sozobe
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 03:51 pm
Oh I agree. Someone said the 2008 campaign starts today... things are going to hot up from here, and I'm sure that's not the last of the attempts to cut him down to size that we'll see. Hopefully there won't be any ugly surprises.

I was responding to Walter with my post above.

Meanwhile, I'm happy about the poll thing.
0 Replies
 
Thomas
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 04:20 pm
I just saw Dianne Feinstein on MSNBC. Nothing special, just normal comments about Rumsfeld, the elections and stuff. But she reminded me that I really, really like her, that she has everything Obama lacks, and vice versa. How does "Vice President Feinstein" sound to you guys?
0 Replies
 
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 04:25 pm
Thomas, I knew there would be something we would eventually agree on. Sounds great to me!
0 Replies
 
snood
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 04:48 pm
I like Feinstein, too.
0 Replies
 
sozobe
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 04:50 pm
I like her, dunno about the "she has everything Obama lacks, and vice versa" part though. She's definitely experienced, but she's a she. I think TWO groundbreakers on one ticket (first black president, first woman vice president) is far riskier than just one.
0 Replies
 
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 04:57 pm
I don't see the "firsts" for Obama and Feinstein as being a problem; especially if they are viewed as moderate, honest, and will work for the American People.
0 Replies
 
snood
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 05:00 pm
Oh, I think the "firsts" thing has weight - weight that the opposition is bound to try to spin negatively.
And I agree with Soz that two historic firsts would be a bit much for the American psyche to swallow.
0 Replies
 
Green Witch
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 05:29 pm
I didn't read back too far, so this might have been said, but I'm thinking Hillary* & Obama might be a ticket. Obama doesn't have the political experience and clout to be president out of the gate, but he might add the necessary luster and new blood ambience to the Clinton camp. It would also set him up for a future run at the big chair, plus he's young enough to be able to wait his turn.

I think the Republicans would love a McCain ticket (plug in any VP) since he is probably the only one who has a chance against Hillary at this point.





*I can hear the conservative members of A2K throwing up in a corner.
0 Replies
 
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 05:39 pm
GW, Hillary is popular in New York, but I wonder about the rest of the country. If Hillary is on the top of the ticket with anyone, whether her running mate is Obama, I'll vote for somebody else - more than likely.
0 Replies
 
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 05:40 pm
BTW, If Obama runs as P and Hillary as VP, that would have a chance in my books.
0 Replies
 
JPB
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 05:43 pm
I was actually turned off a bit by the last day partisan campaigning he did in northern IL on Monday. I would have been fine with it if he (and Durbin) hadn't made a stop at a rally for Todd Stroger's campaign for Cook Country Board President. He couched his words very carefully but it was very clear to me that he is first and foremost a member of the Democratic Party.

Quote:
"He is a good man," Obama said. "He cares about people, and I think he's in politics for the right reasons."

Obama admitted that he did not like how Stroger was voted in by the city's ward bosses.

"I would have preferred a more conventional way of getting a nominee," Obama said. "I think at this point, when I compare the two candidates, I think Todd's going to do a better job."

Peraica said he was disappointed by Obama's endorsement.

"That he would lower himself to this level of supporting a candidate who is clearly not qualified for the position that he seeks, and would not be the nominee of his party but for his father's last name," Peraica said.
[URL=http://]Source[/URL]


It isn't in this article, but I also heard him say something to the effect that "we have to help hold him up" as he undertakes the responsibilites of County Board President. HUH? If not for the fact that Stroger was running as a Democrat, there is no way in hell that Obama (or any other sane person) would have endorsed him for this position. Way too much politics as usual for my blood.

Ah... I see I'm not the only one. Eric Zorn's column in today's Tribune.

Quote:
Eric Zorn
Letter to voters a letdown for Obama idealists


Published November 2, 2006

An old saying goes, "The sooner I fall behind in my work, the longer I have to catch up."

Now, starry-eyed believers in the transformative nature of Illinois' junior senator have their own variation: "The sooner I grow disillusioned with Barack Obama, the longer I have to forgive him."

So, let's get started, shall we? Obama's staff released a profoundly disheartening letter to voters this week in which Obama, joined by Sen. Dick Durbin, endorsed Cook County Board presidential candidate Todd Stroger.

The letter, which puffs lots of hot air into the saggy balloon of Stroger's legislative resume, refers to him as "a good progressive Democrat" who will "lead us into a new era of Cook County government."

Todd Stroger was a "strong voice" in Springfield, the letter says. He has "worked assiduously" for the poor as an alderman. Yet, of course, the record reveals that Stroger is an unimaginative legislative drone whose reform credentials are wholly imaginary--an unlikely trailblazer to a new era.

Then Obama and Durbin take an epistolary dive into the mud and start yammering in the letter about Republican challenger Tony Peraica's conservative stance on social issues that almost never come before the County Board. In particular, they raise the fear that Peraica would unilaterally put a halt to abortions at county hospitals, even though Peraica has repeatedly pledged that he will not.

"We've come too far for that," says the letter.

And Obama has come too far as an inspiring new breed of politician on the national scene to muck around in local politics, endorsing machine hack candidates and substituting party for principle. Or so you'd imagine.

There were warning signs: Obama's first dubious endorsement of a lightweight came during the primary season when he cut TV ads plumping for Alexi Giannoulias, then 29, the vice president of his family's bank who decided he'd like to be state treasurer. The endorsement was widely seen as key to Giannoulias' primary victory.

Obama was upfront about why he got involved: Members of the Giannoulias family were early and strong backers of his U.S. Senate campaign and "I think it's important to reciprocate," he told a reporter.

But Obama did not reciprocate for Forrest Claypool.

Claypool was the overwhelming favorite of reform-minded Democrats in his race against incumbent John Stroger (Todd's father) and had headed Obama's transition team after Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004.

Old-guard candidate John Stroger, meanwhile, had endorsed Comptroller Dan Hynes instead of Obama in the Democratic Senate primary.

When Obama decided not to endorse either candidate, his spokesman intoned, "The senator believes that the voters should make up their own minds in this race."

As you know, then, John Stroger suffered a stroke, won the primary and retired for health reasons. The Democratic Central Committee thumbed its nose at critics and selected Todd Stroger to take his place on the ballot, rejecting more senior, qualified candidates such as U.S. Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago and veteran county Commissioner Bobbie Steele.

The stench of same-old-same-old from John Stroger's years of cronyism and bloat hung over the process, and Obama had every excuse to distance himself from it.

Instead came this letter--a body blow to Claypool Democrats and the idealists whose fantasy about Obama is that he will transcend the grubby machinations and tawdry favor-swapping of party politics--followed by word from Obama's office that he will appear on stage at a pro-Stroger rally Monday night.

Obama declined to comment through a spokesman Wednesday. But maybe the good news is that, with Obama's reputation now riding on his performance, Stroger, if elected, will become all that Obama says he is.

See, I can still dream!

SOURCE
0 Replies
 
JPB
 
  1  
Wed 8 Nov, 2006 05:48 pm
Correction to above: That was not today's column by Eric Zorn, but last Thursday's column. The campaign stops and on-going support were on Monday as stated.
0 Replies
 
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 12 Nov, 2006 07:30 am
Feingold out...
Quote:
MILWAUKEE -- U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold has decided against seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, saying he wanted to focus on his work in the Senate.

In a letter posted on his political action committee's Web site, Feingold said he was excited that Tuesday's elections gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, giving them the chance to "undo much of the damage that one-party rule has done to America."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top13nov12,0,2737909.story

On Obama... http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19651
0 Replies
 
sozobe
 
  1  
Sun 12 Nov, 2006 09:37 am
Pity about Feingold. Have always loved the guy. Really doubt he has an actual chance, though.

Your (very good, thanks!!) article reminds me I forgot to put this one here -- mostly interesting just for the fact that his book has become a best-seller, with some comparisons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/books/09obam.html
0 Replies
 
sozobe
 
  1  
Sun 12 Nov, 2006 09:52 am
You guys all know me well enough to know how much something like this would resonate with me, right? (Excerpt from his book, from Blatham's article.)

Quote:
Time dictated that I fill out only those questionnaires sent by organizations that might actually endorse me...so I could usually answer "yes" to most questions without any major discomfort. But every so often I would come across a question that gave me pause. I might agree with a union on the need to enforce labor and environmental standards in our trade laws, but did I believe that NAFTA should be repealed? I might agree that universal health care should be one of the nation's top priorities, but did it follow that a constitutional amendment was the best way to achieve that goal? I found myself hedging on such questions, writing in the margins, explaining the difficult policy choices involved. My staff would shake their heads. Get one answer wrong, they explained, and the endorsement, the workers, and the mailing list would all go to the other guy. Get them all right, I thought, and you have just locked yourself into the pattern of reflexive, partisan jousting that you have promised to help end.


I just love it.
0 Replies
 
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 12 Nov, 2006 01:18 pm
soz

That passage stood out for me as well. Nuance, complexity, honesty, reflection. How absolutely refreshing after this period of black/white, for us/against us, incurious and unreflective red meat marketing tricks.
0 Replies
 
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Sun 12 Nov, 2006 02:50 pm
Bush: If you're not with us, you're against us. It seems most of the American People are against Bush. What next?
0 Replies
 
blatham
 
  1  
Mon 13 Nov, 2006 05:33 am
Quote:
Obama's New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller

By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: November 9, 2006

Senator Barack Obama's new book is a blockbuster hit.

Propelled by a potent publicity cocktail of "Today," "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and major magazine covers, Senator Barack Obama's new book, "The Audacity of Hope," seemed primed for best-selling status.

But its rapid rise to the No. 1 spot on the New York Times nonfiction list next Sunday, placing the author, the freshman Democratic senator from Illinois, ahead of heavyweight authors like John Grisham, Bill O'Reilly and even Bob Woodward, is something of a publishing stunner
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/books/09obam.html?ref=books
0 Replies
 
Thomas
 
  1  
Mon 13 Nov, 2006 07:45 am
A recent glance a Pollingreport.com shows me that Obama is now second in line for the Democratic nomination. I have a funny feeling this is welcome news for some in this thread.

http://www.pollingreport.com/WH08dem.htm
0 Replies
 
JPB
 
  1  
Mon 13 Nov, 2006 08:37 am
Interesting, from Thomas' link:
Quote:
Preference for Democratic Presidential Nominee:


Candidate Dems (%) Dems +Inds (%)

Hillary Clinton 31 27

Barack Obama 19 21

Al Gore 10 9

John Kerry 10 8

John Edwards 6 7

Joseph Biden 2 2

....

Unsure 18 24


Very interesting, indeed. What I like about these numbers is the breakout between dems and dem+ind voters. which shows only a 6% gap with a large group in the undecided category on both columns. I don't think Hillary will swing many of the ind undecideds, but Obama might.
0 Replies
 
 

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