“The Clinton era is over”

12 comments May 31st, 2008

 

The Hillary Clinton camp FAILED TODAY in its efforts to win favorable rulings from the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee regarding the Florida and Michigan delegations.

That means that Barack Obama has an almost mortal lock on the presidential nomination.

The next step is for Hillary to face reality and drop out of the race, which I expect she’ll do within the next 96 hours.

Reality vs. myth on media coverage of McCain, Clinton and Obama

5 comments May 31st, 2008

David Broder can still nail it on occasion, as he does HERE.

POSTSCRIPT: Take note, please, of the paragraph in which Broder says that authors of the study to which he refers “don’t have figures for April and May, but they strongly suspect that the Jeremiah Wright flap and other issues have continued to erode Obama’s ratings, while McCain has continued to gain.”

Hmmm. That doesn’t fit the distorted narrative advanced by some of the regular commenters here at Applesauce.

In the Obama-McCain war of gaffes, Mr. Straight Talk scores again — on his signature issue

11 comments May 30th, 2008

 

As we all know, John McCain’s claim of expertise on foreign policy in general and the war in Iraq in particular is the centerpiece of his presidential candidacy.

Which makes it especially embarrassing for him when he flubs the realities regarding Iraq.  He’s done that several times, most notably with his leisurely stroll down a purportedly safe street in Baghdad – while wearing a bullet-proof vest and surrounded by troops and helicopters – and with his recent confusion over Sunnis and Shiites and exactly whom in Iraq was getting help from Iran.

Well, now McCain has done it again — and just at a time when Barack Obama was having problems with his own gaffes and with the intemperate remarks of a clergyman pal.

McCain’s problem this time is in saying that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has been “drawn down to pre-surge levels.” That statement is off the mark by a factor of 25,000 troops.

Media coverage of this mistake is prominent, given the fact that Iraq is supposed to be McCain’s long suit, issue-wise. He’s losing the spin war on this one, as we see HERE.

How do Americans react to the political parties’ messages without labels on them?

Add comment May 30th, 2008

 

A Democratic pollster and a Republican pollster recently combined forces to conduct a fascinating study of what voters think of the two parties’ respective messages when the party labels aren’t attached to them.

Republican pollster Glen Borger wrote this about the study results:

“The news in the survey is NOT the terrible political environment – you already are aware of that, and if you are not, please retire. The news is NOT that John McCain has a slight deficit when matched against Barack Obama, despite stronger support for McCain from Republicans than Obama gets from Democrats (see my April memo for why that is a challenge for ALL Republican campaigns). NOR is the news that voters are angry about gas prices and think the Democrats are better able to handle the economy.

“Instead, the news is the four match-ups between the Republican message and the Democrats’ message on the key issues of the economy, Iraq, trade, and taxes. The Democratic message consistently won out over the GOP message by eleven to 25 points.”

There’s more on this matter at THIS REPUBLICAN WEB SITE.

As if theirs isn’t a lost cause, Clintonites seize on priest’s stupid remarks

8 comments May 30th, 2008

 

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Chicago Catholic priest and acquaintance of Barack Obama, tastelessly and unfairly mocked Hillary Clinton in a sermon the other day.

Obama quickly faulted Pfleger for his “divisive, backward rhetoric.”

But the Clinton camp, as if oblivious to the hopelessness of Hillary’s candidacy, FAULTED OBAMA for not coming down on Pfleger a little harder.

Do these people actually think this mini-flap over Pfleger’s remarks will be the turning point that dooms Obama’s White House aspirations and carries Clinton to the Democratic presidential nomination?

What are they smoking?

Nine minutes of Scottie’s greatest hits

Add comment May 29th, 2008

Maybe you have to be a hardcore political junkie to enjoy this. I plead guilty:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Sd7tl9OkYng" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

These are the best ads on television

5 comments May 29th, 2008

This has nothing to do with politics (except that any candidate who can come up with ads featuring this baby and the guy who does his voice is a cinch to win):

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/6vW9gUmooFg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/eJqnitjqpuM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

“Pragmatic” Murdoch sees landslide for Obama

Add comment May 29th, 2008

 

Rupert Murdoch, whose company owns the Wall Street Journal and the Fox networks, is said to be a conservative with  “a willingness to switch sides when he detects major political changes afoot.”

Well, the dude apparently senses just such changes.  And he’s predicting a LANDSLIDE VICTORY for Barack Obama in November.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, some Republicans are CONCERNED about John McCain’s campaign organization.

Some GOP pols shun Bush like the plague

Add comment May 29th, 2008

 

In Kansas, of all places, lots of Republican incumbents find that they can’t jigger their BUSY SCHEDULES for any face-time with President Bush, who’s paying a visit to their state today.

I wonder if there are any Republicans here in Illinois — Rep. Don Manzullo, for example — who would want to campaign with Bush.

Warning: Reading this could cause brain damage

2 comments May 29th, 2008

 

Most of us who are fully evolved homo sapiens rarely, if ever, waste our time listening to radio comedian Rush Limbaugh. Too much exposure to that kind of stuff is just not good for your mental health.

However, I’m going to take a risk here and recommend that you read THIS TRANSCRIPT of an exchange between El Rushbo and one of his brilliant callers on the subject of patriotism.  It’s tragic and funny and frightening, all at the same time. (But if you feel dizzy or nauseated at any point, stop reading and move on to something else here at Applesauce.)