Archive for the 'politics' Category

Open Letter to the Clinton-or-bust crowd

After it is all said and done…

After Florida and Michigan have their delegates seated (even though they broke the rules and Clinton and Obama both signed on to those rules, and Obama wasn’t even on the ballot in Michigan)…

After all the remaining states have voted…

After enough superdelegates have put Obama over the top…

After Clinton has conceded for the good of the party…

After Obama likely puts Clinton on the ticket, despite that while possibly appeasing some Clinton supporters, would be a horrible idea as far as beating the Republicans in the fall…

Are you all still planning to vote for McCain, abstain, write-in for Clinton or vote for some third-party? Will you still consider the rest of us sexists and chauvinists? Will the DNC still be evil? Will everyone and everything still be pegged as trying to keep a woman down?

Or will you return to the fold and help this country move forward? Finally accept that after it was all said and done, Obama won this thing fair and square with a majority of states, delegates and votes?

I don’t like to think that folks are so caught up in a cult of personality for her that they have lost the plot. The goal is to bring the White House back to the people. I fail to see what the country gains when you lodge a protest vote in the interest of “supporting women” for someone who clearly hasn’t. He calls his wife a trollop and a cunt. He says women don’t get equal opportunities and pay because they are not as educated. He will install justices that will overturn your freedom of choice.

Are you so myopic that you will give up on the dream because the torchbearer isn’t the one you preferred?

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You need to see this

Keith Olbermann gave a Special Comment on Countdown, regarding President Bush’s latest interview with The Politico.

Watch the video

Crooks and Liars article with transcripts. Go there and Digg it up.

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Edwards endorses Obama!

John Edwards has endorsed Barack Obama for President. They both gave great speeches with no small amount of praise for Sen. Clinton as well. Both stressed the need for unity against the Republicans this fall.

I would support an Obama/Edwards ticket more than an Obama/Clinton ticket, but I don’t think Edwards will wind up on the ticket. Something tells me Obama is going to have a lot of pressure from the party to put Clinton on his ticket in the interest of unity.

Sen. Obama lost West Virginia by a hefty margin, but his superdelegate gains over the past week and change basically negate the gain for Sen. Clinton there. He’s still right where he was; poised to win the nomination. It does however draw more attention to the problem Sen. Obama has in Appalachia. I don’t think this will be enough to lose the election for him, but does concern me quite a bit.

I’m hoping that Edwards’ endorsement can help with that problem in Kentucky, though I’m doubting that will be the case. I do expect it will pull some more superdelegates into the Obama column. I’m also wondering if we should be watching for an Elizabeth Edwards endorsement of Sen. Clinton in the next few days.

Endorsements or no, Sen. Obama’s lead is nearly insurmountable at this point. I think he’ll win in easily in Oregon and South Dakota, with a closer victory in Montana. Sen. Clinton will win Kentucky and Puerto Rico by a large margin and may challenge for the popular vote win once Florida and Michigan are added. I do think Florida and Michigan will have their delegations seated. While they knew the rules and I vehemently disagree with changing them now, the party can’t stand the fallout from not having Florida and Michigan at the convention.

One other thought on West Virginia: Obama really should have thanked his supporters there. I was disappointed that there was nothing from the Obama campaign after the contest. It would have sent a stronger unity message for him to have spoken a few words, even if it wasn’t in a rally environment.

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A little slice of WV Clinton voters

It’s good to hear her talk about gas prices. They’re killing us,” said Donna Madden, 45, a part-time high school cafeteria employee from Clear Fork. “She’s an American, a real American. It’s just good to know that she has the same ancestors as us, that her family goes back for generations and generations and generations

I’m not angry at Donna Madden. I feel sorry for her.

Source: Clinton compares her campaign to JFK’sin 1960

What makes this funny is that Sen. Obama actually DOES have West Virginia roots, of a sort. His Great Great Great Grandfather, Jacob Mackey Dunham was born 7 May 1824 in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia).

I wonder if Sen. Clinton is proud of her largely racist, uneducated and clearly uninformed base.

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Big night for Obama

I was going to wait until all the polls were in before I made a post, and Indiana has just been called for Sen. Clinton.

North Carolina was expected to go for Sen. Obama, and it did in a resounding fashion, 56% - 42%. Indiana was expected to go for Sen. Clinton by several percent, and it is basically tied. We’re talking about a delegate or two between them in Indiana. Sen. Obama has effectively washed out Sen. Clinton’s gains from Pennsylvania.

A lot of folks are now expecting Sen. Clinton to step out of the race this week, but I think I’m just a little more cynical. I don’t see her stepping aside when she has a basically guaranteed win in West Virginia. I think she stays in at least through that contest and hopes for an Obama gaffe, or that the media latches on to another lapel pin or Wright non-issue. She’s out of money — barring a huge fundraising announcement from April — but I just don’t think she’ll suddenly decide she can’t win and step aside. A clear Clinton victory has been a long shot for some time. She has been “moving the goal posts” for quite a while, with Michigan, Florida, “more votes by people who have voted,” the legitimacy of caucuses versus primaries, etc. With a win (however minor) in Indiana, I can’t see her stepping aside. I am hoping I am wrong because every day she is in this race is a distraction from the attention that should be being paid to going after McCain. He’s currently getting a free pass.

Here’s a good article from The Huffington Post, before I come off too much like a hater: It’s Not About Hating Hillary

And can I just say how much I love this picture?

Disappointed Hillary Clinton Supporters

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