John Weiler is a former Air Force staff sergeant who says he was a lifelong Republican who became a supporter of Barack Obama. An “Obamacan,” if you will.
His message is the basis of the winning ad in MoveOn.org’s “Obama in 30 Seconds” contest. MoveOn, a liberal political action committee that endorsed Senator Obama back in February, sponsored the competition to solicit the best pro-Obama video spot that they hope to raise enough money to broadcast on TV.
“Obamacan,” created by a team from Monrovia, Calif., beat out some 1,100 other videos submitted over a 19-day period in late March and early April. Judging was broken down into two parts.
First, online public voting whittled the crowded field down to 10 entries. The winner and honorable mentions then were selected by a panel of 24 judges including actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rory Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Markos Moulitsas, founder of the DailyKos blog.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va., May 11 — With her campaign falling ever deeper into debt, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a rainy Mother’s Day seeking votes ahead of Tuesday’s primary here, turning a deaf ear to calls for her to leave a Democratic presidential contest she has little hope of winning.
Clinton aides continued to insist that she will remain in the race even while confirming that she is $20 million in debt. “The voters are going to decide this,” senior adviser Howard Wolfson said on “Fox News Sunday,” acknowledging the $20 million figure. “There is no reason for her not to continue this process.” Wolfson said he has seen “no evidence of her interest” in pursuing the second-place spot on the Democratic ticket, contrary to rumors that she is staying in the race to leverage a bid for the vice presidential nomination.
People need to get this idea of an Obama/Clinton ticket out of their heads. It’s not gonna happen.
Cyrus had this to say in a comment to an earlier post:
I think it’s important that, at this point, Hillary waits until after the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries to bow out, because it would be a bit of a psychological blow to the Democrats, as a party, to have the nominee lose the next two primaries.
Don Frederick and Andrew Malcom of The Los Angeles Times agree with him:
“The Democratic race now moves to West Virginia,” Jay Leno noted the other night. “Today, Hillary Clinton claimed she always wanted to be a coal miner. But those dreams were dashed when she was forced to attend Wellesley and Yale.”
The political focus now does, indeed, shift to the Mountain State for its primary on Tuesday. And then Kentucky and Oregon and Puerto Rico, down to the very end in Montana and South Dakota on June 3.
Times political writer Mark Z. Barabak had an interesting conversation with Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist not involved with a candidate this time. Counterintuitively, the way he sees the inevitable delegate math in favor of Barack Obama, the worst thing that could happen to the Illinois senator now is what so many party members are clamoring for: Hillary Rodham Clinton to drop out.
Why?
Because with her name still on the ballots, she’d be very likely to win in West Virginia anyway. And maybe Kentucky too, given the demographics in both places. And possibly Puerto Rico as well.
How would that look if at the end of the Democratic race the winning candidate with clearly the most delegates and popular votes went down to defeat against a candidate who isn’t in the contest anymore? Ouch! That would tend to overshadow his expected wins in Oregon and Montana.
In fact, although little noticed because the Republican race had long been over, Sen. John McCain won his Pennsylvania primary with 73% of the vote. Put another way, the surefire Republican nominee lost about 27% of his party’s vote to a candidate who had long since dropped out (former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee) and a Republican rebel who never really had any chance of winning (Texas Rep. Ron Paul).
“If [Obama] lost to a candidate who’s withdrawn, that would hurt him a lot,” says Devine. “And there’s a good chance that could happen.”
Better for Obama, he figures, for the former first lady to remain in the race a few more weeks, as long as she recalibrates her rhetorical cannons at McCain and President Bush.
There is little to no doubt that Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic primaries in West Virginia and Kentucky. (See previous post.) She will likely win them with fairly large margins. For that reason, it probably is a good idea for her to keep her campaign active for another nine days. The problem is that she appears to sincerely believe that she can still win the nomination. She continues to attack Barack Obama. She is not “recalibrating her rhetorical cannons at McCain and President Bush.”
Witness her campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning. Keep in mind as you watch this that this is the man who, should Hillary Clinton win the presidency, will likely be her Chief of Staff.
Do you see any indication in that clip that the Clinton campaign is ready to concede the nomination to Barack Obama? At some point, reality has to set in. Right now, the only thing she and her supporters are accomplishing is a deepening of the rift in the Democratic party. They are only making it more difficult for Senator Obama to reunite the party, which he will definitely need to do in order to save our country from another four years (minimum) of disastrous Republican rule.
I will continue to stand by my prediction that Barack Obama will clinch the nomination after the Oregon primary on May 20. For the good of our party and our country, Hillary Clinton must graciously step aside at that time and do whatever she can to convince her supporters to rally behind the party’s nominee.
We must defeat John McCain and the Republicans in November. We have no other option.
I missed most of Saturday Night Light last night, including the opening. In the event that you also missed it, here it is (courtesy of MightyRoaringLion)…
There is probably a lesson here for Senator Hillary Clinton… You can’t take anything for granted, including SNL.
Mrs. Clinton will, without doubt, win the Democratic primaries in West Virginia and Kentucky. Those are her states. Look, if you will, at the demographics…
West Virginia:
Population, 2006 estimate: 1,818,470 (about the size of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex)
White persons, percent, 2006: 94.9%
Bachelor’s degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000: 14.8%
Kentucky
Population, 2006 estimate: 4,206,074
White persons, percent, 2006: 90.2%
Bachelor’s degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000: 17.1%
Face it, there is no possible way Barack Obama is going to have a good showing in either of those states, and no way in Hell that the Democratic nominee (whoever it may be) is going win either of them in November.
If Mrs. Clinton’s plan is to convince the superdelegates that she would be the best nominee based on the results of the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries, best of luck to her. If any of the superdelegates fall for it, best of luck to us.
Rasmussen Reports has been tracking the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination daily for nineteen months… since November 2006. For the last few months, the most remarkable feature of the race has been its consistency and stability. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both running historic campaigns and both have captured the votes and hearts of distinct and important constituencies within the Democratic Party. Obama has won Primaries in states where the demographics favor his campaign and Clinton has won in the states that favor her campaign.
However, while Senator Clinton has remained close and competitive in every meaningful measure, she is a close second and the race is over. It has become clear that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee.
With this in mind, Rasmussen Reports will soon end our daily tracking of the Democratic race and focus exclusively on the general election competition between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. Barring something totally unforeseen, that is the choice American voters will have before them in November. While we have not firmly decided upon a final day for tracking the Democratic race, it is coming soon.
I have always maintained that Hillary Clinton had every right to remain in this race so long as neither candidate garnered enough delegates to claim the nomination and her money and her husband held out.
It appears that her money and her husband are about done for and those who are much better at mathematics than I have declared that her chances of winning enough delegates are almost nil.
Bill and Hillary Clinton
A graceful and civilized exit is called for. The nominee of the Democratic party now needs to turn his attention full time to crushing the Republican opposition in November.
Posted by Len on Friday at 3:50 pm in Humor, Politics.
Are the weeks flying by as quickly for you as they are for me? (Hillary?)
Once again we have assembled our crack team of editors (ha!) and selected what we believe to be the best editorial and political cartoons of the week just passed. Your mileage may vary. Operating instructions are the same as every week: click on any cartoon to make it bigger or to start a slide show. Navigation buttons will appear at the bottom of your browser window.
Enjoy!
As always, our thanks go to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.
NEW YORK (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Republican John McCain was “losing his bearings” for repeatedly suggesting the Islamic terrorist group Hamas preferred Obama for president.
That brought an angry response from McCain’s campaign, which accused Obama of trying to make an issue of McCain’s age.
Age is a touchy subject for McCain, who turns 72 in August and would be the oldest person to be sworn in as president if elected.
The two senators have focused more intently on one another in recent weeks as Obama has moved closer to becoming the Democratic nominee. Thursday’s back and forth between Obama and surrogates for both candidates foreshadowed a likely argument for the fall campaign.
The sparring also comes the same week as Obama’s decisive victory in North Carolina’s primary, which brought renewed calls for Hillary Rodham Clinton to get out of the race and clear a path for him to claim the Democratic nomination and focus on McCain.
At the root of the dispute is McCain’s decision to call attention to a Hamas adviser’s apparent affinity for Obama. The adviser, Ahmed Yousef, said in a recent interview: “We like Obama and hope that he will win the election.”
McCain used those comments in a fundraising appeal and has cited them in interviews.
Asked about the matter Wednesday during a taping of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” McCain said: “It’s indicative of how some of our enemies view America. And I guarantee you, they’re not going to endorse me.”
In an interview Thursday with CNN, Obama accused McCain of trying to smear him by repeating the comments.
“This is offensive, and I think it’s disappointing, because John McCain always says, ‘Well, I’m not going to run that kind of politics,’” Obama said. “And then to engage in that kind of smear, I think, is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his.”
The Illinois senator added: “For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don’t need name-calling in this debate.”
(See previous post.)
First off, John McCain is old. He will be 72 years old on election day. We’ve never had a first term president that old. Ronald Reagan was 73 when he began his second term. Remember all the stories about him falling asleep during cabinet meetings?
If Senator McCain’s age is not an issue in this campaign, it definitely should be. He is asking us to trust him with a very important and stressful job. We would be failing in our duty as responsible voters if we did not question his fitness for that job, and age definitely falls under the fitness category.
It’s kind of funny that the McCain folks are complaining about the Obama folks bringing up Mr. McCain’s age while they are posting a video on YouTube entitled “Johnny’s Mom.” They posted it under the cover of Mother’s Day, but can there really be any doubt they are trying to dispute that “Johnny’s” age is a factor if his mother is still able to make an ad with him?
When was the last time you heard a 71 year old man referred to as a child? I’ll bet it’s been a while.
The point of all is that the McCain campaign has made Johnny McCain’s age a legitimate issue in this campaign, and it should be. He’s old.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that the most important thing he could achieve as president would be to deal with Iraq and the threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan while improving “our influence around the world.”
In his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Obama said he thinks the United States’ influence around the world has been diminishing.
“The world wants to see the United States lead. They’ve been disappointed and disillusioned over the last seven, eight years,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview on “The Situation Room.”
“I think there is still a sense everywhere I go that if the United States regains its sense of who it is and our values and our ideals, that we will continue to set the tone for a more peaceful and prosperous world.”
Watch the entire interview (in two parts):
Here is the Time Magazine cover which is referenced during the interview:
You can click on the cover to make it bigger. The small print reads: “Really, we’re pretty sure this time.”
I’m still sticking by my prediction of May 20th in Oregon. (Regardless of whatever they decide to do with Florida and Michigan.)
Then we get on with the serious business of whooping Republican butt in November.
The popular vote in the two states combined was 1,513,989 for Mr. Obama and 1,299,654 for Mrs. Clinton — a difference of 214,335 in favor of Mr. Obama.
I’ll stand by my prediction of last night. Senator Obama clinches the nomination in Oregon on May 20.
Meanwhile, the Clinton camp is having financial difficulties (again)…
WASHINGTON (AP) - A campaign aide says Hillary Rodham Clinton lent herself $6.4 million in the past month.
Politically wounded and financially strapped, Clinton plunged back into the presidential campaign Wednesday even as Barack Obama declared that Tuesday’s primary results left him with a “clear path to victory.”
Obama beat Clinton soundly in North Carolina and fell just short in an Indiana cliffhanger, a rebound for the Illinois senator that presented Clinton with fast-dwindling chances to deny him the Democratic presidential nomination.
The loan more than doubles Clinton’s personal investment in her bid for the Democratic nomination. She gave her campaign $5 million earlier this year.
Clinton has been struggling financially behind the record fundraising of her Democratic rival, Barack Obama.
In their meeting before Mrs. Clinton concedes the race, I imagine some sort of deal will be struck whereby Mr. Obama will help her retire her debt. That’s usually the way these things are handled.
Congratulations, Senator Obama! (No, I’m not gloating at all. Really, I’m not.)
Things are progressing pretty much as expected in the Indiana and North Carolina Democratic presidential primaries this evening. There are 72 pledged delegates at stake in Indiana and 115 in North Carolina.
The networks have already called North Carolina for Barack Obama. With 4% of the precincts reporting, he is leading Hillary Clinton 64% to 34%.
No winner has yet been projected in Indiana. 37% of the precincts have reported. Mrs. Clinton is currently leading with 56% to Mr. Obama’s 44%. Thus far, the voting pattern seems to be following what we have seen in most of the rest of the nation. Senator Clinton does well in the less populated rural areas while Senator Obama carries the more densely populated urban and suburban areas.
Mr. Obama will ultimately come out of the evening winning the most delegates, but Mrs. Clinton will spin her win in Indiana into a much bigger deal than it is. The battle will continue for at least another week.
On the Republican side, John McCain (the presumptive nominee) is squeaking out a pair of victories. As of this writing, he has 77% of the vote in Indiana and 79% in North Carolina.
10:00 PM CDT - Final update of the evening. Indiana: 86% reporting - 52% Clinton, 48% Obama. North Carolina: 91% reporting - 56% Obama, 42% Clinton. The popular vote, for those keeping track of such things, both states combined - Obama, 1,342,269; Clinton, 1,168,993 (a difference of 173,276).
Prediction: Senator Obama will clinch the nomination on May 20. Enough superdelegates will commit to him between now and then to allow the voters in Oregon to put him over the magic number of 2,024 on that date.
