A Hillary (former) Democrat

Obama Flip Flops on Oil Drilling

2008-08-01T23:30:00.003-04:00

Like we knew Obama had principles? Another flip flop from Obama the Messiah.

In major change, Obama says he'll support offshore drilling

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama Friday dropped his opposition to offshore oil drilling, saying he could go along with the idea if it was part of a broader energy package.
Obama made his comments in St. Petersburg during an interview with the Palm Beach Post. "My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," he said.
"If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done," the paper quoted Obama as saying.

The change is dramatic because Obama often pointed to his opposition to drilling as a key difference between himself and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
"I will keep the moratorium in place and prevent oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coasts," Obama said in Florida in June.
Friday, he said he was still not a fan of drilling, telling the Palm Beach paper, "I think it's important for the American people to understand we're not going to drill our way out of this problem."
Obama also said, in a separate statement issued by his campaign, that he supported the bipartisan energy plan offered by 10 senators Friday.

"Like all compromises, it also includes steps that I haven't always supported," he said. "I remain skeptical that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short-term or significantly reduce our oil dependence in the long-term, though I do welcome the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact."
The proposal would end most of the ban on drilling. It would allow a 50-mile buffer on the east coast, as well as Florida's west coast. Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina would be permitted to start oil and natural gas exploration outside the buffer.
Any oil, the senators said, would have to stay in this country.
McCain reacted quickly to Obama's switch in positions, telling the Associated Press, "We need oil drilling and we need it now offshore. He has consistently opposed it. He has opposed nuclear power. He has opposed reprocessing. He has opposed storage."
Experts estimate that even if drilling proves to sharply increase oil supplies, its effects will not be felt for at least seven and probably 10 years.
But the concept has proven popular, and McCain has made it a centerpiece of his stump speeches and some of his television ads.
Political momentum has been moving in favor of opening up U.S. coastlines. There were two bars to offshore drilling, one first imposed by Congress in 1981 and another signed by President Bush's father in 1990 and renewed in 1998 by President Clinton. Bush lifted the executive ban last month; Congress, which left Friday for a five-week recess, has not acted.
The government bans exploration and drilling on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and most of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, to protect U.S. beaches and fisheries from pollution.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/46174.html

Hillraisers Not Fond of Obama

2008-07-21T22:23:00.000-04:00

The Huffington Post reports that "Hillraisers" -- 311 big-dollar fundraisers for Hillary Clinton -- personally contributed less than $20,000 to Democrat Barack Obama last month.

The Obama campaign's $52 million dollar total for June, the month the primary contest finally ended, "becomes all the more impressive when considering the utter lack of help he received from Hillary Clinton's high-dollar fundraising machine," the publication says.

Hillraisers are people who raised $100,000 or more for Clinton. Comparing their names to those on Obama's June report to the Federal Election Commission, The Huffington Post found that eight had donated $19,250 to him. The report continues:

That does not mean that only eight of Clinton's top donors have contributed to Obama since Clinton dropped out. Several dozen more Hillraisers are rumored to have donated in July, but those details will not be available until late August. Some other prominent Hillraisers, like Barbaralee Diamonstein-Vogel, have hosted high-dollar events at their homes, drawing many more times the $4,600 limit they each could have given individually by law.

But still, the fact that fewer than three percent of Clinton's donors have donated any money directly to Obama in his first month as presumptive nominee is likely to raise the eyebrows of some leaders in the Democratic Party who are hoping to see some signs of unity.

Obama Supporters Lose Faith, Demand Respect

2008-07-19T22:39:00.003-04:00

VIA NO QUARTER

By I Own My Vote on July 19, 2008 at 7:45 PM in Barack Obama, FISA, IOwnMyVote.com

I Own My Vote is unapologetically pro-Hillary, but we would be remiss if we did not pay homage to our Obama supporting brothers and sisters who have suddenly discovered that “Change You Can Believe In” was just a figment of David Axelrod’s Orwellian doublespeak.

Mikael Rudolph, an Obama supporter and founder of ImpeachForPeace.org wrote on his blog on the Barack Obama website, “Oppose our call for the re-establishment of our 4th Amendment rights through opposing FISA violators and we will oppose your candidacy.” In short, he owns his vote and pledges not to give it to Obama if he doesn’t earn it.

Obama supporter Bob Fertik, dismayed that his candidate broke his promise to filibuster the FISA bill urged fellow Obama supporters to escrow their donations until they get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I Own My Vote feels your pain, Bob. All we want is a little respect too.

Meanwhile, others who voted for Obama in the primary are rescindng their support entirely, announcing that they won’t vote for him in November.

So as the days and weeks go on, perhaps the party will unify around the idea that we own our votes. It’s time to tell your Obama supporting contacts to sign the pledge at www.IOwnMyVote.com.

Rasmussen: Hillary Beats McCain by 8 but Obama in Deat Heat withMcCain

2008-07-15T20:24:00.003-04:00

Just what we have all thought for a long time. Hillary beats McCain easily. In this poll released today Hillary wins by 8 while Obama is locked in a dead heat with McCain. HILLARY BEATS MCCAIN BY 8 WHILE OBAMA IS LOCKED IN A DEAD HEAT!!!

Barack Obama says a vote for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush’s third term, but a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that the Democratic hopeful would have a much easier time of it if he were actually running against the incumbent president this year.

At a time when Obama and McCain are locked in a tight race, the poll shows that Obama would rout President Bush 54% to 34%. Looking at the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, McCain is outperforming Bush by more than 15 percentage points.

The poll results also show that Obama would have an easier go of it against two of McCain’s chief rivals for the Republican nomination. The presumptive Democratic nominee leads former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by eight points 49% to 41% and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 50% to 39%.

However, McCain fares better against Obama than he does against two other prominent Democrats. New York Senator Hillary Clinton leads McCain by eight points, 50% to 42%. Former Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2000, leads McCain 50% to 43%.

These numbers help explain why Election 2008 is competitive even though events so heavily favor the Democrats -- because the Republicans are on course to nominate their strongest possible general election candidate but the Democrats are not. Perhaps even more importantly, the data suggests that voters don’t see a potential McCain Administration as the third term of President Bush.

In all five hypothetical match-ups featured in this article, the Democrat leads the Republican among unaffiliated voters. In the match-up between the two presumptive nominees, McCain holds a slight edge over Obama among those voters.

DNC are you listening to the American people?

Obama Has Purged His Own Website of Iraq Criticisms

2008-07-15T19:55:00.002-04:00

Excellent Article from No Quarter

Obama Has Purged His Own Web Site of Iraq Criticisms

By SusanUnPC on July 15, 2008 at 9:28 AM in Barack Obama, Current Affairs, Flip Flopping, Iraq, John McCain

UPDATE — Via Memeorandum.com, Ed Morrissey sums it up well:

Barack Obama has purged his website of criticism of the surge, and has now credited American troops with the security gains of the last year. The move comes as John McCain repeatedly points out that Obama opposed the surge in January 2007 and said it would make the situation worse:

New York Daily News:

“Barack Obama purges Web site critique of surge in Iraq“

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama’s campaign scrubbed his presidential Web site over the weekend to remove criticism of the U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq, the Daily News has learned.

The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a “problem” that had barely reduced violence.

“The surge is not working,” Obama’s old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province.

This is from Obama’s site before it was purged:

The News reported Sunday that insurgent attacks have fallen to the fewest since March 2004.

Obama’s campaign posted a new Iraq plan Sunday night, which cites an “improved security situation” paid for with the blood of U.S. troops since the surge began in February 2007.

It praises G.I.s’ “hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics and enormous sacrifice.”

Via John McCain’s press release:

BARACK OBAMA “REFINING” IRAQ POSITION ON OWN WEBSITE

For Immediate Release

Contact: Press Office

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

703-650-5550

ARLINGTON, VA — Today, the New York Daily News reported that Barack Obama has begun to “refine” his Iraq position by removing from his website the statements that he would “immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq” and the Surge is “The Problem” in Iraq:

Barack Obama “Refining” His Position On Withdrawal…

New Obama Website: “The Removal Of Our Troops Will Be Responsible And Phased” And Would Be Done In 16 Months. “The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 more than 7 years after the war began.” (Obama For America Website, http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/, Accessed 7/15/08)

Vs.

Old Obama Website: “Obama Will Immediately Begin To Remove Our Troops From Iraq.” “Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months.” (Obama For America Website, Accessed 7/3/08)

· Click Here To View This Part Of The Old Website.

Barack Obama “Refining” His Position On The Surge…

This Weekend, The Obama Campaign Removed All Criticism Of The Troop Surge From His Website. “Barack Obama’s campaign scrubbed his presidential Web site over the weekend to remove criticism of the U.S. troop ’surge’ in Iraq, the Daily News has learned. The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a ‘problem’ that had barely reduced violence. ‘The surge is not working,’ Obama’s old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks — not U.S. military muscle — for quelling violence in Anbar Province.” (James Gordon Meek, “Barack Obama Purges Web Site Critique Of Surge In Iraq,” New York Daily News, 7/14/08)

· The New Website Cites An “Improved Security Situation.” “Obama’s campaign posted a new Iraq plan Sunday night, which cites an ‘improved security situation’ paid for with the blood of U.S. troops since the surge began in February 2007. It praises G.I.s’ ‘hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics and enormous sacrifice.’” (James Gordon Meek, “Barack Obama Purges Web Site Critique Of Surge In Iraq,” New York Daily News, 7/14/08)

New Obama Website: Problem Is “Inadequate Security And Political Progress In Iraq.” “Inadequate Security and Political Progress in Iraq: Since the surge began, more than 1,000 American troops have died, and despite the improved security situation, the Iraqi government has not stepped forward to lead the Iraqi people and to reach the genuine political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge. Our troops have heroically helped reduce civilian casualties in Iraq to early 2006 levels. This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political accommodation in Iraq is a direct result of President Bush’s failure to hold the Iraqi government accountable.” (Obama Fo r America Website, http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/, Accessed 7/15/08)

Vs.

Old Obama Website: The Surge Is Part Of “The Problem.” “The Problem — The Surge: The goal of the surge was to create space for Iraq’s political leaders to reach an agreement to end Iraq’s civil war. At great cost, our troops have helped reduce violence in some areas of Iraq, but even those reductions do not get us below the unsustainable levels of violence of mid-2006. Moreover, Iraq’s political leaders have made no progress in resolving the political differences at the heart of their civil war.” (Obama For America Website, Accessed 7/3/08)

· Click Here To View This Part Of The Old Website. [SHOWN ABOVE THE FOLD]

The "Making" of a Politician

2008-07-14T06:41:00.005-04:00

EXCELLENT ARTICLE FROM NOQUARTER

The “Making” of a Politician

By LisaB on July 13, 2008 at 9:00 PM in Alice Palmer, Barack Obama, Chicago politics, David Axelrod, Democratic party

Got your attention? While the cover of this issue of the New Yorker will likely be the topic of countless blogs and tv spots tomorrow, don’t miss the article.

It is a fascinating piece on Obama’s early years in Illinois politics. Seems like some of his early supporters have buyer’s remorse. Many people have questioned how Obama could rise so quickly in Chicago politics. This article attempts to trace his rise and finds some interesting parallels to this year’s presidential race.

Read the rest ->

In a particularly interesting bit, the article tells how Obama looked to redraw the district he represented in Illinois after losing the congressional race to Bobby Rush.

. . . Obama began working on his “ideal map.” Corrigan remembers two things about the district that he and Obama drew. First, it retained Obama’s Hyde Park base—he had managed to beat Rush in Hyde Park—then swooped upward along the lakefront and toward downtown. By the end of the final redistricting process, his new district bore little resemblance to his old one. Rather than jutting far to the west, like a long thin dagger, into a swath of poor black neighborhoods of bungalow homes, Obama’s map now shot north, encompassing about half of the Loop, whose southern portion was beginning to be transformed by developers like Tony Rezko, and stretched far up Michigan Avenue and into the Gold Coast, covering much of the city’s economic heart, its main retail thoroughfares, and its finest museums, parks, skyscrapers, and lakefront apartment buildings. African-Americans still were a majority, and the map contained some of the poorest sections of Chicago, but Obama’s new district was wealthier, whiter, more Jewish, less blue-collar, and better educated. It also included one of the highest concentrations of Republicans in Chicago.

“It was a radical change,” Corrigan said. The new district was a natural fit for the candidate that Obama was in the process of becoming. “He saw that when we were doing fund-raisers in the Rush campaign his appeal to, quite frankly, young white professionals was dramatic.”

While Obama’s current race for president portrays him as a black man running against white privilege and against long odds, Obama’s base has always been mainly upper-class whites. And he has always known this.

Also interesting is Obama’s current use of surrogates and un-official campaign advisors. As some of these people are now under the bus, the story has always been that they spoke out of turn or didn’t represent Obama’s real position or that Obama no longer “knew” these people. In that sense, Obama is seen as removed from some of the lower aspects of politicking. But in this article, the author asserts:

Obama also became more of a strategist, someone increasingly comfortable discussing the finer points of polls, message, and fund-raising. According to his friends, Obama does not delegate campaign planning.

I find this curious as well, because one of the hallmarks of the Obama campaign to date is its incoherence. Obama says one thing and his handlers say “what he meant was. . . ” Everyone contradicts everyone else, with the end point being no one knows where Obama really stands on much of anything. Given all of Obama’s “present” votes and non-appearance at votes, it feels as if the “fog of information” is really a campaign tactic. If you can’t be pinned down, you can’t be held accountable and you get to claim outcomes after the fact. If you don’t actually vote on something, you can easily claim to have been for or against it all along, with no penalty for the slight of hand.

Another interesting point not covered in the MSM is Obama’s history with the troubled administration of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Although Tony Rezko links the two men, Obama has kept his distance. Recently though, Rahm Emanuel noted that Obama and he worked for Blagojevich’s campaign.

That year, he gained his first high-level experience in a statewide campaign when he advised the victorious gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich, another politician with a funny name and a message of reform. Rahm Emanuel, a congressman from Chicago and a friend of Obama’s, told me that he, Obama, David Wilhelm, who was Blagojevich’s campaign co-chair, and another Blagojevich aide were the top strategists of Blagojevich’s victory. He and Obama “participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor,” Emanuel said. “We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two.” A spokesman for Blagojevich confirmed Emanuel’s account, although David Wilhelm, who now works for Obama, said that Emanuel had overstated Obama’s role. “There was an advisory council that was inclusive of Rahm and Barack but not limited to them,” Wilhelm said, and he disputed the notion that Obama was “an architect or one of the principal strategists.”

It’s important to note that the Obama campaign has since claimed Emanual’s memory on this issue is faulty. Must be a problem there.

As the presidential race continues, the Obama campaign continues to tout his achievements in the state senate as examples of his ability to govern and help his constituents. As many people know by now, this record is spotty. The New Yorker’s take on this period is clear.

In the State Senate, Jones [an important politician in Illinois] did something even more important for Obama. He pushed him forward as the key sponsor of some of the Party’s most important legislation, even though the move did not sit well with some colleagues who had plugged away in the minority on bills that Obama now championed as part of the majority. “Because he had been in the minority, Barack didn’t have a legislative record to run on, and there was a buildup of all these great ideas that the Republicans kept in the rules committee when they were in the majority,” Burns said. “Jones basically gave Obama the space to do what Obama wanted to do. Emil made it clear to people that it would be good for them.” Burns, who at that point was working for Jones, was assigned to keep an eye on Obama’s floor votes, which, because he was a Senate candidate, would be under closer scrutiny. The Obama-Jones alliance worked. In one year, 2003, Obama passed much of the legislation, including bills on racial profiling, death-penalty reform, and expanded health insurance for children, that he highlighted in his Senate campaign.

Interesting stuff indeed. Still, the core of Obama as a politician is muddy on the national scene. His supporters claim he is a person not “of the system” who practices “transformational politics.” Here at NoQuarter, we’ve been saying this is not the case. The New Yorker says the same thing.

Perhaps the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary. Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them. When he was a community organizer, he channelled his work through Chicago’s churches, because they were the main bases of power on the South Side. He was an agnostic when he started, and the work led him to become a practicing Christian. At Harvard, he won the presidency of the Law Review by appealing to the conservatives on the selection panel. In Springfield, rather than challenge the Old Guard Democratic leaders, Obama built a mutually beneficial relationship with them. “You have the power to make a United States senator,” he told Emil Jones in 2003. In his downtime, he played poker with lobbyists and Republican lawmakers. In Washington, he has been a cautious senator and, when he arrived, made a point of not defining himself as an opponent of the Iraq war.

In addition to this, the New Yorker notes that Obama has alienated past supporters by his tendency to switch positions. Sound familiar?

Obama’s establishment inclinations have alienated some old friends. During the 2004 Senate primary, Obama sometimes reminded voters of his anti-machine credentials, but at the same time he shrewdly wrote to Mayor Daley’s brother, William, who had backed one of Obama’s primary opponents, asking for his support if he won the primary. As he outgrew the provincial politics of Hyde Park, he became closer to the Mayor, and this accommodation, as well as his unwillingness to condemn the corruption scandals ensnaring Daley and Blagojevich, both of whom he supported for reëlection, have some of his original supporters feeling alienated and angry.

Deja vu, much?

The title of this article is “Making It.” OK. But I think this story is more like the MTV show “Made” where young people are given a couple of weeks to learn something hard to do in order to “become” something they dream of, like the video gamer who was “made” into a martial artist. While you can’t help admire the pluck and effort of these young people, you still know that a video gamer doesn’t become Jackie Chan in a few weeks of hard work. It’s artificial. Whatever skills the gamer gets won’t be backed up by years of practice or depth of knowledge.

And while Barack Obama has, arguably, put in a few years of work in politics, his rise and experience suggest to me someone who has been “made.” There’s just no “there” there.

This article is definitely worth the read. In addition to the few bits I’ve highlighted are insights about Obama’s choice of church and Michelle Obama’s political connections.

UPDATE FROM LARRY JOHNSON: We need to stop with calling Michele Obama “Ho”bama. Not acceptable. I don’t want any woman being called a demeaning name, even the ones we aren’t too fond of.

Obama Fading Away

2008-07-13T19:11:00.004-04:00

Obama is fading away according to recently released polls. Remember the Newseek poll where Obama was ahead by 15 points? Well they have come back to reality. Obama now is only leading by 3 points. Rasmussen Reports, who I consider the most reliable polling outfit, has McCain and Obama tied at 46%.

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
Gallup Tracking	07/10 - 07/12	2635 RV	46	43	Obama +3.0
Rasmussen Tracking	07/10 - 07/12	3000 LV	46	46	Tie
Newsweek	07/09 - 07/10	1037 RV	44	41	Obama +3.0
CNN	06/26 - 06/29	906 RV	50	45	Obama +5.0
McLaughlin (R)	06/26 - 06/29	1000 LV	46	38	Obama +8.0

If you remove the obscure McLaughin poll Obama is ahead by only statistically insignificant 2.75 points. What is happening. Why don't we start with Obama's flip flop on FISA. FISA should have been stopped! What does Obama do? He panders to the neo-con right! Obama panders to the Bush crowd!

Bernie Mac Goes Under the Bus

2008-07-12T16:19:00.003-04:00

Bernie Mac goes under the bus. Obama had to distance himself from Bernie who in an moment of obvious stupidity decided to do his stand up comedy by denigrating women. All these "fun and games" where done at a $2,300 fundraising event in Chicago. Mac introduced Obama for the $2,300-a-head fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago and opened with his typical humor that got him in trouble.

"My little nephew came to me and he said, 'Uncle, what's the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question? I said, ‘I don't know,’ but I said, 'I'll tell you what you do. Go upstairs and ask your mother if she'd make love to the mailman for $50,000."

"Hypothetically speaking, we should have $100,000. But realistically speaking we live with two hos.”

Several hecklers in the crowd began to taunt Bernie "You are not funny." Several asked that Obama come on the stage. Obama spoke to the crowd and said:

"We can't afford to be divided by race. We can't afford to be divided by religion, or by region or class. Or by gender. That means, by the way, Bernie you got to clean up your act. This is a family affair. … I'm just messing with you."

OK Obama you go on stage to "rebuke" your friend but then you don't mean it? Winds of NAFTA? Or FISA?

The Obama campaign quickly threw Mac under the bus, with Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying,

"Sen. Obama told Bernie Mac that he doesn't condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate."

Does the bus's wheels even touch the ground now? Where is the change?

Obama Forgets Asking for Donations for Hillary at "Unity" Event

2008-07-11T22:06:00.007-04:00

Well now this is sweet! Obama was at another of those contrived DNC-sponsored "unity" events meant to foster good will between Hillary's supporters and those of Obama. The "unity" event was also another call by Obama to his supporters to donate to Hillary to relieve her campaign debt. A little thing happened during this "unity" event. Obama forgot to ask for donations for Hillary. He ended up having to dash back to the stage after he closed the event to ask for donations. What an ego! An ego so huge that it crowds out everything else. His statement:

"I would be very grateful if you looked under your chair. I think there should be an envelope or a pledge sheet or something. . . . That is part of the process of making sure that we're unified. . . . All right, turn on the music again. Let's keep on partying."

I sense no love for Hillary from Obama. How could you forget? Is your self-love so great that no one else matters? Please Senator McCain ... you need to get your campaign in order. You are only a few points behind Obama. Take advantage of Obama's inflated egoism to sway Hillary supporters to your side. The country's future depends on it!

FISA: Hillary is the Heroine and Obama is the Villain

2008-07-11T00:42:00.000-04:00

President Bush signed the FISA Act today and the left-wing blogosphere exploded. From Salon.com comes this piece from Joan Walsh titled "Betrayed by Obama"

I've admired Obama, but I never confused him with a genuine progressive leader. Today I don't admire him at all. His collapse on FISA is unforgivable. The only thing Obama has going for him this week is that McCain is matching him misstep for misstep.

And this also:

But Obama needs to watch himself. Telling voters they have no place else to go, before he officially has the nomination, is not a winning strategy. That's what his people told Clinton voters. That's what they're saying about opponents of the FISA sellout. That's the line on those concerned about his "partial-birth" abortion remarks. It's arrogant -- up against the backdrop of Obama's big plans for an Invesco Field acceptance speech in Denver and a Brandenberg Gate extravaganza in Berlin, I'm starting to worry about grandiosity -- and it could backfire.

There is so much to cover on this newest flip-flop from the FlipFlop Master. After his flip-flops on the death penalty, abortion rights, gun rights, and God knows what else I thought he would never stoop so low as to pass a center piece of the Bush Administration. At least McCain had the sense to not vote at all on it. Obama did one better on him. Now the telecom companies are immune to lawsuits by Americans who's rights where violated. He sucked up to Bush and the neocon right. Obama will sell out Americans' rights to liberty and to be free of government surveillance without cause just to win an election.

Obama in his anti-FISA stance on February 12, 2008, during the Democratic Party primaries, said this:

"This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens; no more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime; no more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court."

And now Obama says this on July 10, 2008, in his pro-FISA stance as Democratic presumptive nominee said this:

"Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program"

My neck hurts. I should sue Obama for my medical bills I'll incur seeing a chiropractor. The left wing blogosphere is up in arms over this. All I have to say is "Didn't you morons think before you supported this guy?" Obama has no principles. He would do anything and say anything to get elected.

Hillary voted against the FISA Act. She is in line with our constitutional principles of freedom and liberty. Her statement:

“I could not vote for the legislation in its current form. Any surveillance program must contain safeguards to protect the rights of Americans against abuse, and to preserve clear lines of oversight and accountability over this administration. There is little disagreement that the legislation effectively grants retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies. I believe my responsibility requires that I vote against this compromise, and I will continue to pursue reforms that will improve our ability to collect intelligence in our efforts to combat terror and to oversee that authority in Congress. In my judgment, immunity under these circumstances has the practical effect of shutting down a critical avenue for holding the administration accountable for its conduct."

The McCain Camp had kind words for Hillary. I am smart enough to realize this is a play for Hillary's supporters but still they are kind words. Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Sen. John McCain, said the vote showed Clinton had more principle than Obama. We know that Tucker. That is why she has supporters.

Hillary! The champion we need to protect our liberty!

Yes I am a Hillary Supporter Obamatons

2008-07-10T22:40:00.008-04:00

I have been frustrated with the Democratic primary fight between Hillary and Obama. Since all of Obama's recent and very sudden shift to the center and even to the right of McCain on some issues I feel vindicated by supporting Hillary. I never felt Obama represented "change" or "hope." Those terms get thrown around to hopefully trap gullible voters into "believing" in the mantra. The ones that vote with emotion instead of thought.

So yet again though there are those on the pro-Obama side that feel if you don't support Obama now after the bruising primary fight you MUST be an Operation Chaos operative. Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos. The over-hyped and essentially meaningless media stunt created by Rush for promotional purposes of his show and not to affect the Democratic primary race like a lot of the pro-Obama media breathlessly reported. What tools!

I put my soul, time, effort and money into getting Hillary nominated as Democratic nominee. I am not and never was an Operation Chaos operative. Frank Rich wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times titled "Angry Clinton Women (heart) McCain?" Here is an example of an Obamaton's desperate case to pin me as a closet Republican:

June 15th, 2008 10:01 am

I have been participating in the Stephanie Miller Love Blog. It seems that many of the dissatisfied Clinton voters never were Democrats to begin with. One, Adela from Orlando said that she had changed her registration 9 times. This doesn't sound like a Democratic voter to me. It would seem that a significant percentage of Republican and Independent women changed their registration to vote for Clinton in the primaries. Thus they say that they voted for Clinton, even if they abandoned her in the November election had she been the nominee. Hard as it is to believe in this day and age, there are still people who insist on voting Republican in spite of their best interest.

— Ronald Cowin, San Francisco

Ronald you have it all wrong or you just don't want to face the truth. There are Hillary supporters out there who don't think Obama is the Messiah. We actually can see past the emotional manipulation tactics he uses which he obviously has used successfully on you.

Ronald you also have a logic problem with your argument. Rush's Operation Chaos began in February in the weeks leading up to the Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island prinmaries. Well Ronald ... Florida's primary was held on January 29, 2008, almost a full month prior AND Florida law states that voter registrations MUST be done 30 days prior to the election in order to vote in that party's election. So that means that I must have known Hillary was going to be behind in February so I changed my registration in December 2007 to prop her up. I am twisting myself into a pretzel trying to follow this logic.

You either laugh at the stupidity of the typical Obamaton or you have worry about what these people are capable of. Some of us think all of that at once.

I thought I'd address this instead of letting it fester. I have been used in the far left blogosphere to describe either the "angry Clinton supporter" or a "covert Operation Chaos operative." I'm in DailyKos, Stephanie Miller Live Blogs, the New York Times comment pages, etc ... That's fine by me though. At least we Hillary supporters have them, the Obamatons, scared.

Rev Jackson Apologizes to Obama for "Hurtful" Remarks

2008-07-10T01:26:00.011-04:00

I am laughing out loud! Yes that would be very hurtful. Earlier this afternoon CNN was on at home and I realized a mysterious news conference was planned. CNN host Wolf Blitzer stated that "we could not say what it was he said" but where ready to broadcast the Rev's apology. The Rev Jackson had scheduled the conference to apologize for hurtful remarks he made against Obama. Apparently the Rev Jackson was unaware that his mic was still "hot" when he remarked that "See Barack been um ... talking down to black people ... on this faith-based .... I want to cut his nuts off."

Rev Jackson explained that he meant to attack Obama's attack on black men. He referred to a speech Obama gave at a Chicago church where Obama told the audience that absentee fathers are, in part, to blame for some of the problems afflicting black Americans.

“My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy which would be a corrective action for the lack of good choices that often led to their irresponsibility.”

The sweet words of dissension in the Obama camp. The Rev Jackson apparently doesn't like the truth being told. All this drama happening just a little more than a month before the Democratic convention in August.

When will the DNC realize that without Hillary as the Democratic nominee there will be no Democratic White House come January 2009? The backbiting among Obama and his supporters will only continue. I for one am glad the DNC is getting what it wanted and that it will blow up in its face.

Jim Webb Says "No" to VP Slot

2008-07-08T03:26:00.003-04:00

Jim Webb has pulled out of any consideration for the VP slot in an Obama ticket. Sen Webb of Virginia joins a list of other possible VP candidates from battleground states that have said they will not join an Obama ticket among them Ted Strickland of Ohio.

“Under no circumstances” will Sen. Jim Webb be a candidate for vice president alongside Barack Obama, the Virginia Democrat said Monday.

Webb, who was frequently named as a potential No. 2 pick, was seen as a compelling choice due to his battleground state geography and national security credentials.

But the freshman senator dashed any ideas that he would accept the running mate slot.

“Last week I communicated to Senator Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention to remain in the United States Senate, where I believe I am best equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country. Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for Vice President,” Webb said in a written statement.

Seems people know a sinking ship. Who would want to run alongside Obama? Obama has flip-flopped on so many issues even many of his most ardent supporters have started protest sites on his own campaign website's blog.

Obama Answers Army Times' Questions

2008-07-05T16:50:00.004-04:00

Coming this Monday is an in depth interview with the Army Times and associated military papers. From the Army Times:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he thinks his judgment would make him a better commander in chief than Republican rival Sen. John McCain, despite that McCain has more years of service in Washington and in the military.
In a Wednesday interview with Military Times on a wide range of defense and national security issues, the 46-year-old Obama, a freshman U.S. senator from Illinois, said he might not have McCain’s military experience or years in the Senate but “I believe that I have a better grasp of where we need to take the country, and how we should use the power of, again, not just our military, but all of our power in order to achieve American security.”
The interview will appear in issues of Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times on newsstands Monday morning. Video from the interview and a transcript also will be on the Military Times Web sites Monday morning.

This is going to be great! After I read the many flip flops coming from Obama's mouth the past few weeks this is going to be another great flip flop extravaganza!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

2008-07-04T09:08:00.003-04:00

I want to thank every one involved in making the United States the best country in the world to live. Let's ensure we have a pro-American President in the White House! Hillary Clinton!!!

There are several blogs involved in trying to retire Hillary's campaign debt. Please donate at their many links to retiring her debt. The blogs are No Quarter, Hillbuzz, etc ... You can also donate from my link to her home page contribution link!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

New General Election Polls

2008-07-03T23:32:00.003-04:00

Remember the Newsweek and Los Angeles Times polls that showed Obama up by 15 and 12 points respectively? Well ... the most recent polls show those polls to be outliers. Obama is up by an average of 5 points.

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
Gallup Tracking	06/30 - 07/02	2641 RV	47	43	Obama +4.0
Rasmussen Tracking	06/30 - 07/02	3000 LV	49	44	Obama +5.0
CNN	06/26 - 06/29	906 RV	50	45	Obama +5.0
Democracy Corps (D)	06/22 - 06/25	2000 LV	49	45	Obama +4.0
Time	06/19 - 06/25	805 RV	47	43	Obama +4.0
LA Times/Bloomberg	06/19 - 06/23	1115 RV	49	37	Obama +12.0
Franklin & Marshall	06/16 - 06/22	1501 RV	42	36	Obama +6.0

Obama is on the fast track to Loserville. My suspicions are that Obama's actual poll lead is a lot less and he might even be behind McCain. A lot of these polling outfits apply a different statistical model for party identification. Both Newsweek and LA Times had a much lower identification for Republican than the other agencies.

Of course the closer we get to Election Day the more accurate the polls should get. At least in theory they should.

Black Political Journal: Obama Tells Lies

2008-07-02T23:13:00.004-04:00

A columnist/blogger at the Black Agenda Report writes "News Flash: Obama Tells Lies." This is surprising coming from a block of the electorate that has overwhelmingly voted for Obama. The article originally appeared on Znet. From the article:

U.S. politicians lie. They lie a lot.

Oh, you knew that.

But try this one: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is no special exception to the rule. Beneath all his claims to represent a "new kind of politics," one based on honesty and transparency, he lies too. He does it a lot.

This is less well known.

Mr Street honestly presents the majority of Obama's lies and contradictions in a new light. We all know Obama lies and/or contradicts himself constantly for purely political gain. There is nothing new about or "fresh" about him. The "new politics" man exposed.

Obama is disproportionately funded by people from the top 1 percent of Americans, who own nearly 40 percent of the nation's wealth ands who account for more than 80 percent of campaign contributions above $250. Through April of 2008, the Campaign Finance Institute reports, Obama received more than $89 million in contributions of $1000 or more, just $8 million less than McCain's total take ($97.3 million).
According to the Center for Responsive Politics Obama's top contributors include Goldman Sachs (#1 at $571,000), UBSAG (#3 at $365,000), JP Morgan Chase (#4 at $362,000), Citigroup (#5 at $358,000), Lehman Bros. (#7 at 4319,000), Google (#8 at $318,000), multinational corporate law firm Sidley Austin LLP (#10 at $294,000)and nuclear energy powerhouse Exelon (#15 at $236,000}.

Obama's campaign finance comments are pretty damn disingenuous: not exactly the "straight shooter" talk he claims to represent.

The general election is only 4 months away and Obama is consistently only a few points ahead of McCain. In a year when anyone with a "D" next to their name should win in a landslide Obama just plods along. Election Day is looking like an upset win for McCain.

Left-Wing Fights Back on Obama's Own Website

2008-07-01T19:44:00.005-04:00

Well well well ... there seems to be a groundswell of independent thinking going on in Obama's own campaign website. MoveOn.org and the ACLU have started a group to protest Obama flip-flopping on the surveillance bill.

The group sprang up last Wednesday, amid criticism on the left from MoveOn.org and the American Civil Liberties Union that Obama was sliding to the center after pledging to take a stand on the issue. 500 supporters joined the group by Friday and membership grew tenfold over the weekend to more than 5,500 by Monday, making it the fifth largest group on the campaign’s networking page.

The group’s sudden popularity is sign of left-wing blowback at Obama’s perceived centrist tack for the general election and a suggestion of how fickle the grassroots internet community can be, even with the candidate they helped lift to the nomination.

The group sprang up last Wednesday, amid criticism on the left from MoveOn.org and the American Civil Liberties Union that Obama was sliding to the center after pledging to take a stand on the issue. 500 supporters joined the group by Friday and membership grew tenfold over the weekend to more than 5,500 by Monday, making it the fifth largest group on the campaign’s networking page.(WSJ)

Obama ... when your own sycophants start turning on you for flip-flopping you are in really big trouble!

Islam is the Best Remedy for the USA per Obama Blog Post?

2008-07-01T00:12:00.006-04:00

This is from a blogger on the my.barackobama.com website. Apparently the blogger claims Islam is the best solution to the problems of America. Does he want full conversion? Or does he/she want understanding. You decide.

Islam is the Real Solution for USA to be United and the Most Progressive Nation in the world.

America is the wonderful country and the mastermind of all the world class technologies ,whether it is biotechnology or information technology.The basic concept is always American.Being such a great country with such a great economy ,i failed to understand that why americans do not follow the real islam.I wish to tell and request all Americans that Islam is not the religion of Arabs but it is the religion of God as most of the Americans always finger the mistakes and hypocrisy of arabs and mix it with Islam.

Islam is not the religion of Bin Laden or King of any Arab world.Arabs and islam are seperate issues, Like you can see that Arabs never support Afghanistan and Kashmir but always cry for Palestine and Iraq which clearly indicates the differences in the races.
So if USA has problem with Palestenians or any Arab nation please do not term any other muslim nation as terrorists.Please

It is posted on a blog by Noor Ul Mushtaq but the real commenter is "unknown user." I knew there where radical elements on the official website but to advocate conversion in order to solve some problems? That is just crazy!

Obama Brand Declines in Battleground State: Florida

2008-06-30T22:58:00.003-04:00

The Obama brand has suffered a decline in favorability in the Sunshine State. According to a poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports on June 26, 2008, the Obama brand suffered a 7 point decline in 7 days: From Rasmussen:

McCain is now viewed favorably by 57% of Florida voters, a figure that has not changed since the previous survey. Obama is viewed favorably by 44%, reflecting a seven point decline in eight days. Even more dramatic is the fact that 40% of Florida voters have a Very Unfavorable opinion of Obama in the June 26 survey. That’s up from 29% eight days earlier before the debate over offshore drilling escalated.

Eighteen percent (18%) of Florida voters now have a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain, down from 21% in the previous survey.

And from the Unfavorability Ratings:

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	23%	27%
Somewhat Favorable	34%	17%
Somewhat Unfavorable	20%	13%
Very Unfavorable	18%	40%
Not Sure	4%	3%

The Obama brand has a 40% Very Unfavorable Rating in the poll. I have a suspicion that the recent oil-drilling debate has helped McCain and damaged Obama. Obama is opposed to oil drilling but the majority of Floridians are in favor of drilling off the coast of Florida.

The DNC should have stuck by Hillary. Hillary would have taken this state by at least 5 points.

Vandalism Strikes Orlando City Parking Lot

2008-06-29T18:57:00.003-04:00

Vandalism struck an Orlando City parking lot housing city vehicles mainly belonging to the Street Maintenance and the Orlando Utilities Commission. The media is breathlessly reporting that this was an "anti-Obama" attack but they fail to mention that John McCain was also attacked. The graffiti taggers painted messages anti-Obama messages on the vehicles. Although the media is reporting 60 vehicles had anti-Obama messages the real story is that only 3 vehicles had anti-Obama messages. Business cards were left by the taggers. Hillary Clinton had positive messages said about her on the cards. Let me see ... I wonder if this is the work of Obamabots, hard-right operatives, Hillary supporters or just plain thugs wanting to see their work in the media. My guess is that this is a group of thugs causing the damage. Hard-left thugs.

What one business card left at the scene said(I have kept the grammar and formatting from the card):

McCain
Old/Needs New Thinking
Obama
Not Ready
I Bet You've Gotten High
At Least "30" Times. How
Many Times Have You Snorted
Cocaine or Smoked it? Not Good
Why Haven't You Been Given a Lie Detector Test?
American Wants to Know!!
Obama Should You be The President? I Don't Think So
Hows About a 40 See Ya in The Hood
Legalize Marijuana/Stop Building Prisons
Don't Thank Me Now Thank Me Later ..........CR
Ps. This Should Be At Least a Free Ride Deal!!!
Or Maybe Someone Could Buy Me Some Gas

OK so somebody wants to legalize marijuana and stop building prisons? That sounds like the hard-left to me. The price of gas is mentioned in here too. The message is signed by "CR."

Alright Hillary supporters ... let's brace ourselves for the attacks against Hillary and us from the media and the Obamabots.

Obama Senior Policy Advisors Advocated for War with Iraq

2008-06-29T07:55:00.005-04:00

Update: The Obama Cultists obviously don't realize their Messiah has PNAC signatories like Ivo Daalder and Philip Gordon. I have linked to a search of blogs on the Obama site that links McCain advisers as PNAC signatories to the Iraq War. Did he forget about their Messiah's, The One with the Judgment to Lead, pro-war advocates on his staff?

The more I read about Obama and his advisers the more I am reminded we are in Bush II Land. Obama is the "anti-war" candidate? The Project for the New American Century states the following "fundamental propositions": "that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; and that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle. In short it means American Imperialism is good for America and the world.

Two of his PNAC-linked campaign advisors where in China to raise funds for Obama. Guests at the Bejing home of David Brooks, a Coca Cola executive in China, heard from two senior foreign policy fellows from the Brookings Institution who advise the Obama campaign, Ivo Daalder and Phil Gordon. Another event on June 19 also featured the campaign advisors in Shanghai hosted by Ted Hornbein, an executive a Richco, a company that manufactures electronic components for cell phones and the like.

Ivo Daalder and Phil Gordon were signatories to the now-defunct Project for the New American Century, the organization staffed by neoconservatives who where instrumental in guiding the United States into war with Saddam's Iraq. Where is the American Left's outrage with this?

Ivo Daalder contributed and signed the Statement on Post-War Iraq, March 19, 2003 and Second Statement on Post-War Iraq, March 28, 2008. An excerpt from the first Statement on Post-War Iraq states:

Although some of us have disagreed with the administration's handling of Iraq policy and others of us have agreed with it, we all join in supporting the military intervention in Iraq. The aim of UNSC Resolution 1441 was to give the Iraqi government a "final opportunity" to comply with all UN resolutions going back 12 years. The Iraqi government has demonstrably not complied. It is now time to act to remove Saddam Hussein and his regime from power.

Philip Gordon signed the Second Statement on Post-War Iraq, March 28, 2008. An excerpt from the Second Statement on Post War Iraq:

Administration of post-war Iraq should from the beginning include not only Americans but officials from those countries committed to our goals in Iraq. Bringing different nationalities into the administrative organization is important because it allows us to draw on the expertise others have acquired from their own previous peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts. It will also facilitate closer and more effective ties between the security forces in post-war Iraq and those charged with administrating the political and economic rebuilding of Iraq.

Because of men like these Obama campaign advisers who wanted and demanded that Bush start the war with Iraq we have lost 4113 American soldiers as of June 29, 2008 and Iraq has lost over 400,000 civilian men, women and children.

And now Obama has men who advocated for war with Iraq (and got it) as senior policy advisors? And he sends them abroad to China to raise funds for his campaign? Where is the outrage from his anti-war base? Vermont voted for Obama by 21% because of his "anti-war stance." Did the good people of Vermont know Obama has two Iraq War advocates on his staff? The Judgment to Lead slogan needs to be retired!

And Obama bashed Hillary over her Iraq War vote? Damn it Obama at least she didn't go out and say one thing and do another behind everyone's backs.

Clinton Delegate in Trouble for Obama Remark

2008-06-28T18:24:00.004-04:00

Debra Bartoshevich, a national delegate for Hillary, is still fighting attempts to strip her Democratic credentials from her. Wisconsin Democratic party chairman Joe Wineke said Friday he's confident Bartoshevich won't be at the national convention. Wineke said it's clear Bartoshevich violated party rules by failing to honor a pledge of intent to vote for the party's presidential ticket in the fall.

Wineke added that Bartoshevich would not have been chosen to be a delegate if people had known beforehand that she would vote for McCain if Obama were nominated. Is this even relevant? An American citizen has the right to vote for whomever they wish ... whether it is Hillary Clinton or John McCain.

The DNC is surely becoming the Gestapo of the American Left. They are demanding party loyalty in order to be included in a democratic convention? Why? Hillary Clinton is the best choice for candidate for Ms Bartoshevich and if her choice is not available then why not vote for John McCain? This is America .. but it is looking more like Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

Losing Ohio

2008-06-27T21:20:00.004-04:00

A newly released poll from one of the top ranked polling agencies shows Obama is in trouble in Ohio. Survey USA has Obama up by only 2 points basically a statistical tie.

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
SurveyUSA	06/20 - 06/22	580 LV	48	46	Obama +2.0
Rasmussen	06/17 - 06/17	500 LV	43	44	McCain +1.0
Quinnipiac	06/09 - 06/16	1396 LV	48	42	Obama +6.0
PPP (D)	06/14 - 06/15	733 LV	50	39	Obama +11.0

Much was made of a Quinnipiac and PPP poll but I suspect those are outliers. McCain's margin in the PPP poll is unrealistically low probably due to the margin given for party identification.

Obama Pandering on Death Penalty

2008-06-26T08:32:00.000-04:00

Obama pandering on the death penalty. The pandering is the easy part. We know Obama is going to do it. The fun part is trying to find out what and who he is pandering too. Obama stated that he disagrees with the Supreme Court's decision outlawing executions of people who rape children, a crime he said states have the right to consider for capital punishment. Obama stated:

"I have said repeatedly that I think that the death penalty should be applied in very narrow circumstances for the most egregious of crimes," Obama said at a news conference. "I think that the rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that that does not violate our Constitution."

But Obama opposed legislation making it easier to impose the death penalty for murders committed as part of gang activity. Obama argued the language was too vague and could be abused by authorities.

Obama has never rejected the death penalty entirely. He supported death sentences for killing volunteers in community policing programs and for particularly cruel murders of elderly people.

Obama is trying to have it both ways. He wants to pander to the pro-death penalty and anti-death penalty lobbies simultaneously. If he is not careful he is going to end up with a bad case of whiplash. Obama is trying to avoid the Dukakis pitfall wherein Michael Dukakis tripped up on a death penalty question and opened up an avenue of attack from the Republicans.

In trying to avoid an opening for Republicans to attack him on he is opening up to attacks from the left wing of the Democratic Party. The solidly "No to the Death Penalty in All Cases" crowd. This is what happens when you are as calculating a politician as Obama. Nobody knows exactly where you stand.

Obama up by 12 points? LA Times/Bloomberg Poll an Outlier

2008-06-25T20:23:00.003-04:00

A poll released by LA Times/Bloomberg shows Obama up by 12 points. This poll is also outside the normal range of polls released by two tracking agencies, Gallup and Rasmussen. Gallup has Obama and McCain tied at 45% and Rasmussen has Obama up by only 4 points. The polling accuracy of LA Times/Bloomberg is abysmal. LA Times/Bloomberg is rated at 22nd place out of 32 polling agencies.

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
Gallup Tracking	06/22 - 06/24	2600 RV	45	45	Tie
Rasmussen Tracking	06/22 - 06/24	3000 LV	49	45	Obama +4.0
LA Times/Bloomberg	06/19 - 06/23	1115 RV	49	37	Obama +12.0
Newsweek	06/18 - 06/19	896 RV	51	36	Obama +15.0
FOX News	06/17 - 06/18	900 RV	45	41	Obama +4.0
USA Today/Gallup	06/15 - 06/19	1310 LV	50	44	Obama +6.0

The two outlier polls are Newsweek and LA Times/Bloomberg. The other three polls are consistent with their findings. McCain's numbers on both the Newsweek and LA Times/Bloomberg are below 40%! That is impossible to believe.

Obama Campaign Made Unauthorized Bank Withdrawals?

2008-06-24T19:23:00.003-04:00

A caller, Richard Wagoner to the Bud Hedinger Show, originating in Orlando, FL, stated that three $15 withdrawals where made to his bank account without authorization. The money was supposedly withdrawn by the Obama campaign. The caller states he is NOT an Obama supporter and never had any relationship with the Obama campaign. The caller has never donated to Democrats in his life.

The call is linked here.

Mr Wagoner thinks it is not the Obama campaign but probably a phishing scam to either see if the bank account numbers are valid or to damage the Obama campaign politically.

Obama in Trouble in Four Blue States

2008-06-23T20:17:00.006-04:00

Obama is in trouble in four states that went for Kerry in 2004. The states are Oregon, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota. The polling agencies are two of the most reliable in the business as tracked by 538.com. Survey USA and Rasmussen Reports are ranked #2 and #3 respectively out of 32 polling agencies.

Oregon

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
SurveyUSA	06/17 - 06/19	547 LV	48	45	Obama +3.0
Rasmussen	06/11 - 06/11	500 LV	46	38	Obama +8.0

Pennsylvania

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
Rasmussen	06/22 - 06/22	1000 LV	46	42	Obama +4.0

Michigan

Poll	Date	Sample	McCain (R)	Obama (D)	Spread
Rasmussen	06/09 - 06/09	500 LV	42	45	Obama +3.0
SurveyUSA	05/27 - 05/27	529 RV	41	37	McCain +4.0

Minnesota

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
SurveyUSA	06/13 - 06/16	543 LV	47	46	Obama +1.0
Rasmussen	06/11 - 06/11	500 LV	52	39	Obama +13.0

Does anyone remember back in February when Obama the Messiah was touted by the media as the unbeatable One? The One who would sweep across America by storm? What happened? I laugh at the DNC and its rants about "Obama helping down-ticket races." More and more Democratic candidates competing for Republican seats and districts are moving away from Obama. The refrain is "Obama who?"

Obama Lied to Supporters to Opt Out of Public Financing

2008-06-22T11:15:00.000-04:00

Obama the liar. Is that such a revelation? On top of his Selma, Auschwitz and NAFTA lies here he actually lies to his own supporters in order to back out of his promise to accept public financing. Obama announced on June 19, 2008, that he was going to back out of public financing because the "McCain is fueled by money from lobbyists and PACs" and that he would be attacked by 527 groups aiding McCain's effort for the Presidency. He is lying on both claims. From the independent non-partisan organization Factcheck.org:

We find that to be a large exaggeration and a lame excuse. In fact, donations from PACs and lobbyists make up less than 1.7 percent of McCain's total receipts, and they account for only about 1.1 percent of the RNC's receipts.

Obama deliberately lies in his video to his supporters on why he is backing out of public financing. The real reason driving Obama to back out of public financing is this ... he found out he is in a better position financially if he goes after private funds rather than the $80 million limit imposed by public financing. So what about principles?

The second lie is about the so-called "527 groups" lurking out there waiting to pounce on him. He failed to mention that there are no "527 groups" organized right now to pounce on him. They don't exist! In a piece from Politico.com titled GOP Third-Party Effort Nonexistent:

Obama’s alarmist prophecy — a bit of typical campaign rhetoric meant to scare his own donors into reaching for their credit cards — is wildly at odds with the flatlined state of conservative third-party efforts.

The truth is that, less than five months before Election Day, there are no serious anti-Obama 527s in existence nor are there any immediate plans to create such a group.

Obama lies to every one including his own supporters to achieve his agenda. Obama has no principles at all. He will lie, he will use the race card, he will use whatever is at his disposal to win. McCain I fear is ill-prepared to deal with the dirt bag tactics the Obama campaign is using. On top of that I fear is McCain's refusal to engage Obama on his race-baiting tactics for fear of being called a racist. For the sake of America I hope McCain gets over his fears.

Obama by 15 Points? Newsweek Poll Outside Normal Range

2008-06-21T17:49:00.004-04:00

Obama by 15 points? I don't think so. The Newsweek is outside the normal range of a slew of polls released this past week. The two tracking polls, Gallup and Rasmussen, have Obama up by only 2 points and 5 points respectively. A USA Today/Gallup poll released on the same day has Obama up by 6 points.

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
USA Today/Gallup	06/15 - 06/19	1310 LV	50	44	Obama +6.0
Newsweek	06/18 - 06/19	896 RV	51	36	Obama +15.0
FOX News	06/17 - 06/18	900 RV	45	41	Obama +4.0
Gallup Tracking	06/17 - 06/20	2640 RV	46	44	Obama +2.0
Rasmussen Tracking	06/18 - 06/20	3000 LV	48	43	Obama +5.0
Reuters/Zogby	06/12 - 06/14	1113 LV	47	42	Obama +5.0
ABC News/Wash Post	06/12 - 06/15	--	49	45	Obama +4.0
Cook/RT Strategies	06/12 - 06/15	880 RV	44	40	Obama +4.0

The presidential race is still agonizingly close. Why? In a year when anyone with a "D" next to their name would win Obama still has not pulled ahead. McCain has been able to keep this a close race even though he has lagged behind in fund raising, media coverage and the all-important "hype."

The DNC would have been in a better position if they had gone with Hillary Clinton. The Messiah is in trouble ... really big trouble. We are looking at another razor-thin victory for whomever wins the Presidency. For Obama it would be a stinging defeat for McCain it would be an unexpected upset.

Obama Plans on Using Race Card Against McCain

2008-06-21T14:35:00.005-04:00

Obama used the race card so well against Hillary that now he plans on using it on McCain. At a fundraising dinner in Jackonville, FL on June 20, 2008, he warned donors that Republicans are waiting to use the issue of race against him in the general election to "scare" voters into voting for McCain. To use the words of pro-Obama talk show host Stephanie Miller "Not this time!" Obama's words at the dinner:

He said the choice in the election will be between hope, which he said he is offering, and fear, which is all the Republicans have, in his view.

“We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run,” Mr. Obama said. “They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?”

An article by Sean Wilentz amazingly chronicles how Obama used the race card against Bill and Hillary by twisting Bill's words "fairy tale", Hillary's "MLK comment" and other comments to strip away Hillary's overwhelming black support toward him. Both a complacent media aided him in his ugly endeavor and a DNC already choosing Obama as the nominee as said by Donna Brazile on Bill's "fairy tale" comment:

"For him to go after Obama using 'fairy tale,' calling him a 'kid,' as he did last week, it's an insult. And I tell you, as an African-American, I find his words and his tone to be very depressing."

OK so if you call someone a "kid" racist? Since when is Brazile such an expert on racist "tones?" Brazile, in a previous CNN segment, claimed that Bill saying "fairy tale" constituted racism. And the media? Media Matters exposed the now deceased Tim Russert's fabrication of "racism" against Bill and Hillary. Russert deliberately truncated Bill and Hillary's comments to aid Obama's effort to paint the Clintons as closet racists. Other media outlets were also guilty of this deliberate truncation including CNN, MSNBC and Fox News among the larger news organizations.

McCain have better be prepared for this assault on his integrity. The Obama campaign is dirty. They will use any trick, any media manipulation, anything at all to win. The same tricks they used against the Clintons will be used against McCain.

Jen Psaki, a traveling press aide, said she did not recall Mr. Obama using the “Did I mention he’s black?” line before. But she said he often says that Republicans often characterize him as “a black guy named Barack Obama.”

Remember McCain and Republicans. The Obama campaign is claiming you are saying “a black guy named Barack Obama.” Obama and his dirty campaign have already laid the race card groundwork. After extensive googling I have not come across any article or reference where Republicans have said that. The Obama campaign at its ugly, nasty, dirty best.

Obama: the Incredible Shrinking Fundraising Numbers

2008-06-21T13:14:00.008-04:00

UPDATE: McCain actually raised more ,money than Obama in May! Newly updated numbers released Saturday, June 21, 2008 show McCain bringing in 22.5 million while Obama brought in 21.9 million! The sweet irony is that this comes along while Obama announces he is opting out of the public financing system!

Obama, the "King of Fund raising", who has been celebrated ad nauseam for his incredible gift of bringing in the cash from "regular folks", seems to be losing the regular folks. The chart below tracks his fund raising from January through the latest month May.

	Obama	Hillary	McCain

January	36,000,000.00	13,500,000.00	10,000,000.00
February	55,000,000.00	35,000,000.00	11,000,000.00
March	40,000,000.00	20,000,000.00	15,000,000.00
April	31,000,000.00	22,000,000.00	18,000,000.00
May	22,000,000.00	16,000,000.00	21,500,000.00
Total	184,000,000.00	106,500,000.00	75,500,000.00

Obama had his peak fund raising month in February, at the highest point of his media enabled hype. Then when he should have been be ticking upward because of his "front runner" status he steadily slid downward in the money game. McCain on the other hand steadily raised more cash than his previous month.

Obama should have his highest numbers coming in June when Hillary Clinton dropped out of the presidential race. If he doesn't that is just another nail in the coffin of the DNC. In a year when any one running for President with a "D" next to their name should win Obama isn't even that "any one."

Obama: The New Polarizing Figure Part III of III

2008-06-20T17:12:00.005-04:00

Note: Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator was retooled by adding regressive analysis from 538.com. New Hampshire, Colorado and Ohio were listed as "Tossup" states when this series started but have now moved to "Leans Democrat" based on a "538 Average" and not a poll.

Part III of III centers on Obama's favorability/unfavorability ratings and how they might impact the general election. Part III begins with four states that are marked "Leans Democratic" on Rasmussen Reports State by State Balance of Power. These states are Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. For all the talk that Hillary was a polarizing figure mostly fed by an anti-Hillary media, that talk has apparently missed Obama where polls actually point out that Obama is more polarizing than Hillary or McCain. If numbers like the charts below where Hillary's you would constantly hear the media echo chamber spouting comments like

"Hillary is a polarizing figure. This is going to be trouble for the Democrats trying to gain the White House after 8 years. And more blah blah blah blah."

Obama's favorability/unfavorability ratings in states that are considered "Leans Democratic" on June 16, 2008 are listed in the chart below. (see note above) The information is from Rasmussen Reports:

Iowa

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	18%	32%
Somewhat Favorable	41%	26%
Somewhat Unfavorable	22%	15%
Very Unfavorable	16%	25%
Not Sure	3%	3%

Michigan

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	18%	30%
Somewhat Favorable	40%	24%
Somewhat Unfavorable	22%	20%
Very Unfavorable	16%	24%
Not Sure	4%	3%

New Mexico

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	14%	23%	33%
Somewhat Favorable	36%	26%	24%
Somewhat Unfavorable	25%	20%	18%
Very Unfavorable	21%	29%	23%
Not Sure	4%	2%	2%

Pennsylvania

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	12%	22%	30%
Somewhat Favorable	37%	30%	21%
Somewhat Unfavorable	26%	23%	19%
Very Unfavorable	21%	24%	29%
Not Sure	3%	1%	1%

Wisconsin

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	19%	30%
Somewhat Favorable	41%	25%
Somewhat Unfavorable	17%	19%
Very Unfavorable	20%	24%
Not Sure	3%	3%

Pennsylvania and New Mexico also list Hillary in the Favorability Ratings chart. New Mexico is the only state that has Obama at a lower Very Unfavorable rating than his competitors. Hillary's Very Unfavorable rating is at 29% while Obama is at 23% Very Unfavorable but yet McCain's Very Unfavorable rating is lower at 21%.

In Iowa, Michiga, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin follow the trend of the other states covered in Part I and Part II. Obama has higher Very Unfavorable ratings compared to McCain. Obama also has higher Very Favorable ratings than McCain. Again the same trends that we saw in the "Tossup" and "Leans GOP" states again reveal themselves in these states. Obama is the quintessential polarizing figure in contrast to the fawning media coverage of him being a "uniter."

Obama: The New Polarizing Figure Part II of III

2008-06-19T23:06:00.005-04:00

Part II of III centers on Obama's favorability/unfavorability ratings and how they might impact the general election. Part II begins with four states that are marked "Leans GOP" on Rasmussen Reports State by State Balance of Power. These states are Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia. For all the talk that Hillary was a polarizing figure mostly fed by an anti-Hillary media, that talk has apparently missed Obama where polls actually point out that Obama is more polarizing than Hillary or McCain. If numbers like the charts below where Hillary's you would constantly hear the media echo chamber spouting comments like

"Hillary is a polarizing figure. This is going to be trouble for the Democrats trying to gain the White House after 8 years. And more blah blah blah blah."

Obama's favorability/unfavorability ratings in states that are considered "Leans GOP" on June 16, 2008 are listed in the chart below. The information is from Rasmussen Reports:

Missouri

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	17%	25%
Somewhat Favorable	38%	23%
Somewhat Unfavorable	26%	17%
Very Unfavorable	17%	32%
Not Sure	2%	2%

Florida

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	21%	22%	27%
Somewhat Favorable	29%	31%	21%
Somewhat Unfavorable	25%	21%	16%
Very Unfavorable	21%	23%	33%
Not Sure	4%	3%	2%

North Carolina

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	18%	33%
Somewhat Favorable	37%	16%
Somewhat Unfavorable	25%	16%
Very Unfavorable	17%	34%
Not Sure	3%	1%

Virginia

	McCain	Obama
Very Favorable	23%	33%
Somewhat Favorable	36%	21%
Somewhat Unfavorable	20%	16%
Very Unfavorable	17%	28%

Florida is the only state where Hillary is also listed in the Favorability Ratings chart. Hillary and McCain are basically tied in the Very Unfavorable category at 23% and 21% respectively. Obama is at a whopping 33% Very Unfavorable.

In Virginia, North Carolina and Missouri Obama also higher Very Unfavorable ratings compared to McCain. Obama also has higher Very Favorable ratings than McCain. Again the same trends that we saw in the Tossup states again reveal themselves in these states. Obama is the quintessential polarizing figure.

The DNC won't Unsubscribe on Demand

2008-06-18T21:42:00.005-04:00

The DNC continues to send me emails extolling the virtues of uniting behind Obama, donating to Obama and the DNC and an audacious request from David Plouffe of the Obama campaign asking me to "join the movement." What is the problem? I unsubscribed from the DNC's email list the day Hillary suspended her campaign June 7, 2008 and I am still receiving email from the DNC. The DNC should be in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 in regards to this:

It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages to that email address, and you must honor the requests. You may create a "menu" of choices to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to end any commercial messages from the sender.

Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email. When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email to the requestor's email address. You cannot help another entity send email to that address, or have another entity send email on your behalf to that address. Finally, it's illegal for you to sell or transfer the email addresses of people who choose not to receive your email, even in the form of a mailing list, unless you transfer the addresses so another entity can comply with the law.

Each violation of the above provisions is subject to fines of up to $11,000. I am upset by this. Not only was Hillary forced out by the "good ole boy" network at the DNC to let the "golden boy" lead the charge to take the White House but now the DNC is ignoring my requests to stop sending me email. Is there any one at the DNC listening? I have been waiting for a four-digit code I am supposed to receive to "confirm" my request to be removed from the email list but I have not received it. I also check my spam folder and nothing.

The DNC has sunk to a new low. They are deliberately refusing to unsubscribe people who request it. These people are Hillary Democrats for the most part. What do they think they gain by this? That we will just let it happen and sit back? Howard I am waiting for my 4 digit code!

Obama: The New Polarizing Figure Part I of III

2008-06-17T08:46:00.004-04:00

This is Part I of III centering on Obama's favorability/unfavorability ratings and how they might impact the general election. Part I begins with four states that are marked "Tossups" on Rasmussen Reports State by State Balance of Power. The states are New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Colorado. For all the talk that Hillary was a polarizing figure mostly fed by an anti-Hillary media, that talk has apparently missed Obama where polls actually point out that Obama is more polarizing than Hillary or McCain. If numbers like the charts below where Hillary's you would constantly hear the media echo chamber spouting comments like

"Hillary is a polarizing figure. This is going to be trouble for the Democrats trying to gain the White House after 8 years. And more blah blah blah blah."

Obama's favorability/unfavorability ratings in states that are considered Tossups on June 16, 2008 are listed in the chart below. The information is from Rasmussen Reports:

New Hampshire

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	16%	27%	30%
Somewhat Favorable	39%	27%	26%
Somewhat Unfavorable	24%	21%	16%
Very Unfavorable	20%	24%	26%
Not Sure	2%	1%	1%

Nevada

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	15%	20%	28%
Somewhat Favorable	38%	26%	19%
Somewhat Unfavorable	26%	22%	18%
Very Unfavorable	19%	31%	35%
Not Sure	2%	1%	1%

Ohio

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	17%	27%	23%
Somewhat Favorable	36%	26%	24%
Somewhat Unfavorable	23%	21%	18%
Very Unfavorable	22%	25%	34%
Not Sure	3%	1%	1%

Colorado

	McCain	Clinton	Obama
Very Favorable	12%	15%	32%
Somewhat Favorable	39%	29%	23%
Somewhat Unfavorable	28%	24%	16%
Very Unfavorable	20%	32%	29%
Not Sure	1%	1%	1%

Obama's Very Unfavorable ratings are a whopping 35% in Nevada and 34% in Ohio. In contrast Hillary's Very Unfavorable ratings are lower than Obama's at 31% and 25% respectively. McCain has the least Very Unfavorable ratings. Except for Colorado where Hillary's Very Unfavorable ratings are at 3 points higher than Obama's, he pretty much owns the cellar called Very Unfavorable in these states. Since his Very Favorable ratings are also higher than his competitors Obama is the quintessential polarizing figure. You either really love him or really hate him.

In Nevada and Ohio Obama's unfavorability ratings are higher than his favorability ratings. Unless he improves his favorability standings in these two states it does not seem likely that he will win these states in the fall. Nevada is one of those pesky states where Hillary beats McCain 46% to 41% but McCain beats Obama 46% to 40%. Ohio is another state where Hillary beats McCain 50% to 43% but McCain basically ties with Obama 45% to 44%. Another example of the stupidity of the DNC in selecting Obama instead of the sure thing ... Hillary Clinton.

The Kyle Effect: Arkansas Voters and Obama

2008-06-16T08:38:00.000-04:00

I continue to explore the "Kyle Effect" and today I cover Arkansas. The "Kyle Effect" is the percentage of support Obama loses in a general election match up with McCain as compared to a general election match up between Hillary and McCain. I want to point out the train wreck the DNC is heading toward this fall because of its idiocy in choosing the weaker candidate, Obama, instead of the strongest candidate, Hillary Clinton. From a Rasmussen Reports poll taken on June 12, 2008 we see this:

Arkansas Trends: McCain vs. Obama
Date	McCain	Obama
6/12/2008	48%	39%
5/12/2008	57%	33%
3/18/2008	59%	30%

Arkansas Trends: McCain vs. Clinton
Date	McCain	Clinton
5/12/2008	39%	53%
3/18/2008	50%	43%

The poll was taken after Hillary dropped out of the race and leaving the Democratic general election campaign to Obama.The headline states breathlessly "Arkansas: Clinton Supporters Help Pull Obama Within Single Digits" Well ... it seems Obama did pick up some of Hillary's supporters but he gained only 6 points while McCain lost 9 points. The more logical conclusion would be that he lost some Republican voters after a string of anti-McCain media events by the right-wing press and gained a portion of Hillary supporters. Obama is also viewed unfavorably by a majority of Arkansas voters. He polls at a dismal 54% unfavorable rating.

The Kyle Effect in Arkansas also reveals that Arkansas would be a blue state in November if Hillary Clinton is the nominee but would be a Democratic loss if Obama is the nominee. The Kyle Effect is 24 points in Arkansas! This is the largest Kyle Effect spread yet. The impact is bigger in Arkansas than anywhere else due to her lengthy tenure as the state’s First Lady. To put it plainly, if Obama is the nominee we lose Arkansas to McCain. I will continue to follow the trends but this does not bode well for Obama. Although Obama is doing much better than the previous poll on Arkansas he is not substantially picking up the support of those Arkansas voters who choose Hillary in a match up with McCain.

FL Democratic Congressmen Refuse to Endorse Obama

2008-06-15T08:00:00.010-04:00

Here comes another in I think will be a coming long list of Democratic congressmen and leaders who have refused to endorse Obama for President. In a June 11, 2008 article that appeared in the Fort Myers - Southwest Florida News-Press, Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., a leader of the conservative Blue Dog caucus in Congress, said today he will vote for Sen. Barack Obama but shied away from endorsing his party’s candidate for president. Rep Boyd said he will not vote for McCain and stated, “I have never endorsed a candidate in a presidential race and I won’t now,” Boyd said in an interview. “I’ve got a race of my own and I’ll stay focused on that. That’s my job, to represent the interests of my folks.” Rep Boyd is following in Democratic Congressman Rep. David Boren's of OK footsteps.

Another Florida Democratic Congressman, Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., a first-term member targeted by Republicans in a GOP-leaning district, said he will remain an uncommitted “superdelegate” but might not attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Rep Mahoney understands that endorsing Obama is probably the "kiss of death" for his campaign so he is deciding to play it safe.

It seems that the newest "unity" candidate, the other being presidential candidate and now President Bush when he ran in 2000, cannot unify the Democratic Party. The DNC sure knows how to select a winner. "Hey DNC go with the sure thing this time ... Hillary Clinton!"

The Kyle Effect: Florida Voters and Obama

2008-06-14T07:22:00.001-04:00

I continue to explore the "Kyle Effect" and today I cover Florida. The "Kyle Effect" is the percentage of support Obama loses in a general election match up with McCain as compared to a general election match up between Hillary and McCain. I want to point out the train wreck the DNC is heading toward this fall because of its idiocy in choosing the weaker candidate, Obama, instead of the strongest candidate, Hillary Clinton. From a Rasmussen Reports poll taken on May 19, 2008 we see this:

Florida Trends: McCain vs. Obama
Date	McCain	Obama
05/19/2008	50%	40%
04/10/2008	53%	38%
03/12/2008	47%	43%
02/16/2008	53%	37%

Florida Trends: McCain vs. Clinton
Date	McCain	Clinton
05/19/2008	41%	47%
04/10/2008	44%	45%
03/12/2008	47%	40%
02/16/2008	49%	43%

The Kyle Effect is also very pronounced in Florida. Hillary beats McCain by 6 percentage points but Obama loses to McCain by 10 percentage points. The Kyle Effect is 16 points in Florida. To put it plainly, if Obama is the nominee there is a very large group of Hillary supporters who say at this time that they will switch to McCain or not vote at all. This time though the Kyle Effect projects that Democrats win Florida in the fall if Hillary is the nominee or lose Florida in the fall if Obama is the nominee! Of course I will continue to follow the trends but this does not bode well for Obama. Obama is not substantially picking up the support of those Florida voters who choose Hillary in a match up with McCain.

The Rasmussen poll is also backed by a poll taken by Quinnipiac University on May 13 through May 20, 2008. Clinton tops McCain 48 - 41 percent and McCain beats Obama 45 - 41 percent. More than a third of Hillary supporters say they will back McCain against Obama. Now you might wonder why the DNC is still running full steam into a train wreck? It's the Democratic Party that's why.

I will continue to do provide updates on the Florida Kyle Effect as the general election season progresses. I'm interested to see if and how many Hillary supporters decide to vote for Obama or vote for McCain. At this time Florida would be solidly in the blue column but because of the "good ole boy" network at the DNC Florida remains solidly in the red column.

The Kyle Effect: Massachussetts Voters and Obama

2008-06-13T17:55:00.001-04:00

I'm exploring the "Kyle Effect" in a series starting with Massachussetts. The "Kyle Effect" is the percentage of support Obama loses in a general election match up with McCain as compared to a general election match up between Hillary and McCain. I want to point out the train wreck the DNC is heading toward this fall because of it's idiocy in choosing the weaker candidate, Obama, instead of the strongest candidate, Hillary Clinton. From a Rasmussen Reports poll taken on May 29, 2008 we see this:

Massachusetts Trends: McCain vs. Clinton

Date	McCain	Clinton
05/29/2008	30%	60%
04/22/2008	36%	55%
03/18/2008	35%	54%

Massachusetts Trends: McCain vs. Obama
Date	McCain	Obama
05/29/2008	38%	51%
04/22/2008	39%	51%
03/18/2008	42%	49%

The Kyle Effect is very pronounced in Massachussetts. Hillary beats McCain by 30 percentage points but Obama beats McCain by only 13 percentage points. The Kyle Effect is 17 points in Massachussetts. To put it plainly, if Obama is the nominee there is a very large group of Hillary supporters who say at this time that they will switch to McCain or not vote at all. Of course I will continue to follow the trends but this does not bode well for Obama. Obama, as the presumptive nominee, should have been locking this up at the time the poll was taken. Instead, Hillary, who everyone in the media had declared "the loser", is way ahead in a general election match up with McCain? Another danger sign for Obama is that he barely polls above 51%. In a dark blue state he barely polls above 51%?

In a Suffolk/7News poll taken from June 8 through Jun 10, 2008 Obama also barely polls above 50%. This poll has him at 53% but McCain at 30%. I suspect McCain's support in this poll is probably a lot larger than it ascribes to him. The most interesting point of this poll is that a full 20% of voters who voted for Hillary in MA's primary WILL NOT vote for Obama while another 26% of those who said they voted for Hillary in the MA primary ARE UNDECIDED! This poll does not place Hillary as a choice for President so the Kyle Effect cannot be accurately tallied but with a full 46% of Hillary supporters either not voting for Obama or still undecided about voting for him it means that Obama is struggling to win over Hillary supporters in Massachussetts.

I will continue to do provide updates on Massachussetts and the Kyle Effect as the general election season progresses. I'm interested to see if and how many Hillary supporters decide to vote for Obama or vote for McCain. At this time and with the right vice presidential running mate for McCain (former MA governor Mitt Romney?) Massachussetts could very well be a red state come this fall because of the DNC's push to get Obama selected as the nominee instead of choosing the best general election candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Declares her Presidential Run

2008-06-12T18:24:00.005-04:00

I have been so angry and busy getting this blog up on the web that I've forgotten to pay homage to the woman I admire. I am still in mourning and there is a big part of me that hopes the "Michelle Whitey Video" appears early enough for Hillary to mount a challenge at the convention. If it is as devastating as it is rumored to be then Hillary would have plenty of reason to fight at the convention for the nomination. There is no way any smart Democrat would vote to nominate a man whose wife is moon-bat crazy and racist. I am going to save my disgust with MO for another post.

I decided to play her "I'm in It" speech where she declared her entrance into the race. I loved it! She brought me back to the good old days. Hillary was and still is the best candidate we have for President of the United States. And I'm including EVERYONE that declared and ran. Including that back-stabber Bill Richardson. I just had to get that "back-stabber" comment in. Because it's true. Well here is Hillary announcing her entrance into the presidential race. The first woman who won a presidential primary (New Hamphire) and fought against the media love fest with Obama, sexism, ridicule, etc ... and emerged from the primaries running stronger than Obama. See my post "Don't feel sorry for Hillary Stephanie."

Gallup: Obama Running as Strongly as Clinton w/Women?

2008-06-11T22:29:00.001-04:00

Gallup released this poll on June 11, 2008. Since Hillary Clinton decided to concede the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama last week, Obama has established a lead over Republican John McCain in general-election polling. Obama's gains have come more from women than men, though he has picked up among both groups in recent days.

I have my doubts about this poll. First is that Gallup is using the "registered voters" class not the more accurate "likely voters" class. Past polling history has revealed that registered voters do not vote in higher numbers than likely voters. The "registered voters" class include everyone who is registered to vote but historically does not exclude voters who rarely vote. The "likely voters" class includes only those voters found by the polling agency to vote for certain. This designation makes the poll much more accurate. Therefore if a poll's methodology is using "registered voters" I find the poll to be inaccurate. The only other class that does worse in polling is "adults." Polls that use this designation might as well be ignored. The "adults" class polls everyone including people not registered to vote.

Second Gallup has been very inaccurate in predicting polls. This graph is an excellent source of the performance of polling agencies this year. Gallup is ranked 29 out of 32 polling agencies!

The long running "pollster introduced error" graph has Gallup ranked 30 out of 32! With a polling history like this I wouldn't trust a poll from Gallup too much.

Since this is on June 11 we still have a long way to go. I do believe Obama has enjoyed a small post-primary bump since Hillary conceded the primary race but I predict McCain will win the majority of Hillary's women in the general election.

Ed Schultz: Another Tool doing Obama's Dirty Work

2008-06-10T20:15:00.001-04:00

Ed Schultz is another liberal talk show host doing Obama's dirty work. On May 3, 2008 he breathlessly reported on the infamous "Mickey Kantor Racist Video." He declared quite authoritatively that the video "did not sound doctored to me" and pushed it as a window into Hillary's "dark campaign." Oh really? When did you become such an authority on authenticating video and audio recordings Ed? Ed continued to chastise the Clinton campaign for their "racist rant" against poor white people in Indiana.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, the "Mickey Kantor Racist Video" is the doctored video spread by Obama supporter Eric Shmeltzer to the media. While we can't know for sure if it was doctored by Schmeltzer, we do know that the video was posted on several outlets like YouTube, IReport and other sites by Obama trolls wanting to hurt Hillary's chances in Indiana. The doctoring occurred in a scene in 1992 documentary "The War Room" where Mickey was doctored to say "Those worthless white n*ggers!" to Indiana voters.

Really nice Ed. You jumped on this and reported it as true. The liberal talk radio circuit is just as bad as the right-wing talk radio circuit when it comes to reporting the truth. In other words, no truth. Ed's motive has always been to get Obama nominated and if it means reporting lies about Hillary he WILL Do it.

Here are a few sample comments left on MSNBC's website about this doctored video from Obama trolls pushing it as "truth." http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/02/972175.aspx

And then he calls them wortheless white ni**ers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN_nQOHj__s

ITS APPALLING!

Christina, FL (Sent Friday, May 02, 2008 11:34 AM)

Wake Up Indiana.

Hillary doesn't care about you. She only wants your votes and then you won't hear from her again until the next time She NEEDS something.

It's all about Hillary and Bill. They are not about you.

Jim F., Greensboro, NC (Sent Friday, May 02, 2008 11:34 AM)

SHAME ON YOU HILLARY FOR HAVING THIS MAN ON YOUR STAFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NANDO (Sent Friday, May 02, 2008 11:33 AM)

For all the rantings that Obama and his campaign have leveled against Hillary they stayed quiet on this controversy. They didn't even admonish their supporters for pushing this video to any media that would report on it. But then again why would they? The Obama Campaign is dirty and they have dirty talk show hosts like Ed Schultz to push along their dirty tricks to the American public.

Don't feel "sorry for Hillary" Stephanie

2008-06-09T18:09:00.002-04:00

On February 20, 2008, pro-Obama liberal talk show host Stephanie Miller announced on her show's opening segment that "Today is the day I officially feel sorry for Hillary." I had just returned the day before from Los Angeles, CA and I thought "damn!" Hillary had just lost 10 primaries and caucuses in a row and even I started to wonder whether she could pull it off. Stephanie was announcing (and gloating) to her audience that it was pretty much impossible for Hillary to continue. The talk on her show that day dealt with "why she is still continuing?" and when she would drop out.

Well Stephanie ... don't feel sorry for Hillary. You should feel sorry for yourself when Obama loses the general election. From Stephanie Miller's fateful remarks that day to the last primaries on June 3, 2008, Hillary "kicked Obama's ass!"

Starting with the primaries on March 4, 2008 and ending with the primaries on June 3, 2008 Hillary received 6,969,364 votes to Obama's 6,366,144 votes. She received 603,220 votes more than Obama! Wait! I thought it was hopeless for her to continue Stephanie? I thought she was being "narcissistic" for her to continue. The chosen "golden boy" of the "good ole boy" network at the DNC couldn't beat Hillary! From Realclearpolitics.com and CNN Election Center.

The breakdown: Obama is the first column and Clinton is the second

Montana	06/03	102,479	56.4%	74,990	41.3%
South Dakota	06/03	43,726	44.7%	54,179	55.3%
Puerto Rico	06/01	121,458	31.6%	263,120	68.4%
Oregon	05/20	372,072	58.6%	258,066	40.6%
Kentucky	05/20	209,903	29.9%	459,210	65.5%
West Virginia	05/13	91,652	25.7%	239,062	67.0%
North Carolina	05/06	887,391	56.1%	657,669	41.6%
Indiana	05/06	632,035	49.4%	646,233	50.6%
Guam	05/03	2,264	50.1%	2,257	49.9%
Pennsylvania	04/22	1,046,822	45.4%	1,260,937	54.6%
Mississippi	03/11	265,502	61.2%	159,221	36.7%
Wyoming	03/08	5,378	61.4%	3,311	37.8%
Texas	03/04	1,362,476	47.4%	1,462,734	50.9%
Ohio	03/04	1,055,769	44.8%	1,259,620	53.5%
Rhode Island	03/04	75,316	40.4%	108,949	58.4%
Vermont	03/04	91,901	59.3%	59,806	38.6%

She also won more states! She won 9 states to Obama's 7 states. And the delegate breakdown:

Hillary 509
Obama 472

So Stephanie and the DNC ... you all decide to go for the guy who was losing instead of winning? When has the supposed "presumptive nominee" lost the final contests? Apparently these questions were not asked among those who view Obam as the Second Coming of Christ. Leave it to the Democratic party elite to choose the weakest candidate to lead the charge to take the White House.

Howard Dean wants "Unity"

2008-06-08T14:40:00.001-04:00

I received this email from Howard Dean not even a few hours after Hillary Clinton gave her best speech ever. He wants us to "unite" for the Democratic Party. "Unite?" It was Howard Dean who disenfranchised Florida Democrats. It was Howard Dean and the Obama Campaign who kept us Democratic voters from having a re-vote for Florida. He conveniently wants us to forget about that?

___________________________________________________________________

Dear Adela,

We've just finished the most exciting primary contest in a generation, and Barack Obama is our presumptive nominee for President.

Senator Clinton ran an outstanding campaign and we all should be deeply thankful for the passion, energy, and ideas that defined her from the start. Our country and our Party are better off today because the incredible amount of work she and her supporters put into her campaign. We thank Hillary for her leadership, her commitment to America and the Democratic Party.

It can be tough to lose a hard-fought race -- I know, because I've been there. But no matter who you supported, you're part of a bigger family -- one that shares the same hopes, values, and dreams. This campaign is so much more than any of us or any candidate. It's about the future of our country, and our collective desire to take it back for the people who make it great.

Over the next few weeks and months, our family will reunite. It starts today, and I'm asking for your help. Reach out to your friends and family, your neighbors and coworkers, and anyone else who may have fought hard for what they believed in. Bring them in and remind them that we're a family -- that together, we can bring about fundamental change and elect a Democratic president.

We have to be unified if we're going to bring universal health care to America's families, to help fight global climate change, to ensure a woman's right to make her own medical decisions, and to end the war in Iraq.

We have to be unified if we're going to put a Democrat back in the White House.

Over the past few years, we've all been part of the work to rebuild the Democratic Party in all 50 states.

When the primary came around, we found ourselves with two once-in-a-lifetime candidates. Barack and Hillary crossed the country inspiring activists, building organizations, and registering new voters. In state after state, we saw record turnout that dwarfed the Republican's; we saw hundreds of thousands of Americans become involved with a Democratic campaign for the first time; and millions of voters saw just how passionately we feel about the future of our country.

After years of rebuilding and a historic primary campaign, our Democratic community is stronger than ever before. And with Barack Obama, we have a candidate who has inspired millions of people to believe again.

But change doesn't come easily -- and no matter how much we've prepared, no matter how inspiring our candidate, no matter how badly we want it to happen, we have to fight for it every step of the way. Absolutely nothing will be handed to us over the next five months -- we have to do everything we can to make sure Barack Obama is our next President.

We've just seen two brilliant candidates run the most exciting primary in decades. Now we need to come together and finish the job.

I'm looking forward to it.

Howard Dean

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I sent the Democratic Party a message on June 4. I re-registered as a Republican to protest the disenfranchisement of Florida voters and for forcing the best candidate for President, Hillary Clinton, out of the presidential race to make room for the DNC's chosen "golden kid," Barack Obama.