Posts tagged democrats
More Obama Backlash in the Clinton Camp
Mar 14th
To absolutely no one’s surprise Barack Obama won the Wyoming primary last Saturday.
And while Obama was winning in Wyoming, Bill Clinton was re-emphasizing his wife’s willingness to let front-runner Obama be HER vice presidential running mate. Obama, in Mississippi a couple of days later, stated the obvious in response to the Clinton’s continuing campaign to convince him to concede:
“With all due respect, I have won twice as many states as Senator Clinton. I have won more of the popular vote than Senator Clinton. I have more delegates than Senator Clinton. So I do not know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is in first place.”
He also questioned why Clinton says she thinks he would make such a good vice president when she’s been running around talking about how he doesn’t have the experience to be president.
And then went on to win, predictably, Mississippi.
We also found out, officially, that Obama won the Texas caucuses. The result? Even though Clinton won the Texas primary, Obama ended up with more delegates.
So Clinton’s victories in the Ohio and Texas primaries have gained her no ground against Obama’s rising lead in the delegate count. Not that the Clinton campaign cares about all that. . . I suppose when the time comes, they’ll just expect that enough superdelegates will completely ignore the will of the people and anoint her Empress of Washington.
Even so, as of this date, the Clinton campaign is still trying valiantly to convince the press and the public that, despite his widening lead, the Obama campaign is losing ground. With some hilarious results.
And I’d be a real blogging slacker if I didn’t mention the true Clinton campaign Obama backlash gem of the week. . .
Geraldine Ferraro was compelled to call our attention to the fact that Barack Obama is Black
Ms. Ferraro shared with the LA Times her analysis of Obama’s success this primary season:
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”
Clinton took her time (two days) in apologizing for Ferraro’s denigrating and belittling statements about her opponent. And when she did, the floodgates opened.
Ferraro, on the other hand, did not apologize. Although, needless to say, she did resign. Not very gracefully, though. She’s pissed off. She thinks the Obama campaign had no business accusing her of racism. “If anybody is going to apologize, they should apologize to me for calling me a racist.”
Not that they called her a racist. I believe the words were “ridiculous” and “wrongheaded.” Freudian slip much, Gerry?
Need I say? I’ve lost ALL respect for Geraldine Ferraro.
And, in closing, I call your attention to the latest Clinton campaign un-reality check. . .
Mark Penn continues to provide comic relief in the midst of stressful primary campaigning, and I can’t portray it any better than Wonkette.
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Hillary’s Comeback from the Brink of Campaign Disaster. . .
Mar 5th
will keep her afloat for now.
But even with her wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries, the fact remains that Obama is still ahead in the popular vote and still ahead in the pledged delegate count.
Much as the I’ve been loving the orgy of political participation inspired by the Clinton-Obama duel, my overriding hope (yes, I can. . . hope) was for Obama to put the nomination to bed last night. That’s because he’s my choice.
But people are passionately fired up on both sides and nobody’s stepping back from the line in the sand. People want their say, so now Wisconsin, Mississippi and Pennsylvania are gonna get theirs.
We seem to be moving inexorably toward an electoral stalemate in the Democratic nominating process. Which leads to some speculation:
The Obama-Clinton Dynamic Duo Dream Team Dream Ticket
Hillary’s making coy suggestions that the party could be moving toward a combo ticket with her name at the top:
“That may , you know, be where this is headed , but of course we have to decide who’s on top of the ticket. . . I think the people of Ohio very clearly said it should be me.” (From CBS’ “The Early Show”)
This is a somewhat clumsy psycho-political maneuver to use the Ohio victory to give overdog Obama the underdog status. But no one’s biting in the Obama camp. Maybe because the guy who’s got the popular vote and the delegate count is thinking he should be at the top of the ticket?
And maybe isn’t so warm to the idea of Vice-President(s) Clinton breathing down his neck?
12:25PM Not-So-Breaking News
President George just endorsed former foe McCain as his party’s nominee.
The headline on CNN is “McCain to get push from Bush.”
Predictable yakkety-yak says this is good for McCain because Bush has the backing of the more conservative Republicans who don’t trust or like McCain. But there are a hell of lot more Americans who don’t like Bush than do right now. And McCain looked, shall we say, unenthusiastic? standing at the podium with Cowboy George.
Anyway, whether they like McCain or not, I’d guess that the deeply conservative faction of the Republican party will be stampeding to the polls in November if for no other reason than to try to keep Obama or Clinton or Obama/Clinton out of the White House.
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I’ve Got Your Back, Michelle O.
Feb 21st
Just the other day, I was remarking that Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain were both presenting as a couple of classy candidates for first lady.
I revised my opinion yesterday.
Michelle Obama was blasted from all sides after telling supporters at a Milwaukee rally that “Hope is making a comeback, and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.”
I can get on board with that statement. Michelle Obama and I are the same age (roughly), and I can say that her words captured the way I’ve been feeling as the Obama movement catches the country by storm.
Think about it. For people of my age, our adult lives have so far been politically defined by the administrations of Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton and Bush Jr. First we suffer through the Reagan/Bush Sr. regimes — everyone remember “trickle-down” economics and the Iran-Contra scandal? I don’t want to go too far down that particular memory lane, so I’ll leave it at that
Then, while Clinton was in office, truly working toward prosperity and political sanity, things got really creepy. In fact, the continuing and relentless efforts of the conservative right to derail the Clinton administration, from day one, proved a harbinger for the current and utterly embarrassing political disaster, otherwise known as the Bush/Cheney regime, that we’ve had to watch unfold over the last eight years. After George Bush Jr. was handed an election he didn’t win by a not-very-neutral Supreme Court, he went primetime with an agenda that the majority of the country didn’t want. AND THEN, he had the gall to take our country to war under false pretenses.
So, yeah, some of us have been feeling a little UN-proud of our country in recent years. A little alienated from the interests of the powers that be. A little like the political process had been hijacked.
So I won’t fault a grown woman for speaking THIS truth: Barack Obama is making me, and millions of others, want to believe that we can make something different happen through the very political process we’ve come to view in recent years with a certain, shall we say, cynicism? We’ve got a charismatic, intelligent and politically savvy black man who’s pulling people together in a way no one has seen in a long time. He’s a rock star. And anyone who says this isn’t a defining moment needs a quick and dirty primer on American History.
And it just so happens that Michelle O. is married to the man who’s derailed the conventional wisdom in this primary season. I guess she just can’t help but notice. . .
On the other hand. . .I’m not sure who was behind this smug little rebuttal by Cindy McCain: “I am proud of my country. I don’t know about you? If you heard those words earlier, I am very proud of my country.”
And, later, when McCain was asked about whether his wife’s statement was a response to what Michelle O. had said, he deferred to his wife. Who said: “I just wanted to make the statement that I have and always will be proud of my country.”
And she stood there looking like every bit like Barbie after Ken told her she looked fat in her dress.
I lost a good deal of respect for Lady McCain in those moments. Underlying her politically righteous statements was the same old message that Bush, Cheney & Co. have been assaulting the American people with ever since the first THINKING person questioned the Iraq war: only TRAITORS doubt the good ol’ US of A.
So our girl Cindy stood up and gave notice: she’s faithful and loyal; she’s in it for better or for worse; she will not defame our great nation.
Good for you, Cindy.
But I’ve got Michelle’s back. Because she spoke my truth. And true patriots aren’t afraid to challenge conventional authority. Just ask John Hancock and George Washington, Susan B. Anthonhy and Martin Luther King, Jr.
This mama’s for Obama.
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Link Share for My Peeps
Mar 22nd
Posted by carolyn in Mama's Politics
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It’s Friday Night! I’m feeding my basketball jones by gorging on the NCAA men’s tournament games, but there are enough ads on that I have plenty of time to get this post together and share some of my favorite reading over the past couple of days.
Grab a glass of your favorite wine and start linking — these are all great reading!
My Dad sent me this one. Very interesting (and biting) commentary by Greg Palast, linking (no pun intended)this week’s bailout of predator banks with the recent outing of Eliot Spitzer as consumer of high-end (or, at least, high-priced, prostitutes). Thanks for the link, you crazy old liberal!
I ran across this one on Wonkette last night. Turns out, Jeremiah Wright, recently reviled former Obama pastor, was a guest in the Clinton White House. Yes, that’s Bill Clinton, husband of Hillary. Stay tuned for Hillary’s Speech on Race. . .
And today the cunning Obama has mind-melded members of the Fox News Team. Talk about the candidate of hope and change! Who would have thought that Obama would be able to sow the seeds of rebellion within Fox News, that bastion of knee-jerk conservatism. Check out The Huffington Post and (the always hilarious) Wonkette for their take on Fox anchors Chris Wallace and Brian Kilmeade speaking out against their own network’s/colleagues’ vendetta against Obama.
Also today, featured on Anderson Cooper’s 360 blog: CNN contributor Roland Martin is actually taking the time to listen to Jeremiah Wright’s speeches, and is helpfully providing some context for and commentary on the speeches that contain the clips that have been played repeatedly in an attempt to portray Wright and, by extension, Obama, as un-American and untrustworthy. Today, he discussed the Reverend Wright’s 9/11 sermon and the “God Damn America” sermon.
And on Politico: here’s a reality check for everyone who still thinks (hopes) the Democratic nomination is still in play. Despite all evidence and expert opinion to the contrary, the Clinton campaign continues to behave as if their girl can WIN the nomination. Not quite — it will take an act of superdelegate subversion of the citizens’ will in order for her to be the Democratic nominee.
Happy Friday!