Open Thread

18 Comments

1. 

   idredit on March 31, 2008 at 4:21 pm

   The strategist added: “There is general panic among Democrats. The big question is: Does she walk to the door, or is she shown to the door?”[.]

   Show Hillary the door.

   “The more she can let this threat hang over the process, the more leverage she has,” a former Clinton administration official said.

   The uncertainty keeps her going. She runs a campaign on fear and she’s broke.

   Show her the door.

   At this point, she remains in the race only to spoil it.

   A spot on the ticket? Gaaaaawd No.

2. 

   dada on March 31, 2008 at 4:56 pm

   that’s just another sophistic argument that kicks the can a bit farther down the road. nothing more than a sop to those who can read the handwriting on the wall, and who understand the costs  of continuing this charade of a primary.

   who benefits?

   for one, the msm gets to continue it’s self aggrandizing role as the arbiter of the situation;

   two: you, and a few others who’ve been calling this right for a long time, get to pat yourself on the back and say: “see, l was right…neener, neener”. BFD.

   the clinton’s are still out to destroy obama, and, by most reality based analysis, what little democratic party unity might still exist, as well as the chances for achieving a major realignment in congress in addition to having a D in the oval office.

   and three; st john gets two to three more months to consolidate the RATpublicans, solidify his position, and raise money for the GE. all without any opposition…aka: a free ride.

   l’m so not impressed.

   this is BS, just piled higher and deeper. another rationalization for doing nothing based on dog knows what, to provide cover for everyone who should, and probably does, know better but’s afraid to act.

   ¡jezeus! it’s over…call it a TKO…stop the fight and the drama while it’s still conceivable to do so and maintain some unity momentum, and take it to st john and the GE.

3. 

   BooMan on March 31, 2008 at 4:58 pm

   Well, Obama’s trip to Harrisburg sure got a gushing review.

   • 

     idredit on March 31, 2008 at 5:40 pm

     oh tanks.  Hopefully Hillary’s lead will shrink.

   • 

     AP on March 31, 2008 at 6:12 pm

     No kidding! Wowsers, as faboo would say.

4. 

   refinish69 on March 31, 2008 at 5:48 pm

   After a 15 minute interview, you will love what part they kept of it. LOL
   go here:
    http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/03/30/sanchez.chelsea.slap.cnn
   go over to the item titled texas showdown on the left, and see a funny tidbit from the interview.
   >

   • 

     Second Nature on March 31, 2008 at 6:01 pm

     Woo hoo!  Why am I not surprised that out of thousands of people, you’d find a way to get heard?

     Three packs of cigarettes?!  Do you have a death wish, RF?
     🙂

     • 

       refinish69 on March 31, 2008 at 6:10 pm

       Well, I only smoked one there but smoked another one when I got home. LOL

   • 

     CabinGirl on March 31, 2008 at 6:07 pm

     I looked, but I couldn’t find the link to anything in Texas.

     • 

       refinish69 on March 31, 2008 at 6:10 pm

       You have to go to the list of videos at the bottom and scroll down.

       • 

         CabinGirl on March 31, 2008 at 6:28 pm

         Too funny.

         • 

           refinish69 on March 31, 2008 at 6:31 pm

           I cannot believe they left out all the part about politics completely. LOL

5. 

   MikeInOhio on March 31, 2008 at 5:54 pm

   A senior adviser to Clinton argued at length that the race is still very much in play.

   “The press corps seems to have it in their mind that this race is done,” the adviser said. “Either you guys can’t count or you want it done.”

   The adviser asserted that the campaign is gaining traction with its argument that Obama would have electability problems in the fall and might weaken other Democrats running on his ticket.

   “It is our read that many of the remaining superdelegates are increasingly concerned about whether or not — as attractive a candidate as he is, as strong as a spokesman as he is — is this guy going to be carrying our district? I don’t think many candidates are looking forward to the Republican ad where … his minister is saying, `God Damn America.’

   “People are making [individual] calculations,” the adviser added. “They don’t know which way to jump.”

   Hmmmm…..”They don’t know which way to jump”???

   Chris Bowers seems to think otherwise.

   Democratic Convention Watch currently shows Clinton leading among superdelegates, 246-214, with 333 uncommitted. Remove the add-on delegates and four DNC vacancies, and Clinton leads 246-212, with 255 undecided. Include the “Pelosi Club” superdelegates and two expected endorsements from North Carolina, and the total is 245-219, with 249 undecided. Clinton’s lead among superdelegates is winnowing to the point where Obama’s projected lead among add-on delegates, 40-24 at my last count, almost cancels it out entirely.

   I think they pretty much know which way to jump.

6. 

   eodell on March 31, 2008 at 6:17 pm

   June? Sheesh. May as well run the damn thing to its sorry finish then. The best case scenario at this point would be an Obama victory in Pennsylvania, which is unfortunately something that the PA folks keep saying is unlikely.

   That said, three more weeks of self-inflicted wounds by Hillary Clinton might give Ralph fucking Nader a chance, so we’ll see.

   • 

     refinish69 on March 31, 2008 at 6:21 pm

     Ralph Nadar is just as bad as McCain in my book.  What a piece of worthless trash who just ran as a spoiler in 2004.  He is too damn old and needs to retire.

7. 

   maryb2004 on March 31, 2008 at 8:13 pm

   I was fortunate to hear Paul Krugman speak last fall at a Democratic function here.  He was very impressive.  Since then, I’ve been wondering what has been shaping his viewpoint on the candidates and why it sometimes seemed … a bit out of touch with reality.

   All is explained in this post.

8. 

   maryb2004 on March 31, 2008 at 10:33 pm

   Mississippi has recalculated — Obama’s margin of victory is above the 62.5% threshold, and so he adds a delegate and Clinton gets one taken away.

   That means that Obama’s pledged delegate lead is now at 169.

   via Marc Ambinder

9. 

   maryb2004 on March 31, 2008 at 11:04 pm

   New Politico article picked up by Yahoo News:

   If the fight over whether to count the results in Florida and Michigan makes it to the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton will not have enough pledged votes on the 169-member Credentials Committee to deliver a majority decision in her favor, according to an analysis conducted for Politico.

   The analysis was conducted by Matt Seyfang, an attorney and a former delegate counter for past Democratic presidential candidates including Bill Clinton in 1992 to Bill Bradley in 2000. According to his projections and a calculation of the number of committee seats that each candidate is entitled to based on their proportion to the statewide vote or the relevant caucus rules, Obama holds roughly 65 seats and Clinton 56. There are slightly more than 23 seats still to be decided in the remaining contests.

   Clinton has, however, already won enough pledged members to meet the 20 percent threshold required to vote out a minority report, meaning that both Democratic candidates could have their positions voted on by all seated convention delegates.

   The prospect of a convention that begins with a contentious vote on a “minority” or “majority” report is “the nightmare scenario,” according to one Democratic party insider.