David Corn

"Clinton's fun-with-numbers does not appear to be winning the day."

I never warmed up to HRC but losing sucks, especially when it seems such a clear winning path to victory.

I also feel badly for her supporters (even the crazy ones) as I would feel badly if my choice lost.

Time to move on to the real threat - GOPhers stealing the general election. They will be throwing the whole kitchen - so far we have only gotten the sink.

Well, David, the little narrative you flaunt was a lot different a few months ago, no? Remember when your ilk were frothing at the mouth when the possibility of Hillary pulling out the election from the super delegate's troth, leaving Obama holding the useless popular vote? Donna Brazil threatened to "walk out" of the party if that happened. Yeah, sure 'is' funny how narratives change...

McCain has ’senior moment’ on the campaign trail: ‘I will win in January.’

Sen. John McCain had one of his infamous “senior moments” while speaking at a campaign rally in Nashville today. “If we do everything right — and we can and we will — I will win in January,” he said, “and I will be the next President of the United States.”

Watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bqy2vrPGV8

By January, McCain will have nothing to win. The presidential election takes place on November 4 of this year. The inauguration — which McCain will presumably attend as either the new President or a returning Senator — occurs on January 20, 2009.

****

Did I mention McSame can't think straight?

The gaffes that keep on givin'!

lol

Time to move on to the real threat - GOPhers stealing the general election. They will be throwing the whole kitchen - so far we have only gotten the sink.

Posted by Capt

You're so funny, since your boy stole the election from Hillary!

It's all about whitey folks, just ask Michelle Obummer~~~

Pastor disaster

Corn makes fun of PR and dismissing their votes but are you ready for blow out #? Hell I've lost count!

HILLARY CAMPAIGN EXPECTS 25-POINT WIN IN S DAKOTA, TOP SOURCES TELL DRUDGE... DEVELOPING...

Trouble signs as Obama closes in
Doubts on extent of his appeal; Signals are mixed on Clinton plans

By Scott Helman
Globe Staff / June 3, 2008

Fifty-six contests. Hundreds of millions of dollars raised and spent. More than 35 million votes cast. And, finally, five months later, one apparent winner.

Barely.

As the epic Democratic presidential primary battle finally comes to conclusion today with votes in South Dakota and Montana, Senator Barack Obama is trying to round up enough superdelegate endorsements so he can declare victory by reaching the threshold of 2,118 delegates required to seal the nomination. He was 41.5 short as of last night, with 31 at stake in today's contests.

But even as Hillary Clinton sends mixed signals about her willingness to leave the race, Obama, unlike his counterparts in recent presidential cycles, is not exactly sprinting across the finish line.

Over the last three months, the Illinois senator has won six of 14 contests, one less than the seven Clinton has won. (They essentially tied in Texas as she won the primary and he won the caucus.) A loss to Clinton in either primary today would underscore Obama's relatively weak finish and make his narrow victory over the New York senator slimmer.

"Usually there's this I-want-to-be-with-the-winner mentality, and you're not seeing that this time," said David Johnson, a Republican pollster who heads the firm Strategic Vision.

Obama and his supporters contend that victory is victory, and that the nomination contest has always been a race for delegates. But some analysts say his less-than-overwhelming recent showing signals trouble - or at least hurdles - as he begins a general election campaign against presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

"To me it indicates he's weaker than people would hope," said Harwood McClerking, a political scientist at Ohio State University. "I was surprised that he's been regularly losing over the last month-and-a-half when people had given him the election."

Johnson said the fact that Obama has not closed with a string of victories is not, by itself, cause for worry. He noted that Jimmy Carter lost primaries at the end of the 1976 nomination race but still won the general election, and Ronald Reagan four years later lost late primaries in Pennsylvania and Michigan but beat Carter in the fall.

The real concern, Johnson said, is the story behind Obama's recent losses: his lackluster showing among white, blue-collar voters, who are key voting blocs in states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania that Democrats have always had to win.

Indeed, the divided nature of the Democratic electorate is a chief concern for Obama, one he has begun going out of his way to address. Campaigning in Troy, Mich., yesterday, he praised Clinton for running an "outstanding race," and said, "She and I will be working together in November." His comments, which were not part of his prepared text, seemed to be more inconclusive than his remarks in South Dakota on Sunday, when he said Clinton would be a "great asset when we go into November."

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

The magic is gone~

The choice, Obama said earlier Monday in Troy, couldn't be clearer.

"As much as I admire John McCain -- he's a genuine war hero -- but he is running for George Bush's third term," Obama said. "That's why this election is so important. McCain has said we've made great progress economically over the last eight years and he's promising to do more of the same, but I don't know who he was talking to. He wasn't talking to all the union workers who have lost their jobs. He's not talking to you, and he's not talking to me, and that's why we can't afford John McCain."

http://tinyurl.com/5azmol

******

And McSame can't raise money without Mr. 23% so he will not be able to cut those ermine strings.

Four McMore Years - will be a very tough sell.

Wes Clark floats Obama-Sebelius

Wes Clark stopped out in Texas yesterday to drop by a fundraiser Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius headlined for Michael Skelly, a Democrat running for congress in Texas.

Clark introduced Sebelius and, according to a regular correspondent and reliable source who was there, said:

"The London odds-makers say that Kathleen Sebelius is the odds-on favorite to be the next vice
president. I can tell you, she'd make a great vice presidential choice."

He then introduced her as "The next vice president of the United States...."

Sebelius is typically considered for the slot only if Obama is the nominee.

A sign of the times from a Clinton loyalist.

(politico)

B-52s' Fred Schneider Sings From McClellan Book On "Daily Show"

http://tinyurl.com/6r5cb7

OMG - too funny!

Clinton to Cede Nomination to Obama Tuesday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lldg2BzQh14

History will be made tonight!

History will be made tonight!

Posted by Capt

Yes, that a man stole the election from the first women running for President.

Be proud, very proud!

McCain Will Not Change or Reform Washington

Today, John McCain will deliver a speech, according to the Associated Press, in which he will make the case that he's the presidential candidate with a "history of fighting to reform government" and that Barack Obama's rhetoric doesn't match up to McCain's accomplishments.

As a reformer who has watched McCain over the past 12 years, and very closely over the past 12 months, this is complete you-know-what.

http://tinyurl.com/499feh

*****

McSame is McFour McMore Years of Bush.

Maybe the 20 some odd percent will carry the day.

I doubt it but it is possible, eh?

Former President Carter: I will endorse Obama


ATLANTA (AP) - Former President Carter says he'll endorse Democrat Barack Obama after the polls close on the final primaries.

Carter told The Associated Press on Tuesday: "The fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight." Carter spoke to the AP after addressing the Georgia World Congress Center.

Carter, a superdelegate, has remained officially neutral in the race but has offered high praise to Obama. Carter has noted that his children, grandchildren and their spouses back the Illinois senator.

South Dakota and Montana hold primaries Tuesday.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D912P78O1&show_article=1

*****

Doesn't get much better than that!

Former President Carter: I will endorse Obama

ATLANTA (AP) - Former President Carter says he'll endorse Democrat Barack Obama after the polls close on the final primaries.

posted by Capt

~~~

There goes the Jewish vote!

Doesn't get much better than that!

Australia Ends Iraq Combat Operations

[...]

Rudd, in announcing the troop withdrawal, attacked Howard for taking the country to war in Iraq in the first place.

"Of most concern to this government was the manner in which the decision to go to war was made," Rudd said in remarks broadcast by the BBC. "The abuse of intelligence information. The failure to disclose to the Australian people the qualified nature of that intelligence, for example the pre-war warning that an attack on Iraq would increase the terrorist threat, not decrease it. We now know that the decision to go to war was based on flawed intelligence."

Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcast Corp. reported June 1 that a legal brief has been sent to the International Criminal Court alleging Howard committed a war crime by sending troops to Iraq. A loose alliance of peace activists, lawyers, academics and politicians is behind the brief, organized by the ICC Action Group, based in Melbourne.

http://tinyurl.com/3skoj6

*****

Could be trouble for the liar that actually started the Iraq war?

This might keep Commander Bunnypants up at night. It should.

Obama supports Israel. Period.

Barack Obama's big speech on Israel is now over, and as expected, the candidate made no secret of his support and dedication to the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel. "My view is that the United States' special relationship with Israel obligates us to be helpful to them in the search for credible partners with whom they can make peace, while also supporting Israel in defending itself against enemies sworn to its destruction," were Obama's words to Haaretz last week. Today, he sounded as strong as Clinton, as supportive as Bush, as friendly as Giuliani. At least rhetorically, Obama passed any test anyone might have wanted him to pass. So, he is pro-Israel. Period.

http://tinyurl.com/2gfohu

More Headaches for McCain’s Camp

For weeks now, John McCain's presidential campaign has faced awkward questions about the outside activities of several top advisers. Add one more name to the list: former Texas senator Phil Gramm, McCain's longtime friend and one of his five campaign co-chairs. (A sixth, former congressman Tom Loeffler, quit recently after NEWSWEEK reported on his lobbying work for Saudi Arabia.) According to McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker, the co-chair position affords Gramm "broad input into the structure, financing and conduct of the campaign." She added that Gramm, who has a doctorate in economics, is also "a valued voice on economic policy." Gramm is not a paid McCain adviser, but his day job—vice chairman of a U.S. division of Zurich-based financial giant UBS—could pose new tests for a candidate who has promised high ethics standards and ditched advisers who failed to meet them.

UBS has recently written off huge losses in subprime-mortgage-based securities, and last week liberal bloggers noted that Gramm was a registered UBS lobbyist on mortgage-securities issues until at least December 2007.

NEWSWEEK has learned that UBS is also currently the focus of congressional and Justice Department investigations into schemes that allegedly enabled wealthy Americans to evade income taxes by stashing their money in overseas havens, according to several law-enforcement and banking officials in both the United States and Europe, who all asked for anonymity when discussing ongoing investigations. In April, UBS withdrew Gramm's lobbying registration, but one of his former congressional aides, John Savercool, is still registered to lobby legislators for UBS on numerous issues, including a bill cosponsored by Sen. Barack Obama that would crack down on foreign tax havens. "UBS is treating these investigations with the utmost seriousness and has committed substantial resources to cooperate," a UBS spokesman told NEWSWEEK, adding that Gramm was deregistered as a lobbyist because he spends less than 20 percent of his time on such activity. Hazelbaker said the McCain campaign "will not comment on the details … of ongoing investigations and legal charges not yet proved in court."

McCain's campaign is already distancing itself from some of Gramm's other work for UBS: his involvement in attempts to sell financial products known as "death bonds," which BusinessWeek described last summer as one of "the most macabre investment scheme[s] ever devised by Wall Street." Not long after joining UBS, the Houston Chronicle reported, Gramm helped lobby Texas officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, to sign on to a UBS proposal in which revenue would be generated for a state teachers' retirement fund by selling bonds, whose proceeds would in turn be used to buy annuities and life-insurance policies on retired teachers. UBS would advance money to the retirement fund, then repay itself, compensate bondholders and pocket profits when insurance companies paid off on retirees who died. According to a banking-industry source, who asked for anonymity when discussing a sensitive matter, Gramm was involved in efforts to pitch similar UBS products to other financial institutions.

Gramm's office declined NEWSWEEK's request for comment. A source familiar with the bank's current business, who also asked for anonymity, said UBS no longer markets the kind of plan that Gramm was allegedly trying to sell to Texas. Hazelbaker said that McCain, who has been critical of the financial industry's performance in the subprime market, disapproves of death bonds and "supports increased accountability, transparency and capital backing in our financial markets as a solution to these problems." Death bonds, she continued, "move markets away [from]—not toward—these goals."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/139443

*****

When the gaffes are just not enough.

lol

If the voting is over and Barack has clearly won, why does she need to concede?

One question for David; is this paragraph in your column spin, or are you just simply mistaken? "Clintonites have advocated counting all the 328,309 Clinton votes in the Michigan primary and awarding Obama none of the 238,168 uncommitted votes".

Realclear count that mirrors the DNC RBC decision:

Popular Vote (w/MI Uncommitted to Obama)**

17,627,421 48.0%
17,692,976 48.1% Clinton +65,555

Your statement is cleraly wrong by your own sources account. 3 of the 6 realclear scenarios show Clinton leading. The scenario not shown is the fairest, i.e., no MI and no "estimated (imaginary) votes". Clinton is ahead by in this scenario as well.

(I have been using Jay Cost numbers since January, it seems now he is getting pressure to hurriedly paint a picture more favorable to Obama in how numbers appear on the site. This new politics is a seriously powerful thing).

I don't trust Washington Times blogs anymore than i trust what i read here. However, in the interest of balance, what they are saying would support what i hope Clinton decides to do, i.e., wish Obama love and success, let everyone take some time to reflect and say, see you in August.

quote from w.times: "The poll shows only 13 percent of Democrats think superdelegates should base their selections on who leads the elected delegate count. More than 60 percent say superdelegates should follow the popular vote or who they think will make the best president. "

Clinton Says She's Open to Vice President Slot, AP Reports

By Charlotte Porter

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Hillary Clinton said today she'd consider being the vice presidential candidate on a Democratic ticket headed by Senator Barack Obama, the Associated Press reported.

Clinton made her comments to a group of New York lawmakers, AP said, without citing other details.

To contact the reporter on this story: Charlotte Porter in New York at cporter11@bloomberg.net.

*****

Barack would be nuts to have HRC on the ticket. She has so burned those bridges. Maybe he would be more wise and hold off and see how she does campaigning for him first?

HRC suffers from self-inflicted wounds.

BREAKING NEWS: AP says Obama clinches Dem nomination; When will Clinton concede?

On the final day with the last two Democratic primaries in Montana and South Dakota, the Associated Press is reporting that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has accumulated sufficient delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination for president at the party's National Convention in Denver come August.

Now, the next question is when will New York Sen. Hillary Clinton concede?

When do you think she should give up? Now? Tonight after all voting? Tomorrow? Never, fight on? See Comments below.

--Andrew Malcolm

(LATimes)

*****

I guess everybody is getting the numbers all wrong? (everybody but Hillary)

lol

We all know how the lack of planning after SuperTuesday led to the downfall of the Clinton campaign. They simply had not prepared a plan to continue the race, nor save or raise enough money to do so even if they had. We know that Penn never understood the logistics of the primary, that Clinton never had the right message (and thus changed it constantly), and that she had no control over her surrogates, especially Bill. Well, it seems that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Here we are at the end, the same end which had been depicted by Todd and the other news pundits for months, and still we see the many faces of Hillary. Major supporters say it is over, and have said that Clinton has told them so. But wait, then her campaign comes out and says it is false. Then her campaign leaks that she will concede, then she will not concede but will acknowledge Obama's delegate count, now McAuliffe and Ickes say she is fighting on to Denver. Then there is the story over at the Huffington Post that she is open to the VP spot.

Hillary, enough! Sit down for about 10 minutes and make a decision about what the Hell you are going to do. If you want to keep it going, then do so and quit all the leaks and hints and garbage.

If you are going to concede then just do it. Don't do it with some bs concession which you can parse semantically later - "I never endorsed him or conceded, but only acknowledged his lead in delegates..." If you are going to triangulate yet again, then be a grown up, put on the big girl panties, and keep fighting. Otherwise, show some class, you and Bill quit attacking Obama and trying to make the primary results seem illegitimate.

Looking at how you have lost control of this monster makes me thank my lucky stars that you are not the nominee.

(kos)

Obama supports Israel. Period.

Posted by Capt

~~~

Sure he does~ just like he doesn't support NAFTA.

wink-wink

Just like he didn't know what pastor #1, pastor #2, pastor #3 were a preachin why he was a clappin.

wink-wink

Just like he wants to change Washington but then steals the election from Hillary.

wink-wink

Just like he doesn't plan on removing the troops from Iraq when he said.

wink-wink

Just like he doesn't believe in Black Liberation theology.

wink-wink

Just like he didn't know Rezco was a crook.

wink-wink

Just like he says he doesn't approve of Farrahkans hate speach but has wife preachin death to whitey.

wink-wink

As Capt likes to say: OMG!

HILLARY OPEN TO VEEP SLOT

This is a brilliant move by Hillary, cuz she knows Obummer won't pick her and this will just piss off her base even more.

Hillary 2012?

Waxman Requests FBI Interviews Of Bush And Cheney

WASHINGTON — A House committee chairman said Tuesday he is seeking more documents from the CIA leak probe because Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff made a significant disclosure to the FBI that warrants further congressional follow-up.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told the FBI that it's possible he was instructed by Cheney to disseminate information to the press about the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Plame's CIA identity was leaked to the news media by several top Bush administration officials in 2003, including Libby and former top White House political adviser Karl Rove.

"This is a significant revelation and, if true, a serious matter," Waxman wrote Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

Waxman said the disclosure cannot be responsibly investigated without access to the FBI's interview of Cheney.

(huffpo)

******

If they prove the executive involvement in the crime and the pardon is likely a crime as well.

Bunnypants better double up on his Ambien!

lol

Bob Beckel says Bombshell is heading Michele Obama's way.

Fox & FRiends ^ | 05/03/08 |

If any of you had the opportunity to watch Fox & FRiends this morning, you probably saw Bob Beckel being interviewed about todays political events.

Towards the end of the interview he announced to the Fox & FRiends hosts that he has been told by numerous people,(enough and in a way that convinced him) that a bombshell will be dropping tomorrow about Michele Obama.

The Friends turned white and asked what it might be...was it worse than a college thesis? Bob said—Oh yes, in a BIG way. He said that the Repubs were behind it and it was dumb because it meant that Mrs. Clinton would be the nominee.

So the die is cast, IMHO Hillary will suspend her campaign within the next 24 hours and then the bomb will drop, leaving the Republics to take the blame.

Beckel said that this will make Hillary the candidate. Whatever is on that tape (if it is a tape)it must be a beauty.

Ouch~

Bob Beckel is a Obummer supporter~~

Survey USA

Latest numbers:

Barack - 48%

McSame - 38%

That'd be a double digit lead before the general election even starts?

Could be trouble, a change is a comin'

I should have included - the Survey USA poll has possible VP match-ups - McSame loses on every match.

Here it is:

http://tinyurl.com/44ptlh

Talk about a bummer, eh?

Michael Goldfarb, McCain's Newest Official, Says President Has "Near Dictatorial Powers"

Bill Kristol today proudly announces that one of his Weekly Standard staff members, Michael Goldfarb, was just named the Deputy Communications Director of the McCain campaign. Last April, this newest McCain official participated in a conference call with former Senator George Mitchell, during which Mitchell advocated a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Afterwards, this is what Goldfarb wrote about what he thinks are the powers the President possesses in our country:

Mitchell's less than persuasive answer [to whether withdrawal timetables "somehow infringe on the president's powers as commander in chief?"]: "Congress is a coequal branch of government...the framers did not want to have one branch in charge of the government."

True enough, but they sought an energetic executive with near dictatorial power in pursuing foreign policy and war. So no, the Constitution does not put Congress on an equal footing with the executive in matters of national security.

(huffpo)

*******

Bush like the dictator idea too, birds of a feather flock together has never been more true than today.

On NO - not another natonal poll with Barack over MCSame?

Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain 49%-44% among "likely" voters, the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows. A month ago, McCain had a 48%-47% advantage.

Obama's advantage narrows slightly among registered voters, to 47%-44%.

Meanwhile, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton leads McCain 48%-44% among likely voters and 49%-43% among registered voters. A month ago, she trailed McCain 49%-46% among likely voters.

*****

OUCH! times two?

lol

Polls are just pollstrology so NBD either way.

Obama seems anxious to drive McCain batty

I used to worry a bit that Barack Obama’s above-the-fray style might not be assertive enough for a rough-and-tumble general election campaign against an aggressive Republican machine. I’m increasingly confident that my concerns were misplaced — Obama seems to enjoy going on the offensive against John McCain.

Last week, Obama went after McCain on the GI Bill. Over the weekend, Obama continued to hammer away at McCain’s confusion over the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. And today, in a speech in Troy, Michigan, Obama will take on a McCain quote that’s certain to generate an angry response.

http://tinyurl.com/5mtrvz

******

I can't wait for the debates. Barack is giong to have a good "push button" issue handy and we will see McSame's temper.

I predict McSame goes red faced and blubbers.

It will be a viral youtube within a day.

Barack Obama's “Salmon Chase” problem- Don't Choose Hillary for VP

[...]

Whether she was offered a cabinet post or the vice presidency, Hillary's personality would make her a horrible choice for higher office. Although, on the surface, she might give the appearance of loyalty, the next four years would be little more than an opportunity for her to do her damnedest to replace Obama as president in 2012. Her willingness to “throw the kitchen sink” should be instructive as to her future behavior. No honorable person would concoct the drug dealing lies, the muslim rumors, the Madrassas e-mails, nor would any person with honor research everything from his kindergarden papers to his pastor's past sermons. There are no limits to Hillary's hunger for office, and combined with her ego, that lack of self-restraint and hunger for the presidency would make her an extremely dangerous and untrustworthy member of Obama's administration.

Lincoln was well served by his choices, and when they disagreed (which they did routinely) Lincoln listened to all advice, even from those with whom he disagreed, then decided a course of action. What was notable was that even his most bitter enemies, Seward, Chase, etc, responded by following his decision, with absolutely no qualms or public dissent. Such loyalty simply does not exist in Hillary.

So, Senator Obama, heed the lesson from the Pomeroy Circular. Safeguard your future administration. Invite political enemies, invite the best and the brightest, but limit your invitations and selections to those who deserve your trust and who will serve the country first and foremost. Hillary is not that person.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/8197

Straight Talk on the Stakes

[...]

Senator Obama's defined the race this week in Troy, Michigan" "There is no doubt that the Bush economic policies have done little to help the working families of Michigan or build a better future for America. That is, in large part, what this election in November will be all about."

"There's a reason the problems we face today are so much bigger than they were several years ago. A big part of it is that George Bush and John McCain have been so focused on pursuing a flawed and costly war in Iraq that they've lost sight of our mounting problems here at home. Instead of working to fix our economy and lift up hardworking families, they've fought to extend a war that's costing thousands of lives and billions of dollars without making us any safer..."
"And now it seems like all Senator McCain is talking about on the campaign trail is Iraq - instead of offering real solutions to the problems you face every day. In fact, Senator McCain conceded not long ago that he didn't know much about the economy. That's not his interest. That's not his priority. But it will be mine."

The differences are stark; the choices clear. McCain will try to package himself as a moderate reformer. Obama will no doubt seek to prove he is tough enough to be president. But the fundamental choice is whether Americans want once more to enlist in the neo-conservative's imperial mission, or focus on making America strong from the inside out. That's why McCain will peddle fear, while Obama defends hope. And why the choice this year may, in McCain's words, "determine our fate."

http://tinyurl.com/5a5nwp

******

The differences are huge. Americans will have a stark choice. I hope people turn out in huge numbers.

Who knows? Maybe McCain will have something to win in January.

In Las Vegas probably...