- Retired Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries will lend a boost to the Obama campaign today at 1:30pm EST during a press conference to be held in D.C.
- Obama won the Wyoming Caucuses this weekend picking up an estimated 7 delegates to Clinton’s 4.
- The New Yorker has a not always flattering look at the mismanagement and amazing resurrection of the Clinton campaign.
- The first Democratic win of 2008 has come in the Illinois 14th district where a special election was won by Democrat Bill Foster who defeated Republican Jim Oberweis. The seat was held by Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
- The Times looked over Barack Obama’s career in the Senate finding a lot of star power but not a lot of depth.
He went to the Senate intent on learning the ways of the institution, telling reporters he would be “looking for the washroom and trying to figure out how the phones work.” But frustrated by his lack of influence and what he called the “glacial pace,” he soon opted to exploit his star power. He was running for president even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol’s corridors.
…And while he rightly takes credit for steering through an ethics overhaul that reformers called a “gold standard,” like most freshmen he did not play a significant role in passing much other legislation and disappointed some Democrats for not becoming a more prominent voice in other important debates.
- John McCain got “testy” with a reporter late last week when she pressed him on a meeting in 2004 with Senator John Kerry.
- The Clinton’s spent the weekend pushing the idea of a joint ticket, undoubtedly a Hillary/Obama ticket but also left open the idea of the opposite as well. Obama wanted no party saying it was too early for such talk and that he would turn down a VP offer.
- Al Sharpton is considering a lawsuit against Florida if delegates from the states primary are seated at the convention.
Saying “my campaign is never over” Ron Paul told CNN “If you’re in a campaign for only gaining power, that’s one thing. If you’re in a campaign to influence ideas and future of the country, the campaign is never over.” Paul also shared that it is likely he will not support Republican nominee John McCain.
John McCain’s daughter Meghan has a fun video up looking inside a Sedona, Arizona BBQ hosted by her fathers campaign. If you haven’t been following Meghan’s blog McCain Blogette you’ve been missing out on one of the very rare examples of how blogging can be used in a unique way for a campaign.
Marc Ambinder cites two sources close with McCain who say the Senator will name a VP “Czar” to oversee the selection process of a Vice Presidential candidate. If you remember in 2000 that person was Dick Cheney for George Bush. Cheney’s search lead him to only one viable candidate, himself, let’s see if the same thing happens with McCain’s choice.
OK, this is just a small observation but it stood out to me. We’ve heard time and again about the “small donor” and how they are revolutionizing politics. Just now I received an e-mail from the McCain campaign celebrating last nights victory, the Senators triumph in grabbing the nomination and of course asking for money. The interesting thing is the dollar amount, which starts at $50.
Now if you travel to the campaign Web site you will see that the suggested donation amounts start at $25, which is the typical amount you see in these solicitations. With that in mind, let me quote the e-mail:
My friends, I write to you today because I know we have a great challenge ahead of us. This campaign will be more expensive than any other in our history and I ask you today to support my campaign by making a generous contribution of $50, $100, $250, $500 or $1,000.
To McCain’s credit he isn’t asking for just a regular donation but a GENEROUS donation, so in this I can see putting the $50 in as the first amount. It could simply be that this e-mail really does target those Americans with more $$$, maybe the idea that Republicans are all wealthy is true, I don’t buy it though. Many Republicans are just like you and I, they don’t have luxury cars or travel first class. Fifty dollars, especially in these economic times, is still a good amount of money and counter to the “small donations” idea that has been fueling the success of online campaigning.
I think about people who are in the later part of the baby boomer generation too. They might honestly read that e-mail and think “I don’t have $50 to give” and not donate because they genuinely believe that is the asking price, the place where campaign contributions have to start. I know that concept seems foreign to us political geeks but it could be true. Many people I talk to haven’t the slightest idea how the nuts and bolts of politics work. In my time helping people out with computer problems, many people read an e-mail and either think it is gospel truth or formulate conclusions I would never come to because they don’t understand the subject being discussed.
So again, nitpicking here and perhaps the next non-GENEROUS asking will contain $25, but small donors can do a lot to help McCain, you just have to reach them. Maybe set the goals slightly lower and see what you get.
Good morning Geeks and happy Super Tuesday, again, wait, what? Yes today contests are being held in Rhode Island, Vermont, Texas and Ohio.
- Ohio early voters flooded polling stations ahead of today’s vote. Meanwhile in reference to Clinton/Obama’s dueling 3 AM ads, John McCain said jumped on the news of yesterdays Russian presidential elections saying “These elections were clearly rigged, the opposition was repressed, and it’s unfortunate,”
- Senator Obama was on the defensive yesterday over news that a memo taken during a meeting between his advisor and the Canadian Embassy, contradicted the campaigns official stance on what was said during the gathering. The Canadian Embassy issued a release upholding the campaign’s version and downplaying the memo, but last night Obama seemed “heated” when discussing the subject with the press. This morning the New York Times has picked up on the story.
- In a new ad Clinton is attacking Obama over his chairmanship of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee.
- Rush Limbaugh urged Texas Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton tomorrow. His reasoning? Clinton is the only candidate willing to hit Obama hard, he doesn’t have faith that McCain will do it, the longer she stays in the better chances his party will have at taking the WH.
- The Wall Street Journal throws yet another obstacle in the way of the Democratic nomination. “Add-ons are unpledged delegates who are added on to each state’s allocation of superdelegates as a sort of convention party favor. There are 76 add-ons this year, or about as many delegates as those allotted to Idaho, Hawaii and Delaware combined.”
Where Are They?
Obama: San Antonio, TX
Clinton: Columbus, OH
Huckabee: Irving, TX
McCain: San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, TX
“There’s no question that John McCain has won the nomination. He’s going to be our nominee for president,” said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
“I think it’s time to remove the presumptive label before nominee,” added Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
In addition to personally backing McCain at a Monday press conference held in Washington, D.C., Barbour and Perdue announced that McCain has also picked up the support of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven, and Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle.
In an article by Carl Huse the New York Times questions whether John McCain’s unique birthplace still makes him eligible to be president. At issue is the constitutions use of the word “natural born citizen” as a qualifier for eligibility for the highest office and McCain’s birth on a military base in the canal zone where is father was stationed.
The Times reports that McCain’s camp is certain he is eligible, this is the second time he has run for the job after all, but just to be sure the Senator’s team asked Ted Olsen to prepare a legal defense of the issue.
The basic finding of the article is that there is nothing to expressly forbid McCain from taking the office, nothing to expressly promise that it is legal. While candidates who are American citizens but born outside the US have run, none of them have ever taken the oath, giving us one more sign that whomever takes the Oval this year of the three frontrunners, this will be an election of firsts.
Heading for that second or third cup of coffee to get you through the last hour of work? I know the feeling and hope you enjoy!
Here is what you might have missed while making spreadsheets or attending meetings.
- Superdelegates continue their move to Obama, new endorsements for Obama. North Dakota Senator Dorgan, former Clinton supporter and Civil Rights hero Congressman John Lewis.
- Hillary Clinton will not release her tax-returns until April despite calls from the Obama camp that she do so after it was revealed that she put her own money into campaign.
- The White House is blaming the Clintons for a delay in releasing 11,000 documents relating to Sen. Clinton’s years as the First Lady. Because of a law in place since 2001 Bill Clinton needs to give approval for the release of those documents, which WH spokesperson Dana Perino says they have ready to go. They just need Bill to give the OK.
- The Tennessee Republican Party produced a press release entitled “Anti-Semites for Obama” which attacks the Senator’s ties to Louis Farrahkan. It also uses the Senator’s middle name “Hussein” and launches other charges in an attempt to link the Senator to terrorism. The Knoxville News reports that the Party stands by the release.
- Above the Law breaks down some numbers on what an Obama presidency will do to those earning big bucks in America.
- Radio personality Bill Cunningham dropped the “Hussein” middle name several times during a McCain event leaving the candidate apologizing. In response Cunningham defended his words and trashed McCain on FOX News.
Now head back to work or head home and enjoy the rest of the day!
While Clinton and Obama were discussing Iraq during the debate last night I looked over at my wife and said “well, McCain is going to hammer one or both of them really hard tomorrow.” Looking at Mark Halperin’s page today, I learned I was right!
Last night Tim Russert asked both candidates what they would do if leaving in Iraq meant allowing al Qaeda to create a refortify and take over the country. Specifically he wanted to know if they would reserve the right to send troops to reinvade Iraq later. Obama said the US would have to return if that occurred.
Today in Tyler, Texas McCain had this to say:
“I have some news,” McCain told voters at a rally here Wednesday morning. “Al-Qaeda is in Iraq. Al-Qaeda is called al-Qaeda in Iraq. My friends, if we left, they wouldn’t be establishing a base…they would be taking a country. I will not allow that to happen my friends. I will not surrender. I will not surrender to al-Qaeda.”
McCain went on to say: “When you examine that statement, it’s pretty remarkable.”
