McAuliffe Concedes That Obama Can Win Big Swing States In General Election
Another sign of a thaw as the end approaches?
Top Hillary adviser Terry McAuliffe, on Fox tonight, appears to go slightly off-message, saying that, yes, Obama can win the critical swing states in a general election...
"If Senator Obama's the nominee, can we win these states? Of course," McAuliffe said.
To be fair to Camp Hillary, her advisers have generally stopped short of saying Obama can't win in these states. They've generally stuck to the message that Hillary is a better candidate in those states (though Mark Penn at one point said flatly that Obama can't win the general).
But Hillary advisers have of course tried to sow fear among super-dels and others about Obama's prospects in these states, and McAuliffe's comments are tonally a bit out of sync with that.
OMG! THIS
May 20, 2008 6:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
IS
May 20, 2008 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
EXCELLENT
May 20, 2008 6:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
EXCELLENT
May 20, 2008 6:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
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JUST EXCELLENT NEWS FOR HILLARY!!
May 20, 2008 7:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
EXCELLENT
May 20, 2008 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't trust terry if a lie detector was tied to him. They flip before you blink.
May 20, 2008 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. Heard his latest? (Reported by Poblano)
"It's one thing for a campaign surrogate to spin information, but Terry McAuliffe just flat out made something up on Hardball, claiming that there was a general election poll in Kentucky that showed Hillary Clinton ahead of John McCain. If such a poll exists, there is no evidence of it anywhere on the Internet. I also heard him make the same claim about a week ago, so it wasn't any kind of misspeak."
(fivethirtyeight.com)
May 20, 2008 7:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
McAuliffe spoke on Clinton's behalf in Colorado Springs this past weekend at the State Convention. It was a shock to hear him sound a bit concillatory, but he didn't push Hillary too much.
At one point he said that Clinton was leading by literally millions of votes - I didn't catch the exact number - but at that moment the crowd began chanting O-ba-ma over and over again very loudly to the point where he had to gavel silence.
May 20, 2008 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
TPM videos have warmed me up to Terry. He's the Baghdad Bob of American politics.
May 20, 2008 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
God, I hope he goes the way of BB too.
Into has-been oblivion...and beyond!
May 20, 2008 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
SUSA has Obama quite ahead of McCain in Pennsylvania today. This could have been included for context in the SUSA chart TPM posted today comparing Obama's chances with different VP choices against McCain.
May 20, 2008 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Kinda where I was going in my comment down-thread as well.
May 20, 2008 7:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
One thing nobody seems surprised at in that SUSA survey: it asked about Sebelius, Rendell and Edwards as VP candidates -- but NOT Hillary.
I don't think Obama will ask her either, but for SUSA to leave her off its list is stunning.
Maybe there's a Part 2 to the survey we haven't been told about.
May 20, 2008 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ed Haskell grew up and became Terry McCauliffe.
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:CcuwvcAwYVEZFM:http://bp3.blogger.com/_-TEUEU1JBOg/RwSjc95yY8I/AAAAAAAAA3w/WoCoQZw5kC8/s400/beaver%2B-%2Beddie.jpg
May 20, 2008 7:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
ROFL...
Eddie Haskell before the invention of Ritalin perhaps.
May 20, 2008 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
McAuliffe sees the writing on the wall and is trying to avoid becoming a complete outcast during the Dean/Obama 1,000 year reign.
May 20, 2008 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Kentucky exit polls reveal:
The vast Majority of Hillary Clinton supporters admit that they are Still Afraid Of The Dark.
Hillary's core support comes from irrational cowards.
(CNN) – The vast majority of Hillary Clinton supporters in Kentucky are not willing to support Barack Obama should he win the party’s nomination, a sign of the continuing division in the Democratic Party as the primary race comes to a close.
According to the just released exit polls, only 33 percent of Clinton backers said they would vote for Obama should he be the party’s nominee. That compares to 71 percent of Obama supporters who say they are willing to support Clinton if she wins the nomination.
May 20, 2008 7:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's face it: if Kentucky is anything like a lot of the other states Clinton won, a large percentage of those who voted for Clinton wouldn't vote for her in the GE, either. The Neanderthal vote was always heavily Republican.
May 20, 2008 7:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Crushed him again in KY 2 to 1.
Better run Clinton, she is strong on national security.
May 20, 2008 7:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's the old gotalife that we've grown accustomed to.
May 20, 2008 7:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
You run gotalife troll.
This troll is total crap.
She did crush in KY. OR may be upset.
Either way, I am backing dem nominee.
We do not need McSame.
May 20, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're right. Please accept my humble apologies.
May 20, 2008 8:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mainly she's strong on being white.
May 20, 2008 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
How is she strong on national security exactly?
Voted the wrong way on Iraq and is headed down the same disastrous path on Iran. Voting in favor of the biggest foreign policy disaster in our nation's history does not translate into being strong. I posit it does the exact opposite, that it makes you look like an opportunistic fear-mongering idiot with, the blood of millions on your hands. So I ask again, how is she strong on national security exactly?
May 20, 2008 7:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
If I can see the reality of the situation, so can McAuliffe.
The fact of the matter is: the math simply doesn't work. I was in denial about it for weeks, but it's time to finally get in gear with reality.
I'm not ruling out a miracle, who knows what KY will hold. But if this goes down as it looks it might, Obama will be the nominee.
When that happens, it's going to be the responsibility of all Democrats to stand united. I think most people would agree with me that our main goal is to stop John McCain from reaching the white house.
I've been a cynic in the past, but I'm willing to give Obama a chance (particularly if he includes HRC in the VP spot or the cabinet).
May 20, 2008 7:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
You go, babe!
( I am having sooo much fun with all this fogu2 and gotalife id spoofing!! ;-)
May 20, 2008 7:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am being hacked by gotalife troll.
Total BS. Reporting this.
Identity thief.
May 20, 2008 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I promise i will not pretend to be you anymore. I'm sorry. I have just donated $50 to the Obama campaign. I hope that makes up for it.
May 20, 2008 8:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Given the SurveyUSA baseline in today's pair match-ups polling showing Obama winning PA by 8, I think that line simply will not hold. Throw a Rendell or a an Edwards onto the ticket, and it might just put PA out of play and bank it as a win which allows them to focus more on other states Virginia, Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, the Dakotas and yes... even Texas.
May 20, 2008 7:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
AND NOW ANOTHER STATE GOES TO:
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HILLARY CLINTON!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 20, 2008 7:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Enjoy!
It's the last state she'll get!
May 20, 2008 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
And in 2.5 hours another state goes for Obama. An actual swing state that would be on the bubble were she to be the nominee, but will be cobalt blue with Obama at the top of the ticket.
Your point?
May 20, 2008 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
YOU MEAN BLUE LIBERAL OREGON WHICH ANY DEM WOULD CARRY?
HALLHAHAHHAHHAH LLOLLOLLOOL
May 20, 2008 11:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Alright, the charade is over.
I've spend a LOT of time on TPM POSTING IN ALL CAPS. I've tried to shout my way into other people's heads.
After a very frustrating effort, I've realized this is not the way.
I've been very angry that Hillary hasn't gotten the nomination. So much so that I've advocated people voting for McCain.
This has been a mistake.
No matter how much I want to believe it should be Hillary at all costs, my conscience simply won't allow it. If Barack Obama is the nominee, we need to get serious about backing him.
As you may have noticed, when one of us trolls turns, new trolls show up to turn on us. I'm ready for this and will stand up for the right thing every step of the way.
I'm no longer interested in what's best for ME, I'm interested in what's best for my COUNTRY.
DEMOCRATS UNITE AGAINST THE GOP.
I hope the caps were acceptible there.
I'll try to tone down the more hyperbolic copy too.
Apologies for the headache. I've learned my lesson.
May 21, 2008 1:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
PLEASE PLEASE IGNORE THIS GUY. HE IS NOT THE REAL RAEK. I AM - AND I SWEAR TO STAND UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY - DESPITE MY PREFERENCES FOR CANDIDATES.
LET'S STAND UNITED FOR WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR NATION AND VOTE DEMOCRATIC - REGARDLESS OF THE NOMINEE. LET'S STOP SHOUTING AND START TALKING.
How about it?
May 21, 2008 1:22 AM | Reply | Permalink