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Year: 2008

The (Sour) Grapes of (Clinton’s) Wrath

The New York Times writes about the struggle Bill Richardson found himself in by choosing to endorse Barack Obama instead of the wife of his former boss. What struck me though, was this quote by James Carville, a current advisor to Hillary and a longtime member of the Clintonista inner circle.

Mr. Clinton helped elevate Mr. Richardson to the national stage by naming him his energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations. And Mr. Clinton left no doubt that he viewed Mr. Richardson’s support as important to his wife’s campaign: He even flew to New Mexico to watch the Super Bowl with Mr. Richardson as part of the Clintons’ high-profile courtship of him.

But Mr. Richardson stopped returning Mr. Clinton’s calls days ago, Mr. Clinton’s aides said. And as of Friday, Mr. Richardson said, he had yet to pick up the phone to tell Mr. Clinton of his decision.

The reaction of some of Mr. Clinton’s allies suggests that might have been a wise decision. “An act of betrayal,” said James Carville, an adviser to Mrs. Clinton and a friend of Mr. Clinton.

“Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,” Mr. Carville said, referring to Holy Week.

Look, I’m not a Democrat. I’m no liberal (thank God), but human decency demands that I stick up for Bill Richardson here. That kind of comment from Carville is just pure crap, plain and simple, and it illustrates the selfishness fueling the Clinton campaign. Richardson, for the sake of party unity, is helping the Democrats put an end to this futile primary. Carville calling him a “Judas” is offensive, and he should be ashamed of himself. Moreover, he should apologize to Richardson personally, and publicly. Hillary should demand he does.

But of course, we know she won’t.

UPDATE: Carville stands by his comment.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton, James Carville, DNC

Amazon Closes Sale

Amazon’s promise to complete the purchase of Audible as soon as possible following the completion of its tender offer last week turned out to be a couple of days. Yesterday, the growing e-tailer announced it had finalized its $300 million acquisition of the digital audio distribution, making Audible a wholly-owned Amazon subsidiary. Amazon’s $11.50 per share offer had been criticized by some shareholders, but in the end the overwhelming majority of stockholders accepted the deal.

Technorati Tags:
Amazon, Audible, Audio Books, Digital Publishing

Another Step Closer

Bill Richardson Hearts Barack Obama.

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico delivered a forceful endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for president on Friday, urging Democrats to unite behind his candidacy to move the nation beyond its racial and partisan divide.

“It is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward,” Mr. Richardson said, speaking to thousands of supporters at a rally here. “Barack Obama will be a historic and a great president, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad.”

Forget about the math, Richardson’s endorsement provides more proof of momentum toward Obama. Hillary, with her 10% chance of winning the nomination, looks worse off today, regardless of the numbers.

The question remains, will someone (Gore?) put an end to this race or will Hillary insist on tearing apart the party to achieve her goal?

Yeah, I know the answer.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary, Bill Richardson

The Brilliance of the TSA

So, you think taking off your shoes, your belt, and practically every other article of clothing when you go through security at the airport is actually having an effect in making air travel more safe from terrorist attacks? You give the TSA far too much credit.

A suitcase packed with 45 pounds of marijuana passed through security at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee County.

Sheriff David Clarke suspects it was “an inside job” because of the security breach. Clarke says it’s unnerving that such a bag can bypass all the TSA security devices.

Unnerving? Ya think?

TSA will catch my bottle of water and make me throw it away, but 45 pounds of weed just somehow goes unnoticed. God help us.

Technorati Tags:
airplane, Marijuana, TSA, Security, Terrorism

Good News for Obama

According to a poll sponsored by Fox News, more than half of Americans believe Barack Obama doesn’t share the same views of his Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans do not believe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama shares the controversial views of his former spiritual mentor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, while about one in four (24 percent) believes he does share the Wright’s views. And a sizable minority has doubts about Obama because of his pastor’s comments, according to a new FOX News poll.

Other tidbits gleaned from the poll: Republicans, more than independents or Democrats think Obama in fact does share the same beliefs as Wright (Duh). More importantly for Obama, more voters now claim they’ll take a second look at him in the wake of the Wright dust up. To stem the tide, Obama has to remedy the doubts these voters have about him.

If Obama gets off the specific topic of Wright and moves on to a wider discussion of race, he should be alright. If he finds himself stuck on Wright, it’ll dog him through the general election.

And in my view, that’d be just fine.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Polls, Racism

Prove It

The County Board of Elections in Cuyahoga County, Ohio has opened an investigation to determine whether any Republicans broke the law when they switched parties in the March 4 presidential primary. Disgruntled Democrats are annoyed by the idea that Republicans intentionally voted for Hillary Clinton to keep her in the race for the Democratic nomination. The goal being that as long as the Democratic nomination remains up for grabs, and the two candidates continue to eat each other alive, it’s good for John McCain’s White House prospects. Those who allegedly crossed over signed statements pledging allegiance to their new party.

Of course this whole thing is completely absurd and yet another waste of the tax payers hard earned dollars. But then again, it’s the Democratic party we’re talking about, so this is nothing new.

Question: How does one prove disingenuousness, anyway?

I guess the real question is, did this so called “pledge” signed by cross over voters require some minimal term of time for the duration of one’s allegiance. If it did not, then the allegiance could start at signing and end upon exiting the polling station.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Ohio

That Blue Dress

Just when you thought Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress was safely tucked away never to see the light of day, now some 10 years after the “event“, it’s back in the news.

Hillary Clinton spent the night in the White House on the day her husband had oral sex with Monica Lewinsky, and may have actually been there when it happened, according to records of her schedule released today by the National Archives.

The public schedule for Sen. Clinton on Feb. 28, 1997, the day on which Lewinsky’s infamous blue dress would become stained by the president, shows the first lady spent the morning and the night in the White House.

The black cloud of Bill Clinton’s stupidity once again hovers over Hillary, and it must make her furious.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, White House, Blue Dress

Obama Speech, Day 2 – The Hypocrite

The internets are abuzz with activity following the speech on race yesterday by Sen. Barack Obama. There are definitely two camps shaping up. There are those who liken the oratory to historical speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr., and JFK. For these folks, it’s the nuance that matters. Others are pointing out the problems brought on by Obama’s attempt to justify the hateful words of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Those people are focusing on the substance of the speech.

After reading all the analysis, and going through the speech once more myself, I tend to agree with Michael Gerson’s Op-Ed in the Washington Post.

Continue reading →

Better, Stronger, Faster

Boy, do I miss the Six Million Dollar Man TV series. Is it available on DVD yet?

Apple released version 3.1 of its Safari web browser today.

Safari loads web pages 1.9 times faster than IE 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2. Safari also runs JavaScript up to six times faster than other browsers, and is the first browser to support the latest innovative web standards needed to deliver the next generation of highly interactive Web 2.0 experiences.

Safari 3.1 is the first browser to support the new video and audio tags in HTML 5 and the first to support CSS Animations. Safari also supports CSS Web Fonts, giving designers limitless choices of fonts to create stunning new web sites.

Hit software update to get the new release, or download directly at the website.

Technorati Tags:
Apple, Safari, Mac OS X, Fanboy

All Is Forgiven

That’s what I predict the reaction will be to Obama’s hands across America speech. The media, glowing in wonderment, will lead out in a unified rendition of Kumbiya. Democrats in Congress will rush to Obama’s side. The cable shows will once again anoint “the one”.

Mark it.

Truth be told – it wasn’t a bad speech. It had its moments. Of course, it was chock-full of feel good gobbledygook. If you were at all confused about Obama’s liberalism, you won’t be today. The speech was peppered with classic leftist thought. Dependence on the power of the State; People aren’t individuals, they are groups; The glorification of a secular society; etc. But, I digress. The message was unmistakably about race.

And the funny thing is, Obama tried to come out initially as the candidate who transcended race. Today, he’s the candidate of race. He is, race.

Isn’t it ironic?

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Racism