Saturday, February 9, 2008

Hillary’s Dilemma

It is being reported that Clinton may pull out of a MSNBC scheduled debate because of comments made by commentator David Shuster suggesting that the Clinton campaign had "pimped out" her daughter Chelsea by having her place phone calls to celebrities and Democratic Party "superdelegates" on her mother's behalf.
This follows the comment by Chris Matthews, another MCNBC anchor, that suggested her political career had been made possible by her husband's philandering.
Is pulling out of the debate the proper way to react? Everyone agrees the comments are tasteless.
Exit polls consistently show she wins the white female vote and loses the white male vote to Obama.
So what is the right strategy? My gut reaction is that a women and men may feel and react differently, which is an interesting dilemma for her.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Spring Fever

If you are like me, itching to get out into your garden and looking for some new ideas, plan to spend a day this spring checking out the Chicago Botanic Gardens, north of Chicago.
http://www.chicagobotanic.org/
They have tons of events and shows for all age-groups. I have started taking classes with the intent of becoming certified by the University of Illinois as a Master Gardener. The classes geared towards professionals are led by business experts, with a real passion for plants, who are more than willing to share the "tricks-of-the-trade", for which I am very grateful.
The park is an oasis even in the winter! Run by the Chicago Horticultural Society, founded in 1890, the 23 gardens are spread out over 385 acres that opened to the public in 1972.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

McCain vs.??

All along everyone seemed to think Billary would win and it would be McCain vs Clinton in November.
Are you still convinced? And, if Obama wins, do you think McCain can beat him in the general election?
Obama did quite well last night; CNN is reporting that Clinton and Obama finished .04% apart, with New Mexico and California still counting. Clinton won 7,350,238 votes (50.2 percent) while Obama captured 7,295,400 votes (49.8 percent).
To date Clinton has 823 delegates; Omaba has 741. Over the next week, Louisiana, Washington state, Nebraska, Maine, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia will vote.

Here are some reasons why I think Obama may win the nomination:

He is taking her base:
He shows up in town and his numbers go up. She shows up and her numbers go down. Going forward he can focus his efforts on specific contests, 20+ states at once was hard on everyone. If he can gain more support from white woman and Latino voters, she will be in real trouble.

He has more cash:
In January, Omaba raised $32 million to Clintons $13 million. In fact, it was reported today that Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million in January, a move that her people are stating “shows her commitment” not a lack of funds. A lack of funds is the reason many think she requested weekly debates, it’s free.

In the general election, the GOP will make mincemeat out of Billary:
Speaking to members of Congress and other party leaders this morning, Obama predicted the GOP would unload a “dump truck full dirt” on Billary if she wins the nomination. He has spent the past year being vetting by the Clinton machine who, you can be sure, has attempted to dig up and/or spin any morsel possible.

“America Returns!”
He is gaining worldwide support. Our friends in other counties are hypercritical of Bush and his policies on Iraq. This election is perceived as the end of their gloom and doom relationship with America. The winner will be the new face of America. McCain and Obama are the favored candidates; so far I have not read of anyone that supports Clinton. This will become an important consideration for Democrat party members.

Independents like him:
While Clinton had a five-point edge with Democrats on Tuesday, Obama had a 21-point lead among independents. That makes Obama by far the most likely to heal partisan divisions, and to beat McCain.


She thinks we’re dolts.
I will not mention the timed crying jags, but instead point out that Teddy K’s endorsement was about Super Delegates, not voters. Clinton bragged about her win in Massachusetts “even though” Kennedy endorsed Obama. Teddy has got a bit of a past, which probably influenced voters. His standing Washington is another thing, he is one of the most experienced and respected Democrats in the Senete – a GIANT in the Democratic Party. The Kennedy endorsement sends the message to the party super-delegates not to be afraid of Bill Clinton, who will be pulling in 35 years of you-owe-me’s.

Al Gore hasn’t endorsed Clinton
Nuf said.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Re-Branding America

I am from Scotland so I am always interested in the perception of America held by other nations. The opportunities we have fascinate people everywhere. The antics of GW and company sure have hurts us. Here is an interesting article written by Diane Francis of the Canadian National Post regarding the current election.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/francis/archive/2008/02/04/white-guys.aspx