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Jet Gorgon

I said before the flag lapel pin was an issue. And it was. Most of this debate was drivel. George did have a good hairstylist -- that wisp of hair over his forehead was so liberal like. Gimme a double latte.

stroller

Yes, well done dear.

I wonder how this issue will be reflected as percentages in the next polls?

raycarey

but the question about the lapel pin wasn't?
explain how.

Boon Mee

It's not 'drivel' since this Obama cat is clearly in bed with the Bill Ayers crowd, eh?

raycarey

spit it out boon mee...what's your point?


btw, nice code.

Milkman

I saw the flag portion this morning. The question and the answer.

Of all the stupidity I've witnessed in US Presidential campaigns, this is one of the dumbest questions.

The real issues are not even addressed - because they cannot even be dealt with nor solved.

I'll stay tuned out.

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raycarey

Obama had a great point after the debate..

Obama says debate focused on 'gotcha,' not policy issues - Yahoo! News

but yeah, let's talk about lapel pins.

and for anyone who is interested to learn more about the non-story that boon mee keeps parroting...
How Obama and the radical became news - The Boston Globe

sabang

This is about the most comprehensive Polling data I've read so far, so I will quote it in full:-

AP-Yahoo Poll: Obama overtaking Clinton

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are both sustaining dents and dings from their lengthy presidential fight. The former first lady is clearly suffering more as Democratic voters no longer see her as the party's strongest contender for the White House.

Voters of all types have gotten a better sense of Obama, who was an obscure Illinois legislator just four years ago. As more people moved from the "I don't know him" category in an AP-Yahoo News poll, more rated Obama as inexperienced, unethical and dishonest. And 15 percent erroneously think he's a Muslim, thanks in part to disinformation widely spread on the Internet.

But Obama's positive ratings have climbed as well, while Clinton _ widely known since the early 1990s _ has been less able to change people's views of her. And when those views have shifted, it has hurt her more than helped.

The New York senator's ratings for being honest, likable, ethical and refreshing have fallen since January, and Obama scores higher than she does in all those categories.

In a dramatic reversal, the AP-Yahoo News poll found that a clear majority of Democratic voters now say Obama has the better chance of defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in November.

In late January, before Obama scored 11 straight primary and caucus victories, 56 percent of Democrats saw Clinton as the stronger nominee, compared with 33 percent for Obama. Now, Obama leads on that question, 56 percent to 43 percent.

Still, the poll, conducted by Knowledge Networks, contains some worrisome signs for the first-term senator. Those rating him as "not at all honest," for example, jumped from 18 percent last fall to 27 percent in April. It came as he was put on the defensive over incendiary comments by his former pastor. But many holding such views are Republicans or conservative independents who would be unlikely to vote in a Democratic primary or support a Democrat in the fall anyway.

The most encouraging sign for Obama is that many Democrats who previously saw Clinton as their party's best hope now give him that role. About one-third of them still prefer Clinton, but they have lost confidence in her electability.

"I would love to vote for Hillary," said Nancy Costello of Bellevue, Ky., one of the more than 1,800 randomly selected adults whose opinions are rechecked every few months in the AP-Yahoo News poll. "I'm 67, and I'll probably never get another chance to vote for a woman."

But Obama now appears to be the stronger candidate, she said, and electing a Democrat in November is paramount. If McCain wins and continues many of President Bush's economic and foreign policies, Costello said, "I think I would just sit down and cry."

By tracking the same group throughout the campaign, the AP-Yahoo News poll can gauge how individual views change. It suggests that Clinton has paid a price for hammering Obama since early February on several issues as she tries to overcome his lead in delegates and the popular vote. Among those Democrats who no longer consider her the more electable of the two, most now see her as less likable, decisive, strong, honest, experienced and ethical than they did in January.

Meanwhile, those same voters are more likely to see Obama as strong, honest and refreshing than before.

Beulah Barton of Leesburg, Fla., said she initially backed Clinton, partly because she liked Bill Clinton's record as president.

"But the more I hear her talk, and the more I hear him talk, the more put off I am," said Barton, 69. "I think she's brash, I think she's rude. I get the feeling that she feels she deserves to be president" and doesn't need "to earn it."

Barton said she likes Obama, and ignores e-mails suggesting that he refuses to salute the flag or is somehow threatening "because of his name."

"People try to make him look like a traitor," she said. "I think he has risen above most of that stuff."

Some misinformation sticks, however. The great majority of the poll's participants said this month they did not know the religious affiliation of Clinton (a Methodist) or Obama (United Church of Christ). But 15 percent ventured that Obama, whose father was Kenyan, is a Muslim.

That group includes more Democrats than Republicans, and it doesn't necessarily worry them.

Randi Estes, a Democrat from Ada, Okla., said she prefers Clinton but feels Obama is likely to win the nomination. "He's gotten very strong media coverage, and Bill Clinton's not helping her a bit," said Estes, 36, who has four children under the age of 6.

Speaking of Obama, she said, "I have a sense he's a Muslim."

If Obama wins the nomination, the poll indicates he will need to mend his image a bit as he battles McCain for independents and soft Republicans. His favorability rating among all voters has declined, with those ranking him as "very unfavorable" growing from 17 percent in January to 25 percent in April. Most of them are Republicans and independents.

In January, 30 percent of Republicans rated Obama very unfavorably. That grew to 43 percent in April. Among the coveted independents, 12 percent had a very unfavorable view of Obama in January. That has nearly doubled to 23 percent.
Obama would be the first black president, and the survey detected some evidence of racial discomfort in voters' minds. It found that about 8 percent of whites would be uncomfortable voting for a black for president. It produced an estimate of about 13 percent of Republicans who would feel that way, but suggested very few if any Democrats would now be uncomfortable. In November, about 5 percent of Democrats indicated discomfort at voting for a black person for president.

For Allen Lovell, a moderate Democrat in Everett, Wash., race is unimportant, but replacing Bush with a Democrat is vital. And lately he has concluded that Obama probably has the better chance of beating McCain.

"I am leaning towards him, not because he's black _ because I'm white _ but because we definitely need a change," said Lovell, 50.

He said the Democratic campaign has lasted too long, but there is one topic he'd like to hear more about. Lovell, who guessed that Obama is "either Christian or Muslim," said: "I don't think we're getting enough information on religion" from the candidates.

The survey of 1,844 adults was conducted April 2-14 and had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. Included were interviews with 863 Democrats, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.3 points, and 668 Republicans, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 points.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks. It initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods, and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

AP-Yahoo Poll: Obama overtaking Clinton despite bruises - Breaking News - Technology - smh.com.au

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To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.

sabang

It looks like the ABC debate, with one of Bill Clintons ex press staff as a Moderator, has backfired on her big time:-

Media criticize ABC moderators for "flat-out repulsive" debate performances, "specious and gossipy" subject matter

Summary: Numerous media figures have criticized George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson, moderators of the Democratic presidential debate on ABC, or the subject matter of the event, in part or in whole, as "shoddy [and] despicable," "specious and gossipy," "cringe-worthy," "banal," consisting of "tabloid trivia," "flat-out repulsive," "embarrassing," "seem[ingly] slanted against [Sen. Barack] Obama," "shameful," and "an outrage."

Media Matters - Media criticize ABC moderators for "flat-out repulsive" debate performances, "specious and gossipy" subject matter

I also read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald that referred to 'popular outrage' about the conduct and slant of the debate.

Finally, some more breaking news that is surely the nail in Hillary's coffin- 'The Boss', Bruce Springsteen, has backed Obama.

Now that will reverberate around small town America.

Boon Mee

^
Believe Chuck Norris was backing a far better candidate...

raycarey

well?

stroller

"Chuck Norris", you know?

raycarey

i was referring to a post boon mee made earlier in post #904 (and has actually made numerous times)....he brings up the name 'bill ayers' and his relationship with obama but never provides any details or what his point is....simply mentions his name.

so boon mee...what's your point? spell it out. or is there no there there?

btw, i know full well who ayers is....and i also know that there is no there there.

Jet Gorgon

It smelled. Stephanopolous was absolutely the wrong anchor. Give Obama credit for taking part. Setup Q from Hannity at Fox and stupid questions in general.

Agree. Absolute self-inflicting idiot play for the Dems. I was almost expecting Vanna, a letter board and a spin the wheel prop. I bet the Republicans are laughing their butts off. A very sad and embarrassing time for the Dems.

Hootad Binky

And if Hillary doesn't like the FTA (free trade agreement) with the US so much, why did she make a big deal out of knocking back a shot of Canadian-made (in Manitiba, actually) "Crown Royal?"

floorpotato

Today is has not been a good day for Hillary. Two prominent retired senators (Nunn and Boren) and her husband's ex-Secretary of Labor Robert Reich have endorsed Obama. And now Hillary has been caught on tape blaming activists in her own party for her primary defeats. In her unraveling mind, the renewed enthusiasm within her own party seems to be a negative trend:

Celeste Fremon: Clinton Slams Democratic Activists At Private Fundraiser - Politics on The Huffington Post

chinthee

Analysis: Time, delegate math working against Clinton

Analysis: Time, delegate math working against Clinton - Yahoo! News

Though I will miss the entertainment, it does appear as though maybe this will wrap up earlier than the convention.

sabang

^ It's definitely time for Hillary to pull the plug. She's only damaging herself and her Party now.

Her gambit was perhaps worth a shot, but it has failed. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps her 'bringing down' of the political debate to mudslinging and personal innuendo was a desperate last shot to revive a failing campaign. Or maybe she's a Bitch.

But the rigged ABC debate has firmly bitten her in the arse, and left her crdibility in tatters.