Dem Strategist Sees Challenges For Obama

Political Players: Doug Schoen Says Illinois Senator Has A Problem With Working Class Voters

(CBS)  Political Players is a weekly conversation with the leaders, consultants, and activists who shape American politics. This week, following Barack Obama's primary victory in Oregon and his loss in Kentucky, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with former Bill Clinton adviser Doug Schoen about blue collar voters, Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy, and the politics of national security.

CBSNews.com: The Democratic presidential race is now winding down--and yet, Senator Clinton still won a 35 point victory in Kentucky this week, another massive win among white working class voters. How serious is Senator Obama's problem with that group? And does he actually have to win them in a general election?

Doug Schoen: Well, he's got to win them somewhere in the general election. And it is a serious problem. I mean, he’s probably not going to win West Virginia. He's got to win Pennsylvania, Ohio, He’ll probably lose Florida and try to make up for that in the West and Mountain States. But the answer simply is it is a real, ongoing problem for him.

CBSNews.com: And has he shown any serious signs of recognizing the problem, or doing something to confront it?

Doug Schoen: I think he recognizes it. I'm not sure he's done anything yet to directly confront it.

CBSNews.com: What do you think he should do?

Doug Schoen: Well, I think that he needs, first, to develop a program that reaches out to working class white voters. Second, I think he should consider someone like Senator Clinton or New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg as a running mate, to speak directly to the economic concerns of working class voters. And third, I think he needs to start focusing his campaign where he both has done badly and needs to win.

CBSNews.com: And what kind of an economic program does that need to be?

Doug Schoen: I think he needs to lay out a comprehensive economic message of what he's going to do to revitalize the economy, deal with the sub-prime crisis, and create good paying jobs for working people.

CBSNews.com: Now Obama’s campaign points out that he won whites in Oregon and Virginia and Wisconsin, and he won them in Iowa--where he spoke this week to declare that he has a majority of the pledged delegates. So how do you explain the difference between his performance in those states versus Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas?

Doug Schoen: I think the states that he has done well in are either states that have a more liberal tradition, a more progressive tradition, particularly for Democratic primary voters--or states where the white electorate tends to be, in a Democratic primary, somewhat further to the left.

But mainstream working class voters in states like--you can go across the board--Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Florida, all prove to be problematic for him. So I think he's got a problem. And he's got a couple a states he's done okay in. But they do not, to me, suggest that the problem is solved.

CBSNews.com: And to what extent do you think there are some white voters who will never vote for an African-American for President? Or do you think that the racial component of this is overstated?

Doug Schoen: I think the racial component is overstated. I think people have doubts about Barack. I think they have doubts about his program. And I think they have some doubts about people like Reverend Wright. And I don't think that is necessarily racially motivated, though I would suggest that black liberation theology and some of the outrageous things that Reverend Wright has said certainly raise the specter of concern about race--separate and apart from Barack Obama--with working class voters who might be very, very concerned with the message.

CBSNews.com: Now another component of Senator Clinton's base, with which Barack Obama has had some trouble, is white women. And they are obviously a key swing voting group in a general election. Do you think they will defect to McCain, or stay home, or ultimately come back to the Democratic fold?

Doug Schoen: I think that is an open question. One of the reasons why I think it makes so much sense to put Senator Clinton, potentially, on the ticket is I think it's probably the most demonstrable and obvious step he can take to assuage the concerns of those voters.

CBSNews.com: And do you think Senator McCain is taking the right steps to try to reach out to the Clinton voters who may be uncomfortable with Obama?

Doug Schoen: I think he's got to do that. But he's got one problem. He's got a noose thrown around his neck in George Bush. And I think those working class voters have made it very clear they've had it with the policies of the Bush administration. And to date, John McCain, I don't think, has sufficiently separated himself from George Bush to give those voters comfort.

CBSNews.com: McCain won’t change his beliefs on the war. So what do you think he could do to separate himself?

Doug Schoen: Well, I think he needs, again, an economic agenda that shows that he's for pro-growth policies, low taxes, and concern about training and retraining workers to give people a sense that he's a different kind of a Republican. So far, I think he's started that process, but by no means closed the deal.

CBSNews.com: A lot of Obama partisans have argued that his weaknesses are exaggerated right now in the heat of a primary battle. They say that in this environment in which 80 percent of the public thinks we're on the wrong track, Bush has the highest disapproval of any President in modern history, that this is a Democratic year and Obama will do fine.

Doug Schoen: Again, to me, it's an open question. I think it's certainly the case that the wind is at the back of Barack Obama. And I think if I had to bet, I would bet that Obama will beat John McCain. But that being said, when you look at states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida--states the Democrats traditionally need to win--there's every reason to believe that this will be a much more competitive election than the numbers on wrong track and presidential approval would suggest.

CBSNews.com: Do you think Senator Clinton has any hope of becoming the nominee?

Doug Schoen: I think she's got a very small chance. I would overwhelmingly suggest that it is most likely that Barack Obama will be nominated. But until the issue is resolved, and until the superdelegates weigh in after June 3rd, there's always a chance.

CBSNews.com: Now a lot of people have looked back at her campaign and have pointed fingers at your former business partner, Mark Penn. They've criticized his strategy. They say he underestimated the power of the change message this year, that he didn't understand the importance of the caucus states and the way that delegates are allocated. Do you think those criticisms are valid?

Doug Schoen: Well, I guess what I would say is the following: This is a campaign that has gotten 47, 48 percent of the vote from the pledged delegates. There has been a real tide in America towards Barack Obama, a tide toward a fresh face. Mark was getting extraordinarily good ratings and reviews in September and October when she was leading.

He was not responsible for running the campaign, or making decisions about which states to compete in. I think, when you lose, there's plenty of blame to go around. And I think it's frankly unfair to point the finger at Mark Penn.

CBSNews.com: It's obviously easy to Monday morning quarterback. But in retrospect, what do you think she could have done differently, or should have done differently?

Doug Schoen: Well again, you know, I don't think it was Mark who decided that the race was going to be over February 5th. I think that was the conventional wisdom of most people. And I think that you take out those 11 caucuses that she lost, I think it was in February, and she's the nominee.

But also, I would go back to something else. I would say, look, if I told you six months ago that she was going to win California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, and that she would not be the nominee, most people would have laughed. And I think just the vagaries of the way we pick delegates--the number of delegates that are apportioned per vote in the popular vote versus in a caucus--has been so skewed away from her, that it's almost like the process was apparently or effectively skewed against her.

Now, look, everybody can compete fairly. I'm not saying that anything was rigged against her. But I'm saying that she demonstrated a very broad and deep level of support that we saw [this week] as well as earlier. And, you know what? I just think the Democratic Party has to look at the system of apportioning delegates and be much closer to a one man, one vote system.

CBSNews.com: Does she bear any blame, Senator Clinton, for apparently not playing under that current system, flawed though it may be?

Doug Schoen: I've been in campaigns for 30 years. And campaigns ultimately take on the personality of the candidate. I think Senator Clinton has been a terrific candidate. I think she's delivered her message in a really compelling way, particularly in the last few weeks.

But, that being said, if the campaign wins, you give credit to the candidate. And if the campaign loses ultimately, it's at the candidate's doorstep. You can't say, "Oh, you know, it's the advisor's fault," or this or that.

But I don't sit and point the finger at Hillary Clinton. I think she's been a fabulous candidate. And if I were making the decisions, I would make her Barack Obama's running mate or consider her very strongly for that job very, very, very quickly.

CBSNews.com: And finally, you've written a lot in The Wall Street Journal about the power of the national security issue for Democrats. McCain chose, in effect, to open the general election campaign with an attack on Obama's position of unconditionally meeting with enemies of the United States. Who won that initial fight?

Doug Schoen: Well, here's the thing. I think, on this initial exchange, Barack Obama won. I think he came back compellingly, made it clear that under Bush, we've become less secure. Iran had become a more dangerous nation.

But I think that's where [McCain’s] campaign is going. And I think they're going to try to merge national security with concerns about Reverend Wright, William Ayers, and the like, to make the argument, you can't trust Barack Obama. And do I think it'll be successful? No, I don't, because I think Barack's going to win the election. But as McCain said, tune in in the fall, you'll be hearing a lot more about this.

[obama8years]

Google = "International Solidarity Movement and Obama"

Now, it has become the ISM%u2019s time to deconstruct religious dogma of Israel belonging to the Jews as is preached in US churches and to increase the number of black churches in America that are working in %u201Csolidarity%u201D with this program. Jeremiah Wright%u2019s church is one of them. Even though the national synod of the United Church for Christ rescinded a boycott and divestment plan against Israel, a wing of the UCC church keeps trying to get it reinstated. That wing includes Reverend Wright%u2019s Trinity UCC Church in Chicago. Few people know also, that there are many Muslim members of Reverend Wright%u2019s %u201CChristian%u201D church, a close ally of Sabeel.

[fake-id-2009]

fake-id
I didn''''t count my reserve time as i didn'''' do anything for he military thn. What did you do ? I assume that 28 years was hiding behid a desk as a garet trooper, not that we didn''''t need logistical support, but uless you served in combat you don''''t know what you are talking about.
Posted by patriot12436 at 11:24 PM : May 24, 2008


***-U-me all you want. You NEVER pass up a chance to throw out an insult. Even to a fellow military veteran.

I served two tours in the Vietnam combat zone and have the DD214s to prove it. Never had the luxury or desire to serve "behind a desk." LOL!!! Leave it to a "patriot" like you to say something like that.

My six years reserve was AFTER my 22 years active, and it was voluntary. Most of my active duty and reserve time was served as a maintenance chief in an aviation unit, keeping the machines of war at the ready, and not behind a desk earning fake ribbons.

"garet trooper!!" LOL!!! What arrogance!! But you don''t have a clue...

[terrorislami]

International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=obama+islamic marxist group ISM &btnG=Search

How Obama%u2019s church and associates link him to the ISM

The question is if we want a man in the White House who will regularly give his ear to the likes of a Reverend Wright, his and Sabeel%u2019s replacement theologies, and pro-terrorist propagandists like Ali Abunimah on a regular basis? In one sense, Obama could be considered the ISM%u2019s Manchurian candidate given his wide connections to ISM activists and campaign movements such as the Wheels of Justice Tour, Joseph Carr a.k.a. Joseph Smith, Hannah Mermelstein, Anna Baltzer and others.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2462

[terrorislami]

hahaha,,, what bs propoganda hahaha

Obama Closes In On Dem Nomination
Illinois Senator Has Majority Of Pledged Delegates With Oregon Victory; Clinton Easily Wins Kentucky, But Campaign In The Red

hussein cannot even beat a woman LOL

hahaha

insane husseins,,,

they hate the country that made them millionaires,,,

good one,,,

what bs left wingnut koolaid drinking barking moonbats,,,

[obama8years]

Google - "International Solidarity Movement and Obama"

Sabeel has been actively working in cooperation with Chicago%u2019s Trinity UCC among certain other politically active churches in America to promote anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic beliefs that can erode American Christian support for Israel and hasten Israel%u2019s destruction. And Pastor Jeremiah Wright, pandering to his majority black congregation, has been teaching his own replacement theology, only this time its called %u201Cblack replacement theology.%u201D Jesus was not a Jew, says Wright, but a %u201Cblack man.%u201D Trinity UCC%u2019s relationship with the anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam (funded by anti-Israel Libya) fits in nicely with this formula also. The Christian religious icon is no longer a Jew, but a black man and to accept this interpretation is the way to salvation for the black man. This not only deconstructs American church views of the legitimacy of Israel, but has a nice foothold with the likes of the Nation of Islam in the US black community.

[eroosevelt08]

I remember when Martin Luther King was assassinated. We were all stunned and the entire nation mourned. Then, Robert Kennedy was assassinated on the night of our senior high school prom. That event told us all of us are mortal. It is a fact of life for those of us, like Hillary Clinton who heard the news live. It was an enlightening and frightening experience for those of us, to acknowledge that we could die at any moment. Any of my contemporaries could have made the same comment Senator Clinton made. It was very ''present tense'' for us, not a history lesson. It would be the same as saying John Kennedy was killed when he was starting his re-election campaign in 1963. I heard that news live when I was in junior high. They let school out and told us it was because the President was dead. Kids feel that wave of sadness and mortality when one of them dies early or commits suicide. By accident, I happened to see the second 9/11 terrorist attack about 9:15am or so, live on CNN, because they were reporting the first attack. It was chilling and very present tense. At first I couldn''t believe my eyes. Maybe some of you are just too young to have Senator Clinton''s frame of reference and experience.

[eroosevelt08]

pepperwood2: It is funny that you CACKLE!

[patriot12436]

pepperwood2
I read the story and didn''t find it offensive. If RFK didn''t find it offensive why should anyone else ? I think that campaigning is a very tiring job and anyone could make a freudian slip. Perhaps she could have chose a better way to state it.

[pepperwood2]

Did Hillary''s RFK Remark Doom Her?

If it didn''t it most certainly should. It shows what diabolical & devious mind set this Woman has.

Robert Kennedy was one of our most beloved and caring candidate''s this country has ever seen. Senator Ted Kennedy, the liberal lion, as he is often referred to, endorsed Obama, much to the chagrine of Hillary. Senator Kennedy has also recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer of the brain.

To Hillary this was an opportunity to SAY LOUD & CLEAR FOR ALL AMERICANS to see what me Hillary Clinton is all about. Will not pass up a sick & perverted opportunity that this afforded. GOTCHA TED - GOTCHA OBAMA.

CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE - So blatantly contempable. The Clinton''s diversive & polarizing polictics. It''s time for them to go!

[patriot12436]

fake-id
I didn''t count my reserve time as i didn'' do anything for he military thn. What did you do ? I assume that 28 years was hiding behid a desk as a garet trooper, not that we didn''t need logistical support, but uless you served in combat you don''t know what you are talking about.

[rowdywicca]

We interrupt yet again the scheduled publication of Part II of Barack Obama%u2019s Mob to discuss the latest Obama related suicide.

Fresh from yesterday%u2019s article (Barack Obama and The Suicide Note) in which Norman Hsu wrote a suicide note which blamed Obama for planting stories in the press about him; we now have an actual Suicide in Chicago to discuss.

First, the immediate facts - Former Cook County Official Found Dead In Michigan [Check video at the site too.]

CHICAGO - Orlando Jones, the godson of former Cook County Board President John Stroger and an insider in county politics, has been found dead on a Michigan beach from what authorities say is a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Cook County political insider was found Wednesday night, just as a corruption inquiry targeting him was heating up.

Police found the body of Orlando Jones on a beach in Union Pier, Mich. As CBS 2%u2019s Rafael Romo reports, Jones had close ties to the Stroger family. [snip]

[rowdywicca]

Prosecutors say Jones wanted Ata to lean on another Rezko business associate to get him to stop cooperating as well. Ata told prosecutors that Jones reassured him that Rezko was working to kill the Board Games investigation by getting the Bush administration to fire Fitzgerald. "Don''t worry, the plan is still in place," Jones told Ata.

Jones committed suicide in September 2007, after news of a pending indictment in a pay-to-play scheme reaching all the way to Las Vegas, was splashed all over the media. %u201CThe discovery of Jones'' body came just two days after FBI agents approached Jones,%u201D FBI spokesman Frank Bochte told the Sun-Times. Jones "cordially declined" to speak with Chicago agents, he said.

A recent state audit of the Illinois State Board of Investment had also shown that Jones collected more than $471,000 in fees from William Blair, to promote the investment firm before the Board, according to a report by Rick Pearson in the May 25, 2007 Tribune.

[rowdywicca]

Kelly Dibble donated $250 to Obama on June 30, 2003, $250 on January 23, 2004, and $250 on April 25, 2007, according to a summary of contributions by Rezko Watch.


Dibble is now an attorney with the Northern Trust Company, Obama%u2019s Land Trust holder. On September 30, 2007, Dribble donated $1,000 to Obama presidential campaign.

Ata told prosecutors he lied to the FBI in December 2005, because he was encouraged to be a "team player" by people acting on Rezko%u2019s behalf and when he received a grand jury subpoena in late 2005, people contacted him in an effort to stop him from cooperating.

Prosecutors identified one of those people as Orlando Jones, the godson and former chief of staff to the deceased former Cook County Board President, John Stroger. Jones was a former vice president of Rezmar and an investor in Riverside Park.

[rowdywicca]

Now Obama claims he never even knew the lot was in Rita''s name. During his March 14, 2008 interview, the Tribune asked him: %u201CWhen Tony sold the garden lot in his wife''s name, didn''t that strike you as odd?%u201D

%u201CYou know,%u201D he said, %u201CI have no idea why he did it. I don''t think he was intending to hide something, because if he was then, you know, using your wife''s name, Rita Rezko, probably wouldn''t have been the best way to do it.%u201D



%u201CDid he ever explain to you what he was doing?%u201D the Tribune asked.

%u201CNo," Obama replied, "I didn''t discover it until the issue of him purchasing this lot broke through, uh, through you.%u201D

The report in the London Times asked Rita whether she used money from her husband to buy the lot and she stated: "I can''t answer these questions, I''m sorry."

It also asked how long she and her husband had known Auchi, and she said: "I will not be able to answer this question."

[rowdywicca]

%u201CThe company%u2019s lawyers filed a claim against the Rezkos%u2019 home and began issuing subpoenas to banks where Mr. Rezko had accounts, finding very little cash.

%u201CCourt records show that G.E. was due to be in court on Jan. 5, 2006, for example, obtaining an order to seize $1,297.39 from one of Mr. Rezko%u2019s checking accounts.%u201D

%u201CLess than a week later,%u201D the Times notes, %u201CMrs. Rezko sold a 10-foot-wide strip of the empty lot to Mr. Obama, for $104,500, so he could widen his side yard.%u201D

Soon Rezko%u2019s role in the real estate deal became public, in written questions to Obama, the Sun-Times asked: %u201CWhy did you put the property in a trust?%u201D

%u201CI was advised that a trust holding would afford me some privacy, which was important to me as I would be commuting from Washington to Chicago, and my family would spend some part of most weeks without me,%u201D he replied in writing.

[rowdywicca]

In fact, GE obtained a $3.5 million judgment in November 2004, but put off collection in the first half of 2005 while negotiating for payments with Rezko, the Times reports.

When documents unsealed in the Rezko case revealed the $3.5 million loan made to Rezko a month before the real estate deal, Auchi%u2019s lawyer said the loan was to %u201Cassist the financial position%u201D of a pizzeria company called AR Pizza, according to a February 26, 2008, report by James Bone and Dominic Kennedy in the Times of London.

"The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago," Bone and Kennedy wrote.

But Auchi%u2019s attorney told the New York Times that Rezko was supposed to use the money for his pizza business, and said, %u201Cas far as my client is aware, Mr. Rezko used the loan for its intended purpose and not for any other purpose.%u201D

However, the Times review showed Rezko did make a payment to GE a few months after he received the loan, but only for $1 million. In October 2005, GE finally obtained a court order and began seizing even the smallest assets. As the Times explains

[rowdywicca]

Cook County land records show the deed for the lot granted to Rita was recorded on June 20, 2005, with a declared value of $625,000. Records indicate Rita conveyed the land to Northern Trust Company Land Trust #10209, on January 11, 2006.


According to a web site for Marquette Bank''s Trust Services, in Illinois a Land Trust provides shared ownership protection when real estate is owned by more than two people, and divorce, legal disability or the death of one can hinder the sale of the property.

With the establishment of a Land Trust, a judgment against one beneficiaries cannot create a lien on real estate held in trust and ordinary legal proceedings against one will not cloud the title. While the interest of a beneficiary can be subject to claims of creditors, the creditors must take additional steps to assert their claims against a property held in trust, according to Marquette site.

Obama claims he had no idea Rezko was flat-broke. During his March 14, 2008 interview, he told the Sun-Times, %u201CI was shocked - as I think a lot of people in Chicago were shocked - to find out the difficult financial straits he was in because I don''t think anybody suspected that at the time.%u201D

But the investigation by the New York Times found that between November 2002 and January 2005, at least 12 lawsuits were filed against Rezko and his businesses, including one by the GE Commercial Finance Corporation.

[rowdywicca]

Her only income was a $37,000 a year from a part-time government job handed to her by Cook Country Board President, John Stroger, when she came up with $125,000 in cash and obtained a half a million dollar mortgage at the Mutual Bank of Harvey.

The way Obama set up the deal, the mansion and the strip of land were placed in a Land Trust with the Northern Trust Corporation. The price of the mansion was $1.65 million, and the Obamas coughed up $330,000 to obtain a $1.32 million mortgage at Northern Trust Bank.

[rowdywicca]

Nadhmi Auchi firm, General Mediterranean Holding, owns 50% of AR Pizza and Rezko owns 50%.

Reporters, Mike McIntire and Christopher Drew, tracked Rezko%u2019s %u201Cfinancial maneuverings%u201D during the year that Rezko and Obama were entering into the real estate deal through an examination of lawsuits in state and federal courts, documents in the Board Games cases, and land records, for a report in the March 8, 2008 New York Times.

They discovered that Rezko was fighting off lenders and investors trying to collect on defaulted loans and failed business ventures the whole time. %u201CBut he side-stepped that financial dragnet by arranging for the land to be bought in his wife%u2019s name, making it the only property she owned by herself,%u201D they report.

As a result, when the Obamas bought part of the lot in January 2006, %u201Cthe money they paid was beyond the reach of Mr. Rezko%u2019s creditors, including one conducting a court-ordered hunt for his assets to recover a $3.5 million debt,%u201D the Times notes.

When buying the mansion, Obama said the lot next door had to be sold separately because, %u201CIt was already a stretch to buy the house,%u201D in the Tribune on November 1, 2006.

This is where Rita supposedly entered the picture. She would buy the lot. However, affidavits filed in the Rezko case in November 2006, show Rita could not afford it either.

[rowdywicca]

The indictment says that as part of the scheme to defraud GE, in February 2004, Ata signed a letter on Finance Authority letterhead that falsely made it appear that Investor 1, now known to be Dr Paul Ray, had applied for financing with the IFA in connection with Ray''s acquisition of the pizza restaurants.

Dr Ray was an investor in Riverside Park and contributed $3,000 to Obama on June 30, 2003, the exact same day the contributions were made by Chaib and Ata. Ray also gave Obama $2,000 on October 2003, on top of a donation of $1,000 on December 31, 2002.

The letter stated that Ray''s financing would be recommended for approval by the IFA Board on March 15, 2004, and that the IFA would guarantee 50% of the total $16 million