DEM Primaries/Candidates thread

[southsider2k5]

The campaign has sent out a transcript of her actual remarks and is saying that the Quad City Times misquoted her.

The QC times has corrected said quote:

 

Yikes, they really screwed the pooch on that one. I wonder who pushed that quote into the papers, Hillary or Edwards?

[NorthSideSox72]

Yikes, they really screwed the pooch on that one. I wonder who pushed that quote into the papers, Hillary or Edwards?

Its a small Iowa newspaper. I think in this case, its at least possible they just screwed up. Or that they were trying to raise their profile by getting a "scoop".

 

[southsider2k5]

Its a small Iowa newspaper. I think in this case, its at least possible they just screwed up. Or that they were trying to raise their profile by getting a "scoop".

 

Its a pretty common thing anymore that campaign operatives go to their competitions appearences and try to get a "gotcha" moment so that they can publicize the crap out of it. I am guessing a reporter probably would have had a tape recorder, at very least, with them. I am guessing they got this passed on to them. I will admit I have zero evidence, it just follows the trend and common sense if you ask me. Its why you get someone reporting about the stupid thing Fred Thompson said pretty much as soon as it happens, or one of Obama's "shocking" forgein policy announcement, or Hillary contradicting herself and her husband on something they said prior... There are people who do nothing but look for these little things and try to make HUGE deals out of them working for each campaign. The sad thing is that it has worked repeatedly around the country.

 

[Texsox]

I assumed that one of the campaigns alerted the AP, etc. to the quote, but I didn't consider the quote may have been planted. But you state a great case for how it could have been planted. And political dirty tricks have been going on forever.

[southsider2k5]

Edwards is circling the drain now... He is going to take public finanicing because he can't keep up with the big dogs.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/sto...5288&page=1

 

Where's Ann Coulter when John Edwards needs her?

 

Just three days before the end of third-quarter fund-raising -- and in wake of the SEIU's decision to hold off on endorsing a candidate: He's accepting public financing for the primaries, which means (more than any of the spin) that his campaign is admitting that it can't compete financially with the big girl and the big boy in the race.

 

This will mean a boost of cash -- probably $10 million in January -- but it also means Edwards, D-N.C., can only spend about $1.5 million on ads in Iowa and $800,000 in New Hampshire (and he's already about a third of the way there in both states). His campaign is already identifying loopholes that will allow him to spend more, but (beside the moral incongruity of talking clean and playing dirty like that) here's all you need to know: If this was such a good idea -- politically and financially -- everyone would be doing it.

 

Edwards is quickly making this part of his populist narrative, a challenge to the other Democrats (and one that will be quickly ignored by those who have the financial means to ignore it). "Washington is awash with money, and the system is corrupt," Edwards said.

 

Yet if this is a choice, why didn't he make it when he started the race, or at any point before the very end of an important fund-raising period? Has money gotten dirtier? Or it just that he's not finding enough of it?

 

Let's ask Joe Trippi -- no, not today's Joe Trippi, Joe Trippi 2003 (whose candidate, Howard Dean, was rolling in the cash). The "campaign believes that any Democratic campaign that opted into the matching-funds system has given up on the general election," Trippi said four years ago. Yesterday, he told The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut and Matthew Mosk: "It's a different time. A different year." Indeed. The move raises the stakes for Edwards, and the announcement's timing -- right after a strong debate performance -- reflects the seesaw nature of his campaign: He remains a leader in the "ideas primary," with a strong rationale for his candidacy, yet every time he starts to gets some traction, something causes him to slip.

 

 

The decision on public financing is "a political blow, but it's probably also the only lifeline he has to stay in the race," Politico's Jeanne Cummings reports. It also means that if he wins the nomination, he may have to go dark for six months or more -- until the general election begins, with the Democratic convention. The Democratic base has got to be jazzed by the prospect of Mitt or Rudy dumping millions on his (well-coiffed) head.)

 

Cummings' colleague, Ben Smith, lands Edwards' campaign talking points -- and he's made his move "proudly." And this: "Today, Edwards is challenging Sen. Clinton to prove that she means what she says. If she doesn't agree, she should have to look the American people in the eye explain why their money isn't good enough."

 

But remember that Edwards is truly the candidate who must win Iowa; now he'll have to win it with at least some limitations on his ability to advertise there. (Michelle Obama, it turns out, didn't quite pronounce the state make-or-break for her husband; the Quad City Times corrected the quote where she was purported to have said that without a victory in Iowa, "it's over.")

[NorthSideSox72]

Edwards is circling the drain now... He is going to take public finanicing because he can't keep up with the big dogs.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/sto...5288&page=1

Good. I kind of hope he drops out early - I dislike him just as intensely as I do Hillary, if not more so.

 

I'd really like to see Clinton fall back a bit, and Edwards' supporters go to Obama and/or Richardson.

 

[Balta1701]

 

My goodness can that man draw a crowd.

[Texsox]

The Dems have Rock Stars running, that's for certain. It would be the most incredible politcal event of our lifetime if the "Big Three" arrrived at the convention with a floor fight for the nomination. I get goose bumps thinking about it.

[Balta1701]

The Dems have Rock Stars running, that's for certain. It would be the most incredible politcal event of our lifetime if the "Big Three" arrrived at the convention with a floor fight for the nomination. I get goose bumps thinking about it.

It won't happen. Stealing this from some pathetic hippy filled liberal blog, which I think is absolutely correct.

1. If Clinton wins either Iowa or New Hampshire, she will be the Democratic nominee

2. If Obama wins both Iowa and New Hampshire, he will be the Democratic nominee

3. If Edwards wins both Iowa and New Hampshire, he will almost certainly be the Democratic nominee

4. If number three does not happen, and if Clinton defeats Obama in Iowa, regardless of what else happens she will almost certainly be the Democratic nominee

5. If Richardson wins Iowa, and condition four is not met, then prepare for a real scramble that favors Clinton

6. If none of the above conditions are met, and Edwards and Obama somehow split Iowa and New Hampshire, then prepare for an entirely unpredictable scramble that clearly favors no one.

[Texsox]

It won't happen. Stealing this from some pathetic hippy filled liberal blog, which I think is absolutely correct.

 

I can dream, can't I?

[southsider2k5]

An editorial about John Edwards visit to my hometown.

 

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=50863.27

 

Edwards Avoids Average Folks Here

 

Rick Richards

City Editor, The News-Dispatch

 

I'm not sure what to think of John Edwards, but I know what my grandfather would have thought: To hell with him.

 

My grandfather was a died-in-the-wool Democrat. When the Great Depression hit, he left West Virginia because he couldn't get a job in the coal mines, and headed for the small east central Indiana town of Dunkirk, where he found work at the Indiana Glass factory. He didn't have much of a formal education, but what he knew about glass making machinery would fill textbooks.

 

So what does all this have to do with John Edwards and politics? Plenty.

 

My grandfather believed - as I do - that politics is personal. No, not in a get even personal (as too many in politics believe today), but personal in that candidates shouldn't be afraid to get their hands dirty by shaking a few that are covered in grease. He believed candidates should spend time talking with working people, finding out about how policies put in place in Washington - or Indianapolis or city hall for that matter - affect average taxpayers.

 

My grandfather didn't have a degree in political science but he knew a phony when he saw one and I'm sure that if he saw John Edwards, he'd vote for someone else.

 

Why?

 

Because John Edwards thumbed his nose at Michigan City. Sure he was here, but those of us who work for a living didn't have a clue. Edwards only had enough time (and he showed up an hour late at that) to talk with about 150 local residents, but only if their pockets were deep enough to hold a big wad of cash or if they were politically connected. And if the rank and file couldn't be there, then he surely could have spent a few minutes with someone from the newspaper to get his message out to the local voters here.

 

Alas, there were no grease-stained - or ink-stained - wretches to mingle with. This was strictly a wine and caviar crowd - most of them physicians - who don't have to worry about paying their kids' college tuition, their hospital bills or their mortgage payments.

 

Edwards comes across as a man of the people, but he's a rich guy who made his money as a highly paid trial lawyer before entering North Carolina politics and being anointed as John Kerry's vice presidential running mate in 2004. Since then, Edwards has been criss-crossing the country, keeping his name in the news as he eyes his own run for the White House.

 

It's not often that a presidential candidate visits Michigan City, but the most recent visitors have come to invitation-only events that keeps out the rank and file. In August 2004, Howard Dean came to town for a $1,000-a-couple event at Pottawattomie Country Club. The host then, as he was on Tuesday, was Dr. Vidya Kora, the La Porte County Democratic Party chairman. There were no grease-stained hands (and no media) then, either. In January, just five months later, Dean's campaign was dead after his primal scream following his third place finish in the Iowa caucus.

 

Tuesday's visit was at Kora's home in Long Beach. Kora said if it was up to him, he would be happy to have the news media at his home, but that we'd have to check with the Edwards campaign. But the Edwards people said no, claiming that since it was a private affair at a private home, the news media wasn't invited. Never mind that the host said it was OK.

 

I grew up thinking Democrats were the party of the people, and I guess they are - as long as you have enough money and an invitation.

[kapkomet]

An editorial about John Edwards visit to my hometown.

 

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=50863.27

Nice. Very nice indeed.

 

Hillary is made of the same mold.

 

Obama? Don't know yet. I did see an article in the WSJ yesterday saying he was trying to get to smaller towns.

 

[southsider2k5]

Nice. Very nice indeed.

 

Hillary is made of the same mold.

 

Obama? Don't know yet. I did see an article in the WSJ yesterday saying he was trying to get to smaller towns.

 

To be honest, it sounds like the big ones are all like that. I haven't seen anything that sounds any different really.

[Balta1701]

To be honest, it sounds like the big ones are all like that. I haven't seen anything that sounds any different really.

Unfortunately, with the disaster that is our campaign financing system, how much choice do any of them have? Small donations online are nice and are really piling up for some of these guys, but still a huge chunk of the billion dollars it's going to take to run this campaign is coming from big donors, and you just can't live without them right now can you?

[kapkomet]

John Edwards is THE f***tard of f***tards. How can ANYONE support this asshole?

 

The idea that we’re going to keep incarcerating and keep incarcerating - pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African American male population in America – they’re all gonna be in prison or dead.

 

 

[Rex Kickass]

I'm not an Edwards fan. But, I know people that worked personally with Edwards in 04. And they have no doubt that a lot of the things he talks about - regarding poverty especially, he is a true believer in. His comments aren't coming from an empty suit.

 

It's too bad it just seems like it comes from one. Because your message can be great, but when you lack credibility to deliver that message, it's useless.

[Texsox]

John Edwards is THE f***tard of f***tards. How can ANYONE support this asshole?

 

5 Yards for unnecessary roughness, repeat third down.

[kapkomet]

I'm not an Edwards fan. But, I know people that worked personally with Edwards in 04. And they have no doubt that a lot of the things he talks about - regarding poverty especially, he is a true believer in. His comments aren't coming from an empty suit.

 

It's too bad it just seems like it comes from one. Because your message can be great, but when you lack credibility to deliver that message, it's useless.

Please. This guy made his money by being an ambulance chaser. He's scum and stupid comments like this don't help.

[BigSqwert]

Please. This guy made his money by being an ambulance chaser. He's scum and stupid comments like this don't help.

I'm not a fan of his but come on. You act like you have some personal dirt on him. Did he eat aborted fetuses or something? Sheesh.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I'm not a fan of his but come on. You act like you have some personal dirt on him. Did he eat aborted fetuses or something? Sheesh.

 

Most likely he did. Surely you know by now. . .

 

Conservatives practice the law and eat three meals a day.

Liberals practice witchcraft and eat their young.

 

See? Easy.

[Rex Kickass]

Please. This guy made his money by being an ambulance chaser. He's scum and stupid comments like this don't help.

My information comes from people who have worked with the Senator. With your tinfoil hat, your information clearly comes from the satellites of Major League Baseball which are reading our thoughts. I'll go with my information, thanks .

[kapkomet]

My information comes from people who have worked with the Senator. With your tinfoil hat, your information clearly comes from the satellites of Major League Baseball which are reading our thoughts. I'll go with my information, thanks .

That's fine, but you can't deny what he did for a living, or his open track record. It amazes me what a pedistal these people get put on and how much they get defended when they have a (D) behind their name. He "cares" about the poor and underpriveledged, yea. TWO AMERICAS! Uh huh. Only if it benefits him.

 

And before anyone starts, I'm just as critical of the Re-pube-licans.

[Texsox]

That's fine, but you can't deny what he did for a living, or his open track record. It amazes me what a pedistal these people get put on and how much they get defended when they have a (D) behind their name. He "cares" about the poor and underpriveledged, yea. TWO AMERICAS! Uh huh. Only if it benefits him.

 

And before anyone starts, I'm just as critical of the Re-pube-licans.

 

So it does matter who a lawyer represents? If it's an organization that fronts for the Iranian government Good! If it's people who have been injured on accidents, Bad!?

 

And I love the "I hate both sides"

[Rex Kickass]

That's fine, but you can't deny what he did for a living, or his open track record. It amazes me what a pedistal these people get put on and how much they get defended when they have a (D) behind their name. He "cares" about the poor and underpriveledged, yea. TWO AMERICAS! Uh huh. Only if it benefits him.

 

And before anyone starts, I'm just as critical of the Re-pube-licans.

 

All I'm saying is the things I've heard from people who worked for the guy in 04. I'm not saying that they still work for him, or would today. I don't even think that they're supporters of Edwards this time around. But they did say, that his dedication to poverty reduction is genuine, whatever you might think.

[EvilMonkey]

All I'm saying is the things I've heard from people who worked for the guy in 04. I'm not saying that they still work for him, or would today. I don't even think that they're supporters of Edwards this time around. But they did say, that his dedication to poverty reduction is genuine, whatever you might think.

His dedication to poverty reduction on the government dime, you mean. How much has he donated to charity himself? That would be true dedication to poverty reduction. Maybe a sizable donation to help feed and shelter the homeless (that he helped to make with the subprime loans). It's easy to be compassionate with other people's money. A little harder to do so with you own.