That Dean guy is first.

Howard Dean, and the 50 State Strategy, are always first.

Jennie knows.

11:23 AM EST

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080301/NEWS07/80301019

By NANCY BENAC • ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 1, 2008

WASHINGTON-- A year ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-Inevitable, was joshing about whether she could appoint her husband secretary of state when she became president, and Barack Obama was urging a throng to be realistic about his own chances. "Let's face it," he said. "The novelty's going to wear off."

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Clinton coronation.

...

"I don't think anyone can stop her," John Catsimatidis, a New York businessman and member of Clinton's finance team, trumpeted in February 2007. "She's unstoppable; she's got such a machine."

Clinton, intent on keeping 2000 nominee Al Gore out of the race, seemed to regard all other rivals as "Lilliputians," says Democratic pollster Peter Hart

Her Democratic opponents didn't buy it, though, and neither did the public.

...

in the mega-round of primaries on Super Tuesday, the day that Clinton had once predicted would be the "finish line."

...

Clinton responded by moving the finish line

...

Now Clinton is pinning her hopes on victories Tuesday in Ohio and Texas, where she once led in polls by a wide margin.

...

11:24 AM EST

The goalposts always seem to be moving with the Hillary Clinton campaign.

11:25 AM EST

it's 3 AM -- some march to the Fear card, others like Obama and his supporters don't:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=879o1_pxO0c

make the calls and Obama wins Texas and Ohio and he wins the nomination

good practice for the last week of October

this blog should pretty much go silent the next few days

11:28 AM EST

Good luck s m.

I'll be doing the same contacting nearby RI voters.

ciao

In response to prior comments on prior thread, but out of order----------

Well, it may be unfair, but because Republicans like to follow orders, it's logical to conclude that when Republicans voice an opinion it's the opinion of their leaders.  Democrats, on the other hand, are self-directed.  Sometimes they represent shared opinion; sometimes they don't.  As a result, they often appear disjointed.  As a result, the "leaders" can't be held responsible for what their supporters do.

Now, a subcommittee of the Senate has no power to affect our relationship with NATO, especially not when there's an administration that doesn't honor treaties, has written off NATO because the members aren't sufficiently subservient, and doesn't follow legislative directives anyway.

Electing a President is a crap shoot.  Electing a President whose spouse has a history of undermining that person's efforts would be folly.  Remember that the problem with health care isn't that the first effort came to naught, but that it was never attempted again.

Hillary Rodham made a big mistake when she married beneath her, a rube from Arkansas who had some high-flying friends willing to promote the handsome fellow.

That 3am Ad is a great ad. Loved it. Strong, who has the experience. Good job.

Remember, Clinton supporters can easily sign up on line to make calls for Clinton!

http://tools.hillaryclinton.com/calling/...

4.

Phil Specht
Sat, 03/01/08

Reply to this
make the calls and Obama wins Texas and Ohio and he wins the nomination

good practice for the last week of October

this blog should pretty much go silent the next few days

+++++++++++

Right - Phil - I know everyone pooh poohs Zogby but I have these Anglo memory cells and we are very superstitious -- let's not crown the guy till after Tuesday for sure.

Also - Phil -- I googled about Rahm re: Obama -- it's true they are both from IL but I didn't find anything saying Rahm was supporting Obama altho I guess it could be assumed. Actually, if Rahm is supporting Obama, it will give me pause.

See y'all later (again).

Now Clinton is pinning her hopes on victories Tuesday in Ohio and Texas, where she once led in polls by a wide margin.

Breaking News - well, sort of -- from yesterday. Clinton is attempting to raise the bar once again with Plan D or whatever it is this time:

WACO, Texas - Recasting what would keep her campaign alive, Hillary Rodham Clinton's advisers said Friday that if rival Barack Obama loses any of Tuesday's four presidential primaries it would show Democrats are having second thoughts about him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080229/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_strategy_3

I don't know what it is about electronics, but many people are easy to convince that anything electronic is going to solve whatever problem they have.  And for some reason, whenever there's a snafu, people are convinced that it was their fault.  You know that old line about computers "garbage in, garbage out"?  Well, it turns out that no matter how good the stuff you put in is, you may get garbage or NOTHING.  (We may be convinced that the RNC computers having "lost" all those White House emails is a fraud.  But, it may be true, if the servers were all changed out and sent to the recycling plant).

The fact of the matter is that electrons are affected by environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, dust particles.  Maybe even mites.  Being "affected" doesn't mean they stop.  They just become erratic and, like your brain on crack (remember that fried egg commercial?), don't work as you'd expect.

I think it's telling that Rumsfeld, the guy who stood at a writing desk and made notes with an ink pen, envisioned an all-electronic military which would set the world right by pushing a button.  You'd think he would have learned from their experience with the stealth bomber which has to be kept in air-conditioned comfort in between missions into the stratosphere.  Presumably, it's not just that the skin is sensitive to moisture, but that the electronics don't like heat.

Seems like the supervisor of elections in LA is similarly enamoured with electronics.

Periodically I make the point that the problem with nuclear energy is the water that's needed to draw off the excess heat--energy that's wasted for the simple reason that we still don't have a furnace that can withstand the heat of a nuclear reaction.

Water is the big mystery.  Just a degree of temperature difference and it changes form. 

Linda wrote "That 3am Ad is a great ad. Loved it."

We can all trust Clinton to act swiftly and firmly when the call comes to support invading a foreign sovereign.  She is willing to support neoconservative militarism and has the track record to prove it.

If Clinton loses in Rhode Island she should bank the money for her next Senate campaign. But I have never seen a Presidential bid end that wasn't about broke so my guess is she will go for broke in Pennsylvania.

Hillary indeed married beneath'' her, Monica (love the pun)!

Any woman w/her educational background & credentialization who tolerates a sexual harasser and womanizer for 35 yrs. (he was fucking around on her before they married) is dumb.

I certainly don't want her leading the most powerful country in the world...she has NO JUDGMENT.

Or boundaries, for that matter.

From NBC's Lisa Myers and Jim Popkin

Sen. Hillary Clinton has declined to return $170,000 in campaign contributions from individuals at a company accused of widespread sexual harassment, and whose CEO is a disbarred lawyer with a criminal record, federal campaign records show.

No huge surprise there.

 Gennifer Flowers potentially has some "tapes" up for auction--I hope she makes a fortune!

We'll be seeing some "misty-eyed" moments between now and the 4th, for sure. 

 "What goes around...comes around."  So to speak.

Remember:  caucus states are "unimportant."

...which doesn't explain WI & VA's primaries, either, huh?
TX is a hybrid state (part caucus/part primary)--and her camp has threatened to "sue."

What a  "presumptive" idiot.

 I'm sure that Big Dog won't STFU, either--they're losing control; and that's when massive mistakes happen.

She thought she had Maine sewn up; and she freakin' *bombed*.

I think it's telling that Rumsfeld

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

those words fit together in my head too lol

The 3AM ad is really lousy.  Never mind that asking people to worry about their sleeping children is a low blow.  Hillary wearing glasses and dressed in a suit at that hour is not reassuring.  The only possible decision that couldn't have been addressed earlier, and should have been by a competent staff, is the one to push the nuclear button.  And the possibility that hasn't been permanently averted isn't reassuring either.

Besides, as the spouse said, at three AM the call was probably for Bill from one of his bimbos.

Not a good ad. 

Hope, not fear.

Yeah, funny. Obama refused to return the money from indicted long time friend and money backer Rezko, until pressure mounted. Then he said he only got 40 K from him to charity. Then calls increased and he said 60 K....then people started uncovering the money he actually received and he ended up returning 160 thousand to charity.

But people want to make news out of individuals contributing who worked at the company that has been charged for harrassment.

That's good.

Btw, get ready. Rezko's trial starts on Monday.

Linda

wish you were on my team in this phase because you are one heck of a fighter for your cause

Clinton isn't going to dig up anything rove doesn't already have in his back pocket, and dirty operators often throw money at politicians hoping they get help back when they need it without any knowledge by the recipient

how quick you return the money is the test

Hey All.  Finally brave enough to stop by in one of those internet coffee shops in Toledo. Having a wonderful time (driving around in that old green station wagon, turns out to be a 1972 chevy Estate, it is humongous). 

Love the people here in Ohio.  Tough nuts to crack though (that is a compliment).  They want facts on everything.  I'm trying my best.

Good news today, we are tied here.  Lots of work to do though.

That 3AM ad isn't playing well here.  People (especially women) don't like it that HRC used a child to produce fear. 

Gotta run.  Be well.

Eleanor Clift on Hillary's Day of Reckoning.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/117151

Hope, not fear.

rae hart!!!!!!!!!! We've been wondering how you're doing in that green wagon. LOL.

You go, girl!!!!!!!!!

As I said, Republicans are more vulnerable to being associated with the misbehavior by their supporters because they're always giving orders.

Obama didn't fuck around on Michelle for 35 yrs.+, either.

 It matters.  He's a damn compulsive liar & sexual harasser.

 Throw his ass to the curb, indeedy.

"I did not have sex with THAT woman" subjugated every woman in this country who's dealt w/infidelity. 

 Millions of women....

 Payback's a bitch.

 Hillary is a damned fool; & "Big Dog" is an albatross of the worst sort.

Sink like a rock, Baby. 

wOOt!

a Howardly to rae

Linda, Linda, meine freund. I

 like Hillary but was initially for Edwards.

Due to the encouragement of my son, I switched to Obama. If you could have seen the young college kids at our JJ dinner come out and cheer for Obama, it would break your heart.

I think Hillary is fine but when Bill got involved in SC, that was it for me.

I think Obama will bring out the young vote and Hillary won't. They will stay home.

Just my opinion.

Tomorrow I am going to make calls for Obama at a new friend's house.

"Hillary Clinton has been trying to make a point about Barack Obama that deserves one last careful look before Tuesday's probably decisive Democratic primaries: If Obama truly intends to unite America across party lines and break the Washington logjam, then why has he shown so little interest or aptitude for the hard work of bipartisan government?


This is the real "Where's the beef?" about Obama, and it still doesn't have a good answer. He gives a great speech, and he promises that he can heal the terrible partisan divisions that have enfeebled American politics over the past decade. This is a message of hope that the country clearly wants to hear.

But can he do it? The record is mixed, but it's fair to say that Obama has not shown much willingness to take risks or make enemies to try to restore a working center in Washington. Clinton, for all her reputation as a divisive figure, has a much stronger record of bipartisan achievement. And the likely Republican nominee, John McCain, has a better record still.

Obama's argument is that he can mobilize a new coalition that will embrace his proclamation that "yes, we can" break out of the straitjacket. But for voters to feel confident that he can achieve this transformation should he become president, they would need evidence that he has fought and won similar battles. The record here, to put it mildly, is thin.

What I hear from politicians who have worked with Obama, both in Illinois state politics and here in Washington, gives me pause. They describe someone with an extraordinary ability to work across racial lines but not someone who has earned any profiles in courage for standing up to special interests or divisive party activists. Indeed, the trait people remember best about Obama, in addition to his intellect, is his ambition.

Obama worked on some bipartisan issues, such as a state version of the earned-income tax credit, after he was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996. But he also gained a reputation for skipping tough votes. The most famous example was a key gun control vote that he missed in December 1999 because he was vacationing in Hawaii. The Chicago Tribune blasted him and several other vote-skippers as "gutless." One Chicago pol says that "the myth developed that when there was a tough vote, he was gone."

Obama's brash self-confidence led him into his only big political blunder. Prodded by the Daley machine, he challenged Bobby Rush, an incumbent Democratic congressman and former Black Panther, in 2000. Rush pounded Obama by more than 2 to 1 in the primary. "He was blinded by his ambition," Rush told the New York Times last year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/117151

There's a video of a day in the Obama campaign.  Have you watched it? 

oops sorry, that was longer than I thought.

Phil Specht -- 9. 10. 16. 19.

You were saying? 

Annilow - Rahm is neutral officially.

I think Hillary is fine but when Bill got involved in SC, that was it for me.



???


You mean he wasn't allowed to campaign for his wife, only other Democrats? Don't understand that one.

Go rae, take care!!! Ohio is a great state and a beautiful one, at least in the southwest part where forest abound.

rae wronte: That 3AM ad isn't playing well here.  People (especially women) don't like it that HRC used a child to produce fear. 

Good point. Clinton should know better with all her years of talking about kids than to use them in any detrimental way.

The Clintons have done what should be the impossible -- degraded the term "spin."

...you mean young kids cheering and getting excited for someone is reason for us to elect them for president?

Thank goodness Britney Spears and Hanna Montana aren't running for President.......YET.

Linda, no Bill can be involved, but he made the campaign about  him. He made snide remarks about how Jesse Jackson had won SC and look where he went. That was an awful comment.

I saw Bill in Richmond at a rally and he stuck to the basics and that was fine.

The only thing I like about this campaign is that other states beside NH and Iowa get their vote counted. Here in Va it was huge. We had almost a million Dems vote in a PRIMARY.

Never ever happened before. I had people calling me to work the polls. That NEVER happens.

So it is exciting to see they young people excited and voting. They are motiviated themselves.

37.

No Linda these kids are college age kids and they arn't cheering for Brittany.

They are cheering for a young man that inspires them. He doesn't sing but gives them hope for a better future.

That 3am Ad is a great ad. Loved it. Strong, who has the experience. Good job.

Good job of giving Obama another opportunity to stick Hillary with her own record, that is...... 

It must be tough for the Clintons to get "out-clintoned" when it comes to rapid responses.

Zogby's latest poll is dated Feb. 27 (from last thread) and they're the only poll I saw that had Barack leading by 6% a few days ago. Perhaps that 6% poll was overzealous, depending on who they polled. 

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey (from Feb. 28) shows Barack Obama has moved ahead of Hillary Clinton in Texas, Obama attracting 48% of the vote while Clinton earns 44%.

Linda

wish you were on my team in this phase because you are one heck of a fighter for your cause

No matter how often it changes! 

Linda read the rest of my comment. Bill got involved in SC and interjected himself into the campaign and made racial statements about Jesse Jackson winning in SC and look where it got him.

Linda, hillary will be on the Daily Show monday nite.

Bill Clinton's remarks in SC = racist

Btw, get ready. Rezko's trial starts on Monday.

Playing with fire is a good way to get burned. 

Obama's brash self-confidence led him into his only big political blunder. Prodded by the Daley machine, he challenged Bobby Rush, an incumbent Democratic congressman and former Black Panther, in 2000. Rush pounded Obama by more than 2 to 1 in the primary. "He was blinded by his ambition," Rush told the New York Times last year.

What a wonderful paragraph.  Self-confident young men are the bane of old males' existence.

Why should an unsucessful try for office be considered a blunder?  Don't we want multiple candidates for each office?  Doesn't that mean that many more will be called than are chosen?

So, twice as many people voted for the incumbent than the challenger.  Presumably, the incumbent didn't need to be replaced and the newcomer could be saved for another position.

Rush's assessment of Obama was not generous, especially considering that he was retained.  A little more humility would be nice.  Wonder if anyone's going to do him the honor of campaigning with him this time around?  If a seat is not worth contesting, then it's not worth much is it? 

------
They are cheering for a young man that inspires them. He doesn't sing but gives them hope for a better future.
------
Hey, he can also bust a move. did you see him on Ellen?

Everybody have a great day. I'm off to watch my son play lacrosse in the pouring rain. Argh!!

38. Oh, friend, come on. I think you're looking for an excuse. Who are you going by to come up with that description? It was never about anyone but Hillary. It sounds like you were listening to punditry.

And as much spin as the Obama campaign tried to make about the Jesse Jackson remark (obviously succeeded with some)that he won South Carolina twice, is correct. And only Ploufe and Axelrods spin machine to try to make it anything else. Even Jesse Jackson said that.


I myself am not looking for an empty vessel of symbolism. We have real problems that need GOOD change and solving. Hillary has experience, the progressive policy and the fight to get the job done.


________________________

Well, it's been fun, but I too have much to do, CIAO!

yes, linda , ...Daily show, I know...first time since announcing Presidential Run, but THANK YOU for the mention.

again, bye.

mary vb -- Eleanor Clift on Hillary's Day of Reckoning.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/117151

A USA Today cartoon captures the shifting moods with a political weather map and a "Five-day Hillary Forecast: Monday…Friendly; Tuesday…On the attack; Wednesday…Complimentary; Thursday…Hostile; Friday…Conciliatory."

off to plan the District Convention and lean on my super delegate friend just a trifle

bbl

I myself am not looking for an empty vessel of symbolism. We have real problems that need GOOD change and solving. Hillary has experience, the progressive policy and the fight to get the job done.

LindaNM started out for Gore and attacked all the others. Then she jumped to Edwards and attacked the others. Then she latched onto Hillary and attacked the remaining other. 

The only remaining question is, will she next be attacking McCain -- or still Obama? 

Obama's brash self-confidence led him into his only big political blunder. Prodded by the Daley machine, he challenged Bobby Rush, an incumbent Democratic congressman and former Black Panther, in 2000. Rush pounded Obama by more than 2 to 1 in the primary. "He was blinded by his ambition," Rush told the New York Times last year.

That was apparently just Obama's warmup for dismantling the Clinton machine. 

Bill Clinton's remarks in SC = racist 

No, they weren't racist.  They were dismissive and showed up his true feelings of superiority.  

It's quite possible that the consultant/campaign manager class decided to take on Obama in the interest of making a more interesting contest.  They knew Biden had been on the hustings and Kucinich was a perennial, but neither were likely to generate the kind of interest that's required to deep-six the Republican machine.  Then Dodd showed up while Kerry took a pass and Thompson came out on the Republican side.  Dodd and Thompson are both veterans of the last national campaign the Democrats "won," and neither were likely to be friendly because both Dodd and Thompson have an axe to grind because of what went on in '96.

Perhaps it was Dodd and Thompson that actually distracted the Clintons and provided an opening for Obama to slide up on the outside, virtually unnoticed.  Considering how frugal Dodd is, he really threw a lot of effort into Iowa, probably creating a significant diversion.

Obama's success was a surprise, much like Dean's.  But, he didn't peak too early and when success came, he was prepared to go on; not broke like Dean.

I'll repeat, the first thing I ever heard Obama say was "I wonder how much THAT cost?"

It was a good question.  It was an unnecessary expense for a one-time event. 

The Obama campaign is pushing calling, for sure.

I hope their voter lists are updated; & that people aren't called repeatedly!

2004 Deja Vu.  It can backfire.

 I never pick up my calls....

2nd related email in the past couple of days. 

On the Saturday before the Texas and Ohio Primaries, data from the </