Joe Scarborough and Tucker Carlson have a scathing discussion about the crush that most of the news media has on Barack Obama. It's funny and it's dead on accurate.
CNN reports
that Barack Obama has won the Guam caucuses today by only seven votes. Not seven points, seven votes. Guam voters were so excited to be a part of the democratic nominating contest that they turned out in record numbers.
Sen. Barack Obama won Guam's Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday by just seven votes, according to a Guam election official.
With all 21 precincts reporting, Obama finished with 2,264 votes, or 50.1 percent. Sen. Hillary Clinton got 2,257 votes, or 49.9 percent.
The presidential candidates were battling for Guam's four pledged delegate votes. Eight delegates will be elected, each with half a vote at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, this summer.
*****
Cathleen Moore-Linn stood in line for more than an hour outside the old police precinct in Dededo, Guam's most populated village. Despite the 90-degree tropical heat and a lack of air conditioning at the polling site, she said, "Nobody left. A lot of manamko' [elderly people] came out to vote. And people were filling out the forms to join the Democrat Party."
At villages in the southern end of the island, which is far less populated, election committee member Nancy Weare says the voting is running smoothly. "There's a constant flow of traffic and good voter turnout."
Guam will bestow four delegates to the candidates: two to Hillary and two to Obama, so it is a tie vote-wise and delegate-wise. This is an excellent showing for Hillary Clinton; many predicted an Obama win here.
After a mild rejection of Reverend Wrights' comments yesterday at an impromptu press conference, Barack Obama has now held a full formal press conference today to try to do damage control over his former pastor's recent speeches. Obama threw Wright under the campaign bus, then backed up and rolled over him a few times, just to be sure.
But isn't this all too little, too late? To say that this is not the man Obama knew for twenty years is ridiculous. Wright's act is a very polished, perfected one that he's been preaching for years. How could Obama not know what Wright was all about, when the rest of America knew after seeing his sermons?
Here's the video of the press conference:
After his big speech on race -- in which he said he could no more disown his pastor than he could disown the black community or his white grandmother -- Barack Obama may be regretting his words. Because Jeremiah Wright has decided to speak out -- and it's not pretty.
Wright is on some kind of Tour of Racial Divisiveness, speaking to churches, Bill Moyers, the NAACP and the National Press Association. Wright and Obama have repeatedly said that Wright's hate-filled video rants were taken out of context, that we should listen to the entire speeches. We did, and frankly they're even worse than the video clips.
Here's some fun highlights: Wright mocked the accents of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson (you know, the guy that got the Civil Rights Act passed), he reiterated his claim that the U.S. created AIDS to exterminate people of color, that the U.S. is the same as Al-Qaeda, that Louis Farrakhan is one of the greatest people of the 20th and 21st centuries, that black people and white people have different brains, that black people have better rhythm than white people (complete with clapping examples!), that Obama only criticized Wright's speeches because it polled well and he wanted to get elected, and that American deserved to be hit on 9/11 because of our own terrorist acts (the chickens have come home to roost!).
Yes, it was full-bore, hate-filled, vile nonsense. The full transcript Wright's speech to the press corps is here.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright was interviewed by Bill Moyers: the interview will air on PBS on Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. Snippets of the interview have leaked out and they aren't pretty. This is the very last thing the Obama campaign needs, heading into an Indiana primary. Chris Matthews of MSNBC calls Jeremiah Wright "Barack Obama's Iraq."
Hillary Clinton did it: she won and won big in Pennsylvania. With 91% of the vote counted, she is winning by ten points: 55-45. We'll have to wait to see what the final count is, but any way you slice it it's a huge victory for her. Her campaign reports that they raised $500,000 in one hour after the polls closed.
Hillary's victory speech was one of her best speeches of the campaign. She was very inclusive, very inspirational and not too long. She talked about a World War II veteran who was a Medal of Honor winner who handed her a photograph of himself at the ceremony. He had autographed it to her saying "To Hillary Clinton, don't stop fighting." It was a personal moment she shared and it worked. I like her "I'll fight for you" refrain. Voters like a fighter. We live in a tough world and we need someone who won't quit when the going gets tough.
The BBC reports on the Hillary Clinton fundraiser in New York in which ticket holders got a special concert from Sir Elton John. Hillary said "What I want you to know is I'm still standing, and I believe this country is worth fighting for." Sir Elton was a little more harsh on the way Hillary has been treated by many U.S. pundits and news anchors, saying "I'm amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country. And I say to hell with them...I love you Hillary, I'll be there for you." The concert, which was called "Elton and Hillary: One Night Only", raised $2.5 million for Hillary's campaign. Here's the BBC clip:
Here's a great video about the unbelievable and very sexist media bias against Hillary Clinton. The opening features a greatest hits of news anchors and pundits who look like braying jackasses as they spew their venomous nonsense which portrays Senator Clinton as some kind of demonic, psychotic figure, a "nagging wife" or even : "an ex-wife outside the Probate Court." (He means Family Court, but none of these bozos lets facts influence what they say on TV).
Contrasted against the bombastic poseur known as Keith Olbermann in full rant mode is a scene from Good Night and Good Luck in which Edward R. Murrow talks about the power of television and journalism to teach. Then we see Hillary as a real person, in the many and varied roles that she -- like most modern women -- lives every day. It's worth watching the whole thing.
Saturday Night Live: The Clintons Talk Tax Returns
Saturday Night Live had a very funny opening skit where Bill and Hillary Clinton talk about their tax returns and make fun of the press for all the hysteria over information that has been mostly public for years, such as the amount they made from book deals and speaking engagements. Take a look:
Lou Dobbs Talks Media Bias Against Hillary Clinton
Lou Dobbs addresses the extreme negative bias against Hillary Clinton that the mainstream media has shown and the absurdity of the calls for her to drop out of the race before all the Democratic voters have had their say. He also discusses the fact that neither candidate can win the nomination mathematically, that the superdelegates will decide.
As for the possible disregarding of the votes of the Michigan and Florida delegates: "There is nothing more unfair than not to have those votes counted in Michigan and Florida. And if this nomination is decided with superdelegates without recognizing, counting and enfranchising those voters in Michigan and Florida, that's when we'll hear that it was unfair."
Barack Obama appeared on The View and had to suffer through having Barbara Walters tell him he was sexy. Jay Leno pointed out that -- like most male guests on that show -- he seemed a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. Jay pointed out that he was constantly rearranging his clothing. It's pretty funny: here's the video.
Women supporters of Hillary Clinton are quite angry
at the ludicrous, partisan calls from some Obama supporters for Hillary to drop out of the race.
Amid mounting calls from top Democrats for Clinton to step aside and clear the path for rival Barack Obama, strategists are warning of damage to the party's chances in November if women - who make up the majority of Democratic voters nationwide, but especially the older, white working-class women who've long formed the former first lady's base - sense a mostly male party establishment is unfairly muscling Clinton out of the race.
"Women will indeed be upset if it appears people are trying to push Hillary Clinton out of the way," said Carol Fowler, the South Carolina Democratic Party chair who is backing Obama. "If you are going to ask her to withdraw, you'd better be making a strong case for it - both to the candidate and the public."
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy last week became the first leading Democrat to openly call on Clinton to abandon her bid and back Obama, a sentiment shared by many activists worried that a drawn-out nominating contest only bolsters Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain.
*****
Campaigning across the state Saturday, Clinton was greeted by large, heavily female crowds that shouted "You go, sister!" and "We've got your back!" in support of her pioneering candidacy. Indiana votes May 6.
Marie Wilson, president of the White House Project that trains women to run for office, noted that women typically have rallied around Clinton when she's appeared most vulnerable - from the revelations of her husband's dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky to January's New Hampshire primary after the bruising loss to Obama in Iowa.
"Women have always been asked to step aside if it was somehow for the greater good. In this case, Clinton, and a lot of her female supporters, clearly feel that she would make the better president and that it would not be for the greater good for her to step aside," Wilson said.
To ask Hillary Clinton to step down when she is about to win a major primary in Pennsylvania is absolutely ludicrous. It's all blustering to try to psych her and her supporters out. Well, it's not working. All it's doing is infuriating women voters who have had it up to here with the sycophantic, Obama-bedazzled press and Obama's obnoxious supporters.
I find myself in the strange position of knowing exactly how Vice president Dick Cheney felt when he so famously blasted. Senator Leahy on the Senate floor after Leahy said something particularly irritating. At the time Cheney's aide called it a "frank exchange of views." In retrospect it was just Leahy shooting off his big mouth, as usual. If Leahy keeps this nonsense up, he'll be on the receiving end of some
"frank exchanges of views" -- from his female constituents.
John McCain has released his first general election ad. It's a great ad which focuses on McCain's character and his love for America. It does mention tax relief, however as a headline that reads "McCain Promises Middle Class Tax Relief". McCain is also shown as a clearly scared but very brave young prisoner of war, being asked to give his rank and serial number. It's a gut punch to voters, reminding them of what he has been through in his life.
The tagline is a doozy: "John McCain: the American president that Americans have been waiting for." It's a riff on Obama's "we're the ones we've been waiting for." It also takes a subtle swipe at Obama and his wife on patriotism. The problem here is that no one doubts John McCain's patriotism. Voters aren't sure that he knows what he's doing on the economy, which is why his choice of running mate will be very important.
Overall, it's a very effective ad.
Top Democratic donors who support Hillary Clinton have written a letter to Nancy Pelosi taking her to task for her recent, ill-advised comments about superdelegates not "overturning the will of the voters." Speaker Pelosi should stay neutral and above the fray before there is a nominee, but she's clearly favoring Obama -- which is pretty ironic considering that it was Hillary Clinton who won Pelosi's home state of California. Here's an excerpt from the letter:
Several states and millions of Democratic voters have not yet had a chance to cast their votes.
We respect those voters and believe that they, like the voters in the states that have already participated, have a right to be heard. None of us should make declarative statements that diminish the importance of their voices and their votes. We are writing to say we believe your remarks on ABC News This Week on March 16th did just that.
During your appearance, you suggested super-delegates have an obligation to support the candidate who leads in the pledged delegate count as of June 3rd, whether that lead be by 500 delegates or 2. This is an untenable position that runs counter to the party's intent in establishing super-delegates in 1984 as well as your own comments recorded in The Hill ten days earlier:
"I believe super-delegates have to use their own judgment and there will be many equities that they have to weigh when they make the decision. Their own belief and who they think will be the best president, who they think can win, how their own region voted, and their own responsibility."
The entire reason for the existence of the superdelegates is to pick a nominee if no one reaches the magic number that guarantees the nomination. Superdelegates can vote for whoever they want, exercising their independent judgment. If superdelegates have to follow their own state's voters, then Pelosi, Kerry, Kennedy and Richardson will all have to declare for Clinton.
The people who wrote this letter are really, really big donors who the Democratic party relies upon. All they are asking is that Pelosi keep her mouth shut, quit trying to short-circuit the process and let the primary season play itself out. Or else they might close their wallets in the fall.
In an interview today, Hillary Clinton was asked
what she would do if her pastor made the kind of remarks that Obama's former pastor Wright had made.
"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."...
The Clinton campaign has refrained from getting involved in the controversy, but Clinton herself, responding to a question, denounced what she said was "hate speech."
"You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (who was fired from his radio and television shows after making racially insensitive remarks), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that," Clinton said. "I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving."
Her response was very measured, and appropriate. It also cuts to the essential point that was lost during Senator Obama's word blizzard of a speech in which he talked and talked and talked, but never gave a good explanation as to why he would let his little girls grow up in a church where the pastor preached hate speech.
Reverend Wright's statements can't be explained away to mainstream voters with platitudes. Wright spews vile, disgusting, racist Anti-Americanism propaganda and is a conspiracy nut, to boot. He actually "preaches" that the U.S. government created the AIDS virus to exterminate black people. And Obama thinks somehow it's sufficient simply to say that he "disagrees" with that statement. It's not.
After the Jeremiah Wright scandal broke wide on Friday, Senator Obama did the rounds of the talk shows Friday night to try to stem the bleeding. Obama appeared on Anderson Cooper 360, on Fox News with Major Garrett and on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann. Garrett grilled Obama, who looked like a deer in the headlights. Olbermann lobbed mostly softballs at him. The best interview by far was by Anderson Cooper (see the video here
and the transcript here). Obama's defense was really pathetic. After saying earlier that he didn't think his pastor was particularly controversial, he now said he condemned the statements that are upsetting everyone. "If it offends you then I condemn it." How bold of him.
His next defense was that he was never in the church when Wright was making his horrible statements that we saw in the tapes. You know, the statements by Wright that the U.S. created the AIDS virus to commit genocide upon the black race, how FDR lied to the American people, that he knew Pearl Harbor was coming and allowed servicemen to die intentionally, that we deserved to be hit on 9/11 and that blacks should sing "God Damn America" instead of "God Bless America."
He then previewed what will most likely be his argument in the coming weeks: that Wright is part of an older, angrier black generation and that he is the new generation that can bring us all together. What a load of nonsense. He seemed like a typical uncomfortable, triangulating, disingenuous politician who has been caught in a big lie. And he has. How can he expect voters to believe that he spent twenty years being mentored by this guy -- who he said brought him to Christ and is a spiritual advisor -- and not know about his hate-filled, divisive philosophy?
Reverend Wright married Michelle and Barack Obama. He baptized his two children. He blessed his house (you know, the one involved in the Rezko transaction). Coop got Barack to admit that when he was at Harvard Law School he would listen to tapes of Rev. Wright over and over. His book is based on one of Wright's sermons and he has clearly picked up his oratorical style.
Wright's rants are un-American, racist and full of hate speech, the kind of hate speech that is banned in Germany and France. And the new minister is just as confrontational: Sunday he accused the media of "crucifying" Rev. Wright. Wright crucified himself with his appalling, vitriolic speeches. Now Barack Obama has decided to give a big speech tomorrow about race. Will he defend Wright? Most likely, he'll try to position himself as the great healer, the great savior of America. But it's too late. We've seen he's just another politician. Not much Change there.
Now here's what we've all been hoping and praying for: another debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both campaigns have now agreed to a debate in Philadephia on April 16th, to be hosted by ABC News. But wait, there's more! Obama has agreed to another debate just three days later on April 19th in North Carolina. This one would be hosted by CBS News, with Katie Couric and Bob Schieffer as moderators. You may recall that CBS had a debate lined up earlier in the primary season, but a strike by the news writers sunk that one. Clinton hasn't accepted the debate, but she probably will.
In the meantime, here's a lovely video with some of the greatest hits of Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Wright has some choice words for America (of which he is clearly not in the least bit proud). My favorite part is where he says blacks shouldn't sing "God Bless America" -- that instead they should sing "God Damn America." Nice, really nice. The racial tirade at the end is also a barn burner -- the crowd loves it.
To refresh your recollection, this is the pastor whose sermon inspired Obama's book The Audacity of Hope. The Obamas donated $20,000 to this church, to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years. Denounce and reject, anyone?
Barack Obama has won Mississippi, as expected. The exit polls show that race played a very large factor. 48% of voters were white. Hillary won 70% of white voters; Barack Obama won 26%. 50% of voters were black. Obama won 92% of black voters, Clinton won only 8%. According to CNN's exit poll, 13% of the voters were Republicans, 77% of whom voted for Hillary. Indpendents favored Obama slighlty, 51%-48%. Those numbers are a huge improvement for Hillary.
Barack Obama talked to Wolf Blitzer after CNN called the race for him and he sure didn't seem happy. He didn't smile hardly at all; perhaps he's exhausted. Or perhaps he's still grumpy about that 3 am Saturday Night Live skit. In any event, he didn't have much to say really. He rebuffed Wolf's attempt to find out if he would ask Hillary to be his VP if he won, saying that's it's too early to tell and "Hillary would be on anyone's short list."
So, Mississippi is over. Obama's surrogates are going negative big time on Hillary calling her untruthful, deceitful etc. Is this what it's going to be like until Pennsylvania? I suppose we can debate what's going to happen with the Florida and Michigan delegates. That's always good for some angst.
Saturday Night Live: Hillary's 3:00 a.m. Phone Call From President Obama
Saturday Night Live dove into the fray once again last night. Amy Poehler plays Senator Hillary Clinton receiving yet another 3:00 a.m. phone call from President Obama, who needs some advice on foreign policy and how to turn on the heater at the White House. The meta frame is that the skit is an attack ad from Clinton, but still...Obama takes more hits from this one than she does. Priceless: Hillary wearing cold cream, curlers and a 1950s housecoat while coolly rattling off detailed foreign policy advice.
Well, she actually did it: Hillary Clinton won the Texas primary. Her victory speech in Ohio came before she knew she won Texas, but she sounded upbeat and reenergized. This is a major win for her: she's really turned her campaign around.
Bill Clinton was in Austin at a victory party and he seemed really happy, as did the boisterous, really young crowd. Exit polls show that Hillary won women, white voters, Hispanic voters and older voters. Her coalition has come back together.
So what does it all mean? It means that the Democratic primary race is back on in a big way. Neither candidate can get to the magic number of 2024 delegates (Howard Dean told Wolf Blitzer that it's 2024 not 2025 as has been reported elsewhere) so under the DNC rules, the superdelegates will select who wins. The superdelegates are going to go with whoever has the momentum, and right now Hillary can claim that she's won every big state she's run in but Illinois (Obama's home state). One thing's for sure: this is the best reality show on TV right now.
Super Tuesday Part II has been a wild night so far. On the Republican side, John McCain sealed the nomination; Mike Huckabee conceded the race tonight and endorsed McCain. They were both able to go to bed early. By 11:45 p.m. Eastern time, Hillary Clinton has won Rhode Island and Ohio by big margins. Barack Obama won Vermont by a big margin. Texas is still too close to call, but it's looking like Hillary will pull out a victory here tonight, which would be a major upset. Currently, Hillary Clinton is leading by around 55,000 votes.
Hillary made it clear in her victory speech that she is in the race to win it. Flanked by Governor Strickland, Senator John Glenn and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Senator Clinton gave an energetic speech to a happy crowd in Ohio.
Barack Obama seems a bit subdued as he talks to supporters in San Antonio, but is rallying the crowd with "Si, se puede". One thing's for sure. The Democratic primary is far from over. Next up is Wyoming, Mississippi and then in April: Pennsylvania.
Last night Hillary Clinton was in Austin, Texas for a "Texas sized townhall" and the traveling press corps had to be put somewhere. So the Clinton campaign found a space in the Burger Activity Center that could house them all: the men's locker room. But the campaign didn't know beforehand that there were actually urinals in the room. The press set up their laptops after discovering that the space did, at least, have Wi-Fi access. When the reality of the space was conveyed to the Clinton campaign, spokesman Doug Hattaway quipped: "These accommodations should in no way be taken as a comment on the quality of our media coverage." Ha!
This really was the funniest bit on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. It's a short animated film by Robert Smigel called "The Obama Files" and it goes deeper into the mystery of why Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are never allowed to campaign for Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton's Surprise Appearance on Saturday Night Live
Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. The opening skit recreated the debate from last week in Ohio. Questioners Tim Russert (Daryl Hammond) and Brian Williams (Will Forte) repeatedly hector Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler), at one point subjecting her to a Law and Order-type grilling. Barack Obama (Fred Armisen) meanwhile praises the moderators for "just doing their job" as he fields softballs from Russert.
After the skit, the real Hillary gives an Editorial Response. She's a good sport, appearing in the same brown tweed suit that her lookalike Amy Poehler is wearing. She takes the ribbing in stride, revealing warmth and and a great sense of humor. Take a look:
Jack Nicholson's Video In Support of Hillary Clinton
Jack Nicholson made this video himself and released it on YouTube. The video is in support of Hillary Clinton and it is absolutely hilarious. The last line is the best. This is one of the most effective viral political videos I've seen yet -- too bad it can't be released on tv.
Here is a handy chart that shows the delegates up for grabs on March 4th. The chart also contains links to sources that will show you the latest polls for each state.
Tonight is the debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Ohio. After the last debate in Austin, Saturday Night Live did a hilarious spoof of the debate which illustrates the media bias against Senator Clinton.
In the beginning Campbell Brown explains the rules of the debate, and admits that they're all "in the tank for Obama." The moderators ask Hillary difficult questions, interrupt her and generally insult her while asking Obama if he's comfortable enough and if there's anything they could get him. Best moment: after Hillary's three point answer to Obama Girl's question from the audience, Campbell Brown demands that Hillary give Obama Girl and the entire country an "Obamapology". Will the MSNBC team learn anything from this spoof? We'll see tonight.
Over the weekend some conservative blogs pointed out this photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali apparel, which he wore while visiting Kenya. The blogs said that someone should send it over to Matt Drudge, which someone eventually did. Drudge ran the photo all day, claiming a Clinton aid sent it. But the Clinton camp said they didn't send it, and what was the big deal anyway? That senators and presidents have to wear all kinds of unusual outfits when they visit other countries. Clinton's campaign manager said the whole thing was ridiculous, that Senator Clinton has had to don native dress herself many times.
The Obama camp freaked out, the press dithered and then eventually most people came to their senses. Obama himself then said it sounded like a lower level staff dispute to him. Turbangate was a non-starter. There's also a picture of Obama with a camel, but he's wearing sunglasses and a red shirt in that one, so it wasn't as exciting to the tabloids.
The Democratic debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was held at the University of Texas tonight in front of a very enthusiastic crowd. Overall, the tone was very civil and friendly. But there were a couple of heated moments on healthcare and on the Obama plagiarism issue.
Barack Obama lapsed into his rambling professorial mode. He was sort of phoning it in. Hillary was excellent as she always is in debates. But she really shone on the foreign policy issues: her command of the issues in Cuba, Kosovo and around the world was obvious. She definitely won the healthcare exchange about universal healthcare. Obama always does better with a Democratic crowd when he says he opposed the war on Iraq. Clinton wisely didn't rehash her vote to authorize force back in 2001 -- we've been through that debate so many times I could recite each politician's argument just about verbatim. She clearly looked more like a commander in chief: she seemed cool and in charge.
She didn't bring up the plagiarism controversy but, surprisingly, CNN did. Best zinger of the night went to Clinton: "I just think that if your campaign is about words, they should be your words...Copying whole sections of speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox." The Obamamaniacs hated the line, but it certainly resonated with Frank Luntz's Democratic focus group on Fox -- they thought she should "really go after him" for his borrowing from Deval Patrick's speeches. In fact, they were pretty steamed about Obama's lifting of lines, which they thought was "unethical".
Obama was rattled and it showed: he began stuttering. He did better on the commander in chief question, but I was distracted by the apparent gale force winds that were whipping through the studio -- his notepad was flapping in the breeze like it was going to fly away. Another tactical error he made was to mention that some people think that his supporters are "delusional." For those who haven't been following the "Obamamania is a Cult" stories in the press, it brought it to their attention. It was not smart to bring it up. Hillary just smiled.
Overall, Hillary won the debate on substance and in the very last question, she knocked it out of the park. The question was "Describe the moment in your life when you were tested the most." Obama answered that it was hard to be raised by a single mother. But Hillary's answer brought the crowd to its feet. It really was a transcendent moment for her in which she really connected with her listeners. Here's the video:
Not again. Barack Obama 2.0 lifts some more rhetoric from Barack Obama 1.0, better known as Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. Does political guru to both candidates David Axelrod have a factory where he clones Hope and Change candidates upon demand? Video is below.
John McCain won the Wisconsin primary tonight and in his victory speech said that as a superstitious navy pilot he was finally ready to announce that he will be the Republican nominee in the fall. He also indirectly alluded to Michelle Obama's narcissistic and obnoxious remark that "for the first time in her adult life" she is proud of America (apparently the bringing down of the Berlin Wall, the placement of two women on the Supreme Court, the election of a black women to the U.S. Senate and a successful rover landing on Mars were nothing to be proud of). McCain said that he has always been proud to be an American and that he didn't feel that America owed him anything, that she had already given him more than he deserved. He also said some nice things about Huckabee, who is remaining in the race even though he cannot win the nomination. Cindy McCain had her First Lady game face on in a big way: she looked really happy.
On the Democratic side, Barack Obama won Wisconsin as expected. It looks like he will win it by a larger margin than was predicted, most likely because of the 29% of voters who were not Democrats (it was an open primary). Hillary is in Youngstown, Ohio tonight at a rally and sent out a memo earlier today noting when she would speak and that she was launching a major new speech which would contract her positions with those of Obama's. So what does Obama do? He waited just a few minutes into her speech, then began his speech to a crowd in Houston right when she started into the meat of her speech. This caused quite a bit of consternation at the cable news outlets, because the accepted courtesy is to let your opponent who lost speak first. After some hemming and hawing, the anchors apologized and cut away from Hillary's speech to Obama's.
It was a deliberate, obnoxious and very discourteous thing of Obama to do that immediately put me in mind of his "you're likable enough, Hillary" snipe during an earlier debate. Luckily for Hillary, he didn't cut her off before she told listeners that "we can still win this." She then asked listeners to go to her website and make a contribution -- even just $10 as one supporter did who "wanted her two little girls to know that anything is possible." Hillary has been raising $1 million a day this month and her statement tonight was a clear signal to those who aren't buying into the Obama hype: if she has the cash she can win on March 4th.
In 1988 Joe Biden's run for the presidency was obliterated when he was found to have lifted words from a British politician's speech. Now Barack Obama has done the same thing. Here's a side by side video showing Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's "Just Words" speech in 2006 and a recent speech by Barack Obama using the exact same words. Obama never attributed the speech to Governor Patrick.
Obama's entire campaign is premised on the fact that it's not "politics as usual" or the "tired politics of the past." Apparently, it's based on the plagiarism of past speeches.
The Associated Press reports (see video below) that Mitt Romney is endorsing John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. The AP says Romney will be asking his 280 delegates to support McCain. At a news conference Mitt Romney said now was a good time for Republicans to come together while the Democrats were still battling for the Democratic nomination.
Romney said, "Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent. Right now, the Democrats are fighting; let us come together and make progress while they are fighting."
John McCain's rivals Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul do not appear ready to concede. Mike Huckabee intends to continue his campaign and could make a Texas win very difficult for John McCain. Ron Paul recently released a video called Going the Distance where he says he plans to continue until someone gets enough delegates to win. In the video Ron Paul also mentions plans for a big march to Washington D.C.
John McCain barely fought off Mike Huckabee to win Virgina in a surprisingly close race. He also picked Maryland and D.C. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama has picked up Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.
Neither Barack or Hillary stayed in the Northeast; both flew out and are already having rallies in other states. Hillary is speaking to a very large crowd in El Paso; Barack is in Wisconsin at a big rally. After tonight, Barack will hold a slight lead over Hillary in Delegates. Wisconsin is expected to go to Barack. Hillary is focusing her attention on the mega states of Texas and Ohio.
Mike Huckabee's strong showing gives him hope for a Texas win. But mathematically it's not possible for him to beat McCain.
The race is really neck and neck for the Democrats. Hillary will be working hard to win Texas in the next few weeks. A win in Texas and Ohio would make her the "comeback kid" once again and push the nomination into the hands of the super delegates. Also brewing is the fight over whether to seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan. If they are seated, Hillary benefits greatly.
Mike Huckabee Explains Texas Strategy to Stephen Colbert
Mike Huckabee shows up on The Colbert Report to explain why he is still in the race and that John McCain is not the winner -- yet. As they played air hockey with the state of Texas as the puck, Colbert asked Huckabee: "Why do you think the people of Texas will go for your message?" Huckabee:"Because I understand barbeque." It's a compelling argument. See the video here:
Barack Obama had a good weekend. He won the caucuses in Washington, Virgina Islands and Maine. He also won the primary in Louisiana. All were expected wins for him. Tomorrow are the Virginia, Maryland and District of Columbia contest, which he is also expected to sweep.
On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee was the winner, taking Louisiana and Kansas. Washington was called for McCain, but Huckabee refused to concede and the count continues.
The big contests with lots of delegate are coming up on March 4th: Texas and Ohio will be crucial contests on the Democratic side. You can see a roundup, with estimated delegate counts here. Most outlets have Hillary Clinton ahead in the delegate count by a small margin.
Bottom line: McCain will be the Republican nominee and the Democratic nomination is a toss up.
MSNBC Anchor's Vile Comments About Chelsea Clinton
MSNBC anchor David Shuster made an amazingly offensive comment the other day. He was discussing the campaigns with Bill Press and started talking about the fact that Chelsea Clinton has started to campaign for her mom. Chelsea has also been calling some superdelegates, just as supporters of Senator Obama have been. Shuster told Press that it seemed like the Clintons were "pimping out Chelsea in some weird way." He then laughed.
Needless to say, women are furious at the comments and at the MSNBC male anchors' continued sexist, misogynist comments against many women in public life. The comment was degrading and vile. Let's explore some of the many ways that this is offensive. First, he calls Bill and Hillary pimps. He said they whored out their daughter, a lovely, intelligent soft-spoken 27 year-old honors graduate of Stanford and Oxford University who has been speaking to college students for her mom's campaign. Shuster implied that Chelsea is a manipulated, stupid prostitute who can't think for herself. When the Clinton campaign complained, Shuster refused to apologize. What a jerk.
Like many other women I am absolutely disgusted with the unprofessional, sexist comments by Shuster, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews. Their attitude towards women is appalling and has been for some time. Matthews has already had to apologize for his sexist comments. Now Shuster has to. But what women want is for these bozos to stop the comments and get a major attitude adjustment.
Senator Obama has pictures of his darling little girls on his website. Imagine the outcry if Shuster said he's "pimping out" his daughters to get good press. Or what about Meghan McCain who blogs for her father on the campaign trail? Is she being "pimped out" on the Internet? Putting women down and treating them like objects is the name of the game at the Animal House-like MSNBC and people are finally starting to notice.
The uproar grew so loud yesterday that the head of MSNBC forced Shuster to apologize on air, then suspended him for two weeks. Senator Clinton expressed her outrage at how her daughter has been treated. Here's the video:
On the Republican side, John McCain trounced his opponents on Super Tuesday, emerging as the clear frontrunner after winning nine states, including New York, Arizona, Connecticut, California and Missouri. Mitt Romney won seven states, including Massachusetts, Utah and North Dakota. Mike Huckabee did surprisingly well in the South, winning five states, including West Virginia, Alabama and Georgia. The delegate count is with McCain (602): it's hard to see how Mitt Romney (201 delegates) can catch him at this point. Huckabee (152 delegates) is splitting off evangelical votes from Romney, making it difficult for Romney to emerge as the "truly conservative" candidate.
Although New Mexico's votes are still being counted, Hillary Clinton was the winner on the Democratic side in a very closely fought race. Although Barack Obama won a lot of states (13) including most of the small ones -- Alaska had only 400 or so votes and always goes Republican in the general election anyway -- he did take Connecticut and Delaware. But he totally failed to meet the giant-sized expectations of the last minute polling. Zogby was especially wrong: he had Obama winning by double digits in California, which he lost by ten points to Clinton.
Hillary Clinton held off a media onslaught by Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry to handily win California, Massachusetts, New York and Arizona. Missouri was very close, but eventually went to Obama. Hillary also won Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
Overall, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and the big states that Democrats would need to win in November. The delegate counts won't be in until all votes are counted, but it looks like Hillary is ahead in pledged delegates, and when superdelgates are factored in she's ahead of Obama by about 80.
McCain looks like he has clear sailing ahead for the nomination. On the Democratic side, it looks like a long and ugly primary season is ahead.
Jack Nicholson is making robocalls for Hillary Clinton today. Alas, he didn't say "You can't handle the truth about Barack Obama!!" which would have been much funnier. But Jack plays it straight, talking about how Hillary would make a great commander in chief. Scarlett Johansson is making robocalls for Obama, but we haven't heard the audio yet.
In other celebrity endorsement news, John Mellencamp told John McCain to quit using his songs at rallies (he's a Democrat, not sure who he supports though).
Super Tuesday is tomorrow and the polls are looking pretty strange, especially on the Democratic side. In fact, they're all over the place. Several polls show Obama closing in on Hillary Clinton in California with a virtual tie, although a new Survey USA poll has her up by 12 and a new Zogby has Obama up by four (see all the latest California polls here).
See all the most recent polls here.
Obama has definitely gotten a bounce in the past week, but the internals of most of the polls show an unusually high number of undecided voters, which has to be some kind of a first. Are there really that many Democrats who still haven't made up their minds between Clinton and Obama? Turnout will be key. If the women and Latino groups show up to vote in large numbers tomorrow, Clinton wins California. Her big state strategy will pay off and I think she will win the popular vote and the delegate count tomorrow. The question is by how much. It's not mathematically possible for either candidate to wrap up the nomination tomorrow, so we're in for a lot more campaigning.
On the Republican side, it seems clear that McCain is going to be pretty happy tomorrow night. Although according to the Secretary of State we may not know who won California until Wednesday, which is going to make for a pretty stressful evening for the campaigns (especially the Obama and Clinton campaigns). Mitt Romney was looking good in California in some polls, so the upset of the day would be a win for him there. That would be huge. Coming off his win in Maine, that would give him some sorely needed Mittmentum. But Huckabee is the real spoiler for Romney: he's racking up votes from Evangelicals and they like him in the South.
Without some surprises tomorrow, McCain will be heading towards a coronation. But, as the Patriots found out Sunday, it's not over till it's over.
Here is a handy chart that shows the delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday. The chart also contains links to sources that will show you the latest polls for each state.
The Republicans held their last debate before Super Tuesday last night at the Reagan Library in California. Governor Schwarzenegger, Nancy Reagan and Kelsey Grammar (he's a Republican?) were in attendance. The candidates were seated in front of Reagan's old aircraft, which gave the scene a surreal air -- like they were on a movie set or something.
This was not McCain's best night. He answered a question about why he's qualified to run the economy with a rambling speech about his war service and his experiences as a POW. He reiterated that he served "for patriotism, not profit" which is fine if you're talking about a war, but to diss the concept of profits at a Republican debate is the equivalent of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announcing plans for three more, unspecified wars in the middle of the Democratic debate. The audience was not amused and McCain looked really out of touch. He seemed peevish and small tonight. He nearly drove Mitt Romney crazy by harping on some comment about "timetables" in Iraq. Every major newspaper backs Mitt Romney's version of what he said, but McCain is like a terrier with a bone, droning on and on and on about it. This prompted Ron Paul (who was having the best debate of his entire life) to cry foul, saying "Oh, for Pete's sake! You both agree that you love the war and want to stay in Iraq forever, so let's get on with some real policy debates -- like why we are in a war against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 that is going to bankrupt our country!" (I'm paraphrasing here.) That got big audience applause.
Huckabee's jokey, car salesman act is wearing really thin and he kept whining that no one was asking him any questions. The concept that Rudy Guiliani is out of the race, but that this guy is still in is an amazing thing.
The best moment of the night is when Anderson Cooper pointed to Ronald Reagan's actual diary like it was the Old Testament and read Reagan's entry from the day he nominated (pro-choice) Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court. Reagan said that the "pro-life people are really coming after me....Sandra will make a great justice." Coop then asked each candidate would he have nominated O'Connor? They all said they would nominate pro-life judges like Alito and Roberts. But the point was made -- despite what the revisionists would like us to think, Reagan appointed the swing vote that kept Roe vs. Wade the law of the land. That's all going to change if any of these candidates is elected, as they have just vehemently promised.
But the winner of the debate was Ron Paul for his answer to the question put to each of the candidates: "Would Ronald Reagan endorse you?" Paul said that he doesn't know what Reagan would do if he were alive today, but that Reagan did personally campaign for him in 1978. (Ronald Reagan helped launch Ron Paul's political career which would later come back to bedevil Republican candidates in 2008? The irony!) The thuds we all heard were the other candidates' jaws hitting the floor. Paul then followed up with the nugget that President Reagan personally told him that any country that went off the gold standard would head into economic ruin. It was a glorious day in Ron Paul City.
Alas, the Ron Paul blimp has been grounded due to lack of funding. The campaign is still asking for donations to pay off the blimp bill.
The blimp is headed back home to its hangar in Elizabeth City, NC.
The blimp did not receive enough sponsorships to keep it afloat any longer.
We will be keeping the banners in hopes of flying the blimp for "round 2" in a few months. If you would like to sponsor the blimp we would still appreciate it as we still have a balance due to Airship Management Services.
If funds were to pour in from Ron Paul supporters ("Ronnies"? "Paulites"?) then the blimp could be airborne once more.
John McCain won the Republican primary in Florida, thereby picking up all 57 of the delegates (for the Republicans it's a winner take all state). Romney came in second and Guiliani came in third. Guiliani then withdrew from the race and is expected to endorse Senator McCain tomorrow.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton won by a very large margin, with Barack Obama in second and John Edwards in third. Because of Howard Dean's boneheadedness, the delegates will not be awarded to punish Floridians for moving up their primary ahead of Super Tuesday. At a large victory rally, Hillary vowed to try to have Florida's and Michigan's delegates seated at the convention. 1.68 million Democrats voted in Florida. For the DNC to tell them their votes don't count would be a decision rooted in idiocy.
Tomorrow night the Republicans will debate at the Reagan Library in California. On Thursday, the Democrats will debate. Everyone is now campaigning frantically until Super Tuesday.
In response to the spectacle of Ted Kennedy's lovefest for Barack Obama today in Washington, D.C., the New York chapter of the National Organization of Women blasted Teddy's poor record on women's rights and calls him a traitor for supporting "the new guy" over the qualified woman in the race.
"Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy's endorsement of Hillary Clinton's opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard. Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, the Family Leave and Medical Act to name a few. Women have buried their anger that his support for the compromises in No Child Left Behind and the Medicare bogus drug benefit brought us the passage of these flawed bills. We have thanked him for his ardent support of many civil rights bills, BUT women are always waiting in the wings.
"And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment! He's picked the new guy over us. He's joined the list of progressive white men who can't or won't handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton (they will of course say they support a woman president, just not 'this' one). 'They' are Howard Dean and Jim Dean (Yup! That's Howard's brother) who run DFA (that's the group and list from the Dean campaign that we women helped start and grow). They are Alternet, Progressive Democrats of America, democrats.com, Kucinich lovers and all the other groups that take women's money, say they'll do feminist and women's rights issues one of these days, and conveniently forget to mention women and children when they talk about poverty or human needs or America's future or whatever.
"This latest move by Kennedy, is so telling about the status of and respect for women's rights, women's voices, women's equality, women's authority and our ability -- indeed, our obligation -- to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a President that is the first woman after centuries of men who 'know what's best for us.'"
And speaking of the Kennedys, the family is apparently split. Environmental activist Bobby Kennedy and former Maryland lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend support Hillary Clinton. Looks like the Kennedy Primary is a tie. Although Obama certainly got the Kennedy with the biggest mouth (and the greatest disdain from NOW).
Over the weekend some conservative blogs pointed out this photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali apparel, which he wore while visiting Kenya. The blogs said that someone should send it over to Matt Drudge, which someone eventually did. Drudge ran the photo all day, claiming a Clinton aid sent it. But the Clinton camp said they didn't send it, and what was the big deal anyway? That senators and presidents have to wear all kinds of unusual outfits when they visit other countries. Clinton's campaign manager said the whole thing was ridiculous, that Senator Clinton has had to don native dress herself many times.
The Republicans held their last debate before Super Tuesday last night at the Reagan Library in California. Governor Schwarzenegger, Nancy Reagan and Kelsey Grammar (he's a Republican?) were in attendance. The candidates were seated in front of Reagan's old aircraft, which gave the scene a surreal air -- like they were on a movie set or something.
