March 2, 2008 - March 8, 2008

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It's 3 a.m., and your lead actress is voting for Obama

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

Hillarious. It turns out that the girl from the stock footage used in Hillary's "red phone" scare video is actually a huge Obama supporter and recently served as his local precinct captain.

The first girl in the ad is young Casey Knowles. It's stock footage from 8 years ago when she worked as a TV extra - footage owned now by Getty Images and used by the Clinton campaign.

"It's really sort of ironic that my image would be used to advocate for Hillary when I myself do not," said Casey.

She may only be 17, but Casey has some very strong political opinions. She turns 18 - legal voting age - in April, in plenty of time before the general election.

"It's perfect timing because I have a candidate that I really identify with," she said.

"I've been campaigning for Barack Obama for a few months now," she said. "I was actually a precinct captain at the caucuses a few months ago. I attended his rally a few months ago and I'm a very, very avid supporter."

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 8, 2008 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

 

Hai, dekiru: Obama is big in Japan

Filed under: Barack Obama

A coincidence in name between Barack Obama and a town in western Japan has given the Democratic candidate some unlikely backers. Obama (our Barack) has sent a letter to Toshio Murakami (mayor of their town, also called Obama), thanking people for their support.

And the support has been vigorous:

Some 100 self-styled Obama supporters plan to gather wearing "I love Obama" t-shirts and headbands. The crowd will give a rousing Japanese chant of "Banzai" -- which means "Long live!" -- if Obama clinches the nomination.

During the results, supporters will dine on food named after the senator , such as the "Obama Hamburger" and the "Obama Cutlet Roll".

はい 出来る!
[Hai, dekiru = Yes, we can. In this case, "Yes we can get a cutlet roll named after our candidate.]

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is once again hinting at a Clinton-Obama ticket. Translation: hey, Obama supporters! I like your guy, too. Please don't hate me.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 7, 2008 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

 

Clinton holds beer with left hand, pundits grasp for meaning

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

It's almost pointless to mock Fox News at this point, since most have written off the network as a simple propaganda arm. But their latest gaffe is simultaneously the greatest and most ludicrous example of the "Hillary Clinton is calculating" meme.

Reporters caught video footage of Hillary chatting with the press corps while holding a beer. Innocuous enough, this plastic cup in her left hand. Until you consider ...

... Hillary Clinton is right-handed. [Cue ominous music]

Fox's body language expert Tonya Reiman explained that "it's a little bit awkward to drink with your nondominant hand," and suggested that Hillary "wants to give the appearance of being light and easy." Because nothing says "at ease with oneself" like planning to drink a beer with your awkward off hand.

The implication is that the Clinton team has polled the American voter and determined that Joe Sixpack prefers a southpaw drinker. Personally, I think if the Clinton political machine's attention to minute details is that intense, it's a good thing. If she knows what hand you want to see her drink a beer with, maybe she knows other minor details like the difference between Sunni and Shiite.

I'm not blind to the fact that politicians and contrived photo ops go together like the Bush administration and criminal malfeasance. And sure, Hillary's as strategic a pol as they come. But the scrolling text in this screen grab just comes straight from the dictatorship of dumb:

Is she really relaxed? That is the question that cries out for a response, after all, when evaluating a potential president. She is drinking a beer, but is she really relaxed? Which is it, Mrs. Clinton? Left-handed or right-handed? Or are you some kind of ambidextrous overachiever who is out of touch with the average single-hand consumer? And I'll ask you again, most importantly -- are you relaxed?

Probably not. If you had legions of pricks working their tiny brains 24/7 to find fault with the way you hold a beer, you might be a little tense, too.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 5, 2008 10:29 PM | Comments (5)

 

It's the superdelegates, stupid

Filed under: Primary

If this ABC analysis is correct, and the numbers certainly seem convincing, we're heading for a brokered convention:

ABC News' current delegate estimate has Obama at 1,555.

That means he would need to win 77% of all the remaining pledged delegates to hit the magic number of 2,024 to secure the nomination. That is highly unlikely due to the proportional delegate allocation rules in the Democratic Party.

Clinton would need to win 94% of all the remaining pledged delegates to hit the magic number of 2,024. (ABC News currently has her at 1449.)

So, clearly they both are going to be relying on superdelegates to secure the nomination.

Another possibility is that they have a "do-over" to reinstate the delegates of Michigan and Florida. In which case we're once again putting our faith in the completely bankrupt Florida election system. Michigan is the new New Hampshire.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 5, 2008 9:32 AM | Comments (1)

 

Bush will endorse McCain tomorrow

Filed under: John McCain

Like the clingy ex-girlfriend who just won't stop showing up at your office, Bush is going to officially endorse John McCain tomorrow. The least popular president in modern history has already been told once by the McCain campaign to keep his support more or less on the down-low. But I suppose it would kind of look silly if the outgoing Republican president didn't give the party's nominee the expected kiss of death imprimatur.

Even Bush's home-state paper the Dallas Morning News says this is befuddling from a strategy perspective. True, Bush remains popular among conservatives, but the true hard core are never going to turn out for McCain anyway, and getting shackled to the heinously unpopular "war president" is just going the alienate the independents to whom a McCain candidacy is designed to appeal.

Bill Clinton used to use the Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It To the Streets" as his anthem. I have a feeling tomorrow's song for McCain is going to be "Don't Stand So Close To Me."

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 4, 2008 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

 

Texas for CLINTON

Filed under: Primary

TEXAS
CLINTON 780,494 50%
OBAMA 760,548 48%

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 4, 2008 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

 

What if it's a tie?

Ohio is looking like Clinton country:

Clinton 80,229 60% 0
Obama 51,222 38% 0

Via DailyKos:

Update: CNN calls Rhode Island for Clinton. Her 12-state losing streak has been snapped!

So according to exit polls, Obama won the under-65 vote in all four states.

Texas (Exit polls)

4 percent reporting

Obama 53 -- 548,984
Clinton 46 -- 472,558

Delegates (126 from primary, 67 from caucus, 12 super)

Obama 0
Clinton 0

Rhode Island (Exit polls)

9 percent reporting

Clinton 53
Obama 46

Delegates (21 pledged, 12 super)

Obama 5
Clinton 1

Ohio (Exit polls)

14 percent reporting

Clinton 60
Obama 38

Delegates (141 pledged, 21 super)

Obama 0
Clinton 0

Vermont (Exit polls)

50 percent reporting

Obama 59
Clinton 39

Delegates (15 pledged, 8 super)

Obama 8
Clinton 4

Click through to see what a split decision means ...

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 4, 2008 8:36 PM | Comments (1)

 

Tom Brokaw: 50 Superdelegates ready to support Obama

Filed under: Barack Obama

NBC News superreporter cites a source "very close to the Obama campaign" who says the additional superdelegates are "ready to go public before too long."

Here's the video:

Timing wise, this can't help Hillary.

If Hillary doesn't win big in Ohio and Texas, this could be the dagger that kills her campaign.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 4, 2008 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

 

Ohio and Texas could decide it today

Filed under: Primary

By the end of the evening, we may (or may not) know the Democratic candidate for president. Weather could be a factor in Cleveland:

THIS AFTERNOON
FREEZING RAIN MIXED WITH SLEET. ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATION OF LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. BRISK WINDS. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR 100 PERCENT.

TONIGHT
FREEZING RAIN BEFORE MIDNIGHT...CHANGING TO SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND AN INCH ALONG WITH A GLAZE OF ICE. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S. BRISK NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH BECOMING NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR 100 PERCENT.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 4, 2008 9:58 AM | Comments (0)

 

Our first gay VP nominee?

Filed under: Charlie Crist

While Democrats have earned all the headlines this primary campaign for breaking down race and gender barriers, the Republicans might soon be making history as well. Unfortunately for the GOP, it's not the kind of trailblazing that will sit particularly well with the party's base. And no I'm not prophesying an unlikely career revival for Larry Craig or Mark Foley.

The pol in question is Charlie Crist, the popular Florida governor who is often cited as a short list-er to be John McCain's running mate. Redoubtable New Times Broward/Palm Beach scribe Bob Norman has been banging on Crist's closet door since persistent rumors of gay affairs surfaced during his successful 2006 run for governor.

Norman's latest reportage on the topic, "The Talk of the Green Iguana," focuses on Crist's frequent socializing at a popular watering hole in Tampa Bay. Here's a choice snippet:

When I got Rick Calderoni, the bar's well-known owner, on the phone, I expected him to stonewall me about it.

He didn't.

Calderoni, who is gay, confirmed that Crist came into his bar quite often and that the two of them became friends.

Getting to the point, I asked him if he knew Crist to be gay.

"Yes," he answered bluntly. "I just wish he would come out and admit it. That would be a great thing if he did."

I asked Calderoni if he was certain that Crist is gay. He told me that Crist socialized with a gay clique of friends but conceded that he'd never actually seen Crist become intimate with another man.

So how can he be sure Crist is gay?

"The way he acted," Calderoni said.

How did he act?

Calderoni laughed and said, "Very feminine."

Posted by Paul Demko at March 3, 2008 4:59 PM | Comments (3)

 

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