Yes We Can!!

The picture above is from Senator Obama's campaign stop in Portland, Oregon yesterday (read story here). An estimated 65,000 people showed up to see the Senator speak, the event has been dubbed the "Obama Mass" by Matt Drudge. A split in tomorrow's primaries (Obama will handily win Oregon and Senator Clinton will easily win Kentucky) added to the newfound civility being exuded by the Clintonistas and the continuous trickle of super delegates into the Obama column will make for a smooth landing at the top of the Democratic ticket for Senator Obama in the coming weeks.

Hillary Clinton Is Desparate

I saw this headline and was confused:

"Clinton attacks Obama on guns..."

Was Senator Obama not as tough as I had already thought? The esteemed senator from New York has always been a staunch gun control advocate, as has her opponent in the never-ending race for the Democratic nomination. Of course there was Pennsylvania, where Senator Clinton told stories about duck hunting and seemed be a bit more conservative on the gun issue. But that was a mere aberration, she was exaggerating to get a couple more votes, right? All politicians do this. The Clinton campaign apparently is now attacking Obama's stance on gun control. Apparently, the senator from Illinois has been pandering too much on the gun issue and the time has come for the experienced senator to call him on it. Her campaign has been distributing mailers in Indiana to this effect (see story here). The ad also reminds people that Obama called those who are downtrodden in Pennsylvania bitter. I think there are bitter people in Indiana, which will make this brilliant ad quite effective. Or maybe not. Senator Clinton's candidacy jumped the shark right after Super Tuesday I (apparently every time there is primary it is now called Super Tuesday) and continues to grow more and more annoying by the day. It is important to remember that there is no way the senator can win the nomination. She is too far behind in pledged delegates and the popular vote and her lead in the super annoying super delegates has been dwindling since Super Tuesday I (now 17, down from 20 at this time last week, see here). My theory about the viability of her candidacy has seemed to gain an air of credibility with the "experts," as now we hear people wondering if Senator Clinton is softening up Obama for John McCain. An Obama loss means that she will have the opportunity to run in 2012. In other political news that no one should care about, Senator Obama got a huge W in the Guam primary. Why should we care about this? We shouldn't.

"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."-José Narosky

Since April 9, the news media's continual obsession with all things Clinton and Obama has not waned. The all-important Pennsylvania primary, which is part of the great year long distraction that is the 2008 presidential campaign, finally took place last week. What did it settle? Nothing, Senator Clinton gained a mere 10 delegates. The developments in the Jeremiah Wright saga are captivating the minds of everyone. So much so, that we cannot possibly talk about anything or anybody else. Also, since April 9, 17 Americans have died in the only story, if it were a story, that is more frustrating than the presidential election, the Iraq War. Another bit of news that might shock those who think that Afghanistan is a desert oasis of democracy, two Americans have died in that war during this same period. To date, 4,528 Americans have perished in these wars with no objective and no end in sight. If the media cannot spare a mere moment of the latest thing Jeremiah Wright said to talk about those that die in this senseless war, I will continue to do it here:

1. Spec. William E. Allmon of Ardmore, Oklahoma was 25 years old when he died in an IED attack in Baghdad on April 12.
2. Lance Cpl. Dean D. Opicka of Waukesha, Wisconsin was 29 years old when he was killed in combat in Anbar province on April 14.
3. Cpl. Richard J. Nelson of Racine, Wisconsin was 23 years old when he was killed in combat in Anbar province on April 14.
4. Sgt. Joseph A. Richard, III of Lafayette, Louisiana was 27 years old when he died in an IED attack in Baghdad on April 14.
5. Spec. Arturo Huerta-Cruz of Clearwater, Florida was 23 years old when he died in an IED attack in Tuz on April 14.
6. Cpl. Kyle W. Wilks of Rogers, Arkansas was 24 years old when he died in combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on April 15.
7. 1st Sgt. Luke J. Mercardante of Athens, Georgia was 35 years old when he died in combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on April 15.
8. Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown of Mangolia, Texas was 29 years old when he died after his unit was attacked in Sama Village on April 17.
9. Spec. Benjamin K. Brosh of Colorado Springs, Colorado was 22 years old when he died on April 18 from wounds suffered in an IED attack in Paliwoda.
10. Spec. Lance O. Eaks of Apex, North Carolina was 25 years old when he died in an IED attack in Baghdad on April 18.
11. Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton of Bakersfield, California was 40 years old when she died in Iraq on April 20. The cause of her death is currently under investigation.
12. Sgt. Adam J. Kohlhaas of Perryville, Missouri was 26 years old when he died in an IED attack in Bayji on April 21.
13. Spec. Steven J. Christofferson of Cudahy, Wisconsin was 20 years old he died in an IED attack in Bayji on April 21.
14. 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandergrift of Littleton, Colorado was 28 years old when he died in combat operations in Basra on April 21.
15. Airman Apprentice Adrian Compos of El Paso, Texas was 22 years old when he was found dead in Dubai due to a non-combat related incident on APril 21.
16. Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale of Burkeville, Virginia was 21 years old when he died in combat operation in Anbar province on April 22.
17. Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter of Sag Harbor, New York was only 19 years old when he died in combat operations in Anbar province on April 22.
18. Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison of Morris Plains, New Jersey was 25 years old when he died of a non-combat related injury on April 22.
19. Pfc. John T. Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan was 22 years old when he died in a vehicle incident in Golden Hills on April 23.
    

What Are You Talking About Madame?

Anyone who watched coverage of the Clinton campaign last night heard the new talking point:

"After last night's decisive victory in Pennsylvania, more people have voted for Hillary than any other candidate, including Sen. Obama."

Really? That doesn't make sense to me. The press release continues:

"Estimates vary slightly, but according to Real Clear Politics, Hillary has received 15,095,663 votes to Sen. Obama's 14,973,720, a margin of more than 120,000 votes. ABC News reported this morning that "Clinton has pulled ahead of Obama" in the popular vote."

So the Clinton campaign is correct, the media is in the bag for Senator Obama. They have been providing us false data all along to make us believe it was over. The release concludes:

"This count includes certified vote totals in Florida and Michigan."

Oh, you mean that state where there was no campaigning in January (when Obama was still relatively unknown) and that other state where Senator Clinton's name was the only one on the ballot? This argument is so dumb I could scream. Why would you include these in your campaign propaganda. Michigan is much easier, 40% voted Uncommitted when the only names appearing on the ballot were Senators Clinton and Gravel and Representative Kucinich. Basically, they are adding over 300,000 votes to the Senators total while giving Senator Obama 0. That definitely helps one's cause when working from behind. As far as Florida goes, one might argue that Senator Clinton would have a marked advantage in an election held in January where the voters were essentially voting on name recognition alone. Remember, back then she was not nearly as annoying as she is today. So basically these numbers are nonsense, a ruse used to make people think her candidacy is alive and well, when it fact it's existence seems to hinge on deception. Thus another black mark on the Clinton candidacy. See this release here. If one was wondering how in-touch the Clinton campaign is with Democratic Party primary voters, see hyper-Clintonian Terry McAuliffe in the video below:

Still Hoping...

The people in Pennsylvania finally voted yesterday, putting an end to the longest 6 weeks of any one's life who has invested as much time and energy into this never ending process as I have. What does Senator Clinton's 55%-45% victory mean? Little, it would seem. These gains will be negated in two weeks when she loses North Carolina by a similar margin (probably a little more). Indiana also votes that day and that is shaping up to be a close race that has far-reaching implications for the viability of the Clinton candidacy. Her major hurdle at this point (besides the insurmountable delegate lead for Senator Obama) is money. Shortly after claiming victory last night she made a direct plea to the electorate to send money. Have all of her big donors already given the max? The Clinton campaign is hoping that the ultra annoying super delegates will come to her aid in the 11th hour and put her over the top at the convention. Has the time not come for these party elites to throw their collective hat in the ring and get behind someone? I realize that everyone wants to pick the winner and not alienate themselves from a job opportunity in a potential Obama or Clinton White House, but there might be no Obama or Clinton White House at this rate. While these candidates continually go back and forth sniping over nothing, the crazy right (yeah I am talking you Hannity) continues to try and link Senator Obama to the words of every person he has ever known. Personally, I believe this tactic backfires in the end, as an overly aggressive attack campaign on an individual ultimately turns them into a victim in the eyes of those that are less fanatical about their politics (see the end of the Clinton presidency for an example). This has to end at some point, right? I do not mind Senator Clinton staying in the race, but I do mind the tone of her campaign. When she starts coming across as a mouthpiece for the GOP in her attacks, it is a little disconcerting. Thus is political discourse in the 21st century, we can only hope that it improves...

Pennsylvanians speak out:
-For the take of LWAL's Senior Clinton Aficionado (he is really old, John McCain old, senior has nothing to do with the value of his opinions), go here.
-For a Howard Beale-esqe rebuke of the Pennsylvania electorate, go here.
-For a more moderately disappointed take, go here.

Hoping For Hope Can Be an Annoying Process

Two more victories this week in Wyoming and Mississippi have wiped out the Clinton victories a week ago in Not-So Super Tuesday. Pending on how one defines victory, we can call Texas a draw, as Senator Obama won 98 delegates to Senator Clinton's 95 despite the latter winning the popular vote (the same thing happened in Nevada). To date, Senator Obama has won 30 contests to Clinton's 14 (these figures give Senator Clinton Texas and Nevada and include Obama's crushing win in the Virgin Islands, Clinton's narrow victory in American Samoa, and Obama's big win amongst the all-important Democrats Abroad). The Clintonistas seem to be doing a fine job of continuing a process that started with President Clinton in South Carolina, a process of gutter politics that has no place in the primaries. Senator McCain can gallivant around the country collecting money, while the Clintons continue to employ every utterly ridiculous talking point that essentially does the presumptive Republican nominee's job for him. Geraldine Ferraro is the latest casualty of this vicious process. The former congresswomen is an historic figure, as she was tagged as Walter Mondale's running mate in the 1984 landslide loss to President Reagan. One can understand why she supports the Clinton campaign, but her utterances about Senator Obama are odd to say the least:

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"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position...And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

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It is odd that she made similar remarks in 1988 about Jesse Jackson (see here). Personally, I do not think Ms. Ferraro is a racist and I think we need to stop using that label every time someone makes a comment about race. For a country that wants to exude strength around the world, we can act like sissies sometimes when someone says something we do not like. And why should we care more about what she said than the senator himself? Knowing how the game is played, Senator Clinton should have shelved Ms. Ferraro when this happened. Her comments yesterday were disingenuous at best and came a little too late.

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The most annoying aspect of the campaign right now is the Florida/Michigan situation. The idiots that run those respective state's Democratic Parties are getting exacltly what they wanted when they move the primaries up in the first place, added importance. How the Clinton campaign can say with a straight face that those results, especially Michigan, are in any way legitimate is comical. Anyone that follows that line of thinking needs to remove the blinders they are wearing for the senator and think a bit more logically. The fact remains, she will not win with pledged deleagtes or the overall popular vote. Can the same people who decried the results of the 2000 election when President Bush defeated Al Gore without the popular vote honestly say that Senator Clinton should be the nominee of the Democratic Party in spite of the will of the people? One can hope not...

Not So Super Tuesday: The Politics of Fear Wins the Day

Last night, the Clinton campaign got much needed wins in Ohio and Texas. Senator Obama had the opportunity to issue the deathknell to the Clintonistas, but ultimately did not prevail (it is worth noting that Senator Clinton possessed 20+ point leads in both states about a month ago and won Ohio by 10 and Texas by 4). This further proves how effective negative campaigning can be. Silly pictures designed to make the feeble-minded think that Senator Obama is Muslim, attack ads that indicate that your children will die if Senator Clinton is not president (the ridiculous 3 am, red phone ad), and the continued talking point that the only thing Senator Obama brings to the table is speeches are commonplace in the Clinton campaign. My favorite utterance of the campaign thus far:

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"I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

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What is her party affiliation? At least for those of us who believe that there can be an effective candidate that does not find it necessary to employ the "kitchen sink" (if I hear this one more time I will scream) in a political campaign, Senator Obama is winning. There seems to be little the Clinton machine can do to overtake him short of rounding up a high percetage of the remaining utterly ridiculous superdelegates. Her advantage from last night, including wins in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island and a loss in Vermont, only nets Senator Clinton 17 delegates (not all results are in). She will lose convincingly in Wyoming on Saturday and Mississippi in Tuesday. I cannot imagine this will go on for three more months, especially considering that Senator McCain will have his day at the White House today, taking the endorsement of the man who attacked his integrity in order to win the naomination in 2000. There has been one interesting development this morning, with Senator Clinton seemingly enertaining the notion of an Obama-Clinton (or vice versa) ticket . I have a hard time seeing her taking the #2 spot, but wo knows at this point. There's still hope for hope...

And she's free, free fallin...

Several words come to mind when thinking about Hillary Clinton's campaign, freefall and desparation work for me. While the consensus was that Senator Clinton was going to run a more positive campaign following her eloquent concluding statement at last week's CNN debate (or Debate XIX), that has certainly not been the case. The insistence that delegates in Florida and Michigan be sat is maddening. Despite the fact that all candidates agreed that delegates from these states would not be seated at the convention, the Senator was the only one to keep her name on the ballot in Michigan (Kucinich did too, but that was not a real campaign). She is acting like a wild animal trapped in a corner and it is not good for the Clinton brand or the Democratic Party. Recently, she has consistently compared Senator Obama to George W. Bush and George McGovern, the ultimate paradox of paradoxes. The picture of Obama dressed up like a Somali elder in 2006 highlights the deparation that has seemingly overwhelmed the Clintonistas. That is a tactic one might expect from the 527s that brought us the inspiring swiftboat nonsense in 2004. She has tried to criticize his inspiring rhetoric with silly sarcasm, even invoking a SNL debate in this week's debate (or Debate XX). Acting angry over Obama mailers in Ohio that dealt with the Clinton health care plan fell flat. What is left one might ask? Well, the Clinonistas apparently are setting up a legal challenge to the next week's vote in Texas before the vote even takes place. This is just another example of desperation from a fledgling campaign. Please go away Senator Clinton, exit the stage gracefully. Do not subject us to anymore of the negative vitriol that has become commonplace in your campaign. In my view, hope always beats desperation, unless your name is Richard Milhouse Nixon.

19 Down, 1 To Go???

Last night was the 19th debate between the Democratic hopefuls. The novelty of watching the first prominent black and female candidates debate for the chance to be the nominee of any political party has worn off. The majority of the debate was spent reaffirming each other's positions and when they disagreed the differences were so minuscule that it was difficult to stay engaged (the segment of health care was unbearable). Two moments stood out, Senator Clinton's "change you can Xerox" line fell flat and drew the ire of the crowd. Besides the fact that the line was utterly stupid, it followed Senator Obama's best answer of the night where he responded to the silly plagarism accusations against him. The second prominent moment was the end. Senator Clinton delivered an eloquent response to a question about challenges in life that made her seem almost human. There was a twinge of conciliation when she said, "You know, no matter what happens in this contest – and I am honored to be here with Barack Obama...Whatever happens, we’re going to be fine." Her hopes hinge on results in Texas and Ohio on March 4. While she will probably win the latter, the former is in play. Not only does she need to win these states, she needs to win them by a sizable margin, which is not going to happen. It seems premature to write the Clintonistas off, but with 10 losses in a row and dwindling poll numbers in both Ohio and Texas, it seems that end might be near. With that being said, hopefully Tuesday night's deabte in Ohio will be the last of this primary season. Hope is alive...

Out with the Old, In with the New

Delegates, bonus delegates, super delegates....my head is spinning. When will the madness end? Today I cast my first vote that I was excited to cast. It helps that our primary is pertinent for once with the Democratic co-frontrunners deadlocked and John Kerry’s name not on the ballot. Senator Obama should be weary of my endorsement, as every candidate I have ever voted for in a primary has lost the nomination. My hit list includes Howard Dean, Ken Longmyer, Harris Miller (I was one of three people who voted against Jim Webb), and guys who's names I cannot remember. It appears that my streak will end to today, as Obama is poised to sweep the non-cleverly dubbed "Chesapeake Primary." With three wins today, Obama will have won seven contests in a row following the weekend sweep of Louisiana, Kansas, Washington, and Maine. That streak could reach nine with Hawaii and Wisconsin voting next Tuesday (I challenge anyone to come up with a clever name for that one). By this time tomorrow Senator Obama can claim to have won 23 of 35 contests to date, a winning percentage of .657. A winning percentage like that would make the Senator the #3 seed in the NBA's eastern conference behind the mighty Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. Not too bad for a guy that was supposed to be finished after Super Tuesday.

Senator Clinton's campaign seems to be embracing a Rudy Giuliani strategy of establishing March 4 as a firewall for her candidacy. Chances are she will lose every contest between Super Tuesday and Super Tuesday Lite, thus loses in either Texas or Ohio could be the fatal blow for the Clinton era. At this point, Pennsylvania could matter on April 22 (BK should get throwing in the bullpen). It is worth noting that the primary that precedes Pennsylvania is Mississippi, which is held 43 days before Pennsylvanians head to the polls. That could be longest six weeks of our collective lives. Go Obama…