HOLD THE PHONE: Obama Claims Delegate Lead Over Clinton In a surprise twist after a chaotic Super Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) passed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in network tallies of the number of delegates the candidates racked up last night. The Obama camp now projects topping Clinton by 13 delegates, 847 to 834. NBC News, which is projecting delegates based on the Democratic Party’s complex formula, figures Obama will wind up with 840 to 849 delegates, versus 829 to 838 for Clinton. Clinton was portrayed in many news accounts as the night’s big winner, but Obama’s campaign says […]
WORTH REPEATING: Imperial Hubris
FRESH AIR Journalist Fred Kaplan offers a scathing critique of the Bush administration’s foreign policy initiatives in his new book, Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power. Here is an excerpt: Nearly all of America’s blunders in war and peace these past few years stem from a single grand misconception: that the world changed after September 11, when in fact it didn’t. Certainly things about the world changed, not least Americans’ sudden awareness that they were vulnerable. But the way the world works—the nature of power, warfare, and politics among nations—remained essentially the same. A real change, […]
YANKEE DOODLE FOXTROT: Not So Fast
WASHINGTON POST: After the Clinton campaign sent out a press release this evening claiming a win in Missouri, under the heading “Hillary’s Big Night,” the lead in the Show-Me State flipped — with Barack Obama moving ahead by a few thousand votes to claim victory. WIKIPEDIA: The Missouri bellwether is a political phenomenon that notes that the state of Missouri has voted for the winner in every U.S. Presidential election beginning in 1904 except in 1956. Between 1960 and 2004, Missouri’s popular vote was within about one and a half percent of the national popular vote margin. Missouri’s 96% accuracy […]
FOLLOW THE MONEY: Dirty Is As Dirty Does
RELATED: Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised more money from lobbyists than any other presidential candidate, while Republican John McCain has more of them assisting his campaign, according to a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. Clinton took in $823,087 from registered lobbyists and members of their firms in 2007; McCain, the second-biggest recipient, took in $416,321, reported the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political giving. Democrat Barack Obama doesn’t take money from registered lobbyists, though he received $86,282 from employees of firms that lobby, according to the center. McCain has 26 registered lobbyists as campaign advisers or fund-raisers, compared with 11 […]
I, VOTER: These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty!
As I write this, the polls here in New Jersey are still several hours from opening for their Super Tuesday vote-a-thon. This is handy, as it gives me yet more time to torture myself as I decide whether to vote for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, picking between two historic choices presented to me in this fifth presidential contest in which I am eligible to cast a ballot. It’s funny, though. Perhaps naively, I thought the choice would be easier when the time came that I had the opportunity to cast a meaningful, non-symbolic vote for […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Rick Santorum Robo-Slimes McCain
Per Romney sources, the call is going into California, Colorado, Alaska and a few other Super Tuesday states: “Hello, this is Senator Rick Santorum calling to let you know I am supporting Mitt Romney and urging you to support him next Tuesday. “As Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, I worked hard to stop the democrats and help pass a conservative agenda. A few senators like John McCain stood in our way. John McCain voted against the president’s tax cuts, worked with Ted Kennedy to pass what many people call amnesty for illegal aliens and he even opposes the marriage […]
OBAMELOT: Robert DeNiro Is Tired Of Waiting
NEW YORK TIMES: 1:11 p.m. — As the crowd at the Meadowlands awaited Mr. Obama’s arrival, Mr. De Niro made a surprise appearance and received a thunderous welcome. Mr. De Niro said he’d never before made a political speech, and the actor made a special appeal to the young people and first-time voters, saying that Mr. Obama gave them someone to gather behind. “You wanted to vote, you just didn’t have anyone to vote for,” he said. ” Well you know what? I felt the same way. Until now.” Mr. De Niro introduced Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts; his niece […]
REVEALED: The Peaceful Easy Death Of Ernie Pyle
This photo provided by Richard Strasser, perhaps never before published, shows famed World War II war correspondent Ernie Pyle shortly after he was killed by a Japanese machine gun bullet on the island of Ie Shima on April 18, 1945. On the third morning, a jeep carrying Ernie Pyle and three officers came under fire from a hidden machine gun. All scrambled for cover in roadside ditches, but when Pyle raised his head, a .30 caliber bullet caught him in the left temple, killing him instantly. Roberts and two other photographers, including AP’s Grant MacDonald, were at a command post […]
FOLLOW THE MONEY: Yes Virginia, There Is More To Arlen Specter’s Patriot Acts Than Meets The Eye
ATTYTOOD: When Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter went more public last week with his increasingly strange and quixotic battle against the National Football League — supposedly over the New England “Spygate” scandal — some politically savvy wags raised an interesting point. They noted that the longtime GOP stalwart’s No. 2 source of campaign funds in recent years has been none other than employees of Comcast Corp. and their families, linked to at least $153,600 in donations going back to 1989. That’s significant because Philadelphia-based Comcast has been engaged in a protracted war with the NFL over an issue that has nothing […]
WORTH REPEATING: Big Brother Is Winning
Jonathan, Beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST today, the Senate resumed debate on the pending FISA bill, by proceeding to vote on a series of amendments, most proposed by Democrats, to improve the bill. Key amendments include one jointly sponsored by Sens. Dodd and Feingold to strip the bill of telecom immunity; an amendment from Sen. Feinstein to transfer the telecom cases to the FISA court; an amendment jointly sponsored by Sens. Specter and Whitehouse to substitute the government for the telecoms as defendants; and an amendment from Sen. Feinstein emphasizing that FISA is the “exclusive means” by which the Government […]
ENDORSEMENT: He Is The One
…To Lead Us Out Of The Matrix Of Our Own Bullshit REUTERS: Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama opened narrow leads on Hillary Clinton in California and Missouri one day before crucial “Super Tuesday” nominating contests in 24 states, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Monday. Obama and Clinton were deadlocked in New Jersey, and Obama enjoyed a double-digit advantage over Clinton in Georgia in two other Democratic contests on the biggest single day of voting ever in a U.S. presidential nominating campaign. “The momentum is with Obama,” said pollster John Zogby. “If this trend continues it could be a […]
FOLLOW THE MONEY: U Can Run But U Can’t Hide
http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/ This is an amazing tool for all those who like a little accountability with their democratic process. As you no doubt know, campaign law requires politicians to disclose the names of their contributors. However, there is no law that says it has to be easy to see those names, or compare them with who contributed what, etc. to other campaigns. Until now. Added bonus: All your favorite celebrities will be there! Click map to activate Internets.
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
NJ Nursing Home Aide Allegedly Beat 89-Year-Old Patient With Dirty Diaper An employee of a South Jersey retirement home was indicted this week on assault charges, accused of beating an 89-year-old Alzheimer’s patient with a dirty diaper, authorities said. Karen A. Long, 57, worked at the Woodbury Mews in Woodbury, a senior living facility that bills itself as “The Community That Treats You Like Family.” In the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 13, another employee at the home spotted Long striking a patient in the head with a soiled adult diaper, authorities said. The man was in the facility’s memory-impaired unit, […]