"Nothing Is Over Until We Decide It Is!"
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in 2008 | The Best Democratic Primary EVER — Comments (34) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
So I guess a lot of people didn't see it coming that Hillary Clinton would refuse to concede tonight and would urge her supporters to go to her website, presumably with the idea of encouraging her to keep on keeping on. Pundits on television who are clearly in the tank for Barack Obama--Jeffrey Toobin, I'm looking at you!--are outraged almost to the point of stark, raving incoherence. And now all of the commentary is raging--what does Hillary want? It seems obvious; she wants power. Either she is hoping that somehow, someway, some sort of scandal will come up that will sink Barack Obama even after he has clinched the nomination for the Democratic Party, or she is positioning for the Vice Presidential nomination. And she thinks that she has enough leverage to force Barack Obama to pay attention to her and to perhaps make some sort of concession to her that will make her happy and leave her satisfied that politically, she has gained more than she may have lost. In any event, while the nomination fight has ended, the Democratic Party's hostage crisis continues and there is a very real danger that Hillary Clinton will yet be able to make Barack Obama weak enough to lose in the fall, thus opening the way for the Clintons to run again in four years.
A memo to the McCain campaign: If you want your candidate to steal Barack Obama's thunder, that's fine. Try having him give a good speech that doesn't involve him smiling broadly out of context over and over and over and over and over again. That may involve having McCain in a town hall forum where he is at his best, instead of having him give a formal speech where he is reading text and being stiff and uncomfortable. Whatever the winning formulation is, find it. Tonight's speech was awful.
Finally--and this has to be written--congratulations to Barack Obama. I disagree with him strongly on the issues and there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that I will vote for John McCain in the fall. But credit where it is due; his attainment of the nomination shows that we have come a very very long way as a country--closer to the point Martin Luther King dreamed of, a point when we can judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. For everyone who hoped that we would at long last begin to get over and beyond the mindlessness of racial prejudice, tonight was a very special night indeed, no matter who you end up voting for in the fall.
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"Nothing Is Over Until We Decide It Is!" 34 Comments (0 topical, 34 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Although I totally agree that we are closer than ever before to MLK's dream, the left is not going to admit that. The charge of racism is still very effective and they are not going to give up that smear tactic they have so perfected. If Obama is elected president, any opposition to anything he does will automatically be deemed racist.
I agree with what Kos said. Which is that, considering that her website was on screen for her speech, candidates do that to get money, and the site still redirects to a donations page (or rather to a pledge page, which apparently goes directly afterward to a donate page). Even though, what the hell would she spend money on now? It doesn't take $$$ to appeal to superdels, there are no more travelling/ad buys, and if her hope is for Obama to have a secret family in Idaho then she doesn't need an active campaign to hope for that to happen...
She wants to cover the campaign debts. Specifically the money she lent the campaign.
It doesn't take $$$ to appeal to superdels
Well some of the undecided might think they need a few very basic things and that can be quite pricey these days....
but that was the first thing that popped into my head as well. Now she's just giving her supporters false hope so they'll send in the dough she already spent.
What a lady.
But consider that most of her support reportedly comes from lower income less educated voters. She on the other hand is a multi-millonaire with considerable future earning power. She has no qualms about hitting these people up for money, even though she makes more in one year than most of them will make in a lifetime. Remember that story about the kid who sold his bike and video game so that he could donate the money to her campaign? Do you think SHE sold her bike and video game? Nope....she just lent herself the money out of that big old bank account, then asks working people to pay her back.
You think it doesn't take money to persuade superdelegates? I guess it is nice to still be young and blissful.
Now, as for covering campaign debts, you are correct. Don't fool yourself that she won't be using some of those funds to smooze "undecideds" and cheap suits. She is a Clinton, after all.
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Just a typical, small town, British-American girl...
Reportedly, the Obama camp has been negotiating with Hillary to help pay off some of her campaign debts (he's flush with loot) in exchange for major concessions from her (like taking a minor Cabinet post instead of the VP job).
If Hillary can pay off her debts by herself, that gives her more negotiating leverage.
Plus, by keeping her oppo research team paid, there's always the chance they can dig up more dirt on Obama, even at this late stage.
Do you remember CA super Steve Ybarra?
At a rate of 6,000 earmarks per spending bill, Speaker Pelosi is selling America's future to the special intrest groups.
Aren't those grounds for banning? :)
Freedom of Religion NOT Freedom from Religion
It's hardly odd that he'd agree with other openly Left sources, from time to time. I'm indifferent, as long as he doesn't agree with 'em on anything that's particularly vile.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
What boneheaded McCain staffer conceived and sold the idea of competing McCain/Obama speeches on the night Obama claims victory and pivots to the general election campaign? Obama draws a victory-charged crowd of 32,000 compared to McCain's lisless, scrawny crowd of 1,600. I agree, McCain's smiles were forced, unsuccessful, and at times seemed frightening. Good grief, McCain actually reads speeches off teleprompters worse than Bush (and I thought no one could). That alone will make him seem uncertain of what he's saying and make him unable to convey the proper intonation and passion where appropriate. This should be easily corrected with intense and regular hours of private rehearsals of reading speeches off teleprompters until the skill is honed. Is he a slow learner? Too lazy to practice? Too old to learn new tricks? I don't get it. He's not a reader or gifted speaker anymore than Bush, for which Obama will make him pay dearly. McCain needs to hire a good public-speaking coach and do some serious homework.
I watched McCain's speech to AIPAC. It was a rousing speech and it got the audience cheering; they gave him a standing ovation at the end.
McCain can be a pretty good speaker when he gets passionate about something. And he gets real passionate about issues of war and peace.
I don't know what happened last night, or what exactly the speech was about. Perhaps McCain is more comfortable giving policy speeches on issues close to his heart, than he is on rally-the-troops fighting-partisan speeches. He's never been a "red meat" type of speaker.
If McCain doesn't get a whole lot better at public speaking in a big hurry his position will be hopeless.
But I don't think it's going to happen.
I recall listening to Al Gore as VP and thinking how he needed serious coaching to get the condescending tone out of his speech. Well it never happened, and helped defeat him.
In addition, just complaining that he's not Bush makes him seem defensive. He should ignore that mantra and attack. He looks whiney complaining about Bush comparisons and all it does is remind people tht he is in fact linked to Bush. He should just set his own course and be his own man.
McCain had to answer the charge, because it was in Obama's speech.
I agree McCain dwelled too long on it in his own speech.
But he cannot just ignore it either.
Because it's going to be in every Obama campaign ad, every Obama speech, from now on: "McCain is a third Bush term." That's the Dem strategy: Define McCain as "McBush," a Bush clone. And Obama has an enormous campaign war chest to push that message incessantly.
McCain just can't allow that charge to keep getting repeated and repeated all over the country without responding to it.
He does have to tighten up his response though: He should say he's always put the country ahead of party loyalty or loyalty to any politicians or interest groups. Maybe mention one or two such issues where he did that--quickly. And then get on to other issues he cares more about.
Let's just say the speech was badly written, especially for the type of speaker McCain is, and let it go at that.
Volunteer
ALL
1. Congrats to Obama, now try to get the fact straight, listen closely to your handlers, as the next few weeks are going to make the Primary look like the Minor Leaques.
2. Mr. McCain, you truly need to understand this is not going to be a cakewalk. The Dems and the Obama Left Machine will eat you alive, unless you revert to the McCain of old. The one that stood tall in Hanoi Hilton....
3.Hillary, give Obama and the media and the Dems the finger. Tell them you are going to run Independent and not only that, but will win.
How likely is all the above to happen? Will Hillary run Indie? Will McCain come out of his stupor? Will Obama and his Oval Office Sofa Sitters take control of our destiny?
If one thought the Dems Primary was fun, stand by for the rest of the story....
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She doesn't have the necessary cash and it's too late to get on many of the ballots.
State legislatures can meet, emergency measures can be passed, previously, ah, unapproachable income streams can be tapped. You'd be amazed how quickly that sort of thing can become available, with the right motivators.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
Agreed, Back in 2004, the lateness of the Republican Convention, Illinois Law would have kept President Bush off of the Illinois Presidential Ballot. (The law said things had to be finalized 67 days before the election date, and the Convention decision was 61 days before.) A bill rapidly went through the Illinois Legislature making an exception.
I wish it were true, hope it is true -- but Obama's nomination is not the evidence you think it is. Obama won the nomination /because/ of the color of his skin, and /despite/ the content of his character.
Because: 97% support from the African-American contingent. Even John Kerry, when asked why Obama is a strong candidate, said point blank, "He's a black man."
Despite: one is known by the company one keeps; Rezko, Wright, Pfleger, Michelle, Ayers, Dohrn. Then there's the 'character' involved in Obama's reaction to each of the above: throwing Grandma under the bus, throwing Wright under the bus (after 'I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community'), throwing his entire church under the bus (but only when continued membership became political poison -- and NOT because of anything he heard sitting in that shrine to hate-whitey). And frankly, no one of character would EVER think that an unrepentant "ex" terrorist who wishes he had "done more" is just a "college prof who lives in the neighborhood" and a swell host for your political coming-out party.
Obama's nomination is a milestone alright -- but not the one you think. It's the triumph of racial politics, not evidence that America has moved "past" it.
To the type of activists who attend Dem caucuses, Obama's left-wing connections are irrelevant. In fact, the type of people who attend Dem caucuses have just as many far-left connections. Didn't you see all the 2004 Dem convention delegates decked out in Code Pink regalia?
And it was the Dem caucuses, dominated by far-left "netroots," that gave Obama his shot. Even Hillary admitted that--at the Dem caucuses, her people were just clobbered by the huge "netroots" turnout.
These folks aren't as bothered by Wright or Pfleger. You can log onto Daily KOS or Huffington Post and see all the left-wing activists who say they agree 100% with everything Wright and Pfleger said.
In states where Obama's connections are disturbing to working-class Americans, like West Virginia, Hillary clobbered Obama in those primaries. But that wasn't enough to stop Obama due to his huge caucus lead.
I watched all three speeches last night and I have to admit feeling a little sick after all of them, even McCain's. If anyone has a connection in his campaign, get them a clue ASAP. That green background was made me nauseous making it impossible to concentrate on what sounded like a meandering speech, although I can't be sure.
Our flag is Red, White, and Blue. The McCain campaign needs to use them, otherwise what's the point of having a war hero run? A green background may work if your running for president of Brazil or maybe Turkmenistan, even then I would probably choose another color.
Please, McCain campaign, don't ever use it again.
Probably because Bush used patriotic Red, White and Blue backdrops and God knows McCain is not Bush. Or perhaps its an attempt to appeal to the Greens. Either way, shrinks say green is a nurturing color and we all know how McCain thinks he can nurture his way into the hearts of moronic Lefties.
I'm a grown man, I don't need to be nurtured by the government or anybody else. Leave me alone so I can take care of my own responsibilites.
The thing I shouldn't have to say but probably do anyway: I don't think McCain has Islamic connections, I don't think there's any significance whatsoever to the green backdrop other than a poor design choice, and I don't think there's anything per se wrong with anything that happens to remotely resemble Islam by chance.
But seriously, with that disclaimer out of the way, you would think Team McCain would know enough about that part of the world and his base's twitchiness about that sort of thing to avoid the association.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with using a color associated with Islam, but there's clearly something wrong with using a color associated with Islam."
Guess what? All of contributors here at Redstate - *all* of us - thought Michelle Malkin beclowned herself with that Dunkin' Donuts thing. There's a reason you didn't see anything about it here.
I think you left this comment perhaps on the wrong board.
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young to remember when conventions meant anything.
In the not too recent past, a frontrunner with a majority of delegates would enter the convention as heir-presumptive but, after some political power plays, leave as an also-ran.
Check out what happened at the 1940 and 1952 Republican conventions and the games played at the Republican conventions by the "moderate Republicans" at the conventions in 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1980.
Imagine Clinton supporters using the same type of tricks on Obama in August. Clinton is better placed to stampede the Democratic convention of 2008 than either Wilkie or Eisenhower were in 1940 and 1952.
Since Obama doesn't have a majority based on pledged delegates alone, isn't it possible that Comrade Hillary convince the superdelegates that they vote for her for Veep?
Not saying it'll happen, but because Obama's pledged delegates aren't a majority, it could be possible for her to steal the Veep spot.
Now THAT would be a perfect storm scenario that will make the GOP rejoice.