Tag: Barack Obama (page 54)

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will compete in three states today and one tomorrow. Today's states are:

• Louisiana (primary -- Obama heavily favored to win due to the large, 32% African-American vote)

• Washington State (caucus, but weird rules, as they have a primary next week. Only the caucus votes count.) The New York Times says this is the race to watch today. Hillary has the support of the both the states' Senators, while Obama has the support of the Governor. All three are female.

• Nebraska (caucus, Obama favored to win.)

On Sunday, Maine holds caucuses. Hillary is expected to do well there, even though caucuses usually favor Obama.

The total at stake: 161 delegates in Washington, Louisiana, Nebraska and the Virgin Islands and 24 delegates in Maine.

An Obama sweep today does not mean Hillary is out of the race -- her campaign is expecting a big Obama win and concentrating instead on the big states of Ohio and Texas which vote in early March. [More]

They clearly have become brainwashed automatons, worshipping hype and ignoring a plain lack of substance.

Their statements of adoration for a David Koresh-type figure below the fold.

The New York Times has posted California's distribution of delegates from the Super Tuesday primary.

• Hillary 207
• Obama 163

NBC's Keith Olbermann and Dan Abrams tonight said Obama has a total of 861 delegates while Hillary has 855.

The New York Times says Hillary is ahead with 904 to Obama's 724.

That's a big discrepancy between NBC and the Times. Several of the states Obama won haven't yet awarded delegates according to the Times which may account for Obama's low total number. But, Hillary still has more from the Times than from NBC. Anyone know why?

As to how the Times counts delegates:

Many news organizations include delegate projections in their counts that are based on nonbinding votes for candidate preference, such as the Iowa caucuses. The New York Times counts only delegates that have been officially selected and are bound by their preferences.

To make things even more confusing, here's the San Jose Mercury News saying Hillary has 1000 to Obama's 902.

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one a bit turned off by the messianic fervor Barack Obama is generating. Jake Tapper at ABC News lists a few others.

Katherine Greier at TPM Cafe, an Obama supporter, writes:

"Excuse me, but this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign. The language used here is the language of evangelical Christianity – the Obama volunteers speak of 'coming to Obama' in the same way born-again Christians talk about 'coming to Jesus.'...So I say, we should all get a grip, stop all this unseemly mooning over Barack, see him and the political landscape he is a part of in a cooler, clearer, and more realistic light, and get to work."

Joe Klein at Time Magazine points out the Obama gap between inspiration and substance:

More...

The New York Times analyzes Super Tuesday and concludes the "movement" and fervor that has become the hallmark of the Barack Obama presidential campaign fell short. Not that it petered out, just that as in New Hampshire, it failed to meet expectations.

One telling sign: Last minute voters tended to go for Hillary.

Throughout a week when Mr. Obama was campaigning with members of the Kennedy family, when there was a sense that he was creating a movement that cut across racial and generational lines, there was a steady movement of Democrats toward Mr. Obama, the survey suggested. But those who reported making their decision on the last day bucked the trend, tending to vote for Mrs. Clinton, of New York.

What it may mean: The fervor for Obama may not translate into votes. [More...]

The AP reports:

At a rally in Chicago, Obama delivered a swipe at Clinton, telling supporters the race was between him and a candidate who accepts money from "special interests in Washington."

During her speech tonight to supporters in New York, Clinton struck a different tone, congratulating Obama on his victories.

"I look forward to our campaigns and our debates about how to leave this country better for the next generation," she told supporters who cheered her.

More...

USA Today/Gallup, CBS/New York Times and McClatchey/MSNBC have new polling results. The full CBS Democratic poll is here (pdf).

Nationally, Hillary and Obama are close to being tied. CBS says Hillary is substantially ahead in the Super Tuesday states:

Among voters in those states, she leads Obama, 49 percent to 31 percent, with 16 percent still undecided.

Clinton also holds a big edge on the issue of most concern to Democratic voters: the economy. Nearly 60 percent say she would do a better job of managing the economy than Obama. However, more than two-thirds of Democratic voters see the policy differences between the two candidates as minor.

McClatchy-MSNBC polled 9 states, and found Hillary ahead in all but Georgia. (Remember the maps showing the Florida counties won by Obama? All 9 were in the most northern part of the state, 7 bordered on Georgia and 1 on Alabama.)

More...

The New York Times recently endorsed Hillary Clinton. Newsday and the New York Daily News do the same. From Newsday:

Obama presents an inspiring vision of how the nation can heal its polarizing partisanship. Clinton brings proven experience and knowledge to accomplish that goal. Democrats engaged in this election have distilled this argument down to a simple but essential question: Do you choose with your heart or your head?

It's a difficult decision, but in the end, we choose experience. Clinton has been an outstanding senator for this state and this Island. She's intelligent, hard-working, tough, passionate and has an enthusiasm for the important nuances of complex policy. Newsday endorses Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. ...While both are strong candidates, Clinton is better prepared to deal with the challenges the next president will confront.

When Hillary ran for Senate in 2000, the paper says it was "skeptical" and endorsed her Republican opponent. Now, it says,

The New York Times examines Barack Obama's record on nuclear leaks legislation in the Senate.

The background: Exelon Corp. did not disclose some nuclear leaks in Illinois. Residents in Ill. were upset. Obama introduced a bill to help them.

Mr. Obama scolded Exelon and federal regulators for inaction and introduced a bill to require all plant owners to notify state and local authorities immediately of even small leaks. He has boasted of it on the campaign trail, telling a crowd in Iowa in December that it was “the only nuclear legislation that I’ve passed.”

The Times reports, that's not quite true. [More...]

During the October 30, 2007 presidential debate, Barack Obama raised his hand to say said he opposed decriminalizing marijuna.

In 2004, he supported it. Video here.

"I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws," Mr. Obama said during a debate at Northwestern University. "But I'm not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana.

So, which is it?

When confronted with the statements on the video, Obama's campaign offered two explanations to The Times in less than 24 hours. At first, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the candidate had "always" supported decriminalizing marijuana, suggesting that his 2004 statement was correct. Then after The Times posted copies of the video on its Web site yesterday, his campaign reversed course and declared he does not support eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana possession and use.

He flip-flopped the wrong way.

Update: John Amato of Crooks and Liars, Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo and Arianna Huffington are on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann. Amato was impartial, Marshall said he gave it slightly to Obama.

Arianna mentioned the two lines I thought stood out the most that I mentioned in the live thread -- Hillary saying it took a Clinton to get the first Bush out of the White House and it will take another Clinton to get the second Bush out -- and Obama saying, in conceding Hillary would be ready to lead on Day one , that it's just as important to be right on day one as ready on day one.

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Original Post

Wow. What a change from last month. They hugged, laughed and congratulated each other.

Both did a great job. I think it was Obama's best debate yet. Hillary did well and was really up on the issues. What did you think?

Live Blog below the fold, online now.

I'll be starting about 7:45 pm ET. You can comment same as always in the comment section and live blog there yourselves and/or you can send me live messages through the software.

I'll put up some polls to see how you think they are doing.

I'm really curious to see how Hillary and Obama treat each other. Their position on issues is similar.

What do you expect to see tonight? Will sparks fly, will either distort the record of the other or will they keep it cordial?