Friday’s campaign round-up

March 7, 2008

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* In the unlikely event you haven’t heard, this is one of the more impressive fundraising achievements I’ve ever seen: “Democratic Sen. Barack Obama raised a record $55 million in February for his presidential campaign, eclipsing rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s own substantial fundraising for the month. All told, Obama has raised $193 million during his yearlong bid for the White House. Obama’s February total was his second fundraising record. He raised $36 million in January, more than any other presidential candidate who has ever been in a contested primary. His combined January and February totals nearly matched what he raised last year.”

* Retired Col. Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, doesn’t sound optimistic about John McCain’s temperament, saying that with McCain “[n]o dissent, no opinion to the contrary, however reasonable, will be entertained.” Wilkerson added that McCain is “hardheaded,” “arrogant,” “hubristic,” and “too proud for his own good.” Referring to McCain’s foreign policy advisers, Wilkerson said: They “scare me.” “Scare me.”

* In a comment that was intended to be off the record, Samantha Power, an Obama aide, told a Scottish newspaper she thought Hillary Clinton “is a monster” who is “stooping to anything.” Power apologized this morning, saying, “These comments do not reflect my feelings about Sen. Clinton, whose leadership and public service I have long admired.” The Clinton campaign has rejected the apology, and wants Power fired.

* It looks like Ron Paul is just about done, though he’s urging his followers to stick together and plan future phases for their collective efforts.

* In case there was any doubt that McCain is considering Florida Gov. Charlie Crist as a possible running mate, yesterday, McCain described Crist as “one of the greatest governors in the history of this country.” Crist has been on the job for just one year, suggesting this was a wee bit of hyperbole.

* Earlier this week, Rush Limbaugh implored his listeners to vote for Clinton in Tuesday’s contests. Did it make any difference? Maybe in Texas.

* I think it’s a trend: “More people say they are Democrats than said so before voting started in this year’s presidential contests while the number of Republicans has remained flat, a survey showed Thursday. The Associated Press-Ipsos poll had additional bad news for the GOP: The number of independents and moderates satisfied with President Bush and the country’s direction has dipped to record or near-record lows.”

* Senate Democrats, believe it or not, continue to believe it’s at least possible to get to 60 seats next year: “For Democrats hoping the November elections set off a seismic shift in Washington, the dream scenario is not just capturing the White House, but also winning a filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats in the Senate…. As far-fetched as that might seem — Democrats now control the Senate by a razor-thin 51 to 49, thanks only to two independents who vote with them — some Democrats have started thinking aloud that such a scenario is within reach.”

* And the RNC loves registering domain names: “The day after Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses, the R.N.C. snapped up at least 20 domains related to his candidacy. Some of them may signal the party’s future strategy: baracknotready.com and norealexperience.com. The party has also begun preemptively registering domains that could be used to attack John McCain, like mccainamigos.com, voteagainstmccain.com, flipflopmccain.com and hatemccain.com (ihatemccain.com was taken.)”

Samantha Powers resigns, Ben Smith reports…

F***… why is Obama rolling over on this?

vilification as “Ken Starr” is acceptable name-calling, but “monster” isn’t?

  • It looks like Ron Paul is just about done, though he’s urging his followers to stick together and plan future phases for their collective efforts.

    America is just about done. But Ron Paul remains in the race for the Republican nomination.

  • plan future phases for their collective efforts

    How DARE you insinuate that Paultards make any efforts toward collectivism. They are solely individuals working independently of each other. Like zombies.

    I expect them to try to take the White House in a coup, but as geeky hipsters, to be easily thwarted by the mean looks of the security guards.

  • I have the utmost respect for Samantha Power who has championed politically unfashionable causes like the genocide in Darfur with great passion and honesty. I’m sorry to see her go, but she will be a great asset in Barack’s State Department.

    Regarding Col. Wilkerson’s remarks, the trend in opinion among people who have seen McCain in action in intimate political settings is that he is a bitter version of Dick Cheney. That IS scary. I hope Hillary recognizes not only McCain’s experience, but the experiences others have had with McCain which point his lack of fitness for being president and Commander in Chief.

  • Retired Col. Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, doesn’t sound optimistic about John McCain’s temperament, saying that with McCain “[n]o dissent, no opinion to the contrary, however reasonable, will be entertained.” Wilkerson added that McCain is “hardheaded,” “arrogant,” “hubristic,” and “too proud for his own good.”

    mccain’s acceptance as the presumptive nominee “with humility” and his ad nauseum use of the phrase “my friends” reminds me of a favorite Taoist saying:

    “Bigger the front, bigger the rear.”

  • The day after Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses, the R.N.C. snapped up at least 20 domains related to his candidacy. Some of them may signal the party’s future strategy: baracknotready.com and norealexperience.com

    It’s a good thing Hillary isn’t running on this theme, because the GOP could use her ads in the general election.

  • Once again, the Clinton campaign turns to whining over a slight — I thought she was the candidate who could take it. Sticks and stones, and all that, you know. Then, her campaign gets all in a self-righteous huff, refusing an apology and demanding a resignation. I’d ask again, is this the kind of petty person you want as president?

    As for the Obama campaign, Powers defused the issue by resigning. Her statement sounded genuine and not the kind of thing one says when fired. Whether I agree with her decision or not (I don’t), she did the classy thing and did it quickly, drawing a sharp contrast with the opposition.

  • …vilification as “Ken Starr” is acceptable name-calling, but “monster” isn’t? -NB

    No, neither are acceptable, but Obama has class, so when his employee missteps, he takes corrective action. It’s refreshing to see someone hold their staff accountable.

  • Is 60 enough when Lieberman is one of them?
    He may “vote with the Democrats” but he doesn’t VOTE WITH them, ya dig?

    Oh well, I guess that just means we wait on a progressive agenda until 2012 when we can land a 62 seat majority.
    But then, won’t it be better to wait until 2016 and we can get a 67 seat majority so we can pass progressive Constitutional amendments?
    Oops, make that 2020 so we have 68 to account for Lieberman.

    Hang in there, progressives. Keep fighting. Your reward is a mere decade away more or less.
    Nothing could go wrong before then, could it?

  • It looks like Ron Paul is just about done

    Just you wait! Most of McCain’s pledged delegates will spontaneously vote for Paul at the convention, giving him the nomination! I know this because the Paulbots on this very board told me this would happen. You heard it here first!

  • It’s refreshing to see someone hold their staff accountable. -doubtful

    Too true… I won’t try to excuse my reflexive defense of Power, but I will admit that I totally have the hots for her.

  • When you get right down to it, about the only ones who can be expected to watch Faux Business Network faithfully and religiously are probably Joe Sixpack types hard-wired into accepting free-market capitalism as the Great White Father, yet unlikely to realise that such carries a downside vis-a-vis any logical attempts @ “empowering” white trash out of welfare dependency in its “pure” form.

    And perhaps the only logical alternative is to encourage mutual self-help initiatives as are such in name and fact, not such in name only (after Faux News).

  • In case there was any doubt that McCain is considering Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for VP

    Charlie Chain Gang Crist, now there’s an innovator. His addition alone would update McCain to 1930. Vote for McCain Change you can count with.

  • When is Clinton going to denounce Limbaugh’s endorsement? While Obama’s dismissal of Samantha Powers may be principled, I wouldn’t have fired the cleaning lady for calling her a lot worse.

  • It is a sad day for the First Amendment when a person can lose their position—for calling a monster a monster….

  • “The Clinton campaign has rejected the apology, and wants Power fired.”

    I guess that “to err is human, to forgive is divine” stuff doesn’t go very far with Mrs. Clinton.

  • “…It looks like Ron Paul is just about done, though he’s urging his followers to stick together and plan future phases for their collective efforts….”

    Libertarians? Collective efforts? Does not compute. No wonder he only got 5% in Onio, where of all places you might have expected his brand of squalid, ignorant self-indulgence to get some traction.

  • “Earlier this week, Rush Limbaugh implored his listeners to vote for Clinton in Tuesday’s contests. Did it make any difference?”

    For those that didn’t check-out the link that CB provide with this comment, it makes a strong case that ditto-heads may have lifted Hillary over the top in Texas last Tuesday.

    With significant assistance from Rush Limbaugh in America and the lies about Obama and NAFTA from the Tory administration and their version of Fox News (CPT) in Canada, Hillary is still in it to win it.

    The plutocrats from the right are deciding who our Democratic nominee will be.

  • If McCain is so hubristic and arrogant, why don’t the uber-neocons like him? He’s the perfect fit to their Cromagnon policies. Just because he says he’s open-minded doesn’t mean he has a brain. And where the hell was the military worry about the hubris and arrogance we’ve had for the last seven years? George Bush has made absolutely the stupidest military misunderestimation in the history of military stupidity.

  • I’m from Texas and have been told by a number of Republicans that they voted for Hillary because they are AFRAID of Obama’s closet Muslim tendencies. They knew McCain would win without their votes and had to make sure Obama didn’t win or his “real agenda” (akin to the homosexual agenda) will be put in motion. Never underestimate the power of an Internet viral email on the uneducated, faith-based community.

  • @16: And in other news, you can still be charged for yelling ‘fire’ in a burning theater.

    @19: And that’s so much different than Reagan Democrats and other fairweather friends selecting the Democratic nominee?

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