Feb 20 2008
The Clintons Are Not Finished
I am not expecting Hillary to win any more. Laura Ingraham had a note from the TX voting which started yesterday and it showed a record 10 fold increase in turn out on the first day of early voting. Instead of the 1200 voters who showed up in 2006 12,000 showed up for long lines. America is engaged and Obama’s empty-suited rhetoric at the moment is the big draw.
But the Clintons are not done yet, not by a long shot. This is Hillary’s one and only shot at this (and I suspect more than a few women are getting a little upset that the first women presidential candidate is going to bite the dust). In fact, the Clintons have a good rationale to now go for broke – Obama needs seasoning before he its the big show down in the general.
And the Clinton political machine seems to be just gearing up now:
Allies of Hillary Clinton plan an expensive, stealth campaign to buttress her standing in the must-win states of Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania.
They’re canvassing Clinton donors for pledges of up to $100,000 in the hope of raising at least $10M by the end of next week. The money will be placed in the account of a political committee organized under section 527 of the tax code.
…
Two Democrats said that the 527 plans to run television ads and send pro-Clinton literature in all three states. One of the Democrats said that the ads will also include contrast messages against Obama.
I am not saying the mudslinging to come will work, but it will damage Obama. The fight for power is on, and no one fights like the Clintons. In my mind they have been quite reserved up until now. Don’t count them out yet.
Update: Well, that didn’t take long. A union flack went after Obama in damn good fashion:
Taking off the gloves, he said, “Barack Obama is no Muhammad Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois State Senate. He took a walk more than a 130 times. That’s what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves. All the right combinations. All the right footwork. But he never steps into the ring.â€
And that is not all, now the Clinton machine is going after delegates:
This morning brings the news that the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, has launched a new website where they are announcing how they are officially preparing to make the case that the rules of the Democratic nomination process should be changed.
Among many “facts” they declare are some accurate ones, such as the idea that superdelegates, which in true nomenclatural dexterity they now term ‘automatic delegates’ “are expected to exercise their best judgment in the interests of the nation and the Democratic Party.”
The battle is just beginning – as is the blood letting.
No soothie that is not true. You are looking at primaries and seeing all those men voting against Hillary. That is the real issue here, Hillary is not McCain. She was not a good candidate to begin with and she had high negatives.
McCain is one of the most popular politicians in America. His favorability ratings are as high or higher than Obama and he is not some empty suit full of empty platitudes.
In overall polls, when it comes to people crossing party lines McCain does better at pulling Dems than Obama does at pulling Republicans. There are conservative Democrats out there {many around here} who will not vote for Hillary or Obama if McCain is the Republican candidate.
And remember, Obama is all about unity and love and peace and warm gooey feelings. Be nice.
As for betting, it is way too far off for that.
Imagine taking the word of Bob Geldof! Spend some time in England where Geldof and Bono are better known – and to the know them is to loathe them.
Bush’s big government at home and abroad agenda (imperialism) has virtually bankrupted the US. Just go to Europe or Canada and see how far your greenback peso goes these days. LMAO! The panicky rate cuts, the sub-prime mess, and declining manufacturing base may be just the beginning. America is less respected than at any time in its history. The sight of America paying militias not to attack US troops to give the appearance of success in occupied Iraq tells the world you are a declining power. Your fall will temporarily hurt Europe, especially the main exporting countries like Germany, but for Europe it is better in the long term to see America’s decline happen sooner.
McCain is an old time warmonger who publicly admits to not knowing much about economics. Rather than cut losses abroad he will accelerate your decline by trying to maintain the American empire at all costs. Obama’s base will be inward looking African Americans and Oprah watching soccer moms who couldn’t find Iraq on a map to save their lives. So he might not be as wedded to maintenance of American world domination as the other Democrat.
So from a non-USA point of view it is better to suffer McCain/neocon aggression in the short term knowing that it brings forward the day when Europe assumes its natural place at the centre of the world.
McCain has challenges ahead against Obama. I agree. He is going to lose every single debate. Jules is right that his understanding of economics is pathetic … his speeches are lackluster; he is uncomfortable in the limelight; people are going to question his age and health. The good thing is he wins the conservative vote by default and will take that to his advantage by turning his back to them by embracing moderate and some liberal positions as well as giving them cabinet positions. Turning his back to conservatives is a judicious move. He will win over independents and some moderate democrats.
I give Obama has the edge in winning the Presidency but he has some challenges ahead too. His rhetoric is getting old. People are going to start questioning where he stands, what he will do, etc. His utter inexperience people will question. I expect many silly statements by him that McCain will take advantage of (e.g. invading Pakistan). He is very liberal; one of the most liberal senators. America is not that liberal yet. As they say, no one really knows who Obama is so people just project into him what they hope him to be. The Obama bubble could burst if people realize how overrated he is and what he really is — far more liberal than America.
As of right now I give Obama the edge. But that could change.
Jules,
Get back to us when Europe starts carrying its own weight. Not only do we protect you from international bullies, we cleaned up your yard in old Yugoslavia.We subsidize your “free” health care by paying our fair share for drug research.
Europe is living off the glories of the past and charging the tourists, just like Disneyland. Why should we care what the Euro freeloaders think?
And talk about “decline?” They don’t call it “Eurabia” for nothing!
That’s funny…
Poll: Bush Now Twice As Popular As Congress
Jules,
Jealous Europeans have been predicting the demise of America for decades…..
Watch as our efforts in the ME displace the last cesspool left behind by European imperialism. Unlike Europe, we don’t occupy those countries we vanquish or save from blood thirsty dictators, we help them on their feet and leave.
BTW, America never produced a Stalin or a Hitler or a Mussolini or a Caligula or a Vlad the Impaler or a Henry the VIII or a host of other despots who saw their fellow humans as tools for them to use for their own purposes. We produced Washingtons, Lincolns, FDRs, Reagans and Bushes. Which is why your EU governments are modeled on us and not your own historic disasters.