OBAMA DAILY NEWS THREAD Saturday Feb-23-08

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO THE OBAMA DAILY NEWS THREAD

Saturday Feb-23-08

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:yourock:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. Wild Bill

I know this is not brand new, but since this week's theme is Texas (cowboy hats) and Ohio, and
since I found this picture today, and since its too good not to share, here it is - Bill Clinton in a Cowboy hat - Cartoon

[grantcart]

7. he missed my favorite on running a campaign on a "shoestring"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. 'Shame on you,' Clinton scolds Obama

Hillary Clinton Scolds Obama about his mailers pointing out her (previous) support of NAFTA. She accuses Obama of plagiarizing a page out of Rove's book.

'Shame on you,' Clinton scolds Obama

Published: Saturday, February 23, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday launched a scathing attack on her rival Democrat in the race for the White House as her campaign struggled to reassert her one-time leader status.

"Shame on you, Barack Obama," Clinton said during a campaign rally in Ohio, which along with the southern state of Texas holds key Democratic nominating contests on March 4.

...Clinton accused Obama, who has won the past 11 straight nominating contests and has edged out a lead in the Democratic campaign over the former first lady, of sending out misleading policy mailings about health care and free trade.

Clinton said Obama's campaign was "discrediting universal health care by waging a false campaign against my plan" and "talking about NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) in a way that tries to make him appear to have a plan when he does not."

Hillary did support NAFTA when her husband promoted and passed it.
Read David Sirota's : Hillary Clinton Pretends She Never Praised NAFTA - The Huffington Post.

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3. Tavis Smiley Still Clueless in New Orleans

Tavis Smiley Still Clueless in New Orleans

Tavis Smiley Still Clueless in New Orleans

February 23, 2008

Tavis Smiley still doesn't get it. In an interview today on XM Radio's P.O.T.U.S. 08, Smiley continued to insist that Barack Obama missed an opportunity by not attending Smiley's summit in New Orleans. Smiley also tried to discount the negative buzz directed towards him on the internet for acting like an egotistic jerk towards Obama, who respectfully refused his invitation to the summit due to a scheduling conflict in Texas.

Somehow, Tavis thinks that Obama has to be in N.O. in order to to talk to Black America. Well Tavis let me holla at you for a minute. We have TV, radio, newspapers and the internet. We have heard Obama speak to Black America. Obama spoke to Black America when he spoke to White America, Latino America, Italian American, and all America.

For too long, there have been too much division in this country. Although quite a few of
us are cynics, we are hopeful that America can change for the better. That's why America is so captivated by Obama. Republicans wished for him. Now there is a good chance that they will get him. And to Obama's credit, some Republicans will defy polling trends and actually vote for him instead of against him.

There are many reasons to try and marginalize Obama. One reason might be that there will be a reduced need for bully pulpits...or bullies like Tavis.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. Clinton "attacking the message of change" & compares Obama to Bush

Clinton attacks change and hope by comparing Obama to Bush

Clinton Draws Comparison Between Bush and Obama

February 23, 2008 11:39 AM

ABC's Eloise Harper reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton went further than she ever has in comparing the platform Pres. George W. Bush ran on in 2000 with the message of change that Sen. Barack Obama is pushing.

Speaking in Cincinnati, OH, Clinton said, “People talk a lot about change in this election. We have lived through some of the worst change.” In 2000, Clinton said, “people thought they were getting 'a compassionate conservative' -- it turned out he was neither and we have lived through the consequences of those mistakes.” Clinton continued to draw the comparison: “You know, when he ran for office he promised change, didn’t he, he promised he would keep our country safe, he promised he would tackle global warming. He never said anything about taking our balanced budget and a surplus and throwing it out the window.”

Clinton went further, growing more and more animated, shouting, “He didn’t say anything about the kind of change he would bring, where he was willing to totally dismantle our environmental regulations. Where he wanted to put the government totally under the control of the special interests. Where his cronies and allies in politics and government in business were going to be taken care of and the American people were basically were going to get the short end of the stick.”

Clinton concluded, saying, “He promised change as a compassionate conservative and the American people got shafted.”

Clearly Clinton is attacking the message of change, hoping to solidify support in Ohio, a state she desperately needs to secure the nomination.

[grantcart]

6. I suggest we take a different tone in our response pls see this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=132

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. sorry, your link just goes to GDP, not a specific thread

but feel free to post articles or cross posts with descriptions or summaries.

[grantcart]

26. sorry just notice lol

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4729992&mesg_id=4729992

[grantcart]

5. No changes on super delegates but you can get the latest nos here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4725113&mesg_id=4725113

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. Clinton to Ohioans: "I'm Your Girl"

Sick of people using sexist terms to describe Hillary? Well straight from Hillary's mouth....
At a late night rally in Ohio, Hillary tells supporters - "I'm your girl":

February 23, 2008, 9:17 AM

Clinton to Ohioans: "I'm Your Girl"

(CBS)From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

TOLEDO, OHIO -- At a late night rally in one of Ohio’s most industrial cities, Hillary Clinton hit two key points in her stump: the economy and Barack Obama.

“Why aren’t there the kinds of jobs that will give us a good, solid middle-class lifestyle with rising incomes and good benefits anymore? Why? Why can somebody work fulltime but not have a weight that lifts that person and his or her family out of poverty when they are doing the best they can? Clinton asked.

...Clinton fed off of the crowd’s enthusiasm, delivering her stump speech loudly and forcefully. “If you are looking for someone who will work to figure out a way that we keep building and making products that give people good wages and give us an industrial base that is important for our national security as well as our economy then I’m your girl because I’ll be with you all the way!” The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

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10. Hillary's Flip Flop on NAFTA

"I think, on balance, NAFTA has been good for New York and America"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. Colbert I. King: "Truth the Clintons Can't Handle"

Colbert King at the Washington Post gives his opinion as to how/why the Clinton campaign lost the black vote.

Truth the Clintons Can't Handle

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, February 23, 2008;


...Last year, Hillary Clinton was riding high: The black vote was hers to lose. So what accounts for her sharp reversal of fortune?

Hillary made the mistake of assuming that what was Bill's was hers -- she believed headlines that shouted such things as "Poll: Many Black Voters Don't Identify With Obama."

...The Clintons sought to marginalize Obama as a candidate for African Americans. It backfired.

African American voters and millions of other Americans aren't buying what Hillary Clinton is selling. They didn't regard her presidency as inevitable. Nor did they consider her years as first lady, or her time spent with Little Rock's Rose Law Firm or her service on Wal-Mart's board of directors as qualifying her to become the nation's commander in chief.

Obama is not Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. Yes, he does evoke a sense of pride in many African Americans. But it's because of what he represents in the campaign: an inspirational African American who has strong personal qualities, excellent credentials, a vision for America and a family that will make the nation proud.

As they used to say in my old neighborhood, the Clintons "low-rated" Obama. Beneath their smiles, the Clintons are constitutionally unable to accept the possibility that he could be viewed more favorably or thought to be more capable of uniting and leading the country than Hillary.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. Sunday NYT story: "Soldiering On, but Somber as the Horizon Darkens" (regrets and recriminations)

cross posting -

Sunday NYT story: "Soldiering On, but Somber as the Horizon Darkens" (regrets and recriminations)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4730932

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

13. Shame on YOU, Hillary Clinton

Shame on YOU, Hillary Clinton

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton by PsiFighter37
Sat Feb 23, 2008


...Shame on her for equating a fellow Democrat's tactics to those of Karl Rove. Karl Rove would spin lies to the media and turn them into conventional wisdom. The mailers from Obama's campaign may not highlight Clinton in the best light, but there's nothing false about them. It's quite well-documented that Hillary Clinton was supportive of NAFTA before she was against it (sound familiar?). In addition, Clinton's mandated health care plan will result in punitive penalties assessed against families if they aren't able to afford payments for their health care plan. That's not disputed. And frankly, if one institutes a mandate that doesn't have any penalties, it's not a mandate at all.

Instead, Hillary Clinton herself - not her strategists or her surrogates, but the candidate herself - chooses to step up to a public microphone and lash out, in a somewhat unhinged fashion, at Obama. If she were to discuss the substance of the issues, that would be something different. But that would be too difficult to do, because the mailers are factually accurate.


But she didn't. Instead, she chose to go the whole nine yards and accuse the Obama campaign of using Karl Rove-style Republican tactics. Aside from being an outright lie, it also removes any of the goodwill that would be needed to unify the Democratic Party once the nominee is decided. To any observer of the primary process, it's almost certain that Barack Obama is going to receive the most pledged delegate votes (and possibly superdelegates, where he is rapidly narrowing Clinton's lead). With this latest salvo, Hillary Clinton seems determined to go down in defeat ungraciously and angrily. These negative attacks failed badly in Wisconsin, and one would think that the Clinton campaign would recognize that there is no gain to her candidacy - or to the party - of furthering these negative attacks.

During Thursday night's debate, it seemed that Hillary Clinton had learned that lesson firsthand. After being booed for her canned 'change you can Xerox' line, she ended the debate on a positive note.

Today, it becomes apparent that she didn't learn anything at all.
Shame on you, Senator Clinton.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

14. Firedoglake: Hillary.. "essentially running against Bill."

Hillary Defends Her NAFTA Record?!?
By: Jane Hamsher Saturday February 23, 2008 1:02 pm

She's not running against Obama anymore -- she's essentially running against Bill.
I mean, I really don't know how you utter the "It took a Clinton to clean up after a Bush" line
in one breath, and then in the next admit that he fucked it up.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. NY Times: Deconstructing an Obama Victory

February 23, 2008, 5:34 pm
Deconstructing an Obama Victory
By Katharine Q. Seelye

Here’s further grist for the mill for anyone deconstructing how Senator Hillary Clinton lost so many states to Senator Barack Obama.
The story is starting to sound the same everywhere: slow start and outspent, if not out-organized. These are the details from Wisconsin, as culled by Ken Goldstein, director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project, which analyzes political advertising across the country.

...Half of her ads had “significant negative content,” Mr. Goldstein said, and they marked her most pointed advertising to date. About one quarter of the Obama ads “attacked or counterattacked” Mrs. Clinton.
She also went after Mr. Obama on relatively minor matters. While the conventional wisdom held that she should try to undermine him on his lack of experience, Mr. Goldstein said, she instead attacked him for not debating her and for not being liberal enough on health care reform.

And while 2008 is perceived to be a “change” election, her ads never mentioned the word “change” while his mentioned it 1,824 times. Her ads never mentioned experience and she never spoke in any of them, whereas Mr. Obama was regularly featured in his ads speaking on his own behalf.

“Her late entry and the inconsistency in the messages conveyed through advertising and in her speeches speaks to some confusion among Clinton strategists,” Mr. Goldstein said....

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

16. NBC: Obama Defends 'Liberal' Label

OBAMA DEFENDS 'LIBERAL' LABEL
February 23, 2008 2:30 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Obama

From NBC/NJ’s Aswini Anburajan
AUSTIN, Texas -- In the shadow of the state capitol that provided the United States with one of the most conservative presidents in recent history, Obama last night railed against the charge that being "liberal" was a bad thing.

"Oh, he's liberal,” he said. “He's liberal. Let me tell you something. There's nothing liberal about wanting to reduce money in politics that is common sense. There's nothing liberal about wanting to make sure are treated properly when they come home.”

Continuing on his riff: "There's nothing liberal about wanting to make sure that everybody has healthcare, but we are spending more on healthcare in this country than any other advanced country. We got more uninsured. There's nothing liberal about saying that doesn't make sense, and we should so something smarter with our health care system. Don't let them run that okie doke on you!"

...Obama acknowledged the criticism of the enthusiasm that's risen in recent weeks. "And ya know what? Well they make fun of you all too by the way,” Obama said. “They make fun of you guys. They say, ‘All these people who are following Obama they're delusional. They just like pretty words, they don't really understand what's going on.’ Lets get real.”

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

17. MAJOR! Strickland Worried About Holding Ohio for Clinton

Hillary's strongest supporter in Ohio fears he can't hold back the Obama tsunami.

Strickland Worried About Holding Ohio for Clinton

After Sen. Barack Obama's "decisive victory" over Sen. Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, Robert Novak says
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) "was reported expressing doubt to political colleagues about whether he
could hold his state for Clinton during the two weeks remaining before Ohio's Democratic presidential primary March 4."

"Polls taken before Wisconsin voted gave Clinton a double-digit lead in Ohio, a state necessary to sustain her presidential hopes.
A Clinton win there also may be needed for Strickland's chances to be the vice presidential running mate for either Clinton or Obama."

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. Tavis Frustrated with Panel and Audience at State of Black Union

Tavis Frustrated with Panel and Audience at State of Black Union
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4725387&mesg_id=4725387

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. Time for Bill O'Racist to Resign in Disgrace

Personally, I think he should be fired.



Time for Bill O'Racist to Resign in Disgrace
By Bob Cesca, Huffington Post

MediaCulture: O'Reilly should be fired for using the word "lynching" in the
context of a rant about Michelle Obama, despite his faux apology.

...
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/77544/?page=2

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. Alternet: The Issue That Could Decide the Democratic Nomination" (NAFTA)

The Issue That Could Decide the Democratic Nomination and the General ElectionPosted by David Sirota, Open Left on February 23, 2008 at 7:49 AM.

None of us likes being lied to by politicians, and not just because being lied to is insulting, but because when a lie comes from a politician,
it suggests that none of their promises should be believed. As my new nationally syndicated newspaper column shows, this is precisely what is going on in the presidential race when it comes to trade and globalization policy - key policies as the race heads into the working-class bastions of Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

It would be one thing if Hillary Clinton was admitting that yes, she vigorously supported NAFTA, but that support was misguided. But no, as the column shows, Clinton is now trying to convince voters she never supported the North American Free Trade Agreement - the trade model whose lack of labor, human rights and environmental standards made it a tool for Big Business to ship jobs abroad. Not only is she claiming to be a longtime opponent of the deal, but she's actually trotting out former Clinton administration officials-turned-corporate-lawyers like Mickey Kantor - the very architects of the deal - to tell us that behind closed doors she really wasn't for NAFTA. Shocker - these are the same hacks who have lashed their careers to Clinton's campaign in hopes of getting back their White House jobs.

...But now, Barack Obama is picking up where John Edwards left off and is reminding folks of the real history, promising to get serious on trade, and consequently the polls in Ohio appear to be closing....

....

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. A big frown to Smiley's attitude on Obama

Feb 23, 2008 02:40 AM
A big frown to Smiley's attitude on Obama
Barry Saunders, Staff Writer
Take my wife - please. That's not just one of the funniest lines ever uttered -- by comedian Henny Youngman. It's also pretty much what Barack ("Barry" to his mama) Obama told Tavis Smiley recently.

Smiley, host of a television show and a syndicated radio talk show, declined the offer of Michelle Obama to speak on her husband's behalf. He wanted the Democratic presidential primary candidate to appear at his annual State of the Black Union conference this week, or no Obamas.

...The fight between Smiley and Obama is unseemly, diminishes the former's stature and can only distract Obama from his mission of winning the Democratic presidential nomination. It's not like Obama doesn't have other things to do this weekend -- such as campaigning in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, states where Hillary Clinton must win to once again make this a real race.

In subsequent interviews, Smiley said variously that he was "catching hell" and being "barbecued" by black Americans for deigning to criticize Obama. Typical was a Web site post that accused the formerly beloved Smiley of drinking "haterade," slang for being jealous of Obama's prominence and success....

I won't go that far. Tavis Smiley strikes me as a good dude, someone with a genuine interest in leaving a better world than the one he found. Before this contretemps with Obama, my only issue with Smiley was his constant reliance on the phrase "black folks" in conversation and writing. Gee, Tavis. Can't we just be "people," even "black people"?
....

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

22. ACORN endorses Barack Obama

The Nation reports that Acorn is endorsing Barack Obama!

ACORN: OBAMA GETS IT

...Yesterday, ACORN's political action committee endorsed Barack Obama for President. This is an important nod from a group that understands the urgent needs of Americans most hurt by this economy and how to organize for social and economic justice.

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, with over 350,000 member families, organized into 800 neighborhood chapters, in 104 cities nationwide. The endorsement reflects a belief that Obama – who worked as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago – understands that change must come from the ground-up, as part of a working coalition, rather than from position papers.

As Maude Hurd, ACORN's National President, put it, "What it came down to was that Senator Obama is the candidate who best understands and can affect change on the issues ACORN cares about like stopping foreclosures, enacting fair and comprehensive immigration reform, and building stronger and safer communities across America."

In last night's debate, Obama spoke as a candidate --and a former community organizer--when he said: "The reason that this campaign has done so well is because people understand that it is not just a matter of putting forward policy positions…. If we can't inspire the American people to get involved in their government… then we will continue to see the kind of gridlock and nonperformance in Washington that is resulting in families suffering in very real ways…. I'm running for president to start doing something about that suffering, and so are the people who are behind my campaign…. It is my strong belief that the changes are only going to come about if we're able to form a working coalition for change…. The problem we have is that Washington has become a place where good ideas go to die."

....

[BattyDem]

23. He looks GOOD in a cowboy hat!

Yeah, I know that's a superficial comment ... but he DOES! :D


On edit: Oops, I forgot to post my picture. It's not really news, but it does make you wonder why Hillary keeps insisting that you can't choose a president based on your desire for change.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. excellent. Time 1992 "Mandate for Change" with Bill Clinton on cover

thanks for posting that!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. Politico: "Clinton plans mix of sharp and soft" (trying to avoid backlash)

Clinton campaign to alternate attacks with showing Hillary's "softer side'.

Clinton plans mix of sharp and soft By: John F. Harris and Mike Allen
Feb 23, 2008 07:41 PM EST

Aides wrestle with strategy dilemma on how sharply HRC should make case that Obama is unprepared.
Photo: AP

...As her campaign makes what could be its last stand, aides are wrestling with a strategy dilemma centering on how sharply Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) should make the case that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is unprepared to be commander in chief in an age of urgent national security challenges.

Mark Penn, the campaign’s chief strategist, has argued that Clinton should press this line aggressively, emphasizing substantive contrasts, according to Democrats with long ties to the Clintons.

Other advisers fret that Clinton — facing an uphill climb at best — should not advance arguments that would give the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, ammunition in a general election if Obama winds up as the Democratic nominee.


...The stakes for the Clintons, immediately and for the long term, are high. If Hillary Clinton attempts to disembowel Obama and fails, there might be a backlash that could reduce her stature in the Senate and Bill Clinton’s reputation as an elder statesman.

.....

[grantcart]

27. Hillary's two natures seen today as captured in literature

Dr Jekyll meet Ms Hyde

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. Obama responds, and hits Clinton's experience

February 23, 2008
Read More: Barack Obama

Obama responds, and hits Clinton's experience

Jonathan Martin, with Obama in Akron (GOP primary being pretty over) emails:

Firing back at Hillary's criticism of his NAFTA mailers here, Obama said tonight that she can't pick and choose from her husband's administration.

"You can’t be for something or take credit for an administration and 35 years of experience and then when you run for president suggest somehow you didn’t really mean what you said back then," Obama said to applause at a rally of about 5,000. "It doesn't work that way."

He said Clinton had in fact supported the trade deal that is blamed for thousands of job losses in the industrial hub of this state and that is viewed as something akin to cancer by Ohio Democrats.

"The truth is that Sen. Clinton supported NAFTA before she ran for president. That is indisupatable. She called it 'a victory' in her book. She told people it has proved its worth. Those are facts...."

...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

29. Clinton Offers Regrets for Spouse’s Remarks

February 23, 2008, 7:53 pm

Clinton Offers Regrets for Spouse’s Remarks

By Julie Bosman

NEW ORLEANS – Appearing before a predominantly black audience here Saturday afternoon, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defended her husband’s legacy on race relations and offered an apology of sorts for comments he made in South Carolina several weeks ago that many people viewed as racially insensitive.

In a question-and-answer session after her speech at the State of the Black Union event, Mrs. Clinton was asked by Tavis Smiley, the host of the event, how she felt about “what some termed racial comments” by Mr. Clinton.

“I think there are enough of you here today who know him personally and know his heart,” she said, then stopped for a long pause. “If anyone was offended about anything that was said, whether it was meant or not, whether it was misinterpreted or not, then obviously I regret that.”

<...>

Mrs. Clinton’s brief appearance in New Orleans was not a traditional campaign stop, considering that Louisiana has already held its contest – on Feb. 9 – and voted decisively for Mr. Obama, who won by 22 points.

According to a campaign spokesman, Mrs. Clinton had agreed to attend the event after bumping into Mr. Smiley several weeks ago in Los Angeles.

...