Category Archives: Politics: US: 2008 Elections

Siva Vaidhyanathan writes, SIVACRACY.NET: Why Clinton should quit:

I just got back from a few days in Central Pennsylvania. I went there excited that this fervent and energetic contest between two leading lights of the Democratic Party was energizing people in all corners of the country. …

Now I have changed my mind. I want Sen. Clinton to quit running for president and get back to the project of helping New York.

In recent weeks she has disappointed me deeply.

What I did not know — what I could not have known had I not spent some time in Pennsylvania — was just how low, nasty, and unethical the Clinton campaign has become. I worked in and covered enough campaigns in big states to know that you can't really tell what a campaign is up to from the speeches, television ads, and debates. You have to follow the direct mail, push polls, and the radio — especially the radio.

In Pennsylvania last week radio was full of ads for both candidates. It was as if all other forms of commerce were suspended.

The Obama ads I heard were optimistic and uplifting. They treat listeners and voters with respect. They treat the party and country with dignity.

The Clinton ads were mean, demeaning, and full of lies. The contrast was stark.

Because it's time for another video: Jay Jay French and Friends – I Want Barack

Historically, the taller candidate has won the Presidency far more often than the shorter one. (See Comparative table of heights of United States presidential candidates for the data.)

The modern exceptions to this rule are GW Bush, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon — and they were all bad Presidents.

Barack Obama: 6' 1½” (1.87m)

John McCain: 5' 7” (1.7m)

Hilary Clinton: 5' 6” (1.68m)

It follows, therefore, that the Democrats should nominate Obama, or something terrible will happen.

Hillary's “3 A.M. ad” Girl Doesn't Approve of that Message

Haven't seen a link to it yet, but Bill Richardson is endorsing Obama for President.

Full text below.

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As is so often the case Glenn Greenwald says it right when he describes this speech as a test of “Obama's faith in the reasoning abilities of the American public”.

I'll only add this: whether this is Obama's breakthrough moment, as it deserves to be, or his Adlai Stevenson moment depends on two things: first, whether the gatekeepers of old media, few if any of whom are friendly to Democrats, allow his rich and complex statements anywhere near a voter. I'm pretty dubious about that. The first news report I read was from AP. By Notorious Nedra Pickler. And it missed all the points, by some combination of malice, haste, and stupidity. On the other hand, the considered reactions of both the Washington Post and the New York Times are fair while not fawning. But it is still TV, broadcast and cable, and radio that reaches the largest audience. And on radio, one still can expect only the very worst.

The second chance comes from the Internet, which allows the candidate to bypass the filter. But will anyone outside the choir come to hear the preacher?