Clipmarks | merrie's 'clinton' clips

Obama’s Weakness With Voters: Democrats Problem With White Voters

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:20:34 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: has become the hot topic among many who say racial bias explains it. Of course it would be naive to believe that race is not a factor in America today. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Mr. Obama’s relative weakness among white voters is solely, or even mainly, due to the fact that he is black and that three quarters of voters this year will be white.

In 1991, when I wrote a book about how the Democrats were failing to deal with their white voter problem, I ran into a number of editors who wanted to know why anyone would care — and not too subtly wondered whether looking at the reasons for their disaffection might be too politically touchy.

White voters, as a group, are more likely to favor a limited role for government here at home and a more aggressive posture overseas. In general, polls show Democrats — and a disproportionate share of black voters — favor a smaller, less adventurous military and a larger role for government on the domestic front.

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Suddenly, the topic du jour on television and radio talk shows, at water coolers and the most exclusive cocktail parties is how well Sen. Barack Obama can do among whites, especially the demographic group pundits call the “white working class.”

They’re “The Silent Majority,” “Jill and Joe Six-Pack” and “Reagan Democrats,” and whatever the name, they have given Democratic presidential candidates the back of their hands since 1964.

Neither Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton, the last Democrats to occupy the Oval Office since then, won a majority of white voters.

For those voters, especially ones without college degrees, the fact that Sen. Obama is black may not be as much a disqualifier as his background as a Democrat from the Frost Belt with no national security or executive experience and a voting record judged by the nonpartisan National Journal as the Senate’s most liberal during 2007.

Yet, the focus on Sen. Obama’s relative weakness among the white working class

Tags: obama, demographics, white working class, limited government, strong military, liberal voters, big government, small military

Profoundly Superficial

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:21:47 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: who were conveniently at hand. What would one more war crime matter in a record already so monstrous?

At Nuremberg, the Soviet Union was invited to sit in judgment of its old partner in aggression — on a charge of waging aggressive war. To wit, the war of aggression that the Soviet Union joined with Nazi Germany to ignite in September of 1939. Barack Obama would have been on sounder ground if he had cited the proceedings at Nuremberg not as an example of justice but irony.

Sen. Obama usually responds directly to the question he’s asked rather than riding off in all directions. He pays his interlocutor the courtesy of careful attention and a respectful answer.

But once Barack Obama is no longer trading in some staple of his party’s appeal — identity politics, say, or class warfare — and starts messing with history, he demonstrates only the most tenuous hold on his subject. And he winds up, again like Bill Clinton, sounding profoundly superficial.

Clip Source: patriotpost.us

Barack Obama now has cited the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War as a model of the way Osama bin Laden should be tried in the (unlikely) event he’s ever taken alive. He recommends Nuremberg as an example to follow because, he says, those trials embodied universal legal principles.

The Nuremberg trials a model of international law? Those stone-faced judges in Red Army uniforms peering down from the bench at Nuremberg, shoulder boards in place and guilty verdicts at the ready, must have been there as representatives of Comrade Stalin’s well-known devotion to universally accepted legal principles.

This is not to say that the judges at Nuremberg couldn’t demonstrate exquisite tact. For example, not a one noted the Soviets’ responsibility for the Katyn Massacre, a war crime none dared accuse them of at the time.

In 1946, the Soviets were still Our Fighting Russian Allies. And so the mass execution of the Polish army’s officer corps in the Katyn forest was pinned on the Nazis,

Tags: obama, nuremberg trials, osama bin-laden, stalin's red army, nazis, katyn massacre, polish army’s officer corps

It's All About Obama

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:11:17 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Americans overwhelmingly find it a hopeful, optimistic sign that the country could elect an African-American president. But they rightly want to know what kind of leader he might be. They may well reject as cynical any maneuver to discourage close examination of him by suggesting any criticism is racially motivated.

The candidate's self-centeredness has been on display before. Having effectively sewed up the Democratic nomination, he could have agreed to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations (states Hillary Clinton had carried). While reducing his lead by 50 to 55 delegates, it would not have altered the outcome. But Mr. Obama supported cutting these battleground-state delegations in half. At a time when magnanimity was called for, the candidate decided he'd strut.

In a contest over who is willing to put principle above personal ambition and self-interest, John McCain, a war hero and a former POW, wins hands down.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Last month he replied "anywhere, anytime" to John McCain's invitation to have joint town hall appearances. Last week he changed his mind. Fearing 10 impromptu town halls, Mr. Obama parried the invitation by offering two such events – one the night of July 4, when every ambulatory American is watching fireworks or munching hotdogs, and another in August. His spokesman then said, "Take it or leave it." So much for "anywhere, anytime."

My former White House colleague Yuval Levin pointed out that Mr. Obama, in his first national TV ad rolled out Friday, claims credit for having "extended health care for wounded troops," citing the 2008 defense authorization. That bill passed 91-3 – but Mr. Obama was one of only six senators who didn't show up to vote. This brazen claim underscores the candidate's thin résumé and, again, his chutzpah.

Mr. Obama has now also played the race card, twice suggesting in recent weeks that Republicans will draw attention to the fact that he's black

Tags: obama, clinton, mccain, wounded warriors health bill, race card, townhall debates

You Can't Fool All of the People All of the Time

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:32:11 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Instead of Drill! Drill! Drill!, their motto could be: Kill! Kill! Kill!

In response to skyrocketing gas prices, liberals say, practically in unison, "We can't drill our way out of this crisis."

What does it mean? Finding more oil isn't going to increase the supply of oil?

It is the typical Democratic strategy to babble meaningless slogans, as if they have a plan. Their plan is: the permanent twilight of the human race.

Liberals complain that -- as Obama put it -- there's "no way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now. At best you are looking at five years or more down the road."This is as opposed to airplanes that run on woodchips, which should be up and running any moment now.

Clinton proposed a 26-cent tax on gas. John Kerry said it should be 50 cents. Gore endorsed the Malthusian proposal of Paul and Anne Ehrlich in "The Population Explosion"
[t]hat taxes gas gradually

Clip Source: www.humanevents.com

Say, you know what we need? We need a class of people paid to anticipate national crises and plan solutions in advance.

If only we had had such a group -- let's call them "elected representatives" -- they could have proposed drilling five years ago!

But of course we do pay people to anticipate national problems and propose solutions. Some of them -- we'll call them Republicans -- did anticipate high gas prices and propose solutions.

Six long years ago President Bush had the foresight to demand that Congress allow drilling in a minuscule portion of the Alaska's barren, uninhabitable Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In 2002, Bush, Tom DeLay and the entire Republican Party were screaming from the rooftops: Drill! Drill! Drill!

We'd be gushing oil now -- except the Democrats stopped us from drilling.

The other party -- plus John McCain -- ferociously opposed drilling in ANWR, drilling offshore or drilling anyplace else.

Tags: oil, domestic production, anwr, congress, exploration restrictions, obama, carter, clinton, al gore, paul ehrlich

Obama: It's Only About Winning

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:08:13 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: But here's what's scary: For all of Kerry's reputed smoothness and Eastern intellect, he often tied himself in knots trying to reconcile his absurdly opposing positions. Obama can flip and flop with unmatched alacrity and facility and with the absence of self-consciousness and accountability of an accomplished sociopath. This guy doesn't even acknowledge he's changing positions; he does it without breaking a sweat and never looks back.

I ask you to consider the common thread underlying these turnarounds his nearly immediate backtracking on whether Iran poses a serious threat to America; his progressive position shifts on Iraq from "don't go in, stay in, and get out"; and his vigorous defense then abandonment of both his pastor and his church.

The common thread, in a word, is expedience. It is not toughness; it is not savvy; it is not gravitas; and by all means, it is not admirable.

Barack Obama is every bit as politically calculating as Bill Clinton but twice as smooth.

Clip Source: www.davidlimbaugh.com

The Washington Post reports that Sen. Barack Obama is aggressively trying to reintroduce himself to voters, echoing the spin of Obama's advisers that not everyone knows him yet. In reality, Obama's major campaign challenge will not be to reveal, but to conceal his true identity.

The Post says that in his reintroduction, Obama has "offered a clear road map for the kind of candidate he is likely to become...: an ambitious gamer of the electoral map, a ruthless fundraiser and a scrupulous manager of his own biography in the face of persistent concerns about how he is perceived."

What the Post left out is that Obama has also shown himself to be an unscrupulous master of the politics of calculation and expedience. Whether on public finance, NAFTA, Iran, Iraq, Jerusalem, special interests, Cuba, illegal immigration or the decriminalization of marijuana, Obama has demonstrated a propensity for flip-flopping that could embarrass the grandmaster himself, Sen. John Kerry.

Tags: obama, bafta, iran, iraq, illegal immigration, jerusalem, public finance, energy

Divvying The Spoil$

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:52:02 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: HILL AND BARACK READY TO HAGGLE
Only $10 million can be spent in the fall after the party conventions, leaving Obama with $33 million to carry him through the summer months.

McCain, who will accept public financing, will have $84 million to spend in the general election.

Clip Source: www.nypost.com

As the ex-foes are scheduled to sit down face to face this week and talk fund-raising, each needs to leave the table with the promise of riches.

New campaign-finance filings reveal Clinton has even more debt than previously reported, while Obama's fund-raising has stalled.

He pulled in $22 million in May - a sharp drop from the $30 million to $55 million he got in each of the prior three months.

And presumptive Republican nominee John McCain came up almost even with his Democratic rival, taking in $21 million last month.

Powerful Clinton fund-raisers like John Emerson of Capital Guardian Trust, Thomas Steyer of Farallon Capital Management and Gary Gensler, who was Treasury undersecretary under President Clinton, have also been merged into the Obama team.

Obama, who last week broke his pledge to use the general election's public-finance system, ended May with $43 million in hand and $304,000 in debt.

Tags: clinton, campaign-finance filings, obama, public-finance

The New Meaning Of "Politics Of Change"

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:37:15 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: * Obama repeatedly vowed to meet with various heads of terror states - most notably Ahmadinejad of Iran - "without preconditions." Then, with the nomination in sight, he zigzagged: "There's no reason why we would necessarily meet with Ahmadinejad. He's not the most powerful person in Iran."

* In October, he supported NAFTA expansion. In March, campaigning in the Ohio primary, he called for a "reopening" of the trade pact's terms. This week, he called his own primary rhetoric "overheated" and said NAFTA has had a positive effect on the US economy.

Change, yes.

But "change we can believe in"?

Clip Source: www.nypost.com

"In February 2007, I proposed a novel way to preserve the strength of the public-financing system in the 2008 election," he wrote in November. "My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fund-raising truce, return excess money from donors and stay within the public-financing system for the general election."

June 21, 2008 -- Awash in campaign cash, Barack Obama this week announced that he's opting out of the public-financing system for presidential campaigns. He'll be the first general-election candidate to do that since the system was set up.

This isn't the first time Obama has, um, "changed" political lanes:

* He ripped Hillary Clinton for months for voting to list Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Days after Clinton conceded, Obama flipped and said he supported the definition.

* Yesterday, after signaling opposition to nuclear power, he told Democratic governors he's open to expanding it.

Tags: obama, policies, nuclear power, meet heads of iran, nafta, "change"

Dems Running On Empty: Sen. James Inhofe

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:46:02 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Not only was I joined by dozens of GOP Senators, but nearly 30% of the Democratic Senators rebelled against their leadership and opposed the Boxer Climate Tax Bill. In the end, Senator Boxer only had at most 35 Democratic Senators willing to vote for final passage on the largest tax bill in U.S. history. The Boxer Climate Tax Bill was thoroughly disowned by Democratic Leadership and The Wall Street Journal aptly noted that environmentalists are “stunned that their global warming agenda is in collapse.”

Just a few days after the embarrassing defeat of the climate bill, the Democrats were at it again. As the price of gas at the pump continued to climb, Democrats were proposing yet another energy tax as part of their “solution” to our energy challenges.

A major component of the Democrats’ “no” energy bill would reinstate the Windfall Profits Tax. Democrats want to impose the tax despite the fact that we tried this almost 30 years ago, with disastrous results.

Clip Source: www.humanevents.com

Oil and gas exploration and production are currently prohibited on 85 percent of America’s offshore waters. Among industrialized nations with shorelines, the United States is the only one not actively seeking new offshore oil and gas deposits. Canada allows offshore drilling in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Great Lakes. Additionally, Cuba is also looking to expand drilling to within 45 miles of parts of Florida and with technology that may be much less environmentally sound than that used by American companies.

If President Clinton hadn’t vetoed legislation allowing environmentally sensitive exploration on the Coastal Plain of ANWR ten years ago, today we would have one million additional barrels of oil coming from ANWR each day, which would mean lower gas prices for consumers and more energy security right now. ANWR is estimated to contain 10 billion barrels of oil -- about 15 years’ worth of imports from Saudi Arabia.

Tags: prohibited oil and gas exploration, boxer climate tax bill, james inhofe

When Obama Is Off The Teleprompter

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:25:28 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: I suspect this is why John McCain is so eager to get Obama into those town-hall meetings Obama seems intent on avoiding. McCain has been doing them for 25 years and is very good at them; it’s a mark of how good he is at them that he doesn’t make career-threatening gaffes during them. McCain wants Obama off that teleprompter, which is sound strategy. But he can’t make Obama go anywhere Obama doesn’t want to. The media pose a different challenge for Obama.

Clip Source: www.commentarymagazine.com

The November election is, and remains, Barack Obama’s to lose. Usually, candidates whose victories are entirely in their own hands make it through. It is clear Obama’s path to victory is through the teleprompter. Let him give a big speech and he drives it like Tiger Woods hitting a fairway, as he did Sunday with his stunning sermon about the importance of fathers. But let him sit for an interview with a well-prepared reporter who isn’t interested in shilling for him and Obama makes mistake after mistake. This is what happened the other day with ABC’s Jake Tapper, who got Obama to talk about how we need to treat terrorism as a law-enforcement matter — which is exactly what he should not be saying if he wants to solidify those less-liberal Democratic votes in the states where he was shellacked by Hillary Clinton — and how he opposes all forms of school choice — which works against his vague message that he is a vague agent of vague change.

Tags: obama, teleprompter speech, interview, reporter, debate mccain

Thank You, Big Oil

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:14:51 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Ms. Clinton says, "We need a president who's a fighter, who will take on the oil companies." What we need is a president who will take on the US Congress and get them to stop strangling both the American public and energy companies with taxes and regulations; a president who will call congressional leaders of both parties on the carpet, publicly expose their hypocrisy, and demand that they take immediate action to repeal the smothering burdens they have shackled all of us with and which have caused skyrocketing oil prices.

So the next time you feel like blaming the oil companies for the price of gas, why don't you call your congressman instead; I suggest that you get down on your knees and thank God for the brilliant minds of oil company engineers, geologists, chemists, and executives who - in spite of the US Congress - have the creativity and courage to provide the energy that keeps all of us alive and enjoying our modern way of life.

Clip Source: www.americanthinker.com

Blame for the high cost of gasoline and diesel lies squarely with the United States Congress and the legislatures of the several states. Congress has denied the energy companies access to the hundreds of billions of barrels of oil available right here in America - off the coast of California, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and elsewhere. Their environmental regulations have prevented the construction of even a single new refinery in this nation for three decades, and have made the construction of nuclear power plants virtually impossible. Thus they have vastly reduced oil supplies, choked off the supply of refined gasoline, and prevented nuclear power from alleviating the demand for fuel oil.

These same politicians who have deliberately caused the high fuel prices now look you straight in the eye and say that they feel your pain

They believe you're stupid enough to not realize that they have caused the high oil prices, or will be placated by the looting of the oil companies

Tags: gas prices, u.s.congress, california, florida, anwr, environmental regulations, refineries, nuclear power plants

"Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses"

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:26:15 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The academicians' theme songs are "Kumbaya" and "Imagine," while Jacksonians prefer Toby Keith: "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."

It was when they lost their warrior edge that Democrats started losing the White House, winning only in unusual circumstances such as the Watergate scandal or in that brief window in history (from the fall of the Berlin Wall through September 11) when foreign threats had faded out of the picture.

"Priests . . . write books and sometimes verse," and indeed, Obama wrote two of them.
Their campaigns become crusades, fueled as much by an inchoate longing for a 'new politics'. "Obama is not at all a warrior, and is something of an academic," writes Barone:
He is all college campus and not at all boot camp. He has campaigned consistently as an opponent of military action in Iraq. He is up against John McCain, a true Jacksonian if ever there was one. Of course, he dispatched another Jacksonian in Hillary Clinton.

Clip Source: www.weeklystandard.com

While the term Academician explains itself, Jacksonian comes from Andrew Jackson, the first of the Democrats' warrior heroes

The Barone view is a close cousin to that of political reporter Ronald Brownstein, who identified a split in the Democratic party's candidates between those he described as "warriors" and "priests."

The divisions between these two classes tend to be deep. Academicians traffic in words and abstractions, and admire those who do likewise. Jacksonians prefer men of action, whose

achievements are tangible. Academicians love nuance, Jacksonians clarity; academicians love fairness, Jacksonians justice; academicians dislike force and think it is vulgar; Jacksonians admire it, when justly applied.

Each side tends to look down on the other, though academicians do it with much more intensity: Jacksonians think academicians are inconsequential, while academicians think that Jacksonians are beneath their contempt.

Tags: michael barone, political analyst, democratic party, division, obama, clinton, "academicians", "jacksonians"

Obama and Iran:The Democrats Modern-Day McGovern

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:36:56 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Judging from last week's address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sen. Barack Obama doesn't want voters to see him as soft on Iran and its genocidal President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Iranians "understand - sometimes, it seems, better than a lot of Americans do - that if American power collapses in Iraq, if we abandon our allies" then "our position throughout the region will become much weaker and Iran's position much stronger," Lieberman added. The Senate - including well over half of the Democrats - voted for the amendment, which passed 76-22. Obama, who was absent, said he opposed the amendment because it could be used as pretext to invade Iran. Obama denounced Kyl-Lieberman as "reckless" and criticized his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, for supporting it.

However tough he tries to sound when talking to AIPAC, Barack Obama's real sympathies are with the George Soros/MoveOn.org wing of the Democrat Party.

Clip Source: www.aim.org

On September 26, 2007, Sens. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, and Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut Independent Democrat, introduced a nonbinding amendment to the defense authorization designating the IRGC a terrorist group because of its role in killing American soldiers. "The consequences of this Iranian terrorism in Iraq have been immense and terrible for our men and women in uniform and for their families and friends at home," Lieberman said in explaining the need for the amendment. "According to LTG Ray Odierno, the deputy commander of our forces in Iraq, Iranian-supplied weapons were responsible for a full one-third of American combat deaths [in July 2007].That builds on a similar record in preceding months. Let me repeat that: Up to a third of the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq in July were caused by sophisticated explosive devices used by people trained in Iran, with those devices supplied by Iran. That means the Iranians and their agents are killing our troops."

Tags: aipac, joseph lieberman, jon kyl, irgc, designated terrorist group, george soros, moveon.org, obama

"Welcome Back, Clintons" The Musical Video

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:32:09 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: You can watch the musical of the Clintons' return
to The White House by clicking the URL
www.minimovie.com

Clip Source: www.minimovie.com

Average Rating:
Movie Title: Welcome Back, Clinton

Synopsis: Bill and Hillary are back!

Or are they?
Total Running Time: 03:28
# of Views: 17486

Tags: clintons, the white house, video

"Vetters" Search For Obama Veep

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:55:01 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Jones, a Vietnam vet born in Kansas City, MO (swing state alert!), was a career military officer rising to one of the highest posts possible.

Being the least known potential veep, it shouldn't be surprising that the vetters have to spend more time on him in their various conversations on the Hill. But the fact that he's being, um, added to the very long short list, is an interesting development.

Besides Jones, the other names on the list bandied about with congressional Dems include (and not in any order): Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, and Sam Nunn. You'll notice a few names NOT on this list (that's not my exclusion -- hint hint). Besides Jones, I'm told the two other names that invited extended discussion were Biden and Strickland.

Take this chatter for what it is -- chatter.

Clip Source: firstread.msnbc.msn.com

From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro
So you think you know who's on Obama's veep short list? Well, think again. According to sources on the Hill, Obama veep vetters -- specifically Jim Johnson and Eric Holder -- have been asking Dem members of Congress this week their input about potential running mates. The conversations are free-flowing but one name the vetters are inserting in the conversations is one that is not a household name... Ret. Gen. James Jones, the former Marine-turned-NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

Jones currently is the president and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, which is an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, not exactly the type of organization a typical Democrat gets involved with. Potentially problematic is that he's on Chevron's board. He also serves on the boards of Boeing and Invacare, a manufacturer and distributor of medical equipment. (Invacare’s slogan, ironically, is: “Yes, you can.”)

Tags: ret. gen. james jones, usmc, nato supreme allied commander, obama, vice-president

A little cheese with your whine.

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:44:55 GMT

clipped by: sillysam

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

Barack Obama is many things — a senator, a gifted orator, and a charismatic figure. But he’s also a whiner.

In recent months he’s complained about the questions during the ABC News debate with Hillary Clinton because they were not to his liking and whined that the media coverage of McCain wasn’t harsh enough. (Pretty rich coming from Obama.) He whines that scrutiny of his wife’s statements are mean and “low class” and that media scrutiny of his connection to convicted felon Tony Rezko is unfair because he was poorly served by his staff. He claims he is a victim in the Rev. Wright controversy and that the black church is being harshly attacked. Then there is the non-whine whine in the NBC News debate, in which he said that Hillary Clinton “has consistently sent out negative attacks on us, email, robo-calls, flyers, television ads, radio calls, and we haven’t whined about it….”