LIVE BLOGGING - A Little Past Super Tuesday
BARACK OBAMA:What does all of this mean? Well, a few things. Honestly, I don't see how anyone could honestly say that Clinton comes out of Super Tuesday with the "winning momentum." Simply by not being defeated by Obama, the Clinton campaign has declared the day a "win."
Alabama - 56% - 42%
Alaska - 72% - 27%
Colorado - 66% - 33%
Connecticut - 50% - 47%
Delaware - 53% - 42%
Georgia - 65% - 32%
Idaho - 81% - 15%
Illinois - 64% - 33%
Kansas - 73% - 27%
Minnesota - 67% - 32%
Missouri - 49% - 48%
North Dakota - 61% - 37%
Utah - 54% - 40%
HILLARY CLINTON:
Arizona - 50% - 41%
Arkansas - 72% - 23%
California - 55% - 33%
Massachusetts - 56% - 41%
New York - 57% - 40%
New Jersey - 54% - 44%
Oklahoma - 55% - 31%
Tennessee - 54% - 41%
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, caucus, Clinton, Democrat, election, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 12:06 AM /
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 6:35 PM /
So, I've been in rehearsal for a show right now, which is why I've failed to follow up here on Barack Obama's stunning win in South Carolina, the seemingly odd timing of John Edwards' departure from the race, or any number of stories that have come and gone since then.
I have yet to even officially write my activist endorsement of Barack Obama yet, but it WILL be forthcoming.
I even have a strange scenario floating around in my head right now, which remains consistent with polls as they stand right now, which sees Barack Obama clinching the nomination tonight.... OK, so it's a bit far-fetched... but so was the New York Giants upset over the New England Patriots, right? And given the results of New Hampshire, anything is possible these days.
Briefly, the scenario involves Obama winning California, taking at least 40% of the vote in New York, taking his home state of Illinois, winning Massachusetts (not terribly difficult to imagine given endorsements by Kerry and the Kennedy clan), making at least a strong showing in New Jersey and Connecticut, and winning BIG in states like Georgia.
I'll go into more detail about this later.... the real point of this post is to let you know that I'll be LiveBlogging results tonight - probably some time after 10:00PM Eastern.
So, hang with Keith and Chris until then, and I'll see you later tonight!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 4:52 PM /
This is one of the funnier political videos I've seen in a while, and I thought I'd share...
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, election, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 4:02 PM /
Obama Leads Going Into South Carolina Primary...
Despite all of the negative campaigning and attacks from the Clinton campaign over the last several days (or maybe because of them), Barack Obama is maintaining a 13 point lead over Clinton as tomorrow's South Carolina Democratic primary approaches.
What's even more exciting to me is that John Edwards' support is slowly creeping up, with indications that a second place finish would be possible for him tomorrow. I think that it would serve as a strong message for Clinton to be repaid with a third place finish for way the campaign has conducted themselves in recent days.
I'd love to reprint the entire endorsement from South Carolina's newspaper, The State, but I'll just share a brief portion of it, and you can read the rest of it on their website: The restoration of the Clintons to the White House would trigger a new wave of all-out political warfare....Hillary Clinton doesn’t pretend that it won’t happen; she simply vows to persevere, in the hope that her side can win....
Sen. Obama’s campaign is an argument for a more unifying style of leadership. In a time of great partisanship, he is careful to talk about winning over independents and even Republicans. He is harsh on the failures of the current administration - and most of that critique well-deserved. But he doesn’t use his considerable rhetorical gifts to demonize Republicans. He’s not neglecting his core values; he defends his progressive vision with vigorous integrity. But for him, American unity - transcending party - is a core value in itself.
Sen. Obama would also have the best chance to repair the damage to America’s global reputation.... Sen. Obama is the only Democrat who plausibly can say that he wants to work with Americans across the political spectrum to address such subjects - and he has the integrity and the skills of persuasion that make him the best-qualified among the remaining Democratic hopefuls to address these challenges.
He would be a groundbreaking nominee. More to the point, he makes a solid case that he is ready to lead the whole country. We see Sen. Barack Obama as the best choice in Saturday’s Democratic primary.
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, election, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 10:24 AM /
During the last Democratic debate in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton accused Barack Obama of aiding Tony Rezko "...when you were practicing law and representing your contributor ... in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago." Although many various sources have indicated that Obama never DIRECTLY represented Rezko, the Clinton camp continues to pound at the issue, feeding it to the media.
Well, as is typically proven, that kharma is a bitch. Today, photos surface of Tony Rezko with the Clintons.
While Clinton denies knowing Rezko, it is plain and obvious that he at least had access to the Clinton White House.
I wonder if we'll see a picture of Obama and Norman Hsu appear? Somehow, I'm thinking not.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, election
Posted by FleshPresser at 8:42 PM /
Is this REALLY the same Bill Clinton that I admired so much as a President? After hearing him talk about Obama as a "fairy tale", maybe it shouldn't surprise me to see this? Check Bill out around the 50 second mark, where he tries to cover his nod-off as a nod of agreement (please forgive the link to the New York Post... at this hour thus far, it's the only place I could find an embeddable copy of the video):
If you had a late night or something, that's fine... just call and CANCEL YOUR APPEARANCE rather than making one that embarrasses yourself, your spouse who's running for President, and millions of Americans who thought you were better than this.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Culinary Workers, election, Nevada, Obama, SEIU
Posted by FleshPresser at 3:32 PM /
Culinary Workers Endorse Obama
As anticipated, both the Culinary Workers Union in Nevada and it's parent, UNITE HERE, have endorsed Barack Obama. Obama also received the endoresement of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Nevada today.
These are HUGE victories for Obama heading into Nevada, and a serious blow to Clinton and, more critically, to Edwards. Edwards has been alligning himself with labor and to fail to receive an endorsement like this is another major disappointment.
The Culinary Workers endorsement, as well as SEIU's, guarantee a groundswell of organizers for the Nevada caucus, which is to be held in ten days. The caucus takes place during the day on the Saturday of the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In addition, this is the first time that Nevada is holding a precinct caucus, and as such, attendance is projected to be around 45,000 - or 10% of the state's registered Democratic population.
A union membership of over 60,000 floods the odds in Obama's favor, then.... and provides organized help on the ground at a critical point.
Add to this that Obama's campaign is taking in an average of $1 million a DAY in January thus far, including $500,000 since the end of the election last night.
All in all, not bad for the day after an "alleged loss" to Clinton in New Hampshire (I'm still being snarky - technically, when it comes down to delegate counts, they tied.) - Obama heads into both Nevada and South Carolina in a very strong position.
LiveBlogging: New Hampshire Results
Wow.
I'm reminded of two quotations. The first is attributed to Mark Twain:
I had rehearsal this evening, and so I didn't get back until just recently, and honestly wasn't too terribly interested in rushing home, as I was pretty damned sure that I knew what the outcome was going to be.
I do know this much - Hillary Clinton is a better candidate for having weathered this storm, and gaining this crucial victory. And Barack Obama is going to be a stronger candidate having this "alleged victory" taken away from him.Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, election, New Hampshire, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 12:07 AM /
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, election, New Hampshire, Obama, Russert
Posted by FleshPresser at 4:23 PM /
By now, it appears that all of the mystery has been taken out of the results of this election - at least on the Democratic side. The biggest question is not whether or not Obama will win, but by how many points. In addition, it will be interesting to see how many Independents play on the side of the Democrats, rather than the Republicans - this would have a pretty significant effect on McCain's showing today.
We'll bring results later this evening as they come in, and do some analysis and punditry as always. In the meantime, here's some talk from Russert from this morning on the topic - please ignore Joe Scarborough, who I tend to dislike, as well as the "ohhhh nooooo" woman sitting by his side.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, cartoons, Clinton, New Hampshire
Posted by FleshPresser at 1:59 PM /
PTF's Handmade Political Cartoons: CHANGE
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, election, New Hampshire
Posted by FleshPresser at 11:38 AM /
Clips From The New Hampshire Debate
Here, again, are reasons why I believe Clinton is going to continue her downward spiral, while Obama and Edwards are going to continue to rise... unless Clinton changes her strategy QUICKLY. Look at how flabbergasted she becomes at this moment in the debate.... almost as if to say "Didn't you get the memo?!? I'm supposed to be WINNING!"
Need more proof? Watch how the opinions sway as she speaks...
Pretty telling...
Labels: 2008, Blog The Vote, Clinton, Democrat, Edwards, election, New Hampshire, Obama
Posted by FleshPresser at 11:16 AM /
True... it's still too early to crown a victor for the Democratic party primary race. But on this day before the New Hampshire primary, the writing is starting to appear on the wall, and I'm liking what it says:
American Research Group (based in Manchester, NH) shows Obama over Clinton by a margin of 11 percent... 39% - 28%. As was the case in Iowa, Obama is carrying the youth vote (here widely defined as 18-64), by a margin of 21%. Those 65 and over prefer Clinton by almost the same margin. What's more interesting, however, is the breakdown according to gender. Not surprisingly, Obama and Edwards both lead Clinton among male voters. Women, however, also favor Obama over Clinton - 35%-34% - while 21% lean toward Edwards. Perhaps the most important indicator of success in the general election, however, is the independent voting block. Here, Obama enjoys a 47%-25% margin over Edwards.
Rasmussen Reports shows Obama over Clinton with a ten-point lead... 38%-28%. Edwards continues to hang on, with 18%. Rasmussen points out the same signifier - Clinton and Obama are largely even among Democrats, but Obama has a 2-1 lead over Clinton among Independents.
A Gallup poll shows Obama leading New Hampshire, with a 41%-28% margin over Clinton. Edwards maintains 19% of the vote. Gallup's report points out that the biggest jump in the numbers came when Democrats were asked who "has the best chance of beating the Republican in November." In mid-December, Clinton led on this question by 21 points. Today, Obama leads in this category by 11 points. Obama went up 19 points after the Iowa win, while Clinton lost 13 points.
A couple of other random thoughts here... it's become apparent that the race is largely a two-person race, between Obama and Clinton. The next two in line, however, seemed to have alligned themselves. Edwards has clearly taken a place behind Obama's shoulder, coming down on the side of change. Richardson, meanwhile, is doing everything possible to climb inside Clinton's side pocket. It is not clear that Edwards or Richardson have a clear shot at a veep slot, but it's worth taking note.
In my opinion, here's a telling sign of where the election is heading. To combat the "message of change," Clinton has been attacking Obama by encouraging people not to be swept up by "false hopes." Yesterday, during the debate in New Hampshire, she stopped a conversation between Obama and Edwards to encourage that they get a "reality check."
Obama, on Good Morning America today, addressed Clinton very simply, stating "I mean, you can picture JFK saying, 'we can't go to the moon, it's a false hope. Let's get a reality check.' It's not, sort of, I think, what our tradition has been."
True... it's still too early to crown a victor for the Democratic party primary race. But here are a few interesting facts. In 2004, John Kerry won the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, and went on to win the Democratic nomination. In 2000, Al Gore won the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary and went on to win the Democratic nomination. We'll see what happens in 2008 if Barack Obama wins both Iowa and New Hampshire.
