Imagine that... A candidate who represents the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.
Brilliant strategy, IMO.... It helps Obama in the general election, helps down-ticket Dems in every state, is a huge gift to the superdelegates on their own home turf (most of whom are elected officials), and serves as a giant "fuck you" to Hillary and her stale 50+1 strategy. Here's hoping he can make it work and re-draw the electoral map.
Anti -- I like it. Reminds me of Nelson being made to walk through Springfield in front of Big Guy in Beatle, with his pants down and blowing kisses to the pedestrians. . .
i am thinking drive in front of them extremely slow, not letting them pass and making shame signs and Heils and pointing at them so everybody knows what they represent.
yes it's important to harass people for their opinion
you are not free to vote for whomever you want!
feel the wrath of (compassionate) progressives!
it's where you run 1 finger over the other one that points in a forward motion. i think it is pretty universal, though i don't find a image on google images.
i see it less as harassment and more as slowing down a dangerous trend of corporate/state government
Jason Rae, the youngest superdelegate, will help choose the Democratic candidate. He explains why young people back Obama
Hannah Pool
The Guardian, Thursday May 1 2008 Article history
As one of 795 superdelegates (which also include Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy), 21-year-old Rae could sway the Democratic nomination. He is a politics student from Wisconsin who has never voted, yet in a few months' time he could help decide whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama goes on to fight John McCain.
What exactly is a superdelegate?
A superdelegate is a delegate to the Democratic national convention who gets to go automatically because of their position, and they are not bound to support one candidate or the other.
You were 17 when you ran for one of Wisconsin's slots on the Democratic National Committee, and won. What makes you "super" as opposed to "regular"?
Just the fact that we are not bound to support a candidate based on primary or caucus results - we decide for ourselves.
So it's not that superdelegates have 10,000 more votes than other delegates?
No, in the end what happens is we will go to the convention and get equal votes like everyone else.
So why all the fuss about superdelegates?
Because we are looking for a candidate who needs just over 2,000 votes to win the nomination. They are just trying to win the voters so they can get one step closer to securing enough votes to win the nomination.
Who's been in touch?
For Senator Clinton I've talked to former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, and I had a call from Bill Clinton.
What happened when he rang?
I was getting ready to go out for dinner. I answered the phone and the other line said, "Jason, please hold for the former president," and all of a sudden there was president Clinton on the line, wanting to talk about how the race was going.
How did he think it was going?
He thought it was great. It was a very pleasant conversation.
Who else has been in touch?
I went to breakfast with Chelsea Clinton. It was a great opportunity to figure out what they have planned, and to learn about the campaign at first hand.
I met with Senator Obama back in December and I received a phone call from senator John Kerry, on behalf of Obama, and I also spoke with Michelle Obama.
What did Barack have to say?
We discussed some of the issues that were important to me, such as education and healthcare, then we talked about the campaign, their plans for how they were going to engage young people.
Have you decided who to back?
I don't have to decide until the convention, but I made up my mind about a month ago. I am going to go with senator Obama.
Why?
It was a matter of how many young people were turning out for him. I got elected to be a voice for American's next generation and I see Obama really engaging with young people. In exit polls, 73% of 18-to-24-year-old Wisconsin voters supported him.
Do you worry that Obama can't beat John McCain?
No, I think he stands a strong chance. His vision and his new perspective on change makes him more viable. What we have seen from Obama is that he is able to compete in places where Democrats have not always been able to.
What do you think of the way the campaigns have been run?
Both are very talented candidates who understand the process. Either would be a great choice.
The campaign seems to have been going on for ever. Are you bored yet?
No, I'm just hoping we will get on with the nominations process so we can unite the party and work on reaching new voters and preparing to beat McCain in November.
Are you concerned that the debate could get dirty?
It's hard to say what will happen - it's politics.
Do you worry when Hillary tries to chuck dirt at Barack?
Not at all. Each candidate is doing what they need to do to energise his or her political bases.
Have any unkind things been said about you personally?
I don't even know. I don't pay attention to them.
Do you have bigger political ambitions?
I don't know yet. I'm 21.
Do you worry what will happen if Clinton gets the nomination?
Not at all. Either candidate would be a good thing.
In his letter to fellow superdelegates, Joe Andrew -- whose switch today is a very useful moment for Obama -- pre-emptively guesses how the Clinton campaign will cast him, and accuses them of hypocrisy.
My endorsement of Senator Obama will not be welcome news to my friends and family at the Clinton campaign. If the campaign's surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton's cabinet, a "Judas" for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me. They are the best practitioners of the old politics, so they will no doubt call me a traitor, an opportunist and a hypocrite. I will be branded as disloyal, power-hungry, but most importantly, they will use the exact words that Republicans used to attack me when I was defending President Clinton.
When they use the same attacks made on me when I was defending them, they prove the callow hypocrisy of the old politics first perfected by Republicans. I am an expert on this because these were the exact tools that I mastered as a campaign volunteer, a campaign manager, a State Party Chair and the National Chair of our Party. I learned the lessons of the tough, right-wing Republicans all too well. I can speak with authority on how to spar with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove. I understand that, while wrong and pernicious, shallow victory can be achieved through division by semantics and obfuscation. Like many, I succumbed to the addiction of old politics because they are so easy.
No doubt, perhaps; it doesn't seem to have happened yet.
My endorsement of Senator Obama will not be welcome news to my friends and family at the Clinton campaign. If the campaign's surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton's cabinet, a "Judas" for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me. They are the best practitioners of the old politics, so they will no doubt call me a traitor, an opportunist and a hypocrite. I will be branded as disloyal, power-hungry, but most importantly, they will use the exact words that Republicans used to attack me when I was defending President Clinton.
When they use the same attacks made on me when I was defending them, they prove the callow hypocrisy of the old politics first perfected by Republicans. I am an expert on this because these were the exact tools that I mastered as a campaign volunteer, a campaign manager, a State Party Chair and the National Chair of our Party. I learned the lessons of the tough, right-wing Republicans all too well. I can speak with authority on how to spar with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove. I understand that, while wrong and pernicious, shallow victory can be achieved through division by semantics and obfuscation. Like many, I succumbed to the addiction of old politics because they are so easy.
Innuendo is easy. The truth is hard.
Sound bites are easy. Solutions are hard.
Spin is simple and easy. Struggling with facts is complicated and hard.
I have learned the hard way that you can love the candidate and hate the campaign. My stomach churns when I think how my old friends in the Clinton campaign will just pick up the old silly Republican play book and call in the same old artificial attacks and bombardments we have all heard before.
Yet, despite the simple and overwhelming pressure to do anything and everything to win, Barack Obama has risen above it all and demanded a new brand of politics. People flock to Senator Obama because they are rejecting the hyperbole of the old politics. The past eight years of George Bush have witnessed a retreat from substance, science, and reason in favor spin, cronyism and ideology. Barack Obama has dared not only to criticize it, as all Democrats do, but to actually reject playing the same old game. And in doing so, he has shown us a new path to victory.
Uniting for Victory
The simple fact is that Democrats need to be united in November to win, and Clinton supporters, in particular, will be vital to victory. We will not convince Clinton supporters to join the Obama campaign, however, by personally criticizing them. We must welcome everyone and avoid doing Republican work for them. It is therefore incumbent on all of us who once supported Senator Clinton to welcome the thousands who should now switch their support to Senator Obama. Similarly, a necessary part of the healing process for our Party is for those who supported Senator Obama early to have the grace and good sense to broaden the tent and welcome newcomers into the fold.
The old players of the old political game will claim that I am betraying my old friend Senator Evan Bayh by switching my support to Senator Obama. I believe that Evan Bayh would be a great President, and therefore a great Vice President. I will continue to argue that he would be a great choice to be on the ticket with Barack Obama. Evan Bayh is uniquely positioned as a successful governor with executive experience who is now a U.S. Senator with foreign policy experience and who is young enough to not undercut the message of vitality and hard work that Barack Obama represents. Part of healing the Party may be to have a Clinton supporter on the ticket, let alone someone who would help with Indiana, Ohio and the moderate Midwest in the general election.
Being for Evan Bayh, however, does not mean that you have to be for Hillary Clinton. The important message to Hoosiers, and to super delegates, is that being for someone does not mean that you agree 100 percent of the time. Regardless of whether Evan Bayh and I support different candidates, I will support Evan Bayh.
We must reject the notion that we have to beat the Republicans at their own game -- or even that the game has to be played at all. It is so easy for all of us involved -- candidates, campaigns and the media -- to focus on the process and the horse race that we forget why we got into it in the first place. Barack Obama has had the courage to talk about real issues, real problems and real people. Let's pause for a second in the midst of the cacophony of the campaign circus and listen.
In 1992, I was inspired by Bill Clinton because he promised, and delivered, a framework for addressing America's problems. President Clinton ended a long-running left-right debate in our Party, and inspired millions. He drew giant crowds and spoke passionately for a generation of Americans who often disenfranchised and rarely participated in governing. Today, Barack Obama does the same thing. Winners redefine the game. Winners connect with the American people and not only feel their pain, but inspire them to take action to heal the underlying cause. Barack Obama is that kind of candidate and that kind of leader, which is why he will win in November.
Welcoming Everyone into the Party
We face significant challenges as a nation and as a Party, but time and again, Americans have shown the resilience and determination necessary to overcome even the highest obstacle. We have a difficult road ahead, but I have complete confidence that Barack Obama is the candidate who can lead our Party to victory and the President who can guide us to even greater heights.
Many Democrats know me for one short speech I gave over and over again in the 2000 Presidential campaign. That speech was about welcoming people into our Party and welcoming undecided voters to our campaign to elect Al Gore. Today, we need to welcome Clinton supporters, undecided voters, and all Americans to join Barack Obama's cause to fight for a better America. My speech ended with these words, which are even more relevant today:
The difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is that you are always welcome in the Democratic Party.
Because Democrats don’t care if you are black or white or brown or a nice shade of green, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care if you pray in a church or a synagogue or a temple or a mosque, or just before math tests, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care if you are young or old, or just don’t want to tell your age, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care what gender you are, or what gender you want to hold hands with; as long as you want to hold hands, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care about the size of your bank account, just the size of your heart; and we don’t care where you are today, just where you dream you want to be tomorrow.
INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. Barack Obama said Friday a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax could cost 6,000 jobs in next week's primary state of Indiana, and accused Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain of "reading from the same political playbook" by endorsing it.
"This is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months. That is unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap," the Democratic presidential contender said.
At a news conference, Obama also disputed suggestions that he is an elitist.
"In fact, our lives when you look over the last two decades more closely approximate the lives of the average voter than any of the other candidates," the Illinois senator said.
"We've struggled with paying student loans. We've tried to figure out whether we have adequate daycare. I've actually filled up my own gas tank."
Obama and his wife Michelle reported income of $4.2 million last year, much of it in book royalties. But he often tells campaign audiences that until fairly recently, they struggled with bills.
Clinton and her husband, the former president, have reported income of more than $100 million since he left the White House in 2001. McCain's wife, Cindy, inherited a beer distributorship from her father.
The proposed federal gas tax holiday is a rarity in the marathon battle for the Democratic presidential nomination — a clear-cut policy difference between Obama and Clinton, and it is playing out in the final days of primary campaigns in Indiana and North Carolina.
Clinton reiterated her support for the gas tax suspension at a John Deere tractor dealership in Kinston, N.C., her first event in a two-day campaign swing across the state. The New York senator planned to introduce legislation with New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to levy a windfall profits tax on oil companies to fund the tax suspension.
"All I hear about is gas prices. Gas and diesel, everywhere," she said. "Some people say we don't need to get a gas tax holiday at all, it's a gimmick ... I want the Congress to stand up and vote. Are they for the oil companies, or are they for you?"
Clinton has criticized Obama for opposing the measure, and he has dug in, as well.
"At best, this is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months; that is, unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap, which is just what happened in Illinois, when we tried this a few years ago," he said.
Meanwhile, unless you can magically impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies overnight to pay for the holiday, it could imperil federal highway funding, and cost Indiana more than 6,000 jobs.
Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for McCain, the certain Republican presidential nominee, criticized Obama in return.
"Barack Obama has absolutely no plan to fight record gas prices this summer, and only he'd be talking about a political playbook when the real issue is hurting American families and their pocketbooks," he said.
Money from the tax goes into a fund that pays for highway and bridge construction.
Obama once supported a temporary lifting of the tax while in the Illinois legislature, but has since said it does not make sense.
By CHARLES BLOW
Published: May 3, 2008
Since January, the Clintons have pummeled Barack Obama with racially tinged comments and questions about his character.
Related
Columnist Biography: Charles M. Blow
Poll Watch: New York Times Polls
Hillary Clinton has questioned why he didn’t walk out on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.; why he “denounced” but didn’t “reject” Louis Farrakhan; and whether he is too chummy with the former radical Bill Ayers. She chastised his characterization of white working-class voters as being highfalutin and chided him for not agreeing to a street-fight-style debate.
Bill Clinton has called Obama’s stance on the war a fairy tale, dismissed an early primary win as mere Jesse Jackson redux and recently claimed that Obama was playing the race card against him. Some of this is valid, the result of Obama’s own missteps, but some of it is baffling.
The rhetoric appears to be trafficking in old fears and historic stereotypes. The unspoken (and confusing) characterization of Obama is that he’s militant yet cowardly; uppity yet too cool for school.
The question is this: Have white Democrats soured on Obama? Apparently not. Although his unfavorable rating from the group is up five percentage points since last summer in polls conducted by The New York Times and CBS News, his favorable rating is up just as much.
On the other hand, black Democrats’ opinion of Hillary Clinton has deteriorated substantially (her favorable rating among them is down 36 percentage points over the same period).
While a favorable opinion doesn’t necessarily translate into a vote, this should still give the Clintons (and the superdelegates) pause. Electability cuts both ways.
If Hillary Clinton should defy the odds (and the current math) and secure the nomination, she would be hard-pressed to defeat John McCain without the enthusiastic support of black voters, stalwarts of the Democratic base.
Getting that support could now be tricky.
Many blacks are aghast that their extraordinary support of Bill Clinton in the past would be repaid by the Clintons with racial innuendo (in a Times/CBS News poll after the salacious 1998 Starr report was released, his unfavorable rating among whites climbed to 52 percent; among blacks it was only 10 percent). Some who stood by him then now apparently feel betrayed.
It is no wonder then that McCain is making a place at the table for possible defectors, however unlikely. He began his “forgotten places” tour in Alabama’s Black Belt by literally dancing into the arms of an elderly black woman as she sang the gospel hymn “Do, Lord, Remember Me.”
Remember that moment if you ever see a bumper sticker that reads, “Repulsed into voting Republican.”
EDITORIAL Barack Obama for the Democrats
MAY 4, 2008
Many Democrats have taken to worrying that the protracted and excruciatingly close battle for their party's presidential nomination may divide their ranks and diminish their chances of victory in November.
But that's a glass-half-empty view. A more positive outlook is that at a time when the departing administration has steered the nation severely off course, Democrats are blessed with two candidates of intelligence, vision and vigor.
And Americans have responded, with a surge in voting and registration.
Sen. Barack Obama referred to that excitement in a teleconference interview last week with this newspaper's editorial board. "We were always the longshot," he said. "The fact we've done so well speaks to the hunger of the American people for a different message and a different direction."
We agree, and we also believe that Sen. Obama is the Democratic candidate better equipped to restore Americans' hope for the future and to bring change to Washington.
For that reason, we endorse Sen. Obama in Tuesday's Indiana primary and in the May 20 contest in Kentucky.
Both Sen. Obama and his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, offer aggressive, detailed platforms. Many positions are virtually identical, others diverge on some points. But there is no ideological gulf, and both candidates' views down the line are superior to those of the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.
Each candidate outlines a plan for a gradual, orderly withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq beginning soon after taking office but taking many months to accomplish.
Sen. Obama stresses that such a timetable would give Iraqis ample time to take control of their security and affairs.
Sen. Clinton, who met separately in person with the editorial board, argues persuasively that removal of the American "security blanket" is the only way to compel Iraqis to resolve political differences.
Equally important, Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton make the strong case for a more expansive view of American interests.
Sen. Obama rightly criticizes President Bush's focus on Islamic terrorism as "too cramped a vision." He emphasizes the importance of hunting down and fighting al-Qaida, but he also notes the security dangers of nuclear proliferation, rogue states, energy shortages and a weakening American economy.
Sen. Clinton adds the importance of winning the war in Afghanistan while America ends the war in Iraq.
While both candidates talk of offering encouragement and real aid to working- and middle-class Americans, there are differences in approach.
On health care, for example, we lean toward Sen. Clinton's insistence on mandating universal care. Sen. Obama, who focuses on reducing costs, is right that such a mandate would be costly and difficult to enforce, but too many people inevitably would fall between cracks and wind up uninsured.
On the other hand, we applaud Sen. Obama's opposition to a suspension of the federal gasoline tax, which Sen. Clinton favors. He is right that the move would save consumers little money, might be negated if oil companies raise prices and would encourage gasoline consumption instead of conservation.
Still, the differences are sufficiently minor that the key point becomes one that Sen. Obama stresses: Who is best able to actually accomplish new directions?
Sen. Obama's relentless focus on change, and the hordes of new voters he draws to the polls, would make it hard for his victory to be read as anything other than a mandate for changing how Washington works.
Sen. Clinton actually has engaged in more collaborative efforts with Republicans than she is given credit for. But she is battle-scarred, widely viewed as divisive and, we believe, would face a harder time enacting her program.
It's a difficult choice, but the better pick for Hoosier and Kentucky voters is Sen. Obama.
just another imperialist misadventure of Amerikkka out of 270 other wars done for the same reasons since the purchase of Louisiana
you could imagine the people of Mexico calibrating this holiday?! ya right first we come rape and pillage the whole continent then bring slaves then fight with the neighbors to get away from monarchy then we kill those same neighbors and steal 1/2 their country WTF.
usa has a racist imperialist past/present to reckon with i hope Obama is the man to do it.
Dude - Mexico attacked us first. And maybe history would have been better for the Western Hemisphere if a Papal Monarchy war mongering group like the Spanish / Mexicans had got control instead of an elightment era group of progresives? Please - go back to whatever college you craweld out from under with your revisionist bullshit.
evilplaytypus we all know the winners always write their own history that is y we have Howard Zinn's a Peoples History etc.. so calm your emo ass down brother ;)
Obama really has his cards in order, Hillary even spoke conciliatory today i heard it on NPR
E...Hitler was a Killer....Hillary....is a looser.... video was in poor taste.
I want Obama to win for the right reasons. Please keep Adolph out of the picture.
So who would be your pick? Does anyone really think a clinton VPship would be a good idea? Would it really appease her supporters? Or would someone like Richardson or Bloomberg be a smoother play?
I think there are a lot of good people on the list. I think Webb, Richardson, Hagel, Bloomberg, and Biden are all great choices. I honestly dont know enough about Kathleen Sebelius or Brown or Schwietzer, so maybe my choices are borne of a certain degree of unimagination and ignorance.
I also personally think clinton is a terrible idea. I know party unity is going to be a big deal and there are a lot of women out there who have really fallen in love with her, but fuck would that be a disaster. I dont know, it seems like whenever she comes up she drags with her this uncomfortable neurotic psychodrama and depression. I feel like nicest thing of the last few days has been this collective sigh of relief that we can finally start to move on. I dont see how we could drag that shit into the fall.
But maybe thats just me. At any rate I think shed be happier as senate majority leader anyway.
Clinton as VP will never happen in a million years. By this point she's burned so many bridges in the party she'll be damn lucky to even have a Senate seat in 2012.
Obama/Sebelius could be a potential dream ticket that wouldn't involve taking on Hillary's mountains of baggage.
Bill Richardson is another strong pick, although he might be better suited for some other Cabinet post.
NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg has also occasionally been floated as a possibility, but I'd much rather see him in a Cabinet-level post in charge of infrastructure or fiscal policy, as those are his strongest areas and his pet passions.
Oh, and Obama picked up NINE superdelegates today, with reports beginning to trickle in this evening about a possible tenth. ABC and the NY Times are now reporting that Obama has a majority of the supers.
About 3-4 supers have been coming out for Obama each day since Pennsylvania, and I think the trickle will soon become a torrent. By the time Obama locks up an absolute majority of pledged delegates when Kentucky and Oregon vote on May 20th, expect Obama to have also picked up enough supers to lock in the nomination.
The situation was evident yesterday when Obama showed up on the House floor just to "say hello", and was mobbed by House members -- including Clinton supporters and even a few Republicans -- like a rock star. Meanwhile, Hillary was having a hard time even finding people willing to be seen in public with her.
The situation with MI and FL is still somewhat of a wildcard, but the Obama camp doesn't seem to concerned. Lately they've been saying that the MI and FL delegates will be seated, so they obviously have some deal in the works.
For all practical purposes, the fat lady has finished her set and gone home.
VOTE OBAMA
.
Imagine that... A candidate who represents the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.
Brilliant strategy, IMO.... It helps Obama in the general election, helps down-ticket Dems in every state, is a huge gift to the superdelegates on their own home turf (most of whom are elected officials), and serves as a giant "fuck you" to Hillary and her stale 50+1 strategy. Here's hoping he can make it work and re-draw the electoral map.
Anti -- I like it. Reminds me of Nelson being made to walk through Springfield in front of Big Guy in Beatle, with his pants down and blowing kisses to the pedestrians. . .
that woman scares the crap out of me she is very irrational from all i know of her.
yes it's important to harass people for their opinion
you are not free to vote for whomever you want!
feel the wrath of (compassionate) progressives!
and you're implying mccain voters are nazis?
wtf?
what the hell is a 'shame sign' anyway?
I saw George Bushes Escort Helicopters fly over about a half an hour ago on there way to Henry Kissingers. I'm voting for Obama!
did you throw shame signs at bushy?
"and you're implying mccain voters are nazis?"
No, merely unimaginative necrophiliacs.
*makes shame sign at makeArchitecture*
;-)
No but I saw one sign which read: "Dumb and Dumber" I think it must be a sleep over at Henry's.
They should get Rummy in there ad have a good ol' warcriminal ho'down.
it's where you run 1 finger over the other one that points in a forward motion. i think it is pretty universal, though i don't find a image on google images.
i see it less as harassment and more as slowing down a dangerous trend of corporate/state government
I saw a T-shirt in a Castro district shop today; it had Hillary's face in black outline on white, with a red and black "Obama 08" below.
For Antisthetical and othees:
http://wallstreetexaminer.com/blogs/winter/?page_id=36
Question time
Jason Rae, the youngest superdelegate, will help choose the Democratic candidate. He explains why young people back Obama
Hannah Pool
The Guardian, Thursday May 1 2008 Article history
As one of 795 superdelegates (which also include Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy), 21-year-old Rae could sway the Democratic nomination. He is a politics student from Wisconsin who has never voted, yet in a few months' time he could help decide whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama goes on to fight John McCain.
What exactly is a superdelegate?
A superdelegate is a delegate to the Democratic national convention who gets to go automatically because of their position, and they are not bound to support one candidate or the other.
You were 17 when you ran for one of Wisconsin's slots on the Democratic National Committee, and won. What makes you "super" as opposed to "regular"?
Just the fact that we are not bound to support a candidate based on primary or caucus results - we decide for ourselves.
So it's not that superdelegates have 10,000 more votes than other delegates?
No, in the end what happens is we will go to the convention and get equal votes like everyone else.
So why all the fuss about superdelegates?
Because we are looking for a candidate who needs just over 2,000 votes to win the nomination. They are just trying to win the voters so they can get one step closer to securing enough votes to win the nomination.
Who's been in touch?
For Senator Clinton I've talked to former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, and I had a call from Bill Clinton.
What happened when he rang?
I was getting ready to go out for dinner. I answered the phone and the other line said, "Jason, please hold for the former president," and all of a sudden there was president Clinton on the line, wanting to talk about how the race was going.
How did he think it was going?
He thought it was great. It was a very pleasant conversation.
Who else has been in touch?
I went to breakfast with Chelsea Clinton. It was a great opportunity to figure out what they have planned, and to learn about the campaign at first hand.
I met with Senator Obama back in December and I received a phone call from senator John Kerry, on behalf of Obama, and I also spoke with Michelle Obama.
What did Barack have to say?
We discussed some of the issues that were important to me, such as education and healthcare, then we talked about the campaign, their plans for how they were going to engage young people.
Have you decided who to back?
I don't have to decide until the convention, but I made up my mind about a month ago. I am going to go with senator Obama.
Why?
It was a matter of how many young people were turning out for him. I got elected to be a voice for American's next generation and I see Obama really engaging with young people. In exit polls, 73% of 18-to-24-year-old Wisconsin voters supported him.
Do you worry that Obama can't beat John McCain?
No, I think he stands a strong chance. His vision and his new perspective on change makes him more viable. What we have seen from Obama is that he is able to compete in places where Democrats have not always been able to.
What do you think of the way the campaigns have been run?
Both are very talented candidates who understand the process. Either would be a great choice.
The campaign seems to have been going on for ever. Are you bored yet?
No, I'm just hoping we will get on with the nominations process so we can unite the party and work on reaching new voters and preparing to beat McCain in November.
Are you concerned that the debate could get dirty?
It's hard to say what will happen - it's politics.
Do you worry when Hillary tries to chuck dirt at Barack?
Not at all. Each candidate is doing what they need to do to energise his or her political bases.
Have any unkind things been said about you personally?
I don't even know. I don't pay attention to them.
Do you have bigger political ambitions?
I don't know yet. I'm 21.
Do you worry what will happen if Clinton gets the nomination?
Not at all. Either candidate would be a good thing.
What if America doesn't agree?
I don't even think about things like that.
you know, at 21, i wanted to go drink at the bars (legally) and was worried that if i wasn't in studio, i'd end up like richard meier.
In his letter to fellow superdelegates, Joe Andrew -- whose switch today is a very useful moment for Obama -- pre-emptively guesses how the Clinton campaign will cast him, and accuses them of hypocrisy.
My endorsement of Senator Obama will not be welcome news to my friends and family at the Clinton campaign. If the campaign's surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton's cabinet, a "Judas" for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me. They are the best practitioners of the old politics, so they will no doubt call me a traitor, an opportunist and a hypocrite. I will be branded as disloyal, power-hungry, but most importantly, they will use the exact words that Republicans used to attack me when I was defending President Clinton.
When they use the same attacks made on me when I was defending them, they prove the callow hypocrisy of the old politics first perfected by Republicans. I am an expert on this because these were the exact tools that I mastered as a campaign volunteer, a campaign manager, a State Party Chair and the National Chair of our Party. I learned the lessons of the tough, right-wing Republicans all too well. I can speak with authority on how to spar with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove. I understand that, while wrong and pernicious, shallow victory can be achieved through division by semantics and obfuscation. Like many, I succumbed to the addiction of old politics because they are so easy.
No doubt, perhaps; it doesn't seem to have happened yet.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/A_preemptive_strike_from_Andrew.html
those are 2 HOT statements
"No doubt, perhaps" ?
"i'd end up like richard meier" ?
So many mysteries. . .
Don't hold anything against Dickie Meyer.
This is the game ender for Clinton. Here's more:
A New Era of Politics
My endorsement of Senator Obama will not be welcome news to my friends and family at the Clinton campaign. If the campaign's surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton's cabinet, a "Judas" for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me. They are the best practitioners of the old politics, so they will no doubt call me a traitor, an opportunist and a hypocrite. I will be branded as disloyal, power-hungry, but most importantly, they will use the exact words that Republicans used to attack me when I was defending President Clinton.
When they use the same attacks made on me when I was defending them, they prove the callow hypocrisy of the old politics first perfected by Republicans. I am an expert on this because these were the exact tools that I mastered as a campaign volunteer, a campaign manager, a State Party Chair and the National Chair of our Party. I learned the lessons of the tough, right-wing Republicans all too well. I can speak with authority on how to spar with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove. I understand that, while wrong and pernicious, shallow victory can be achieved through division by semantics and obfuscation. Like many, I succumbed to the addiction of old politics because they are so easy.
Innuendo is easy. The truth is hard.
Sound bites are easy. Solutions are hard.
Spin is simple and easy. Struggling with facts is complicated and hard.
I have learned the hard way that you can love the candidate and hate the campaign. My stomach churns when I think how my old friends in the Clinton campaign will just pick up the old silly Republican play book and call in the same old artificial attacks and bombardments we have all heard before.
Yet, despite the simple and overwhelming pressure to do anything and everything to win, Barack Obama has risen above it all and demanded a new brand of politics. People flock to Senator Obama because they are rejecting the hyperbole of the old politics. The past eight years of George Bush have witnessed a retreat from substance, science, and reason in favor spin, cronyism and ideology. Barack Obama has dared not only to criticize it, as all Democrats do, but to actually reject playing the same old game. And in doing so, he has shown us a new path to victory.
Uniting for Victory
The simple fact is that Democrats need to be united in November to win, and Clinton supporters, in particular, will be vital to victory. We will not convince Clinton supporters to join the Obama campaign, however, by personally criticizing them. We must welcome everyone and avoid doing Republican work for them. It is therefore incumbent on all of us who once supported Senator Clinton to welcome the thousands who should now switch their support to Senator Obama. Similarly, a necessary part of the healing process for our Party is for those who supported Senator Obama early to have the grace and good sense to broaden the tent and welcome newcomers into the fold.
The old players of the old political game will claim that I am betraying my old friend Senator Evan Bayh by switching my support to Senator Obama. I believe that Evan Bayh would be a great President, and therefore a great Vice President. I will continue to argue that he would be a great choice to be on the ticket with Barack Obama. Evan Bayh is uniquely positioned as a successful governor with executive experience who is now a U.S. Senator with foreign policy experience and who is young enough to not undercut the message of vitality and hard work that Barack Obama represents. Part of healing the Party may be to have a Clinton supporter on the ticket, let alone someone who would help with Indiana, Ohio and the moderate Midwest in the general election.
Being for Evan Bayh, however, does not mean that you have to be for Hillary Clinton. The important message to Hoosiers, and to super delegates, is that being for someone does not mean that you agree 100 percent of the time. Regardless of whether Evan Bayh and I support different candidates, I will support Evan Bayh.
We must reject the notion that we have to beat the Republicans at their own game -- or even that the game has to be played at all. It is so easy for all of us involved -- candidates, campaigns and the media -- to focus on the process and the horse race that we forget why we got into it in the first place. Barack Obama has had the courage to talk about real issues, real problems and real people. Let's pause for a second in the midst of the cacophony of the campaign circus and listen.
In 1992, I was inspired by Bill Clinton because he promised, and delivered, a framework for addressing America's problems. President Clinton ended a long-running left-right debate in our Party, and inspired millions. He drew giant crowds and spoke passionately for a generation of Americans who often disenfranchised and rarely participated in governing. Today, Barack Obama does the same thing. Winners redefine the game. Winners connect with the American people and not only feel their pain, but inspire them to take action to heal the underlying cause. Barack Obama is that kind of candidate and that kind of leader, which is why he will win in November.
Welcoming Everyone into the Party
We face significant challenges as a nation and as a Party, but time and again, Americans have shown the resilience and determination necessary to overcome even the highest obstacle. We have a difficult road ahead, but I have complete confidence that Barack Obama is the candidate who can lead our Party to victory and the President who can guide us to even greater heights.
Many Democrats know me for one short speech I gave over and over again in the 2000 Presidential campaign. That speech was about welcoming people into our Party and welcoming undecided voters to our campaign to elect Al Gore. Today, we need to welcome Clinton supporters, undecided voters, and all Americans to join Barack Obama's cause to fight for a better America. My speech ended with these words, which are even more relevant today:
The difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is that you are always welcome in the Democratic Party.
Because Democrats don’t care if you are black or white or brown or a nice shade of green, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care if you pray in a church or a synagogue or a temple or a mosque, or just before math tests, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care if you are young or old, or just don’t want to tell your age, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care what gender you are, or what gender you want to hold hands with; as long as you want to hold hands, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.
We don’t care about the size of your bank account, just the size of your heart; and we don’t care where you are today, just where you dream you want to be tomorrow.
That is your Democratic Party.
That is Barack Obama's Democratic Party.
That is the Party that will win in November.
Sincerely,
Joe Andrew
Nice Joe. Nice.
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
1 hour, 25 minutes ago
INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. Barack Obama said Friday a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax could cost 6,000 jobs in next week's primary state of Indiana, and accused Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain of "reading from the same political playbook" by endorsing it.
"This is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months. That is unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap," the Democratic presidential contender said.
At a news conference, Obama also disputed suggestions that he is an elitist.
"In fact, our lives when you look over the last two decades more closely approximate the lives of the average voter than any of the other candidates," the Illinois senator said.
"We've struggled with paying student loans. We've tried to figure out whether we have adequate daycare. I've actually filled up my own gas tank."
Obama and his wife Michelle reported income of $4.2 million last year, much of it in book royalties. But he often tells campaign audiences that until fairly recently, they struggled with bills.
Clinton and her husband, the former president, have reported income of more than $100 million since he left the White House in 2001. McCain's wife, Cindy, inherited a beer distributorship from her father.
The proposed federal gas tax holiday is a rarity in the marathon battle for the Democratic presidential nomination — a clear-cut policy difference between Obama and Clinton, and it is playing out in the final days of primary campaigns in Indiana and North Carolina.
Clinton reiterated her support for the gas tax suspension at a John Deere tractor dealership in Kinston, N.C., her first event in a two-day campaign swing across the state. The New York senator planned to introduce legislation with New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to levy a windfall profits tax on oil companies to fund the tax suspension.
"All I hear about is gas prices. Gas and diesel, everywhere," she said. "Some people say we don't need to get a gas tax holiday at all, it's a gimmick ... I want the Congress to stand up and vote. Are they for the oil companies, or are they for you?"
Clinton has criticized Obama for opposing the measure, and he has dug in, as well.
"At best, this is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months; that is, unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap, which is just what happened in Illinois, when we tried this a few years ago," he said.
Meanwhile, unless you can magically impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies overnight to pay for the holiday, it could imperil federal highway funding, and cost Indiana more than 6,000 jobs.
Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for McCain, the certain Republican presidential nominee, criticized Obama in return.
"Barack Obama has absolutely no plan to fight record gas prices this summer, and only he'd be talking about a political playbook when the real issue is hurting American families and their pocketbooks," he said.
Money from the tax goes into a fund that pays for highway and bridge construction.
Obama once supported a temporary lifting of the tax while in the Illinois legislature, but has since said it does not make sense.
A Blacklash?
By CHARLES BLOW
Published: May 3, 2008
Since January, the Clintons have pummeled Barack Obama with racially tinged comments and questions about his character.
Related
Columnist Biography: Charles M. Blow
Poll Watch: New York Times Polls
Hillary Clinton has questioned why he didn’t walk out on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.; why he “denounced” but didn’t “reject” Louis Farrakhan; and whether he is too chummy with the former radical Bill Ayers. She chastised his characterization of white working-class voters as being highfalutin and chided him for not agreeing to a street-fight-style debate.
Bill Clinton has called Obama’s stance on the war a fairy tale, dismissed an early primary win as mere Jesse Jackson redux and recently claimed that Obama was playing the race card against him. Some of this is valid, the result of Obama’s own missteps, but some of it is baffling.
The rhetoric appears to be trafficking in old fears and historic stereotypes. The unspoken (and confusing) characterization of Obama is that he’s militant yet cowardly; uppity yet too cool for school.
The question is this: Have white Democrats soured on Obama? Apparently not. Although his unfavorable rating from the group is up five percentage points since last summer in polls conducted by The New York Times and CBS News, his favorable rating is up just as much.
On the other hand, black Democrats’ opinion of Hillary Clinton has deteriorated substantially (her favorable rating among them is down 36 percentage points over the same period).
While a favorable opinion doesn’t necessarily translate into a vote, this should still give the Clintons (and the superdelegates) pause. Electability cuts both ways.
If Hillary Clinton should defy the odds (and the current math) and secure the nomination, she would be hard-pressed to defeat John McCain without the enthusiastic support of black voters, stalwarts of the Democratic base.
Getting that support could now be tricky.
Many blacks are aghast that their extraordinary support of Bill Clinton in the past would be repaid by the Clintons with racial innuendo (in a Times/CBS News poll after the salacious 1998 Starr report was released, his unfavorable rating among whites climbed to 52 percent; among blacks it was only 10 percent). Some who stood by him then now apparently feel betrayed.
It is no wonder then that McCain is making a place at the table for possible defectors, however unlikely. He began his “forgotten places” tour in Alabama’s Black Belt by literally dancing into the arms of an elderly black woman as she sang the gospel hymn “Do, Lord, Remember Me.”
Remember that moment if you ever see a bumper sticker that reads, “Repulsed into voting Republican.”
EDITORIAL
Barack Obama for the Democrats
MAY 4, 2008
Many Democrats have taken to worrying that the protracted and excruciatingly close battle for their party's presidential nomination may divide their ranks and diminish their chances of victory in November.
But that's a glass-half-empty view. A more positive outlook is that at a time when the departing administration has steered the nation severely off course, Democrats are blessed with two candidates of intelligence, vision and vigor.
And Americans have responded, with a surge in voting and registration.
Sen. Barack Obama referred to that excitement in a teleconference interview last week with this newspaper's editorial board. "We were always the longshot," he said. "The fact we've done so well speaks to the hunger of the American people for a different message and a different direction."
We agree, and we also believe that Sen. Obama is the Democratic candidate better equipped to restore Americans' hope for the future and to bring change to Washington.
For that reason, we endorse Sen. Obama in Tuesday's Indiana primary and in the May 20 contest in Kentucky.
Both Sen. Obama and his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, offer aggressive, detailed platforms. Many positions are virtually identical, others diverge on some points. But there is no ideological gulf, and both candidates' views down the line are superior to those of the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.
Each candidate outlines a plan for a gradual, orderly withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq beginning soon after taking office but taking many months to accomplish.
Sen. Obama stresses that such a timetable would give Iraqis ample time to take control of their security and affairs.
Sen. Clinton, who met separately in person with the editorial board, argues persuasively that removal of the American "security blanket" is the only way to compel Iraqis to resolve political differences.
Equally important, Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton make the strong case for a more expansive view of American interests.
Sen. Obama rightly criticizes President Bush's focus on Islamic terrorism as "too cramped a vision." He emphasizes the importance of hunting down and fighting al-Qaida, but he also notes the security dangers of nuclear proliferation, rogue states, energy shortages and a weakening American economy.
Sen. Clinton adds the importance of winning the war in Afghanistan while America ends the war in Iraq.
While both candidates talk of offering encouragement and real aid to working- and middle-class Americans, there are differences in approach.
On health care, for example, we lean toward Sen. Clinton's insistence on mandating universal care. Sen. Obama, who focuses on reducing costs, is right that such a mandate would be costly and difficult to enforce, but too many people inevitably would fall between cracks and wind up uninsured.
On the other hand, we applaud Sen. Obama's opposition to a suspension of the federal gasoline tax, which Sen. Clinton favors. He is right that the move would save consumers little money, might be negated if oil companies raise prices and would encourage gasoline consumption instead of conservation.
Still, the differences are sufficiently minor that the key point becomes one that Sen. Obama stresses: Who is best able to actually accomplish new directions?
Sen. Obama's relentless focus on change, and the hordes of new voters he draws to the polls, would make it hard for his victory to be read as anything other than a mandate for changing how Washington works.
Sen. Clinton actually has engaged in more collaborative efforts with Republicans than she is given credit for. But she is battle-scarred, widely viewed as divisive and, we believe, would face a harder time enacting her program.
It's a difficult choice, but the better pick for Hoosier and Kentucky voters is Sen. Obama.
from ze cinco de mayo killjoy thread:
just another imperialist misadventure of Amerikkka out of 270 other wars done for the same reasons since the purchase of Louisiana
you could imagine the people of Mexico calibrating this holiday?! ya right first we come rape and pillage the whole continent then bring slaves then fight with the neighbors to get away from monarchy then we kill those same neighbors and steal 1/2 their country WTF.
usa has a racist imperialist past/present to reckon with i hope Obama is the man to do it.
what the hell is obama going to do?
give the southwest back to mexico?
maybe ..
and would that appease your guilt?
FRaC, you're so funny.
yes, we expect obama to give us back aztlan and let the reconquista become political rather than just cultural.
wow, i cont believe this hasnt been brought back yet this morning...
anyway...
game over for hillary
Dude - Mexico attacked us first. And maybe history would have been better for the Western Hemisphere if a Papal Monarchy war mongering group like the Spanish / Mexicans had got control instead of an elightment era group of progresives? Please - go back to whatever college you craweld out from under with your revisionist bullshit.
check this out:
Obama ahead EVEN WITH FL and MI votes counted:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_count.html
oh wait, is that a fat lady I hear singing...
we covered all this over here :)
http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=74867_0_42_0_C
evilplaytypus we all know the winners always write their own history that is y we have Howard Zinn's a Peoples History etc.. so calm your emo ass down brother ;)
Obama really has his cards in order, Hillary even spoke conciliatory today i heard it on NPR
ahaha, relax evilp, i was being facetious.
Hill: Get out.
GET OUT.
GET OUT.
GET OUT.
GET OUT.
GET OUT.
GET OUT.
GET OUT.
you know what to do, you know what to do.
take the red door?
RED RUM RED RUM
HIllary video that made me laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Lstkiexhc
E...Hitler was a Killer....Hillary....is a looser.... video was in poor taste.
I want Obama to win for the right reasons. Please keep Adolph out of the picture.
Heavy -- as we used to say. Ya gotta love the script. . .anyway.
^^^Not really helpful, :S
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24526606#24526411
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24526606#24526604
The images are pretty stunning..
So who would be your pick? Does anyone really think a clinton VPship would be a good idea? Would it really appease her supporters? Or would someone like Richardson or Bloomberg be a smoother play?
i can't believe obama would ever choose clinton. never not ever
he should pick biden in my opinion for that experience thingy
i'm guessing the majority of archinectors/obamaniacs would like to see richardson get it
I think there are a lot of good people on the list. I think Webb, Richardson, Hagel, Bloomberg, and Biden are all great choices. I honestly dont know enough about Kathleen Sebelius or Brown or Schwietzer, so maybe my choices are borne of a certain degree of unimagination and ignorance.
I also personally think clinton is a terrible idea. I know party unity is going to be a big deal and there are a lot of women out there who have really fallen in love with her, but fuck would that be a disaster. I dont know, it seems like whenever she comes up she drags with her this uncomfortable neurotic psychodrama and depression. I feel like nicest thing of the last few days has been this collective sigh of relief that we can finally start to move on. I dont see how we could drag that shit into the fall.
But maybe thats just me. At any rate I think shed be happier as senate majority leader anyway.
Clinton as VP will never happen in a million years. By this point she's burned so many bridges in the party she'll be damn lucky to even have a Senate seat in 2012.
Obama/Sebelius could be a potential dream ticket that wouldn't involve taking on Hillary's mountains of baggage.
Bill Richardson is another strong pick, although he might be better suited for some other Cabinet post.
NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg has also occasionally been floated as a possibility, but I'd much rather see him in a Cabinet-level post in charge of infrastructure or fiscal policy, as those are his strongest areas and his pet passions.
Oh, and Obama picked up NINE superdelegates today, with reports beginning to trickle in this evening about a possible tenth. ABC and the NY Times are now reporting that Obama has a majority of the supers.
About 3-4 supers have been coming out for Obama each day since Pennsylvania, and I think the trickle will soon become a torrent. By the time Obama locks up an absolute majority of pledged delegates when Kentucky and Oregon vote on May 20th, expect Obama to have also picked up enough supers to lock in the nomination.
The situation was evident yesterday when Obama showed up on the House floor just to "say hello", and was mobbed by House members -- including Clinton supporters and even a few Republicans -- like a rock star. Meanwhile, Hillary was having a hard time even finding people willing to be seen in public with her.
The situation with MI and FL is still somewhat of a wildcard, but the Obama camp doesn't seem to concerned. Lately they've been saying that the MI and FL delegates will be seated, so they obviously have some deal in the works.
For all practical purposes, the fat lady has finished her set and gone home.
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