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March 14, 2008 9:08 AM

Starting Gate: Around The Track

Posted by Vaughn Ververs
  • Of the several storylines to keep an eye on over this St. Patrick's Day weekend, none are more sensitive or sure to generate more discussion than the renewed focus on Barack Obama's pastor. Yesterday, stories about and video clips of sermons delivered by Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ (he retired recently) made the rounds on blogs and news sites and spurred plenty of discussion about Obama's relationship with him.

    Obama has described Wright as "an old uncle who says things I don't always agree with," and has repudiated some of the comments. But Wright's suggestions that America's past in part invited 9/11, among other comments, are certain to draw attention, especially given the past relationship between the two men. Wright has been described as Obama's "spiritual mentor." He married Obama and his wife, Michelle and baptized their two children. And Wright has been credited by Obama for inspiring the title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope."

    Campaign spokesman Bill Burton told Fox News Obama "does not think of the pastor of his church in political terms. Like a member of his family, there are things he says with which Senator Obama deeply disagrees.”

    It's the latest in the "gotcha" game that has caught up previously unknown advisers like Samantha Powell (who left the Obama campaign after calling Hillary Clinton a "monster") and well-known figures like Geraldine Ferraro (who disassociated herself from the Clinton campaign after saying that Obama is succeeding because he's black). As columnist Charles Krauthammer asks in the Washington Post this morning, "if there are no policy issues between them and the personality differences have been whittled down, what's left? Identity. Race, age and gender. Is this campaign about anything else?"

  • Is Michigan getting closer to a re-vote and Florida further away? The AP reports that Michigan Democrats are nearing an agreement with the campaigns for a do-over primary that would reportedly be paid for by the state party.

    Florida Democrats are far less optimistic. After unveiling a proposal for a combination mail-in and in-person primary, the state's Democratic chairwoman allowed that it was unlikely to happen. Florida's congressional delegation opposes the plan. Clinton has called for the delegates to be awarded based on the results of the January vote, something that is obviously unacceptable to the Obama campaign, which would be happy if nothing further were to happen that might lead to a reduced delegate lead.

    As Florida Rep. Robert Wexler noted, "There's a high demand by one candidate [for a re-vote] and a low demand by the other, and somewhere in between is a resolution," Wexler said. "So that's what we're trying to figure out."

  • When it rains, it pours. On Saturday, Republicans lost the special election for the seat of retiring Rep. and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Today comes news that the former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee may have embezzled as much as $1 million dollars in recent years. Yesterday, the committee discussed details of what the Washington Post describes as a scheme that "could become one of the largest political frauds in recent history."

    More from the Post: "The magnitude of the alleged fraud staggered Republicans, who are bracing for the final accounting from the forensic audit in six to eight weeks." For a party already being out-raised by Democrats and facing a tough environment in both House and Senate races in the fall, it's not what Republicans need at the moment.

  • Mitt Romney said this week he would be "honored" to be asked onto the ticket with John McCain in a performance that seemed to be an audition for the job. Mike Huckabee, who outlasted Romney by several weeks in the race, is more coy. "I'm not one that has any illusions that he [McCain] has some obligation to me," Huckabee told reporters before he delivered a lecture to a private college in Missouri. "It's his decision to make. I'm going to support whomever he picks."

  • In case you were wondering who won the Texas caucuses, the answer is – we still don't know. The count continues after the state party was overwhelmed with the turnout and we may not know the final results for weeks yet. Time has an overview of the process and problems.

  • Obama and Clinton have accepted an invitation to meet for a debate hosted by ABC in Pennsylvania on April 19th. Obama has agreed to participate in a CBS News debate three days later in North Carolina. Clinton has not yet accepted that invitation.

  • Question of the day: With so much attention on the electability arguments in the Democratic Party and what states each candidate could put into play for the fall, what states would McCain bring into play that Democrats have won in recent elections? Can McCain make Democrats sweat in Pennsylvania? How about California, can the westerner finally make it competitive in a presidential race again? Let us know in comments what you think.
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    Add a Comment See all 12 Comments
    by umbria1 March 15, 2008 3:11 AM EDT
    A very, very interesting summary from an Obama supporter. He/she sounds truly shaken. Here''s the link if you wanna sound-off:

    http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/obamas-judgment-wright-or-wron.php
    Reply to this comment
    by umbria1 March 15, 2008 3:09 AM EDT
    A very, very interesting summary from an Obama supporter. He/she sounds truly shaken. Here''s the link if you wanna sound-off:

    http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/obamas-judgment-wright-or-wron.php
    Reply to this comment
    by charing60 March 14, 2008 7:59 PM EDT
    For months I dismissed all the rhetoric about Obama''s preacher and mentor as political garbage, however now after seeing and hearing this hateful nut recently on MSM I''ve learned my lesson about so easily dismissing these investigative articles. Hearing Rev. Wright was very concerning. He makes Hitler sound like a choir boy.

    If Obama really deplores this hate, why has he stayed with this nut for 20 years? However I''m willing to hear Obama out before being hasty.
    Reply to this comment
    by greenfun March 14, 2008 7:50 PM EDT
    This is a little more than a "gotcha" game. This guy sounds bizarre and extreme. I find his comments disturbing to say the least, he sounds paranoid and bitter. He certainly isn''t preaching warmth, acceptance and tolerance.
    Reply to this comment
    by elizabeth444 March 14, 2008 5:09 PM EDT
    Time to move this story to the front page, CBS! This news casts Barack in a very bad light.
    Reply to this comment
    by poll-woes March 14, 2008 3:33 PM EDT
    Wake up people! While Bill Clinton owned his loan finance company, his wife Hillary owned the Rose Law firm which represented companies that got loans from Bill. One of such company actually made the fake NOSE CONES for air planes that smuggled drugs into their state where Bill was governor. There was a list of people who were found dead in realation to dealings with Bill and Hillary. One person was found with a gun shot wound, and the gun in his Right hand. Only the person was not Right handed. One person had a argument with Bill and did immediately after. One person Knew too much and had information regarding the Clintons connection to drug trade in their state when Bill was governor, that person died and the evidence disappeared. One prosecutor relative died mysteriously when prosecutor was investigating the illegal drugs smugglings surrounding governor Bill Clinton, Bills loan financial company and Rose Law firm owned by Hillary. And the list goes on. The more I learn of the Clintons, The more I do not like them.
    Reply to this comment
    by oyyy1 March 14, 2008 3:31 PM EDT
    The fact that this is not front page news on CBS is all the proof I need of their political bias. Imagine the uproar if it was revealed that McCain had been a member of a KKK-style church for the last twenty years! How "understanding" would they have been when he denounced the abhorent views of this "church" and dismissed its outrageous opinions as out-of-line with his own? They would have eaten him alive -- that''s how understanding they would have been! The fact that Obama has chosen to associate (and no doubt agree) with this type of person -- FOR TWO DECADES -- is all the proof I need to conclude that he is a wolf wearing sheepskin saying what he needs to to get elected. Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.
    Reply to this comment
    by jlk441 March 14, 2008 2:11 PM EDT
    Wake up America we now know how Obama really feels about the USA and this also explains why Michelle Obama said she is finally proud to be an American.

    I think Obama''s spritual advisor is trying to keep racism alive by blaming white people. He should be preaching about coming together and work out our problems not keep up the blame game.
    Reply to this comment
    by elizabeth444 March 14, 2008 1:51 PM EDT
    Obama''s 20-year affiliation with his "spiritual mentor" and America-hating Pastor Wright is far more than another tactic in the "''gotcha'' game." Obama''s rhetorical style and content have both been shaped by someone who hates whites and America. We need to take a hard look at that in deciding if we want such a man as our president.
    Reply to this comment
    by nlefevre-2009 March 14, 2008 1:48 PM EDT
    Obviously "informedmo" is an Obama operative trying to make Hillary Clinton supporters look like complete ranting fools. Obama, shame on you for using such tactics.
    Reply to this comment
    by jabberwonk March 14, 2008 1:14 PM EDT
    Hillary Clinton has no principles:

    NHPR''s Laura Knoy: "So, if you value the DNC calendar, why not just pull out of Michigan? Why not just say, Hey Michigan, I''m off the ballot?"

    Hillary Clinton: "Well, you know, It''s clear, this election they''re having is not going to count for anything"

    Here''s a link to the short (edited) sound byte with the interviewer''s question and the response:

    http://www.jabberwonk.com/flinker.cfm?cliid=zydzt

    Here''s a link to the unedited longer byte with her full answer:

    http://www.jabberwonk.com/flinker.cfm?cliid=u01y4

    Here''s the link to the full original NHPR interview on 10/10/07 :

    http://www.nhpr.org/node/13858

    I think that is it pretty clear that she has "changed" her position on this now that she is not winning.
    Reply to this comment
    by informedmo March 14, 2008 12:59 PM EDT
    Are you joking! If this does not show white Liberals they have been hoodwinked, bamboozled by Obama nad his campaign, I don''t know what else needs to occur.

    If Obama murdered a person on live tv the media would make excuses for his actions, (probabaly blaming the Clinton campaign) and give him another pass.

    American whites have not been dupped to this degree by the likes of separatist Obama since pre-Civil War''s separatist Nat Turner.
    Reply to this comment
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