The Daily Dose---2/16 (Part II)

Sexism At Play?

I'm a Clinton supporter, and I've got to be honest, I don't think Barack Obama is sexist, but then again I didn't think the Clintons were ever racist, but many did.  Many, mainly African Americans, said they could pick up "code words" in President Clinton's language that blacks knew to be racially offensive. Well if the media is going to overly play the race card, they should at least be fair and investigate Obama's use of words that could be seen as sexist.  ABC News did and here are some of their findings, which I wish were getting more attention:

"You challenge the status quo and suddenly the claws come out," Obama said.

Then yesterday Obama told reporters who had asked about Clinton's latest attack ad, "I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she's feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal."

That prompted some female TV reporters to question the language he was using.  Language such as "when she's feeling down" "periodically" she "launches attacks."----

(the following is from MSNBC)

Nora O'Donnel: "It's getting a little personal."

Andrea Mitchell: "It's getting a little personal and, very frankly, you know how deeply we interpreted every comment to look for some sort of racial motivation before South Carolina. A lot of people said it was there. But, you know, when you start describing a female candidate as being 'down' and 'striking back,'  I don't know, that's a little edgy, don't you think?"

Nora O'Donnell: "Yeah."--------

(Taylor Marsh also commented on the choice of words being used by the Obama campaign)...words like this, in her view, indicate "a way of thinking about women. A way of demeaning women in power; even saying we're not up to the job. Seriously, Senator Hillary Clinton is a woman running for president. Not some emotional menopausal diva popping pills because she's depressed she broke a nail".  "Claws"…"feeling down"...I find it hard to envision Obama using the same language if he were facing, say, former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC."

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Making Calls

Little do many casual voters know, one of the biggest ways they can help their candidate of choice is by making phone calls to encourage others to support your choice candidate.  Sen. Clinton has launched an effort to try to get a million plus calls out in the next few days.  I encourage all of her supporters to pick up a phone and make a call or two.  Seriously, just one or two calls can make a difference.  All you have to do is follow the instructions on this page here.  The campaign produces a phone number for you to call and all you do is follow the script.  _________________________________________________

Rep. Clyburn Agrees With Clinton on Super Delegates

As reported by The State:

"While Clyburn said he'd prefer superdelegates not announce their support until much later in the nominating process, he said he also doesn't agree with superdelegates shifting support from one candidate to another based on how their constituents vote in a primary or caucus.

He addressed the issue several days after a former Clinton supporter announced his intent to vote for Obama at the Democratic National Convention. Georgia Rep. David Scott said he felt compelled to change his allegiance after more than 80 percent of his district voted for the Illinois senator in the Feb. 5 Georgia primary.

Clyburn said superdelegates are not in place simply to mirror the popular vote. "I don't think people are really thinking through what they're saying," he said.... He said the historical role of a superdelegate is in part to be ready to act in case of an emergency, like to throw support behind a runner-up in case a front-runner cannot continue after the convention."

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Obama Not as Pure on NAFTA as He Says

Obama has been hammering Sen. Clinton on her support for NAFTA, but as several sources have reported, Obama is just as big of a supporter of free trade as Sen. Clinton, if not more:

-"Obama said the United State should continue to work with the World Trade Organization and pursue deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement." (AP, 9/8/04)

-"Obama said the United States benefits enormously from exports under the WTO and NAFTA. He said, at the same time, there must be recognition that the global economy has shifted, and the United States is no longer the dominant economy. 'We have competition in world trade,' Obama said. 'When China devalues its currency 40 percent, we need to bring a complaint before the WTO just as other nations complain about us. If we are to be competitive over the long term, we need free trade." (Decatur Herald & Review, 9/9/04)

-Obama, just recently, has been one of the biggest advocates of a new free trade deal with Peru.  

My Daily Rant---2/9

Just a few thoughts from today:

When Will They Learn?

When will the media learn?  It is becoming more and more humorous to watch the supposed "political experts" after these primaries.  After Iowa, the narrative was how unstoppable Obama was.  Then after New Hampshire it was the Clinton comeback.  Then after South Carolina, they crowned Obama the nominee once again.  Then after Super Tuesday, even though many predicted Obama would win California and Massachusetts and he didn't, they claimed he had a great night. And of course tonight they have crowned him the nominee once again.  Here's the deal guys: polls mean nothing---we've learned that from how grossly wrong they got New Hampshire, and Super Tuesday states like California and Massachusetts.  The media narrative means nothing---for once the voters aren't listening to the media's side of the story to decide how to vote.  The "big-Mo" means very little this year, as voters are looking at their own needs, not those of a state that voted before them, in casting an informed vote.  In short, here's the straight fact that many in the media are simply not willing to say: there is no frontrunner on the Democratic side; Obama and Clinton are neck and neck, and no one, and I mean no one, knows how or when this thing is going to end.  

Unbelievable Fundraising

In just 4 days, the Clinton campaign has raised over $10 million from over 75,000 donors. Remember the media narrative that the Clinton cash machine had run out of gas?  Well this amazing feat just emphasizes the point I made in the first paragraph.  No one would have guessed this amount of money could be raised by the Clinton campaign over the internet in just 4 days, but it has been; truly amazing.   

Speaking of Fundraising...

An interesting point was made by the roundtable guests on the Tim Russert Show this morning. A very likely scenario as to why Obama has been able to out perform Clinton in the money department could be directly linked to the demographics of their supporters.  Clinton has two bases: the smaller "Wall-Street" crowd, who have already maxed out on donations, and the those making under $50,000, who have little extra money to spare.  Obama, on the other hand, has support from those who make over $50,000 a year and are more affluent.  This base allows Obama to have a greater base of fundraising because just about all of his supporters have extra money to contribute, whereas many of Clinton's simply do not.  But as we've seen, when Clinton asks for a little help, her supporters respond.  And the thing is that this time, we're seeing a lot more smaller donations to the Clinton campaign, which really just demonstrates how strongly people from both camps believe in their respective candidates.  It's truly inspiring to see our Democratic contenders both have such strong, loyal support, who have proven to be willing to go the distance for their candidate. 

Obama Comments on Role of Superdelegates 

Obama made a very interesting comment concerning the role superdelegates should play.  He said that superdelegates who are elected (governors, congressmen, senators, etc.), should cast their vote at the convention for the winner of their state's primary/caucus.  This is very interesting because if the superdelegates did this, Clinton would have an overwhelming amount of their support.  Clinton has won the big states, with many congressional districts which mostly are held by Democrats.  In contrast, Obama has won states like Utah, Kansas, Idaho, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, etc. These states have almost no Democratic elected leaders (exception being Sebelius of Kansas).  I can promise you that if Obama had his way and superdelegates voted with their state, Clinton would come out significantly ahead. She is the one winning states with many Democratic elected leaders; he is winning red states with almost all Republican leaders.  

Upcoming Posts

Within the next day, I will be posting an article about possible ways to avoid a brokered convention that would inevitably hurt the Democratic party, regardless of the end result.  John Lucia will also have a post with his suggestion for a solution in choosing the Democratic nominee.  John will also have a post dealing with McCain and his "sucking-up" to the conservative wing of the Republican party.