Monday’s campaign round-up

March 31, 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 latest Gallup Poll Daily, Barack Obama has his largest lead to date over Hillary Clinton, 53% to 42%. John McCain, meanwhile, continues to lead both Dems by similar margins in hypothetical match-ups.

* When McCain delivered a speech last week on the mortgage crisis, he neglected to mention that two of his top campaign advisors were up until recently lobbyists for Ameriquest Mortgage, one of the nation’s more notorious lenders in the mortgage meltdown.

* Obama will pick up another Senate endorsement today, when Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) of Minnesota announces her support for him.

* Al Gore doesn’t seem to have any interest intervening in the race for the Democratic nomination. “I’m trying to stay out of it,” Gore told “60 Minutes.” Asked if he might intervene to help the party and the campaign strike some kind of arrangement, Gore added, “I’m not applying for the job of broker.”

* In New Jersey, Rasmussen shows McCain leading both Dems in hypothetical match-ups, though Obama fares slightly better than Clinton against the Republican nominee in the Garden State.

* I’ve pretty much given up trying to understand the details of Texas’ Democratic caucuses and the delegates awarded at the state’s convention, but it appears that Obama won 38 pledged delegates in the caucuses, to Clinton’s 29. (Clinton won the Texas primary by four delegates, 65 to 61, meaning that Obama’s net gain from the state is five.)

* The former president wants everyone to take a deep breath: “Former President Bill Clinton twice told Democrats at the California Democratic Party convention in San Jose to “chill out.” He also displayed a remarkable memory for the rest of the nominating-contest calendar…. ‘Chill out,’ Clinton continued. ‘We’re going to win this election if we just chill out and let everybody have their say. This is a good thing.'”

* Bob Novak believes former Rep. Rob Portman of Ohio has the inside track on being McCain’s running mate. “Portman’s background is legislative, serving in the House Republican leadership as a representative from Ohio; executive and economic, serving in George W. Bush’s Cabinet as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and diplomatic, serving as U.S. trade representative. He comes from Ohio, a swing state, is young enough at 52 to contrast McCain, and conservative enough, earning an 89 percent lifetime American Conservative Union rating.”

* Bush Pioneers aren’t exactly rushing to help McCain out: “Even though he all but secured the Republican nomination by mid-February, Mr. McCain has so far managed to enlist only a fraction of the heavyweight bundlers of campaign contributions who helped drive President Bush’s two runs for the White House, an examination of Mr. McCain’s fund-raising network shows.”

* Did Obama blow it with John (and Elizabeth) Edwards? Maybe.

* And in Senate news, New Jersey Republicans finally found a candidate to take on Sen. Frank Lautenberg in November, but there’s one small catch: he doesn’t actually live in New Jersey. (Some might argue this makes him a “carpetbagger,” not that I would ever use the word in a derogatory way….)

“… Obama’s net gain from the state is five.”

That still won’t keep the MSM from claiming TX as a large state win for Hillary.

  • When McCain delivered a speech last week on the mortgage crisis, he neglected to mention that two of his top campaign advisors were up until recently lobbyists for Ameriquest Mortgage, one of the nation’s more notorious lenders in the mortgage meltdown.

    OK, so Obama and Hillzary are too busy with each other, but – what? – the DNC can’t make an ad about this? MoveOn and their bunch can’t? The MSM won’t say anything about this if you grabbed them by the back of their neck and pushed their face in McCain’s pile of shit masquerading as a campaign, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do ads on YouTube, ads on TV in various markets, keep people aware that McCain the image and McCain the truth have only a coincidental relationship.

    So how about it DNC? MoveOn???

  • New Jersey Republicans finally found a candidate to take on Sen. Frank Lautenberg in November, but there’s one small catch:

    More than one small catch. He’s a nightclub owner in NYC who was thrown out of his family business. That’s going to play so well with the suburban Republican base.

  • Did Obama blow it with John (and Elizabeth) Edwards? Maybe.

    I simply don’t see why the Democrats are so concerned with what a one term Senator (who frankly didn’t match his votes to his rhetoric) thinks, anyway. I’ve been trying to figure this out since he dropped out. No one gave this much concern to what Kucinich, Dodd, or Biden were going to do after dropping out, and they are far more experienced, and super delegates to boot.

    I liked Edwards as a candidate, but frankly, I don’t care who he endorses, if anyone.

  • Amazing how many of Hillary’s more deranged supporters are actually Republicans who hate Obama. One would think this might give the Clinton campaign pause and make them reconsider courting people like Limbaugh, Murdoch and Scaife. One would apparently be wrong.

  • Christian Prophet #3

    Don’t worry, 48% of Americans don’t even know who Jeremiah Wright is, or that he supports the overthrow of Israel, or that he proclaims that God should damn America, or that Obama is very closely tied to this man.

    Clinton does not need to give a speech, nor should she, the truth will come out and he will be seen for who he is, it is just a matter of time before that happens, and if it doesn’t happen by the time the nominee is named, it will certainly happen before November.

  • “Former President Bill Clinton twice told Democrats at the California Democratic Party convention in San Jose to “chill out.”

    Sounds like a cross between desperation and condescention. “You people think you know what the reality of the situation is, but I can tell you that you don’t”.

    You wish. Your campaign can’t even pay its bills, you can’t win unless a bunch of people decide to override the democratic process, and your wife just got busted telling a whopper so big it would make you blush.

    You’re wife is toast, big dog. Give it up.

  • If McCain is relying on a Ohio congressman closely tied to the Bush administration to help win that state much less the GE, he may as well put “Culture of Corruption” on every bumpersticker. But I’m not surprised Novak is impressed.

  • ClintonSpeak: ‘Chill out,’ Clinton continued. ‘We’re going to win this election if we just chill out and let everybody have their say. This is a good thing.’

    Translation: “Everyone can have their say, but only if their say is what we want their say to be.”

    Note to Billy J: “Hey, ‘dog—how’s that Texas delegate count workin’ for ya? Didn’t you say something a while back about Hillary having to quit if she didn’t win Texas?

  • I’ll say it again, Christianity DOES NOT equal America and Christianity DOES NOT equal capitalism. Christian Prophet, that is not a CHRIST CENTERED website. It is a Christian power website, no different from any other group (liberation or otherwise) that would USE Christianity to entrench power.

  • John McCain, meanwhile, continues to lead both Dems by similar margins in hypothetical match-ups.

    WTF? Americans dislike Bush by a 2-to-1 margin, yet voters favor more of the same by better than 50-50?

    Maybe McCain’s new TV ad is doing just the trick. He’s the president “Americans have been waiting for.” Hate George Bush? I’m yer guy!

  • Wasn’t there a couple proud Texans in the thread the day of their Primary, talking about how it made so much sense, that only those who voted in the Primary were allowed into the caucuses?

    Not that I care about the result, but it seems a bit odd that some people get two votes just because they have more time. I guess Texas Republicans aren’t the only Texan kooks. @-@

  • For the life of me I can’t imagine who gives one teeny rat’s ass what Elizabeth (aka Hillary-channeling-Imelda-Marcos) Edwards thinks.

  • Bob Novak is wrong!

    There is only 1 possible v.p. selection for McCain that will rally all of 1) the Neo-Cons, 2) the religious right, & 3) the Corporate interests.

    That is Jeb Bush!

  • I can’t help wondering what a candidate vote matchup would be if there were only one Democratic candidate in the race running against McSame.

  • “John McCain, meanwhile, continues to lead both Dems by similar margins in hypothetical match-ups.”

    You sometimes feel like you’re living in an insane assylum. People think the economy sucks, and the Iraq war needs to end, so obviously the logical choice for President is a 97 year old who supports more tax give aways to paris Hilton, privatizing social security, and a century in Iraq.

    I realize it’s only a trackng poll in March, but seriously, WTF is going on here?

  • “John McCain, meanwhile, continues to lead both Dems by similar margins in hypothetical match-ups.”

    You sometimes feel like you’re living in an insane assylum. People think the economy sucks, and the Iraq war needs to end, so obviously the logical choice for President is a 97 year old who supports more tax give aways to paris Hilton, privatizing social security, and a century in Iraq.

    I realize it’s only a trackng poll in March, but seriously, WTF is going on here?

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