The Trail: A Daily Diary of Campaign 2008

JakeD and others mouthing the Zionist line against Obama, i.e. hinting he is a Muslim (implying what, that he is a terrorist sympathizer?), must be identified as part of a larger easily identifiable Zionist agenda in the US to do or say anything that will prevent an Obama presidency. Haim Saban said it all for these people - they are "one issue" people, "and that issue is Israel". The Zionists want McCain more than anybody, and one way to help McCain is to damage the Democratic party's chances in November, and one way to contribute to that damage is to sow deep rancor among the Democrats by a pitched battle between Clinton and Obama. Never forget, for these people "Israel is the only issue", not health care, jobs or the economy. And by "Israel", they mean the country in which major politicians seek to "refugeeize" over 2 million Arabs.

My wife and I supported John Edwards and so we were required to choose between the other two. What has become blatantly obvious to both of us is that HRC is on a power or ego trip and will say or do anything to become the first female President. My wife supported her initially, because she was a fan of Bill's and I was not. In any case, I tried hard to listen to her objectively. Someone who has taken nearly a million dollars from health care lobbyist isn't genuine. Someone who sat on Wal Mart's board of directors is not pro-union or pro-womens rights. Wal Mart employs over 60% women while less than 40% of them are in management. Her 7 years on the board did nothing. The most ironic fact of all is that the middle class started losing ground to the rich in 1972. HRC claims 35 years of experience. Obviously, her experience didn't produce any perceivable results. By the way, If Obama's middle name was Hitler, would that make him a Nazi? Sarge

This article is about high gas prices and Obama's position on Iraq, among other things. These really are important issues, but people seem obsessed with other questions, e.g., who is winning the primaries/caucuses and who can win against McCain in November. So two quick observations, and a longer comment on the straw men set up and knocked down by "storyofthefifthpeach"

I have been trying to figure out Obama's position on Iraq and remain confused, probably my fault. But for the life of me I do not understand why someone on the left would leave a "strike force" in the Middle East. What for? To protect whom? To attack whom? Why not simply help the people there create stable governments, even if they are not to our liking? That seems to be what he wants to do with regard to Cuba. Why not Iraq as well, or does Obama think that the United States must be the policeman of the world or that Arabs, unlike Cubans, cannot be trusted to run their own countries without the help of the U.S. military?

I have also been trying to figure out how Obama's health care plan and economic plan will work, but I am stuck. It seems he wants to give money to corporations to encourage them to create jobs and retrain people who are unemployed for jobs that will only appear if the corporations use the money to create jobs rather than pay CEOs bonuses. And I am totally at a loss regarding how he is going to decrease the cost of health care and create universal care when he only wants health care mandatory for children.

As an American who has lived in both Europe, I am familiar with the American HMO system and the European system of universal (national) health plan. I would recommend the latter, but only Clinton seems determined to try to realize even a pale imitation in the United States. That is a pity, because at the moment, spending on health care (or rather health insurance and inflated costs for care and medicine, since so little of the money goes to health care) and the military are helping to pauperize the country.

I was bemused by the ten "myths" "storyofthefifthpeach" offered as dear to the hearts of Clinton supporters. So some quick comments.

1. Nobody has said the race is "tied." It is close. Not question about that. If Clinton takes 65 percent on average of the remaining primaries, she wins the delegates count. If Obama manages 58 percent, he does. It is therefore unlikely that either will win outright through popularly elected delegates. That leaves the super delegates as the king makers.

2. Nobody has said the popular vote is tied. But is it very close. Obama people like to tout a 700,000 vote lead, but 400,000 of those come from caucus states, where organization counts more than popular support, and if Michigan and Florida are counted, Clinton picks up 1,185,359 "popular" votes (in primaries), Obama 569,041 (his name was not on the Michigan ballot, so he cannot rightly claim the 237,762 cast for "uncommitted" as his unless Edwards, et al., give their share of the vote to him). That's a net gain for Clinton of 616,318, leaving Obama with a razor-thin lead that could easily evaporate during the nine primaries scheduled between 22 April and early June.

3. How can Clinton lead in electoral votes? She leads in big states, Obama in little states. They will have split the primary states if she takes Pennsylvania; Obama's edge comes from caucus states, where the number of votes needed for a delegate is much less than in primary contests.

4. Who cares about the electoral college at this point? More germane would be a discussion of how the base of each candidate voted in 2004 - and who their bases are. For example, more women than men tend to vote, and Clinton's base include women, if exit polls are to be believed. How big an advantage would that be? In 2004, six million more women than men voted. Is that important? Could be. Obama's base consists of young people, the affluent (families with more than $100,000 in annual income), professionals and the college educated, and blacks. But young people tend not to vote (about 40 percent of those registered in 2004 actually voted) and while 14 million blacks and 18 million people with good incomes voted in 2004, so did 40 million older folk (Clinton's base).

5. At one point, counting Michigan and Florida would have given Clinton a lead; now they would pull her almost even with Obama. About 100,000 votes would still separate them, but that is small change in a season in which 27 million have voted in the Democratic races, roughly a third of a percentage point.

6. The failure to resolve the impasse regarding Michigan and Florida is not the fault of the states; it is clearly something the Obama camp has done its best to block. Why? Check the demographics of these two states and see who would emerge as the probable winner. Michigan is closer to Ohio and Pennsylvania, and Florida has a lot of old folks and Latinos, making it a cross between New York and California.

7. Gee, if I get to vote and my vote is not counted, I am not "disenfranchised." That is a relief. Now, please explain exactly what I am? Because if you do not, I suspect I will not vote for your silly party in November. That is the fear, and that is why not only Clinton but Dean & the DNC want a resolution. Alas, all the Obama camp will agree to is a 50-50 split of the delegates, hardly a fair resolution.

8. Of course Clinton wants Florida and Michigan to count. So does the DNC at this point, unless they want to just throw away two states that are key to victory in November. The danger is that voters there will see that the Obama camp has blocked new primaries and will be less than well disposed toward Obama come November - if he is the nominee.

9. There are really only two solutions to the impasse in Michigan and Florida. Either you seat the delegates according to how the voters cast their ballots or you allow the voters to cast new ballots to confirm or overturn the earlier elections. All other solutions involve some sort of manipulation and are bound to leave a lot of disgruntled people. The idea of doing a primary in Florida and a caucus in Michigan, which Obama's people have floated, is disingenuous, given that Obama tends to do much better when the electorate is restricted, Clinton when the electorate is free to vote.

10. Of course Clinton can win. She can also lose. But at the moment, which will occur is not clear because there are ten contests to go and something really must be done about Michigan and Florida, unless the Democats want to write off both states come November. Citing her "positive" rating in a single poll is a good debating point, but has little to do with long-term realities. Remember that she was way ahead in the polls in December 2007 and she is still running about the same against McCain as Obama in national polls. In most contests, more Democrats than Republicans voted for Clinton (the reverse, of course, for Obama, who seems to attract Republicans), so what can one make of a poll showing that at the moment (and that is a key phrase) more Democrats favor Obama? That media coverage has recently favored him and savaged Clinton? Possibly. In any event, polls have margins of error which need to be mentioned with the polls (the one on 'defections' recently had margins of error for the sample groups as high as plus/minus 7 percent, or 14 percent!) and that they constantly shift.

"Peaches" creates a myth here, that s/he can predict who can or cannot win. Clinton can do either, but first she has to win the nomination.

The biggest myth of all, of course, is that Obama has already won the nomination. More accurate would be to note that he currently leads in the delegate count and the combined primary and caucus vote by about 700,000 (about 2.5 percent of the vote cast to date), but that might well change as a result of the coming contests and certainly would change if the votes in Michigan and Florida are counted.

In reality, neither Clinton nor Obama are likely to win the nomination outright. They both need super delegates to go over the top. That, I suspect, is why Obama's people are scrambling to woo those elusive VIPs.

Rather than debunking myths, 'peaches' appears to have created new ones. Interesting. But no more useful than injunctions to hope and pep rallies.

fiddle25: "It's good to see that Senator Obama is talking about the economy in PA. Folks are really hurting there. I hope that he is able to be a good voice for common folks when he gets to the White House."

Fiddle25,

Central Pennsylvania is hurting but the folks up there are tough and smart and given half a chance they can come back. I hope Obama is given the opportunity to prove that.

I spent last Saturday canvassing door-to-door in a particularly depressed neighborhood of York. The people I met were men and women of all races and ages, but they were mostly leaning toward Obama. I did meet one man who insisted that he was afraid to vote for Obama because of "his connections to al Qaeda," but even he was willing to listen and discuss the things he liked about Obama. (In the end, I think I may have just swayed him back from the Dark Side. LOL) What surprised me most was just how many people said they had been supporting Hillary but weren't sure anymore, or had even switched to Obama in the last couple weeks.

Pennsylvania may just provide the biggest surprise yet. I'm going back up next Saturday to help make it happen. I hope plenty of others do the same.

svreader: "Before you send any more of your, or your parent's, hard earned money to Barry Obama --

"Please Watch this report on Obama, Obama's slums, Rezko, and $100M of wasted taxpayer money, from NBC news, Chicago's most respected TV news program."

Gee, svreader, I'm kinda busy, so I'll have to pass on that video. But thanks for reminding me that I need to send another contribution to the Obama campaign. I was thinking of just sending $50, but thanks to your continuing negativity and deliberate posting of misinformation I'm going to double it to $100. I'm sure the Senator appreciates your efforts in driving his supporters to give a little extra. :-)

You know, David Duke would be in the Senate now if he'd had folks like you opposing him. Maybe it's time for you to stop and think hard about what you're doing to your party.

For goodness sake, let go of all this bickering and innuendo. The comments here are similar to the arguments of people who wanted war and those that did not and at the end none were right in their respective stances because you have all lost and lost dearly..
Show me a senator or a congressman that lost his job or his house or his wealth..But, you all did.. everytime you go and fill up at the pump, thank the bumbling Bush for creating the holes in your pocket..
What I am saying is that it is time for the good people of the U.S.of America to start thinking about their own wellbeing and the future of your children..
Just going cheerleading and yelling patriotism is not going to give you a better life and none of these Presidential candidates are really thinking about your welfare..To them it is a race for POWER and that is it...
The people have basic needs simply to survive and make a better future..
Decide what is good for you and not what these bigots repeat everyday..
For a change, vote in someone who can make friends with humanity at large and who has respect for all peoples of the world..
It is only then that you would have made the right decision for yourselves and your children..
If you ask me, from all I have witnessed and read, the 3 candidates still standing are all suspect for the job of a President of the greatest country on earth. However, the system is designed that you elect someone and for my money, Obama is the least corrupt and so is worth thinking about..
Bottom line...think about yourself first and for a change, change the world for the better..

So, The So-called "Barack Hussein Obama
Charm Offense" so far has shown us,once
again that not only can't Obama bowl,or
milk a cow,but that Barack Obama is totally
incapable of telling the Truth about anything without lying all over the place.
So, doesn't Republican President Liar in
Chief George W Bush and VP Draft Dodger
Dickey Cheney do that too now then? Do you
really want a Democrat Liar in Chief Version Like Barack Hussein Obama to replace them,and bring along his racist
hateful wife Michelle Obama and his "Uncle
(Rev) Jeriamiah" Wright as well? If you
think the Bush and Cheney Administration
is Incompetent,Corrupt,and Liars just wait
to get to see the Obama and Nancy Pelosi
Democrat One! Just Say No To Obama and
Nutty Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean! Do you
want Windsurfer John Kerry as Sec of Defense? Or Bill Judas Richardson stinking
up the Cabinet again? Think about it!

Ah you just called Obama articulate - next comes clean and you will be Joe Biden.

GD Michigan

Top 10 Myths Keeping Hillary in the Race

Myth: This race is tied.

No, actually, it's not. Obama has the lead in number of states won, in pledged delegates and in overall delegates. Nothing will happen in the remaining primaries to substantially change that. As to the one thing Hillary does lead in, superdelegates, her quickly shrinking margin is among DNC personnel only. When you look at the elected superdelegates, Congressman, Senators and Governors (i.e. people who actually work with both Obama and Clinton) Obama leads there, too.

Myth: Okay, the popular vote is tied.

There are people who claim that because of the 3% separation, that Obama's lead in the popular vote is a "statistical tie." This is a myth because, when you can actually count things, there's no need of statistics and no such thing as a margin of error. The popular vote is not an estimate based on a sampling, like a poll. Like the general election, there are winners and losers and, so far, Obama is the winner.

Myth: Fine, but what if we count electoral votes? NOW Hillary is ahead!

Not so much. The proportions of electoral votes to population versus delegates to population are pretty comparable. So if you allocated electors proportionally in the same manner that you allocate delegates, Obama is still ahead. If you allocate them on a winner-take-all basis, then that would be the same as allocating the delegates on a winner-take-all basis, so why bring electors into it?

Myth: But if we did do it like the Electoral College, that proves Hillary is more electable than Obama, because of states like California.

This is perhaps the saddest little myth of all. It's ridiculous to suggest that Obama will lose New York and California to McCain because Clinton won them in the primaries. No, come November, those states will join with Obama's Illinois to provide 40% of the electors necessary for him to win.

Myth: Very well, then, Mr. Smarty-Math. But if we counted Michigan and Florida, THEN Hillary would be winning!

Nooo, she wouldn't. The margin would depend on how you allocate the delegates, but Obama would still be ahead. And he'd still be about 100,000 ahead in the popular vote, too, despite not even being on the ballot in Michigan. However, it would enhance Hillary's chances of catching up in the remaining races.

Myth: Ah HA! So Dean is keeping them out just to help Obama! And Obama is keeping them out.

That's two myths, but I'll treat it like one. The only people who can come up with a solution to this problem are the states themselves, to be presented to the Rules and Regulations Committee of the DNC for ratification. It was Rules and Regs, not Howard Dean, who ruled that Florida and Michigan were breaking the rules when they presented their original primary plans. If the two states cannot come up with a plan to reselect delegates, they can try to seat whatever delegates were chosen in the discounted primaries by appealing to the Democratic Convention's Credentialing Committee, which includes many members from Rules and Bylaws.

Myth: If they don't get seated until the convention but a nominee is selected before these poor people get counted then these states are disenfranchised.

There are two ways to debunk this myth: semantically and practically. The first is based on the word "disenfranchised:" these people have not been deprived of their right to vote. Through the actions of their states, their votes don't impact the outcome. Now, you may say that that is specious semantics (Myth: I do say that!) but practically speaking, this is the usual effect of the nominating process, anyway. All of the Republican primaries since McCain clinched the nomination have been meaningless, but those voters are not disenfranchised.

Florida and Michigan tried to become more relevant in the process by breaking the rules. They risked becoming irrelevant instead.

Myth: Well, I say they are disenfranchised, and Hillary Clinton is their champion.

Only when it suits her. Last fall, when the decision was first made to flush 100% of Michigan and Florida delegates, Clinton firmly ratified it. That was because the typical punishment of only 50% representation also kept the candidates from raising money in those states. Figuring that she would wrap up the nomination handily anyway, the clear front-runner agreed with all the other candidates - including Obama - to completely "disenfranchise" those two states.

Myth: Well, never mind 2007. She's doing more now to bring them in.

Not really. Recent stories in the St. Petersburg Times political blog said that 1) the Obama camp has reached out to the Florida Democratic party about a compromise and that 2) the Clinton camp will discuss nothing else but re-votes, which are legally, practically and politically dead.

Myth: Whatever! Hillary can still win! I know she can! She and her 37% positive rating will sweep through the remaining primaries and Michigan and Florida, winning 70% of everything and superdelegates will flock to her banner and Barack Obama will personally nominate her at the Convention and John McCain will give up and George Bush will even quit early so she can take over and... and... and... can I have a glass of water?

Yes, and you should lie down, too.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080331/cm_huffpost/094207_200803310853

Top 10 Myths Keeping Hillary in the Race

Myth: This race is tied.

No, actually, it's not. Obama has the lead in number of states won, in pledged delegates and in overall delegates. Nothing will happen in the remaining primaries to substantially change that. As to the one thing Hillary does lead in, superdelegates, her quickly shrinking margin is among DNC personnel only. When you look at the elected superdelegates, Congressman, Senators and Governors (i.e. people who actually work with both Obama and Clinton) Obama leads there, too.

Myth: Okay, the popular vote is tied.

There are people who claim that because of the 3% separation, that Obama's lead in the popular vote is a "statistical tie." This is a myth because, when you can actually count things, there's no need of statistics and no such thing as a margin of error. The popular vote is not an estimate based on a sampling, like a poll. Like the general election, there are winners and losers and, so far, Obama is the winner.

Myth: Fine, but what if we count electoral votes? NOW Hillary is ahead!

Not so much. The proportions of electoral votes to population versus delegates to population are pretty comparable. So if you allocated electors proportionally in the same manner that you allocate delegates, Obama is still ahead. If you allocate them on a winner-take-all basis, then that would be the same as allocating the delegates on a winner-take-all basis, so why bring electors into it?

Myth: But if we did do it like the Electoral College, that proves Hillary is more electable than Obama, because of states like California.

This is perhaps the saddest little myth of all. It's ridiculous to suggest that Obama will lose New York and California to McCain because Clinton won them in the primaries. No, come November, those states will join with Obama's Illinois to provide 40% of the electors necessary for him to win.

Myth: Very well, then, Mr. Smarty-Math. But if we counted Michigan and Florida, THEN Hillary would be winning!

Nooo, she wouldn't. The margin would depend on how you allocate the delegates, but Obama would still be ahead. And he'd still be about 100,000 ahead in the popular vote, too, despite not even being on the ballot in Michigan. However, it would enhance Hillary's chances of catching up in the remaining races.

Myth: Ah HA! So Dean is keeping them out just to help Obama! And Obama is keeping them out.

That's two myths, but I'll treat it like one. The only people who can come up with a solution to this problem are the states themselves, to be presented to the Rules and Regulations Committee of the DNC for ratification. It was Rules and Regs, not Howard Dean, who ruled that Florida and Michigan were breaking the rules when they presented their original primary plans. If the two states cannot come up with a plan to reselect delegates, they can try to seat whatever delegates were chosen in the discounted primaries by appealing to the Democratic Convention's Credentialing Committee, which includes many members from Rules and Bylaws.

Myth: If they don't get seated until the convention but a nominee is selected before these poor people get counted then these states are disenfranchised.

There are two ways to debunk this myth: semantically and practically. The first is based on the word "disenfranchised:" these people have not been deprived of their right to vote. Through the actions of their states, their votes don't impact the outcome. Now, you may say that that is specious semantics (Myth: I do say that!) but practically speaking, this is the usual effect of the nominating process, anyway. All of the Republican primaries since McCain clinched the nomination have been meaningless, but those voters are not disenfranchised.

Florida and Michigan tried to become more relevant in the process by breaking the rules. They risked becoming irrelevant instead.

Myth: Well, I say they are disenfranchised, and Hillary Clinton is their champion.

Only when it suits her. Last fall, when the decision was first made to flush 100% of Michigan and Florida delegates, Clinton firmly ratified it. That was because the typical punishment of only 50% representation also kept the candidates from raising money in those states. Figuring that she would wrap up the nomination handily anyway, the clear front-runner agreed with all the other candidates - including Obama - to completely "disenfranchise" those two states.

Myth: Well, never mind 2007. She's doing more now to bring them in.

Not really. Recent stories in the St. Petersburg Times political blog said that 1) the Obama camp has reached out to the Florida Democratic party about a compromise and that 2) the Clinton camp will discuss nothing else but re-votes, which are legally, practically and politically dead.

Myth: Whatever! Hillary can still win! I know she can! She and her 37% positive rating will sweep through the remaining primaries and Michigan and Florida, winning 70% of everything and superdelegates will flock to her banner and Barack Obama will personally nominate her at the Convention and John McCain will give up and George Bush will even quit early so she can take over and... and... and... can I have a glass of water?

Yes, and you should lie down, too.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080331/cm_huffpost/094207_200803310853

GOP Trolls and Hillary supporters: I have some advice for you -- Never let them see you sweat. All your pathetic posts about how Obama can't and won't win and the lies and bull you throw at him only reveal how frightened you are.

I am starting to enjoy it.

You guys are wiggling like bugs on the end of pins!

It is going to be fun watching Obama win the nomination.

And it is going to be even better to watch the young, articulate and inspiring Obama wipe snarling and boring McCain (whom we respect for his service in Viet Nam unlike you GOP scumbags who treated Kerry like dirt) all over the floor during the debates as McCain sputters all his Iraq nonsense and is caught clueless about how to fix the economy.

Yep -- lie and howl and be as bigoted as you want. It's going to be a great show!

GOP Trolls and Hillary supporters: I have some advice for you -- Never let them see you sweat. All your pathetic posts about how Obama can't and won't win and the lies and bull you throw at him only reveal how frightened you are.

I am starting to enjoy it.

You guys are wiggling like bugs on the end of pins!

It is going to be fun watching Obama win the nomination.

And it is going to be even better to watch the young, articulate and inspiring Obama wipe snarling and boring McCain (whom we respect for his service in Viet Nam unlike you GOP scumbags who treated Kerry like dirt) all over the floor during the debates as McCain sputters all his Iraq nonsense and is caught clueless about how to fix the economy.

Yep -- lie and howl and be as bigoted as you want. It's going to be a great show!

GOP Trolls and Hillary supporters: I have some advice for you -- Never let them see you sweat. All your pathetic posts about how Obama can't and won't win and the lies and bull you throw at him only reveal how frightened you are.

I am starting to enjoy it.

You guys are wiggling like bugs on the end of pins!

It is going to be fun watching Obama win the nomination.

And it is going to be even better to watch the young, articulate and inspiring Obama wipe snarling and boring McCain (whom we respect for his service in Viet Nam unlike you GOP scumbags who treated Kerry like dirt) all over the floor during the debates as McCain sputters all his Iraq nonsense and is caught clueless about how to fix the economy.

Yep -- lie and howl and be as bigoted as you want. It's going to be a great show!

GOP Trolls and Hillary supporters: I have some advice for you -- Never let them see you sweat. All your pathetic posts about how Obama can't and won't win and the lies and bull you throw at him only reveal how frightened you are.

I am starting to enjoy it.

You guys are wiggling like bugs on the end of pins!

It is going to be fun watching Obama win the nomination.

And it is going to be even better to watch the young, articulate and inspiring Obama wipe snarling and boring McCain (whom we respect for his service in Viet Nam unlike you GOP scumbags who treated Kerry like dirt) all over the floor during the debates as McCain sputters all his Iraq nonsense and is caught clueless about how to fix the economy.

Yep -- lie and howl and be as bigoted as you want. It's going to be a great show!

Obama rocks the vote because, on one side you have McCain who lives for wars and who is missing the heros of WW-II (see the reference to Churchill in one of McCain's publicity), and on the other side you have Hillary Clinton who is associated to too many scandals with her husband before, during and after the White House:

- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

Before Bill left office, he gave favors in exchange of money... For example, shortly after beeing pardonned by President Clinton, fugitive financier Marc Rich had his ex-wife giving $400 000 to the Clintons library foundation: Source:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98756,00.html

The Clinton foundation received recently a $31.3 million donation after Bill expressed enthusiastic support for the Kazakh leader's, undercuting both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan's poor human rights: Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html

Obama rocks the vote because voters are sick of people starting wars for false pretenses and they are sick of corrupted politicians (I include the Clintons and some of their pundits who have been allies in their past scandals).

Obama rocks the vote because, on one side you have McCain who lives for wars and who is missing the heros of WW-II (see the reference to Churchill in one of McCain's publicity), and on the other side you have Hillary Clinton who is associated to too many scandals with her husband before, during and after the White House:

- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

Before Bill left office, he gave favors in exchange of money... For example, shortly after beeing pardonned by President Clinton, fugitive financier Marc Rich had his ex-wife giving $400 000 to the Clintons library foundation: Source:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98756,00.html

The Clinton foundation received recently a $31.3 million donation after Bill expressed enthusiastic support for the Kazakh leader's, undercuting both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan's poor human rights: Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html

Obama rocks the vote because voters are sick of people starting wars for false pretenses and they are sick of corrupted politicians (I include the Clintons and some of their pundits who have been allies in their past scandals).

Hillary Clinton is the best choice. Don't let the media choose our next president. It is amazing how much support she has with all the obstacles of the BIG BOYS AND THUGS against her. I am impressed.

No, MUL, I am a woman and not a man, so get it correct, and I don't have a crush on Obama, Hillary just straight out lied, the end!!!!!!!!!!!

No, MUL, I am a woman and not a man, so get it correct, and I don't have a crush on Obama, Hillary just straight out lied, the end!!!!!!!!!!!

The mindless Obama-bashing is really getting old. You've said your bit ten thousand times on this blog, svreader. We don't need to hear it again.

As for Rev. Wright, here's an article from the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-oped0326trinitymar26,0,7143430.story

NEO-CONS FOR HILLARY ! ! !

use the slur-du-jour

(remember, we don't care if it's Hillary or McCain... both are in our neo-con lobbies.......and we'll have the wars that we want with either )

....but, we must stop Obama !

mul: Please take a look at this youtube video starring one of the former leaders of the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panthers. I don't care WHAT one decent thing they ever did for anyone. They are poison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oEhtQvvRwE

Oh yeah, the New Black Panthers endorses Obama...

He didn't misstate John McCain's position. McCain said he doesn't care if we have to have troops in Iraq for a 100 years. This is a problem even if they're not getting shot at (admittedly slightly less of one but still a huge problem.) The Iraqis will never take responsibility until we leave. Furthermore it will only continue to incite tensions to keep building huge bases there. Finally why do we need to be in Iraq to have a presence in the region? Hello, but don't we already have bases in Doha, Qatar, Saudia Arabia and Kuwait? I would think this would be more than enough of a Middle Eastern presence, certainly 100 years from now.

No, the difference is that Obama wasn't there, the story was told to him by someone, so what, he was off by a couple of months, Hillary straight out lied because she was there!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: zippergyrl | April 1, 2008 12:34 AM

The difference is you have a Man crush on Obama or are a cult member. Lies are Lies dude - be a man or women - not a W Bush. Face reality Obama is a pol just like any other - he just does more BS.

svreader, most people in the Democratic "mainstream" cannot dedicate their life's work to posting on Washington Post political blogs 24/7.

You really out-do yourself sometimes.

I get the sense that your heart hasn't really been with the Democratic party since about 1964. There is a home for you in today's GOP.

Adios.

No, the difference is that Obama wasn't there, the story was told to him by someone, so what, he was off by a couple of months, Hillary straight out lied because she was there!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if it's ever occurred to Obama and Wright that it probably doesn't help young people in the black community when they're told that their country hates them, that the U.S. government gave them drugs and AIDS, and that jail and genocide are the officially-sanctioned plan for the

Posted by: j9zig1 | April 1, 2008 12:24 AM

Don't do pop sociology. Many black nationalist churches have a positive impact. The Nation of Islam does good work with prisoners. Most do not go as far as preacher man that is for sure.

Anyway the two groups we treated the worst NA and blacks have the most problems still to this day. I hope this will change.

I was thinking Klobuchar might in line for the presidency. She looks and sounds like a librarian so I think that is a no go.

Hillary the only hope for women in the next 20 years.

Go HRC

Barack Insane's O'Bombing! ;~)

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_559720.html

Obama's Indoctrination

Until I heard the racist and anti-American tirades of Barack Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, it hadn't occurred to me that the murderous fires in the black community were being stoked from the pulpits inside black churches.

I wonder if it's ever occurred to Obama and Wright that it probably doesn't help young people in the black community when they're told that their country hates them, that the U.S. government gave them drugs and AIDS, and that jail and genocide are the officially-sanctioned plan for the

Clinton is helping Obama by staying in the race. Every day she and Bill remind people of exactly what the Clinton years were all about. The Clintons are uniting the Democratic Party behind Barack Obama.

Obama stay away from my blond Slu**ty penn state girls. Like the DC women there men don't treat them right and need imaginary boy friends. All they see is corn so how can they see through the that fiend Obama.

After seeing Obama bowling in Altoona I think he might by Bi. What do other people think?

Anyway enough jesting. Altoona is the kind of place were preacher man will play the worst. That is were Obama must to better to win the Nomination and GE.

nodebris --

I look forward to you losing either now or in November.

If Obama gets the nomination, I will be glad to not only vote for McCain but to send him money as well.

The Democratic Party will lose its mainstream core if they nominate Obama.

Good luck winning an election without us.

dyinglikeflies, yes, as we well know long-time Washington political insiders ALWAYS turn into exceptionally great presidents:

Buchanan, Van Buren, Harding (a career politician), LBJ, and Nixon -- names that you'll find amongst the top of any presidential ranking. Clearly political experience is the BEST prepartion for the presidency -- the historical record does not lie.

On the bottom end we find the kind of inexperienced politicians like Lincoln, FDR, and TR with less than a half a decade of elected office each. If only they had had more seasoning we might rank them as truly great, rather than just as great presidents!

As far as first-time Senatorial work goes Obama has done well -- especially for a Senator who spent the first two years in the minority party -- Coburn-Obama earmarks legislation; Lugar-Obama nuclear non-proliferation leg; Feingold-McCain-Obama campaign finance reform -- unsexy, but substantive legislative work. Not the kind that tends to get headlines, but the kind of consequential legislation that tends to advance the public interest.

The subcommittee point that you raise is an interesting one too -- especially for policy wonks. The famous and highly prestigious Foreign Relations subcommittee on European Affairs (there was a time . . .).

The last three chairs -- all freshman Senators -- Gordon Smith, George Allen, Obama. Smith had to live through the indignity of having the main Armed Services committee take on NATO expansion in the late 1990s. As best I can find this subcommittee has tended to deal primarily with ambassadorial appointments over the past few decades (with literally a couple handfuls worth of exceptions).

Ah, but what about Afghanistan and NATO the Clinton press release says?

Well, there's another subcommittee headed by a long-term Senator named John Kerry with the loquacious title of the Near East South and Central Asian Affairs subcommittee with oversight of Afghanistan.

But let's not get bogged down here by points of substance. If only we had more subcommittee hearings -- as Clinton would say -- the skies would open and the people of the world would shout "let's get unified!"

It's about time that we had a president whose last several decades of life experience was defined by more than just a career in politics.

DISPATCHES FROM THE GROUND WAR ...

POLITICO.COM IS REPORTING THAT CLINTON'S CONVENTION STRATEGY IN DOUBT ...

By: David Paul Kuhn

If the fight over whether to count the results in Florida and Michigan makes it to the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton will not have enough pledged votes on the 169-member Credentials Committee to deliver a majority decision in her favor, according to an analysis conducted for Politico. ...

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP THE FAT LADY AND HER VERY TIRED VOCAL CHORDS AND TELL HILLARY IT IS TIME TO GO?

JakeD, svreader, dyck21005, etc.: you are just coming off as desperate and pathetic now.

I bet you are actually increasing support for Obama, because any number of reasonable people are going to want to vote for whoever a bunch of vile nutcases like you are so adamantly against.

You've got that "frequent, long, rambling, mean irrational posting" tick thing going that really makes you look kind of crazy. It's the Internet equivalent of yelling at strangers on street corners.

You have succeeded in making it quite clear that you hate Obama with a passion, though, so you can feel good about that, I guess.

bbusey --

The problem is that Obama nuts tune out all information that doesn't say he's Jesus.

The general public won't.

It would almost be worth losing the election just to see his supporters get cut down to size.

So about Obama's Q&A with the Reporter today regarding Obama's commitment to keep some kind of troop level in Iraq...or near Iraq...or God only knows what he's talking about, it sounds pretty much the same as what McCain was saying...they just said it differently. McCain did not mean he wanted to continue the war, he meant we should have a presense there (like South Korea)...Obama just said the same thing...we need to keep a small troop presense there.
The guy's doublespeak...just makes my head hurt...

Posted by: badger3 | March 31, 2008 11:35 PM

*******************

With respect, read what he wrote and not what the media say he said. His position on Iraq has been evolving as he has heard from more and more leading authorities on the subject.

At an Army meeting late last week, we learned that very senior military leaders have been providing all three Presidential candidates with thorough briefings on the current situation in Iraq.

As a military retiree, I'm glad that those in-depth briefings are taking place and that the candidates have the wisdom to listen, learn and adjust their positions - or at least stop calling for their "original solutions" when apprised of changing situations and conditions.

That's the sort of considered thought that we need from our leaders. Don't you agree?

Both Jake.D and svreader fail to realize that months ago people tuned out the drivel they write. It's a shame they are incapable of posting any constructive remarks regarding the candidates they support, rather than continuing to throw feces at the walls.

Penn State loves Obama
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
STAFF WRITER
03/31/2008

UNIVERSITY PARK -- A rousing rally of 22,000 people greeted Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday in a county that could be pivotal to his success in the state and in damaging the hopes of his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Centre County, home to Penn State University's main campus, is full of the type of voters -- better educated, better paid and younger -- who have regularly backed Mr. Obama's bid for the presidency in other states.

Young voters like Nicole Tabatabai, 23, a Penn State alumnus and marketer at a health publishing company, came to hear Mr. Obama speak on the lawn of the campus' Old Main Building under chilly, but sunny conditions. She's read his latest book, "The Audacity of Hope," and is reading his first, "Dreams from My Father."

"I just feel like he's a fresh, new person in politics, and I like the idea that he's coming in and he's not getting all this support from large industries.

********Note: Hillary appeared at Penn State 4 days earlier and drew a crowd of 5,500.

So about Obama's Q&A with the Reporter today regarding Obama's commitment to keep some kind of troop level in Iraq...or near Iraq...or God only knows what he's talking about, it sounds pretty much the same as what McCain was saying...they just said it differently. McCain did not mean he wanted to continue the war, he meant we should have a presense there (like South Korea)...Obama just said the same thing...we need to keep a small troop presense there.
The guy's doublespeak...just makes my head hurt...

From Indianapolis Star

Obama's campaign will send Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, to Indianapolis on Friday on Obama's behalf.

Kennedy and her son Max will attend a memorial ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Robert Kennedy was in Indiana in 1968, campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president, and broke the word to a stunned crowd that King had been slain.

He gave a speech that night that helped calm the crowd, and some of his words are now engraved on the Arlington National Cemetery monument where he was buried after being assassinated himself in June 1968.

Organizers of the Indianapolis memorial invited Obama, Clinton and the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, to attend the event, which will begin at 3 p.m. at Indianapolis Public School 27, 545 E. 19th St.

Clinton's campaign said today that it did not know whether the senator would attend or when she would be back in Indiana.

Poll supports Obama's case to party

(Posted in Bostom Globe by by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor March 31, 2008 07:47 PM)

The latest Gallup poll is like manna from heaven for Barack Obama it so neatly backs up two key arguments he and his supporters are making -- that he is the stronger candidate for the fall, and that the marathon nomination fight is hurting the party.

In the poll, 59 percent of Democrats said that Obama would have the better chance as the Democratic nominee in November, compared to 30 percent for Hillary Clinton. Among Republicans, 64 percent said their presumptive nominee, John McCain, would have a better chance to win against Clinton, while only 22 percent said Obama would be the weaker Democrat.

"Clearly at this point, the party rank-and-file thinks Obama would present a stronger challenge to McCain in the fall than Clinton would," the pollsters said in a release. "Those attitudes could certainly change over the remainder of the campaign, but it is notable that Obama maintains a wide lead in these perceptions shortly after the Jeremiah Wright controversy knocked his campaign off stride."

The poll, released today, also found that 56 percent of Democrats believe that the drawn-out nomination battle is doing "more harm than good," while 35 percent believe it is doing "more good than harm." A growing drumbeat of Obama backers, most notably Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, have urged Clinton to consider dropping out for the party's good.

The survey, conducted March 24-27, has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and a margin of error among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

JPRS- That qualifies him to run for the US Senate. Hopefully, when he gets there, he will be an activist Senator who, over the years, votes his conscience and takes on the difficult tasks, winning the respect, over the years, of his fellow Senators. OOOPS! Blew that chance, voted present a disproportionate number of times during his brief tenure, whenever a controversial vote was held? Has a committee but never convened it? Yeah, he really did a lot to earn your worship.

Go get 'em Obama! The election in November is shaping up to be centered around the economy and the Iraq War.

Old Man McCain is spending time reading up on the economy in his Greenspan Book. Sorry Johnny at 71 years of age and married to a $40 million heiress, who is 20 years your junior, will not win you the hearts and minds of the American people.

From FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama has won the overall delegate race in Texas thanks to a strong showing in Democratic county conventions this past weekend.

Obama picked up seven of nine outstanding delegates, giving him a total of 99 Texas delegates to the party's national convention this summer. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the other two, giving her a total of 94 Texas delegates, according to an analysis of returns by The Associated Press.

Texas Democrats held both a presidential primary and caucus. Clinton narrowly won the popular vote in the state's primary March 4, earning her 65 national convention delegates to Obama's 61.

Precinct caucuses began immediately after polls closed primary night and quickly devolved into chaos in many parts of the state because of an unprecedented turnout of more than 1 million Democrats. The state party was never able to provide complete results from the caucuses, which is why the AP withheld nine delegates.

The precinct caucuses elected delegates to about 280 county and state senate district conventions on Saturday. The AP awarded the remaining delegates based on results from Saturday's conventions, showing Obama with about 58 percent of vote, compared to 42 percent for Clinton.

Obama won 38 delegates through the caucus/convention system, and Clinton won 29.

I've researched these candidates profusely and would be happy with either. I personally am a Kucinich fan, but will take the lesser of two flawed candidates. Both have made opportunistic economic decisions. Both have overemphasized pieces of their resume.

What I dislike are people who try to bully discourse on web forums. And you and the two others that I named do this on a daily basis. I spend my time working in my community, educating myself, and trying to evoke positive change. You troll websites and weep over some perceived sleight.

Look at what you do and what you say.

I think that is always the best place to start.

Amen dyinglikeflies -- we should celebrate those who actually "do things".

e.g. the rare highly educated college grad who turns down a comfortable salary to work in a neglected neighborhood; the organizer who gets 150,000 new voters registered in a historic vote drive in a place like Illinois (boosting Clinton's election numbers in 1992 and getting a Democrat in the Senate); becoming an editor of the Harvard Law Review (among the most competitive pre-professional positions in the country); working to make state and federal government more transparent; getting police interrogations videotaped -- pulling in support from 57 state Senators a Governor and local law enforcement; and even having the wisdom and foresight to go on the record against an ill-advised, foreign policy blunder which has stretched our military thin, cost thousands of soldiers their lives, will ultimately cost tax-payers between $1.5 and $2 trillion, and which has done absolutely nothing to advance our strategic interests.

Yes, please, let's only focus on candidates who advance the interests of ordinary Americans.

We are past due for giving the due to those who practice what they preach (or at least the nearest approximation that we can find in a place like the federal city!)

(CNN) -- Nearly 79,000 Pennsylvanians registered as Democrats last Monday, the state's deadline for those looking to participate in the April 22 primary.

A near-majority of the Pennsylvania electorate is now registered Democratic -- just over 4 million of the greater than 8 million voters in the state. Fewer than 2 in 5 are Republican.

The one-day registration total includes more than 33,000 new voters and nearly 46,000 Republicans and independents who switched their registration, according to reports released Monday by the Pennsylvania Secretary of State.

By comparison, around 7,800 Pennsylvanians became Republicans last week, including 6,000 new registrants and roughly 1,800 party-switchers.

Copyright Reverend Irving Wright with twenty years of Amens from Barry Obama

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us repudiate a land that's so called free,
Let us all be hateful for a land that's so called fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Da-mn America,
Land that I loathe.
Stand astride her, yet despise her
With a chip on a shoulder from above.
From the plantations, up to Harvard
To the Jews rich from our blood
God Da-am America, keepin' us down down down.

purple --

This isn't a high-school football game.

The is the most serious decision any of us will make regarding the future of our country.

Why don't you actually do some research on the guy you're pushing?

Are you afraid of what you might find out?

I'll give you a hint.

He's nothing like his public image.

Look at what he does, not what he says.

News Flash:

The comments section of the Washington Post has been officially trolled. Great. Three people (svreader, rat-the, and jake-d) with little to do in the non-line world spend their days trolling this site.

Don't bother with them. They are trying to bait you.

You will not convince them of anything. They lack all civility. They repeatedly call Senator Obama names and try to denigrate him. While some folks seem to do the same to Senator Clinton, there is no discernible pattern as far as I can tell.

I am imagining that these are devotees of Limbaugh or some such.

Progressives and liberals have always risen above such trivial slander and name-calling.

Change in '08.

NEO-CONS FOR HILLARY ! ! !

1. Pretend that you're a Democrat (a Hillary supporter)

2. Keep repeating all the anti-Obama smears (over & over)

a. He's a Muslim
b. He's too White
c. He's too Black
d. He's a racist

(it doesn't really matter which you choose... just be sure to stay away from any "issues"... talk about his father, his wife, his pastor, his kindergarden report card, make racial references to Jim Jones, capitalize his middle name....it doesn't matter, Americans are stupid (look how we got them in a war with Iraq)...just make it up, and keep repeating it 24/7)

THEN PRETEND THAT IF HE'S NOMINATED, YOU WON'T VOTE DEMOCRATIC IN NOVEMBER*

*actually this is the truth...of course, if Hillary is nominated it doesn't really matter wins, as both Hillary and McCain are both in the pockets of our lobbies, and will get America in the wars that we want.

.....remember, McCain & Clinton are the same, but

WE MUST STOP OBAMA!!

Talking about fraudulent politicians, the DINO Hillbillies don't care about your health!

Clinton didn't pay health insurance bills; $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9274.html

No wonder she can't get any health care coverage passed! She must have picked up this bad habit while she was on the board of directors of WalMart, assisting them with union busting.

She only cares about herself, and it shows in her Swiftboat campaign tactics as well as her past.

It's good to see that Senator Obama is talking about the economy in PA. Folks are really hurting there. I hope that he is able to be a good voice for common folks when he gets to the White House.

I pray that God will protect him, his family, and his little girls in the months to come. As a young mom, the bravery of this family certainly inspires me to be bolder in the work I do in my life.

This Obama-worshipping coverage is sickening. Obama at the pump. Obama bowling. Obama picking his nose.

I'm shocked that there aren't any Clinton Bosnia articles. The number of Clinton Bosnia + Clinton drop-out articles has only been outnumbered by the number of Obama-is-great-for-talking-about-Rev.Wright articles.

Clintoon's Rovian plan to bring down Obama in November seems to be working.

The DINO HillBillies have erased Obama's lead over McCain, but can't seem to manage over taking Obama.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/105907/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Keeps-Lead-Over-Clinton-51-43.aspx

Oh well, there's always 2012 for her to make another run for President, or is there?

She better ask John Edwards how that strategy works out.

The WaPo has become a repetitive press release for the Obama campaign, to the point where there is little difference between logging on to his campaign site and this one. How many pictures of Him bowling (and looking awkward) or pointing nobly into the distance etc. etc. can we handle? To most of us who do not belong to his cult it is more offensive than a porn site. Our political system should be promoting people who have actually done things, not people who play those people on TV.

How Barry Obama got "elected" in Chicago --

Here's a glimpse of the real Barry Obama

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story

I get the sense if I was to take a peak under svreader's burlap burka that I might find rat-the and JakeD frolicking. No one loves sharia more than McClinton supporters.

kevin --

Obama let the people who elected him FREEZE. The got the shaft, Rezko got $100M.

As far as Obma's lies go, he's the biggest liar in the race.

From DD --

Just Embellished Words: Senator Obama's Record of Exaggerations & Misstatements

Once again, the Obama campaign is getting caught saying one thing while doing another. They are personally attacking Hillary even though Sen. Obama has been found mispeaking and embellishing facts about himself more than ten times in recent months. Senator Obama's campaign is based on words -not a record of deeds - and if those words aren't backed up by facts, there's not much else left.

"Senator Obama has called himself a constitutional professor, claimed credit for passing legislation that never left committee, and apparently inflated his role as a community organizer among other issues. When it comes to his record, just words won't do. Senator Obama will have to use facts as well," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said.

Sen. Obama consistently and falsely claims that he was a law professor. The Sun-Times reported that, "Several direct-mail pieces issued for Obama's primary [Senate] campaign said he was a law professor at the University of Chicago. He is not. He is a senior lecturer (now on leave) at the school. In academia, there is a vast difference between the two titles. Details matter." In academia, there's a significant difference: professors have tenure while lecturers do not. [Hotline Blog, 4/9/07; Chicago Sun-Times, 8/8/04]

Obama claimed credit for nuclear leak legislation that never passed. "Obama scolded Exelon and federal regulators for inaction and introduced a bill to require all plant owners to notify state and local authorities immediately of even small leaks. He has boasted of it on the campaign trail, telling a crowd in Iowa in December that it was 'the only nuclear legislation that I've passed.' 'I just did that last year,' he said, to murmurs of approval. A close look at the path his legislation took tells a very different story. While he initially fought to advance his bill, even holding up a presidential nomination to try to force a hearing on it, Mr. Obama eventually rewrote it to reflect changes sought by Senate Republicans, Exelon and nuclear regulators. The new bill removed language mandating prompt reporting and simply offered guidance to regulators, whom it charged with addressing the issue of unreported leaks. Those revisions propelled the bill through a crucial committee. But, contrary to Mr. Obama's comments in Iowa, it ultimately died amid parliamentary wrangling in the full Senate." [New York Times, 2/2/08]

Obama misspoke about his being conceived because of Selma. "Mr. Obama relayed a story of how his Kenyan father and his Kansan mother fell in love because of the tumult of Selma, but he was born in 1961, four years before the confrontation at Selma took place. When asked later, Mr. Obama clarified himself, saying: 'I meant the whole civil rights movement.'" [New York Times, 3/5/07]

LA Times: Fellow organizers say Sen. Obama took too much credit for his community organizing efforts. "As the 24-year-old mentor to public housing residents, Obama says he initiated and led efforts that thrust Altgeld's asbestos problem into the headlines, pushing city officials to call hearings and a reluctant housing authority to start a cleanup. But others tell the story much differently. They say Obama did not play the singular role in the asbestos episode that he portrays in the best-selling memoir 'Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.' Credit for pushing officials to deal with the cancer-causing substance, according to interviews and news accounts from that period, also goes to a well-known preexisting group at Altgeld Gardens and to a local newspaper called the Chicago Reporter. Obama does not mention either one in his book." [Los Angeles Times, 2/19/07]

Chicago Tribune: Obama's assertion that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing 'strains credulity.' "...Obama has been too self-exculpatory. His assertion in network TV interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity: Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fundraising for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004 -- more than a year before the adjacent home and property purchases by the Obamas and the Rezkos." [Chicago Tribune editorial, 1/27/08]

Obama was forced to revise his assertion that lobbyists 'won't work in my White House.' "White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was forced to revise a critical stump line of his on Saturday -- a flat declaration that lobbyists 'won't work in my White House' after it turned out his own written plan says they could, with some restrictions... After being challenged on the accuracy of what he has been saying -- in contrast to his written pledge -- at a news conference Saturday in Waterloo, Obama immediately softened what had been his hard line in his next stump speech." [Chicago Sun-Times, 12/16/07]

FactCheck.org: 'Selective, embellished and out-of-context quotes from newspapers pump up Obama's health plan.' "Obama's ad touting his health care plan quotes phrases from newspaper articles and an editorial, but makes them sound more laudatory and authoritative than they actually are. It attributes to The Washington Post a line saying Obama's plan would save families about $2,500. But the Post was citing the estimate of the Obama campaign and didn't analyze the purported savings independently. It claims that "experts" say Obama's plan is "the best." "Experts" turn out to be editorial writers at the Iowa City Press-Citizen - who, for all their talents, aren't actual experts in the field. It quotes yet another newspaper saying Obama's plan "guarantees coverage for all Americans," neglecting to mention that, as the article makes clear, it's only Clinton's and Edwards' plans that would require coverage for everyone, while Obama's would allow individuals to buy in if they wanted to." [FactCheck.org, 1/3/08]

Sen. Obama said 'I passed a law that put Illinois on a path to universal coverage,' but Obama health care legislation merely set up a task force. "As a state senator, I brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass legislation insuring 20,000 more children. And 65,000 more adults received health care...And I passed a law that put Illinois on a path to universal coverage." The State Journal-Register reported in 2004 that "The [Illinois State] Senate squeaked out a controversial bill along party lines Wednesday to create a task force to study health-care reform in Illinois. [...] In its original form, the bill required the state to offer universal health care by 2007. That put a 'cloud' over the legislation, said Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon. Under the latest version, the 29-member task force would hold at least five public hearings next year." [Obama Health Care speech, 5/29/07; State Journal-Register, 5/20/04]

ABC News: 'Obama...seemed to exaggerate the legislative progress he made' on ethics reform. "ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: During Monday's Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., seemed to exaggerate the legislative progress he has made on disclosure of "bundlers," those individuals who aggregate their influence with the candidate they support by collecting $2,300 checks from a wide network of wealthy friends and associates. When former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel alleged that Obama had 134 bundlers, Obama responded by telling Gravel that the reason he knows how many bundlers he has raising money for him is "because I helped push through a law this past session to disclose that." Earlier this year, Obama sponsored an amendment [sic] in the Senate requiring lobbyists to disclose the candidates for whom they bundle. Obama's amendment would not, however, require candidates to release the names of their bundlers. What's more, although Obama's amendment was agreed to in the Senate by unanimous consent, the measure never became law as Obama seemed to suggest. Gravel and the rest of the public know how many bundlers Obama has not because of a 'law' that the Illinois Democrat has 'pushed through' but because Obama voluntarily discloses that information." [ABC News, 7/23/07]

Obama drastically overstated Kansas tornado deaths during campaign appearance. "When Sen. Barack Obama exaggerated the death toll of the tornado in Greensburg, Kan, during his visit to Richmond yesterday, The Associated Press headline rapidly evolved from 'Obama visits former Confederate capital for fundraiser' to `Obama rips Bush on Iraq war at Richmond fundraiser' to 'Weary Obama criticizes Bush on Iraq, drastically overstates Kansas tornado death toll' to 'Obama drastically overstates Kansas tornado deaths during campaign appearance.' Drudge made it a banner, ensuring no reporter would miss it." [politico.com, 5/9/07]

svreader,

Just because you read it in the paper or see it on TV does not make it true.

Besides you, it is the MSM that is the total fraud.

The real news is found at

www.buzzflash.com

www.crooksandliars.

www.truthout.org

www.mediamatters.org

svreader,

Please explain Hillary's lie about not supporting NAFTA and other Free Trade Treaties, when all evidence shows indisputable proof that both she and Bill did indeed support NAFTA.

Hillary supports the decimation of U.S. manufacturing jobs. She supports putting millions of Americans out of work. She supports slave labor in third world countries. Plus she supports the polluting of our planet.

That is what you get when you support NAFTA.

Oh, and let's not forget Hillary's support of cluster bombs that kill innocent little children.

What a monster indeed!

kevin --

Try actually reading the posts.

NBC News, The Chicago Sun-Times.

The New York Times. The Washington Post.

READ THE ARTICLES AND WATCH THE TV NEWS REPORT!!!!

svreader,

When will you actually post proof of the ridiculous claims you are making?

Your comments read like Rove gone wild!

JakeD & his fellow hateful people,

I think its high time you stopped being angry and hateful. We are all Americans and we all want the best for our country. Get used to President Obama - insulting him or his supporters is not healthy for America, and is not healthy for your lives. God bless Obama and God bless America.

CLINTON CAUGHT IN ANOTHER LIE!!!

She actually claimed to be a Democrat.

HillBilly / Lieberman 2008

Obama supporters will do anything to supress the truth about him.

Its not going to work.

Obama's guaranteed to lose the national electon.

It would be nuts for Democrats to nominate him, regardless of what the current vote totals are.

The more we find out about Obama, the more we find that his "accomplishments" aren't his at all, but that he was given credit for the work done by others to make him look far more impressive than he actually is.

Obama is like a "Potemkin Village"

He looks good on the surface, but there's nothing behind it.

He's spent his entire political career running for office, and strong-arming people into putting his name on bills he never even did any work on.

The WP says so themselves in their recent article.

The NYT says "big image, little results"

All this will come out before the general election.

As will the truth about how his negligence led to people who voted for him freezing in slums in his district that Rezko, and in the rest of Chicago, that Rezko got $100M to repair, but never touched.

He can't win the general election.

But he can cause Democrats to lose it.

Everyone interested in the Presidential election should read the article that there's a link to at the bottom of this message.

Its from a Chicago reporter who's known Obama since the beginning of his career and has followed Obama's career ever since then.

The take-home message is that Obama is a total fraud, a manufactured product of the chicago politicial machine.

It tells about him stealing credit for bills he never worked when he was in Chicago, just like he did in Washington.

It talks about "Obama's Slums" and fact that Barry didn't care one bit about the people who elected him.

Its about the fact that Chicago Barry Obama is the one of the most clever con-men in the world and the biggest fraud that's been put over on the American public since Bush.

Its filled with facts about Obama from someone who has known him for years.

The title's cute. Obama isn't. He's a fraud.

http://news.houstonpress.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/

Obama Supporters --

How you support Obama when he let the people who elected him in Chicago freeze in slums in his district his friend and campaign contributor Rezok got $100M to repair or replace?

Before you send any more of your, or your parent's, hard earned money to Barry Obama --

Please Watch this report on Obama, Obama's slums, Rezko, and $100M of wasted taxpayer money, from NBC news, Chicago's most respected TV news program.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHsHM0laT8&feature=related

How do you explain away the fact that Barry Obama never followed up on the 11 slums that his friend Rezko was supposed to repair in Obama's district in Chicago, and continued to do nothing about the 40 slums that Rezko was supposed to repair or replace in Chicago, even after Obama joined the US Senate?

From the Chicago Sun Times:

For more than five weeks during the brutal winter of 1997, tenants shivered without heat in a government-subsidized apartment building on Chicago's South Side.

It was just four years after the landlords -- Antoin "Tony'' Rezko and his partner Daniel Mahru -- had rehabbed the 31-unit building in Englewood with a loan from Chicago taxpayers.

Rezko and Mahru couldn't find money to get the heat back on.

But their company, Rezmar Corp., did come up with $1,000 to give to the political campaign fund of Barack Obama, the newly elected state senator whose district included the unheated building....

The building in Englewood was one of 30 Rezmar rehabbed in a series of troubled deals largely financed by taxpayers. Every project ran into financial difficulty. More than half went into foreclosure, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.

"Their buildings were falling apart,'' said a former city official. "They just didn't pay attention to the condition of these buildings.''

Eleven of Rezko's buildings were in Obama's state Senate district....

Rezko and Mahru had no construction experience when they created Rezmar in 1989 to rehabilitate apartments for the poor under the Daley administration. Between 1989 and 1998, Rezmar made deals to rehab 30 buildings, a total of 1,025 apartments. The last 15 buildings involved Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland during Obama's time with the firm.

Rezko and Mahru also managed the buildings, which were supposed to provide homes for poor people for 30 years. Every one of the projects ran into trouble:

* Seventeen buildings -- many beset with code violations, including a lack of heat -- ended up in foreclosure.

* Six buildings are currently boarded up.

* Hundreds of the apartments are vacant, in need of major repairs.

* Taxpayers have been stuck with millions in unpaid loans.

* At least a dozen times, the city of Chicago sued Rezmar for failure to heat buildings.

Hillary has tried the "kitchen sink" attack, and all that's happened is her poll numbers continue to sink.

She pretends she is the best qualified to get a phone call at three a.m., then blames Bosnia-gate on being sleep deprived.

And today we find the "universal health care" champion put her campaign workers' own insurance policy at risk.

Even with his lousy bowling score, it is clear that Barack Obama remains a far superior candidate.

That is, of course, if the Democrats are serious about winning.

Obama-Webb, 08!

Thanks JakeD and Dyck20015 for your insight into Barack's middle name, and
his slip up over dates, but who actually
do you support? There is no point in repeatedly saying who you don't like,
without at least saying who you support.
The only two other candidates are Hillary
and McCain, so state which!
With some people, I wonder if they really like paying $4 trillion and want 93
more years of dying in Iraq....

The Kennedy's paid for the second airlift from Kenya in 1960, and not Baracks dad airlift in 1959. Does that make it better for those scrapping for Obama scandal? Go to the kindergarten records again, there must still be stuff in there....

To the person who poster the "exaggeration" stories about Obama: That is the same kind of rhetoric they used against Al Gore in 2000 that was not worth reporting. It is possible he did not know, or, even if he did know, it's not such a big deal. Catch him lying about policy like Bush did in 2000(the whole mucked up business with his tax cuts), then you'll have something to talk about.

dyck21005, some of the Kennedy money went to pay the unpaid bills of the 1959 airlift. I will grant you that Obama was wrong on that topic, but I am curious, it he just repeating a story his mom told him?

That is nowhere near as bad as saying "We landed at an airport under sniper fire" when there wasn't any such thing.

My brother had to have back surgery partly because of lingering injuries from his days as a paratrooper. Then, his company let him go a few months after he returned to work (he was asked back as a temp at half the pay without any benefits to do the same job). He refinanced the house to pay for the medical bills with an adjustable rate mortgage. Then, he cashed in his 401k to pay for the rising mortgage payments. As a result, he lost his retirement, his house and his marriage.

Brought to you by the two Countrywide executives who just made $19 million dollars for incompetence.

In the meantime, Bear Stearns paid cash bonuses to its top management all the while claiming that it didn't have any money problems. One month later, it nearly disintegrated before the Federal Reserve bailed it out.

Senator John McCain said the government shouldn't bail out those who act irresponsibly, but I haven't heard a word out his mouth about either of these two groups of money gluttons.

MSNBC-
OBAMA: ANOTHER SUPER, EXAGGERATION

Washington Post caught Obama in a lie about the Kennedy family role.
Politico reports, "During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than he acknowledges in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion- positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he's projected during his presidential campaign. The evidence comes from an amended version of an Illinois voter group's detailed questionnaire, filed under his name during his bid for a state Senate. In response to a Politico story, Obama's answers he never saw questioaire?

Obama said he goofed on votes angered fellow Democrats in the Senate when he voted to strip millions of dollars from a child welfare office on Chicago's West Side. But Obama had a ready explanation: He goofed! Also announced he had fumbled an election-reform vote the day before, on a measure that passed 51 to 6. The next day, he acknowledged voting "present" on a key telecommunications vote. He stood on March 11, 1999, to take back his vote against legislation to end good-behavior credits for certain felons in county jails. "I pressed the wrong button on that," he said. Obama was the lone dissenter on Feb. 24, 2000, against 57 yeas for a ban on human cloning. "I pressed the wrong button by accident," he said. But two of Obama's bumbles came on more-sensitive topics, he backed legislation to permit riverboat casinos to operate even when the boats were dockside. The measure, pushed by the gambling industry and fought by church groups whose support Obama was seeking, passed with two "yeas" to spare -- including Obama's. Moments after its passage he rose to say, explaining that he had mistakenly voted for it.

Obama would later develop a reputation as a critic of the gambling industry, and he voted against a similar measure two years later. But he was clearly confused about how to handle the issue at the time of his first vote, telling a church group that he was "undecided" about whether he backed an expansion of riverboat gambling. And, months earlier, he had voted in favor of a version of the bill.

NBC- Aswini Anburajan
GREENBURG, Pa
OBAMA LIES IN PENNSYLVANIA AD
It's unfortunate that Senator Obama is using false advertising to explain why he can be trusted to do something about energy prices. In his ad, Obama says, I'm Barack Obama, and I don't take money from oil companies or lobbyists, and I won't let them block change any more. Obama has been the recipient of more than $220,000 from the oil and gas industry just since as of Feb/08. Two of Obama's campaign bundlers are also CEOs for oil and gas companies, per his campaign Web site? Obama needs to answer to VOTERS about his dealings with one of his largest contributors Exelon, a big nuclear power company that he cut deals behind closed doors protecting them from full disclosure in the nuclear industry. Exxon, Shell, and others are among his biggest donors

Judicial Watch:
By Klaus Marre
Obama 'intended to leave no paper trail' OBAMA REFUSES to cooperate in releasing 8 years of his state senate records. One main reason REZKO!

The WashigntonPost Fact Checker
ABCNEWS.COM
Senator Obama CAUGHT LYING about Kennedy Role in Helping His Father
Contrary to Obama's claims in speeches Kennedy family did not provide the funding for a September 1959 airlift of 81 Kenyan students to the United States that included Obama's father. According to historical records and interviews with participants, the Kennedys were approached for support for the program a year later, July 1960. family responded with a $100,000 donation, which went to pay for a second airlift in September 1960.

Hillary fired Patty Solis-Doyle in order to put Maggie Williams in charge! Makes you wonder what Patty was up to while subprime Maggie was making $200,000 from the human misery incurred when sheriffs boot families from their homes onto the street.

If anyone is actually interested in how the Electoral College (the only vote that counts) is lining up so far:

McCain (324) vs. Obama (205)

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Obama/Maps/Mar31.html

McCain (278) vs. Clinton (229)

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Clinton/Maps/Mar31.html

Barack HUSSEIN Obama will not be sworn in as President on January 20, 2009.

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