Speaking to students at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, Carville argued Clinton should stay in through the final nominating contest in early June, but said the Democratic tide appears to be moving in Obama’s direction.
“I still hear some dogs barking,” Carville said, according to The State newspaper. “I’m for Senator Clinton, but I think the great likelihood is that Obama will be the nominee.”
“As soon as I determine when that is, I’ll send him a check,” he added.
Carville has been, and continues to be, one of Clinton’s staunchest supporters. Until now, he has not wavered. It’s great that, now that he has, he follows it up by telling us he’ll be right there with Obama when the nominating process is complete. That’s a lot classier than we can expect from a lot of her supporters.
But the respite might be temporary given the uncertainty surrounding Representative Vito Fossella, the New York Republican whose drunken-driving arrest led to disclosures of an out-of-wedlock child with a woman in suburban Virginia. The weekend saw mixed reports on whether Mr. Fossella, who is married, was going to try to hold his seat.
Hoping to get things moving in a positive direction, House Republicans will on Wednesday begin rolling out their own policy agenda, trying to showcase their differences with Democrats on issues such as health care, the economy, energy and national security.
In a memo to be sent to Republican members today, the leadership hints at a new slogan building on the change message that has already been shown to have political resonance with a public unhappy with the nation’s direction.
It looks like Republicans will counter the Democratic push for change from the years of the Bush administration with their own pledge to deliver, drum roll please, “the change you deserve.” The first element of the party agenda developed over the past few months by the leadership and select party members will focus on family issues.
“Through our “Change You Deserve” message and through our “American Families Agenda,” House Republicans will continue our efforts to speak directly to an American public looking for leaders who will offer real solutions for the challenges they confront every day,” said the memo prepared for lawmakers.
Alternate working slogans:
Change You Deserve- “One Man, One Family.”
American Families Agenda- “We like American families so much, some of us have several of them.”
This election is going to be a target rich environment for blogging.
What the GOP doesn’t seem to realize, because they are idiots, is that “the change you deserve” is the registered advertising slogan of Effexor XR, a drug that many of you might have started taking as a result of all the…you know—terrorism. (Hat tip to Bluestem for catching this gem.)
It is really going to suck in November watching the Democrats figure out how to lose this election.
I am really trying to be nice to Hillary supporters, because I know how down they feel and I really don’t want to pile on during a tough couple of weeks, but one of the saddest things to happen this primary is to watch Jeralynn Merritt slowly lose her damned mind. Today, Obama spoke about Vietnam veterans in Charleston:
One of the saddest episodes in our history was the degree to which returning vets from Vietnam were shunned, demonized and neglected by some because they served in an unpopular war. Too many of those who opposed the war in Vietnam chose to blame not only the leaders who ordered the mission, but the young men who simply answered their country’s call. Four decades later, the sting of that injustice is a wound that has never fully healed, and one that should never be repeated.
Most of us would agree with that sentiment, and I would argue that even if it was just one person mistreating vets, that is too many. Jeralynn, on the other hand, has another translation:
Obama Disses Boomers Who Opposed Vietnam War…
In other words, Obama intends to battle the war-hero McCain by throwing us under the bus.
Yeah. She really said that. Her update continues the idiocy, and she gets pissed off because Obama said Vietnam veterans “answered their country’s call.” In Jeralynn speak, being drafted and serving honorably is not “answering your country’s call.”
At any rate, this English to Jeralynn game looks like good clean fun for us to try at home. Let’s try it with the Gettysburg Address:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Run through the English to Jeralynn translation machine, that comes out:
Flabber dee gidgit wibbity wop. ZOOP ZOOP. Vietnam war protestors sucked. Flusbachoon weezgahorn flurpity doo.
I just saw the talking heads on Hardball state that one reason Hillary is staying in until the end is “in case something big happens to derail Obama.”
I simply do not understand this logic at all. If Hillary drops out of the race, and something major is unearthed about Obama that would derail his candidacy (a videotape surfaces of him doing cocaine off the nipple of a teenage boy while Imams chant the Koran and organize a gun running organization for Hamas and Al Qaeda), who the hell does she think the delegates are going to turn to- Edwards?
It is a simple no-brainer that “if something happened,” Hillary would be the party candidate. She doesn’t need to be in the race to get the nod in that situation.
Not saying she should get out, just saying that is a particularly silly argument.
uhmm…this is the “talking heads” that are saying this shit. Not Clinton’s camp or even one of her swiney surrogates. Plus, her staying in the race is what democracy is all about. Even if she’s just a big fat loser. Please quit giving the media fodder to feed on.
Just finished walking my precinct, going door to door doing the GOTV for the Obama campaign, and I have to tell you, I am impressed with the level of organization. I was given a packet that included google maps, lists of supporters names, addresses, and how they are trending (strong supporter, undecided, etc.), literature to hand to people with the address of the precinct polling place and time the polls open, and literature to place on the door knob should they not be home.
I fully expect Hillary to win tomorrow, but I don’t think we are going to see a 40 point or whatever margin. At least I hope not. I can tell you this, however- Barack’s support here may not be as broad as Hillary’s, but it is deep. The people I spoke to were all folks like me- crawl-over-glass voters. They would, to a person, crawl over glass to pull the lever for Obama tomorrow. No one needed to be told when the polls were opening tomorrow, they knew. No one needed to be told where to go, they knew where they had to be tomorrow to vote.
I don’t know if this is simply a result of my lists being highly refined after weeks months of phone-banking, and I don’t know if there is a similar such level of organization or commitment on the Clinton side, but I can tell you that the people I visited were extremely motivated. On several occasions (three, to be exact), people were fielding phone calls from the Obama campaign while I was at the door. Additionally, I have personally received multiple calls from the Obama, yet have not received so much as a mailer from Clinton. As I am a newly registered Democrat with accurate phone and address on my registration, I thought at the very least the Clinton campaign would call or mail something.
In fact, I was thinking that the Obama folks I saw were so motivated, that bad weather tomorrow could really work in our favor. As Hillary’s only remaining weak argument is the popular vote, poor turn-out due to weather could really help Obama. His committed voters are going to show up regardless. Will hers?
Vito Fossella built a career as a staunch “family values” pol, polishing his image in his predominantly Catholic district with a string of anti-gay votes.
He even shuns his gay sister, Victoria Fossella, refusing to go to family events if she and her partner attend, a source close to the family said.
So far, all the good Republican street cred! Except:
His double life is now exposed with the news he has a 3-year-old love child with a divorced Air Force colonel, and critics are calling him a hypocrite.
More here. Sadly, this is par for the course with the current lot on the Hill. January can’t come fast enough.
I have been terrible at the cat blogging lately because my digital camera broke again, and I just have not replaced it. I guess I get tired of replacing cameras every 2-3 years when all I take are some pictures of my fat-arsed cat, then a few months later, I go to take some more pictures of fatty, and the camera is broken. Maybe if I used it for something else I would be more motivated to buy a new one, but right now I am not.
At any rate, to make up for the lack of Tunch-blogging, I have some pictures of my friend Tammy’s brand new “Morky,” which I am told is a Maltese/Yorkshire Terrier mix. While I generally do not like little “yippy” dogs (I like labs and mastiffs and boxers myself), I have to say that after a few hours with Samantha (the dog’s name), I can faithfully report that she is adorable. See for yourself:
What you talking about, Bubba?
Playdog Centerfold, May 2008
At any rate, I am off to Unity Pony HQ to help keep down the margins tomorrow, so I won’t be back until later tonight.
Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr has announced that he’s running for president as a Libertarian.
His candidacy would be a wild card in the White House race and many believe it would hurt Republican Sen. John McCain.
Barr made the announcement Monday at a news conference. He first must win the Libertarian nomination at the party’s national convention that begins May 22. Party officials consider him a front-runner thanks to the national profile he developed as a Georgia congressman from 1995 to 2003.
Barr, 59, helped lead Bill Clinton’s impeachment. He quit the Republican Party two years ago, saying he had grown disillusioned with its failure to shrink government and its willingness to scale back civil liberties in fighting terrorism.
As he has announced as a libertarian, I will use some libertarian speak and give this news a hearty “Heh.” Also today, we see this:
Virtually all the nation’s political attention in recent weeks has focused on the compelling state-by-state presidential nomination struggle between two Democrats and the potential for party-splitting strife over there.
But in the meantime, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and his libertarian-minded GOP backers are collecting delegates at the local level and planning a revolt against Sen. John McCain at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September, quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.
We will give this a “Double Heh” with a twisting “Indeed” dismount. A wry observer might note that they are not only against you, they are working for the other side.
And while I cheer this chiefly for the mayhem, the simple fact of the matter is that either Ron Paul or Bob Barr would be better than John McCain. I am still pretty convinced that Bob Barr is batshit crazy, but at least he has been right on some prettyimportant issues, and right on some trivial ones as well.
You have to love it, though, and while it is a used and worn observation, Bush really was a uniter- everyone hates Republicans.
Clinton aides continued to insist that she will remain in the race even while confirming that she is $20 million in debt. “The voters are going to decide this,” senior adviser Howard Wolfson said on “Fox News Sunday,” acknowledging the $20 million figure. “There is no reason for her not to continue this process.” Wolfson said he has seen “no evidence of her interest” in pursuing the second-place spot on the Democratic ticket, contrary to rumors that she is staying in the race to leverage a bid for the vice presidential nomination.
Take that, Filthadelphians. 2-1, you lovers of the French. Tunch coughs a hairball in your general direction. GO PENGUINS!
*** Update ***
The bastards refuse to fight fair, scoring another short-handed goal, 2-2. Sure, you can score when you have an extra man, you sissy French. Probably bottled water they are drinking on the bench.
*** Update ***
In undergrad, I had a bunch of Canadian roommates and I remember watching VHS tapes of great hockey games that were broadcast in Canada with, of course, Canadian announcers. During the breaks between periods, they would have in depth analysis on the finer points of line changes, etc. Tonight in between the 2nd and 3rd period, we are being treated to ‘The advent of the curved hockey stick.”
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