Powerpoint is a dreadful piece of software, but it can't be blamed for this lame piece of work.

If this truly is the best way to communicate with party leaders, they must all be simpletons. A 1/2 page of prose in MS Word would have communicated more information than this monstrosity.

For that matter, I am an Obama supporter and even I could have made better arguments. It is a disaster from start to finish.

Posted at May 11, 2008 8:08 PM in response to Hillary Campaign Emails Out "Electability" Power-Point To All House Dems

Yep, she comes off as a phony. Several weeks ago, one of Obama's supporters (McPeak, I think) said that her trip to Bosnia was not that dangerous and that she went with Sheryl Crow and Sinbad. At that point, she had plenty of time to come up with some believable spin; she should have known that the subject would come up.

About a week later was Sinbad’s interview. Following that, she HAD to know she would be asked about Bosnia and that Sinbad’s comments mocking the danger would be mentioned. Yet with two stories, McPeak’s and Sinbad’s floating around for a couple of weeks, she still goes out and tells a flat-out lie. When she gets caught, she pretends sleep deprivation was the cause, notwithstanding that she told similar tales on two earlier occasions.

I am not sure if it is simply hard for her to tell the truth, if she think that people will believe it and when the video of her on the tarmac comes out the damage will be less than the benefit of the first lie being believed, or if there is some other bizarre calculus at work. Sniper-gate has caused her poll numbers to drop near freezing. I think Richard Nixon could beat her right about now. That would not be too bad, he'd be a better President this time around on account of the fact that he is dead (and don't believe that liar if he tells you "I am not a corpse").

As for Hillary's claims of experience, take a look at this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hwLaCb07lAs

Posted at March 27, 2008 11:22 PM in response to Poll: Obama Up 15 Points In North Carolina

If she referred to her grandmother as a "typical black person", I'd give her a pass.

Posted at March 20, 2008 10:08 PM in response to Edwards Didn't Endorse Anyone On Leno Tonight, NBC Flack Confirms

You got it mostly right. You forgot about the pledged delegates - those in big states that are located on or near the coast - count more than pledged delegates in fly over country.

Oh, and states that have a lot of blacks or almost no blacks at all don't count. Big states with lots of Hispanics count more, but we're not sure how much more just yet.

Posted at March 20, 2008 12:00 AM in response to New Hillary Campaign Video Seeks To Revive Samantha Power Controversy

Ok, I watched it and I *will* tell you that Obama wasn't the one to start playing the race card. Wright is screaming a bunch of stuff, but what has that got to do with Obama? Nothing.

Should Hillary be blasted for the views held by leaders of her church? I don't think so, but if you do, then should she "denounce and reject" the United Methodist Church because of a report from UMC called "The Israel Palestine Mission Study"?

From the Anti-Defamation League:

New York, NY, February 19, 2008 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on the United Methodist Church (UMC) to repudiate a "distorted and mendacious" report on Israel produced by one of its divisions that refers to Jews as "monsters" and compares Israeli actions to the Nazis.

The 225-page report, titled "The Israel Palestine Mission Study" comes at a time when there is a movement within the United Methodist Church to support resolutions to divest from companies doing business with Israel.

Is she playing the "anti-Jew" race card?

Posted at March 13, 2008 11:37 PM in response to Rasmussen: Hillary Ahead In Pennsylvania, Her Supporters Divided About Ferraro's Remarks

It is pretty much over for Hillary, but even journalists who should know better keep the "big state" spin going and opine on what a victory in PA would mean. She will likely win in PA, but then lose in North Carolina, a state with about 73% of the number of delegates that PA has (115 vs 158). If she wins 55/45 in PA and he wins 57/43 in NC, the delegate margins will be identical. Even if she wins big and he wins small, her delegate count is not going to be appreciably larger.

I have always voted Republican or Libertarian but voted for Obama in the Tx primary. There are a fair amount of Republicans, even conservative Republicans who disagree with Obama on economic and tax policy but who are profoundly against the war in Iraq and have voted for Obama in the primaries and will do so in the General election if he gets the nod.

However, Hillary is pursuing a scorched-earth policy that could hurt Obama's chances in the fall. If her "experience" claim was only the proverbial resume-padding that politicians often do, that would be one thing. But the flip side is to dismiss Obama's experience as a single speech in 2002. Rhetoric, to be sure, but really crossing the line IMHO.

If she keeps it up, there are 3 guys who could cripple her chances in PA and effectively end her campaign. Richardson, Edwards, and Gore. Should one or more of these endorse Obama, the damage to her campaign could run the gamut from serious to fatal. Richardson's endorsement would hurt her, but might not kill her chances. But Gore or Edwards could really drive a stake through her and if she insists on a strategy of "either I win or McCain wins", then hopefully one of these guys will step forward and put an end to this nonsense.

Posted at March 13, 2008 10:43 PM in response to Rasmussen: Hillary Ahead In Pennsylvania, Her Supporters Divided About Ferraro's Remarks

Mythology buffs and white, middle-aged, ex-Republicans.

Posted at March 10, 2008 11:44 PM in response to Hillary Spokesperson Hedges: Obama Has Not Passed Commander-In-Chief Test "At This Point"

I agree that we will have a female President some day but I am glad that it will not be Hillary. When that day comes, it will be a woman who has accomplishments of her own and not somebody claiming that her husband's experience is hers as well. That is simply laughable as is the notion that Obama should wait becuase "it's Hillary's turn".

There is a sense of entitlement among her supporters that is, in my opinion, an insult to women. Women can earn their positions in politics just as men can. The ideas that this is her turn, spouted by a number of Hillary supporters on many blogs, is so demeaning to women that you wonder how these people consider themselves feminists. There are many talented, intelligent, and experienced women in politics as well as in every other field. Plus, why should Hillary get a pass on her assertion that Bill's experience is hers and also receive support from the feminist movement because of her gender?

I did not follow any of the race before Iowa and was stunned that Obama won and won convincingly. Since then I have followed the primary season closely and have been amazed at just how superior Obama's grass-roots campaign has been vs the old establishment campaign of Clinton. I, like Mark Penn, had assumed that with her bankroll, her husband, and her last name, that she was inevitable. I'm glad to know I was wrong about that.

I threw an unsolicited two cents to the Obama campaign. Announce right now who his running mate will be. That will quash any talk of him putting Clinton on his ticket. My choice would be Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. She is talented, the same age as Clinton, and a Democrat Governor in a Republican state; i.e. she knows how to get Republican and Independent votes. She has attracted Republicans who may be fiscally conservative, but do not like the socially conservative, in-your-bedroom and in-your-libraries policies of many conservatives in their party.

I also suggested that they talke John Kasich out of retirement. A House member for 18 years, he was one of the savviest members of the House when it came to finance and having him as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget would not only give them someone who knows the system, but a well-liked man with lots of connections. It would also demonstrate Obama's ability to reach across the aisle as Kasich was a very well-known Republican, constantly appearing on the Sunday political shows. He is young (56 years old this May) and energetic and was always optimistic.

I imagine that the campaign gets a lot of unsolicited advice from amateurs so they will not likely pay much attention to it, but OTOH, Obama does believe in change coming from the bottom up, so maybe I have reason to hope!

Posted at March 10, 2008 9:16 AM in response to Obama Wins Wyoming, Networks Say

rstephen wrote: "Obama should be saving his money and energy for Pennsylvania, which is the last chance he'll have to overtake Hillary and prove he's a viable candidate. But he's an inexperienced candidate who doesn't understand that, so he'll probably lose."

He not have to overtake Clinton, in fact, it is not possible for him to do so. Why? because he is LEADING!

Wyoming and Mississippi DO matter as they will pad his delegate lead and give him two more wins; Mississippi is a primary state and that will pad his popular vote margin as well.

You write that he should be saving his money and energy for Pennsylvania. That contest will not be held until late April. He has plenty of time to work PA, plenty of energy and much more money than Hillary; therefore, spending time in MS does not put him at a disadvantage.

He has proven that he is a viable candidate and whether he beats another Democrat in the primary in a given state has little to do with whether or not he can beat McCain in that state. Hillary will not be attracting Republicans away from McCain (with the exception of Ann Coulter), but Obama has already done that (according to exit polls).

Finally, you say "But he's an inexperienced candidate who doesn't understand that, so he'll probably lose." OTOH, Hillary and her team is "experienced" and yet they have blundered in their strategy, their tactics, their management of money, and just about every other way. Moreover, not only has Obama out-organized, out-worked, and out-managed Clinton, your statement implies that this is a one-on-one battle and ignores that Obama has a cadre of experienced advisors surrounding him. They, like Clinton's team, occasionally make mistates, but they have done a MUCH better job of running their campaign than the gaggle in Hillary's camp and most of Hillary's staff would agree with that statement.

Posted at March 10, 2008 8:36 AM in response to Obama Wins Wyoming, Networks Say

"I really don't understand this meme: "Obama can't carry states that matter".

The primary is a very different beast than the general. It's Democrat vs. Democrat, which means that how a candidate does in a split vote has very little bearing on what happens when it's Democrat vs. Republican.

Just because Obama doesn't do as well against Hillary in a state like Ohio doesn't mean that when it's Obama vs. McCain all of those Clinton voters are going to vote against Obama for some reason."

This meme is the Hillary campaign's only hope of salvaging the nomination. Hillary said in an interview with George Stephanopolous that "It’ll be over by Feb. 5"

http://baltimorechronicle.com/2008/010308Burns.shtml

This was a huge strategic blunder and is emblematic of the arrogance of the Clinton campaign. Obama set up grass-roots organizations in state after state and got more net delegates from Idaho than Hillary did from New Jersey. After Super Tuesday, his grass-roots organizations and superior fund-raising ability were instrumental in winning contest after contest. She picked people who were sycophants and not people who were competent to manager her campaign. She mismanaged the campaign and I can only imagine that she would do just as poor a job in the White House were she to win.

Therefore, the Clintons have had to claim that the contests were insignificant or that the process of selecting the delegates was undemocratic or the populace was of the wrong demographics (i.e. too many blacks).

The ludicrous arguments about the Red states and Blue states are Clinton's last line of defense. But New York and Massachusettes will vote Democrat regardless of whether the nominee is Hillary, Barack, or a randomly-selected Governor from a Red state! Likewise, some deeply Republican states will not go for either of them.

If the appeal to the Superdelegates is about electability, then the ability to win the swing states is important, but whether Hillary won Ohio or Barack won Missouri does not tell you whether either of them will beat McCain in those states. It is my opinion that Obama can win Republican cross-over votes and Independent votes in swing states based upon the fact that the exit polls show that he attracted more of them. That is far different from the question of whether he or Hillary won the popular vote in a particular swing state, a Blue state, or a Red state.

Hillary supporters have made a point to mention that she has won the big states. But since they also like to say that Obama's Red state victories are irrelevant, would it not also apply to her victory in the Texas popular vote? (ignoring that she lost the state when you include the caucus results, 98 delegates to 95).

Prior to March 4th her supporters were still making the "big state" argument, but in the 8 larges states that had voted up to that time, Clinton won 4 and Obama won 4.

Clinton wins:
New York 139 delegates
California 204 delegates (rev Thurs Mar 6)
Massachusetts 55 delegates
New Jersey 59 delegates

Obama wins:
Illinois 104 delegates
Georgia 64 delegates
Washington 53 delegates
Virginia 54 delegates

So, the 2 biggest wins in terms of delegates for Hillary were a margin of 83 over Obama. 2 biggest wins for Obama were a margin of 90 delegates over Hillary. He is already ahead at this level and when you look at all 4 of the biggest states for Hill and all 4 of the biggest for Barry, you get Barack with 143 delegates vs. 111 for Hillary. Barack by 32 delegates in the 8 largest states prior to March 4th.

As for Hillary's vaunted "experience", this video pretty much shows what that is worth:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hwLaCb07lAs

Posted at March 10, 2008 1:02 AM in response to Obama Wins Wyoming, Networks Say