Desperate but not Serious

I've kept off of politics for a while.
Mainly because I just burned out on the topic.

Call it fatigue.

But a quick re-set might be in order.

It seems the closer Obama gets to claiming victory, the more we all have to wonder about the potential for self destructive behavior among Clinton Democrats who swear, as God is their witness, that they'll never EVER vote for that...that...MAN!

Losing is hard. But losing a close race that meant something very special to many people is apparently much harder.

Senator Clinton voted for the war in Iraq. That is the crucial reason I reject her candidacy for President. Her twisted argument that votes in Florida and Michigan must count is another symptom of her problem.

Hillary Clinton has shown that she will do anything to win - except tell the truth.
She is still not desperate enough to candidly explain that she wants Florida and Michigan to count against Senator Obama so that she can justify her fight to win support within the party establishment. She is in "go for broke" mode to win the White House. Nobody really thinks this is about voter rights which she happily signed away before the primaries.

Clearly, somebody or something has got to take the blame for her defeat.
The usual suspects are already being rounded up.

Somebody Should State The Obvious

Pundits and reporters like to post speculations that are framed to answer their own assumptions at the expense of the obvious truth.

The New York Times Adam Nagourney provides a great example.

"For Obama, a Struggle to Win Over Key Blocs"

It is the question that has hung over Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and it loomed large on Tuesday night after his loss to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pennsylvania: Why has he been unable to win over enough working-class and white voters to wrap up the Democratic nomination?

Hey Adam, here's what's making Obama struggle with working class white voters: Hillary Clinton is still in the race. That's right Adam, if she had dropped out last week, he would have killed in PA.

Do you really think these voters will pick a Republican this year? And if they will does it matter who the Democrats nominate?

This has been my problem with Hillary all along. Her base is White Conservative /Independent voters. That makes her just like John McCain. She's been running to the right since she started. She failed to run for the support of her own party. Instead, she blew off partisan support and ran headlong into the minefield of no man's land.

So If she wins the Democratic nomination I have to decide whether to elect the woman who votes like John McCain, or the man who actually is John McCain.

Label Makers

Hey kids, let's see which labels will stick:

Elitest: Slapped on Obama by Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Defined:
Adjective

elite (comparative more elite, superlative most elite)

1. Of high birth or social position; aristocratic or patrician.

Noun

1. (uncountable) A special group or social class of people which have a superior intellectual, social or economic status as, the elite of society.
2. (countable) Someone who is among the best at certain task.

I'll take the elitist over my current "C Student" President any time.

But what you probably want to know is, "What Kind of Elitist Are You"
Follow the link and find out.

Warmonger: Slapped on John McCain by Ed Schultz

Defined: (Merriam Webster online) And in a bit of weird on-line humor, this page contained an ad for John McCain for President on it.

warmonger
One entry found.

warmonger

Main Entry:
war·mon·ger
Pronunciation:
\ˈwȯr-ˌməŋ-gər, -ˌmäŋ-\
Function:
noun
Date:
1817

: one who urges or attempts to stir up war

I'll add that war-monger literally means one who sells war - as in the old English term fish-monger.

Drowning Woman Reaches for Point of Sword

Having been rebuffed by Barack Obama, it's only a matter of time before Hillary Clinton offers John McCain the number 2 spot on her "Dream" ticket. She and Bill have already endorsed him over Obama so why not seal the deal with a big wet sloppy kiss?

And the latest from Senator Clinton:

"Clinton Says She Would Have Walked Out On Wright"

She finds moral outrage in the weirdest places. Has the Weekly Standard endorsed her yet?


* * * *

CLINTON RUNS TO THE RIGHT

She knows that Senator McCain is vulnerable and she can beat him in the center by capturing white independents - voters who aren't coming to Obama in the numbers Democrats need to see for a run in the fall. She's aiming to prove to Super Delegates that she can win.

Her attacks on Obama are playing weirdly well in the Conservative media, but will they generate real support for someone that Conservatives love to despise? Or will they only fuel their ultimate goal - to burn their beloved Liberal witch at the stake in November?

It's either a brave and smart strategy, or a deceptive and unprincipled sellout. Either way this strategy could work if things were to stay static. But they won't.

Senator Obama probably couldn't win if the general election were held in April. A close second would be impressive but hardly satisfactory.

Senator Obama has made his campaign to the left and kept it there in all 50 states, raising millions of dollars and registering new voters in huge numbers. For Democrats, Senator Obama's strategy is just as risky as running to the right. His campaign depends entirely on convincing a huge number of people to vote.

In the mean time, the tar and feathers are ready. Tar to blacken Obama, and feathers to paint a big Liberal "L" on him.

* * * *

FCC likely to approve Sirius-XM deal, analysts say

Did anybody ask for 2 satellite radio channels in the first place? How about 1?

* * * *

Obama Word Game

Ray and I had a few laughs today using Google Search to play a fun new game.We entered "Barack Obama" plus any words we could think of.

Some examples that returned pages:

Barnyard
Stigmata
Tricycle
Bar Fight
Calliope
Cream Rinse

We never had a miss.

* * * *

Blogging to Stardom
Imagine being able to read the daily writing of Charles Dickens.

* * * *

Today's Funny:

"Role Models" from nationalbanana.com

From Crackle: Role Models

In the News -

Just a few headlines and a tribute to Christopher Glenn, the CBS news voice who anchored "In The News" on Saturday kids programming from 1971 to 1986.

* * * * *

Obama Wins Mississippi: (Thank you God for the Boston Globe!)

And today, this was in my email from Barack Obama:

"Over the weekend, an aide to Senator Clinton attempted to diminish the overwhelming number of contests we've won by referring to places we've prevailed as "boutique" states and our supporters as the "latte-sipping crowd."

I'm just sippin' my latte and celebrating another win. Bet there are a lot of Starbucks in Mississippi. Just keep talking to us like we're all stupid. Hillary What's Her Name just slipped on her banana peel politics again.

* * * * *

Hillary Clinton now has more than one Democrat Alpha male supporter who likes to party with women he isn't married to. I don't care, but this seems to make a big difference here in America. Fortunately, Elliot Spitzer was wearing an American flag lapel pin as he publicly announced that he had disgraced himself. It's one thing to be immoral, quite another to be unpatriotic while you're being immoral.

* * * * *

Raymond McInnis sent me a lot of info. on Obama v. Clinton from up In Washington State today. Thanks Ray. I'm looking forward to checking it out and I'll have more on the campaign later.

* * * * *

Tom Lasorda is 80. He retired as Manager of the LA Dodgers in 1996. Today, Tommy was back on the field as the Dodger Skipper for a pre-season game against the Marlins.
Tommy will never die. And I'll have another helping of lasagna.

* * * * *

Timothy Jay is a PHD who is an expert on cursing in America. He was interviewed via ISDN for the BBC from The Production Room studio in Santa Barbara on Monday. The BBC program "Word of Mouth" interviewed Dr. Jay about the peculiar differences in regulating broadcast speech in America and in the UK. It was Fuc*in' Brilliant!
I'll post a link when I get one.

* * * * *

News From Gilligan's Island:

My friend Ed Ryba forwards the latest news from Idaho about former Gilligan's Island star, Dawn Wells (Marianne). Seems there's more than one way to live out your life on an uncharted desert isle. So how does a three hour cruise from Hawaii reach Jamaica?
Ironically, Gilligan creator Sherwood Shwartz just got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. What was HE smoking ?

* * * * *

Here in Santa Burbia, some comments on "Citizen McCaw" from the LA Times and my as yet un-met colleague at I'm Not One to Blog...

Hey George, Let's do latte!

* * * * *

And Finally, an overdue nod to Craig Smith who not only covered the premiere of Citizen McCaw, he moderated the Q & A on stage at the Arlington Theater Premiere.

Bon Appetit, Con Mucho Gusto!

Caught in the Hillary Trap

I met Rush Limbaugh once, many years ago, as he started his syndicated radio program. I watched him address a gathering of less than 100 guests at the Santa Maria Hilton.I talked with him briefly at the radio station I worked for.

I don't presume to know much about him. He didn't say anything to me that was particularly memorable. My impression of him was simply that he was a smart broadcaster, a former DJ like me, who was establishing himself in the new format of talk radio. He was polite, soft spoken and even shy as he began his venture.

I've never met Hillary Clinton. But she is asking for my vote for President. On what basis should I respond to her request? Who is she?

That is the nature of the Hillary trap.

My impressions of Hillary Clinton have been formed over the years by what I've heard and read and seen. Much of that opinion was shaped by Rush Limbaugh and others. Knowing that, I still find myself finding common purpose with the staunch partisans who defined her - against my own political views and values. And what they say now is, Don't you see? This is who we told you she is. Negative, vindictive and driven by lust for power.

Perhaps her reflection in the media mirror has become so distorted that she herself isn't sure who she is. That's a troubling issue as she tries to reach Democrats.

This weekend, both boxers went to their corners and sat with their corner men to review the fight and decide on strategy in the next round.

I think it's obvious that her corner will advise her to keep swinging and take a shot below the belt when she can. She'll take her chances on the wobbly media referee and go for a split decision if she can.

Obama has a riskier strategy which he can't change now. He's got to score some knock out punches and show himself to be the "Gentleman Jim" fighter he can be. If he goes Mike Tyson on her, he'll bite her ear and stop the fight, but he'll lose the decision and prove he's just another pug.

As Democrats, we're all caught in the Hillary Trap.

Obama is asking, "How do you want your candidate to win?"
Hillary is asking, "How badly do you want me to win?"

Hillary looks like the class geek on the issues.
Obama looks like the Homecoming King.

But the reasons that David Gergen said he'd take the Clinton's in a knife fight may be the reason that it isn't obvious to me what Obama should do. Once again, Obama is going to have to show us that he knows who he is rather than be sucked into the Hillary Trap.

Check the New Republic Discussion.

UPDATE: 3.10.08

Just released today is Joe Gandelman's blog column:

Bill Clinton Went On Rush Limbaugh's Show
Day of Texas Primary

Listen to the audio clip

...Strange days indeed. Most peculiar mamma!

Running Against Hope

Frank Rich has written a brilliant op-ed piece in New York Times called, "The Audacity of Hopelessness"

This is insightful commentary on both the strategic and rhetorical shortcomings of the Clinton campaign.

Some Highlights:

"Clinton fans don’t see their standard-bearer’s troubles this way. In their view, their highly substantive candidate was unfairly undone by a lightweight showboat who got a free ride from an often misogynist press and from naïve young people who lap up messianic language as if it were Jim Jones’s Kool-Aid. Or as Mrs. Clinton frames it, Senator Obama is all about empty words while she is all about action and hard work.

But it’s the Clinton strategists, not the Obama voters, who drank the Kool-Aid. The Obama campaign is not a vaporous cult; it’s a lean and mean political machine that gets the job done. The Clinton camp has been the slacker in this race, more words than action, and its candidate’s message, for all its purported high-mindedness, was and is self-immolating."

"As for countering what she sees as the empty Obama brand of hope, she offers only a chilly void: Abandon hope all ye who enter here. This must be the first presidential candidate in history to devote so much energy to preaching against optimism, against inspiring language and — talk about bizarre — against democracy itself. No sooner does Mrs. Clinton lose a state than her campaign belittles its voters as unrepresentative of the country."

Meanwhile on the right, the butchers of red meat radio are reminding us that Obama is actually half white...meaning what exactly? On Tuesday Sean Hannity went straight to race baiting with commentary about the black agenda of Obama's pastor. (It's a seemingly conservative agenda of personal responsibility and self reliance.)

I'm looking forward to having the right wing radio talkers expose themselves as ignorant boobs they are. They don't have the skill to negotiate the racial tightrope but they won't be able to keep off the race issue. That's all it's going to take to challenge the broadcast companies who keep putting them on the air.

UPDATE 2.26.08 - SPEAKING OF THE DEVILS

McCain Rebukes Radio Host For Obama Talk

Hey Mister, muzzle your dog.

Hillary - The Executive and the Mother

The Democratic Primary debate in Austin Texas tonight revealed several truths about this campaign.

Hillary Clinton is favored by this format in opposition to the blazing stump speaker,
Barack Obama. She handled herself beautifully.

In quiet and measured tones she expressed her competence as an executive and made the most of her expertise on health care.

She was gracious in her disagreements with Barack Obama and expressed her differences respectfully to him and to the audience.

But she was most effective in her final comments comparing wounded veterans to her personal struggles. Mother Hillary was a figure of genuine compassion.

Obama struggled to maintain the power of the words from his stump speeches in the same measured boardroom atmosphere.

This was clearly Hillary Clinton's arena and she showed her skills at preparation and
in her responses to questions which subtly showed her experience as First Lady.

There was very much a yin and yang here as the masculine Obama asserted himself for America's vision and the feminine Clinton expressed her concerns for women and families.

One can only ponder the possibility of a joint ticket and wonder the old show-biz question: Who gets top billing?

I've been pleased to see the numbers of people from across America and especially readers from around the world in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the European Union who have stopped in to read my thoughts on this election.

Thanks.

I'm particularly interested in sharing my first person impressions as an American voter with people from other countries. This election matters to me and to millions of other Americans. We're paying close attention - as you are - and I hope you're encouraged to know that we realize this election is important to all of us.

I encourage you to post your comments and questions.

Edwards Isn't Out Yet

John Edwards is quiet. Too quiet.

He's out of the race and he's not exactly loaded with influence. So why didn't he throw his support to Obama or Clinton before or at least just after Super Tues?
In a year when Edwards' 26 delegates and voter support could make or break a close race, it's interesting that he's held his fire this long. Maybe he thinks he could be the kingmaker.

Meanwhile, we're seeing the two faces of a schizophrenic Democratic party. The Senator from New York is having trouble figuring out how to reach voters with her obvious quality. Her message of "I'm Ready" isn't connecting. Is she experienced? Yes, but so are we - we've already experienced Hillary and that experience cuts both ways. Is she informed? Yes, but anyone who tells you over and over that they KNOW they are the smartest person in the room becomes annoying at best and pathetic at worst. You can't win by telling the electorate that you are smarter than they are.
Finally, Hillary is the DLC candidate, which puts her in direct conflict with party chairman Howard Dean. The DLC plays the big state strategy and tried to stop Howard Dean from assuming party leadership. There is no love lost here.

On the other hand, the Senator from Illinois is schooling both the DLC and the electorate. Obama is the "we" candidate. Hillary is the "I" candidate. Guess which one is inspiring the voters. When Obama takes the podium, he looks like a home run hitter taking batting practice. One applause line after another goes sailing over the fence. The DLC calculation of being just barely left of right is being seen for exactly what it is - an effort to secure political power at the expense of Liberal principles. In an era of badly eroded social values, Obama appears to be a principled Liberal saying, "Yes We Can!" be Liberals again. He's also embracing the Howard Dean 50 State strategy and it's beginning to pay dividends.

I predict that when the primary fight is over, Obama wins.

But the party rules and procedure fight is just getting started and we'll find out who won control of the party when we find out who gets the nomination.

Meanwhile...John Edwards is quiet. Too quiet.