As Rules Committee Meets, Clinton Poised for Blowout Win in Puerto Rico

Photo credits: Getty Images

As the Democrats' Rules Committee meets today in Washington to resolve the Michigan and Florida dispute, the latest poll in Puerto Rico shows Hillary Clinton may be poised for another blowout win over Barack Obama this Sunday.

CNN reports:

“According to the new survey conducted for the newspaper El Vocero and Univision, Clinton is leading Obama there 51 percent to 38 percent among all adults in the primary.

“The poll also show 52 percent of Puerto Ricans view Clinton favorably while 42 percent view Obama favorably.

“The survey was conducted May 8-20. Given the length of the survey time, it is possible it may not reflect the current views of Puerto Ricans since both candidates have visited the island since the polling began, and other recent developments on the campaign trail may have swayed voters' minds there.

“Her popularity on the island caught the attention of one of the island's most famous pop stars Thursday.

‘“Ricky Martin endorsed Clinton for the Democratic nomination, saying, ‘Whether fighting for better education, universal health care and social well-being, as first lady and senator from New York -- representing millions of Latinos -- she has always fought for what is most important for our families.”’

Other developments since the latest poll taken in Puerto Rico might include Father Pfleger’s outrageous performance at Trinity UCC caught on video last Sunday.

In today’s Boston Globe, Scott Helman recaps: ‘“Just as he tries to begin uniting a fractured Democratic Party, Senator Barack Obama is suffering from another damaging outburst from the pulpit of his longtime church, where outspoken Chicago priest Michael L. Pfleger said in a guest sermon last Sunday that Senator Hillary Clinton was a ‘white’ and ‘entitled’ politician staggered to see ‘a black man stealing my show.”’

It remains to be seen how much the latest scandal emanating from Obama’s church will influence voters in the final three Democratic primaries: Puerto Rico on Sunday and Montana and South Dakota this coming Tuesday.

USA Today Has More on Father Pfleger

Ken Dilanian at USA Today has more on the Rev. Michael Pfleger. Dilanian reports that “the left-leaning Chicago Catholic priest who ridiculed Hillary Rodham Clinton this week in a racially-charged speech from the pulpit of Barack Obama's church, has contributed to Obama's state Senate campaigns, backed his ill-fated run for Congress and stumped for him in Iowa.”

Dilanian goes on to say:

“The episode has become fodder for right-wing bloggers and commentators, who call it the latest example of Obama's association with extremist views. Pfleger is a longtime Obama supporter who, until recently, served on a Catholics for Obama committee. Pfleger embraced the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's longtime pastor, even after Wright's controversial comments led the Democratic presidential candidate to disavow him.”

Additionally, Dilanian reports:

“Obama's spokesman, Ben LaBolt, was unable to say when Obama last spoke to Pfleger. LaBolt said Pfleger stepped down from the Catholics for Obama committee a few weeks ago, but he could not say why.

“He confirmed that Obama steered a $100,000 state grant in 2000 to a Pfleger-affiliated community program.

“Pfleger contributed $1,500 to Obama's state Senate campaigns from 1995-2001, Illinois records show.

“In 1999, Pfleger broke with many of Chicago's Democrats and supported Obama in his losing attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.

“Last year, Pfleger invited the Rev. Louis Farrakhan to speak at his church, St. Sabina, which encompasses a large, inner city African American parish.

‘“In response to the latest flap, Colleen Dolan, a spokesman for Cardinal Francis George's office told the Chicago Sun-Times: ‘The cardinal has made it clear to Father Pfleger in the past on more than one occasion that it's inappropriate to speak about political issues from the pulpit and that his own personal opinions are his own personal opinions.”’

Once can only conclude from watching the video of Pfleger’s tirade last Sunday, that many in the Trinity UCC congregation share the priest’s opinions; they rose from their seats repeatedly to applaud and shout their approval.

Campaign Counsel Supports Clinton’s Key Points On MI and FL

The Clinton campaign has released a letter from campaign counsel Lyn Utrecht making a detailed case for Clinton's key points: That the Rules & Bylaws Committee has the right to seat the full Florida and Michigan delegations, and that it should. Read the full letter here.

On Faith’s Berlinblau Names Pfleger the Finalist in Trinity’s Video Competition

It’s not surprising that Jaques Berlinerblau blogging at On Faith (Washington Post/Newsweek) has chimed in on the Father Pfleger controversy ignited by a rapidly circulating video of the Father’s Hillary bashing from the Trinity UCC pulpit last Sunday. Berlinerblau has little patience with this latest episode in the saga of Barack Obama’s faith journey in the Christian tradition:

“By the time you finish watching this YouTube video (which had about 95,000 showings as of this morning) it will be well on its way to reaching: 1) its one billionth viewing, and, 2) its one millionth close reading by Clinton and McCain staffers.

“The action took place last Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Yes. That Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago! This time, however, the valedictory is made not by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but by a white Chicago Catholic priest by the name of Rev. Michael Pfleger.

“During his sermon, Father Pfleger mocked Hillary Clinton's tears before the New Hampshire primary. He opines that she cried because she felt "entitled" because she is white "and there's a black man stealing my show.' Father Pfleger apologized late Thursday for the remarks, saying his sermon was "inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message.’

“But by delivering his remarks, Father Pfleger seems to have officially submitted his entry to the What Else Can We At Trinity Do to Further Assure that the United States Does Not Have Its First African-American President Any Time Soon? video competition. And this application has ‘Finalist’ marked all over it.”

Read More:

Father Pfleger’s Bad Timing in Bashing “White” Hillary

ABC’s Jake Tapper gauges Father Pfleger’s effect on the Rules Committee’s effort to resolve the MI and FL dilemma this Saturday. Tapper begins:

“The job of uniting the Democratic Party after a long and divisive primary season just got tougher, thanks to yet another Chicago Christian leader who's a longtime friend and associate of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

“Precisely at the time when Obama's camp needs to be building bridges to supporters of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who's known Obama for about 20 years, took to the pulpit of Obama's church Sunday and ridiculed Clinton, using racially divisive language.

“The timing could not be worse.

“The Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee will meet Saturday to hash out how to deal with the delegations of Florida and Michigan, which are going to be punished for ignoring party rules and holding early primaries.

“Clinton supporters plan on staging protests, insisting that the committee count the votes as cast, even though no candidate campaigned in either state and Obama wasn't on the ballot in Michigan.”

Read more:

Note: The media, Tapper included, almost always fails to mention that Barack Obama and John Edwards chose to take their names off the Michigan ballot and in derision asked their supporters to vote “uncommitted.” They hoped Clinton would be embarrassed by losing to “uncommitted.” Instead, she took Michigan.

The media also fails to mention that the Obama campaign violated the rules by running national ads in Florida. Again, voters turned out in droves to vote for Hillary Clinton.

Women’s Group Requests Study on Sexism, Racism, and Media Bias in Democratic Primary

In her cogent, well-written op-ed in Friday’s Boston Globe titled Healing the Wounds of Democrats’ Sexism, former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro has some breaking news for the Obama camp and its media allies.

Ferraro writes:

“Here we are at the end of the primary season, and the effects of racism and sexism on the campaign have resulted in a split within the Democratic Party that will not be easy to heal before election day. Perhaps it's because neither the Barack Obama campaign nor the media seem to understand what is at the heart of the anger on the part of women who feel that Hillary Clinton was treated unfairly because she is a woman or what is fueling the concern of Reagan Democrats for whom sexism isn't an issue, but reverse racism is.

“The reaction to the questions being raised has been not to listen to the message and try to find out how to deal with the problem, but rather to denigrate the messenger. Sore loser, petty, silly, vengeful are words that have dominated the headlines. But scolding and name calling don't resolve disputes. The truth is that tens of thousands of women have watched how Clinton has been treated and are not happy. We feel that if society can allow sexism to impact a woman's candidacy to deny her the presidency, it sends a direct signal that sexism is OK in all of society.

“In response, a group of women - from corporate executives to academics to members of the media - have requested that the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University and others conduct a study, which we will pay for if necessary, to determine three things.

“First, whether either the Clinton or Obama campaign engaged in sexism and racism; second, whether the media treated Clinton fairly or unfairly; and third whether certain members of the media crossed an ethical line when they changed the definition of journalist from reporter and commentator to strategist and promoter of a candidate. And if they did to suggest ethical guidelines which the industry might adopt.”

To read Ferraro’s entire op-ed, go here.

South Dakota’s Largest Newspaper Endorses Hillary Clinton

The editorial board of South Dakota’s largest newspaper, the Argus Leader, announced today its endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton for president.

It was during her interview at the Argus Leader that Clinton mentioned that RFK in 1968 and Bill Clinton in 1992 campaigned until June.

I’ve copied the editorial board’s statement from today’s ArgusLeader.com and pasted it below:

May 30, 2008

Editorial: Clinton is top candidate for Dems

Editorial Board
Argus Leader

For the first time in memory, every state will play a role in choosing a nominee for the nation's highest office.

Some of those parts are small, but not ours: as one of the last two primary elections, South Dakota Democrats suddenly and improbably find themselves in a starring role.

That's an unlikely turn of events, as our state has improbably become a battleground in the long, hard race between two Senators seeking a spot at the top of the Democratic ticket: Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York.

The process feels similar at times, but the goal of a primary election is different from the race voters will decide in November. Our endorsement also is different. We will judge the candidates in this fall's general election when that time comes.

Obama could certainly become one of those candidates in the days ahead - at the time of this writing, his mathematical advantage is considerable. His appeal also is clear, and his campaign has been strong.

But Clinton is the strongest Democratic candidate for South Dakota.

Her mastery of complex policy detail is broad and deep, and her experience as a senator and former first lady matches that.

Measured against her opponent, Clinton is philosophically more moderate. That is likely a good thing for South Dakota.

Clinton's energy policy is forward thinking and wise. She advocates a broad federal research initiative to help solve our looming oil crisis. It's a plan that would join university researchers, private industry and individual inventors behind a common goal.

Is ethanol part of the answer? Clinton believes it is but not necessarily corn ethanol.

That is not precisely the answer South Dakota wants to hear. Corn-based ethanol has been a boon for farmers here. But the simple fact is that she probably is correct. Advances in cellulosic ethanol technologies could render corn ethanol obsolete and wasteful. Happily, South Dakota is poised to be a major player in the push to experiment with other kinds of ethanol.

Clinton has demonstrated a real commitment to Native American issues and will have visited several South Dakota reservations before the race is over. Clinton is precisely correct when she says that people outside the region have a poor understanding of the troubling trends on our reservations. Federal attention could help. That includes but is not limited to higher-ranking posts in the federal bureaucracy.

Her truly universal health care plan would be welcomed by thousands of South Dakotans. Even on reservations, where health care is nominally universal already, such a plan would be welcome. The federal government would never be allowed to subject everyday Americans to the kind of care Native Americans living on reservations routinely receive.

Obama is justifiably credited as a powerful speaker, but Clinton holds her own easily. As those who have attended her South Dakota rallies can attest, she is quick on her feet and energetic. She frames her ideas clearly in speeches and answers questions with genuine directness.

Her resilience and determination never should be questioned. She has met or overcome every challenge or roadblock in her way, and there have been many. Her determination to carry the nomination process through to its real conclusion has perhaps earned her a grudging respect from those who would never support her.

Clinton might not win this race. In fact, it's a long shot. But whatever some might say, the race is not over, and her name is on the ballot. Win or lose, she's also the best Democratic candidate for South Dakota.

Obama, the Old-Style Chicago Politician, Plays Hardball

The Obama camp, in league with its media allies and using every tactic at its disposal, has been trying to force Hillary Clinton out of the Democratic race ever since New Hampshire. The DNC Rules Committee meets this Saturday and CNN’s Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston remind readers that Barack Obama resorted to similar old-style Chicago political tactics to eliminate his opponents in his first race for office, when he sought a state Senate seat on Chicago's South Side in 1996.

Read More.

Obama Supporter: “I guess we’re just not nice people”

There are a few of us who continue to be shocked by the comments by Obama supporters who swarm the message boards across the internet. I picked up the comment
below from the Huffington Post this morning. The writer was responding to the video of Father Pfleger’s tirade against Hillary Clinton last Sunday at Obama’s church, Trinity UCC.

“Father Pfleger was so funny. I swear I tried to be appalled but I couldn't hold back the laughter. Neither could my husband. I guess we're just not nice people.

“Independent for Obama 08”

I guess not.

Clinton Campaign Statement on Father Pfleger’s Offensive Comments

Watching the videotape of Father Pfleger’s diatribe last Sunday against Hillary Clinton at Obama’s church, it’s apparent the congregation grooves with their guest preacher’s politicized sermon; they laugh boisterously, applaud, stand up, and shout approval.

Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, led until recently by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is where Barack and Michele Obama have been members for 20 years. The Democratic party’s presumptive nominee, rapidly approaching coronation, stepped out of that religious context to present himself as a post-racial candidate with the power to unite the nation.

Following this latest embarrassment by one of his religious mentors, Obama issued a lukewarm statement of regret for Pfleger’s outrageous performance from behind Trinity’s pulpit.

Not surprisingly, the Clinton campaign – probably still in shock from this latest demonstration of bad faith by Obama supporters – has deemed his apology inadequate:

Here’s the statement issued by Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s communication director:

"Divisive and hateful language like that is totally counterproductive in our efforts to bring our party together and has no place at the pulpit or in our politics. We are disappointed that Senator Obama didn't specifically reject Father Pflegler's despicable comments about Senator Clinton, and assume he will do so.”

In the run-up to the DNC Rules Committee meeting this Saturday and the party’s last three primaries, Obama and company has already been planning its strategy against John McCain in the general election.

Once again – and with good reason - Clinton supporters are shouting, “Not so fast!”

Obama Apologizes for Pastor’s Mockery of “White” Hillary

Jeff Zeleny posts this afternoon at the Caucus (NY Times):

“Senator Barack Obama apologized on Thursday for new controversial statements delivered from the pulpit of his Chicago church. This time, the words were not from his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., but rather from a Catholic priest who was mocking Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

The Catholic priest was Father Michael Pfleger who was videotaped last Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ. Watch the video here.

Zeleny reports:

‘“Mr. Obama, through a statement released to reporters, said he was ‘deeply disappointed.’

‘“As I have traveled this country, I’ve been impressed by not what divides us, but by all that that unites us,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger’s divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn’t reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause.’

Apparently Father Pfleger also apologized:

‘“Mr. Pfleger, who is the pastor of Saint Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago, a largely black congregation, said he regretted the words he preached last Sunday.

‘“These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama’s life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them,’ he said in a statement released to reporters by his church.”

Father Pfleger is sorry if his words offended Senator Clinton…

New Ads for Hillary in Montana and Puerto Rico

The Clinton campaign is running a new ad in Montana, and the American Leadership Project, a pro-Clinton 527 group, is running ads in Montana and Puerto Rico.

To watch the new ads, go here and here. (The American Leadership Project is also running a Spanish-language ad in Puerto Rico.)

Father Pfleger Mocks “Entitled” and “White” Hillary at Trinity UCC

After calling white America to account for the sins of its ancestors, Father Michael Pfleger mocks "entitled" and "white" Hillary Clinton at Trinity United Church of Christ. Seeing is believing: Lynn Sweet has posted the video at her blog; to watch Father Pfleger in action, go here.

Obama’s Puerto Rican Campaign Co-Director Exposed as Government Lobbyist

In the run up to a busy weekend for Democrats, Obama is encountering a few obstacles. The self-described harbinger of the “new politics” and loud opponent of lobbyists is in trouble in Puerto Rico, Jeffrey Birnbaum reported in the Washington Post just minutes ago:

“The co-director of Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Puerto Rico is a Washington-based federal lobbyist for the government of Puerto Rico.”

Ah, but the Obama campaign has a ready excuse, explains Birmbaum:

“Ethics watchdogs said that the high-profile role of Francisco J. Pavía appears to contradict the Obama campaign's ethics guidelines, which forbid federal lobbyists from working on staff. But Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Pavía is an "active volunteer" -- not a paid staffer -- and can hold the job without running afoul of the campaign's rules.”

Birnbaum reminds us:

“Obama has criticized McCain for enlisting ‘some of the biggest lobbyists in Washington’ to run his presidential campaign. McCain has instituted tough new rules against lobbyists working for his campaign, which recently led to the resignation of five senior McCain advisers, including his top fundraiser, Tom Loeffler.”

Obama’s organization isn’t exactly clean:

“But Obama's rules also have been somewhat ambiguous. Some of his campaign's volunteer policy advisers are lobbyists. And at least one lobbyist said he was asked to take a leave of absence from his firm before he volunteered for the campaign.”

Birmbaum checked with Melanie Sloan of the Citizens for responsibility and Ethics in Washington who said:

‘"It sounds like a conflict with Obama's policy. They need to provide an explanation."’

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton hedged:

“Burton said that Pavía's role with the campaign was permissible but that the rules were not airtight. ‘This is not a perfect solution to the influence of special interests in Washington,’ he said. "But it is a symbol of the effort that Senator Obama is going to make to decrease the influence that the special interests do have.”’

Not only has the haloed Obama's lobbyist on staff in Puerto Rico been exposed this week, it seems BO couldn’t get his story straight when he reported on Memorial Day that his uncle had helped Americans liberate Auschwitz. Fox News quickly pointed out “two obvious problems with the tale: Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army, and Obama’s American mother was an only child.”

The Obama camp quickly issued a statement:

‘“Senator Obama’s family is proud of the service of his grandfather and uncles in World War II — especially the fact that his great uncle was a part of liberating one of the concentration camps at Buchenwald,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. “Yesterday he mistakenly referred to Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald in telling of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically.”’

For someone whose eloquence is often praised, Obama has made his share of troublesome gaffes.

Hillary Makes Her Case to the Superdelegates

Hillary Clinton sent the following letter to each of the uncommitted superdelegates to make her case as the candidate most likely to defeat John McCain.

Dear ___________,

The stakes in this election are so high: with two wars abroad, our economy in crisis here at home, and so many families struggling across America, the need for new leadership has never been greater.

At this point, we do not yet have a nominee – and when the last votes are cast on June 3, neither Senator Obama nor I will have secured the nomination. It will be up to automatic delegates like you to help choose our party’s nominee, and I would like to tell you why I believe I am the stronger candidate against Senator McCain and would be the best President and Commander in Chief.

Voters in every state have made it clear that they want to be heard and counted as part of this historic race. And as we reach the end of the primary season, more than 17 million people have supported me in my effort to become the Democratic nominee – more people than have ever voted for a potential nominee in the history of our party. In the past two weeks alone, record numbers of voters participated in the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. And with 40 and 35 point margins of victory, it is clear that even when voters are repeatedly told this race is over, they’re not giving up on me – and I am not giving up on them either.

After seven years of feeling invisible to the Bush administration, Americans are seeking a President who is strong, experienced, and ready to take on our toughest challenges, from serving as Commander in Chief and ending the war in Iraq to turning our economy around. They want a President who shares their core beliefs about our country and its future and “gets” what they go through every day to care for their families, pay the bills and try to put something away for the future.

We simply cannot afford another four – or eight – years in the wilderness. That is why, everywhere I go, people come up to me, grip my hand or arm, and urge me to keep on running. That is why I continue in this race: because I believe I am best prepared to lead this country as President – and best prepared to put together a broad coalition of voters to break the lock Republicans have had on the electoral map and beat Senator McCain in November.

Recent polls and election results show a clear trend: I am ahead in states that have been critical to victory in the past two elections. From Ohio, to Pennsylvania, to West Virginia and beyond, the results of recent primaries in battleground states show that I have strong support from the regions and demographics Democrats need to take back the White House. I am also currently ahead of Senator McCain in Gallup national tracking polls, while Senator Obama is behind him. And nearly all independent analyses show that I am in a stronger position to win the Electoral College, primarily because I lead Senator McCain in Florida and Ohio. I’ve enclosed a detailed analysis of recent electoral and polling information, and I hope you will take some time to review it carefully.

In addition, when the primaries are finished, I expect to lead in the popular vote and in delegates earned through primaries. Ultimately, the point of our primary process is to pick our strongest nominee – the one who would be the best President and Commander in Chief, who has the greatest support from members of our party, and who is most likely to win in November. So I hope you will consider not just the strength of the coalition backing me, but also that more people will have cast their votes for me.

I am in this race for them — for all the men and women I meet who wake up every day and work hard to make a difference for their families. People who deserve a shot at the American dream – the chance to save for college, a home and retirement; to afford quality health care for their families; to fill the gas tank and buy the groceries with a little left over each month.

I am in this race for all the women in their nineties who’ve told me they were born before women could vote, and they want to live to see a woman in the White House. For all the women who are energized for the first time, and voting for the first time. For the little girls – and little boys – whose parents lift them onto their shoulders at our rallies, and whisper in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.” As the first woman ever to be in this position, I believe I have a responsibility to them.

Finally, I am in this race because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Senator Obama and I both make our case – and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard – everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.

In the end, I am committed to unifying this party. What Senator Obama and I share is so much greater than our differences; and no matter who wins this nomination, I will do everything I can to bring us together and move us forward.

But at this point, neither of us has crossed the finish line. I hope that in the time remaining, you will think hard about which candidate has the best chance to lead our party to victory in November. I hope you will consider the results of the recent primaries and what they tell us about the mindset of voters in the key battleground states. I hope you will think about the broad and winning coalition of voters I have built. And most important, I hope you will think about who is ready to stand on that stage with Senator McCain, fight for the deepest principles of our party, and lead our country forward into this new century.

Gallup: Clinton Wins Predictive of General Election Results

Late word from Gallup’s Lydia Saad confirms Hillary Clinton’s argument that her primary wins in swing states are indicative of general-election results:

“In the 20 states where Hillary Clinton has claimed victory in the 2008 Democratic primary and caucus elections (winning the popular vote), she has led John McCain in Gallup Poll Daily trial heats for the general election over the past two weeks of Gallup Poll Daily tracking by 50% to 43%. In those same states, Barack Obama is about tied with McCain among national registered voters, 45% to 46%.”

Read More.

New Video: American Idol Obama vs. Supergirl Clinton

So if you liked Shut the Freud Up’s two previous videos here and here, you’re gonna love the third one, just the boost Hillary fans need as we approach the Democratic party’s Rules Committee meeting on Saturday, Puerto Rico’s primary on Sunday, and the Montana and South Dakota state primaries the following Tuesday. Go now to American Idol Obama vs. Supergirl Clinton.

Must See Video: Misogyny in the Media

Howard Kurtz, Washington Post staff writer, moderates a women’s panel on misogyny in the media. Watch video here.

Eugene Robinson, Obsessive-Compulsive Obama Supporter, Loses Both His Mind and His Soul

In today’s Washington Post, Eugene Robinson titled his latest Hillary-bashing screed, Clinton’s Grim Scenario. We all know the lengths Robinson will go to promote Obama in the Democratic race, nonetheless, the depravity of this morning’s attack on Clinton is enough to shock any normal person.

Completely disregarding the facts surrounding Clinton’s comments during and subsequent to her interview with the Argus Leader editorial board last Friday, Robinson begins his tirade as follows:

“A woman uniformly described by her close friends as genuine, principled and sane has been reduced to citing the timing of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination as a reason to stay in the race -- an argument that is ungenuine, unprincipled and insane. She vows to keep pushing, perhaps all the way to the convention in August. What manner of disintegration is yet to come?”

Mr. Robinson seems oblivious to the events since Clinton referenced the fact that both her husband and RFK campaigned until June to put the length of the 2008 primary in perspective.

Clinton’s campaign immediately issued a clarification of her remarks.

A short time later, Clinton personally expressed regrets that her remarks offended anyone.

A member of the Argus Leader editorial board publicly set her remarks in context.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. stepped forward to publicly support Clinton.

Clinton wrote an op-ed in response to the media firestorm the Obama camp had helped fuel by handing out copies of Keith Olberman’s predictably hate-filled reaction to the press.

Barack Obama publicly accepted Clinton’s apology.

In addition to the above developments, John F. Harris, senior editor at Politico.com (former staff member of the Washington Post) essentially stated in his post on Sunday that Clinton’s comment was a non-story hyped by the media for the sole purpose of increasing site traffic, ethical standards in journalism be damned.

Robinson concluded today’s column with an over-the-top suggestion that Hillary Clinton was in danger of losing her soul.

Mr. Robinson, this writer is concerned that in your obsessive-compulsive, idolatry of Barack Obama, you lost both your mind and your soul some time ago.

Your wildly flailing, desperate attempts to destroy Hillary Clinton suggest that unconsciously at least you’re aware she is the better qualified candidate and that even though the Obama camp and its media allies anointed Obama the nominee months ago, you are still seriously threatened by Clinton’s presence in the campaign.

But then, she is still winning. Let’s see, she’s won six of the last eight state primaries: OH, TX, PA, IN, WVA, and KY; Obama has won OR and NC.

P.S.

She's loved in Puerto Rico; here comes another win.

Clinton Empathizes With Puerto Rican Family on Memorial Day

Writing for the Caucus (NY Times), Larry Rohter provides a little background information for his coverage of Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Memorial Day in Bayamon, Puerto Rico:

“Traditionally, Puerto Ricans have both served in the Armed Forces and died in combat in numbers disproportionate to their share of the population. So it rankles many on the island that, even as their sons and daughters are serving with distinction in Iraq and Afghanistan, they do not enjoy all of the same rights and privileges of citizenship as other Americans.”

Rohter gives Clinton credit for her awareness of that sentiment picked up from conversations with former governor Carlos Romero Barcelo and others. Rohter reports that Clinton reiterated her opposition to the Iraq War and promised a better deal for veterans if she is elected president.

At the home of a family whose son has been deployed to Iraq, Rohter says Clinton’s message was clear despite the language barrier:

‘“When I’m president, we will begin ending the war in Iraq, and you won’t have to worry about him going back,’ she told the couple after they showed her a picture of their son in his uniform. Mr. Rivera, a 59-year-old maintenance worker at a neighborhood recreation center, explained that the young man had enlisted right out of high school because good jobs are scarce here, and threw a compliment Mrs. Clinton’s way.

‘“You don’t get old, you know,’ he said. Mrs. Clinton laughed, turned to Ms. Santiago and said: ‘No wonder you married him.”’

Noting that Puerto Ricans living on the mainland have the right to vote in presidential elections, but the 4 million people living in Puerto Rico do not, Mrs. Clinton said it made her unhappy that “when Jonathan Rivera’s military service ends and he returns home, he will relinquish the possibility of voting for president.”

According to Rohter’s report, Clinton was scheduled to make remarks with a Memorial Day theme and to lay a wreath in Old San Juan to the Puerto Rican soldiers who have fallen while fighting America’s wars.

Hillary Dances in Puerto Rico

On the trail in Puerto Rico with Hillary Clinton, Aaron Bruns from Fox News says the candidate is having a much-needed happy day.

Read Aaron’s report and watch Hillary dance on video here.

A Few Thoughts on Memorial Day

I snapped the above photo at a neighborhood park several days ago. VB

Yesterday morning, my church fellowship in St. Paul was treated to a recital by our pianist, a recent graduate from an area college, who will soon be leaving for an out-of-state teaching position.

After the service, several of us regrouped around sidewalk tables in front of a nearby café, grateful for an opportunity to spend time together outdoors on a balmy afternoon.

I arrived home at around 2:00 p.m.

At 4:37 p.m. a tornado warning was issued for the Hugo area, a northeastern suburb of St. Paul. The tornado struck minutes later, taking the life of a two-year-old and injuring eight others. Another tornado left seven dead in Iowa, Minnesota’s neighbor to the south.

The storm-related tragedies in our vicinity this weekend evoked memories of the widespread disasters wrought by earthquakes and violent storms in China and in Myanmar in recent weeks. I just checked the latest reports, and the death toll in China’s Sichuan province has reached 55,239.

Memorial Day is traditionally a day to honor those who have died in our nation's service and with the continuation of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the death toll continues to rise.

For many of us, Memorial Day is also a time for decorating the graves of friends and loved ones whose memories we continue to cherish.

I believe it’s appropriate on Memorial Day to include in our thoughts and prayers those among us whose grief is still fresh and raw from the loss of loved ones, whatever the cause.

And as long as we’re remembering those who are suffering, let’s make room in our hearts on this day for all those whose lives are burdened with physical or emotional pain, oppression, or anxiety about the future.

To that end, I offer once again the healing power of the ancient Buddhist Loving Kindness Prayer:

(Substitute whatever pronoun or name you choose for “we”)

May we be filled with loving kindness;
May we be safe from all internal and external harm;
May we be as healed and whole as possible;
May we be peaceful and ease;
May we be happy.

Peace to all this Memorial Day, May 26, 2008,

Virginia

Sunday, May 25, latest polls: Clinton, McCain, Obama

Gallup: Clinton leads McCain and Obama

Clinton leads McCain 49-45.
McCain leads Obama 47-45.

Rasmussen:

Clinton leads McCain by 3
McCain leads Obama by 2

Newsweek:

Clinton leads McCain 48-44
McCain and Obama tie 44-44

Rank and File Democrats Say “No!” to Obama

Photo credits: AP

Paul Lukasiak, guest posting at TaylorMarsh yesterday, explains in startling detail, backed up with charts and graphs, how rank and file Democrats are rejecting Barack Obama, their ‘inevitable’ nominee and voting for Hillary Clinton.

“Ever since the media declared that Barack Obama was “inevitable” after February 19th, based on a two week period when the an unprepared Hillary Clinton campaign suffered “10 straight losses”, rank and file Democratic voters have been sending a message. Rather than rally ‘round the “inevitable nominee” that message has been a consistent, loud, and clear message to the Democratic Party – DO NOT WANT.

“In nearly every demographic category since February 19, Clinton percentage of the vote has risen, while Obama’s has fallen. This includes Obama’s supposed “strong” demographic categories such as voters with college degrees post-graduate degrees and voters whose income is above the national median. And Clinton beat Obama in the primaries in March, April and May in most of the major categories.

Read More.

Without his Teleprompter and Vaporous Generalities, Obama Stumbles

Photo credits: AP

Thomas Lifson in his post at the American Thinker this morning reminds us of a gaffe made by Obama in an interview with Jeff Goldberg in the Atlantic published a couple of weeks ago.

Lifson recalls:

“When we noted that Barack Obama uttered the following gaffe, we were inundated with protests that he didn't mean to say what he clearly said to the Atlantic:


“Q: Jeff Goldberg:--- Do you think that Israel is a drag on America's reputation overseas?


“A: Obama: --- No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions.


“The antecedent in the question was Israel, so ‘constant wound’ and ‘constant sore’ logically refer to Israel.”

Lifson compares the kid-glove treatment Obama receives for his gaffe in the Atlantic to the weekend firestorm over Clinton’s RFK comment to the Argus Leader editorial board in South Dakota.

“Many of the same people who excused this Obama gaffe, and many others (57 states, 10,000 tornado victims, etc.) now declare Hillary out of the race, and so do many others in the media. Because the media has decided this gaffe is fatal, it shall be so. Our own Rick Moran is among them. They are probably all correct that Hillary's race to convince super delegates is now hopeless, thanks to the negative PR.”

Refusing to write Hillary off, Lifson predicts she’ll take it to the convention, and he highlights some “notable aspects” to the reactions to her RFK comment:

“1. Once again Obama and his partisans take deep personal offense when his name is not even mentioned. Obama is, to himself and his partisans, so significant that any mention of anything that might tangentially be directed at him amounts to a personal attack. The president warns agains appeasement and that is a vicious attack on Obama. Hillary marks a memorable campaign with the most memorable event associated with it, and it is thought to amount to a call for killing her opponent. For a guy with a Teflon coating, he certainly bruises easily.


“2. Many assume that this kills any chance of Obama inviting her on the ticket as second banana. I beg to differ.


“If Obama decides it is useful to have her as veep candidate, he will look all the more magnanimous by inviting her on the ticket. This incident adds to her value to him. Of course, Michelle Obama is all the more likely to veto any offer. I doubt this ticket will happen anyway, but the gaffe doesn't make it less likely.


“3. Hillary will fight on, with even more vigor. Even if she thinks she has no chance at the nomination. She will want even more to redeem herself and her name by proving she is serious about the race, and this gaffe was not a telling revelation of her innermost darkness. Quitting now would be an admission of guilt.


“4. Assuming she loses the nomination, Hillary is even more likely to avoid helping Obama win. She must resent deeply that the press has turned on her. Watching this younger inexperienced man trump her victim card and entice the press into treating her like Newt Gingrich has got to rankle. Hillary Clinton knows about resentment, and the power of that emotion to motivate and energize a body into ever-greater efforts.


“5. Now that gaffes are a big issue, there could be blowback for Obama, who is prone to them when not relying on a teleprompter and vaporous generalizations. Politics is a chess game, and you have to remember that there are more moves ahead.


“6. I can't count the times I have heard the expression "the race is over" and "Hillary should concede." The people writing that have been wrong. They still are. Probably.

Bill Clinton: the Media’s Disrespectful Treatment of Hillary

Bill Clinton gets it right in his talk on behalf of Hillary in South Dakota today. ABC’s Sara Amos reports:

“Former President Bill Clinton in South Dakota today delivered a harsh critique of how his wife has been treated during her presidential bid, telling the crowd that he has ‘never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running,’ and that, ‘she will win the general election if you nominate her. They're just trying to make sure you don't.’

“Clinton spent more than six minutes calmly discussing what he called a ‘frantic effort to push her out’ of this race, saying that no one asked Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson or Gary Hart to end their presidential campaigns early.

‘“Clinton also spoke against bullying superdelegates to make up their minds, saying, ‘I cant believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these superdelegates to come out. 'Oh, this is so terrible: The people they want her. Oh, this is so terrible: She is winning the general election, and he is not. Oh my goodness, we have to cover this up.”’

Read More:

“What Causes the Media Machine To Rev Up Its Hype Jets?”

Politico’s John F. Harris agrees with my several posts this weekend expressing relative degrees of disgust with the media for its tabloid coverage of the non-story from Hillary Clinton’s interview with the Argus Leader editorial board in South Dakota. Harris is apparently as stunned as I was to discover that leaders in the MSM are no longer setting the agenda for journalistic standards, but are instead following the noise made by sites like the Huffington Post, the blogosphere’s version of the National Enquirer and incidentally a major mouthpiece for Barack Obama.

Harris cites different causes than I have for the deterioration of journalistic standards so evident this weekend. I’ve zeroed in on the media’s adolescent crush on Barack Obama that compels unrelenting efforts to drive Hillary Clinton out of the race. Harris’ analysis focuses on the absence of proportionality and what differentiates a non-story from a big news story. He correctly labels the weekend’s uproar over Clinton’s RFK comment as much ado about nothing.

And Harris' post offers an interesting look at other possible motivations for online news outlets like the Washington Post, the NY Times, ABC, CBS, and NBC to abandon professional standards in news reporting.

“The signature defect of modern political journalism is that it has shredded the ideal of proportionality.

“Important stories, sometimes the product of months of serious reporting, that in an earlier era would have captured the attention of the entire political-media community and even redirected the course of a presidential campaign, these days can disappear with barely a whisper.”

Here’s a thought:

“Trivial stories — the kind that are tailor-made for forwarding to your brother-in-law or college roommate with a wisecracking note at the top — can dominate the campaign narrative for days.”

“Who can guess what stories will cause the media machine to rev up its hype jets?”

“Actually, I have gotten pretty good at guessing which ones will. So have many of my colleagues and a generation of political operatives.”

Harris and I are definitely in agreement here:

“This weekend’s uproar over Hillary Rodham Clinton invoking the assassination of Robert Kennedy as rationale for continuing her presidential campaign is an especially vivid example of modern journalism as hyperkinetic child — overstimulated by speed and hunger for a head-turning angle that will draw an audience.

“The truth about what Clinton said — and any fair-minded appraisal of what she meant — was entirely beside the point.”

Harris' post is three pages long; to read more, go here:

Wake-up Call to the DNC: “The People Are Speaking; Is Our Party Listening?”

Cross posting at TaylorMarsh, Texasdarlin issues a wake-up call to the DNC: “The people are speaking. Is our party listening?”

She recalls Obama’s boast of his power to sway the populace:

“Early in the primaries, Barack Obama promised that he would win more people over the longer he campaigned. He said that every state becomes an "Obama state" once he goes there. But an interesting thing happened as winter turned to spring, and the people kept voting in record numbers. Hillary Clinton stole the momentum. Her popularity soared; her appeal broadened; and she steadfastly became the darling of the masses, even as Barack was crowned darling of the mass media”

But then New Hampshire failed to become an Obama state, and Hillary took off:

“It started back in New Hampshire, when Hillary "found her voice," but what really happened is that the American people have found Hillary. And there's nothing like raw data to illustrate the point:

“*Electoral-Vote.com shows Hillary gaining steam against McCain, now leading by a whopping 110 EV's (315 to 206), with Hillary winning key states like Florida, North Carolina, and West Virginia. (Obama trails McCain by 30 EV's.)

“*Over the last three months, Hillary has won more contests, gained more votes, and earned more delegates. Since March 4th, she has gained nearly 500,000 more popular votes than Barack Obama as voters in crucial battleground states have made their voices known.

“*More Americans have voted for Hillary than any other presidential candidate this cycle. In fact, more people have voted for Hillary than any other primary candidate in history - nearly 18 million so far.

“*Last Tuesday Hillary won 150,000 more votes than Obama in Kentucky and Oregon, even though delegate counts will be split fairly evenly.

“*Hillary has now won nearly 64,000 more votes than Obama in total, when all caucuses and primaries are included.”

Read More:

For the Pundits and Politicians, Hillary Sets the Record Straight

Now that Obama has acknowledged that he knew better than to believe the Drudge Report’s distorted version of Hillary Clinton’s comments from the Argus Leader interview in South Dakota, all loyal Democrats should take a step back and extend Hillary Clinton the courtesy of reading her op-ed on the subject first published in this morning’s New York Daily News.

Hillary: Why I continue to run

This past Friday, during a meeting with a newspaper editorial board, I was asked about whether I was going to continue in the presidential race.

I made clear that I was - and that I thought the urgency to end the 2008 primary process was unprecedented. I pointed out, as I have before, that both my husband's primary campaign, and Sen. Robert Kennedy's, had continued into June.

Almost immediately, some took my comments entirely out of context and interpreted them to mean something completely different - and completely unthinkable.

I want to set the record straight: I was making the simple point that given our history, the length of this year's primary contest is nothing unusual. Both the executive editor of the newspaper where I made the remarks, and Sen. Kennedy's son, Bobby Kennedy Jr., put out statements confirming that this was the clear meaning of my remarks. Bobby stated, "I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense."

I realize that any reference to that traumatic moment for our nation can be deeply painful - particularly for members of the Kennedy family, who have been in my heart and prayers over this past week. And I expressed regret right away for any pain I caused.

But I was deeply dismayed and disturbed that my comment would be construed in a way that flies in the face of everything I stand for - and everything I am fighting for in this election.

Read More.

Obama’s Better-Late-Than-Never Gestures of Goodwill Toward Clinton

Scanning the online news coverage this morning, it appeared the media had nearly spent its faux outrage at Clinton’s remarks on Friday about earlier Democratic campaigns that had lasted until June – the former first lady and New York senator was expressing understandable bewilderment at the repeated attempts by Obama supporters and his media allies to force her out of the race before the primaries were over.

According to Kate Seelye’s “retrospective” posted at the Caucus (NY Times), the flames were initially ignited by a Drudge Report link to an online New York Post item, which had already stamped Clinton’s comments with its own slanderous interpretation: “She is still in the presidential race, she said today, because historically, it makes no sense to quit, and added that, ‘Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June,’ making an odd comparison between the dead candidate and Barack Obama.”

Note the Post’s use of the phrase 'dead candidate' to deliberately exacerbate the situation. Never mind qualms about ethical journalism; our vigilant press was all over it.

The Obama camp was quick to add a gallon or two of gasoline to the flames:

“By then,” Seelye reports, “the Obama campaign had issued a statement, linking to the Post item and saying her comment ‘was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign.’ Privately, we were told, the Obama camp was livid.”

In the midst of the uproar, one online news source stood out from the pack of loudly bleating sheep: ABC’s Teddy Davis And Talal Al-Khatib with Eloise Harper challenged the Obama team’s over-reaction, suggesting that Obama was not living up to his commitment to show good faith to others that he describes in his book, The Audacity of Hope.

Obama was a couple of days late when he finally chose to do the right thing; he waited until Hillary Clinton had endured yet another prolonged onslaught of abuse from his supporters and media allies. As quoted in Political Intelligence (Boston Globe), the so-called presumptive nominee had stepped forward to say he would take Senator Clinton’s word that she did not intend any offense by her comment.

I seem to recall that Obama also waited until the damage had been done after his campaign had attempted to smear the Clintons as racists prior to his win in South Carolina. It was several weeks later that Obama hung his head during a televised debate to grudgingly admit: “The Clintons are not racists.”

The rest of the world had long been aware of that fact.

Has the Media Lost Its Collective Mind in Trying to Force Clinton Out?

Photo credits: AP

You have to wonder if the media – the MSM and the blogosphere combined – has lost its collective mind.

Here’s the non-story in a nutshell for those who have been on another planet for the past two days: in her comments during an interview Friday with the editorial board of the Argus Leader in South Dakota, Hillary Clinton mentioned two prior Democratic campaigns that went on until June: RFK’s in 1968 and Bill Clinton’s in 1992. Her point, as I’ve now posted three times here at Katalusis, was that a Democratic primary running into June was not unprecedented.

The uproar has since been unabated. One expects the Huffington Post to jump on every word Clinton says, twist it beyond recognition, and spread it in 3-inch red letters in a banner headline on the homepage, accompanied by the most garish photo of Clinton its editorial staff can find.

But the Washington Post, the NY Times, the LA Times, The Associated Press… all trying to outdo one another with warmed over analyses of yesterday’s shabby tabloid reports?

What does it take to jar the media into responsible journalism?

So far the Clinton campaign has published a clarification in response to the Obama camp’s immediate farfetched interpretation of her remarks; Clinton followed up the earlier clarification with a personal statement, including an apology; a member of the Argus Leader editorial board in South Dakota supported Clinton by putting her remarks in context; and RFK’s son, Robert Kennedy, Jr., has spoken out on her behalf.

Still the boys in the press, along with their codependent female allies, keep pouring gasoline on the flames. You have to conclude that even though they’ve declared Obama the presumptuous nominee for weeks now, his devoted supporters are so threatened by Clinton’s presence in the campaign, they compulsively do whatever they believe it will take to force her out.

But despite their best efforts, the uppity Hillary has had the gall, not only to keep running, but to keep winning. Since March, she’s won Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Indiana with blowouts in West Virginia, and Kentucky; Obama has won North Carolina and Oregon.

At the moment, she’s campaigning in Puerto Rico where she’s expected to score another major victory. Rumor has it she’s getting her message out with batucada percussion ensembles and mobile loudspeakers playing reggaeton chants.

Go Hillary!

In Latest Attack on Clinton, Obama’s “Good Faith” Turns up Missing

Update:

Must-reads on Hilary’s RFK comment by Riverdaughter:

Two More Thoughts on RFK/1968

Where Was Arianna in 1968?

RFK and the 1968 Primary

*****

In yesterday’s post, I let the media have it for its sensationalized tabloid coverage of Hillary Clinton’s remarks during an interview with the editorial board of the Argus Leader, but I neglected to confront the Obama camp for its ridiculous response to her mention of RFK. As noted earlier, Clinton was simply reminding people the duration of the 2008 Democratic primary was not without precedence by mentioning two earlier campaigns that extended into June: RFK’s in 1968 and Bill Clinton’s in 1992.

ABC’s Teddy Davis And Talal Al-Khatib with Eloise Harper challenge the Obama team’s over-reaction in their article this morning, suggesting that Obama is not living up to his self-described image as the harbinger of the “new” politics.

The article begins:

“Ending the "smallness of our politics" is the stated mission of Barack Obama's White House run.

“In ‘The Audacity of Hope,’ Obama recalls how he softened his website's harsh rhetoric on abortion in 2004 after he received an email from a pro-life doctor.

‘“[T]hat night, before I went to bed,’ wrote Obama, ‘I said a prayer of my own -- that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me.’

“No such ‘presumption of good faith’ was extended to Hillary Clinton on Friday.”’

Read More.

Kudos to ABC for an article that puts this entire incident in perspective and reminds us of the concept of “good faith” that too often gets thrown by the wayside in the heat of a political campaign.

Tabloid Journalism At Its Finest

In an interview with the editorial board of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader today, Hillary Clinton commented that people had been trying to push her out of the Democratic race since Iowa. When asked why, she replied that she didn’t know. She mentioned that Bill Clinton had not wrapped up his campaign in 1992 until the middle of June and that Robert Kennedy was still on the trail in June at the time of his assassination.

In good tabloid style, the media immediately seized on Clinton’s reference to Bobby Kennedy’s death to twist and distort a comment intended only to emphasize that the duration of the 2008 Democratic primary has not been unprecedented.

In response to the media’s attempted smears, Clinton’s campaign spokesperson Mo Elleithee said:

“She {Clinton} was simply referencing her husband in 1992 and Bobby Kennedy in 1968 as historic examples of the nominating process going well into the summer. Any reading into beyond that would be inaccurate.

Later on, speaking on her own behalf, Clinton elaborated:

"Earlier today I was discussing the democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Senator Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968. And I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June that's a historic fact. The Kennedy's have been much on my mind for the last days because of Senator Kennedy."

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation - particularly for that family - was in any way offensive," Clinton continued. "I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever. My view is that we have to look to the past and to our leaders who have inspired us and give us a lot to live up to and I'm honored to hold Senator Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate in the state of New York. And have the highest regard for the entire Kennedy family."

Her statement makes sense; the Clintons’ long-time friendship with the Kennedy family has remained strong despite Ted Kennedy’s recent endorsement of Barack Obama.

But the eagerness displayed by the media to seize on yet another opportunity to demonize Hillary Clinton is inexplicable. Perhaps someday we’ll know why the better-qualified candidate in this race was continuously vilified while the least qualified candidate was eagerly swept along to his coronation.

Watch Clinton’s interview with the Argus Leader here.

New Assessment May Give Clinton the Popular Vote

Photo credits: AP

Get this: the Caucus (NY Times) is reporting an assessment that might give Clinton the edge in the popular vote on June 3 after all.

Here’s the deal:

“With her expected big win in Puerto Rico on June 1, a collection of votes could give her the popular vote lead without including the disputed results from Michigan and Florida. The Clinton campaign is circulating an opinion article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which analyzes the vote possibilities. It buttresses the heart of her new argument to the superdelegates — that if she wins the popular vote across the whole country, how can they overturn the will of the people?”

The Inquirer analysis (shown in blue) as quoted by the Caucus:

Real Clear Politics keeps track of six versions of the popular-vote total. They are, in ascending order of inclusivity: (1) the popular vote of sanctioned contests; (2) the total of sanctioned contests, plus estimated votes from the Iowa, Nevada, Maine and Washington caucuses; (3) the popular vote plus Florida; (4) popular vote plus Florida and the caucuses; (5) the popular vote plus Florida and Michigan; (6) popular vote plus Florida, Michigan, and the caucus estimates. After Tuesday, Clinton now leads in two of these six counts.

If you believe that the most important precept in democratic politics is to “count every vote,” then the sixth category is the most inclusive, and here Clinton leads Obama by 71,301 votes. Of course, this includes the Michigan result, where Sen. Obama had removed his name from the ballot. So while it may be the most inclusive, it may not be the most fair.

The third and fourth counts - the ones which include Florida - seem more fair. Here, Obama is clinging to a slight lead of 146,786 votes (257,008, with the caucus estimates). However, with Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota remaining, he will almost certainly finish behind her in these counts, likely by a few hundred thousand votes.

But could Clinton take over the lead in all of the popular-vote tabulations? Quite possibly. In Puerto Rico’s last major election, two million people voted. Let’s assume that turnout for this historic vote - Puerto Rico has never had a presidential primary before - will be equal to or greater than that turnout.

If Clinton were to win Puerto Rico by 20 points she would pick up at least a 400,000-vote margin. This would allow her to swamp Obama in the popular-vote counts, which include Florida, making her the leader in four of the six permutations of the popular vote. At that point, Obama would be left clinging to the least-inclusive count, which he now leads by 441,558 votes (551,780, including caucuses).

To understand how razor-thin this majority is, consider that if the Puerto Rico turnout is slightly larger than we have imagined - or Clinton’s margin is slightly greater - then Clinton would finish the primary process leading in every conceivable vote count. With two million voters, a 28 percent victory would put Clinton over the top even in the count, which excludes Florida and Michigan and includes estimates for Obama’s caucus victories.

The Caucus reports:

“Mrs. Clinton is headed to South Dakota now, where she plans to discuss the numbers at an editorial board meeting this afternoon.”

Liberal Bloggers “Throwing Tomatoes and a Lot Worse at Hillary Clinton”

Howard Kurtz notices in his Media Notes (Washington Post) this morning that major liberal bloggers are “throwing tomatoes – and a lot worse – at Hillary Clinton.”

Stating the obvious, Howard says, “She's never been a particularly popular figure in that part of the blogosphere, and now that she seems to be making a new push on Florida and Michigan, the former first lady has really got folks mad.”

Howard seems oblivious to the several pro-Hillary blogs who daily compete with the blaring of the Obama megaphone by sites like Huffington Post and Daily Kos, but still it’s good to see someone in the MSM who dares report the Hillary-bashing in cyberspace.

Read more of today’s Media Notes:

Florida: Is Obama Not a Leader or Not Confident of Winning, or Both?

Photo credits: Getty

Note:

Count Every Vote Rally in DC: May 31st, 2008
Questions or suggestions? Email counteveryvote08@gmail.com

“You are going to count us now or don’t count on us later.”
-- Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), May 2008


Riverdaughter concludes her post on the Florida issue by asking is Obama not a leader, not confident of winning or both. And from the get go, she builds a good case:

“It’s easy to do the right thing and be on the correct side of the issue in this case even if you don’t stand to gain anything from it. The punishment was unusually harsh, the voters had nothing to do with it and the Democrats really need them in November. But more than that, it’s just a good thing to count every vote, let Floridians have some weight in determining the nomination and to respect their intentions, which were fairly clear. If it turns out that Florida’s votes when added to the mix do not sway superdelegates to vote for Clinton, well, at least they tried. But if they are never counted at all and Obama wins, then Floridians will be left with a mystery. Could counting all of their votes have lead to a different outcome? Deja vu. Not a good feeling when you thought you’d been pre-disastered. What’s worse is that it is at the hands of the ‘good’ party this time. Who can you trust?”

Who can you trust, indeed?

“Obama made a decision a couple of months ago to not waive the rules and to obstruct revotes. Florida Democrats filed a petition to get at least half the delegation seated. A couple of months ago would have been an optimal time to settle the matter. Obama could have been magnanimous and agreed to seat all of the delegates and take a small hit to his delegate count. Or he could have taken the Florida Democrat’s compromise of half delegate seating. He chose not to do either. Now, I don’t think any solution he proposed short of seating all of them would be acceptable to Floridians.”

Read More:

Registered Dems Still Prefer Clinton

Photo credits: Susan Walsh/AP



After just reading an insipid AP article claiming that Hillary Clinton, once a Democratic Party insider, is now on the outside looking in, it’s a real pepper upper for her supporters to learn that polls released today show registered Democrats still prefer Clinton to the presumptuous nominee, Barack Obama.

Daniel Nichanian at the Huffington Post reports:

“A lot of presidential polls to digest today, as SUSA, Rasmussen and two other polling groups released new match-ups for a total of 8 states with some surprises and some expected results. The most interesting come from the pair of Southern states that the Obama campaign believes it can put in play:


“In North Carolina, SUSA finds surprising results: Hillary Clinton is leading McCain 49% to 43%, while Obama is trailing 51% to 43%. As usual, Clinton's advantage is derived from women (she leads McCain by 19% while Obama trails by 1%) and by registered Democrat, among whom her lead is 20% superior to Obama's.

“In Virginia, a VCU Commonwealth poll shows that McCain is leading both Democrats, 44% to 36% against Obama and 47% to 38% against Clinton. One puzzling internal is that Obama only gets a 41% to 36% in Northern Virginia, a region he will have to win by a much bigger margin to make the state competitive.”


Nichanian continues with more analysis of today's polls.


Read More:

Surprise! Some Balanced Coverage of the Clinton Campaign!

Ironically, it was after Hillary Clinton’s 41-point landslide in West Virginia that the good old boys network in the media and a few codependent females like Ruth Marcus, Maureen Dowd, and Arianna Huffington, figured it was time for another all out effort to push the uppity Hillary out of the race, and their feverish drumbeat rapidly intensified.

When that didn’t work, the boys, along with their harping female allies, chose to ignore Hillary’s candidacy for several days and focus on the presumptuous Democratic nominee’s grandstanding displays of hubris – Obama grabbed the news coverage as he egotistically jumped on every comment from Bush or McCain, whether or not it was aimed at the self-described harbinger of “the new politics.”

Then Tuesday night the people of Kentucky stood up and shouted, “Hold your horses!” and the Bluegrass state, one week after West Virginia, delivered a second blowout for Hillary; this time she won with a margin of 35 points.

While Hillary was mopping the floor with Obama in Kentucky, the presumptuous one – the one we’ve all been waiting for – stepped forward in Iowa to tell an adoring crowd that he was closing in on the Democratic nomination.

Since then, the media miraculously began to notice that Hillary’s supporters are no longer willing to “sit down, shut up, and get with the program.” Consequently, quite a few examples of favorable or at least fair coverage of Hillary’s ongoing campaign have appeared at online news sources lately. Here are a few examples:

From the Caucus (NY Times), by Sarah Wheaton, Portrait of the Politico as a Young Man:

“Senator Barack Obama is usually the candidate known for stirring up youth enthusiasm. But Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has her own poster boy: Dalton Hatfield, who, as she reminded us during her victory speeches in both West Virginia and Kentucky, sold his bike and video games to donate more than $400 to her campaign.”

Read more.

From the Caucus (NY Times), by Steven Greenhouse, Union Leader Has Advice for Obama:

“Hillary Rodham Clinton’s biggest supporter in the labor movement has some pointed advice for Barack Obama.

“That supporter, Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said, ‘You have to reach out to the group we call the Reagan Democrats.”’

Read More.

NY Times, Seelye and Zeleny, Clinton Signals She May Carry Fight to Convention:

“CORAL GABLES, Fla. — A day after Senator Barack Obama gathered a majority of pledged delegates in the Democratic presidential nominating contest, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defiantly sent out new signals Wednesday that she might take her fight for the nomination all the way to the party’s convention in August.

“Mrs. Clinton stumped across South Florida, scene of the 2000 election debacle, pressing her case for including delegates from Florida and Michigan in the final delegate tally. On the trail and in interviews, she raised a new battle cry of determination, likening her struggle for these delegates to the nation’s historic struggles to free the slaves and grant women the right to vote.”

Read More.



Washington Post, by Shailagh Murray and Perry Bacon Jr., Obama, Clinton Use Florida Swing to Bolster Their Support:

“TAMPA, May 21 -- Sen. Barack Obama sought on Wednesday to win over general-election voters in the critical swing state of Florida, as rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to remain in the race until the state's invalidated primary results are counted, even if that means taking the fight to the Democratic National Convention in August.

Read More:


Washington Post, by Marie Cocco, The Not Clinton Excuse:

“A woman? Yes. But not that woman.

“It is the platitude of the moment, an automatic rejoinder to any suggestion that Hillary Clinton has struggled so desperately -- and so far unsuccessfully -- to grasp the Democratic presidential nomination in some measure because she is female.”

Read More.

Update: The Obama team is stealing headlines by revealing preliminary steps to select a running mate for the presumptuous nominee. However, Fox News rains on the Obama parade by mentioning Quinnipiac’s three battleground polls out today. In Pennsylvania, Clinton leads John McCain 50 percent to 37 percent while Obama leads McCain 46 percent to 40 percent (1,667 surveyed, 2.4 percent margin of error); in Ohio, Clinton leads McCain 48 percent to 41 percent while McCain leads Obama 44 percent to 40 percent (1,224 surveyed, 2.8 percent margin of error); in Florida, Clinton leads McCain 48 percent to 41 percent, while McCain leads Obama 45 percent to 41 percent (1,419 surveyed, 2.6 percent margin of error). “In the McCain-Obama matchups, 26 percent to 36 percent of Clinton supporters in each battleground state say they will switch to McCain if Obama is the nominee. Of Obama supporters, 10 percent to 18 percent say they would back McCain if Clinton’s the nominee.”

Clinton in Florida: “Let Every Vote Be Counted!”

Photo credits: AP

Writing for the Trail (Washington Post) Perry Bacon reports from Boca Raton, Florida on Hillary Clinton’s re-energized campaign following her blowout win in Kentucky last night.

Bacon quotes the second term senator from New York:

"We believe the popular vote is the truest expression of your will. We believe it today just as we believed it back in 2000 when, right here in Florida, you learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and a candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner," Clinton told a crowd at retirement home in Boca Raton. "The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear: if any votes aren't counted, the will of the people isn't realized and our democracy is diminished."

Clinton’s talking history, Bacon reports:

“While counting the votes in Florida and Michigan, both states where Clinton won the popular vote, would help her candidacy, Clinton cast her cause in historical and moral terms in a speech that quoted the Declaration of Independence, described the struggle of blacks and women to earn voting rights and invoked the legacies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. And her staging was even more clear, starting off talking to a group of seniors in Palm Beach County, the place known for the so-called dimpled chads and a confusing ballot that resulted in some Democrats voting for Pat Buchanan rather than Al Gore.

‘“I believe the Democratic Party must count these votes. ... Count them exactly as they were cast," she said. "I am here today because I believe the decision our party faces is not just about the fate of these votes and outcome of these primaries, it's about about whether we will uphold our most fundamental values as Democrats and Americans. ... I believe that both Senator Obama and myself have an obligation as potential Democratic nominees, in fact we all have an obligation as Democrats to carry on this legacy to ensure in our nominating process every voice is heard and every vote is counted. This is a core mission of the modern Democratic Party.’”

Bacon continues:

“Her tone was a departure from the fiery populist rhetoric of recent days, in which she has cast herself as an underdog. Instead, in a soft, almost pleading voice, she said she believed that ‘whether you voted for me or Senator Obama or Senator Edwards, each vote is a prayer for our nation.’”


Bacon summarizes Clinton’s rallying cry:

“The crowd of several hundred loudly applauded, as her supporters do all over the country when she takes up the issue of counting the Michigan and Florida delegations, which has become a central plank in her longshot campaign to overtake Barack Obama. Clinton wants to count votes in Michigan and Florida, which could allow here to overtake Obama in the popular. If she won the popular vote, her aides said, along with maintaining her strong poll numbers in states like Florida against Sen. John McCain, it would strengthen her argument to Democratic superdelegates to chose her over Obama, who has won the battle over delegates selected through Democratic primaries and caucuses.”

Say No to TV’s Talking Heads; Support Hillary!

Democrats are on the verge of nominating Barack Obama, the younger less qualified male candidate over Hillary Clinton, the older, more experienced, better qualified female candidate. We can do better. Let’s put a stop to this travesty and turn the race around. There’s still time to nominate Hillary Clinton.

And on that note, I just received this email from Hillary. She’s really standing up to TV’s talking heads to make her case for the nomination.

Dear Virginia,

I owe our 35-point win in Kentucky yesterday to your incredible support. So let me ask you -- do you think we should let the TV talking heads have the final say in this race? Or should we do what we have always done, and fight together for what you and I believe in?

I have never for one moment forgotten what this race is about -- the millions of people who are looking to you and me for the leadership America needs. It's about getting our economy moving again. It's about bringing the war in Iraq to a responsible end. It's about fulfilling America's energy needs while protecting the planet for our children and grandchildren. It's about making sure that every man, woman, and child in America has health care.

Now we have just three races left, and your help is absolutely critical in these final two weeks. So let's do it. Let's keep fighting and winning together, as we have all along.

Contribute today and let's keep driving toward victory.

Let's talk about the state of this race.

I've won more votes than anyone running for the Democratic nomination in the history of our party. I've won states that will total 308 electoral votes in November -- more than enough to carry the general election. And it is critical that we make certain the more than 2 million voters in Florida and Michigan are heard -- I know you understand that -- the action you took this week is already making a difference.

We can let the media decide this race. We can let the pundits be the ones who determine our party's nominee. Or we can listen to the voters. Yesterday, voters in Kentucky joined you in sending a clear message -- this campaign is far from over.

Throughout it all, through the ups and downs of this race, you've been there, supporting me every step of the way. Help me send a strong message that this race isn't over yet.

Contribute now to help us in the final three races.

I'm so proud of what we accomplished yesterday in Kentucky, and of all the victories we celebrated together. We've worked too hard to stop now. Thank you for your incredible support. I don't have to tell you that I couldn't do this without you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Clinton the Big Winner in Tuesday’s Primaries

Photo credits: Todd Heisler/NY Times

Jeralyn at TalkLeft posted numbers very early Wednesday morning that show Hillary Clinton was the big winner in last night’s primaries in Oregon and Kentucky.

Responding to the question, “Who won bigger in today's primaries? 100% of the vote is in from Kentucky, 66% is in from Oregon,” Jeralyn provides the following data:

Hillary won 51 delegates so far, Obama 35.
Hillary earned 650,000 votes, Obama has gotten 475,000.
Hillary won a lot more votes and more delegates tonight.

She's tonight's winner.

Kentucky: 100% of vote:

Hillary: 459,145 votes * 65% * 37 delegates
Obama: 209,771 votes * 30% * 14 delegates
Counties: Hillary wins all but 2
Oregon: 66% of votes in

Obama: 272,000 votes * 58% * 21 delegates
Hillary: 196,000 votes * 42% * 14 delegates
Counties: Obama wins 16; Hillary wins 13 (1 tied, 4 still out)
More....


Popular vote total nationally:Counting Michigan, Florida and the caucus states, including estimates for IA, NV, ME, WA:
Hillary:17,581,874 * 47.8%
Obama: 17,486,820 * 47.5%
Hillary up by 95,054, +0.26%

Obama Projected Winner in Oregon

CNN has projected Barack Obama the winner in Oregon without any predictions as to the possible margin of victory. With 29% of the precincts reporting, Obama is leading Clinton 60% to 40%. The numbers are coming in fast, so go here for updates.

Kentucky Says Hold Your Horses!

The Bluegrass State will always have a soft spot in my heart. My parents were originally from Magoffin County, Kentucky before they moved to northwestern Ohio where I was born and raised. But for as long as they lived, my parents referred to Kentucky as “back home” and although we lived in Ohio, my brothers and sisters and I grew up in the midst of a transplanted Appalachian family.

Listening to Hillary Clinton’s victory speech in Louisville tonight – she’s winning big - and witnessing the heartwarming exuberance of her supporters gathered there, I was reminded that both of my parents were FDR Democrats who brought their children up to believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, regardless of race, gender, religion, or ethnic origin. I’ve been a resident of Minnesota for many years, but I’ve not forgotten the values I first learned from my Kentuckian mother and father.

My ancestral roots in Kentucky may explain in part why I teared up during Hillary’s speech this evening, but there was so much more. She began with a moving tribute to Ted Kennedy, a long-time friend of the Clintons, who is now struggling with a malignant brain tumor.

Shifting her focus to the Democratic contest, she reminded listeners that had the nay sayers and skeptics had their way, she would have given up and dropped out at several critical junctures in the campaign.

You recall, the pundits ganged up on Clinton in earnest the day after the West Virginia primary, which she won by 41%. Perhaps in response to the incessant drumbeat to prematurely anoint Obama, someone in Louisville was seen carrying a sign that read: “Kentucky says hold your horses!”

Clinton reached out to her middle class supporters tonight: the nurses, the truck drivers, the teachers, and the police officers, among others. Perhaps acknowledging the rising rebellion lately by many of her female supporters against the rampant sexism in the Democratic campaign, she made a special effort to reach out to women.

Clinton affirmed the huge vote of confidence Kentucky gave her today, noting that she’s participating in the closest nominating race in recent history, and that she has won more votes than anyone who’s ever run for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton’s supporters roared their approval when she repeated the words, “You’ve never given up on me, and I’ll never give up on you.”

She summarized her take on the race against Obama as it stands: “We’ll go to toe to toe in the contest, but we’ll see eye to eye in November and unite around the candidate whoever “she” is.

Clinton made it clear she’s in the race until the finish line; she’s going to campaign in Montana, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico. She added that she will continue to stand up for Florida and Michigan, insisting that their 2.3 million votes should be counted.

For tonight, though, Clinton can celebrate with her family and friends another blowout victory on the heels of her win in West Virginia. With 100% of precincts reporting in Kentucky, she has defeated Obama by 35 points, 65% to 30%. Here are the raw numbers: Clinton received 458,955votes, and Obama received 209,763. Looks as if she thumped him about 2 to 1, even though he out spent her by about 5 to 1.

P.S. I’ll do my best to hang in there until we get some results from Oregon where the polls won’t close until 10 p.m. CST.

For a complete transcript of Clinton’s victory speech in Kentucky, go here.

Hillary Projected to Win Big in Kentucky

CNN has projected that Hillary Clinton will win Kentucky by a wide margin. With 34% of the precincts reporting, she’s currently leading Obama 54 – 34%. CNN’s map of the Bluegrass state so far shows Clinton sweeping the rural counties with Obama picking up a few votes in urban centers.

I’ll be blogging the results in Kentucky as they come in; the bigger the win for Clinton, the better! The Oregon votes will be coming in later as the polls won’t close there until 10 p.m. CT and 11p.m. ET.

Mass. Superdelegate Endorses Clinton

According to Political Intelligence (Boston Globe), Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley, who was elected a superdelegate on May 10, is adding her vote to Hillary Clinton's column.

Political Intelligence reported:

‘“I am determined to see a successful Democratic campaign for President in November. I believe that the Democratic primary has demonstrated to the American people that there are two able and hard working candidates, either of whom can win the presidency. Either will be a huge improvement for America over what the Republicans have offered for the last eight years and what they offer now for the next four. I will support whoever is the nominee of the party,’ Coakley said in a statement provided by the Clinton campaign.

‘“Regardless of the outcome of the primary, Mrs. Clinton’s energy, stamina, and resolve have changed the course of history for women seeking office, including the presidency, and I dare say, have changed the course of history of Presidential politics in the United States. It is for these reasons that I will vote for Hillary Clinton in August at the Nominating Convention.’”

Letter to Howard Dean: Count All the Votes!

One of my readers, Sara Mabry, has asked Katalusis to post a letter she faxed to Howard Dean, Chair of the Democratic Party, on behalf of disenfranchised Florida and Michigan Democrats. Below is Sara’s letter:

Chairman Howard Dean:

Since my posted request was so completely ignored, I am going to try again and possibly I will not be spammed with solicitations in its place. It is one thing to take the time to compose a message, but another when it is discarded, but worst of all when my information is used to channel your opinion.

Right now that opinion is very low in my eyes. When you are making or influencing the decision for so many to not count votes, and therefore turning loyal Democrats to independent selections because they will be ashamed to show dedication to this party, one that is not respecting them. If you remember what happened to the FL voters in 2002 and Ohio in 2004, we are sorely tired of those who claim to serve the people.

I have not forgotten and it is something that those in your position seem to forget, and I think you need to consider this. If you want Obama in the White House, remember you may need our votes, and I am speaking of those who passionately support Hillary Clinton. If you think all will honor the Democratic Party after what you decide and not count the votes of the two states in question, then you will lose loyalty over your arrogance.

Choose the rights of the people over the rule that will punish the people not those who made this decision, and it will happen. You, Chairman Dean, will be the one who will influence those who will divide the people. Who do you think will win then? The Republicans love this, and if you don't think you need our votes, then do the math!

I am requesting that you become aware of the pending consequences and that the Super Delegates who have recently filed complaints to the Democratic Party Rule's Committee be honored in their petition and complaint that has been presented or filed before this committee.

Sincerely Wavering Democrat,

S R Mabry, Registered Democrat and Educated

PS I am faxing, as I have learned not to send anything through email to your office.