Should he respond like Sally Field?
You like me! You really like me!
Somehow this seems gratuitous, as though it’s a surprise that black voters like Barack Obama. Of course, it’s not a given that any voter would like him — he’s going to need to earn every vote just like every candidate. To me, his race is far less relevant than his ability to deflect the bombs tossed his way since he announced his candidacy and his solid, down-to-earth approach to the political scene. Maybe I’m naive, but I’d rather read reports about what voters are responding to, what part of his campaign is resonating with them than whether or not he’s supported by black voters.
Sphere: Related ContentBurglary at Democratic HQ – No, It’s Not 1972
George Santayana: Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
No, you’re not having a flashback to 1972 and the infamous event that ultimately led to the greatest scandal in U.S. political history and the downfall of Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Instead of Washington’s Watergate complex, this burglary took place at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s headquarters over the weekend. Neither police nor party officials will comment on what was stolen and whether the break-in was politically motivated.
Office workers reported the break-in to police on Monday. Concord Police Sgt. Mike McGuire said some items were taken, but he declined to be more specific. The assessment was the same from Kathy Sullivan, the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.
“Some things were taken, but I don’t really want to get into that right now,” Sullivan said on Tuesday.
There was no indication that any personal financial information was taken, said party spokeswoman Kathleen Strand.
“We want to assure our donors that their personal financial information, as far as we can tell, has been protected, and we hope to find out who did this soon,” she said.
On the night of June 17, 1972, in the midst of Nixon’s re-election campaign, five men were arrested during a break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building. In all, 25 people eventually went to jail for their roles in the break-in or the White House’s attempt to cover it up.
AP, via The Huffington Post
Technorati Tags: huffpo, new hampshire, break-in, crime
Sphere: Related ContentGeneral Clark wants YOU
Rather than waste time getting involved with petty intra-party wars or wasting time being a CNN commentator on the start of the Iran war (like he was at the beginning of the Iraq war), General Wesley Clark is asking everyone to send George Bush a message:
He’s teaming up with MoveOn.org, which is not one of my favorite organizations, but they are doing a good thing with this. Go to the site and send President Bush an email and a message: We are not going to tolerate a war with Iran. It’s time for Bush to stop and consider other alternatives.
Technorati Tags: Wesley Clark, moveon.org, stopiranwar
Sphere: Related ContentFair and Balanced Fox? NOT
I agree with Robert Greenwald on this one:
Fox News hosting any debate among Democrats will be a debacle. Spread the news, boycott FOX. The American electorate is owed better than a biased, unfair and rigged debate process through the primaries.
(And spread the word, too – Visit Fox Attacks for more info)
Technorati Tags: Fox News, media bias, debates, Fox Attacks
Blog No Evil
The two Edwards campaign bloggers who were under fire last week for exercising their right to free speech resigned today in the face of some interesting ‘valentines’ from some folks claiming to be good, God-fearing Christians, citing concern for the negative impact on the campaign.
Of course, by NOT being attached to the campaign, they’ll be much freer to speak their mind and I’m certain they will. I just wish some of the folks calling themselves Christians would stop. It’s mortifying. Politics and religion shouldn’t be mixed together. Christians shouldn’t be threatening toward others ever. The blend of those two factors is an utter disaster. Score one for the bad guys in good guys’ clothing. What a mess, but at least there’s some serious pushback on the conservatives who sparked and fueled this nasty war of words.
This has been going on for a very long time. Before bloggers, message boards were the target. Back in the dark and gloomy days of the Clinton impeachment, the CNN Community was deluged 24/7 with trolls paid to try and shut down the conversation by spamming the boards over and over again with meaningless rhetoric. We used to play tag-team board moderation — one of us would be banning by the dozen while the other was mopping up the mess on the boards in real time.
If I close my eyes and think about it, I can almost quote them verbatim, because the message hasn’t changed, just the target and the method of delivery. Now that they have a ready-made platform on Fox News, they’ve become bolder, but still uncreative and cretin in their delivery.
Perhaps the campaigns should not pay bloggers at all. Maybe they should provide a platform (similar to the MyBarackObama.com site) for people to blog and that’s it. That way the best political bloggers can maintain their own voices and choices of expression without risking the campaigns, and no one can plaster the ‘paid shill’ label on them in the process (one of the milder accusations dropped this week).
Technorati Tags: John Edwards, Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon, Melissa McEwan
Sphere: Related ContentObama: Power in Hope
I have watched Barack Obama since he burst onto the national political scene 6 or so years ago. He is, in my opinion, one of the smartest politicians since Clinton and certainly one of the most passionate. I’ve been expecting an announcement from him for awhile, but still…actually hearing it was profoundly moving, given the historical significance of his candidacy.
Obama really does have the ability to inspire — If he can dodge the petty mudslinging and stay on the high road, he will be a force to contend with.
From his speech:
For that is our unyielding faith – that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.
and this one:
What’s stopped us from meeting these challenges is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans. What’s stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics – the ease with which we’re distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle big problems.
Obama’s candidacy grabs me more than any other right now, including Hilary Clinton. I have a lot of respect for Hilary, but I think she will be a divisive candidate. Obama may be, too, but I think he is smart enough and charismatic enough to overcome it.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Campaign, 2008 election
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