Howard Dean had ideas, but he put very little into practice. Howard Dean talked the talk about organizing and funding a campaign. Obama has done it. Theories are cheap. BTW, when it came to the Dems in 2004, I thought Edwards was their best choice. Obama's tone and optimism remind me of Edwards in '04.
From what I follow and glean, props to Howard Dean as leader of the DNC. He's done a good job. Maybe he learned something after his crash in 2004.
Hum 2006 was a good indicator of the groundwork Mr Dean set up. Not sure I could dismiss that. And the DNC looks to increase majorities in both houses this year, along with winning the presidency. Looks like he's doing his job to me. Anyway landslides again tonight!
With the later post, I clarified my comments were only about Dean's crashed presidential campaign in 2004 (which is what TJ brought up) not his DNC tenure. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Do Democratic philosophies include voter disfranchisement? LOL. How come GOP primary went on without a hitch? Plus, who told you "once a Democrat, always a Democrat"? Don't act like you know what voters think of the candidates. California has large Latino and Asian populations that can swing the votes either way in close election. The endorsement from a popular governor may also not be ignored.
LOL@wnes the champion of the chicano vote. Thanks for looking out for us, holmes! Por La Raza Para La Raza!
MD- 46% reporting Obama 62 Clinton 35 DC- 98% reporting Obama 75 Clinton 24 VA- 99% reporting Obama 65 Clinton 34 These margins are huge. A fifty point win in DC. Almost thirty in VA. Somewhere between 20 and 30 in MD.
Uhh, right. As for NY/CA, you really should follow politics a bit more closely before making such statements. But the really funny part is you saying that GOP primaries went off without a hitch?? Washington State's GOP chair stopped counting votes after they got to 87% - for no good reason. Huckabee is challenging the results and called it reminiscient of what you'd expect in Soviet Russia. The GOP chair of elections once wrote the following: Like any sport worth its salt, in politics you have adversaries, opponents, enemies. Our enemies are loudmouth leftists and shiftless deadbeats. To win the election, we have to keep as many of these people away from the polls as possible. Now your average leftist loudmouth is a committed individual and can almost never be persuaded to ignore his constitutional rights. The deadbeats, however, are a different matter entirely. Years of interminable welfare checks and free government services have made these modern-day sloths even more lazy. They will vote on election day, if it isn’t much of a bother. But even the slightest inconvenience can keep them from the polling place. Many of the most successful anti-deadbeat voter techniques (poll taxes, sound beatings, etc.) that conservatives have used in the past have been outlawed by busybody judges. The only means of persuasion left available to us are Acts of God, who we know is exclusively on our side. I’m talking about seriously inclement weather. I want Biblical floods and pestilence. I will settle for rain, sweet rain. The deadbeats won’t even go out in the rain for their welfare checks (they send one of their social workers to pick it up). There’s no way they’ll vote if it’s raining. The GOP didn't count all the votes, and of the votes they did count, they got a bunch wrong, and no one has no idea what the hell is going in Washington state. Yeah, the GOP primaries "went off without a hitch". Why would you say they went off without a hitch when you're clearly not even paying attention? Here, read up: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/todays_must_read_274.php
Small irregularities here and there are bound to happen, but nothing is as spectacular as the institutionalized voter disfranchisement done by DNC -- it dwarfs the 2000 election fiasco.
Willful changing of rules in middle of the process by someone who's wishes voter intimidation was still legal is a "small irregularity"? Nice. FL/MI brought their disenfranchisement on themselves. There were rules. They violated them. The end. If Florida decided to hold a Presidential election in September, they'd be disenfranchised too. I don't see why it's so complicated here. They were told IN ADVANCE what would happen, and they did it anyway. They disenfranchised themselves. In fact, if they want to re-enfranchise themselves, that option is available to them too. They just have to hold a primary/caucus within the governing timeframes. Simple solution available to them anytime they'd like to take advantage of it.
I still can't believe Obama won by such huge margins. I think some polls on Sunday had him up 15 or so points in MD & VA. I can still pull up articles (from Monday) on the internet that said Hillary thought she could make it close in VA; but she lost by 30 points! I think Hillary is making a gigantic mistake by writing off Wisconsin. For her to give a speech in El Paso tonight while Obama gave his in Madison is the wrong message to send and it guarantees he will demolish her there too. Apparently she won't even go to Wisconsin until Saturday while Obama won't be leaving there until the primary next Tuesday. Her strategy reminds me of the board game Risk when someone puts everything they have into defending Australia. It delays your defeat but guarantees you won't win the game.
Here's a good numerical analysis of what she's up against going forward: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/02/i-went-back-to-ohio-and-my-ele.php Basically, she needs blowouts in TX and OH even to keep things interesting. At this point, the only realistic way she can win, barring an Obama implosion - is some blowouts in many, many states or a combo of coersion of superdelegates and getting FL/MI seated in their current form. Without those two states, it's virtally impossible for her to make up her pledged delegate deficit right now, almost all of which was earned in the last 5 days. Rudy Guiliani's "forget the small states - it's all about Florida!" repeated again.
Agree, A3P0... it reminds me of Rudy and his stupid Florida "strategery." I worry that team Clinton is planning some Michigan/Florida convention ambush.
Count on it. If Obama gets two more wins next week, that will be TWELVE consecutive victories for Obama by big margins. How many of these victories are by margins of less than 20%? If it's true that Obama pulled from EVERY demographic tonight (young and old, black & white, rich & poor) better than Hillary then the tide could be turning. Hillary's team would have to know that TX & OH likely will not be enough on their own. Seating the FL and MI delegates would be a big boost.
I put very little past Hillary, but I must disagree this time. If the tide clearly stays with Obama she will NOT try to get the nomination by using Florida, Michigan and "superdelegates". Ain't gonna happen. The backlash against her by Dem party leaders and rank & file would be explosive beyond imagination. Most of the Dem party would never forgive her for making such a divisive move. I think she realizes this and that the tactic would fail. BTW, after today, I guarantee you John Edwards will not endorse Hillary now that Obama has pulled ahead. I think he dislikes her a lot anyway, but he doesn't want to choose the losing side.
Wow. Obama looks to be running the table very decisively. If the Democratic Party had the "winner take all" primary system, like the Repubs have, Ms. Clinton might have a chance. Heck, she might have momentum from Super Tuesday with her wins in California and New York and be doing better in these primaries, but it just isn't happening for her. I think she's toast. It's sinking in, but there isn't much quit in the Clintons. At some point, though, they'll run out of money. They're pretty close to that now. Obama will have to take care and not get too cocky. The only way I see him losing at this juncture is somehow blowing it with a remark aimed at Clinton that's off the charts as an attack and he's too smart for that. Even if he continues to "lose" the last couple of debates, the proportional system is going to give him too many delegates for Ms. Clinton to make up. It's close to being over, folks, in my opinion. So why don't we Impeach Bush!
I don't know how a national party can tell a state legislature what to do and what not to do. What's the legal basis for DNC? It makes no sense for Floridians to vote again, which would seem to violate equal protection principle. I believe Hillary camp will fight tooth and nail to keep the delegates she earned in Florida.
Monica Lewinsky's ex-boyfriend's wife will most certainly not go quietly. Aside from a futher litany of scheduled crying promos, one can fully expect full-throttle media barrage detailing the oh-so-tragic disenfranchisement of the FL/MI voters before it's all said and done. Every possible angle and avenue will be thoroughly exhausted before even the slightest hint of capitulation, including this deal about how her opponent purchased his house. Till the bitter end, there shall be no cessation in drive and ambition to be the top puppet of the top outpost.
