The Political Chase

A Call to Super-delegates

It was January 31, 2008. I was sorely disappointed that John Edwards had just dropped out of the race, but as I watched the Democratic debate get underway, I felt good about what was taking place. In fact, I was still proud of the two candidates sitting on the gaudily decorated stage that seemed more fitting for Yankee Doodle Dandy than political rhetoric.

How could I not be? Especially after watching the Republican candidates just the night before, rip each other apart as if it was a Michael Vick production.

Sure, there had been a little political bickering between the Democratic candidates, but it wasn’t beyond the “norm” of political contests in the past. Besides, Senator Obama and Senator Clinton knew how critical it was to capitalize on the unified strength of our party and the people that were being drawn to its cause. I knew that in just one year, one of the two historic candidates sitting on that eyesore for a stage would begin leading the country out of the abyss George Bush had plunged it into seven years ago.

I was not pleased with some of the campaign events after the Iowa caucuses, but I was still moving along with unprecedented hope that civility, productive intellect and common objectives could somehow prevail over divisiveness and the politics of destruction. I was wrong. That was an incredibly naïve expectation on my part after living through decades of the latter. And, I can thank Senator Clinton primarily for taking the country and me several steps backwards to reality and worse.

I have never witnessed a more disgusting, despicable, and deceitful campaign than Senator Clinton’s has. I attribute part of that to my heightened awareness and participation this election cycle, but without any doubt, I place the majority directly at her feet. She has proven herself to be, at best, an equal among equals with George Bush, Karl Rove, and Lee Atwater.

I desperately do not want Senator Clinton to be the next President of the United States, but I do not want Senator McCain to be President either. And the more time Senator Clinton has to demonize Senator Obama, the probability of Senator McCain winning the general election increases logarithmically.

As it stands today, Senator Clinton will not beat Senator McCain, but her destructive behavior will damage Barack Obama to the extent that he cannot win either. I do not believe we have reached that point yet, but we are so perilously close it will be hard to discern when we actually do.

We can continue the processes and adhere to the schedule as previously defined by the Democratic Party, but it will be at the expense of the party and far more importantly our country.

Unfortunately, I reached my threshold when I read the editorial in the New York Times today. When the Editorial Board of the largest newspaper in the world condemns a potential nominee of the Democratic Party as it did today, there is something terribly wrong. I am not saying the Times’ opinions or its Editorial Board should govern the party or any election, but instead I believe the content and the tone of the editorial is reflective and symptomatic of the greater problem we face.

I am calling on the Super-delegates of the Democratic Party to step in and make a decision. This political discourse must stop. Please move rapidly and decide who the nominee will be. I may not like the decision, but I fear the consequences of not making a decision far outweigh any personal agenda others or I may have.

I am extremely disappointed in Senator Clinton. It is most unfortunate that she places her personal desires and wishes over the good of the country.

- - David Pleasant

MSNBC: ‘We can stop the delegate math’

It’s been a mathematical fact since Wisconsin, but for some folks it has to be repeated frequently.

Turning to the delegate math, if Clinton nets approximately 16 delegates out of Pennsylvania, she’ll trail in the pledged battle by 150 delegates. With just 408 pledged delegates remaining, that means she’d need 68% of all pledged delegates left to overtake Obama. Now, if Obama and Clinton simply split the 187 delegates up for grabs on May 6 basically down the middle (which would be a rosy projection in Clinton’s favor) and Obama’s pledged delegate lead simply stayed at 150 and didn’t grow to 160 (the most likely outcome in two weeks), Clinton would need to win 85% of the then 221 remaining delegates up for grabs. 85%! As we mentioned on air last night, the battle for pledged delegates is over, Obama will win that metric and win it by some 100+ delegates.

And Clinton fans just keep pouring in money, or so they claim.

More Clinton $$$ Claims

More claims of big bucks dropping into the Hillary campaign’s till.

The campaign also said, fundraising continues to grow, now at $3.5 million since last night and rising with the campaign claiming that 80 percent of these donations are from first-time contributors.

It sounds like Team Clinton just backed a truck up to the U.S. Bullion Depository (viz. Fort Knox).

I’m sure that’s good news for Mark Penn. After they apply the $3.5 million to his bill, they will only owe Penn $1,077,820.61. And it’s not quite enough to eliminate that $10.3 million debt, which included Bergen County Tech. Schools, Cleveland State University, Dr. Silas Lee, Huber Heights City Schools, Temple University, and the University of Toledo, just to name a few.

The Pennsylvania Math

This is where the Democratic race stands after the primary in Pennsylvania yesterday. Since Chuck Todd is probably the best in the business, these are his numbers.

* Seven delegates remain to be allocated.

As I said last night, the Hillary camp will be putting out all kinds of spin today and it has already started. They are claiming Clinton has pulled ahead of Obama in the popular vote. That is an outright lie. The numbers do not support, in any way, their claim. They are adding the Florida and Michigan votes, and it simply cannot be done. There is no ruling from any court or from the DNC that provides a legal basis to validate those votes. I could wish I won the lottery this past weekend, but I didn’t, and I don’t believe my bank will accept a wish-deposit.

This is something everybody needs to be aware of. The popular vote argument Hillary is trying to make invalidates every caucus vote in at least five states: Alaska, Iowa, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. If somebody can reasonably explain how that is fair and democratic, I would like to hear it.

Petraeus to lead CENTCOM

Via AP:

Gen. David Petraeus, the four-star general who has been leading troops in Iraq, has been tapped to become the next commander of U.S. Central Command, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Navy Adm. William Fallon, who stepped down in March.

Taking Petraeus’ position as the senior commander in Iraq would be Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, who had until recently been serving as Petraeus’ deputy.

Nice Try, Give It Up

Just can’t go on any longer? You can send your own break-up letter to Hillary at nicetrygiveitup.com. Here are a few samples.

 you go girl. seriously………go.

Dear Baby, Welcome to Dumpsville. Population, You.

It’s NOT me it’s you!

Oh Hillary, what can I say? I think it’s time we move on and go our separate ways. I can’t take all of the crying, the overacting, the out and out lies, the drama. In the end, the times we had were never really all that great to begin with, right? I guess what I’m trying to say is … it’s not you, it’s me. Oh yeah, and I’ve fallen for another man.

$2.5 million in 2 hours?

I know this is cynical, but I would like to see something that substantiates this claim by Phil Singer (Clinton campaign). False claims can lure contributors, and Hillary is a long way from topping the trustworthy list. A monthly total can be checked when FEC reports are filed, but that’s useless for this purpose.

As of 11:30PM tonight, we are at nearly $2.5 million since PA was called for HRC — 80% of that money is coming from new donors to the campaign. It’s our best night ever.

NYT: Clinton is mean, vacuous, desperate, panderer

The New York Times has published an editorial on Hillary Clinton that is the most scathing condemnation of a public figure in a major publication I believe I have ever read.

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.

If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead.