Comments on: Obama Talks of "Unifying the Party"

[sjbj2322]

Well here''s another lightening rod for Obama to have to deal with. His wife would reject the idea of Hillary being named the VP candidate. Who the devil does Michele Obama think she is? SHE is proof positive that Obama is no JFK because she is no lady as was Jackie O. She''s a loud-mouthed bitter and angry woman who rules her roost and that includes her husband.

As for all the hype about Hillary wanting the votes of Michigan and Florida to be counted, and the use of Harold Ickes statement that they not be counted "To prevent the gaming of the system." You want to talk "GAMING" of the system. That''s called allowing South Carolina to violate the rules so the waters on the black vote could be tested. HELLO - of course blacks will support a black candidate even if his name was Mickey Mouse - especially if that candidate touts his church''s mission statement of being "unapologetically black" and "unapologetically Pro-African. As a result I am sooo ashamed of my liberal friends who would elect to use this shill in an effort to make a civil rights statement rather than take the time to truly look at the man or his politics. Give me a candidate who is PRO-AMERICAN and is truly for ALL AMERICANS or go to....its that simple.

[wendyerussel]

I would like to point out how non devisive Barack has been. Here is a list of unsavory topics he could have dragged up but took the higher road:
Hillary being under sniper fire in Bosnis, religious affiliation with "The Fellowship",travelgate, her failure at securing healthcare during Bill''s administration due to her divisive manner of going about it,Whitewater, Hillary''s cattle futures scandel, Vincent Foster, Filegate, farewell looting of whitehouse, her campaigns mounting debt, her two major campaign shakeups, her unpaid campaign bills and unhappy vendors to name just a few. Hillary repeatedly says all her dirty laundry has been aired but it would have been so easy for Barack to bring these things back in the light of day just to remind voters who they are dealing with. Yet he did not. Why? He is a coalition builder not destroyer. She is part of his coalition.

[omaar-101]

Big A!! Note: Clinton, Completely Opposed Recognizing (Michigan and Florida) until after the primaries--i.e., when she Realized she might need their Delegates to win the nomination.

"It''s clear that this election they''re having [in Michigan] is not going to count for Anything," she said during an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio in October 2007. She wasn''t alone.


2 months earlier, Clinton adviser Harold Ickes actually voted to ''Strip the Rogue States'' of their Delegates as a member of the DNC''s Rules and Bylaws committee--

"To prevent the gaming of the system," he said. Later than fall, Patti Solis Doyle, then Clinton''s campaign manager, Pledged not to Compete in Either Contest--and was Unequivocal as well.


"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process... and the ''DNC''s Rules and its Calendar'' provide the necessary structure to Respect and Honor that Role," she said.

"Thus, we will... adhere to the DNC-Approved Nominating Calendar."

And when (Michigan) pushed for an Early Vote in 2004, then-DNC chairman--and current Clinton aide--Terry McAuliffe put his foot down.

"If I allow you to do that, the whole system collapses," McAuliffe said (at least according to his memoir).

"The closest [Michigan''s delegates will] get to Boston will be watching it on television. I will not let you Break this Entire Nominating Process for one state.

The rules are the rules."

[omaar-101]

Of course, the Obama campaign has its fair share of objections. For starters, there''s that pesky, old-fashioned, admittedly absurd notion known as "following the rules." The Democratic Party prohibits any state other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding its primary before Feb. 5. So when Florida and Michigan threatened in late 2007 to pull the trigger on Jan. 15 and Jan. 29, respectively, the DNC gave them a choice: reschedule--or lose your delegates. They refused, hence their current no-delegate status.

According to critics, reinstating those delegates now would undermine the DNC''s authority over the nominating process; who will stop Guam, they say, when it schedules its primary for Thanksgiving 2012?

The second reason: last winter, both Clinton and Obama Deferred to the DNC and agreed not to "Campaign Or Participate" in either election; Obama even Removed his Name from the Michigan slate.

Big A!! Note: So while Clinton "Beat" her rival 50-33 in (Florida) and trounced "Uncommitted" 55-40 in the (Great Lakes State),

One can''t help but suspect that Not Campaigning and/or not Appearing on the Ballot somewhat affected Obama''s showing--not to mention that turnout has a way of declining when voters are told that the election doesn''t matter.

[omaar-101]

NPR Ron Elving: By now, no one needs more rehashing of the numbers, but here''s the short version: Barack Obama has a virtual lock on the Delegates he needs to be the 2008 Democratic Nominee for president.

Obama needs only about a 3RD of the Delegates at stake in the remaining primaries and about the same share of the uncommitted superdelegates.

Barring another outbreak of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama should do substantially better than that in both categories.

Big A!! Note: So Game Over. Even the seating of the full Delegations from the Outlaw Primaries in Florida and Michigan is no longer a Real Threat to Obama''s Nomination.

[omaar-101]

NPR: Karl Rove: Odds (Against) Sen. Clinton


Karl Rove is the former Deputy Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush. AFP/Getty Images


Tell Me More, May 9, 2008 7 Karl Rove, the former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, says the chances of Sen. Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic presidential nomination are ''Slim'' after Sen. Barack Obama''s ''Decisive Victory'' in the North Carolina primary and her close win in Indiana earlier this week.

Rove said it''s extremely unlikely that Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be able to win enough delegates in the remaining contests, or the support of enough superdelegates to secure the ticket.

Democratic primaries are still to come in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana and Puerto Rico.

[omaar-101]

More "Super" News For Obama

(CBS/AP) Barack Obama has almost erased Hillary Rodham Clinton''s once-imposing lead ..

Obama picked up the support of 7 superdelegates today: Rep Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, Rep. Pete Defazio of Oregon, Laurie Weahkee of New Mexico, Wilber Lee Jeffcoat of South Carolina, Ed Espinoza of California and John Gage of Maryland.

Payne, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, had been a Clinton supporter.

"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs," said Payne, who in a statement said that Clinton is a good friend and he still holds her in high regard.

Payne is one of at least 10 superdelegates who have switched allegiances from Clinton to Obama. None have publicly switched the other way.

Gage is president of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union of 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments. The union also announced its support for Obama on Friday.

"Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama''s campaign," Gage said in a statement.

Obama, who won a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and lost Indiana narrowly on Tuesday, has been steadily gaining strength in the days since.

[omaar-101]

Game OVER: ABC News is the first news organization to place Obama ahead in the one category where Clinton has always led -- superdelegates:
Sen. Barack Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Sen. Hillary Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support among the Democratic Party''s superdelegates.

The Illinois Democrat grabbed the superdelegate lead thanks to a switch by New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne and an endorsement from previously uncommitted Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Those two votes gave Obama a 267-266 lead over Clinton. That is a huge shift since the days when Clinton boasted about a 60-plus vote lead among the party''s pros back on Super Tuesday.

[sjc_1]

Obama may get 90% of the black vote, but I do not know what percentage of white male votes he would get in the fall.

[kenbomc]

lightnin001 at 12:23 AM : May 10, 2008;

Keep under estimating Obama, just like the earlier presumptive nominee -Hillary. There is no way people will vote for Bush again. I thought presidents were limited to two terms.