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Falling stock at the moment, perhaps, but I wouldn't count her out yet.
Obama's leading Wisconsin by 8-10, and the campaign accidentally (oh really now?) let out a confidential memo projecting he wins the state by 7%.
But Hillary is still leading in at least 3 of 4 states set to vote March 4th - Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. Texas & Rhode Island show an increasingly close race. I haven't seen anything on Vermont or Hawaii, but the latter seems to be a foregone conclusion for native son Obama. Not to mention that she also finally officially won New Mexico.
I attended a Mike Huckabee rally yesterday morning.
He spoke to a crowd of about 500 in a hotel conference room at 11am. It was odd being there. I'd say a large majority of the attendees were legitimate supporters, though there were a decent number of people there out of curiosity. A Republican candidate hasn't come to town since Bob Dole campaigned in 1996, and that was for the general. I ran into someone I knew who wasn't media, which was a surprise. But he was a former American Presidency classmate who was also there out of curiosity.
It was about what you'd expect - he touched all the pro-life, pro-veterans, anti-"Islamofascism," anti-tax, anti-gay marriage, etc. themes you'd expect, plus pleas to forget what the national media says, vote your beliefs and keep the moral message going.
But agree with him or not, he was a great speaker and it was entertaining.
At one point, he brought on a 14-year old volunteer who'd made 1000+ calls on his behalf. While ranting against the IRS/tax system, he pulled out a 1040 tax form and tore it up. The entire time, his wife was standing behind him and never said a word - creepy.
There were maybe five signholders on either side (none were given out). There was also a lone guy with a "HuckaBOOM MeetUp group" sign who I only saw talk to one person the entire time.
I got within handshake range, but I got dissed. The guy to the left got his hand shaken and his sign signed. Huckabee then skipped over me, shook the hand of the guy to my right and moved on. Bastard.
I ran into an ex-girlfriend from high school there. She just happened to be at the coat rack with her daughters (4 and 6) when I was grabbing my coat. [Strangely enough, I noticed she had turned up in some of my photos before the encounter - see the bespectacled blonde, lower left-hand of the second pic.) They were definitely NOT there out of curiosity. I don't know what happened to the girl with whom I attended a GWAR concert. Explaining to the girls how I knew their mom was weird. I wanted to cringe hearing about how the older daughter is in a kindergarten class with just six other students at a private Christian school. I BS'ed and said I was undecided, but liked Huckabee enough that I'd go see him. Even after I dropped names of 3-4 Democrats, she implored me to consider voting Huckabee. Her plea had this desperate vibe to it, this mismatch of optimism and lost cause.
I switched the subject of discussion to our old foreign-exchange student friends for another minute or two before I said a hasty goodbye and got the hell out of there.
I had good reason to get the hell out of there, too: I fell bass-ackwards into scoring a media pass for the Bill Clinton speech at 2pm.
I got lucky at the Huckabee event. I knew I was going to know three local media guys there - two with local website Dane101. I know one of their editors through my girlfriend. There were 3 Dane101 media guys at the Huckabee event and they had three slots for the Bill Clinton speech. Their editor who was at Huckabee couldn't attend Clinton and made the necessary call to get me in on his credential isntead. He told me to grab a notebook and recorder and try to look like a reporter (good thing I was already dressed business casual trying to pass at a GOP rally) so I ran home quick and picked up my other friend with credentials. My friend (and only reliable annual Bonnaroo companion) Phil was the photographer for both events, so instead of standing outside I got to go in with him early. There were 6-8 major news cameras on a platform, another platform along the side closer to the stage, and seating room for about 25 journalists. The event was at UW Stock Pavilion. Stock as in livestock, which entails the aroma of horseshit in the air - perfect for Slick Willy, no?
He was introduced first by a woman who was in his admin's HHS Dept, then a Latina Congresswoman from LA (Helga S-something, Cali's 32d). The introduction was from our County Executive Kathleen Falk, pictured. She's probably the 2nd most prominent Dem for Hillary in the state.
About 2,100 turned out for the former President. Damn, is he smooth. Even as an ardent anti-Hillaryite, I must concede he makes a damn good case for electing his wife. He had lots of nice three-point summations on the bigger points of his wife's experience/positions/etc. I'd share them now (I took seven pages of notes - had to pretend like I was with media) but I'm pressed for time before work. He spoke for probably around 70 minutes.
I got to linger as the crowd cleared out - I was Phil's ride after all. So I crowd-watched, because I didn't see a single person I knew show up. Still nothing. The press were largely packed up and out of there within 5-10 minutes of the speech's conclusion. After that, there was a sizable crowd (200?) outside waiting to see the presidential motorcade depart.
BTW, no way am I counting Hillary out. You discount the Clintons at your peril. I say it's about a 50-50 race now. My comment was just that it would be a strange time to announce for Hillary as this is probably her low point so far. But Edwards dropped out a kind of a strange point so who knows exactly how he thinks.
BTW, no way am I counting Hillary out. You discount the Clintons at your peril.
kdogg said:
Falling stock at the moment, perhaps, but I wouldn't count her out yet. ... But Hillary is still leading in at least 3 of 4 states set to vote March 4th - Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. Texas & Rhode Island show an increasingly close race. Not to mention that she also finally officially won New Mexico. ... I wouldn't count Hillary out just yet.
Where am I discounting her?
And dcbee, no, I haven't seen any of the recent TV ads. I saw my first Obama ad here a few times last week, but truth be told I don't watch that much TV. This week has pretty much been all rallies, Valentine's Day, internship and work. (ha, and I guess all of that might be the reason I forgot to actually mention school on the first draft of this post) And today my girlfriend is insane/masochistic and doing the Polar Plunge before I go to work.
BTW, no way am I counting Hillary out. You discount the Clintons at your peril.
kdogg said:
Falling stock at the moment, perhaps, but I wouldn't count her out yet. ... But Hillary is still leading in at least 3 of 4 states set to vote March 4th - Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. Texas & Rhode Island show an increasingly close race. Not to mention that she also finally officially won New Mexico. ... I wouldn't count Hillary out just yet.
Where am I discounting her?
My statement was not directed at you or anyone in particular. I guess I should have said "One discounts the Clintons at their peril." Sorry about the confusion. (lick, lick)
Last Edit: Feb 16, 2008 10:46:54 GMT -5 by troo - Back to Top
I'm just hoping it gets settled before the Convention. I knock down drag out over Super Delegates and FL and MI could potentially be devastating to the Party with lots of hard feelings.
Agreed. Dean needs to get on that, and fast. I know a second primary is probably too time and cost intensive, but you could probably get a caucus going for less effort. I'd rather see this nomination in the hands of the people than the courts again. And if Hillary still has a fighting chance going into the convention, she will totally be taking it to court despite MI & FL's failed suits.
If those delegates aren't seated, people are disenfranchised through the actions of their local elected officials. If those delegates are seated, people are disenfranchised and the electorate isn't accurately represented at the convention.
I think a redo caucus is the way to go. Those states already wasted enough money on a worthless primary, and a do-over caucus will be easier to organize than an entire primary.
Hillary is coming to town tonight. I'm going to check it out if I make adequate progress on my paper for tomorrow.
well, i suppose i should add a footnote - i am an athiest, so this pretty much sums up my views.
as far a racism and anti semitism... i sort of understand racism - someone looks different, so there is fear and misunderstanding. think back to grade school and remeber who got picked on and how important it was to fit in.
when it comes to "my god is better then your god" debates and slander - i am just at a total loss. in fact, it sickens me - because it's a very real problem threatening us all. and, unfortunately, there is no right answer to those discussions...
Last Edit: Feb 18, 2008 12:31:24 GMT -5 by idio - Back to Top
a friend said the other day that he voted for Clinton instead of Obama primarily because he believes that Obama will be assassinated if he becomes president due to the rampant racism in this country
a friend said the other day that he voted for Clinton instead of Obama primarily because he believes that Obama will be assassinated if he becomes president due to the rampant racism in this country
That is a fear of mine as well. It didn't stop me from voting for him though. If he gets elected he better stay away from Dallas and not go to any plays at Ford Theatre.
I don't know if racism or anti-Clintonism is stronger. Assassinations could go either way. Lucky all McCain would have to worry about is not dying.
It's currently -2 outside, and I'm about to warm up my car. Today, I got up early and I'm traveling 75 miles to go see McCain in a Milwaukee suburb. So far this week I've seen Obama, Huckabee, and both Clintons. I figure I should catch them all while they're here as long as I've got the chance. Oops. It says it's dropped to -3 since I started writing this. Dammit.
Anybody else see the ARG polls projecting Hillary with a 5 point lead in Wisconsin today?
Latest two ARG polls I see are conflicting:
2/15-16 Clinton 49 Obama 43
2/17-18 Obama 52 Clinton 42
I usually check this stuff on pollster.com, but I might be biased towards them because of Charles Franklin. He's a poli sci prof here and was my faculty advisor when I interned with student government years ago.
Also: Huckabee looks surprisingly strong given his situation. He just might pull in 40% here.
My sister is 18, and I knew she had been volunteering with Obama. I called her to catch up last night, and found out she wasn't totally on board. She told me she'd volunteered for Obama because Hillary hadn't set up shop on her campus yet, and that she has actually volunteered for both of them. That was a WTF? moment. She says she wants a Democrat to win and didn't care which one. So I asked who she was actually voting for - she saw it coming and said "uh oh" when the question came out - and she said she'd already voted absentee for Hillary. Oh, the shame...
I wan't a Hillary supporter to come in here and tell me why it would be ethical and moral of Hillary to actually do this. Seriously, I'm all ears, I will actually read what you have to say.
I think it is still way too early to be worrying too much about all the possible shenanigans that may occur. If Clinton"pulls a fast one" with super delegates or pledged delegates, she will destroy her support and lose to McCain. The same goes for Obama.
Let's just hope the Democratic Party (or candidates) don't destroy the Party to get the nomination. That would be typical Democratic idiocy.
I still hope and believe that there will be an eventual clear frontrunner who everyone will unite behind in the end.