Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Greetings from the desert:

I haven't been able to read the more than 500 posts here yesterday and today so if this is redundant, I apologize in advance. If you're looking ahead to Super Tuesday to speculate on each of the 22 states participating, here is a list all in one place with a delegate count.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Duper_Tuesday

As KO and others have pointed out, the country may wind up on the morning of Feb. 6th and still not know who is the favorite to take the convention nominations.

Have a great day!

to dnd, from the last thread

hi, dnd...well, nobody's perfect. Dictator? Hmmmm. I would think a dictator would have a better wardrobe, beyond that red shirt.

Hillary on CNN speaking at a Memphis Church

CNN is starting off with its Ballot Bowl 08 coverage of all the candidates.

Maxtrue...
I took the time to read it...... excellent and very well thought out....
and I see someone has already corrected your mistake..... "turd blossom" referred to KKKarl Rove....

Colleen..... you made a great post lamenting the fact that we're not talking about the issues..... Maxtrue may not be supporting your candidate of choice, but his post is very much worth reading....

Nash.... you're a rascal!..... :0)

Craig...
despite the media's efforts..... so far they haven't been able to make anyone on either side a frontrunner..... I LOVE it!

I especially love to see McCain doing as well as he's doing despite Rush Limpball's efforts.....

even the thought that that blowhard may finally become irrelevant is priceless!

Renee you are so right, I did not practice what I preached. I am going back to read Max's post to assuage my guilt.

Colleen,
"hi, dnd...well, nobody's perfect. Dictator? Hmmmm. I would think a dictator would have a better wardrobe, beyond that red shirt."

So do you think Castro's military fatigues are a fashion statement? ;-)

eprof2,
"If you're looking ahead to Super Tuesday "

I'm looking forward to SuperBowl Sunday. And after that, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

I'm starting to overdose on all the campaigns. But then, that's just what they wanted.... (I've got my tinfoil hat on today ;0)

A potential title of Craig's next book....

"Polls and Cigarettes: How the Media Turns You Against the Politicians"

ok, Renee and Max, I read the whole thing. As we psycho-therapists say: "thanks for sharing."

Max,
I read your long post, thanks to Renee. Us old-timers have developed a degree of trust and respect for each other's opinions. You bring up some interesting issues. But in order for you not to be a "turd blossom", it would be interesting to hear your concerns about your candidate on the same or similar issues.

Craig quite a condescending, petty, back handed, and biased tone to today's piece.

Spike,
I may have missed it, but did the intrade (or some other poll) get the dems SC results right?

DND, don't blame you. College baseball started here on Friday, so spring training is just around the corner. Living in AZ, we're saturated with Super Bowl hype.

Relax Brian. Craig's in the tank for Hillary. Remember?

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Renee,
"Nash.... you're a rascal!..'

Um, isn't that a requirement to be a card carrying Crawfordlister?

dnd I'm relaxed, I've come to expect this from Craig.

Kudos to Craig for appearing in the opinion section of the Des Moines Register today. I would link it but can't find anything using their search function on the online version. The short article is in a section called "From the Blogosphere" and the title is "Don't Underestimate Shape-Shifting Romney." It is credited as coming from the huffingtionpost.

I'm quite certain that if Obama get's the nomination Craig's first piece will be about how the Dems have screwed up and giving the Repugs a victory come election day. He's already said so much in his doom and gloom warned about the election.

Brian=little mister sunshine, I do admit I frequently agree with you.

Craig, I was kind of thinking about the very subject of this blog the other day. I wonder if the news media is building up Obama so they can tear him down later. "It sells newspapers," as they used to say in the business.

zoey----I am thinking you are from IA. as I am

Yes Chickadee, I am. So is Spike.

Oh, I see it's recipe time...

Easy Super Bowl Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 large onion chopped (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup margarine or butter
4 cups chicken breast, 1/2" cubes
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons snipped cilantro or parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
2 teaspoons ground red chilies
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cans (16 oz. each) great northern beans
1 can white shoe peg corn, drained

Saute onion and garlic in margarine over low heat, stirring
until lightly browned. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

zoey,
Of course the media will go after Obama, but they can't do it just yet. And when it happens it will be about "issues" not race. It will be the right wing media that leads the charge, and then the rest will follow, not to be left out from feeding on the carcas.

dnd -- here's a repost from last night (about three threads ago -- boy, people are chatty around here lately...)

Quick answer to your question....Intrade correctly predicted win, place, and show and indicated the size of Obama's lead over Clinton and Edwards...

Update: Edwards did not do well enough to get any delegates in the SC fifth Congressional District. His level of support will probably only get him 1-2 delegates at the most in all other districts and approximately the same number of at-large delegates.

----------------------
from Saturday night...

Well, SC Democratic primary was a snoozer, so let's see what's in the future...Since the Clinton campaign pulled one of the greatest political Hudini's in recent memory (you see the delegates...now you don't...oh look, there they are again!), Florida is back in play...Therefore, I'll be adding the Democratic FL futures market onto the Intrade Presidential Futures market graphs starting tomorrow.

The latest Intrade Presidential Futures Market data:

http://www.central.edu/publicdocs/01%2D26%2D08FuturesMarketGraphs.pdf

REPUBLICANS: Both at the national level and in FL, McCain took a sharp upward turn today. Also, Romney took downward turns at the national and in FL today.

Nationally, McCain has had a steady, upward trend since the first week in December. In Florida, his strength actually peaked on January 5th, but after trending downward continuously since January 18th, McCain gathered enough support today to bypass Romney today for the first time since January 23rd.

DEMOCRATS: Nothing really new today...Clinton maintains her national lead at about the same level over Obama since January 20th. As expected, Obama won big over Clinton in SC, with Edwards coming dangerously close to not getting enough votes to claim delegates.

Because it had been assumed for sometime that the Democratic primary would not be contested in FL, the market has been trading overwhelming for a Clinton win.

With her campaign putting the state back in play, we should know in about 36 hours to what extent the market thinks Obama can successfully challenge her in such a short amount of time.

For those who are not familar with political futures markets, I have written a quick tutorial at:

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/01/florida-to-forecast-both-party-1.html#comment-16896

"Craig, I was kind of thinking about the very subject of this blog the other day. I wonder if the news media is building up Obama so they can tear him down later. "It sells newspapers," as they used to say in the business. -- Posted by: zoey"

They don't do it conciously, Zoey, but i've seen it happen so many times that i'll bet on it happening again. It is also happening with McCain, so maybe it cancels itself out if Obama is nominated.

"Craig quite a condescending, petty, back handed, and biased tone to today's piece. -- Posted by: Brian In NYC"

My my, somebody had Bitter Oats for breakfast

Craig

Your point is well taken. Just wondering, should Obama be the Dem. nominee & McCain the Rep. which one would be the darling of the MSM?

well..ya know how it is craig.. had you said something about Bill's racism, your piece would have been insightful!

the media (MSNBC)....is trying to ram obama down the throats of voters.....i used to like him but they have turned me off him and their network .....poor craig crawford tries to state facts and gets ridiculed by morning joe crew......i wouldnt be surprised if hes not invited to comment on their shows in the future.........the race card has been media driven when chris matthews couldnt accept obama losing NH and started the bradley effect excuse....they are idiots if they think race will win him the nomination......all they are doing is splitting the dem party and give the GOP the general when we have a year when a potted plant could beat the GOP......why can news media discuss issues and records with out putting racial twist to everything

No Craig, I didn't join you for breakfast. I had eggs. And btw CNN just reported that Teddy is going to endorse Obama. Time for you to whip up a fresh batch of those Bitter Oats.

that'll help in November

"Your point is well taken. Just wondering, should Obama be the Dem. nominee & McCain the Rep. which one would be the darling of the MSM? -- Posted by: Coreen"

It'll be tough for them, Coreen, but guessin the RFK heart strings win the day

Iowans----Zoey and Spike

Why do you think that so many from IA voted for Obama and not Hilliary.

NSN goes with the underdog..until he/she isnt the underdog anymore..

Barack Obama: "The Audacity Of Hope"
Ted Kennedy: "The Propensity To Grope"

What a team!

Craig were you always a Kennedy hater or did that happen after the '80 campaign? I hope your blood pressure didn't go through the roof while reading Caroline's endorsement.

In case anyone wants to send a card, today is Keith Olbermann's birthday. He has a few famous companions on the date:

1948 Mikhail Baryshnikov
1936 Troy Donahue
1921 Donna Reed
1908 William Randolph Hearst Jr
1885 Jerome Kern
1850 Samuel Gompers
1832 Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson)
1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Brian -- for those who love Ronald Reagan, they have Kennedy to thank.

Jamie

As to your earlier post, I agree that Obama's impressive win should be attributed to the fact that he very successfully got his voters (both black & young voters) out. But that does not fit the MSM agenda to keep controversy brewing.

I find it astonishing that suddenly Bill Clinton is now portrayed as public enemy #1, a true villain scheming to destroy a rival. This is politics isn't it, they are all in this to win.

It remains to be seen if the Democratic voters demographics continues to play out as it apparently did in SC. Don't know for sure, but if women, latinos show up for Hillary, if blacks align predominantly with Obama, if white men are divided between Hillary/Edwards/Obama, which candidate will be left standing--my instincts suggest Hillary will be the victor when the dust settles.

Brian, i love ya like a brother but please don't think i give a damn about accusations of bias coming from the biased. Thoughtfully explored counter points? Now that is interesting.

ut oh.. like a "brother"??? :)

Craig - for those who love Ronald Reagan, they have Carter to thank.

Yeah Brian...be like Fonzie. What was Fonzie like everybody???

I love you like a brutha too! (no cain and abel jokes!)

:)

i think the DNC and the whole party is way off base .......caucus and proportioned delegates instead of winner take all states prolong the primary season and cause a lot of tension in the party....in 1980 the candidates beat on each other so much they were wounded and reagan won the election.....in this election with one winning the pop vote and only getting a portion of the delagtes will keep these 3 pounding each other possibly til may or june and in a year when a potted plant can beat the GOP..we could possibly end up losing because of this stupid DNC decision to strip delegates and trying to have 4 states get all the advantage of picking our candidate.....its not helping the party or the candidates or for that matter the voters ....obama wins iowa and is only 1 delegate up......hillary wins NH and the D's are tied ....she wins nevada obama get one more D....this is stupid....he wins SC and wont gain anything ......that means they have to get meaner and meaner to try to separate themselves and all we do is give the GOP ammo to beat either one of them

Colleen,

Thank you for reading my post. With the MSM baying at the moon screaching bias and racism, I was hoping to bring it back to the pure political arena. The candidates are all political animals. They measure every little shift in the body politic

It is the extremes represented by the 527s and the more agitated followers who rant and rave. The MSM then features them because noise is more interesting than the peaceful resolution found in issues and positions.

It is rarely the candidate that is playing in the mud, but they frequently do get splashed when something big hits the muck.

"...for those who love Ronald Reagan, they have Kennedy to thank."

Craig, would you mind explaining this, please? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts here.

They have the "October Surprise" to thank!

"...for those who love Ronald Reagan, they have Kennedy to thank." -- "Craig, would you mind explaining this, please? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts here. -- Posted by: Julia"

Julia, here's how I see it -- when Ted decided in 1980 that it would be a great idea to run against his own party's sitting president (Jimmy Carter), and then, once soundly beaten in the primaries, peevishly refuse to back that president, we got one of the great ironies of all presidential history: the "liberal lion" paves the way for Ronald Reagan -- if I were HRC i would not want such poltiical genius on my side

Craig,

I honestly don't think Kennedy's endorsement of Obama is comparable to his run against and later refusal to support a sitting president of his party back in 1980. First of all, this is a competitive, open race in which lots of Dems are choosing sides within the party.

But more importantly I think -- for now anyway -- there is still plenty of room for Teddy to support Obama at this time and all the way through to November should that be the case. Or, in the alternative, to support and campaign hard for Hillary should she win the nomination. I may be wrong, but I don't think there is huge bad blood between the two. And after all, he IS the original LardAss Liberal.

Julia another take on '80. If Clinton hadn't been such a failure no one within the party would have challenged him. And had Carter abandoned his "rose garden" campaign strategy he still might have beaten Reagan.

SO TRUE. And you can bet that the media love fest will end as soon as Obama is running against a Republican. Then, the pampered and adored Obama will have a real battle on his hands, one that he has never seen before, what with being a media darling and running against the likes of Alan Keys for the Senate in Illinois.

I'm so much more comfortable with Hillary Clinton as a fighter than the overly protected Obama.

HRC is a centrist .....not liberal enough for teddy

LardAss: "First of all, this is a competitive, open race in which lots of Dems are choosing sides within the party"

Yeah, Lard, like 2004 when Ted's political genius surfaced again -- to put John Kerry over the top in the Iowa caucuses.

If this guy has his way, Republicans really will own the White House for a generation

Come on Craig, Hillary would have killed for Teddy's endorsement it would have given her a leg up within the wing of the party that she has the most trouble, the liberal wing.

Hello chrisc, zumper and other fresh faces. The Trail Mix Welcome Wagon gets a bit caught up in our little squabbles sometimes and forgets to offer a proper Howdy. Hope you stick around.

Hey...no one is trying to say Hillary should accept a ride home from a post-convention party with Teddy. That truly would be dangerous.
(Okay..if I didn't say it, Rush would have)

Man y'all, I can't keep up, remimd me not to take a day away from the computer.
Just bought Newt's book the other day, I wonder if I can write in his name on the ballot on Tuesday.

My thought on this bruhaha about BC and HRC is that most people will vote for the person that they percieve as disliked by the MSM.

On lighter note, my family seems to very popular with Romney, McCain, Huckabee and Gulianni, as I had 12 voicemails from them yesterday. Fubbyiest call came from the Huckabee camp where he stated that Gullianni was for abortion all nine months. Oh the perills of being a Florida "Super" voter.

Still standing by my prediction that Hillary will break the rule and show up in Florida before the close of polls on Tuesday.

So Craig,
What happens if Carter comes out and endorses Obama?

"Come on Craig, Hillary would have killed for Teddy's endorsement it would have given her a leg up within the wing of the party that she has the most trouble, the liberal wing. --Posted by: Brian In NYC"

If you're right, Brian, she would have been wrong to do so. A hard fought battle against liberal "lions" and media elites for this nomination is what ensures HRC's election.

If this guy has his way, Republicans really will own the White House for a generation

Posted by: Craig Crawford

That works for me!!!LOL!

Ahhhhhhh, I see what you mean. Thanks Craig, and also thanks to Brian for his opinion on the subject.

lol carter endorsement would be the kiss of death for obama

because unlike 1980, liberals want to win WH bad enough to hold their noses and close ranks if HRC the nominee

sheesh, Brian you are so predictable. You start complaining from the first post and it doesn't stop. I will read on but so far all I see is "attack, attack, attack"

xoxoxoxox

Orlando Magic won, for those who care. Time for a sandwich.

craig,, what does the media do if HRC wins the nomination ??? slit their wrists........especially joe scarbourough and chris matthews

Craig,
"because unlike 1980, liberals want to win WH bad enough to hold their noses and close ranks if HRC the nominee"

Agreed. Now what about independents?

What? Bill Clinton was a failure? He was one of the finest presidents of the 20th century.

Okay, speaking of Ted Kennedy, Mitt just called politely reminded me that you can tell a lot about people by the company they keep. Then proceeded to tell what good friends John McCain an Ted are.

Craig I hope you're not hoping for a Sister Souljah moment I don't think you're going to get one. Nor is one called for, this election is not about a candidate putting anyone "in their place". You're still playing politics old school, people are tired of that type of thing.

CNN poll this morning 67% of all Americans think Obama is best suited to unite the country, that's what people are looking for. Ask your bud Joe Scarboro. I'm willing to bet even he will end up voting for Barak!

it is dangerous for any one party to feel like they're the "natural governing party.." that's what happened here... essentially 20 years of Liberal Gov't..which wasnt so bad policy wise, but eventually, too many pigs are at the trough...

independents must decide between more neo-con country busting and the nearest democrat......if they cant see it, more neo-con fun and games......

With apologies to Santayana: Those who remember history are destined to be skeptical. And some of us recall with distaste the self-serving behavior of Ted Kennedy on more than a few occasions. There has been bad blood between the (post John) Kennedys and Clintons for years and now it seems is the time for retribution. I strongly doubt it will hurt HRC, except possibly in Massachusetts, since many Democrats over 45 have long memories.

if dems turn out in numbers like they've been turning out in primaries, they wont need independents..

Oh wait, I think Brian meant to say Carter was a failure !! I should have caught that.

Carter was a decent man and I thought he was a good president. A lot of what happened during that time was not within his control. And I admired and still admire the Camp David Accords.

ty,
"it is dangerous for any one party to feel like they're the "natural governing party.." that's what happened here... essentially 20 years of Liberal Gov't..which wasnt so bad policy wise, but eventually, too many pigs are at the trough..."

Amen!

Amy Sedaris & Dolly Parton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKeulwZ3sGE

I'm old enough to remember JFK and RFK and Obama doesn't match up to either. So how people close to those two can think he does,esp. the Kennedys, baffles me.

Ted Widmer wrote a superb article in the Washington Monthly which does a better job of skewing Obama's likeness to JFK. I can't do better.

But with respect to RFK, the main difference, as I see it, is "heart and soul". Obama crafts flowery speeches that disappear upon any close reading of them. He is a politician first and foremost who uses his rhetorical skills to win elections.

RFK was not a great orator, but he was a youngish man who grew in stature in front of our eyes. He was, perhaps, the only politician in recent history who underwent a profound personal transformation. And in his last years, one knew that he spoke from the heart, from a place deep within him.

Obama is all surface polish. RFK was real.

Don't believe me? Look for a video of his speech upon learning of the murder of MLK.

Just what the country would need... another religious freak in the white house. Mitt Romney is an example of everything that is wrong in America. Money buys elections and he has a fortune to squander. And he sure isn't a candidate of change, but then none of the Repugs are.

Same dance, different hall.

"Republicans really will own the White House for a generation"

Just as the far right overplayed it's hand to the point that now the middle class is trying to desert them in droves, the far left of the spectrum could well scare them back again before giving the moderates a chance to clean up the Bush mess, fix the Supreme court, and slowly slide left to make the gains the party desires.

The body politic prefers that the pendulum swings in a lazy fashion back and forth without enough extreme to break the mainspring. They rarely dash madly right or left in any one election unless very frightened. Now if Bush manages to get us into a full blown economic crash, the Dems will have nothing to worry about as they will just open the gate for the shivering sheep to come in just as they did in 1932

If, OTOH, it is just a downturn and the war appears to be muddling on, then they could move either way depending on which viewpoint looks the safest.

Didnt RFK stab Eugene McCarthy in the back, so to speak?

Carter's presidency was a failure, not total, but by no measure could his presidency be considered a very successful one. I love Jimmy Carter, voted for him twice (my first vote was for Jimmy). But I certainly don't wear rose colored glasses where he is concerned.

Regarding Teddy, as a gay man I have nothing but respect and gratitude for Teddy.

Corey,
Thank you for cutting through all the crap.

Dolly Parton '08!

My best friend in Washington state, a serious politico, says that the Clintons are what the Republicans used to be before they were co-opted by the likes of Reagan, Bush and the far right hate squad. It's his opinion that they are basically Republicans of yesteryear but with a bit more sensitivity.

I wonder if anyone has a thought on this. I'm still for Hillary but the Clintons being classical Repugs never occurred to me. Interesting theory though. It is certain that Nixon, in comparison to the vast right wing cultural assassination squad, was a LIBERAL. A paranoid and power hungry person, but he certainly did things that the pugs would consider sacrilege these days. One that pops in my mind is his directive on "prize freezes" to control inflation. I was pretty young at this time.

Brian writes:

"Regarding Teddy, as a gay man I have nothing but respect and gratitude for Teddy."

______________________________________________________________

Can you please expand on this statement?

Speaking of Dolly Parton, her new song is AWESOME... With all the crap going on in the world today, much of it the fault of USA foreign policy, we could use a song that's uplifting and positive.

Better Get to Livin'

Corey, you know how I feel about Amy Sedaris!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<3

*squee!*

Thomas

Clintons are more like the classic Liberals of the 1950s and early 60s - Check out ones such as Hubert Humphrey. Even JFK was hardly a liberal by today's standard though RFK ended up farther left, particularly in the area of civil rights and individual freedoms. Today all would probably be left wing Republicans or Independents with progressive tendencies.

Thomas,
Nixon's wage/price freeze was due to the misguided approach by Fed Chair Aurthur Burns. Didn't work. Carter gets props for appointing Paul Volcker who cleaned up the mess.

Nixon did go to China, and under pressure started the EPA. But by no means could be construed as a liberal.

Dolly Parton '08!

Teddy is very outspoken in his support for LGTG issues.

Good night all.. it's 10 pm here and I open my shop at 6:30 in the morning and I am exhausted. I'd love to keep reading but I'll check in again tomorrow (I hope)

Thanks for the replies.

Goedenavond en tot ziens.

Good night Thomas.

It's just that there is too much negativity in this world sometimes. Maybe I don't believe in anything passionately enough to get over-involved emotionally with it. I watched a show on Andre Agassi this afternoon. It was mainly on his school in Las Vegas and how he cares deeply about children. He has become a great man. Politicians could learn a lot from him.

I certainly do , Julia! :)

As much as I love Bill Clinton and the 8 years he gave me to raise my kiddos, he should STFU and write another book or something.

tt

Amen TT, amen!

Sam Gompers?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/01/how-the-media-destroys-obama.html#comment-20856

Old Mr. Gompers always gets laughed at when i bring his name up to 8th graders! I always get pissed when they do it!

Hips

Lieberman out on the road with McCain, what a disgrace.

Even Art Schlieshinger (forgive my spelling) said in his 1000+ book about RFK that there were two RFKs. A"good one and a bad one.". I think he was a good man, and lord knows we would have been better off if he had actually won in 1968 but let's not get carried away here. He was just a regular human like any of us.

-Hip

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsey/viewbydate.asp?ID=1698

should have read 1000+ page book on RFK

-Hips

Craig:

Someone else above alluded to McCain in the thread. If you are right about Obama getting good ink, it will be interesting to see how they cover an Obama -McCain race since they think the old man can do no wrong.

At least if it is those two we will get to see old Lou Dobbs mouth pucker up 2 more centimeters.

I'm out of here for now.

-Hipster
C-lister Darling of the C-list Elite

I think Craig's next opinion will be if Obama wins the Democratic nomination, then this is evidence that the media sabotaged the Clinton campaign. They just loved Obama too much for the Clintons to overcome. LOL Aren't we straying a bit from the Attack the Messenger philosophy?

Look Craig, I don't mind that you support Clinton. But I would like if instead of giving the obligatory jokey comment after Keith introduces you, that you let viewers know that your comments are not unbiased, and that you support Hillary Clinton. Sort of like how CNBC commentators have to reveal if they have stock in a company they're analyzing. That will give people the grain of salt they need before making decisions.

Obama is going to be reeling the day the media ever gets tired of the lovefest and begins hitting him hard. He has yet to show he can take any punches at all. The few half-hearted swats at him to date have left him stammering and obviously uncomfortable when confronted, and that does not bode well. For those who think the media worm will never turn regarding Obama, you are mistaken.

It's really pretty insulting to Obama and his supporters to keep claiming his success is press driven.

Just Like Her Daddy and Worse

The Princess Royal of the Kennedy clan, who has herself accomplished nothing in life except being born to wealth and privilege, has draped her father's moth-eaten cloak on Barack Obama, who, in her father's White House, would have been a footman or cook. Say what you will about Obama, he got there himself without the benefit of a rich daddy or corrupt political machine. He may be more unprepared to be president and more disastrous for this country than was JFK, but we hope, at least, that he will be impervious to "love notes" from middle-aged political camp followers who are still trying to be influential without ever being relevant.

http://reviewofcuban-americanblogs.blogspot.com

Dnd,
I posted a reply and pointed out what Hillary's positions would be in relation to Obama. I checked to see if it was posted. It was. Then just now I see it was removed. Why?

It was a bit long and I can't repeat it now. When I have a chance.

Max

NYC

In response to the below-----did I understand correctly that Craig should have to profess that he is for Hillary. Wouldn't that be a stupid thing to do? Who with a brain does that?

Alpha1906 4:34---- Look Craig, I don't mind that you support Clinton. But I would like if instead of giving the obligatory jokey comment after Keith introduces you, that you let viewers know that your comments are not unbiased, and that you support Hillary Clinton. Sort of like how CNBC commentators have to reveal if they have stock in a company they're analyzing. That will give people the grain of salt they need before making decisions.

Charming post there Manuel.

I would like to draw attention to day's posting and the following... the Publisher's Weekly Review of "Attack the Messenger" by Craig Crawford.

In 1988, Vice President George H.W. Bush successfully evaded Dan Rather's questions about his Iran-Contra affair involvement by going on the attack in a live interview on CBS. Crawford, a TV pundit and Congressional Quarterly columnist, identifies this event as the turning point in the media's relationship to both politicians and the nation. In this impassioned dissection of the rapid devolution of the media's power in today's political environment, he asserts that the public's distrust of the news media has reached at a high point, an issue he considers one of "the most hazardous political challenges now facing Americans." Politicians—liberals and conservatives alike (though Republicans bear the brunt of Crawford's ire)—have deflected criticism and convinced the public to blame the media.

To all the drive-by posters.. we're not idiots.. i know you think we are but we're not.. it doesnt really matter which candidate you're smearing.. the C-listers are passionate about their advocacy, but the talking-point opines you cut and paste are see-thru

So is today the "attack the host of this board" day? Problem with breeding or upbringing.....

"The few half-hearted swats at him to date have left him stammering and obviously uncomfortable when confronted, and that does not bode well." MP

uhm, I would say it boded pretty well in South Carolina yesterday.

-Hipster

Patsi I know this is a concept you won't understand, but disagreeing with someone is not an attack.

boded.. great word :)

I dont think patsi was referring to you, bri..some of these posts are plants

speaking of the real lame ass media....there was Howard the Duck Fineman opining that Ted Kennedy will not endorse in the primary....that's what you get when tape the news for replay later. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

I love it when they are wrong as they speak.

there's another factor in low country SC voting this past weekend.......Bill Clinton as president closed the Charleston Naval Shipyard......that was a big deal here.....never heard anyone mention it but there are those who remember......

Depends, Brian, on whether you act like a tantrum-throwing moron.

Thank God Serial Mom was on this afternoon. Money quote just before the final head bashing: "You can't wear white shoes after Labor Day!"

Anyone know the history of Howard Fineman.. i know i could wiki it, but its so much more fun reading on here..

Sturg,

Bill Clinton did not close it. Bush Administration had the list finalized before Clinton took office.....

Craig's Wikipedia Entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Crawford

Did any one here write this?

-Hipster

Nash Babe!

Sharp and a thinker.

Patsi the only tantrum I see is one thrown by an obvious clinton supporter against the Kennedy.

Sheila.....thank you for that.....nice to know, but most thrown out blamed it on the Clintons......

all the gender and race talk and commentary had tired me out...time for a nap on the "vagina couch", from Craigslist:

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2008/01/16/for-sale-one-large-vagina-couch-well-worn-600-bones-or-best-offer/

boded

well, Tylenol, the living Hipster (the real one outside of this computer) is known for making up words.

:-)

Hip

Sheila......the slant was that BClinton closed it in revenge for SC going bad for him at some election etc.....

Yeah....no reason to go ugly on Caroline. She can support who she wants.

Howard Fineman is a newsweek reporter and enabler of Tweety...here the boyz are a year ago.

Open Left Front Page - Thu, 12/27/2007 - 9:42am
In response to my question last night about why the national, established media likes Obama more than they like Clinton, quite a few commenters offered up some very compelling reasons. One concept I would like to think more about is the notion that sexism is more acceptable than racism in our contemporary political discourse. Or, to give a more precise thesis, long-standing sexist narratives that macho pundits have often used to denigrate not only female candidates, but also Democrats in general, are more acceptable in our national political discourse than crass, barely coded racism against African-Americans. Crass, barely coded racism against Muslims and Mexican immigrants is a different story. Talk of deporting the tens of millions of people in America who falls into these categories is quite acceptable, for example. Fascist states bent on maintaining national racial purity would be proud.

However, let's return to the original thesis. Consider, for example, that while Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi have faced countless articles about their hair, suits, and necklines this year, the Lieber-punditry produces quotes like these:
"Does he have sex appeal? . . . Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man's shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of, a little bit of cigar smoke?"
--Chris Matthews, fantasizing about the pleasing, manly body smells of Fred Thompson.

"There is a hierarchical, there is, dare I say it, male, there is an old-line quality to them that some voters, indeed a lot of voters, find reassuring. And this is something that the Democrats need to understand"
--Newsweek's Howard Fineman, admiring the calming masculinity of the GOP presidential candidates and warning Democrats to take heed.

"What's appealing about Rudy Giuliani is not the generous side, what's appealing about him is the tough cop side.

Right. You just wait until daddy gets home.

Yes, that part...

That Daddy.

... of the daddy. It's the tough cop side, so...

Yes. Yes" -
--Chris Matthews and Howard Fineman, breathlessly sharing their excitement over the firmness of their Daddy, Rudy Giuliani.

hey tweety how's that working out for the Plunger

That plant closing sounds like "Black Hawk Down" where GHWB sent the troops in to Somalia and then Clinton took the blame when they 18 guys got killed.

-Hip

I know for a fact that in my last years in Washington, The military was already out to get him with little attacks. Because of his Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

The military and the extreme right of the time blamed quite a bit on him.

Base closures across the board for that time were made even before we had left Kuwait.

The Draw Down had begun even before we left the borders of Iraq

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:zrcofaIej8MJ:www.uppitywis.org/aggregator/2006/10/27/firedoglake.com%3Fpage%3D653+Howard+Fineman+bush+apologist&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=14&gl=us

The Obama campaign should be very concerned about creating the idea that he is the second coming of JFK/MLK.
From that height the only to go is down.
When people find out youre only just a politician they are going to be very disappointed.
Kennedy and MLK earned their stature. It ballsy to craft yourself as a JFK before you are even elected.

Not even the Kennedys are in agreement.
While Caroline and Teddy are for Obama Bobbys clan support HRC

Quote
"“I respect Caroline and Teddy's decision but I have made a different choice. While I admire Senator Obama greatly, I have known Hillary Clinton for over 25 years and have seen first hand how she gets results. As a woman, leader, and person of deep convictions, I believe Hillary Clinton would make the best possible choice for president. She shares so many of the concerns of my father. Hillary has spent a lifetime speaking out on behalf of the powerless and working to alleviate poverty, in our country and around the world. I have seen her work up close and know she will be a great President. At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton."

From
http://time-blog.com/swampland/

Jack

TSL said;

""The Obama campaign should be very concerned about creating the idea that he is the second coming of JFK/MLK""

I believe you are the only ones who are swallowing that one whole. YOu are the only ones spreading it too.

Another messenger of the MSM....

((Sheila))

Hip

They set Clinton up with the fiasco at Waco as well......ATF cyborgs alerting the media that they were making a big bust out at the BDavidian Plywood compound

{{{HIP}}}

Sheila

I never understood how the Clinton Admin go the blame for Waco.. they had 53 days to come outta there..

got*

Sturg,

If Bush had been the recipiant of WACO, we would have been all over him as another Katrina.. :0)

WACO was just sad and I can't think of any other way to stop someone from buring up a whole load of unfortunate people who drank his koolaid.

So...let me see if I understand this....the naive liberal media made Obama into the black candidate and and the resulting backlash drove white voters away. But is that because the white voters hate the media, or just hate blacks?

And....the media misinterprets perfectly innocent and accurate remarks (when taken in context) by the Clintons. So, when the Clintons said Obama supported Reagan's policies, these were innocent and accurate remarks (when taken in context.)

I hope people aren't thinking that Hillary Clinton is the second coming of MLK because Andrew Young endorsed her. That would be sooo dangerous.

Craig,

Your Wikipedia entry now has a bit under "Controversy" about the Morning Joe event. You need to review it unless you were the one who put it in as you may wish to delete or expand.

LOLOLOL @ Nash! Gotta Love It

What the hell is this?
"

Julia another take on '80. If Clinton hadn't been such a failure no one within the party would have challenged him. And had Carter abandoned his "rose garden" campaign strategy he still might have beaten Reagan.

Posted by: Brian In NYC Author Profile Page | January 27, 2008 3:18 PM
"

Clinton such a failure no one would have challenged him? This must mean you think Clinton's first term was a failure and he was challenged for the '96 election? Hell, I don't recall ANYONE challenging the sitting president in 1996. We all knew Bill would crush Dole in '96. This is crazy talk!

Nash.....was that you re-arranging my patio furniture?

Well, you know Waco was a disaster and Clinton made himself look bad when he let reno take the fall. One of the things i recall about Waco was there were some Republicans who were going to church with me (back when i used to go to church) and they were standing around talking about how what needed to be done was to storm the place blah blah blah

Then of course one week later they did go in and then ta-da
Suddenly the same set of old geezers were standing around talking about what a jerk Clinton was for storming in there.
Hip

Let's pick the least experience, youngest guy we can find and have him as our nominee. Great idea.
Yeah but he got a great JFK/MLK shtick going.
His act is going to wear thin very quickly.

(he meant carter)?

exactly.. and it's not like they didnt have any warning.. jeeze.. 53 days

Dex,

Bill Clinton had a failed attempt at the presidency once before he actually suceeded I believe.

Nash,

I detected more than a little bit of satisfaction in Senator Obama's speech last night when he brought up his bringing up of Reagan as a transforming figure. I thought it was more than just a good line, I thought it was a nice gesture towards folks on the other side....

Hip

What is this crap about Obama not getting the white vote, he did well in SC with all demographics.

I agree with Brian. Criticizing an opposing point of view is not a personal attack.

And just let me add, if you don't agree with this, you are a moron.

(Now THAT was a personal attack.)

TSL

Been doing the so called Shtick since 2004, I guess its catching on now...

LOL nash

Manuel

I may not agree with Caroline Schlossburg's endorsement of Obama, but she is hardly an empty fur coat. She is fortunate enough to be the heiress to wealth, but she has used that and a wonderful education to good in the world while maintaining a career, a marriage, and motherhood. We should all do half as well with the talents we are given.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Kennedy

Laugh @ Nash!

I think Clinton improved Dramatically after 1994-1995. Thats why the real liberals like Stephanopolus and Reich booked out of there and the centrists took over. He got more cautious.

Really he could have beaten Dole by more than he did in 1996 if he wouldnt have played it so safe.

Dole didnt help himself either.

Hip

You talk about the numbers of new white voters, new black voters, probably even new old voters, which way they are leaning, etc., but does anyone really believe that all of these new voters actually are coming out this year to vote and doing so because of Hilliary “Thunder Thighs” Clinton or BJ Clinton? I don’t think so. I despise the assumption from HRD from the very beginning that “this was her turn”. It was evident from day one that was her attitude, then when Obama, who is actually inspirational to not just young people but some old folks as well, got involved she got all riled up and became an attack dog (with the help of BJ). I like it when she is that attack dog because it makes her look her true colors and does not go over well with everyone. It does not make her look strong, just like a b*t*h, which I believe she really is.

Hey Brian...have you said yet (or decided) whether you'll go for Obama or stick with Edwards on Feb 5 in the voting booth in NY?
Just curious. I think your decision will be interesting.

that sounds kind of bitchy to me, Karo

Karolenna,

Now I a get that this is a pretty dvisive time and I believe you have seen me mix it up when Clinton supporters are nasty and mean.

However, you are that too. Clinton does not deserve the slam you just directed at her either.

AND Obama would not appreciate it either. His politics are higher than that. No matter what, be dignified when you are representing Obama. ;0) OK?

the only reason voters are turning out and there is plenty of evidence is because they hate bush and hate the war.

In Az that is what voters told the register.. none of them mentioned other candidates by name.

Since obama refuses to discuss specifics I guess he expects people to take him on faith

and my my my ....fling insults in the form of attacks on the way a person physical appearance.that certainly raises the discourse

I'm out of here for the night troops.

I have a busy, busy week ahead with two road games to coach and lots more going on at work but i am going to try to do a post about Georgia's Presidential Primary every day and i will send a link to it. Look for it early in the morning and if it comes after one of Craig's 6 O'Clockers I will repost it up top of the thread.

Its good to be back C-Listing and I hope we can all come back together and keep our passions in check. I am definitely looking in the mirror when i say that, as i have been guilty too.

I think if we long timers will take a step back and look at whats been going down we can see that quite a bit of this is being stirred by drive byers and newbies. New blood is good, maybe we can ease people in somehow by setting the good example.

I am going to try harder.

Later
Hipster
Media Darling

I don't remember saying I wasn't "bitchy"!

LL Edwards still has my vote.

Craig's comments about the press are on target.
Last night's MSNBC coverage was laughable.
Although I often disagreewith him, Pat Buchanon was correct in his harsh comments about the others on the panel. I lost
lots of respect for Margaret Carlson as she castigated Hillary for not being gractious before she even spoke. Seconds later,Hillary began her speech and congratulagted Obama. The panel, then broke into the speech and criticized the length of the congratulation. MSNBC is severly tarnishing
the image of NBC News!.

Hipster
Media Darling.......LOL MY MY Think a lot of yourself?

I agree and I will try myself.

Brian...I think that's interesting. What are the latest polls showing in New York? I know Hillary's ahead, but I'd be curious to know the Obama-Edwards dynamic right now.