Thread: US Presidential Campaign 2008

His knockout punch is surely the excitement and hope he has unleashed across cultural divides amongst the Democratic base- including many that are, traditionally, not Voters at all. Whilst refusing to bow to the old Lobby groups by accepting money from big Oil, big Pharma and several other dubious funding sources. Plus his electoral 'weakness'- Catholic White boys who play bowls in rust belts (slightly taking the piss) are both a declining demographic, and often wont to vote conservative anyway. Yesterdays heroes.

Meanwhile his underfunded competitor just brings the debate lower, and will accept money (and hence obligation) from anywhere. I think most Americans should be able to see this.

It's already been the case, I have read, that card carrying Repub's have been voting for Hillary in some primaries to drag on her campaign as long as possible, and let Mccain bask in the shadows for as long as possible. Hillary, of course, doesn't mind. I honestly think it's more important to her to win the nominaton than that the Democrats win the Presidency. She expected a cakewalk to the Dem nomination, and resents the temerity and popular appeal of Obama bitterly.

Originally Posted by sabang

I honestly think it's more important to her to win the nominaton than that the Democrats win the Presidency

i read somewhere (here?) that if she doesn't win the nomination, she wants to bloody obama enough so that he doesn't win in the general election...thus positioning herself for 2012..her last shot at the presidency.

good analysis norton.

Originally Posted by sabang

His knockout punch is surely the excitement and hope he has unleashed ...

Hope is not a strategy.

Originally Posted by Texpat

Hope is not a strategy.

True- but their Votes are. I think it is significant that there are a lot of people who will vote for Obama who otherwise would not vote at all.

Are you suggesting the little things ... lapel pins and pantsuits and haircuts and idealistic fluff terms are as important as the real issues?

Sacrilege!

Really, so many brilliant and clever minds converging to spin this victory. I do also admire this brilliance by the Clintons. She has the best minds in the world on her side.

Clinton frames win as sign of strength

"Maybe the question ought to be, 'Why can't he close the deal?'" Clinton said Tuesday morning outside a polling place in Conshohocken, Pa.

Clinton frames win as sign of strength - Yahoo! News

She'll regret that ^

Agree. At some point, I believe he will close the deal.

Obama reminds me of JFK. Of course, I was just a twinkle in my father's eye then. (Actually my sister was the twinkle, I was ... umm. a follow through) Idealistic. Damn the torpedos. Novice. Fresh. Welcomed.

Not sure he can wedge past a force like John McCain. Established. Grounded. Connected. Respected.

In any case, I'm relieved to see this election has maintained some sense of decorum. I know it ain't done yet, but at least it's relatively neat up to now.

Well it seems her win was by around nine points- more than early reports suggested. That will keep her in the race, although it seems a forlorn hope to me.

Originally Posted by sabang

Well it seems her win was by around nine points- more than early reports suggested. That will keep her in the race, although it seems a forlorn hope to me.

A big concern Hillary needs consider is her future within the party. She must balance her ambition to become Pres with the distinct possibility she is going to fail to gain the nomination. Should she become too destructive in the campaign it will sully her standing in the party which could spell the end of her career as a Senator. On the other hand, if Obama does become President and remains in office for 8 years, she will be a relatively old 68 years of age should she give it a second go.

Should it come down to a near dead heat decision for the super delegates, I wonder if the party will favor Hillary knowing Obama is young enough to run as a very strong candidate in 8 years?

Originally Posted by chinthee

Really, so many brilliant and clever minds converging to spin this victory....

"Maybe the question ought to be, 'Why can't he close the deal?'" Clinton said Tuesday morning outside a polling place in Conshohocken, Pa.

I just read that HRC got 10 delegates out of her Penn "Victory."

And then to make a statement like this. I cannot stand the site of her.

^Intellectually, though, you have to appreciate what she and Billy boy are doing. They are painting Obama into a corner. By turning up the heat with the personal attacks, they are trying to force him to similarly resort to nasty personal attacks. At that point, then they will play the race card that he is just another Angry black with an agenda.

So far, he has been patiently refusing to play to that, but I don't know how much longer he can hold out because he is taking a hit in the numbers department for not fighting back.

I saw Hill on an NBC interview. She said gas prices will come down when the US shows the oil producers that the country will go to other fuels and demand will plummet. No mention of China or India in her equation. Her umbrella of security in the Mid East is scary. She's worse than Bush IMO. Don't mess with me when I'm the head of the US of A. We will fight back. WTF?
Actually, Obama is looking more like a true statesman these days. If his tax and healthcare policies weren't so socialist, he'd be a fine leader for the country.
Dunno about McCain's standing. I think the grassroots push for "change" is too strong.

When was the last time the Democratic Convention seated delegates from only 48 states?

North Carolina excited to choose between Clinton and Obama

RALEIGH, N.C. - Not since 1988 has North Carolina had much of a voice in choosing a presidential nominee. Back then, it joined several Southern states to help pick Al Gore, a neighbor from Tennessee.

Some political observers say Clinton needs to win North Carolina, the last big stop on the road to the August convention in Denver, to convince unaligned superdelegates that momentum has swung in her favor. Superdelegates are elected leaders and party officials who can vote for any candidate. That, they said, is her only chance to overcome Obama.

North Carolina excited to choose between Clinton and Obama - Yahoo! News

Originally Posted by mackayae

When was the last time the Democratic Convention seated delegates from only 48 states?

when was the last time party reps in two states defied the national party and moved up their primaries...knowing full well that their votes wouldn't be counted if they did so?

I haven't read anything positive about Hilary in this thread.

Any Clinton supporters out there?

Here is Hillary's "obliterate" Iran comment. A one sentence sound-bite. I think Iran and the Middle East is pretty complicated. Much more complicated to make such an aggressive, arrogant, and hawkish statement.

Originally Posted by chinthee

^Yes, Ray said he would support Hilary if Obama lost the primary. So, he is a Hilary supporter. I'm surprised he hasn't defended her against so many attacks by the members here.

you seem to be spending a lot of time thinking about me. why is that?

Originally Posted by Milkman

I think Iran and the Middle East is pretty complicated. Much more complicated to make such an aggressive, arrogant, and hawkish statement.

agreed. at the very least, it's a troubling statement that demands further explanation.... and so do her comments in the most recent debate about defending every ally in the ME. my guess is that she's thinking long term and playing for the general election with this sort of thing.

Sure we will be hearing again about the good Rev Wright as he decided it necessary to be interviewed by Bill Moyers to "defend" himself. Timing couldn't be worse and frankly shows he has little concern for Obama's campaign and has more interest in clearing his name. This interview will just fan the embers and resurrect the original "sermon" problem Obama had pretty much put behind him.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com

wright does seem to be a politically tone deaf...but better the interview aired now rather than in early may.

Concerning the 'real' issues, I haven't found anything "radical" or "far left" about him.

If he is any kind of "communist", he has disguised it so well that it is non-existent.

He's not going to nationalise the Oil Industry, raise Inheritance Tax to 120%, abandon Private Learning Institutes or anything like this, though this would make a lot of sense - even if he had the support to do so, or have I missed something amongst the talk about flag-pins, who he shook hands with 6 years ago or what his wife wrote in her graduating papers 20 years back?

A very intelligent, articulate and dedicated guy with center-left views and awareness of minority issues, at least as far as ethnic blacks are concerned, who attracts funding and support from all the usual sources and more. He'd definitely garner more respect internationally than a failed business-man and former alcoholic come born-again Christian who couldn't string two complete sentences together and doesn't know how to pronounce "nucelar".