From the Clinton desperation front:
Clinton adviser: Obama drug use concern
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 34 minutes ago
CONCORD, N.H. - A top adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said Wednesday that Democrats should give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama's admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.
Obama's campaign said the Clinton people were getting desperate. Clinton's campaign tried to distance itself from the remarks, and the adviser said later he regretted making them.
Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman of Clinton's front-runner campaign, raised the issue during an interview with The Washington Post, posted on washingtonpost.com.
There was an article in the NYT yesterday I think (I can get it) that made a few basic points:
1.) The Hillary campaign doesn't really "get" Iowa, while Edwards' and Obama's do. For example, campaigning in major news outlets and hoping word will get out (Hillary) vs. actually going out there and campaigning in rural areas (Edwards, Obama).
2.) The Hillary campaign is trying to correct things in Iowa but may be too late and some of the corrections might be counterproductive (I remember the word "arrogance" was used.)
3.) Bill never really campaigned in Iowa -- some reason he didn't the first time around, then he was the presumptive nominee in '92 and didn't have to really do the grassroots-type work.
4.) Bill is going crazy from how things have been handled in Hillary's campaign in recent weeks and Hillary campaign staffers are annoyed with him, for things like his assertion that he was against the Iraq war "from the beginning."
What the article didn't say (that I remember) but I take from it is that the whole inevitability thing has been seriously tarnished in Iowa, and that the corrections seem to be making things worse. Of course Edwards could as easily benefit from that as Obama. And of course a hit in Hillary's lead could still leave enough of a lead to win.
Hillary seems to be front-runner in CA - for now.
cicerone imposter wrote:Hillary seems to be front-runner in CA - for now.
Clinton staffers caught 'sock-puppeting' in New Hampshire
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/13/123715/95/418/421631
Cycloptichorn
Gore invented the internet, and Clinton invented the blogs against Obama. Which one is true?
Cicerone Imposter -- Al Gore never claimed he invented the internet. This story is an urban legend spread by Gore's opponents in the campaign of 2000. (
Here is Snopes's page debunking the legend.) This smear lives on because people repeat it mindlessly. Please consider helping along its well-deserved death by quitting repeating.
You are being unduly generous Thomas. The article you cited itself quotes Gore, while citing his accomplishments in office during a TV interview as saying "... I took the lead in creating the Internet...." While 'creating' and 'inventing' are indeed different things, as the author of your piece notes, the self agrandizement of Mr Gore in this matter is self-evident. Moreover the legislative initiative with which he (and literally hundreds of other legislators) were associated was the creation of the Defense Department's DARPAnet, which (as you undoubtedly know) was, along with some initiatives from CERN, the precursor to the internet, and not the internet itself.
The larger point about Gore's vanity and self-preoccupation is both self-evident and valid.
georgeob1 wrote:You are being unduly generous Thomas. The article you cited itself quotes Gore, while citing his accomplishments in office during a TV interview as saying "... I took the lead in creating the Internet...." While 'creating' and 'inventing' are indeed different things, as the author of your piece notes, the self agrandizement of Mr Gore in this matter is self-evident. Moreover the legislative initiative with which he (and literally hundreds of other legislators) were associated was the creation of the Defense Department's DARPAnet, which (as you undoubtedly know) was, along with some initiatives from CERN, the precursor to the internet, and not the internet itself.
The larger point about Gore's vanity and self-preoccupation is both self-evident and valid.
And one could as easily charge that you are 'reading' Gore's claims in line with your own partisan cognitive comfort, george.
But what the heck. Let's just just imagine two spoken sentences from two guys and see how they rattle around...you know, how they feel as to descriptions of intellect and cultural contribution...
Quote:Al Gore: "I created the internet"
Quote:George W Bush: "I created the internets"
The RIGHT loves to grouse about Gore's "vanity." Like no one in public life has ever had a vane thought. God forbid!! Running for higher office seems a bit of vanity to me, dontcha think? My husband ran into a woman at the Ft. Detrick clinic that was in a rage over Gore receiving the Nobel Prize...after all he is so vain! Yikes!
Here's to vain people especially if they are good leaders. Slainte va!
What Gore really said (in context):
GORE: Well, I will be offering -- I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. And it will be comprehensive and sweeping. And I hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be.
But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.
During a quarter century of public service, including most of it long before I came into my current job, I have worked to try to improve the quality of life in our country and in our world. And what I've seen during that experience is an emerging future that's very exciting, about which I'm very optimistic, and toward which I want to lead.
Caught the debate this time!
I haven't seen one live in quite a while, though I've read all the transcripts. I have to say, Edwards is so bad at these!! It doesn't make sense, he's a good speaker. When I read the transcripts, his words look good. But he's got this really unfortunate combination of mannerisms. There's the fluttery eyelashes. There's the talking out of the side of his mouth. There's the finding the camera and grinning at it in a fine impersonation of a used car salesman (everyone else looked at the moderator, except for Hillary occasionally, more on that later).
Hillary is so shifty-eyed. I've said that before. When she's talking her eyes are constantly going. Side, side, down, side, side, down. When she was trying to look at the camera there was more of that. Side, camera, side, down. Major "untrustworthy" signifier. (Not saying that she is in fact untrustworthy, saying that she's engaging in a behavior that signifies "untrustworthy" to most humans.)
Obama did several good things, I was happy with what I saw. (Missed a swath in the middle when I went to pick up the kid.) He has a dead-eye thing -- he's got the big brows, and kind of deep-set eyes, and he has to be really fired up for the eyes to come alive and command attention (which he does, on occasion). He was more animated than I've seen him in recent debates, though, and he had some good answers. LOVED his quick comeback about having former Clinton advisers. ("Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well" is how I transcribed it.)
Oooh, show of hands on Fox follow up with Iowa Democratic voters, Obama impressions improved and Obama won the debate, lots of hands.
They loved the looking forward to having Hillary advise him part. (Lots of hands, lots of chuckles.)
"Deeply disappointed" in Hillary.
"We need someone fresh and new."
"Almost like Kennedy" (Obama)
"Hillary was part of the status quo... no new, fresh ideas."
Hillary staffer bringing up Obama's drug use -- "Dirty politics." (Looked unanimous.)
Oooh this is good!
Oh the follow-up crew were undecided voters.
Going over my notes:
I wrote that Richardson wants the VP slot if Hillary gets the nomination. I don't remember what prompted it... the last note before that was "eliminate congressional earmarks." (Transcripts will be available soon enough and then I can figure it out.)
"Hillary looks beseiged!!!"
"Hillary keeps talking about the 1990's -- that's not even running on her own record."
(That was mentioned in the follow-up with undecided voters, too. Someone saying "she's not running for first lady, she's running for president.")
"Biden: starve the beast." He said something like, "They built this deficit up so we can't do the things we need to do."
"Obama: close corporate loopholes." He had a good anecdote about a building in the Cayman Islands that supposedly houses 12,000 businesses -- "either a huge building or a huge scam," something like that.
Dodd had interesting things to say about China being an adversary, not a competitor.
"Edwards car salesman squinty blinky!!"
"Obama -- Good!! Detroit - quiet. :-)" That was when he said he didn't present his energy plan in front of the Sierra Club or something, he took it to Detroit... and the room was very quiet. No applause. (He said this just the right way, a little rueful, it was funny.) He then segued into not just telling people what they want to hear, but telling them what they need to know.
Now let me guess which candidate you liked best. Hmmm ... tough one ....
:-D
I did think Richardson did a lot better than in other debates I've seen/ read, though. He was more relaxed, and funnier, as well as making some good points.
If Richardson has any chance of winning, he may be one of my options.
Bill Richardson is a congenial person for all( I mean for the whole world).
I am quite sure that the successor of Bush is not Obama nor the ex-first lady .
SA is not yet matured to make radical change at home.
And I am quite sure that more than 40 percent of the eligible voters will sit and watch the resolutes without casting their votes.
Dennis Kucinich is the best man among the noisy contenders to refurbish the image of USA after this long long non-mentionable years.
I had my own views and that is this.
The whole American electoral system is rotten to the core.
Sorry ( swallow the critical views than the time serving patriots)
