I was reading this: NPR : Obama to Attend Selma March Anniversary and was struck by Obama’s willingness to answer questions rather than weasel his way out of them. I’ve hightlighted some of the questions it seems that politicians usually avoid somehow:
Do you try to talk in the same way to a black audience as a white audience?
I think that the themes are consistent. It think that there’s a certain black idiom that it’s hard not to slip into when you’re talking to a black audience because of the audience response. It’s the classic call and response. Anybody who’s spent time in a black church knows what I mean. And so you get a little looser; it becomes a little more like jazz and a little less like a set score.
I don’t know what I would have said, but not that. And could a white person even say that? Also a question about him not being black enough:
There’s no doubt that in the history of African American politics in this country there has always been some tension between speaking in universal terms and speaking in very race-specific terms about the plight of the African American community. By virtue of my background, I am more likely to speak in universal terms.
March 1st, 2007
Robert D. Novak talks in the washingtonpost about the void on the right among GOP primary candidates. He speaks of a push poll in which Jim Gilmore of Virginia would win the nomination. It was obviously a manipulated result, but it demonstrates how uneducated and wide open the GOP nomination is. Novak states:
The most commonly mentioned potential void-filler is not Gilmore but Newt Gingrich. A straw poll by the right-wing organization Citizens United of its political contributors showed Gingrich leading with 31 percent (followed by Giuliani at 25 percent, Romney at 10 percent and McCain at 8 percent). But based on his actions as speaker of the House, Gingrich’s conservative record is far from flawless.
Gingrich has really demonstrated some resilience over the past decade. He’s done really good work on the issue of health care and is such a persuasive orator. He is to the democrats, though, as Clinton is to the republicans. An object to be loathed, embodying the worst sterotypes of their party. I doubt he’s electable, but he’d do great in a debate.
UPDATE: 3/5/2007
Rather than a whole new post, I figured I’d add to this one as it’s the same topic. Ann Coulter was questioned about the best candidate for conservatives and had the following to say, per csc:
During a question-and-answer session, Coulter said she believed Romney “is probably our best candidate.”
She described Giuliani as “very, very liberal,” and said that despite doing good things in New York, he “has a list of negatives that makes [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi look like the rational middle.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, she said, like 1980s music, was not likely to come back into style.
March 1st, 2007
Per the Boston Globe a leaked Romney memo tells us:
- His hair is too perfect
- He a John Kerry-like waffler
- He dislikes France
- He dislikes Hilary Clinton
This comes, not from an adversary, but from a 77-page internal PowerPoint presentation about Romney’s strategy obtained and published by the Boston Globe. Rudy Giuliani experienced a similar leak last month when his self-critical strategy briefing ended up in the hands of the New York Daily News. Guliani’s critique was a much greater leak, however, as there was new information as well as several zingers, such as his $100 million war chest goal and details about his lucrative consulting business.
Zip your lips folks!
February 28th, 2007
Rolling Stone National Affairs Daily » Blog Archive » Weathervane McCain: Throw Rummy Under the Bus
I agree with a lot of what this guy is saying. I really like McCain. He’s been will to take principled stands, though it has cost him the support of the more extreme wing of his party. It has also cost him a presidential nomination. he’s decided that a little compromise is OK. But at what cost…
Forget the kick-a-guy-after-he’s-been-run-over-by-a-train aspect of McCain’s remarks. McCain is clearly trying to distance himself from the failings of this war. As David Gergen put it to me recently: “John McCain’s fortunes are tied Iraq; he’s the tail to that kite now, because the president has embraced the McCain formula of more troops, and the probability is that this kite’s not going to fly very well.”
…
So Rummy makes a convenient scapegoat. But what chafes my hide is that McCain, alone among sitting senators not named Warner, could have been instrumental in forcing the president to remove Rumsfeld earlier. Years earlier. And yet John McCain offered instead his silent consent to Rummy’s historically incompetent leadership.
This is no longer a man of principle. This is a man so rapt by the idea of becoming The Decider that there is no ideological jujitsu he’s unwilling to perform to gain that power.
February 20th, 2007
I got these via email today and thought they were a riot.
Choose Your Barack Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign Slogan:
- Please ignore the Middle-Easterny name.
- Because the whole “slow-witted Texan with a safe-sounding name” thing didn’t work out so well.
- Face it, America: It’s me or the Ice Woman.
- Once you go Barack, you never go back.
- Barack: Cultural Learnings of Books and the Enlightenment for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of America
- Hey, what’s the problem? You elected Marion Berry *twice*!
- Not Hillary Clinton for president.
- Your last chance for a black president before the country’s overrun by Mexicans.
- Straight Outta Cul-De-Sac
- He beats Hillary hands down in the bathing suit competition!
- After our last president, we need one Hussein.
- Obama: Just pretend he’s Irish.
- Restoring English as the official language of State of the Union addresses.
- C’mon, you KNOW you want to see Trent Lott piss his pants!
- America: Movin’ on up!
- It’s time for a different B.O. in the White House.
- As American as imam’s apple pie!
February 16th, 2007
I enjoyed: Barack Obama’s On-Point Message Man - washingtonpost.com, particularly:
“I wanted to win or lose based on who I am and not some concoction that somebody told me the public wanted,” says Deval Patrick, whom Axelrod served in his successful race to become the first African American governor of Massachusetts last year, Patrick’s first campaign. “I talked to a lot of different media consultants and so forth who were brought to me by someone who knew there was such a thing as a media consultant. Of all of them, David seemed to me to be the one most determined to respect my commitment to be myself.”
Amen. Barack Obama has made some great remarks of late and no doupt many were scripted in some back room. I thought the sound byte might not be well suited to him but he’s done well. From what I can tell reading the paper, Barach Obama kisses babies and rescues baby seals. He helps old ladies accross the street and comes to complete stops at at stop signs. I think he’s making all the right moves so far.
February 15th, 2007
Sen. Barack Obama toured Iowa this weekend and was then back in DC this morning. I’m very impressed with the guy. one thing I’m just noticing from press, such as this washingtonpost.com article) is how well he performs in person. He stands up to protesters taunting him and pushes back against the media when they’re out of line. He is running a scripted campaign, but it doesn’t feel that way.
When protesters shouted for us to bring troops home now, he replied “Come on. We’re on the same side guys.” Bush (and most folks… not just to knock Bush) would have patiently waited for security to remove them. Earlier, he tried to engage protesters to include them in the dialogue before they were thrown out (apparently they refused to be engaged). Dealing with hostle uninvited bullies trying to hijack your world tells alot about a man in my opinion.
And his comment in the post article about his swimsuit picture was playful enough and truthful enough that swooning journalists had to have been left with a blush and a “shucks you caught me” grin. He headed the unknown-and-lacks-substance argument off at the pass — at least with those journalists. he’s had some critism about his web2.0 site having some hiccups this morning, but I think he’s running his campaign exactly how he needs to to stay true to himself and be taken seriously.
February 12th, 2007
Update: 8/23/2007
(old odds are at the bottom)
Hillary Clinton 2-1
Al Gore 6-1
John McCain 5-1
George Allen Jr 50-1
Rudy Giuliani 3-1
Sam Brownback 25-1
Bill Richardson 50-1
Mark Warner 30-1
Mitt Romney 8-1
Mike Huckabee 50-1
Evan Bayh 40-1
Chuck Hagel 200-1
Colin Powell 50-1
Joe Biden 50-1
Bill Frist 50-1
John Edwards 6-1
Newt Gingrich 20-1
Tom Vilsack 50-1
Russ Feingold 50-1
Barack Obama 7-2
Rick Santorum 80-1
Tom Tancredo 100-1
Mike Gravel 100-1
Tom Ridge 60-1
Tom Daschle 60-1
Bill Owens 100-1
Bob Kerrey 100-1
John Kerry 40-1
George Pataki 50-1
Condoleezza Rice 30-1
Gary Locke 100-1
Dick Gephardt 100-1
Wesley Clark 20-1
Dick Cheney 75-1
Howard Dean 100-1
Alberto Gonzales 100-1
Bob Ehrlich 100-1
Charles Schumer 100-1
Harold Ford Jr 100-1
Jack Kemp 100-1
Jeb Bush 100-1
Jay Rockefeller 100-1
Ralph Nader 100-1
Paul Bremmer 150-1
Joe Lieberman 150-1
Bob Graham 150-1
Michael Bloomberg 15-1
Tommy Franks 200-1
Jesse Jackson 200-1
George W Bush 200-1
Dennis Kucinich 200-1
Arnold Schwarzenegger 250-1
Bill Clinton 300-1
Paul Wolfowitz 750-1
Alan Keyes 750-1
Elizabeth Dole 750-1
Clint Eastwood 750-1
Ted Kennedy 750-1
Bill OReilly 750-1
Laura Bush 500-1
James Carville 1000-1
Jesse Ventura 1000-1
Al Sharpton 500-1
John Ashcroft 1500-1
Donald Rumsfeld 500-1
Pat Robertson 2000-1
Bill Maher 2500-1
Donald Trump 1000-1
Michael Moore 1000-1
Chris Dodd 100-1
Doug Stanhope 50-1
Wayne Root 1000-1
Ron Paul 8-1
Fred Thompson 4-1
Tommy Thompson 200-1
Duncan Hunter 200-1
Update: 3/15/2007
Republicans:
6/4 Rudolph Guiliani
3-1 John McCain
6-1 Mitt Romney
21-1 Tommy Thompson
26-1 Sam Brownback
34-1 Chuck Hagel
34-1 George Pataki
34-1 Condoleeza Rice
With the announcement this morning that Barak Obama is forming a presidential exploratory committee, I figured it was time to put together a list of who’s running with odds on each (let’s not pretend it isn’t a horse race):
Democrats:
Hillary Clinton - 9:5 odds
Barak Obama - 5:2 odds
John Edwards - 12:1
Al Gore - 50:1
Chris Dodd - 60:1
Joseph R. Biden - 75:1
Bill Richardson - 75:1
Tom Vilsack - 75:1
Wesley Clark - 100:1
John Kerry - 120:1
Dennis Kucinich - 250:1
Republicans:
John McCain - 8:5 odds
Mitt Romney - 3:1 odds
Rudy Giuliani - 6:1
Newt Gingrich - 80:1
Jim Gilmore - 99:1
Tommy G. Thompson - 99:1
Chuck Hagel - 100:1
Mike Huckabee - 100:1
Tom Tancredo - 100:1
Sam Brownback - 120:1
Duncan Hunter - 150:1
Update - 3/2/2007:
No real change on the democatic side. Republican odds have shifted drastically at the top with McCain slipping and Giuliani pulling even / slightly ahead. Duncan Hunter has gained as well with a strong showing in a recent SC straw poll. It’s hard to handicap without an obvious conservative candidate. Without further delay:
Republicans:
Rudy Giuliani - 3:1
John McCain - 3:1 odds
Mitt Romney - 4:1 odds
Duncan Hunter - 50:1
Newt Gingrich - 50:1
Jim Gilmore - 75:1
Chuck Hagel - 100:1
Mike Huckabee - 100:1
Tommy G. Thompson - 120:1
Tom Tancredo - 150:1
Sam Brownback - 150:1
List of candidates per New York Times
January 16th, 2007
Chml Srucnoc preordered his copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows today (the one featuring the great Regulus Black) at an online store. He said, “I had no idea you could already preorder the Deathly Hallows at this early date. You gotta love that.”
December 21st, 2006
Good guy chml srucnoc 1 (can he get #2?) received a big push today when Ambassador Srucnoc mentioned his rival campaign during a speech. “That BlogSpot character… he’s got style I tell you. Real Chutzpah.” It’s possible that Ambassador Blackwell might have been drugged by the pirate VP, but there’s no real way to know.
December 18th, 2006
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