Focus On The Keystone State Primary

How Will Obama And Clinton Fare In Pa., And Will Divisive Primaries Hurt Dems In Fall?

(CBS)  Democratic strategist Joe Trippi boded ill for the chances of a Democratic presidential nominee in the general election should the acrimony between the campaigns of frontrunner Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton continue beyond Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.

"John McCain has got to be, right now, laughing and enjoying this," Trippi told CBS Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer, "and the Republicans, too, because you are seeing these negatives go up with both candidates. Nobody can dispute that, on either side. And that isn't good, if this continues."

Trippi slammed the attacks as "silly": "You know, 'Hillary Clinton doesn't deserve to be laying a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier' - it's ridiculous that it's getting this mean."

However, Roger Simon of Politico was more optimistic about the party's ability to join together after such a divisive contest: "There will be a 'Wow!' period after the Democratic convention, where Democrats and some independents and even some Republicans say, 'Wow, we just nominated the first African-American,' or, 'Wow, we just nominated the first woman; this is really historic.' And that is really going to pump up the Democratic Party. So it's not quite as bleak a picture as it may look.

"I agree with Joe that it's gotten out of hand in negativity," Simon said, "but they're going to get a little honeymoon after their convention is over."

Earlier in the program, two key Democratic figures from Pennsylvania - Governor Ed Rendell, a supporter of Clinton, and Sen. Bob Casey, a supporter of Obama - discussed what it would take for a nominee to be decided before the convention in Denver, and what it would take to lead Hillary Clinton - who is currently behind in the popular vote and pledged delegate counts - to withdraw from the race.

Rendell pointed to money the Obama campaign was spending in Pennsylvania, including $2.9 million in TV ad buys in Philadelphia last week, an amount Rendell termed "almost obscene." Rendell said the effect of the advertising will be to overcome what he called a "subpar" debate performance by Obama earlier this week … "and a great performance by Senator Clinton."

Casey, however, believed that Obama's performance in the state - and the public's reaction to him - will benefit him in the long run.

"I'm not a pollster or a pundit," Casey said, "but I do think, just from being on the road with him as much as I have, day after day, the way he's been able to connect with people, he's felt the heart and soul of the people of Pennsylvania.

"We were up in Erie on Friday, and the very last question in the town hall meeting was from a disabled veteran. He didn't have a microphone available, so Senator Obama went off the stage, handed him his microphone. And all this veteran said to him was, 'Thank you for running. I want to thank you and your wife and your daughters for enduring the campaign.' It was a wonderful moment, and spoke to the best of Pennsylvania, from an American hero, as our veterans are. But it also, I think, gives Senator Obama and his supporters a good sense that the people of Pennsylvania have responded well to his message of hope."

Rendell, likewise, believes the Democrats are in a good position to win Pennsylvania in November. "Don't worry about general election polls in April; worry about general election polls in late September and October. And I think whoever our candidate is, you're going to find, at least in Pennsylvania, the Democratic Party united as one. We're going to go out roaring. Talk to the American people about what has happened in the last eight years and our hopes and our solutions, and either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton can carry the day here in Pennsylvania and nationally."

---

Read the full "Face the Nation" transcript here.

[obama8years]

canadafreepress.com/index.php/ article/2462
OBAMA TIES TO HAMAS....(Why doesnt the News Report this!!!) Same reason they didnt report rev wright till a year later.


If Barack Obama didn%u2019t know about Abunimah%u2019s writings (and Abunimah says he did), the same as his claims of being unaware of Reverend Wright%u2019s remarks after 20 years, then Obama is not competent to be our President. Abunimah likes to lie and claim Al Awda has nothing to do with the ISM or Electronic Intifada, though plenty of evidence exists on the website the homepage at www.StoptheISM.com showing the contrary.

But Obama%u2019s association with the ISM through his church and lobbying in Chicago goes even deeper than just his past links to Al Awda and Ali Abunimah. His pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, are both equally involved with the ISM.

[taddles-2009]

"So why didn''''t the free press here in America run a story this week on the recent "HAMAS" endorsement for Barak H. Obama? And why the Islamocratic presidential candidate refute such an endorsement?.......And to see a picture of a Pennsylvanian shaking his hand. So sad to see that man.

Posted by cfin5 at 11:22 PM : Apr 20, 2008"


Because it''s not worth spending time debunking the obviously stupid claims. the press has better things to do than run down made up stories.

[taddles-2009]

"The Presidency is not an Entitlement program.

Posted by truth-hurts at 10:59 PM : Apr 20, 2008"


Yea, but social security is, and you should be worried that the next president does something about it so you aren''t left to die in the poor house. You might actually want to look beyond your narrow minded bigotry for once and vote to save S.S. so you''re not left gumming your ketchup sandwiches because Medicare won''t pay for your dentures.

[taddles-2009]

"Obama''''s mentors curse America. When they curse America, they are cursing you, too.

Posted by andylance1 at 12:07 AM : Apr 21, 2008''


Obama''s mentors? Oh, you mean Rev. Wright . Isn''t he the same Rev. Wright that the Clinton''s brought in to council them when they were having marital troubles during the Monika Lewinsky affair...yea, I believe the photos show the three of them in a big group hug.

If you''re base your decision to vote for Barak based on the childish garbage passing for information going around, then you weren''t going to vote for him anyway and your opinions are irrelevant.

[billyrave9]

Gov. Rendell''s comments on Sunday''s ''Face the Nation'' about the PA primary were an infuriating example of revisionism and redefinition to fit the situation. For weeks, the discussion of the PA primary focused on the necessity of a ''big win'' for Hillary, on the order of 15-20%, in order for her to even the delegate count with Obama. But with Hillary''s lead down to 4-7% in many polls, the governor completely ignored the actual importance of the PA primary - delegate count - and redefined ''big win'' as any win by Hillary because she was outspent 4-to-1 in advertising. The governor''s comments were a pathetic example of the same kind of redefinition we''ve gotten for years from the President & his cronies about the rationale for the Iraq war. Doesn''t ANYone in the political arena YET understand that the voting public - the American people in general - are sick and tired of politicians precisely because of doubletalk like the governor''s?

[blackspirit3]

40 YEARS OF CLINTON RAPPING WOMEN

A 1969 charge by a Eileen Wellstone, said Clinton assaulted her after she met him at a pub near the Oxford University campus where the future President was a student.
In 1972, a 22-year-old woman told campus police at Yale University that she was sexually assaulted by Clinton, who was a law student at the college.
In 1974, a female student at the University of Arkansas complained that then-law professor Bill Clinton groped her and forced his hand inside her blouse
Broaddrick, a volunteer in Clinton''s attorney general campaign, said he raped her in 1978;
From 1978-1980, Arkansas State troopers assigned to protect the governor reported seven complaints from women who said Clinton forced, or attempted to force, himself on them sexually.
Elizabeth Ward, the Miss Arkansas who won the Miss America crown in 1982, told friends she was forced by Clinton to have *** with him shortly after she won her state crown.
Paula Corbin, an Arkansas state worker, filed a sexual harassment case against Clinton the then-governor exposed himself and demanded oral ***.
Sandra Allen James, President Clinton invited her to his hotel room during a political trip to the nation''s capital in 1991, pinned her against the wall and stuck his hand up her dress.
Kathleen Willey, a White House volunteer, reported that Clinton grabbed her, fondled her breast and pressed her hand against his genitals during an Oval Office meeting in November, 1993.

[flademocrat]

Dear Bob, The truth is that Sen. Obama has been personally hypocritical in terms of saying his campaign takes the high road, but actually walking the low road of ''politics as usual''. In both the Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner address in Virginia, and the Wisconsin(?) Foundation Day dinner, Senator Obama stated that "Senator Clinton thinks you don''t buy insurance because you don''t want it. I know you don''t buy it because you can''t afford it." That is a grossly false misrepresentation of Sen. Clinton''s insurance plan. The point of her whole plan is to make insurance affordable and accessible for all Americans.

During the debate, I was particularly appalled that Rev. Wright had given a page of his church bulletin to Hamas. As a law enforcement agent who appeared on Lou Dobbs last week said, Obama shows a pattern of being comfortable with people who hate America. I believe American voters need to know who Sen. Obama has accepted money from. In the past, as a State Senator, Jeralyn wrote in a Chicago Sun-Times blog, "he more often expressed his support for Palestinian rights and opposition to Israel''s militarism." (4/11/08)

[andylance1]

If you want McCain to win, vote for Obama. The Republicans have his number and know how to take him down and beat the tar out of him in November.

The only mentor problem Hillary has is Bill. Obama''s mentors curse America. When they curse America, they are cursing you, too. When someone dumps on America, they are dumping on you, too.

Obama stinks!

[cfin5]

.....That''s why "didn''t" the Islamocrat refute such an endorsement?

[cfin5]

So why didn''t the free press here in America run a story this week on the recent "HAMAS" endorsement for Barak H. Obama? And why the Islamocratic presidential candidate refute such an endorsement?.......And to see a picture of a Pennsylvanian shaking his hand. So sad to see that man.

[truth-hurts]

Obama followers should be preparing

themselves for the worst. And remember,

The Presidency is not an Entitlement program.

[barrymishra]

Old Money, New Money, People%u2019s Money!!!
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, a Clinton backer, said Obama outspent her by a 3.5-to-1 margin, including more than $2.9 million on television ads in the state last week.
"That''s almost obscene," Rendell said on CBS'' "Face the Nation."
Nothing can be further from %u201CTruth%u201D. To a great extent US elections in the recent past have been financed by Old Money or New Money; from ones own coffers or from Fat Cats.
Barrack and the Web have turned this very notion upside down. Barack has what I call People%u2019s Money. People like me who contribute in small amounts and often, because they are sick and tired of the ways of traditional politics and politicians, they are eager to take back their own government and once again make it by the people, of the people and for the people.
Ed, no amount spin will work here, the money Barack spending is People%u2019s Money. The fact that Obama outspent Hillary by a 3.5-to-1 margin can be simply put this way. People believe in Barack%u2019s candidacy to Clinton%u2019s may be 3.5 times over and are voting with their money as well as vote. So stop whining: %u201CGrapes are Sour when you do not get it%u201D.
Dr.Barry Mishra

[barrymishra]

Old Money, New Money, People%u2019s Money!!!
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, a Clinton backer, said Obama outspent her by a 3.5-to-1 margin, including more than $2.9 million on television ads in the state last week.
"That''s almost obscene," Rendell said on CBS'' "Face the Nation."
Nothing can be further from %u201CTruth%u201D. To a great extent US elections in the recent past have been financed by Old Money or New Money; from ones own coffers or from Fat Cats.
Barrack and the Web have turned this very notion upside down. Barack has what I call People%u2019s Money. People like me who contribute in small amounts and often, because they are sick and tired of the ways of traditional politics and politicians, they are eager to take back their own government and once again make it by the people, of the people and for the people.
Ed, no amount spin will work here, the money Barack spending is People%u2019s Money. The fact that Obama outspent Hillary by a 3.5-to-1 margin can be simply put this way. People believe in Barack%u2019s candidacy to Clinton%u2019s may be 3.5 times over and are voting with their money as well as vote. So stop whining: %u201CGrapes are Sour when you do not get it%u201D.
Dr.Barry M.

[nancy971]

"Among Pennsylvania students who will vote or have voted in a Democratic primary in any state, Sen. Barack Obama leads Sen. Hillary Clinton, 71% to 28%, and among those who intend to vote in the Pennsylvania primary, Obama leads by a nearly identical margin of 71% to 29%." http://agonist.org/schecter/?p=9031 What does this mean? I believe it means that the country is evolving. The old guard is ending and the young people want a politician who is not of the same ilk of his parents or grandparents. Sen. Obama is the future of the Democratic Party and Sen. Obama may very well be our next Potus.

[pepperwood2]

The Inconvenient Truth!

Will some white Democrats not vote for Obama due to his race? Say it isn''t so!!

"Gov. Ed Rendell, one of Hillary Rodham Clinton''s most visible supporters, said some white Pennsylvanians are likely to vote against her rival Barack Obama because he is black".

%u201CYou''ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate%u201D.

If I%u2019m not mistaken only Democrats can vote in the Democrat primary. So is Rendell admitting that there are white Democrats that won%u2019t vote for Barrack Obama due to his race? That%u2019s an interesting claim. I wonder what does Rendell thinks about blacks that support Obama because he is black and won%u2019t vote for Hillary because she is white. More then likely Rendell would swarm like a worm on a hook if asked that question. Are the white men that are support Hillary Clinton racists? So Rendell is admitting that there are not only racist white Democrats but also racist black Democrats. It seems it goes further then that as well. Ed has also admitted that no all racist live in southern states, but they also live in northern states. Ed also exposed the illusion that all conservatives are registered Republicans. Everything Rendell has mentioned is common knowledge among people willing to do the research and use common sense.

[leighg1]

Hillary to Bill on working class:
"Screw ''''em," she told her husband. "You don''''t owe them a thing, Bill. They''''re doing nothing for you; you don''''t have to do anything for them."

google it to see more on the remark

[leighg1]

Interesting vedio about Obama''s early years. Enjoy please (make the link a single line):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w519kGUAIhI

[samthetvcat]

---"but this election goes to the root of our National Security"---
Posted by anappleadae

You know why the general election numbers are going to shift is that the GOP are framing the dialectic as war versus anti-war . . . we Dems haven''t begun yet to really engage and we''re going to posit that the dialectic is progress versus stagnation.

The sub-conflict will be over judgment, where McCain is basically arguing trust (trust him because he was a POW, don''t trust Barack because he''s weak/black/''muslim''/''unpatriotic''/whatever), and Barack''s basically pointing to his record of accurately predicting outcomes based on issue-spotting.

If Barack can show that war is a choice and that he''s as aggressive about engaging in battle WHEN CALLED FOR and, then he wins.

If Iraq flares up, Barack also wins.

A lot still to be debate I think . . .

[leighg1]

Interesting vedio about Obama''s early years. Enjoy please:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w519kGUAIhI

[samthetvcat]

PS Hillary''s lies continue - Barack''s not allowed to defend himself against Hillary''s borderline legal shill 527?