looking at the Obamas’ tax return for 2005, my source was able to say that in his opinion they did not declare any such income, and therefore did not pay taxes on it.

Barack Obama once called the house purchase a boneheaded mistake, but my source believes it is worse than that. Much worse. If Barack Obama were to attain the White House, this problem could be devastating for the Democratic Party, says my source. That is why he wants this information made public now.

Click here for more…

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

PUMA Gallery (by Pat Racimora at No Quarter)

Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, and Donna Brazile are only a few of the Democratic leaders who need glasses or a wake-up pill or an old fashioned slap upside the head to see what is going on with a good portion of 18 million voters who supported Hillary Clinton. If these people could see the picture, they would be busy trying to heal as many of the abuses the DNC (and sometimes the Obama campaign itself) has permitted, perpetrated, or tacitly encouraged through benign neglect over the last months.

What The Media & Obama Campaign Will Never Understand About Clinton Supporters. (by J Brown at Politically Drunk on Power)
The media and more importantly the DNC and Obama campaign have failed and apparently will never understand that for most Hillary Supporters whom have not fallen in line, the issue is now beyond the nomination of Clinton; it is now an issue of Party Reform… The Democratic Party, led by individuals like Obama, Dean, Pelosi and Reid have been forced to show their true colors. In every action they take, they demonstrate that they are intent only upon increasing their own power. I applaud Clinton Supporters who have not fallen in line, I applaud them not because we agree on every issue, but because we agree upon the foundation of ‘equal representation’ and unique ‘Americanism’ upon which this country was founded.

Q. What do the two stories below have in common?

Edwards admits having affair, says he’s ashamed (AP)
WASHINGTON - John Edwards says he made a serious error in judgment when he had an affair and is ashamed of his conduct. In a statement, the former Democratic presidential candidate also said he informed his wife about his affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter in 2006 and has asked her forgiveness.

Internal Clinton E-mails (by Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic)
The Atlantic’s Josh Green has about 200 of them from the height of the Clinton campaign. Atlantic subscribers should be getting the story in their mailboxes later next week, and we hope to post the story online early next week.

A. They are former opponents of Barack Obama, people that he wants diminished or out of his way at the Democratic Convention in two weeks, so that his light can shine (oops, is that racist) more brightly.

There’s a history of people who oppose Barack Obama having their dirty linen aired in public.

Click here for more…

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

18 Million Cracks (video)
“Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And when you stumble, keep faith. And when you’re knocked down, get right back up, and never listen to anyone who says you can’t, or shouldn’t, go on.”
Please help Hillary retire her debt.—Caro

What Does Hillary Want? (by Katharine Q. Seelye at The Caucus, New York Times)
The most recent New York Times poll puts [Hillary Clinton’s] favorability rating among Democrats at 70 percent and Mr. Obama’s at 66 percent. [Emphasis added.] Now Mr. Obama is struggling in the polls to maintain parity with Senator John McCain.

Ya Know, That’s a Really Good Question (by Alegre)
From an article on Yahoo… ”At least eight in ten Americans believe the nation is on the wrong track. The Republican president is historically unpopular. From stunning Democratic gains in party registration to the high levels of economic anxiety, Obama should have a healthy lead by almost every measure. Yet, in poll after poll, Obama conspicuously fails to cross the 50 percent threshold.” There’s no excuse for BHO’s anemic numbers against McCain at this point. I don’t know about you, but if I were a Democrat running for office down-ticket to BHO, I’d be mighty worried about his short - or nonexistent coattails here. I think they know as well as we do that BHO’s inability to close the deal will hurt their chances at winning their own contest.

Big diff (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)

Voters’ Trust for McCain on Key Issues Growing (Rasmussen)
John McCain is now trusted more than Barack Obama on nine out of 14 electoral issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports. The latest national telephone surveys find that McCain has the biggest advantage on the war in Iraq, by a 51% to 39% margin. Perhaps the most interesting finding of these polls is that McCain has expanded his leads on nearly every issue he had previously had the advantage on, while Obama’s leads have diminished over the past two weeks.

America is losing faith in Obama (by garychapelhill at The Confluence)
While the daily tracking polls are showing a neck and neck race, other polls are showing a definite downward trend in Americans’ faith in Barack Obama to lead our country as President… The fact that McCain has a double digit lead over Obama on who would better handle the war in Iraq is staggering… But it gets even worse for Obama:… “The Republican also has pulled ahead on the issue of balancing the federal budget… “The economy is the top issue for the majority of voters this election season. Voters have consistently trusted the Democratic Party more on this issue, but the two presidential candidates are tied at 45% as to who voters trust more.” And that’s a downward trend.