All Things Pro-Obama

[Heads22]

exactly my point. I can only imagine f FDR tried t run for re-election today. He'd have been skewered by the press.

 

I assume you mean wheel his way to re-election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a horrible person.

 

I still love you, Franklin.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I assume you mean wheel his way to re-election.

 

I'm a horrible person.

 

I still love you, Franklin.

I have a friend show says he is going to hell and driving the bus. He just called me to say there is a seat open near the back.

[BigSqwert]

I'm wondering whose IOUs are worse, the ones that come with debt or the ones that come attached to donations

Seeing that Obama's donations are primarily of the $100 variety I'm not seeing what the issue is.

Edited May 23, 2008 by BigSqwert

[southsider2k5]

Seeing that Obama's donations are primarily of the $100 variety I'm not seeing what the issue is.

 

There are PLENTY of the other kind.

[BigSqwert]

There are PLENTY of the other kind.

So now he's being criticized for accepting donations. What next?

Edited May 23, 2008 by BigSqwert

[southsider2k5]

So now he's being criticized for accepting donations. What next?

 

Easy killer. Tex was making the point that he has accepted a lot of big donations, and people don't give those out of the kindness of their hearts. Trust me, this point has been made over and over again when it was the GOP leading the way for donations, so rightfully you should hear it now with Obama.

[Texsox]

So now he's being criticized for accepting donations. What next?

 

Same comment fits McCain, Clinton, and everyone else who campaigns for office. And the more money they raise, the more IOUs are out there. And knowing the process, he personally will make some calls everyday to the bigger contributors.

[BigSqwert]

I'm expecting Obama to wear a T-Shirt today that reads the following:

 

"I won the majority of pledged delegates earlier this week and all I got was these 2 stinkin' superdelegates."

 

Nice to see the spineless Dems continue to sit on their hands.

[Texsox]

I'm expecting Obama to wear a T-Shirt today that reads the following:

 

"I won the majority of pledged delegates earlier this week and all I got was these 2 stinkin' superdelegates."

 

Nice to see the spineless Dems continue to sit on their hands.

If they were bound to just follow the popular vote, they wouldn't need super delegates.

[BigSqwert]

If they were bound to just follow the popular vote, they wouldn't need super delegates.

I guess I'm not sure what the wait is for. Is it so the 2 remaining minuscule states (population-wise) could be heard? Or Puerto Rico who's doesn't even vote in November? Most of the uncommitted superdelegates are from states that already voted. I would think they would make some sort of decision based on their local electorate.

[BigSqwert]

From TPM:

CNN is reporting this morning that the Obama and Clinton campaigns are in formal talks about ending her quest for the Democratic nomination and possibly giving her the VP slot.

 

These apparent talks are described by CNN as being in a ``very preliminary'' stage and as "difficult."

 

It's really unclear what this means or what's really going on here. CNN doesn't have anyone on the record. Just anonymous sourcing. We'll have video of their report up shortly.

 

On first blush I'm skeptical that there really are "formal talks" in the usual sense of that phrase. The report appears to lean heavily on sourcing from within the Clinton camp, which is notable. The significance here may not be that there are formal talks underway or that the vice presidency is under discussion. The real significance may be that this is the opening salvo from the Clinton camp ahead of the negotiations that would likely accompany her withdrawal from the race.

 

Like everyone else, we're trying to track this down now. But this may be the beginning of the beginning of the end.

 

--David Kurtz

[Texsox]

I guess I'm not sure what the wait is for. Is it so the 2 remaining minuscule states (population-wise) could be heard? Or Puerto Rico who's doesn't even vote in November? Most of the uncommitted superdelegates are from states that already voted. I would think they would make some sort of decision based on their local electorate.

 

There are a couple reasons I could see waiting. They may want more info on who each candidate is considering for VP. What makes more sense to me is they could be waiting to see if Clinton bows out gracefully, which eliminates turning their back on the Clintons. Remember these are party insiders and owe some of the Dems success to President Clinton and might not want to be seen as hitching their cart to a new horse. You don't get to be a super delegate by winning a sweepstakes.

[BigSqwert]

There are a couple reasons I could see waiting. They may want more info on who each candidate is considering for VP.

 

Maybe I just didn't pay much attention in the past but since when do candidates announce VPs before becoming the nominee?

 

[BigSqwert]

Obama to Deliver Major Latin America Foreign Policy Address

 

I look forward to hearing this. The status quo has done nothing for Cubans in the last few decades.

[Texsox]

Maybe I just didn't pay much attention in the past but since when do candidates announce VPs before becoming the nominee?

 

They do not, "leaning towards" I believe was the term I used. That usually is leaked. Plus, I think there would be some pressure to be upfront early. But far and away, the best reason I see is not wanting to piss off the Clintons. Perhaps they are owed some measure of respect.

 

I see the allure, but I have serious reservations about Obama picking Clinton as a VP candidate.

[BigSqwert]

I see the allure, but I have serious reservations about Obama picking Clinton as a VP candidate.

Likewise. The GOP would have a field day running ads of Clinton saying "he just had a speech" and "McCain has the experience". Also goes against the grain with regards to his whole "change" campaign.

Edited May 23, 2008 by BigSqwert

[BigSqwert]

Team of rivals?

 

Obama Proposes 'Team of Rivals' Cabinet

 

May 22, 2008 9:14 PM

 

An amusing question and an historical answer at Sen. Barack Obama's town meeting in Boca Raton, Fla.

 

The questioner asked, "You're about to achieve a truly wonderful, historic nomination, but we both know unless you, and we, win in November, it's going to be a footnote. So, my question is when the time comes, will you be willing to consider everybody who is a possible help to you as a running mate, even if his or her spouse is an occasional pain in the butt?"

 

Obama first begged off the presumption that his nomination is a done deal -- "I don't want to jump the gun," he said -- but then he pivoted and jumped the gun a touch.

 

"I will tell you, though, that my goal is to have the best possible government, and that means me winning," Obama said, per ABC News' Sunlen Miller. "And so, I am very practical minded. I'm a practical-minded guy. And, you know, one of my heroes is Abraham Lincoln."

 

Obama then referred to "a wonderful book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin called 'Team of Rivals,' in which [she] talked about [how] Lincoln basically pulled in all the people who had been running against him into his Cabinet because whatever, you know, personal feelings there were, the issue was, 'How can we get this country through this time of crisis?'"

 

Lincoln, FYI, appointed three of his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination to his cabinet -- three men who at the time loathed him.

 

William H. Seward became secretary of state, Salmon P. Chase became secretary of the treasury, and Edward Bates became attorney general.

 

Another former rival, Edwin Stanton -- who once called Lincoln a "long armed ape" -- became secretary of war.

 

"That has to be the approach that one takes," Obama said, "whether it's vice president or cabinet, whoever. And by the way that does not exclude Republicans either. You know my attitude is that whoever is the best person for the job is the person I want. ... You know, if I really thought that John McCain was the absolute best person for the Department of the Homeland Security, I would put him in there."

 

An audience member yelled out: "No!"

 

"No, I would, if I thought that he was the best," Obama said. "Now, I'm not saying I do. I'm just saying that's got to be the approach that you take because part of the change that I'm looking for is to make sure that we're reminded of what we have in common as Americans."

Edited May 23, 2008 by BigSqwert

[BigSqwert]

Obama will also discuss his differences with McCain and Bush and stress the need to renew the leadership of the United States in the hemisphere through direct diplomacy.

 

As President, Barack Obama will:

 

Ø Engage in direct diplomacy throughout the hemisphere to advance democracy and promote American values and ideals;

 

Ø Immediately allow Cuban Americans unlimited family travel and remittances to the island;

 

Ø Create an Energy Partnership for the Americas—a regional energy initiative to develop alternative energy and promote clean and sustainable growth;

 

Ø Launch a regional security initiative to develop a new approach to battling criminality and drug trafficking in the hemisphere;

 

Ø Target development assistance for Latin America aimed at promoting bottom-up growth;

 

Ø Reinstate a Special Envoy for the Americas in the White House and open more consulates and expand the Peace Corps in Latin America.

 

LINK

[NorthSideSox72]

LINK

That second to last one, about bottom-up development, will be very, very hard to accomplish. It would be perceived by many governments as an attempt to promote an uprising. I don't think that's really going to go anywhere.

 

[Balta1701]

Same comment fits McCain, Clinton, and everyone else who campaigns for office. And the more money they raise, the more IOUs are out there. And knowing the process, he personally will make some calls everyday to the bigger contributors.

And unfortunately, until we can develop a national public campaign financing system, this is how it's going to happen. The one positive thing with the Obama campaign is that a larger chunk of his money is coming from smaller donors like me, who aren't lobbying for anything really, than pretty much any candidate in recent memory. Whether that will make a difference in the long term is frankly anyone's guess at this point.

[southsider2k5]

He is also getting large amounts from bigger donors more than anyone else in history from the looks of it.

[Balta1701]

He is also getting large amounts from bigger donors more than anyone else in history from the looks of it.

Can you back that up with data? I'll give you the Politico summary of his April donations, which seem to argue against that statement:

Details from the Obama press release after the jump.

 

New donors in April: 200,000

 

94 percent of contributions were under $200

 

93 percent of contributions were $100 or less

 

77 percent of contributions were $50 or less

 

52 percent of contributions were $25 or less

 

Number of donors to the Obama campaign overall at the end of April: 1.475 million

 

Number of contributions given: 2,929,000 million

 

Average donation: $91

I'm sure he has his fair share of max donors, but for the average donation he's receiving to come in so low, at $91, then there must be an overwhelming amount of money coming in from the small contributions.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Good news for Obama keeps on rolling in...

 

Edited May 23, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[southsider2k5]

Can you back that up with data? I'll give you the Politico summary of his April donations, which seem to argue against that statement:

I'm sure he has his fair share of max donors, but for the average donation he's receiving to come in so low, at $91, then there must be an overwhelming amount of money coming in from the small contributions.

 

The numbers and percentages of small donors don't matter. The question is large donors. That is all a nice little statistical trick to miss the whole story. He has had 25,000 donations of $2300 (the max). For comparison sake, Hillary has about 22,600 of $2300. McCain has 15,000ish. To get those kind of numbers is where the bundlers come into play. Those are the guys who you owe favors.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Team of rivals?

That's really cool to see. I like the old original idea of throwing everyone into the pot, whoever gets the most votes is President, the second most is vice-president.