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| View Poll Results: Will you vote Democratic? | |||
| Yes, I'll vote for Obama |
   
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27 | 49.09% |
| No, I'll vote for McCain |
  
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13 | 23.64% |
| Only, If Hillary is on the ticket |
  
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6 | 10.91% |
| I dont know yet |
  
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9 | 16.36% |
| Voters: 55. You may not vote on this poll | |||
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#136
06-09-2008, 08:27 AM
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^^^
I think Hillary can oversome the weaker candidate remarks by noting that she consistently said that although Obama is weaker than Hillary, both Hillary and Obama (alone or together) aree stronger than McCain, etc.
__________________
 save the cheerleader - save the world 
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#137
06-09-2008, 08:27 AM
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#138
06-09-2008, 08:29 AM
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#139
06-09-2008, 08:33 AM
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But, if she were with Obama, she could say something to the effect of yea I said that, but I am here now aren't I.
__________________
save the cheerleader - save the world
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#140
06-09-2008, 08:34 AM
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__________________
save the cheerleader - save the world
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#141
06-09-2008, 08:43 AM
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 I think Hillary's problem in the Senate is that there is already a long line for the Senate Majority leader slot (and that is assuming that the Democratic control of the senate persists). And as much as I would love to have Hillary as governor of my state, I think that would be a step down for her. In my opinion I think, despite Hillary's endorsement of Obama over the weekend, I think she is still hoping for a last-minute upset at the Convention in August. Sure, she's going to be a good girl and team player. But all it takes is one more major scandal or a major dip in the polls. Tony Rezko has yet to "sing," and many believe that he will start naming names in lieu of a long jail sentence. And then there is the Michelle "whitey" tape that is now rumored to be in Rudy Giuliani's possession and is expected to be released after the convention, that is, assuming that it can be kept under wraps for that long. But then again, there are rumors that party insiders don't really care whether or not Obama wins; they just like the fact that he can raise tons of money for the congressional races and enlist scores of new young and black voters.
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#142
06-09-2008, 08:44 AM
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McCain cannot win without them, especially if the black vote turns out in record numbers to support Obama - same for the young white vote, which is sort of what happened in the primaries.
_________________________________________________________________ June 9, 2008 Evangelicals Are Still Wary Despite McCain’s Outreach By MICHAEL LUO Lori Viars, an evangelical activist in Warren County, Ohio, essentially put her life on hold in the fall of 2004 to run a phone bank for President Bush. Her efforts helped the president’s ambitious push to turn out evangelicals and win that critical swing state in a close election. But Ms. Viars, who is among a cluster of socially conservative activists in Ohio being courted by Senator John McCain’s campaign through regular e-mail messages, is taking a wait-and-see attitude for now toward Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee. “I think a lot of us are in a holding pattern,” said Ms. Viars, who added that she wanted to see whom Mr. McCain picked for his running mate. Ms. Viars’s hesitation illustrates what remains one of Mr. McCain’s biggest challenges as he faces a general election contest with Senator Barack Obama: a continued wariness toward him among evangelicals and other Christian conservatives, a critical voting bloc for Republicans that could stay home in the fall or at least be decidedly unenthusiastic in their efforts to get out the vote. To address this, Mr. McCain’s campaign has been ramping up its outreach to evangelicals over the last month, preparing a budget and a strategic plan for turning them out in 18 battleground states this fall. The campaign has been peppering over 600 socially conservative grass-roots and national leaders with regular e-mail messages — highlighting, for example, Mr. McCain’s statement criticizing a May 15 decision by the California Supreme Court overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, or his recent speech on his judicial philosophy. It has also held briefings for small groups of conservative leaders before key speeches. Charlie Black, one of Mr. McCain’s senior advisers, recently sat down with a dozen prominent evangelical leaders in Washington, where he emphasized, among other things, Mr. McCain’s consistent anti-abortion voting record. Mr. McCain’s outreach to Christian conservatives has been a quiet courting, reflecting a balancing act: his election hopes rely on drawing in the political middle and Democrats who might be turned off should he woo the religious right too heavily by, for instance, highlighting his anti-abortion position more on the campaign trail. “If McCain tried Bush’s strategy of just mobilizing the base, he would almost certainly fall short,” said John C. Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. “Because the Republican brand name is less popular and the conservative base is restive, McCain has special needs to reach out to independent and moderate voters, but, of course, he can’t completely neglect the evangelical and conservative base.” The instrumental role of evangelicals in Mr. Bush’s victory in 2004 over Senator John Kerry is an oft-repeated tale at this point. Mr. Bush’s openness about his personal faith and stances on social issues earned him a following among evangelicals, who represented about a quarter of the electorate in 2004. Exit polls in the 2004 election found that 78 percent of white “born again” or evangelical Protestants had voted for Mr. Bush. In contrast, Mr. McCain’s relationship with evangelicals has long been troubled. In 2000, when he was running against Mr. Bush for the Republican nomination, Mr. McCain castigated Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell as “agents of intolerance.” In a sign of the lingering distrust, Mr. McCain finished last out of nine Republican candidates in a straw poll last year at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, a gathering for socially conservative activists. James C. Dobson, the influential founder of the evangelical group Focus on the Family, released a statement in February, when Mr. McCain was on the verge of securing the Republican nomination, affirming that he would not vote for Mr. McCain and would instead stay home if he became the nominee. Dr. Dobson later softened his stance and said he would vote but has remained critical of Mr. McCain. “For John McCain to be competitive, he has to connect with the base to the point that they’re intense enough that they’re contagious,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “Right now they’re not even coughing.” The balancing act Mr. McCain faces in appealing to both moderate voters and evangelicals was starkly illustrated last month when he rejected the endorsements of the Rev. John Hagee and the Rev. Rod Parsley, prominent evangelical leaders, after controversial statements by the two came to light. Mr. Parsley has been vocally anti-Islam and Mr. Hagee, in a sermon, said Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God’s plan to drive the Jews to Palestine. Mr. McCain’s actions complicated his relationship with evangelical leaders, some of whom said in interviews that the senator’s actions contributed to the impression among some evangelicals that he did not know or understand them. They argued that he should have stood by them, while making clear that he did not necessarily agree with all of their views. “I think that was a stumble that will add to the challenges here,” said Gary Bauer, president of the group American Values, who in February became arguably the most visible evangelical leader to begin actively working on Mr. McCain’s behalf. “Those are both very influential men and it will just make things more challenging to accomplish between now and November.” Unlike Mr. Bush, Mr. McCain is decidedly reticent about religion on the stump. Mr. McCain grew up Episcopalian and shifted to a Baptist church after marrying his second wife, Cindy, but has not been baptized into the denomination. When asked about his personal faith at town hall forums, he often relates a familiar story. When Mr. McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a guard who had once loosened his bonds while he was being tortured sidled up to him on Christmas Day and drew a cross on the dirt in front of them. But some evangelical leaders say the account sheds more light on the guard’s faith than on Mr. McCain’s. Nevertheless, a small group of McCain staff members and surrogates have begun stepping up, largely behind the scenes, his outreach to evangelicals and other social conservatives. The group includes Marlys Popma, a prominent socially conservative leader in Iowa who has been with the campaign since the beginning but about a month ago took on the title of national coordinator for evangelical and social conservative outreach; Robert C. Heckman, the campaign’s director of conservative outreach who was the political director of Mr. Bauer’s presidential campaign in 2000; and Brett O’Donnell, the campaign’s director of messaging who was a debate coach at Liberty University, Mr. Falwell’s institution. Former Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, a graduate of Wheaton College, an evangelical school, is also playing an active role, as is Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican and a longtime social conservative stalwart. The initial outreach plans call for replicating the campaign’s approach in the Republican primary, creating “Family Issues Leaders for McCain” committees for each state made up of key social conservatives who have endorsed him. About a dozen people, including staffers and socially conservative leaders who are advising the campaign, have begun a weekly conference call to plot strategy. Mr. McCain’s advisers said they were in a talking and listening mode with evangelical leaders, as opposed to seeking endorsements aggressively, in part out of recognition that many Christian conservatives remained suspicious of him. Mr. McCain may be aided by Mr. Obama’s own problems lately among religious voters. Mr. Obama, who speaks comfortably about his own Christian faith, was once seen as the kind of candidate who could help Democrats close the gap with Republicans among weekly churchgoers, who voted for Mr. Bush in droves in 2004. But those efforts have been complicated by the incendiary remarks by Mr. Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and the comments by Mr. Obama at a fund-raiser in the Bay Area about people in small towns clinging to guns and religion. Nevertheless, the Obama campaign plans to add a full-time evangelical-focused staff member to its existing religious outreach team and is rolling out an effort over the summer to organize over a thousand house parties built around an hour-and-a-half-long curriculum on faith and politics. With the broadening of the evangelical agenda to include issues like poverty, global warming and AIDS, Mr. Obama’s advisers hope to peel off more moderate evangelical voters. David Brody, a political correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network, said he believed Mr. Obama’s comments had hurt his chances among evangelicals, but he added, “I think Obama has a great opportunity still, with the Jeremiah Wright controversy behind him, to re-introduce himself with the American people, especially with his spiritual walk.” To make Mr. McCain’s case, his supporters highlight his speech on his judicial philosophy, in which he vowed to appoint judges with a “commitment to judicial restraint,” as well as his anti-abortion voting record, though his critics argue he has hardly been passionate about the issue over the years. In 2006 Mr. McCain was featured in television advertisements supporting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Arizona, but he argued vigorously against a federal ban on the Senate floor that year, breaking with Mr. Bush and the Republican leadership, citing his belief that states should decide the issue. Many conservative activists revile Mr. McCain for his sponsorship of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul measure. Similarly, his support for federal financing of embryonic stem cell research puts him at odds with many conservatives. Mr. McCain’s supporters, however, contend that if they simply outline Mr. McCain’s policy stances on issues that matter to social conservatives and make clear where Mr. Obama stands, the choice will be obvious. “It’s my job to make sure the people out there in the leadership and the grass roots get a chance to know John McCain for what he really is,” Ms. Popma said. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/us...hp&oref=slogin
__________________
save the cheerleader - save the world
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#143
06-09-2008, 08:53 AM
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As for Rezko, I doubt he is much of a threat as even if it is true, he is a collar looking for a deal.
__________________
save the cheerleader - save the world
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#144
06-09-2008, 09:17 AM
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There is also a theory that the local Chicago ABC News affiliate may have footage of this event in its archives, but apparently they are refusing to cooperate with any investigation without a subpoena. Sure, someone could probably come up with lots of hush money, but if it's true that Giuliani has the tape, then I am sure the GOP is keeping him honest one way or another. Plus Giuliani is not exactly hurting for money.I think the Rezko conviction could be a sleeper surprise. He did receive lots of kickbacks and funding from the Illinois taxpayers, and some fingers are starting to point to Obama's influence in the state senate. And the whole situation regarding Rezko's role in the purchase of Obama's mansion has still not really been fully explained. The bottom line is that the man has been found guilty on 16 of 24 counts of corruption and faces a potential life term in prison. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by singing. After all, hush money does you no good if you are behind bars.
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#145
06-09-2008, 11:11 AM
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__________________
Children of the world the forgotten chimpanzee..in the eyes of the world you have done so much for me. ..SLN.
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#146
06-09-2008, 12:03 PM
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__________________
Children of the world the forgotten chimpanzee..in the eyes of the world you have done so much for me. ..SLN.
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#147
06-09-2008, 01:01 PM
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#148
06-10-2008, 07:56 PM
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Special-interest access abounds in campaign By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 10, 3:39 PM ET Barack Obama and John McCain are billing themselves as distant from special interests. It doesn't take a very deep look into their White House bids to see that's false advertising. Presidential races tap into the same political circles that keep lobbyists employed and the revolving door spinning. Obama and McCain have a long way to go to free themselves of insiders and special interests. Roughly one-third of 93 "Reagan alumni" who endorsed McCain have been or are registered to lobby, though McCain never said so. The Florida fundraising team for McCain and the Republican National Committee, announced last week, includes at least two Florida lobbyists: Fred Karlinsky is Florida counsel to the Property Casualty Insurers Association, which lobbies in Washington on consumer issues, disaster planning and insurance; the other, Thomas Panza, served on Florida business regulation and health care study commissions. Obama's team in Nevada, put together last summer to help him with the state's January caucuses, included at least two Nevada lobbyists: one that represented Barrick Gold of North America, a mining company that also lobbies in Washington, and another whose clients included U.S. Airways, Corrections Corp. of America and consulting company Accenture, which lobby in Washington. McCain's advisory committee on legal issues, announced last month, included at least nine lobbyists, but McCain didn't identify them as such. Instead, his campaign listed them with their former government positions. In addition, the committee has members with lobbying ties, included at least five partners in Washington law and lobby firms who weren't personally registered to lobby and three former lobbyists. Obama accepted an endorsement from former Sen. Don Riegle of Michigan but never mentioned Riegle also is a Washington lobbyist whose clients include London-based metals merchant Norimet Ltd. and Geneva-based liquor distributor SPI Group SA. McCain and Obama have each taken new steps to hold lobbyists — at least those in Washington — at arm's length. But such moves are incomplete, at best, for putting real distance between their campaigns and special interests. Many operate below the public's radar: Unless the advisers are paid staff or donors, the candidates are not required to identify them or their lobbyist connections. Obama and the DNC announced Thursday the party will follow Obama's policy of turning away donations from Washington lobbyists. Last month, McCain adopted a conflict-of-interest policy that drove some Washington lobbyists from his campaign. They included former Texas Rep. Tom Loeffler, a McCain fundraiser and adviser. Those on the campaign payroll have had to sever their lobbying ties; McCain adviser Charlie Black recently retired from the prominent Washington lobbying firm he helped found. Volunteers must tell the campaign if they are lobbyists and cannot take part in campaign policymaking on subjects on which they lobby; if McCain wins, those who join his administration must promise never to lobby it. The policy doesn't mention people whose companies or groups hire lobbyists. To consort only with outsiders, McCain and Obama would have to accept help only from people who never worked in politics, wanted anything from government or worked for anyone who has. They would have to shun leaders of their own parties. The Democratic and Republican national committees include well-known Washington lobbyists among their top officials. DNC vice chairwoman Lottie Shackelford, a former Little Rock, Ark., mayor, is a lobbyist whose clients include Hyundai Motor Co., which is pressing on free trade issues with Korea that Obama opposes. She also has worked for the Sallie Mae student loan provider, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and Allstate Insurance Co. Her firm boasts on its Web site of her "long-term relationship with American policymakers." The lobbying clients of RNC vice chairman Frank Donatelli include the National Basketball Association, for whom he lobbied this year on steroids legislation, a tougher ban on Internet gambling, and immigration legislation that would guarantee work visas for minor-league players. Donatelli, executive vice president and federal public affairs director for McGuireWoods Consulting, worked for President Reagan and aided President Bush's 2000 Florida recount effort. Other avenues for access abound. The well-connected take lead roles in organizing the upcoming nominating conventions. They raise money for the party and for candidates up and down the ticket, and for costly Inauguration Day galas in Washington. They take time off from their jobs to help get out the vote in battleground states. And they serve as advisers, paid or volunteer, to candidates who might invite them to advise the incoming administration. McCain announced in January an ex-aide to presidential brother and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush agreed to help run "Lawyers for McCain" in Florida. Hayden Dempsey is a lobbyist with Greenberg Traurig, whose former star lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, was investigated by McCain when he was chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Dempsey's state client list includes businesses that also lobby in Washington: the Amerigroup health-care company, MAXIMUS information technology firm and UnitedHealth Group insurance company. Technology experts who endorsed Obama include Andrew McLaughlin, who lobbied Congress and the Bush administration on trade issues for Google Inc. last year with McCain donor and former McCain Senate chief counsel Pablo Chavez; and Ed Zander, chief executive of Motorola, an Illinois-based communications company that lobbies in Washington. Lobbyists have made campaign appearances for McCain. They include former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, chief executive of the American Council of Life Insurers and co-chairman of "Catholics for McCain." Another is former Navy Secretary William Ball, a Washington lobbyist whose client list includes Southwest Airlines, facing a record $10.2 million fine and congressional scrutiny over safety issues. At least 17 lobbyists are among McCain's top fundraisers, including Jack Oliver III, a former national GOP official whose Washington lobbying list includes the Financial Services Forum, a group of banks and investment firms; and corporate giants Shell Oil Co., Verizon Communications Inc. and Union Pacific Corp. railroad. Obama's biggest fundraisers include Charles Adams Jr., a partner in Hogan & Hartson, a law and lobbying firm active in Washington, and Michael Froman, who worked at the White House, Treasury Department and National Security Council and now works as an executive at Citigroup, which spent $8 million lobbying in Washington last year. McCain's national campaign co-chairs include John Chambers, chief executive of Cisco Systems Inc., a technology company that spent $1.4 million last year lobbying in Washington on immigration, digital television, personal data privacy and security, patent legislation and trade issues. Another is former Homeland Security secretary and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who now runs a Washington consulting firm and sits on the boards of several high-tech companies, some of them federal contractors. The Democratic presidential race could be considered a dream come true for some lobbyists. Those lucky enough to rank as Democratic "superdelegates" free to back the candidate of their choice at the party's nominating convention found the tables turned: Two senators, Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, needed their votes for a change, and for weeks courted superdelegates aggressively. Superdelegates backing Obama include Joyce Brayboy of North Carolina, a Washington lobbyist and former congressional chief of staff whose clients include the American Bankers Association, Moneygram International money-transfer service and Recording Industry Association of America. Obama superdelegate Moses Mercado of Texas, a former aide to then-Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., has been a lobbyist at the same Washington firm as Wayne Berman, who raised money for McCain. Mercado's client list at Ogilvy Government Relations includes the American Chemistry Council trade group; the American Petroleum Institute and Chevron, both with big stakes in energy policy; and the American Trucking Associations, whose priorities include highway funding and labor rules. Shackelford, who lobbied Congress and the Bush administration on behalf of Hyundai, also lobbied for Lyondell Chemical Co. over discontinuing use of the gasoline additive MTBE, which helps prevent engines from knocking. MTBE's leading alternative is ethanol, which Obama supports. She is with the lobby firm Global USA, whose chairman, Stanton Anderson, lobbies for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform and is among Reagan alumni who endorsed McCain. Another superdelegate, Robert Strauss of Texas, a former ambassador and Democratic National Committee chairman, founded the firm that became international law and lobbying giant Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Its clients include the governments of Panama and South Korea, who want trade agreements with the United States that Obama opposes. Akin Gump also lobbied for Chinese oil company CNOOC, reaching out to McCain's staff and others on Capitol Hill as CNOOC unsuccessfully tried to win backing for its offer to acquire Unocal. Lobbying interests and candidates can help each other without breaking the law. Openly promising goodies such as federal contracts, policy decisions or political appointments in exchange for campaign money could amount to a felony, but there are plenty of benefits to be had without illegal quid pro quos. Candidates receive money and support, and lobbyists gain political experience and the access they need. For state-level lobbyists, a week with the state's convention delegation can mean valuable time with the governor and legislative leaders. And ties to a presidential nominee and other powerful politicians can be their own reward as lobbyists, trade associations and unions work to keep and attract clients or members. Hunter Johnston, a Washington lobbyist who raised money for Sen. John Kerry's 2004 Democratic presidential campaign, said it's risky for candidates to say lobbyists do not and cannot work in their campaigns or future administrations. "You're excluding a large number of very competent people," Johnston said. "If they do make a statement, then it's hard to live up to such a statement, and if you live up to such a statement, I don't think it's in their interests." ____ Associated Press writers Ted Bridis and Jim Drinkard in Washington contributed to this report http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080610/...uxuc5IBBFh24cA
__________________
save the cheerleader - save the world
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#149
06-12-2008, 08:57 PM
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www.fightthesmears.com So sorry to disappoint you.
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#150
06-12-2008, 09:12 PM
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Even CNN is reporting today that it was totally fabricated by the blogger then picked up by ol' pigface Rush and others ...despicable really.
__________________
Children of the world the forgotten chimpanzee..in the eyes of the world you have done so much for me. ..SLN.
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