http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/ en Copyright 2008 Sat, 10 May 2008 13:00:52 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) continues to show no signs of dropping her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination, despite the seemingly quixotic nature of her bid. "I'm going to keep going because you're keeping me going," she said at a rally yesterday in Oregon, pledging to her supporters to remain in the race regardless of the long odds against her. At issue now for Democrats is not whether Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) will be the nominee -- he will be barring some sort of unforeseen catastrophic event -- but rather whether Clinton's pledge to remain in the race until the nomination fight ends in June (and perhaps beyond) is a good or bad thing for the party. There are adherents of both positions. Those who say Clinton's continued candidacy is for the good point to the massive attention and turnout that the race has produced http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/05/weekend_wag_the_blog_the_longe.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/05/weekend_wag_the_blog_the_longe.html Wag The Blog Sat, 10 May 2008 13:00:52 -0400 Even before Wednesday night's debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton ended, the protests about it from some within the Democratic Party had begun. Obama supporters slammed the proceedings as a "gotcha" fest in which ABC moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos worked in tandem with Clinton to barrage the front-runner over trivialities for the entire first half of the debate. Clinton backers, on the other hand, claimed the debate was (finally) a leveling of the playing field, with Obama being forced to run the sort of gauntlet of scrutiny that Clinton faced in debate after debate throughout 2007. In the past 72 hours, the debate over the debate has grown even more fierce. Here's a look at few of the major developments: * Moveon.org, which is supporting Obama in the primary, organized an online petition drive decrying the alleged lack of issues discussed in the debate. "Enough is http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/04/wag_the_blog_debate_debate.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/04/wag_the_blog_debate_debate.html Wag The Blog Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:41:14 -0400 Last week, we asked Fixistas to weigh in on whether Sen. Hillary Clinton's Bosnia blunder might prove detrimental to her campaign, or merely pass as a minor blip. Just to recap -- Clinton had said she once fled sniper fire in 1996 when landing at an air base in Bosnia. But comedian Sinbad, who was on her trip, said that was untrue (as did the Post's fact checker Michael Dobbs). Clinton then held a press conference and said she "made a mistake." Just how big a story was that "mistake" in the larger narrative of the campaign? We received all sorts of opinions -- 312 comments! -- and post.com politics producer Sarah Lovenheim culled the best and the brightest. Here they are: Minor Blip "I don't think this alone will derail her candidacy . . . while it attacks one narrative she has created based around her experience. Her supporters http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/04/wag_the_blog_redux_clinton_in.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/04/wag_the_blog_redux_clinton_in.html Wag The Blog Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:43:00 -0400 In what has been a relatively slow news week, a made-for-television exchange between Sen. Barack Obama and a extremely persistent man requesting a photo with the Illinois Senator became all the buzz of the chattering class on Wednesday. Here's video of the exchange: Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our enhanced content. var thisObj = "flashobj040208X9v"; var so = new SWFObject("http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/wpniplayer_blog.swf", thisObj, "454", "305", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "always"); so.addParam("swfliveconnect", true); so.addVariable("thisObj", thisObj); so.addVariable("vid","040208-9v_title"); so.addVariable("playads", "yes"); so.addVariable("adserv",""); so.addVariable("autoStart", "no"); so.write("flashcontent040208X9v"); Just in case you had trouble hearing, our colleague Shailagh Murray provides a partial transcript. Obama is visibly annoyed at the man who, the Senator's campaign insists, was seeking an autograph to sell on ebay and, therefore, was not genuine in his motives. Our sense in watching the series of clips is that Obama could be justified in his cold response to the guy. The man's hawking of Obama http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/04/wag_the_blog_a_question_of_tem.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/04/wag_the_blog_a_question_of_tem.html Wag The Blog Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:27:27 -0400 Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's story about a harrowing 1996 landing at an air base in Bosnia has now been formally debunked by comedian Sinbad (who was on the trip), the Post's fact checker Michael Dobbs, and this video provided by CBS News. Clinton's campaign acknowledged in a conference call Monday that she "misspoke" and on Tuesday Clinton herself said she had made a mistake. "So I made a mistake," Clinton said in a press conference in Pennsylvania. "That happens. It shows I'm human, which for some people is a revelation." The question now before the political world is whether to take Clinton at her word or whether the Bosnia story represents a pattern of conduct that speaks to larger problems about her candidacy. On the one hand, Clinton did accurately recount the Bosnia landing in her autobiography "Living History" and, like many of us, might simply be guilty of exaggeration http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/wag_the_blog_clinton_in_bosnia.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/wag_the_blog_clinton_in_bosnia.html Wag The Blog Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00:09 -0400 That speech, delivered by Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) yesterday in the face of growing concerns about the nature of his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is one of the few seminal moments in a campaign defined of late by molehills, not mountains. Wright's statements -- as captured in a series of recently surfaced You Tube clips -- forced Obama to react. But the candidate did not renounce the man in his speech; instead, he took the issue of race head on. Everybody and their brother had a perspective on the speech. Make sure to read Post reporter Dan Balz's take and the New York Times analysis. And there's plenty more worth your time: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times's Lynn Sweet , Dick Polman (formally of the Philly Inquirer), New Republic's Michael Crowley and Politico's Roger Simon. After you've read all of that, and watched the speech again, we want http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/the_speech.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/the_speech.html Wag The Blog Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:55:55 -0400 The Florida Democratic Party unveiled a vote-by-mail proposal, Thursday, that would -- in essence -- allow a re-vote of the state's Jan. 29 primary, and provide a way for the state's delegation to be seated and cast votes for a candidate at the Democratic National Convention. If the plan is approved by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), as well as the Democratic National Committee, ballots would be mailed to all Florida registered Democrats by May 9 and a series of 50 Regional Election Offices (REOs) would be put in place "to ensure that disadvantaged communities have the opportunity to vote," according to the proposal. June 3 would function as the new "election day" for Florida Democrats with all ballots due to the state party headquarters by 7 p.m. that night. The plan, according to the proposal, would cost between $10 and $12 million and could be http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/wag_the_blog_the_florida_revot.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/wag_the_blog_the_florida_revot.html Wag The Blog Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:55:03 -0400 When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) disappeared from the campaign trail without warning yesterday, the rumor mill began churning. Had a cold or the flu knocked her down just 96 hours before the biggest votes of her political life? Did she sneak off for a clandestine courting session with former senator John Edwards (N.C.)? Turns out Clinton had hopped a plane for New York City where she appeared in a sketch on "Saturday Night Live" -- mocking, among other things, the media's treatment of Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), her position in the race and even her laugh? Not a night owl and missed the sketch? Here it is: For today's special Sunday edition of Wag the Blog, we want to know whether Clinton's appearance last night had any effect on how you view her as a candidate. And, whether it did or didn't, do you think her "SNL" star turn http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/wag_the_blog_clinton_on_saturd.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/wag_the_blog_clinton_on_saturd.html Wag The Blog Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:00:00 -0400 Last week we asked the Fix community whether the New York Times story that alleged a too-close relationship between Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and a female lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, might hurt the Arizona senator's presidential campaign. The fact that, less than one week after it ran, the story has all but disappeared from the headlines suggests it won't have all that much effect this fall. Here's a few of the most insightful comments from Fixistas who saw it as a non-story from the get-go. (Big props to post.com politics producer Sarah Lovenheim who helped cull the more than 180 responses to the original post.) The conversation continues here. The Stories Are Harmless: dbitt: "It could end up being a net positive for McCain, if the kneejerk conservative NYT-hatred propels them to circle the wagons around "the victim"... Wouldn't be at all surprised if he was a little too close to http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/wag_the_blog_redux_3.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/wag_the_blog_redux_3.html Wag The Blog Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:00:00 -0400 The political world was abuzz last night about a New York Times story that alleged a too-close relationship between Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and a female lobbyist. Play Video VIDEO | McCain Dismisses Affair Rumor (CBS News) The story detailed McCain's ties to a lobbyist named Vicki Iseman and alleged that he had taken actions that would have benefited a client of hers. The story asserts that some on McCain's staff thought the relationship between the two had become "romantic" (in the words of the Times); McCain and Iseman both denied any romantic relationship. The Washington Post published a similar story later in the night -- noting that a senior adviser to McCain had met with Iseman in Washington and urged her to stay away from the Arizona Senator for fear a close relationship with a lobbyist would jeopardize the reformer credentials on which McCain was building his 2000 presidential http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/wag_the_blog_impact_of_mccain.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/wag_the_blog_impact_of_mccain.html Wag The Blog Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:35:17 -0400 UPDATE, 8:30 am: Obama has agreed to a debates on Feb. 26 in Ohio and another debate in Texas before that state's March 4 primary. Obama's campaign did not offer up a specific date for the Texas debate but there is a tentative event already in the works for Feb. 28. NBC will sponsor both forums. ORIGINAL POST For those of us who have been watching the Democratic presidential contest for the better part of the last two years (or more), it seems as though the candidates have been debating forever. But, with the field narrowed to two, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) is calling on Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) to agree to a series of debates over the next month. In a conference call on Tuesday, Clinton senior strategist Mark Penn said it was "critically important that we continue the debates between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton." Obama quickly http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/wag_the_blog_the_debate_over_d.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/wag_the_blog_the_debate_over_d.html Wag The Blog Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0400 Earlier this week, Fix readers were asked for their take on the speeches Hillary Rodham Clintonand Barack Obama delivered on Sunday to honor Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. We asked which candidate you thought conveyed the most compelling message and why. Clinton visited Harlem and addressed the Abyssinian Church; Obama delivered a speech at King's home church -- Ebenezer Baptist -- in Atlanta. You can rewatch clips of their speeches and continue the conversation here. The most insightful reader responses are below: Clinton's Shortfall I felt like Obama's speech spoke to specific issues facing African Americans in a way that Hillary Clinton might never be able to... Obama is willing to challenge the status quo; notice his comments about responsibility in the community and good parenting garnered huge applause from the congregants. Posted by: amyuw05 | It's Not All About the Economy, Hillary Hillary's left me cold. Her interpretation http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/wag_the_blog_redux_clinton_vs.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/wag_the_blog_redux_clinton_vs.html Wag The Blog Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:30:24 -0400 To honor Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) spoke at two of the high profile African-American churches in the country on Sunday. Clinton addressed the Abyssinian Church in Harlem; Obama took to the pulpit at King's home church -- Ebenezer Baptist -- in Atlanta. And, thanks to the miracle of video on demand, we can compare the two speeches -- although we attended neither. The two speeches are somewhat lengthy -- especially Obama's -- but both are worth your time as they illustrate the similarities and contrasts between the two candidates' messages. For today's Wag the Blog question, we want to know -- based solely on the two speeches provided below -- who more effectively conveyed his or her message. Try to be as objective as possible. If you are a Clinton supporter, really watch the two speeches (or at least http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/wag_the_blog_on_speeches_and_s.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/wag_the_blog_on_speeches_and_s.html Wag The Blog Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:27:00 -0400 A truce has (apparently) been called between Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) after several days of increasingly strong rhetoric over racial issues. It all began when Clinton -- seeking to drive home her message that experience gets results -- said that it "took a president" -- Lyndon Johnson -- to pass the Civil Rights bill of 1964 -- a bill that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated for in a series of speeches, marches and non-violent protests. Those statements rubbed some black Americans the wrong way -- including Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). Clyburn and other Clinton critics said they worried that Clinton was attempting to diminish the accomplishments of the nation's heroic Civil Rights leaders. After largely remaining silent on the issue, Obama called the remark "unfortunate" on Sunday -- moments after Clinton had appeared on Meet the Press and accused the Illinois Senator's campaign of http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/wag_the_blog_race_matters.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/wag_the_blog_race_matters.html Wag The Blog Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:33:57 -0400 We asked the Fix community what Ron Paul's financial success said about the state of the Republican Party and the American political landscape. And boy did you respond! As of press time, 335 comments were made on the original post. Obviously given that volume, we couldn't pick out all of the posts that made a good point or made a cogent argument. But, washingtonpost.com politics producer Sarah Lovenheim did her best to pool the best of your responses below. Ron Paul's fundraising success means: ... there are a lot of people out there who are very upset with the status quo. I get the feeling that Paul's donors don't usually participate in politics; they weren't out campaigning for Bush or Kerry in 2004. They're the people who disagree with the entire system, and want a major change. Posted by: Blarg Genius marketing and internet work, by Paul's people. Posted by: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/12/wag_the_blog_redux_ron_pauls_m.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/12/wag_the_blog_redux_ron_pauls_m.html Wag The Blog Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:45:00 -0400