Month: February 2008

Introduction

Hi there sports fans, or should I say political junkies?  I will be writing on most political subjects, but especially those occurrences in my home state of Mississippi.  I shall attempt to help people understand more about what goes on behind the scenes and help them grasp their part in the political drama of the country.

The good news is that it shall be a couple of days before the inaugural post.  I also have other writings on other sites, but that is another story.

CNN Democratic Debate In Texas

First of all, I was mistaken, I know hard to believe, huh? Clinton did not attack! She apparently has seen the light. But she hangs on to the tired old argument that she has experience. It has not worked in the past, why continue?

How many have there been? At least CNN had the good sense to put Blitzer on the sidelines. But they for some reason they really like the applaud thing. I have a suggestion for them. They already have a feel-o-meter installed with undecided voters to check the reactions. Next they could install an applaud-o-meter. Then they would not have to pay analysts and the viewer would know immediately who won. No talk, no analysis, just statistics.

Back in 2007 I said there was little difference between Obama and Clinton positions. If you were listening last night then you saw the lack of difference. They are similar on Cuba health care, etc. Both candidates were poised and presidential looking. I give the edge to Obama here, he is more poised than he has been in the past. He handled all semi-attacks with calm reactions. The voter learned nothing new, if they have been listening in the past.

There were two parts that were not good. Both candidates were asked about earmarks, Obama has had 91 million and Clinton has had 342 million, but both did not address the earmarks but rather what should be done in Congress to make it more transparent. Then Clinton when she made her “change you can xerox”, which referred to her campaign’s accusation of plagiarism. The audience booed.

If one watched waiting for Clinton to go on the offensive and attack, you were sadly disappointed. The civility was almost nauseating at times. Clinton’s best moment was her closing statement and all the illusion she gave about wounded soldiers, her life and her vision.

Obama is closing in on Clinton in Texas and the debate did not change the fact that her campaign is in trouble and the contests in Texas and Ohio could well be her swan song. The debate did not give her a boost that she was looking for.

Note: To me Clinton sounded like she is expecting to lose the race for the nomination. She seem to be conciliatory toward Obama. If she does not win big in Texas and Ohio, I look for her to throw in the towel, for her funds will dry up. Just a thought.

Democratic Debate Tonite

Before I speak of this new debate I need to report that Obama won the hawaii Caucus 75% to Clinton’s 24%. That makes 10 in a row. Clinton needs a good night at the debate. She is losing support in Texas and Ohio may go the same as Wisconsin.

Tonight is the debate in Austin, Texas, but what will we see? The confrontational style from January or the warm fuzzies of the last Dem debate? IMO, Clinton has got to go after Obama, she cannot afford to be warm and congenial.

She will hit him on his Congressional record. He will hit her on the same type of government if she wins. CNN will be the moderator and we will see if they also will kowtow to the Clinton machine. I also look for Clinton to use the fear card, but will disguise it in the form of Obama’s inexperience with national security. Also she will thump her chest about the health care proposal, but as usual will be nothing more than vague generalities. Obama needs to stay calm and above the attacks. If he can pull it off, she will appear pathetic and desperate.

Obama will most likely have a long night. He will be hit from all sides, Clinton and CNN, if they smell blood he could be in a pickle. The media wasted no time piddling on his win in Wisconsin and I look for much the same in the context oif the debate.

I offered a list of questions to CNN and MSNBC that will educate the voter, but I do not see it working out that way. It will once again be a popularity contest with little moderation. Ratings will be more important than voter knowledge.

Random Political Thoughts

I take so many notes that it makes my fingers bleed (a joke, not reality). Some become posts and some just sit there and wait for more info to become a post and then there are those that just sit…and sit…and sit…and….

These are some of the thoughts that I did not turn into a massive piece of diatribes.

Clinton on her stump speeches says that she is all about solutions to the countries problems. But most of her solutions come straight out of the Democratic leadership Council playbook. Her solutions do not seem to be capturing the imagination of the voter too well.

If Clinton loses the nomination to Obama, will the acid tongue of Bill once again raise its ugly head in the media?

McCain spends $40+ million of his own money on campaign and he lets loose on Romney for spending his personal fortune on the campaign. Now he is trying to get everyone to agree to use public funds for the general…he must be broke.

Clinton people are calling her a populist. WTF? I have read her stands on issues and have yet to see any populism in her positions. also they (whoever they are) are saying that Clinton is returning to her progressive base. HUH? Have you read the positions of the DLC? There is no progressive thought in it.

Recently Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s Morning Joe tried to make a case for Clinton’s experience. He said if you need a operation and your choice was a Dr. with 35 years experience and a Dr with 1 or 2 years of experience; you would want the most experience. Good point! But what if the more experienced Dr. is a quack? which one would you want?

Bill has said that his wife has a lot to offer the American people…..maybe so …but the voter is looking for hope and she is not offering that.

A scenario–say Obama wins the nomination and Clinton returns to congress. Will she be a road block to Obama if he wins the general? The Clintons are a vindictive group. Will she act as a spoiler to Obama’s plan for the country. She is a leader of the DLC and she could use that and the membership to spoil change.

Looks like MSNBC has caved to the Clinton’s. For a couple of weeks they have been saying that Obama is getting a free ride in the press. For example, Chris Matthews asked a a Texas stAte senator what has Obama accomplished in the his stint in the Senate. The supporter did not have an answer. A big deal is being made of the answer. My problem is why now? Why was this not brought up in past interviews and debates? Still looks like they are trying to placate the Clinton campaign yet again.

Just a few things that have caught me flat footed. They were timely and I did not have a chance to write them up.

Internationally Speaking

With all the dynamics in the the US election cycle, I have not had much time to write on international affairs. I apologize, for it use to be my strong suit. I just cannot get enough of the happenings in this fascinating contests.

There have been a few developments in the world that deserve a post or two. One Kosovo has declared independence from Serbia. US applauds the move, Russia condemns. That alone is something, since there seems to be a revival of the old Cold war days and now the US and Russia are once again heading into a head butt on the international stage.

Across the world there is mixed emotions. Countries that are dealing with their own separatist movement are worried that it will spill over into their country and political scene. This will be worth watching to see who does what and to whom.

Yesterday the news came out that Castro resigned from the presidency and the parliment, but would remain the head of the Party. The US said nothing has changed until there is true democracy on the island. But behind the scenes, since Raul is a bit of an economic liberal, business is getting a thumper with the prospect of the opening of the country to their claws.

The embargo will remain in place. But with a little opening business will rush into the island and stake their claims to the profits that could be made from the island. we will have to watch the situation develop. Both Clinton and Obama are for keeping the embargo in place. But will that change? Only time and circumstance will dictate what will occur.

Lastly, the ruling party of Pakistan lost its ass in the recent election. there are calls for musharraf to step down–yeah right! He will hang on until he is forced to resign. The new government has said it wants talks with Islamists. If you listen real close, you may hear Bush’s ass slamming shut.

All three of these situation will most likely be put on back burner until November and the general election. Things could change. Mostly likely they will not.

The Wisconsin Primary

Holy Moly! That is 9 straight wins for Obama. And again it is by double digits. Clinton just cannot buy a win. The Clinton campaign threw all it had at him and it was not good enough. He was accused of plagiarism, his wife was called unpatriotic, he was nothing more than words, and he is inexperienced. Not one of these made a difference. Clinton lost and lost big.

Obama won the majority of white men, that would have voted for Edwards, were he a candidate. Of course he won the black vote. He won the youth vote and made in roads with blue collar workers. White women went for Hillary, but only by 3% over Obama. Seems Clinton is losing these voters as well. The elderly are still voting Clinton overwhelmingly. And she is still carry the under educated vote.

In an exit poll responders were asked about the negative ads and attacks. 53% said that Clinton was the most negative and that it had turned them off. But will this deter the Clinton machine? Probably not. The negativity is not working, but what else do they have at this point. Now one can see why the desperation is there.

On the Republican side–McCain wins the primary–GO FIGURE!

Both McCain and Obama gave speeches that were more like the general election had already begun. McCain laid out his strategy, he will hit him on foreign policy, inexperience and the war. Obama, in his speech will hit McCain as the voice of yesterday and business as usual. McCain’s speech was like he was at the Elks Club pretty cut and dry to the point of boring. On the other hand, Obama’s was like a rock concert….lots of energy and hope.

There was also a Caucus in Hawaii, but as of this writing I have not seen any results to report on. That will be another post for another day.

Anal-Ocity

looks like 2008 is gonna be a great year for candidates for the Assie Award. The stupid, moronic and anal statement s just keep flyong out of the mouths of idiots.

This one came from the mouth of Conservative talk show personality Tom Sullivan. Recently he said on the air that:

“Listening to Obama speeches is similar to listening to the speeches of Adolf Hitler”.

Now here is guy that has his finger on the pulse of the American people. Dumbass!

Professor’s Classroom

A couple of days late, Presidents Day was a holiday and I took advantage of it. Today’s quiz is about the Constitution.

There were five members of the Committee of Style and Arrangement, which was responsible for the writing of the US Constitution. The most famous members were Hamilton and Madison. The question is who were the other three members of the committee?

Take out paper and pen and you may begin. That is if there is any one out there. I doubt very seriously that anyone really gives a sh*t.

CHUQ-ian Observation

Bill Clinton has gone ballistic several times in the past. First was in South Carolina where he throws out the race card against a fellow Democrat. Then in Nevada he accuses Obama’s people of trying to intimidate caucus goers. And it continues on and on, lately he has got in the face of an Obama support and verbally attacks a pro-life supporter at a stump speech. And he is still doing his damage to his wife’s campaign. No one seems willing to make him shut up. The negativity from Bill and other surrogates and even Hillary, is not winning her much support. The people are weary of all the Washington negativism.

I have an idea–put together a team of noted psychologists and let them follow Bill around and listen and watch his actions and words. Then let them submit a report on his mental attitude. There are a wealth of questions on why he does and says the things he does on the stump.

Is he jealous?
Does he miss the limelight?
Is he just angry?
Does he have a personal agenda?
Does he really want wife to win?
Is he just defending wife?

There is a wealth of question that need to be asked about Bill Clinton and his effectiveness as a campaigner for his wife. Personal opinion, he is not helping his wife’s case to be the presidential nominee. He is doing more harm than good. He is sabotaging her campaign, more so than the moronic statements from people like Wolfson and others.

This study could be a valuable tool to determine if spouses are really needed in a campaign for president. In this case, Bill is definately not needed, his statements are just plain dumb.