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Month: January 2008

John Edwards is Stubborn

…and selfish.

Tad Devine, a Democratic consultant who was a senior adviser to the Democratic presidential candidates in 2000 and 2004, said that even without taking first place in primary states, Mr. Edwards has reason to stay in and possibly influence the result at the nominating convention.

“Even though he doesn’t expect to win, he expects to do well enough to win delegates,” Mr. Devine said. “Anybody who can command 15 percent of the vote and get on the ballot can wind up with literally hundreds of delegates at the convention, and that’s a pretty strong position to be in.”

So, the role Edwards seeks is kingmaker. Meanwhile, he goes out each day acting like he’s working hard to get votes that will benefit him, when in actuality, they’ll end up benefitting Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Why then would anyone really vote for John Edwards if their vote ultimately ends up with someone else? Ignorance is bliss with sheep, I guess.

Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards

The Butcher Shop is Closed

Allan Melvin, best known for playing Sam the Butcher on “The Brady Bunch” is dead. He was 84.

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Melvin died of cancer Thursday at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, said Amalia Melvin, his wife of 64 years.

The jowly, jovial Melvin spent decades playing a series of sidekicks, second bananas and lovable lugs, including Archie Bunker’s friend Barney Hefner on “All in the Family,” and Sgt. Bilko’s right-hand man Cpl. Henshaw on the “Phil Silvers Show.”

RIP.

Tags:
Brady Bunch, Sam the Butcher, Allan Melvin

Hillary Wins Vote, But Obama Wins Delegates

Who says a “W” is a “W” when it’s really the delegate count that determines the genuine winner?

Barack Obama may have won the most delegates in Saturday’s Nevada Caucus, even though Hillary Clinton bested his statewide turnout by about six points.

A source with knowledge of the Nevada Democratic Party’s projections told The Nation that under the arcane weighting system, Obama would win 13 national convention delegates and Clinton would win 12 delegates. The state party has not released an official count yet.

Barack Obama released an official statement celebrating a delegate victory. “We came from over twenty-five points behind to win more national convention delegates than Hillary Clinton because we performed well all across the state, including rural areas where Democrats have traditionally struggled,” he said.

Spin, spin, spin. Yet, the delegate count is important, and Obama deserves to call this a win. It means February 5th is just as important for the Democrats as it is for the Republicans.

Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Nevada, Politics, Republicans

The End of Fred?

If McCain and Huckabee are neck and neck in South Carolina, that must mean that Fred Thompson won’t win. And what if?

“Fred Thompson made it clear at a midday campaign stop that he won’t continue in the race without a strong showing out of South Carolina tonight. ‘We’ll see how we have to do, we’ll see what the results are,’ Thompson said, when questioned at a small press availability if he needed to win to go forward. ‘I’ve always said I have to do very well here; there’s no question about that. I stand by that. … We won’t have too much longer to wait.'”

Given what looks like a loss in South Carolina, when will Fred pull out? Tonight? Sunday? And who will he endorse? Romney? McCain? If he gets behind McCain, look for a whole lotta conservative backlash. My guess is he’ll wait out an endorsement until the nomination comes into focus a bit more.

Update: McCain wins South Carolina.

Tags:
2008 Election, Campaign, GOP, Republicans, Fred Thompson, South Carolina

In Nevada, It’s Romney

Do we have an official front runner now?

Mitt Romney won the Nevada Republican caucuses Saturday, scoring dramatic back-to-back victories in the race for the nomination.

With 86 percent of caucus sites reporting, Romney had 53 percent in the state, followed by John McCain with 13 percent, Ron Paul with 13 percent, Mike Huckabee with 8 percent, Fred Thompson with 8 percent, Rudy Giuliani with 2 percent and Duncan Hunter with 2 percent.

Mitt just didn’t win Nevada. He pulled out a can o’ whupass and cleaned up. Mr. Romney leads the delegate race right now, by a pretty nice margin too. Of course, nothing is settled until February 5th, but as of now, he’s sittin’ pretty.

Question is, can I support him if he does turn out to be the GOP nominee?

Tags:
2008 Election, Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, Nevada, GOP

42

The same age Elvis was when he died…that’s me, today.

Tags:
Happy Birthday

“No disrespect, but they don’t speak for us.”

When Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for president, she couldn’t possibly believe she’d be walking into a battle between the “old” black vote and the “new” black vote. But that’s exactly where she is today, and a developing generation gap might cost her the votes she thought were in the bag.

When civil rights elders signed on to support Hillary Rodham Clinton’s run for president, it was seen as a coup in the competition for the black vote, especially in the Deep South.

Yet many younger black voters seem to be shrugging off the sway of leaders such as Rep. John Lewis and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, siding instead with Barack Obama’s history-making bid to be the nation’s first black president.

It’s a generational struggle that should serve as a warning to Democrats as they head into primary contests in states with large black populations: The black vote today is anything but monolithic.

It also suggests the influence the civil rights leaders have enjoyed as political kingmakers is waning.

“The figureheads are not actually gatekeepers to the black vote,” said William Jelani Cobb, a 38-year-old history professor at the historically black Spelman College.

“No disrespect, but they don’t speak for us.”

…and a voter with an opinion like that has to be terrifying to Hillary.

Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Black Caucus, Black Vote

Ocean’s 13 + 2

Bill and Hillary Clinton might be wondering, where’s Danny Ocean, Rusty Ryan and the rest of their crew when you need ’em?

A federal judge on Thursday allowed Nevada Democrats to hold presidential voting in casino hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, potentially helping Sen. Barack Obama in the next round of the campaign on Saturday.

For the first time, Nevada Democrats planned to set up nine locations for Saturday’s vote so casino shift workers, who are largely represented by a union that endorsed Obama, could attend caucuses and vote for a presidential candidate.

If you didn’t catch the latest Bill Clinton tirade, it was all about tactics to shut down any attempt to allow the casino vote to go forward. Today’s decision by the judge just popped a 3rd vein in Bubba’s forehead.

The question now is, just how much will this decision benefit Barack Obama? Polls show him behind Hillary in Nevada.

Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Campaign, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Bill Clinton