Former Gore Aide Says Dems Will Unite
Political Players is a weekly conversation with the leaders, consultants, and activists who shape American politics. This week, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with former Gore Chief of Staff Michael Feldman about the controversy over Obama's minister, the counting of Michigan and Florida, and a campaign calendar that seems to stretch to his party's convention.
CBSNews.com: Political news this week has been dominated by Senator Obama's speech on race relations and his relationship with Reverend Wright. Do you think the substance of the speech helped him? Or is it possible that this subject-and the endless soundbites of Reverend Wright-hurt him more?
Michael Feldman: Well, I think it's a little too early to tell. I think it was a very thoughtful speech, and well-delivered. I think to the extent that he was navigating a really tough line, he navigated it very well. And I thought-as a lot of people have observed, including his opponent, Senator Clinton-it's a difficult subject. And he was courageous to take it on.
In terms of the outcome in the electorate, you know, we're trying to make predictions based on a bunch of discrete audiences here. It's been very well-received among audiences that either are open to his message, or are persuadable.
There's probably a cross-section of people who may be turned off by the subject altogether. And those are people that he was probably never going to reach anyway. In terms of the people in the middle, in terms of the people who are still making up their minds, race is a tough subject. And it's very hard to know, at the end of the day, how that's gonna play.
CBSNews.com: Roger Simon, the columnist at Politico, praised Senator Obama's speech. But he raised a question. Why didn't Obama say this to Reverend Wright, 20 years ago, when it was politically hard, and not now, when it's politically more convenient?
Michael Feldman: Well, I don't think this is a particularly convenient time to be talking about it at all. I think he addressed his relationship with the reverend in very personal terms. I mean, he actually compared the relationship to the relationship that he has with his own grandmother.
And in putting that in such starkly personal terms, I think he said, look, there are people who are close to you who are involved in your life. And you may or may not agree with them on any particular issue, but they're still part of your world or your family, so to speak. And I think that's how he dealt with that aspect of it.
CBSNews.com: Mike, you're unaligned between Clinton and Obama. You're a not-so-elder statesman in the party at this point.
Michael Feldman: Bless you for saying so.
CBSNews.com: Obama's ahead, by our count, by more than 170 of the pledged delegates. He's pulled almost even among the superdelegates. How does she win this thing?
Michael Feldman: Well, I accept your math. And I understand, you know, the delegate allocation process and how making up that difference in terms of pledged delegates is a tall order for her.
But at the end of the day, what she's done is by winning in Texas and Ohio, by winning in New Hampshire, she has extended the timeline and the time horizon of the campaign. The real primary that's going on right now is this electability primary. And so, by extending the time horizon, she extended the period of time when information helps inform that debate on electability.
Her strategy, between now and then, is to get as many pledged delegates as she can get, and as many superdelegates as she can get. I think he's in a much better position. But the margin is not insurmountable if she's able to convince the majority of the remaining pledged and superdelegates that she's our best bet in the fall.
CBSNews.com: And to that point about electability, there does seem to be some Democratic concern about Senator Obama's trouble with particularly white, working-class voters, as we saw in Ohio and Texas. And just recently--this is before the speech--CBS did a poll which shows that 30 percent of all voters view him less favorably as a result of the Wright controversy. How far does this electability argument have to go before it really starts breaking for Hillary Clinton?
Michael Feldman: Well, I hate to use the cop-out of not being too reliant on polling. But at a time when polling has so often led us astray, there's only so much concrete information we can divine from the polling, that we can then extend out for November and draw any conclusions. And that's especially true in the red hot glare of a controversy or something that's blown up immediately.
That said, uncommitted voters right now, people that have not had a chance to vote yet in the primary process and ultimately these superdelegates, they are watching these polls. And they are trying to determine who's our best match-up in the fall. Right now, I would say that the polling doesn't really tell us very much. It moves a lot. It's been within the margin of error.
CBSNews.com: What is your view of Florida and Michigan apparently deciding not to hold re-votes?
Michael Feldman: Well, frankly, I'm surprised by it. I think the party has to figure out a way-and I think the party will ultimately figure out a way-that in two of the most important general election battleground states, the Democratic voters in those states are not disenfranchised by the process.
And so, I think that this now moves it to a new phase, where the party and the campaigns try to figure out how to make sure the delegates from those states are seated. There is no perfect solution to this problem. And my sense is that, vote or no vote, primary or no primary, caucus or no caucus, that a negotiated settlement is likely to be the end result.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. CBSNews.com: Political news this week has been dominated by Senator Obama's speech on race relations and his relationship with Reverend Wright. Do you think the substance of the speech helped him? Or is it possible that this subject-and the endless soundbites of Reverend Wright-hurt him more?
Michael Feldman: Well, I think it's a little too early to tell. I think it was a very thoughtful speech, and well-delivered. I think to the extent that he was navigating a really tough line, he navigated it very well. And I thought-as a lot of people have observed, including his opponent, Senator Clinton-it's a difficult subject. And he was courageous to take it on.
In terms of the outcome in the electorate, you know, we're trying to make predictions based on a bunch of discrete audiences here. It's been very well-received among audiences that either are open to his message, or are persuadable.
There's probably a cross-section of people who may be turned off by the subject altogether. And those are people that he was probably never going to reach anyway. In terms of the people in the middle, in terms of the people who are still making up their minds, race is a tough subject. And it's very hard to know, at the end of the day, how that's gonna play.
CBSNews.com: Roger Simon, the columnist at Politico, praised Senator Obama's speech. But he raised a question. Why didn't Obama say this to Reverend Wright, 20 years ago, when it was politically hard, and not now, when it's politically more convenient?
Michael Feldman: Well, I don't think this is a particularly convenient time to be talking about it at all. I think he addressed his relationship with the reverend in very personal terms. I mean, he actually compared the relationship to the relationship that he has with his own grandmother.
And in putting that in such starkly personal terms, I think he said, look, there are people who are close to you who are involved in your life. And you may or may not agree with them on any particular issue, but they're still part of your world or your family, so to speak. And I think that's how he dealt with that aspect of it.
CBSNews.com: Mike, you're unaligned between Clinton and Obama. You're a not-so-elder statesman in the party at this point.
Michael Feldman: Bless you for saying so.
CBSNews.com: Obama's ahead, by our count, by more than 170 of the pledged delegates. He's pulled almost even among the superdelegates. How does she win this thing?
Michael Feldman: Well, I accept your math. And I understand, you know, the delegate allocation process and how making up that difference in terms of pledged delegates is a tall order for her.
But at the end of the day, what she's done is by winning in Texas and Ohio, by winning in New Hampshire, she has extended the timeline and the time horizon of the campaign. The real primary that's going on right now is this electability primary. And so, by extending the time horizon, she extended the period of time when information helps inform that debate on electability.
Her strategy, between now and then, is to get as many pledged delegates as she can get, and as many superdelegates as she can get. I think he's in a much better position. But the margin is not insurmountable if she's able to convince the majority of the remaining pledged and superdelegates that she's our best bet in the fall.
CBSNews.com: And to that point about electability, there does seem to be some Democratic concern about Senator Obama's trouble with particularly white, working-class voters, as we saw in Ohio and Texas. And just recently--this is before the speech--CBS did a poll which shows that 30 percent of all voters view him less favorably as a result of the Wright controversy. How far does this electability argument have to go before it really starts breaking for Hillary Clinton?
Michael Feldman: Well, I hate to use the cop-out of not being too reliant on polling. But at a time when polling has so often led us astray, there's only so much concrete information we can divine from the polling, that we can then extend out for November and draw any conclusions. And that's especially true in the red hot glare of a controversy or something that's blown up immediately.
That said, uncommitted voters right now, people that have not had a chance to vote yet in the primary process and ultimately these superdelegates, they are watching these polls. And they are trying to determine who's our best match-up in the fall. Right now, I would say that the polling doesn't really tell us very much. It moves a lot. It's been within the margin of error.
CBSNews.com: What is your view of Florida and Michigan apparently deciding not to hold re-votes?
Michael Feldman: Well, frankly, I'm surprised by it. I think the party has to figure out a way-and I think the party will ultimately figure out a way-that in two of the most important general election battleground states, the Democratic voters in those states are not disenfranchised by the process.
And so, I think that this now moves it to a new phase, where the party and the campaigns try to figure out how to make sure the delegates from those states are seated. There is no perfect solution to this problem. And my sense is that, vote or no vote, primary or no primary, caucus or no caucus, that a negotiated settlement is likely to be the end result.
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This doesn%u2019t explain anything away, nor does it absolve Wright of using the N-word, but what it does do is add an accurate perspective to this conversation.
The point that I have always made as a journalist is that our job is to seek the truth, and not the partial truth.
I am also listening to the other sermons delivered by Rev. Wright that have been the subject of controversy.
And let me be clear: Where I believe he was wrong and not justified in what he said based upon the facts, I will say so. But where the facts support his argument, that will also be said.
So stay tuned.
- Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributor
www.rolandsmartin.com
end
2. This is a time for social transformation (then he went on to say they won%u2019t put me on PBS or national cable for what I%u2019m about to say. Talk about prophetic!)
%u201CWe have got to change the way we have been doing things as a society,%u201D he said.
Wright then said we can%u2019t stop messing over people and thinking they can%u2019t touch us. He said we may need to declare war on racism, injustice, and greed, instead of war on other countries.
%u201CMaybe we need to declare war on AIDS. In five minutes the Congress found $40 billion to rebuild New York and the families that died in sudden death, do you think we can find the money to make medicine available for people who are dying a slow death? Maybe we need to declare war on the nation%u2019s healthcare system that leaves the nation%u2019s poor with no health coverage? Maybe we need to declare war on the mishandled educational system and provide quality education for everybody, every citizen, based on their ability to learn, not their ability to pay. This is a time for social transformation.%u201D
3. This is time to tell God thank you for all that he has provided and that he gave him and others another chance to do His will.
By the way, nowhere in this sermon did he said %u201CGod *** America.%u201D I%u2019m not sure which sermon that came from.
cont...
%u201CViolence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred. And terrorism begets terrorism. A white ambassador said that y%u2019all, not a black militant. Not a reverend who preaches about racism. An ambassador whose eyes are wide open and who is trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised. The ambassador said the people we have wounded don%u2019t have the military capability we have. But they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them. And we need to come to grips with that.%u201D
He went on to describe seeing the photos of the aftermath of 9/11 because he was in Newark, N.J., when the planes struck. After turning on the TV and seeing the second plane slam into one of the twin towers, he spoke passionately about what if you never got a chance to say hello to your family again.
%u201CWhat is the state of your family?%u201D he asked.
And then he told his congregation that he loved them and asked the church to tell each other they loved themselves.
His sermon thesis:
1. This is a time for self-examination of ourselves and our families.
cont...
%u201CWe bombed Grenada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel.
%u201CWe bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenage and toddlers, pregnant mothers and hard working fathers.
%u201CWe bombed Qaddafi%u2019s home, and killed his child. Blessed are they who bash your children%u2019s head against the rock.
%u201CWe bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed a plant in Sudan to pay back for the attack on our embassy, killed hundreds of hard working people, mothers and fathers who left home to go that day not knowing that they%u2019d never get back home.
%u201CWe bombed Hiroshima. We bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye.
%u201CKids playing in the playground. Mothers picking up children after school. Civilians, not soldiers, people just trying to make it day by day.
%u201CWe have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff that we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front yards. America%u2019s chickens are coming home to roost.
cont...
As this whole sordid episode regarding the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has played out over the last week, I wanted to understand what he ACTUALLY said in this speech. I%u2019ve been saying all week on CNN that context is important, and I just wanted to know what the heck is going on.
I have now actually listened to the sermon Rev. Wright gave after September 11 titled, %u201CThe Day of Jerusalem%u2019s Fall.%u201D It was delivered on Sept. 16, 2001.
One of the most controversial statements in this sermon was when he mentioned %u201Cchickens coming home to roost.%u201D He was actually quoting Edward Peck, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and deputy director of President Reagan%u2019s terrorism task force, who was speaking on FOX News. That%u2019s what he told the congregation.
He was quoting Peck as saying that America%u2019s foreign policy has put the nation in peril:
%u201CWe took this country by terror away from the Sioux, the Apache, Arikara, the Comanche, the Arapaho, the Navajo. Terrorism.
%u201CWe took Africans away from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism
cont....
GOOD AMERICANS, PLEASE DON%u2019T OVERJUDGE OBAMA. WE NOW KNOW THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN IS BEHIND THIS AS HILLARY IS VERY DESPERATE. THANK YOU FOR READING THIS IN FULL.
PLEASE BELIEVE ME, I ALSO WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE CLIP BUT AFTER READING THE FULL TEXT, I KNEW THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA ARE AS USUAL INFLARING RACIAL TENSION.
VOTE FOR OBAMA AND LET%u2019S COLLECTIVELY TELL THE CLINTONS THAT NO MORE DESECRATION OF THE WHITE HOUSE. JUST IMAGINE THE LEWINSKY AFFAIR %u2013 THAT ONE IS ENOUGH NOT TO SEND THEM BACK.
FEMA prison camps. Hmm they would not need FEMA if they got up off their a## and got work instead of letting you and me pay as they do nothing.
Google: Fema Camps, North American Union.
Wake up America.