Me Starring in Jib Jab's Latest Campaign Toon

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GOP Again Proves Why It Cannot Be the Party of Change

Here's one of those ads that says more about the person who sponsored the ad than it does the person the ad attacks. The ad is a tiresome rehash of bad Internet rumors spread from ignorant person to ignorant person, but apparently the GOP is fine with collecting votes by spreading disinformation, encouraging ignorance, exploiting fear, and using smear techniques.

I know this is not an official GOP ad, but we've seen this dirty swift-boating tactic before from the Republicans. A GOP-affiliated group launches a dirty campaign, and the candidate and party act as if they have no ability to control, influence, or react to it. This ad comes from Floyd Brown - of Willie Horton fame - through his National Campaign Fund PAC.

Come on McCain and GOP leadership! Prove to us you support a clean campaign. Show backbone, integrity, and a commitment to honesty. Your silence will only prove why the Democrats and Obama are the only answer to the need for change in Washingon, D.C.

One Voice Can Change the World

Call it rhetoric, spin, marketing, or propaganda. Call it whatever you wish. I call this inspirational.

Hillary Wants Obama to Bail Her Out

Let's see if I get this straight: Hillary knew many weeks ago that she would be unable to secure the Democratic nomination, yet she persisted. She continued to solicit donations from Democratic supporters that could've gone into Obama's coffers to help pay for the general election. And, instead of being able to save money for the general election, Obama's campaign had to spend their funds to battle the negative-tinged campaigning (such as the now famous "3 a.m. ad") waged by Clinton's team.

You might think she'd done enough damage, but apparently not. She is now looking to broker a deal with Obama to have him pay her campaign debts. That's right--she wants him to pay for her bad decisions! And in doing so, his campaign will have to tap even more of his funds that should be used campaigning against McCain in fall.

I don't know who annoys me more: Hillary, for acting in a way that damages her party's chances to win in November? Bill, for some of the embarrassing and paranoid things he's been saying as his wife's chances dwindled? (Funny how when the Clintons were stacking the deck to aid Hillary's campaign it was fine and dandy, but once the party leadership demonstrated they could think on their own, Bill cries foul.) People like Bill Maher who acted like there was nothing wrong with Hillary continuing to run long past her ability to win, despite the financial and other adverse consequences to the party? Or maybe it's the voters who claim to care about the war in Iraq, the environment, education, civil rights, and other core issues who decided to continue to fund Hillary's damaging campaign rather than to rally around the future party nominee.

Oh heck, maybe I'll just be annoyed at all of them. But my annoyance will turn to anger if Hillary drains Obama's campaign funds to cover the debts she incurred waging a campaign that should've ceased tens of millions of dollars ago. Rumors are that Clinton's campaign is as much as $40 million in the red. CNN reports Obama's campaign has just over $50 million cash on hand. If the Obama campaign permits Hillary to further damage the Democrat's chances of beating the GOP this fall, I'll be angry at just about all of them--Hillary, Bill, Dean, Obama, all of them.

Here's what I'd suggest: Bill and Hillary can lick their wounds and spend the rest of their lives living with the ramifications of their poor decision to continue and to loan money to a doomed campaign. Considering the kind of money Bill pulls down for speaking engagements, he should be able to pay off Hillary's campaign debt in about eight years.

I understand this opinion is being colored by frustration, but I think Obama should let Hillary find her own way out of her mess. He's going to sew up the nomination soon with or without Clinton's withdrawal, and it's time he starts concentrating on what he needs to do to lead the Democratic Party to victory in November. Paying for Hillary's lack of judgment isn't going to help the Democratic party or his campaign.

An Article That Will Dispirit You (Unless You're a Racist)

If your day is going a little too well, here's a Washington Post article that will leave you saddened. The article is entitled, "Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause," and it shares stories of Obama volunteers who have endured comments like, "I'll never vote for a black person," "White people look out for white people, and black people look out for black people", and "Hang that darky from a tree!"

The idea that this sort of racism still exists is dispiriting, but to hear the regularity with which Obama campaigners have faced this sort of crap is profoundly disturbing. It pisses me off and makes me embarrassed for some portion of my race.

Tonight's results from the progressive state of West Virginia suggest this sort of mentality runs deeper than it should in the 21st Century. According to The Herald Tribune, a full 20% of West Virginia voters said race was an important factor in their vote, and that's just the percentage of people who were willing to admit it! How unabashedly racist does a person have to be to admit--even an anonymous pollster--that one believes the color of a person's skin is an important and relevant factor in determining that individual's capabilities?

All of this wouldn't be quite so disappointing if it didn't seem Hillary is courting exactly this sort of Neanderthal thinking ("Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again"). I guess "the first black president" wasn't married to the "first black First Lady."

Obama will be victorious for the Democratic nomination, and then we'll see how much race is a factor for the general election. Until recently, I was naive enough to think it would have minimal impact, but now I'm not so sure.

By the way, if you happen to be one of those people who think that race matters when it comes to leadership, please click any of the following: Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles R. Drew, Nelson Mandela, Ralph Bunche, Thurgood Marshall, Colin L. Powell, or Carol Moseley Braun.

What is Hillary Trying to Accomplish?

Could someone please tell me what Hillary is trying to accomplish at this point in the Democratic primaries?

She cannot win. Period. Check out the NY Times Interactive Delegate Tracker. Even if she won every remaining state by a 55/45 percentage (which is the best she's managed in any primary in the last two months), she'd need to get the support of three-quarters of the remaining superdelegates in order to earn the nomination. The problem with this is that she won't win the remaining states by a ten-point margin; Clinton has been polling neck-and-neck with Obama for weeks, so there's no way for her close that margin.

In order to win, she'd need superdelegates to cast their ballot contrary to the popular election, which no one thinks is going to happen. In fact, she continues to lose superdelegates to Obama. Since Tuesday's primaries, Obama has gained six superdelegates while Clinton picked up one and lost another.

Hillary is running out of money. She's loaned her campaign $11.4M this year, and her campaign still has $10.3 M in unpaid bills as of March 31.

Respected pundits on virtually every media outlet have essentially or explicitly announced that the race is over and Obama has won, following her narrow win in Indiana and substantial defeat in North Carolina.

Even Clinton friends and supporters are calling for an end to this painful situation. George Stephanopoulos, George McGovern, Bill Richardson, Robert Reich and other Clinton loyalists have shifted their allegiance or called on Hillary to pull out of the race.

I understand she has the right to continue to run, but given she cannot win the nomination, what is her motivation to do so? It is clear Hillary's continued presence in the race is doing damage to Obama's and her party's chances to win in the general election:

• She is introducing race into the election, which cannot be good for her party or the country at large. This isn't the first time Hillary or Bill has played the race card, and it gets uglier every time they do it. In an interview today, she said, "Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again" and "whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." (The deluded woman told USA Today she didn't believe her emphasis on white voters could be interpreted as racially divisive because, "These are the people you have to win if you're a Democrat in sufficient numbers to actually win the election. Everybody knows that.")
  
  
• She continues to push for the Michigan and Florida primaries to count, even though she agreed they should not, even though she was the only remaining candidate on the ballot in one of those states, and even though no campaigning was done in either state by either candidate. If she dropped out, the rift with Dems in these states could be healed since these states' delegates could be seated at the convention. But instead, Hillary continues to push for a retroactive change in the rules, raising concerns this issue could cause a widening of the rift within the party. (If she really cared about including the Democratic voters in those states, Hillary would acknowledge the obvious, drop out, and invite those delegates to play a role at the convention to anoint Obama.)
  
  
• On top of those issues, Hillary is continuing to attack Obama and weaken him for the general election while McCain enjoys criticism-free months. She continues to raise funds that could go to supporting Obama in the general election, and she's forcing Obama to spend his campaign funds running against her rather than against McCain.

The whole mess is just unbelievable. An unpopular GOP president, a horrible war, a weakening economy--this should be an easy election for the Democrats, and right now the candidate who cannot win is threatening to undermine the Democrat who can.

A friend of mine tonight said he believes Hillary is working for the Republicans. I can't see how this is possible, but between her ads that play on voters' fears of terrorism, her mailers featuring pro-gun stands, and her actions in the race, it's an almost believable contention.

Which brings me back to my original question: Could someone please tell me what Hillary is trying to accomplish at this point in the election? (And really, shouldn't the ability to grasp reality be one of the primary qualities we want in a presidential candidate?)

Bill Moyers on Reverend Wright and Religion

Bill Moyers (of course) has some thoughtful things to say about race relations, religion, and Reverend Wright. A worthy six-minute video that provide more perspective than you'll find in hours and hours on CNN or FOX News.

Obama and Clinton - How they're advertising

Once again (as I've often been during this campaign), I am struck with the contrast in the way Hillary and Barack advertise.

Here is Hillary's ad. It's very negative and gives half the story. She paints Obama as unwilling to make decisions when, in fact, he's making tough decisions and not simply going for easy fixes.



Here's another controversial Hillary ad that has received a great deal of criticism from bloggers and pundits. An often-heard refrain is that this was taken from Karl Rove's campaign playbook, with the use of images from Pearl Harbor, the Depression, Bin Laden, and a few other crises. Like her infamous "3 am" ad, this uses fear to convince voters they need her, without actually offering any reasons why or even suggesting she has policies to prevent future disasters. In fact, she almost seems to be campaigning on platform that says she can't stop problems from happening, but at least she can answer the phone in the White House when they do.



Barack's ad certainly is aimed at Hillary, but it isn't negative, it doesn't use fear, it simply talks plain sense about the nonsensical proposal to suspend gas taxes. He points out how little it will save, and how this action (supported by the two GOP candidates, Clinton and McCain) (well if she doesn't want to be called a GOP candidate, she should stop advertising like one) will do nothing to solve the real problems causing gas prices to rise.

Rocky Meets Obama and Hillary

Alas, Pennsylvania did not give Barack-y the win as suggested in this video. But it's still darn funny... [Via Milk and Cookies]

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

For Which Party's Nomination is Hillary Running?

After getting criticism for borrowing from the Republican play book with her "3 AM" ad, you'd think Clinton might be a little more cautious. But days before the pivotal Pennsylvania primary she's doing it again. CNN reports Hillary Clinton launched a television ad there that includes images from the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Osama Bin Laden.

The GOP's use of fear as a campaign weapon has always disturbed me. Despite the fact I am a fiscal conservative and consider myself a very moderate voter, I am rarely tempted to consider a Republican candidate for president because I can't shake the feeling they strive to manipulate voters with fear. (Fear is rarely a good place from which to govern or lead.)

The way Hillary is campaigning is really turning me off. A month ago I scoffed at Democrats who said they would vote for McCain if "their candidate" (either Hillary or Barack) failed to win the nomination. Now, I'm beginning to understand those feelings.

I won't go so far as to say I'll vote GOP if Hillary someone manages to climb past Obama, but I am beginning to understand sentiments such as those voiced by Michael Moore today on his Web site:

Over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting. I guess the debate last week was the final straw. I've watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name "Farrakhan" out of nowhere, well that's when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the "F" word to scare white people, pure and simple. Of course, Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. But, according to Senator Clinton, Obama's pastor does...

This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!

Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for 'spiritual counseling?' THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"

But no, Obama won't throw that at her. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be decent. She's been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.

Hillary keeps using fear and attacks to try to save her floundering campaign. I continue to believe this isn't good for the Democrat's chances in the general election. Hillary seemed on track to become the first female president of the United States, if not in 2008 then perhaps in 2012, but I feel she's doing herself a great deal of damage among the Democratic faithful with the way she's chosen to manage her campaign.

Some are suggesting an Obama/Clinton ticket, but the way she's running for president, perhaps we may see a McCain/Clinton ticket instead.

How Hillary Can Still Win

See? It's easy for Hillary to still win. (Extra credit is given for clips from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure!) [Via OtherCrap]

Clinton and Obama Tied?

Most folks thought the last Democratic debate was a draw, but the daily Gallup polls seem to show otherwise. According to Gallup, Obama and Clinton are now running neck and neck. The latest poll gives Hillary a one-point lead, marking the first time Obama has not led in Gallup's daily tracking since March 18-20.

I'm a bit surprised by this. It will be interesting to see how Pennsylvania votes on Tuesday.

Bill Clinton thinks Hillary voters are wise

Bill Clinton says older voters are too wise to be fooled by Barack Obama's rhetoric. Older voters are tending toward Hilary, but I'm not sure that's because of wisdom.

According to Gallup, those with post-graduate degrees support Obama over Clinton by a more-than-2-to-1 margin. Among those with college degrees, Barack's support is more than 50% greater than Hillary's. And among those with some college, Obama's support is around 33% greater than Hillary's. It is only among those with a high school education or less that Hillary is out-polling Barack.

Also of note is that Gallup is reporting that Obama's lead over Hillary is at it greatest point all year among Democrats. As recently as two weeks ago, in the midst of pastorgate, Hillary was running within three points of Barack, but his lead has been growing since. And in Pennsylvania, where Hillary desperately needs a win next Tuesday, she is polling just five points ahead of Obama with a large percentage of undecideds. The LA Times reports she is "losing traction" in that state.

There's a big debate in Philadelphia tomorrow night. With so much riding on this next primary, this could be an important and interesting debate!

Hillary Clinton's BLEEPing Obama

Following in the footsteps of the hilarious Jimmy Kimmel/Sarah Silverman/Matt Damon/Ben Affleck videos comes this one. Apparently, Hillary wants a piece of Obama--that piece!

Larry Lessig on Hillary and Obama

Lawrence Lessig is a very smart guy. He is a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society. He is also founder and CEO of the Creative Commons and a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and of the Software Freedom Law Center.

He is worth hearing, even for 20 minutes in the following video. Here is Mr. Lessig's thoughts on politics of the last 15 years and his views on how Barrack and Hillary are running their campaigns.

Will Hillary take one for the team?

Not a lot of good news for Hillary Clinton this week:

• New Backing for Obama As Party Seeks Unity from the WSJ: "Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure on Hillary Clinton to give up. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected to endorse Sen. Obama Monday... (and) North Carolina's seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group before that state's May 6 primary... What makes such endorsements significant is that they're from superdelegates... Since the "Super Tuesday" primaries on Feb. 5, Sen. Obama has won commitments from 64 superdelegates and Sen. Clinton has gotten nine. Sen. Obama has a total of 217 superdelegates in his camp while Sen. Clinton has 250, and her margin has been shrinking with each week."
  
  
• Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills from Politico: "Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months — freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles. A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community — and anyone else who will listen — to get their cash upfront when doing business with her. Their cautionary tales, combined with published reports about similar difficulties faced by a New Hampshire landlord, an Iowa office cleaner and a New York caterer, highlight a less-obvious impact of Clinton’s inability to keep up with the staggering fundraising pace set by her opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
  
  "If she had paid off the $8.7 million in unpaid bills she reported as debt and had not loaned her campaign $5 million, she would have been nearly $3 million in the red at the end of February. By contrast, if you subtract Obama’s $625,000 in debts and his general-election-only money from his total cash on hand at the end of last month, he’d still be left with $31 million."
  
  
• Gallup Daily: Obama Now at 52% to Clinton’s 42%: "Barack Obama has extended his lead over Hillary Clinton among Democrats nationally to 52% to 42%, the third consecutive Gallup Poll Daily tracking report in which he has held a statistically significant lead, and Obama's largest lead of the year so far. This marks the first time either candidate has held a double-digit lead over the other since Feb. 4-6, at which point Clinton led Obama by 11 percentage points."

Will Hillary do the right thing for the party? Or is she committed to beating up on the person who is virtually guaranteed to earn the party nomination, thus making it tougher for Obama to win in the general election. Will Hillary go down in the history books and in the hearts of Democrats much like Ralph Nader--a Democrat whose ego got in the way and aided a Republican victory?

Obama Girl is Back

it isn't as catchy as "I've got a Crush on Obama." Or as funny. Or as good. But what the heck, Obama Girl is back telling Hillary her campaign is just helping McCain...

Liberal Media!

Loved this cartoon, which comes from Stuff That Happens.

It's 3 am and Hillary is getting calls from annoyed voters

Hillary Clinton took a page out of the GOP playbook in the run-up to the Texas primary by launching an ad that played on fear. The ad featured children sleeping with the sound of a ringing telephone--the red phone at the White House. The ad asks, when its 3 am and there's a crisis in the world, "Who do you want answering the phone?"

This being 2008, the Internet community wasn't going to sit back and let Hillary claim to have experience when her primary claim seems to be that she slept in the White House next to the President for 8 years. So, YouTube is now so slammed with parody ads that it's actually difficult to find the real one.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the parodies and criticisms Clinton's ad has generated.

Ferraro doesn't do Hillary any favors

I'm sure you know that Geraldine Ferraro has quit her honorary position on Hillary Clinton's campaign team. The first major female candidate for vice president didn't do the first major female candidate for president any favors, even on her way out the door.

First of all, she said some very unfortunate and silly things about Barack Obama: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

I've never before heard it claimed that someone achieved great success simply for being a black male. Seems to me most people believe that being a black male is still a disadvantage in our country, and there are certainly statistics to back this up. But in the bunker mentality of the Clinton campaign, everyone's got an advantage and poor Hill is treated unfairly.

To add insult to injury, Ferraro at first tried to defend statements. She seemed to get amnesia over what she said and instead acted as if she'd criticized his policies rather than raising his race: "Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says, 'Let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world,' you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up."

To put the icing on Gerry Ferraro's farewell cake, she added the loony claim that, "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white."

She finally had to leave the Hillary campaign, but even then she was unrepentant and acted as if she'd been unfairly crucified. In her letter to Hillary, Ferraro said, "The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you."

Apparently Obama must've really come out swinging to be accused of viciously ambushing Ferraro, wouldn't you think? Here's what he said about Ferraro's comments: "I think they were wrong-headed. The notion that it is a great advantage to me to be an African American named Barack Obama and pursue the presidency, I think, is not a view that has been commonly shared by the general public." If that's Gerry's idea of an attack, she must have really, really thin skin.

Of course, Ferraro isn't the only one claiming victimization in Clinton's camp. Bill famously derided Obama's situation as a "fairy tale," and Hillary has frequently whined about the perceived light treatment of Obama by the media.

Gerry's and Hillary's sense of victimization is, I believe, creating an image problem for Clinton. At best this sort of "woe is me" mentality doesn't seem very presidential, and at worst it seems like poorly hidden posturing, if for no other reason than that reality doesn't quite support this attitude. Hillary entered the race with a big lead; she began with enormous name recognition; and Clinton friends within the party had stacked the primary deck in order to favor her. But poor martyred Hillary just can't get a fair shake--in the eyes of her supporters.

My guess is that this tactic won't play well for very long. At some point, Clinton will need to show voters that she's a confident, assertive candidate focused on the country, and this Ferraro embarrassment simply shows Clinton's campaign to be whiny and self-absorbed.