“To my close compatriots…I say that I will not aspire to nor accept — I repeat, I will not aspire to nor accept — the office of President of the Council of State or Commander in Chief.” After nearly fifty years in power, Fidel Castro steps down in Cuba. Hopefully, this will encourage our leaders to begin advocating a more reasonable and sane policy towards our neighbor in the Caribbean.
Author: KcM
Of Cheeseheads and Aloha.
If you’re a reader hailing from Wisconsin or Hawaii today, please consider voting for Barack Obama.
Second-Class Citizens.
“‘Superdelegates are not second-class delegates,’ says Joel Ferguson, who will be a superdelegate if Michigan is seated. ‘The real second-class delegates are the delegates that are picked in red-state caucuses that are never going to vote Democratic.‘” More bad news for non-Clinton-voting states: You’re not only insignificant to Mark Penn, a Clinton campaign co-chair thinks you’re second-class. Also, to the 2004 red-states of Ohio and definitely Texas, I’m afraid this pretty clearly includes you as well. Sorry, but, as always, please vote Democratic regardless.
Clinton: Obama is Bidenesque.
Sigh…Flailing about like a drowning victim, the Clinton campaign tries to accuse Sen. Obama of plagiarism for echoing remarks by friend and Obama supporter Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts regarding the value of words. (Both quoted such examples as “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” “I have a dream,” and “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” as times when words did, in fact, matter.) I’m sorry, but this is somewhat ludicrous, particularly coming from the grift-happy Clinton camp. (In fact, when asked point blank if Sen. Clinton has been known to lift from others, her campaign demurred.) For Gov. Patrick’s part, he said: “Senator Obama and I are long-time friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language. The argument in question, on the value of words in the public square, is one about which he and I have spoken frequently before. Given the recent attacks from Senator Clinton, I applaud him responding in just the way he did.“
Ok, for one, much political rhetoric is by its nature an amalgamation of soundbites and talking points from other places. (See also Clinton and “Yes, we can,” or John McCain’s “ready to lead.”) For another, it’s not as if Sen. Obama (or his speechwriters) lifted entire paragraphs from some other source. He — and Patrick — both cited the most well-known examples in our history of words making a difference. It’s an obvious and devastating riposte to Clinton’s idiotic assertion that rhetoric is worthless. Could he have snuck Deval Patrick’s name in there? Well, I suppose so (as does Obama), but, really, this is pretty standard stuff in the political world. (And, before we consign ourselves to a political rhetoric characterized by interminable footnotes, let’s not forget: 95% of the time every word out of any candidate’s mouth — including Clinton’s — has been written by someone else.)
In any case, with this sad plagiarism riff, the Clinton campaign has shown once again that it will yield to nothing or noone in its race to the bottom. Please, go away, already. You’ve become an embarrassment to the Democratic party. Update: Former Carter speechwriter (and a friend and mentor of sorts) James Fallows calls shenanigans on the Clinton campaign.
MAD for Obama.
“The Mexican American Democrats believe that Senator Obama’s experience bringing Americans of all ages, religions, races and ethnicities together make him the best candidate to make progress on the issues that matter to Hispanics in Texas and across America. Obama’s leadership in the U.S. Senate on comprehensive immigration reform and his specific plans to strengthen our schools, bring about universal healthcare, and provide tax relief for working families show us that he is truly committed to improving the lives of Hispanics and all Americans.” Sen. Obama receives the endorsement of the Mexican American Democrats of Texas, the state’s oldest Hispanic political organization.
Racing against the Clock(s).
“The suspect is likely a white male in his late-20s to late-30s. He likely is not a college graduate but feels nonetheless superior to those with advanced education, and he is likely employed in a bureaucratic entity, possibly civil service or quasi-public service, from which he feels alienated…” The Wire Episode 58: “Clarifications” is now available On Demand.
Ready (to Screw Up) On Day One.
“Several top Clinton strategists and fundraisers became alarmed after learning of the state’s unusual provisions during a closed-door strategy meeting this month, according to one person who attended. What Clinton aides discovered is that in certain targeted districts, such as Democratic state Sen. Juan Hinojosa’s heavily Hispanic Senate district in the Rio Grande Valley, Clinton could win an overwhelming majority of votes but gain only a small edge in delegates.” The Clinton campaign “discovers” the long-standing Texas primary rules this month. I mean, why bother to learn the state rules before running for president (or before making Texas the last-ditch firewall)? As a TPM commenter deadpanned, Sen. Clinton must have just presumed she’d be greeted as a liberator.
What are they paying Mark Penn $4.3 million for again? Did their Texas strategy encompass anything beyond kids in mariachi outfits? This is rank incompetence, and no way to run a presidential campaign…or a country.
It don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got those swings.
As posted here awhile ago, national polls have consistently shown Sen. Barack Obama performing better against John McCain than Sen. Hillary Clinton. Well, the polling firm Rasmussen has taken the question a step further, and begun asking swing states what they think of the three remaining candidates. Check these out.
The only swing state studied thus far that can give the Clinton campaign any comfort is Missouri, which shows a statistical tie: McCain beats Clinton by 1 (43%-42%), McCain beats Obama by 2 (42%-40%).
On the issue of electability, the choice seems clear. Update: SurveyUSA has more, and they follow the same pattern.
Dallas Dilemma | Bibby Checkmated.
As the rumored Kidd-to-Dallas deal looks to enter its death throes (partly due to what might’ve been an illegal arrangement involving Stackhouse), the Sacramento Kings say goodbye to the final remaining piece of their memorable squad of early-00’s contenders (Vlade, Webber, Peja, Bibby, Christie, Turkoglu) by sending Mike Bibby to Atlanta for Shelden Williams and a bunch of expiring contracts. I always kinda hoped that Kings team would won a title…(and I’m with Ralph Nader: preferably one of Kobe’s.) Update: A revised Kidd to Dallas deal goes through.
Blu-Ray Triumphant.
The 2005-2008 format war is over and the verdict is in: The winner is Sony’s Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD goes the way of Betamax. “Toshiba Corp…is planning to give up on its HD DVD format for high-definition video, conceding defeat to the competing Blu-Ray technology backed by Sony Corp .” (So much for the Total Hi Def compromise.) I stopped buying DVDs when the war started three years ago. Looks like it’s now safe to return to the fold.