Political bits
(FirstRead) Turnout in Mississippi is expected to be low?
(BostonGlobe) "Blacks are expected to constitute more than half of Democratic voters."
(ThePage) The Obama campaign releases a memo going full force at Clinton's claims of foreign policy experience from her time as first lady, picking apart Clinton's specific claims, N. Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and China. (Too big to excerpt, but it's pretty pointed and it's the first official campaign attack on this front.)
(AP) The tanker deal is going to smell bad for McCain. He killed the original "lease" deal with Boeing because it was a ripoff (it was,) but now we find out that three of his top campaign officials all lobbied on behalf of EADS against Boeing in the rebid. (Tom Loeffler lobbied for EADS while serving as McCain's national finance chairman!!!)
(Politico) Two more superdelegates for Obama yesterday.
(Kos) Kos does the math (that I attempted) and finds that Obama picked up 13 delegates before Mississippi in this week of "huge wins" for Clinton. (And you thought I was shilling.)
(NYTimes) Obama's name comes up in the Rezco trial. (Once again, nothing solid, but it smells bad.)
(CQ) The Republicans don't even register a challenger for Mark Pryor's Arkansas Senate seat?
Check out this headline from the NYTimes, "Obama Rejects Idea of Back Seat on Ticket." (Painting Clinton's VP tactic with "back seat on the bus?")
And, (Bloomberg) Obama's Secret Service codename: "Renegade."
(BostonGlobe) "Blacks are expected to constitute more than half of Democratic voters."
(ThePage) The Obama campaign releases a memo going full force at Clinton's claims of foreign policy experience from her time as first lady, picking apart Clinton's specific claims, N. Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and China. (Too big to excerpt, but it's pretty pointed and it's the first official campaign attack on this front.)
(AP) The tanker deal is going to smell bad for McCain. He killed the original "lease" deal with Boeing because it was a ripoff (it was,) but now we find out that three of his top campaign officials all lobbied on behalf of EADS against Boeing in the rebid. (Tom Loeffler lobbied for EADS while serving as McCain's national finance chairman!!!)
(Politico) Two more superdelegates for Obama yesterday.
(Kos) Kos does the math (that I attempted) and finds that Obama picked up 13 delegates before Mississippi in this week of "huge wins" for Clinton. (And you thought I was shilling.)
(NYTimes) Obama's name comes up in the Rezco trial. (Once again, nothing solid, but it smells bad.)
(CQ) The Republicans don't even register a challenger for Mark Pryor's Arkansas Senate seat?
Check out this headline from the NYTimes, "Obama Rejects Idea of Back Seat on Ticket." (Painting Clinton's VP tactic with "back seat on the bus?")
And, (Bloomberg) Obama's Secret Service codename: "Renegade."
posted by mikevotes at
7:56 AM
9 Comments:
"...NYTimes, "Obama Rejects Idea of Back Seat on Ticket." (Painting Clinton's VP tactic with "back seat on the bus?")"
Wow. Couple this in with Obama's language/code-words you mentioned earlier and you have the makings of a shift in media tone, if not narrative. Well, for a day anyway. As I said, the media love a villain. A villain or a fallen idol -- someone getting their comeuppance. As we see, this can cut both ways, for and against, each of the candidates, depending on... Well, I don't know what exactly. Maybe depending on the perceived fickle whims of public sentiment?
Wonder if this headline made the print edition?
By
-epm, at 8:38 AM
Yeah, I was just shocked.
And it's weird, in the last few days, the WaPo has been supporting the Clinton campaign's arguments while the NYTimes has been shredding her.
And, I'm waiting to see if the online headline gets changed after complaint. (Maybe it should)
By
mikevotes, at 8:42 AM
Maybe the headline should be changed, in the name of objective journalism. But you know, this was my first reaction when this VP started being pushed by the Clintons. She's a middle-aged woman in second place, suggesting the boy (my word) -- a 45-year-old Black man how is beating her on every measure -- is deficient for the job of president, but she'd kindly give the boy a token, affirmative action position in her mythical and hypothetic administration.
As you know, I'm the emotional type. I just found (and find) the whole presumptuousness of the Clintons to be personally offensive. But I guess a lot of Democrats like her way of thinking.
By
-epm, at 8:56 AM
I think it should be changed.
Even if they are diminishing him in this VP thing, there's really not a racial component to it, and load one into this headline is not good.
By
mikevotes, at 11:02 AM
For some reason, the fact that the #2 candidate has offered the #1 candidate the junior position on her ticket is treated as a serious proposition. If anyone other than a Clinton™ were to suggest this, that a black man running the lead should know his place, to quit being so uppity (yes, I think this is the undercurrent), I think they'd be pummeled by the media and the other candidate.
No. I don't think race was a part of their conscious calculus, but I wonder if there's some sort of ingrained social prejudice (racism?) that makes them think they have permission to make such a brazen suggestion. Could you see this happening if it was Edwards instead Obama in the lead? I can't.
Maybe I'm being unfair and overly prickly, but since SC I've seen the Clintons and race in a whole new light...
By
-epm, at 11:44 AM
I agree fully. Posted on that #2/#1 thing yesterday.
And I recognize your feelings about race in this, but I would think it has more to do with youth/experience.
You know I would cry foul, but I just don't think this is racial. (But the Times headline is.)
By
mikevotes, at 1:46 PM
The VP thing is an absurd suggestion for Clinton to make, not just because Obama is ahead, but also because the two of them surely hate each other's guts by now.
But I suppose it's an attempt to reframe those two situations, and perhaps, to voters who aren't paying close attention, it might have some effect. It could seem like Hillary is being conciliatory ("I'm willing to share...") and Obama is not.
As for the supposed racial element to it... It's a Rorschach test, I guess. You'll see what you are predisposed to see.
By
Anonymous, at 3:35 PM
I talked about this over the weekend..
That conciliatory is the beauty of this attack. She gets to diminish him like Dan Quayle, but do so under the guise of unity and coming together.
As I said before, this is pretty brilliant tactically and it has even hit the level that Obama felt he had to respond.
Great politics.
By
mikevotes, at 3:55 PM
But his response has a certain resonance that, to my friendly ears, makes the Clintons look like they're part of some detached, dynastic, privileged class.
The age thing...
Median age of president when first taking office: 55
Hillary will be 6 years older than the median, and Obama 8 years younger than the median upon taking office.
Presidents over 60 upon taking office: 11
Presidents under 50 upon taking office: 9
By
-epm, at 4:14 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home