USA Presidential Politics - 2008

[roni]

Majority of Dems want Clinton to be V.P.
Posted: 04:00 PM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
A majority of Democrats want Clinton to be vice president.

(CNN) – Even as the prolonged Democratic presidential race has become more divisive in its final stretch, a majority of Democrats want Barack Obama to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate, according to a new poll out Tuesday.

A new Gallup poll shows 55 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents surveyed think Obama should offer the New York senator a spot on his ticket. That number is significantly influenced by Clinton's supporters — close to 75 percent of her backers want the No. 2 spot to be offered, while only 43 percent of Obama supporters feel the same.

The poll comes as some of Clinton's highest profile backers increasingly suggest Obama and Clinton should team up for the general election. Speaking in New York Friday, Sen. Chuck Schumer said he at first didn't think such a team was possible but now believes "it could be."

"Hillary and Barack have both run very strong and great races, and I think they'd be a strong ticket together," he said.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, who also backs Clinton, also put his support behind a joint ticket Monday. Speaking on CNN, the New York congressman said such a scenario would be "terrific," adding "I hope it works out that way."

[TheCouvTraveler]

Originally Posted by mallen10

On NBC's Hardball, a NBC political analyst has mentioned Republican senator Chuck Hagel as a VP choice for Obama.

An Obama/Hagel ticket is my DREAM ticket.

[ryberg]

CNN projects Childers the winner in Mississippi!

Fear has officially struck the heart of the GOP!

Steve

[ryberg]

Meanwhile I see they've crossed 200,000 voters with 63% of the precincts reporting in in WV. So they just need 4.5 times that many to vote in the remaining 37% of the precincts to corroborate McAuliffe's comments.

Steve

[Rissask]

I went looking for the one I tried to send you today Steve, and no dice....but you might like this one. Mr. Original!

[MikeW]

We just got our ballots in the mail for the June Primary election in California, WTF????

Yep, our screwed up state govt, doesn't have one primary election in Presidential years, but now we have two. One for the US president, with a few propositions thrown in. The other for state and local govt primaries and a few more propositions thrown in. Seems our state, with it's brilliant leaders, were so crazed about Super Tuesday they decided to spend twice the money and have 2 elections 4 months apart. Govt efficiency at work.

[ryberg]

Well they have gotten up to 300,000 voters now, with 90% of the precincts in.

I guess those last 10% of precincts must be absolutely overflowing with voters! Why in the world would they set things up so that 90% of the precincts held only 300,000 voters, and just 10% held 800,000 voters?!? Sounds crazy to me! But I guess that McAuliffe ought to know his business when he talked about this contest and the overall popular vote and 1.1 million Democrats in WV! I mean, he was head of the DNC for a few years and he even lives in neighboring VA, you know!

So I for one am anxious to see those other 800,000 pour in, here... Who knows how they could change things!!!



Steve

[Just Lucky]

Did you see what Carville said?

“I’m for Senator Clinton, but I think the great likelihood is that Obama will be the nominee.“As soon as I determine when that is, I’ll send him a check.”

The State | 05/13/2008 | Of yellow dogs and Democrats

He's overdue in his apology to Governor Richardson.

[See Turtle]

Originally Posted by MikeW

We just got our ballots in the mail for the June Primary election in California, WTF????

Yep, our screwed up state govt, doesn't have one primary election in Presidential years, but now we have two. One for the US president, with a few propositions thrown in. The other for state and local govt primaries and a few more propositions thrown in. Seems our state, with it's brilliant leaders, were so crazed about Super Tuesday they decided to spend twice the money and have 2 elections 4 months apart. Govt efficiency at work.

Actually, that second California primary being held before the DNC convention is being hosted by the Clinton campaign. In a bizarre back-room deal brokered by Hollywood elites, Hillary will be on this ballot as well. Barack will not. By running unopposed in both Michigan and now in California II as well, she will get the popular vote lead needed to take the nomination. BRILLIANT!

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by See Turtle

Actually, that second California primary being held before the DNC convention is being hosted by the Clinton campaign. In a bizarre back-room deal brokered by Hollywood elites, Hillary will be on this ballot as well. Barack will not. By running unopposed in both Michigan and now in California II as well, she will get the popular vote lead needed to take the nomination. BRILLIANT!

How does Hillary "host" a "2nd" primary where one of the candidates is once again not on a ballot? What's going on out there in California?

[See Turtle]

Originally Posted by Jacko

How does Hillary "host" a "2nd" primary where one of the candidates is once again not on a ballot? What's going on out there in California?

Sorry, Jacko, one of the limitations of online conversation is that you couldn't see my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Shoulda added one of these , and maybe one of these, , too.

[ryberg]

Well . . .



Only 330,000 people voted in WV?!?!?

Terry McAuliffe kept talking about how Clinton was going to regain the popular vote lead because there are 1,100,000 Democrats there!!! (and 1,600,000 in KY)



. . .

. . .

. . .

Why, I'm starting to think he may have been dishonest and intentionally misled people...


. . .

. . .

. . .

You know, that he was LYING...



Steve

[ryberg]

Anybody catch Jamal Simmons' best line, part II, last night? This is the guy on CNN who memorably noted a week ago, in discussions following PA & IN voting and Clinton's chances and scenarios and so forth, that it was always "if" in these discussions, and "if my aunt had a male appendage, she'd be my uncle."

Well last night he wasn't quite that colorful, but there was one memorable exchange, when the idiotic Lou Dobbs was running the panel for a while, and Roland Martin was playing a sort of devil's advocate approach and saying, hey, you know, we were just looking at the electoral college map and playing with that and with the states in play, here, you can actually cede WV or even cede states like OH and still win the election, if you are also winning states like MO and so on (don't remember the exact examples but he had a number of them).

So Dobbs goes into his shtick of the surprised-but-not-surprised naive, sarcastic guy, clapping a hand to his cheek and saying, a president who didn't win OH? and WV? a Democratic candidate who didn't win these states but became president? when was the last time that happened? With almost the "Home Alone" look on his face, you know.

Well, yeah, but when was the last time an African-American was the nominee? quips Simmons.

Dobbs backpedals in shock that someone might see through his silly act and also point out his faulty reasoning, right there on national TV...



Steve

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by See Turtle

Sorry, Jacko, one of the limitations of online conversation is that you couldn't see my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Shoulda added one of these , and maybe one of these, , too.

Yeah....me too!

[Just Lucky]

Meyerson has what I feel is an excellent piece in the post today about how McCain and the Republicans will attempt to frame the election:

If the McCain campaign is still trying out songs, there's one by a couple of Brits, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, that it should consider. We have to change the words "an Englishman" to "American" to get it to work, but, that done, the song expresses succinctly and entirely the case for John McCain and, by implication, against Barack Obama:
For he himself has said it,And it's greatly to his credit,That he is American!That he is American!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the sum total of the Republican message this year. That is why McCain's first post-primary ad proclaimed him "the American president Americans have been waiting for." Not the "strong" or "experienced" president, though those are contrasts he could seek to draw with Obama. The "American" president -- because that's the only contrast through which McCain has even a chance of prevailing.
Now, I mean to take nothing away from McCain's Americanness by noting that it's Obama's story that represents a triumph of specifically American identity over racial and religious identity. It was the lure of America, the shining city on a hill, that brought his black Kenyan father here, where he met Obama's white Kansan mother. It is because America is uniquely the land of immigrants and has moved beyond a racial caste system that Obama exists, has thrived and stands a good chance of being our next president.
That's not the America, though, that the Republicans refer to in proclaiming their own Americanness. For them, "American" is a term to be used as a wedge issue, a way to distinguish their more racially and religiously homogeneous party from the historically more polyglot Democrats. Such separation has a long pedigree: Campaigning for GOP presidential nominee Alf Landon in 1936, Republican leader Frank Knox said that the Democratic Party under President Franklin Roosevelt "has been seized by alien and un-American elements. Next November, you will choose the American way."

Rest is here