Thursday’s campaign round-up

May 1, 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:

* Uncommitted superdelegates seem to be falling off the fence this week in far larger numbers. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton picked up support from Puerto Rico’s Luisette Cabanas, and today she’ll get the endorsement of Connecticut DNC member and state AFL-CIO head John Olsen.

* Obama has added to his superdelegate total as well. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) threw her support to Obama yesterday, and the campaign announced this morning that it would pick up three more next week when the Democratic Party of Illinois meets to finish filling out its delegate slate.

* Perhaps most notably on the superdelegate front, former DNC Chairman Joe Andrew, who had endorsed Hillary Clinton the day she announced her campaign, switched to Obama yesterday and encouraged his colleagues to “heal the rift in our party” and unite behind the Illinois senator. The AP reported, “Mr. Andrew said the Obama campaign never asked him to switch his support, but he decided to do so after watching Sen. Obama’s handling of two issues in recent days. He said Sen. Obama took the principled stand in opposing a summer gas tax holiday that both Sens. Clinton and McCain supported, even though it would have been easier politically to back it. And he said he was impressed with Sen. Obama’s handling of the controversy surrounding his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.”

* As of now, among endorsements from Democratic members of Congress, Clinton and Obama are tied at 97 each.

* Perhaps concerned with how voters might perceive the Clinton/McCain gas-tax-holiday idea, the Obama campaign unveiled a new ad last night featuring comments from an Obama speech this week: “I’m here to tell you the truth. We could suspend the gas tax for 6 months, but that’s not going to bring down gas prices long-term. You’re gonna save about $25, $30 dollars or half a tank of gas. That’s typical of how Washington works.” He called idea a “short-term quick fix,” which it is.

* Mason-Dixon has Obama leading Clinton in North Carolina by seven, while Insider Advantage has Clinton up by two over Obama in the same state.

* Rasmussen shows Clinton leading Obama in Indiana by five.

* New data from Quinnipiac shows Clinton polling better than Obama in general-election match-ups in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

* To pay for his admittedly thin healthcare plan, McCain may end up raising taxes a bit on those with expensive health plans.

* Among Dems nationwide, Obama leads Clinton by three, 46% to 43%, according to the latest NBC/WSJ poll (pdf). A month ago, the two were tied at 45% each.

* In the latest NYT/CBS poll, however, Dems nationwide prefer Obama to Clinton by a wider margin, 46% to 38%. The same poll gives Clinton an edge, though, in the general election against McCain — Obama and McCain are tied in the poll, while Clinton leads him by five.

* Dennis Kucinich has a plan to distribute Michigan and Florida delegates based on poll results.

* And, oddly enough, both Dems lose to McCain in his home state of Arizona, but Obama is within single digits.

He called idea a “short-term quick fix,” which it is.

Actually, I wouldn’t call it a ‘fix’ at all, since it will ultimately cause more harm than good.

I’d call it smoke and mirrors, windfall for the oil companies, pandering, and absolutely stupid.

  • Joe Andrew is a Benedict Arnold, a disgusting Judas. How ethical is it for someone to take Senator’s Clinton’s repeated statement that all delegates are up for grabs and turn it against her? How good should Mr. Slippery Slope feel about having the nomination if he gets it by convincing superdelegates to support him? This is really shameful, and it stinks to boot.

  • I think the gas tax holiday should be viewed with a picture of the fallen bridge in Minneapolis in the background. Those taxes pay for stuff, they don’t just go in a hole somewhere.

    But of course the American public is probably too stupid to realize that, after all the years of government bashing.

  • Will Clinton change the carbon tax that she favors to exclude gasoline during the summer months?

    Her carbon tax will probably raise the price of gas by more than th 18.4 cents currently being collected by the federal government.

  • It’s no surprise that Obama is closer to McCain than Clinton is in Arizona. Obama can do much better than Clinton in many of the red states.

    It doesn’t matter very much in Arizona because, regardless of how close he can make the race, there is no way that either Democrat can win in Arizona. This might suggest that Obama can be more competitive in neighboring states, at least forcing McCain to use money to fight for them as opposed to assuming they are all safe.

    As for the gas tax, it will be interesting to see which messages works better–pandering with offers of a lower tax versus telling the truth. My fear is that offering lower taxes will be a stronger messages, especially when there isn’t much time left for Obama to respond.

  • Joe Andrew anticpated Insane Fake Professor’s above attack in the second comment and is prepared for similar attacks from the real Clintons. After all, he knows very well how the Clintons opperate. His letter addresses the possibility of such attacks and a need for a new style of politics from Obama:

    http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=3221

  • Regarding this notion of a gas tax holiday (which Obama rightly says is not the solution), I belive that Leonard Burman said it best on last night’s PBS Newhour:

    Transcript:
    GWEN IFILL: Explain that to me some more. So you’re saying, even if they take 18 cents a gallon of the cost of a tax — the cost of a gallon of gas, that wouldn’t necessarily get passed onto the consumer?

    LEONARD BURMAN: No, I think only a tiny fraction would get passed on. The problem is — I mean, every summer gas prices go up because refineries are producing all they can. People want to drive more. They go on vacations with their families.

    Suppose the price actually did go down by 18 cents. People would drive farther away for their vacations; they would drive instead of flying to a vacation; they’d take more trips during the summer.

    The problem is that there aren’t millions and millions of gallons of additional gasoline to put on the market. If the price went down, there would be shortages. Gas stations would run out of gasoline.

    So the price has to go back up — that’s the way the market resolves this conflict — and, eventually, I think most energy experts think that the price would end up very close to where it would have been if the gas tax hadn’t been abated.

    Well said!

  • I don’t understand what Obama is trying to say. It’s not what Wright said, to me it’s the fact that he sat through these sermons. I’ve been to black churches and white churches and I have walked out of sermons that I don’t agree with. I can’t believe that he would allow his children to listen to the rhetoric the Rev Wright was spewing. What is wrong with these parents? Tell me who you are surrounding yourself with, and I’ll tell yu who you are.

  • Considering Obama was not present for the comments Wright has said that started all this nonsense, Im not sure how you can still associate things that Wright said to Obama.

  • Why don’t we just stop driving all these huge SUV’s? I don’t see any presidential candidate driving a four cylinder vehicle or walking. How about a hybrid. Whatever happened to carpools. The presidential candidates are flying all over the country. How much does that cost. that’s where your hard earned dollars that you donate are going to. Heck even Bush has a huge SUV. And all those vacations, Your tax dollars at work. Whatever happened to the Volkswagen Beetle? To go back to when we were shocked at gasoline being 25 cents a gallon, and high school students.

  • @@ to #9

    Have you even read some full sermons? I agree that recently, instead of backing away from some of his more ridiculous comments (the AIDS one pops to mind), Wright jumped in with two feet. I’m sure he’s the only older, now retired person who has become a little crankier, a little less inclined to give the benefit of the doubt in the whole wide world.

    But, when you look at his entire career? Uh, a Marine, there during LBJ’s gall bladder surgery, spending decades building up a church and plenty of great programs in a poor, hard-hit neighborhood, is on the side of gay rights, preaches non-violence on and on and on… I think yes, you have to call out the crazy stuff, absolutely. But to say that the Obamas spent 20 years listening to some whacked out stuff just isn’t upheld by the facts.

    If Obama was able to get a Christian message (which I think is a great thing, as opposed to organized religion) there, that preached justice and equality and the value of each person and the importance of service and working together. I just don’t see the problem with his family (and thousands of others) attending the church.

  • Spot the “fatal flaw” in The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang’s “health-care reform” delusion, boys and girls….

    And Another Thing:

    Is there any evidence of a “distractionary campaign” by the Religiopolitical Right to ensure that Hillary Rodham-Clinton wins the Democratic Presidential nomination just so The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang has an easier “aunt sally” to challenge (and, in the process, win the election “by whatever means necessary”)?

  • Shoot, I just read my post and it looks like a whole chunk disappeared without my knowing it…it was the part where I said that personally, I greatly dislike organized religion and distrust its power structures as much as anyother. Wright sums up for me both the good — devoted his life to a community and to service — and the bad — growing self-aggrandizement and the feeling that you really are God’s mouthpiece, both of which are amplified or at least more obvious the longer you are at it.

    So there. Something like that should have been before my last paragraph

  • CW, @15,

    Perhaps you’re thinking of Arkansas, what with all A-states looking just the same…

  • TT, I’ll ask you what I ask my Catholic friends – considering the Catholic Church leadership knowingly allowed pedophiles to pray on children in their congregations for 50 years to protect the institution (damn the children!), which is criminal and inhumane, why do you still belong to the Catholic Church? For many people, their church isn’t just about the sermons, it’s about the community and the people in that community. Wright’s church, affiliated with a mostly white denomination, has done a tremendous amount of good in their community. A few inflammatory statements doesn’t change that. But an institution that promoted a decades-long coverup of criminal activity that devastated childrens’ lives – much, much larger deal in my book. Which is why I’m a practicing catholic no more and, like Jen, distrust the institutions.

  • REVERAND WRIGHT=POLITICS OF DISTRACTION
    Idiots follow the shiny metal objects, just like the Swift Boat Vets for Lying. It’s deja-vu-all over again. Obama needs to bitch slap the press quickly. This is all just a smear at this point. The voters who decide all the elections will fall for it again like the lemmings they are. Sigh…

  • I am amazed as how many gullible people there are…Anyone that believes Obamas drama on the denouncement of his pastor, mentor, friend, uncle and inspirational leader is really simple minded..Obama was shocked! Give us a break obama! Twenty years and now Obama is shocked…talk about saying anything to win… The typical politician, the lier and the one that has anti-American associations..
    1. WRight comes out says his usual Rhetoric-
    (This will push his new book on sales)

    2. Obama comes out denounces him, is shocked, cant’t believe it
    Michelle suffering with this decision and so is her husband
    (He gets the idiots to believe this and now the messiah crown goes back on)

    3. Axelrod, Obama and Wright
    (They say “we did it!..Thank the God “D” Americans they fell for it!!!)

  • lliberal Republican turned demo… None of them are running for the most powerful position of our nation as President of the United States of America..or those priests would not get elected… same for Obama-an Anti-American Supporter!
    Obama is running for this position and therefore with his radical racists/anti-American friends how can we trust him.. He is a risk! A risk we can not afford!
    Some say he threw his preacher under the bus..he did only the bust was a stationary bus and it had a king size simmons mattress under it….
    Obama’s phony “I am shocked” is rediculous..He knew who Wright was this is just a ploy ??? Maybe Maybe not…its the Maybe, Maybe not’s that America does not trust!
    Twenty years!, William Ayers, Wright, Farrakhan…No Thank you!

  • PLEASE BE FAIR TO ALL OF YOUR LOYAL READERS AND COVER THE CURRENT CALIFORNIA CIVIL COURT CASE:
    PAUL VS. CLINTON
    I PRAY THAT YOU DO NOT UTILIZE YOUR POWER TO HAND THE ELECTION TO SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT DESERVE TO REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. SHE IS DISHONEST AND AN “ELITIST” WITH NO CONNECTION TO THE AVERAGE AMERICAN.
    EVERYONE CONTINUES TO TRY AND DIG FOR DIRT ON OBAMA WHEN THE DIRT HAS ALREADY BEEN UNCOVERED ON HILLARY CLINTON, BUT IT IS AMAZING HOW YOU REFUSE TO PRESENT THE INFORMATION TO THE “UNDECIDED VOTERS” SO THEY CAN MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION ON WHO THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN OFFICE WITHOUT BEING SWAYED BY THE BIASED MEDIA!

  • in two monts period Obama threw his grandmother and his pastor under the bus,Whats next? well just like he sad . The change doesn’t start from top to bottom it’s start from bottom up . conclusion,it will be us who is going to be under the bus.TRUST ME “I MEAN IT”

  • Hillary Wal-Mart Connection: It was only yesterday and surprisingly on Fox news that I found out that Hillary Clinton was a Director at Wal-Mart. How is it that she is supported by the Unions when she worked as a Director of a notorious anti-union, union busting anti-healthcare multinational. Sorry the unions support for her beats me????

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