The Real Problem We Have Is....

The Real Problem: We have to bring this nonsense to a close because all Hillary has is hope; hope that something else will spring up to bit Obama or a miracle of back room manipulation can be pulled off. Either is destructive. It may well be that she is intent on wounding Obama so grievously that the 2008 election is McCain’s and she runs again in 2012 against and ancient McCain and a country sure to be more shape than we are at the moment, though that is hard for most people to envision, I can!

I do not believe for a moment that when her run ends that she will in anyway be an asset to Obama…to state candidates with which she wishes to curry favor and currency for 2012…Yes.

The most despicable thing that she and her campaign have done is the exploitation of the “Wright Fiasco”, a pure and simple play of “The Race Card” for which she should never be forgiven. Barack, besides all of the early-on positive feelings and hope, enthusiasm, he engendered enjoyed a “Tiger Woods” acceptance. That is gone. The racists of America, and we have seen a good batch of them come out of the wood pile in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Indiana, and we will see more of them in Kentucky and West Virginia because they now a sense of vindication and validation that permits them to hurl all manner of otherwise politically unacceptable rhetoric around. Radio talk show red neck land is alive and pandering to worst instincts of that crowd. They are stirring the cauldron of race brew.

That can lead to no good end. For those who would point the finger at the Afro-American community and its unity behind Barack as racist, I would argue that you are looking for an excuse, because their ethnic support, ethnic pride is no different than that which I had for John F. Kennedy with first born on this soil Irish Blood coursing through my veins and driving my enthusiasm and efforts. And believe me when I say to you that some of the “Irish Values” I grew up with were not mainstream American!

We were a minority and we had to fight for everything we got!

The question which now remains is that of whether or not we can pull our party together is such a manner as to unite us and to place it on a genuine course of change and integrity. If we cannot; McCain has the election and we become increasingly irrelevant.

Now this last comment I know many do not welcome, and I am afraid that many in our ranks, focused for good, focused on peaceful change are ignoring the violence that be born of racism and those given a recreate “68” environment by continued political chaos and the failure of our system of government and elections. Wishing for peace does not bring peace and Ostrich Syndrome denial and Myopia are dangerous. Our role should be that of forcing the resolution of those issue that lend themselves to the breakdown of law and order and riots in the streets.

Not everyone shares our values, and economic breakdown has always led to bloodshed. We have gas prices that are intolerable to the American mind. People are losing their homes and they see their government bailing out the big money interests and tossing a laughable tax rebate back at them. That is the perception; that is their reality, and they will act on that perceived reality. Thus has it always been.

The change in this land must be a paradigm shift, a bloodless revolution, or else human nature faced with mounting and overwhelming frustration will give way to other avenues of solution…and that is a simple fact of life and history.

Clinton campaign on ropes
GoErie.com - Erie,PA,USA
An Associated Press analysis of election returns shows that Obama picked up at least 97 delegates while Clinton won at least 86; four delegates from the two ...See all stories on this topic

Math doesn’t add up for Clinton
Scranton Times-Tribune - PA, USA
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK This analysis was first reported Wednesday on the Borys Blog at TheTimes-Tribune.com. Visit the site for more political coverage and ...See all stories on this
topic

Sources: Clinton supporter pressures Pelosi
CNN International - USA
... unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi embraced his plan to finance revotes in Florida and Michigan, three officials familiar with their conversation said. ...

Report: Top Hillary Supporter Harvey Weinstein Threatened Pelosi
TPM - New York,NY,USA
By Greg Sargent - May 8, 2008, 10:28AM In a heated phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late last month, Hillary Clinton supporter Harvey Weinstein ...

Harvey Weinstein is taking on Nancy Pelosi?
By media@politico.com (Anne Schroeder Mullins)
Hillary Clinton supporter Harvey Weinstein threatened to cut off contributions to congressional Democrats unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi embraced his plan to finance revotes in Florida and Michigan, three officials familiar with ...
Anne Schroeder's Blogs - http://www.politico.com

Hope is all that she has left

By Dan Payne

May 8, 2008

HILLARY Clinton has finally run out of gas. Her weak win in Indiana, combined with the drubbing she took in North Carolina, a state Barack Obama called "big," spells the beginning of the end for her die-hard, 16-month campaign using ordinary means.

Her only chance now is to slog on to the Democratic convention in August hoping that Obama or something yet unknown allows her to pitch the superdelegates, again, on the idea that her opponent can't win in the fall.

That Wright man. Like actor Dennis Hopper, the equally crazed Rev. Jeremiah Wright could pop up at any moment and spew a fresh batch of nonsense. More than anything, the prospect of a resurrected Wright gives the Clintonista reason for hope.

Trouble is, the Clintons know there is life after a bad relationship: If Bill Clinton could survive Gennifer Flowers, Obama can deal with Wright.

Michigan and Florida's 366 delegates are Clinton's last hope. The states' fates could remain in limbo until the convention, when they get decided by the party's credentials committee; its three co-chairs, including Jim Roosevelt of Boston, all worked in the Bill Clinton administration.

The credentials committee contains 186 members - can this many people decide anything? Party chairman Howard Dean appoints 25 of them. The Clintons don't trust Dean and want him gone.

Back-room maneuvering could begin May 31, when the party's 30-member rules and bylaws committee meets to consider Florida and Michigan. One-half of this committee's members are Clinton backers. They could try to ram through a ruling that would seat those delegates at the convention, giving Clinton at least 55 more delegates than Obama, according to Clinton operatives. This would provoke an ugly fight the party doesn't need.

Let the elites decide. The superdelegates don't want to pick the nominee all by themselves. But they could. In 1984, they gave front-runner Walter Mondale the nomination over upstart Gary Hart. Clinton has to hope that something weird happens before the convention that causes many superdelegates to believe Obama cannot win the White House.

Forget the voters. For months, voters believed they were picking their party's candidate for president. If the convention is deadlocked, the superdelegates and switchers and dealmakers will pick the winner, disenfranchising millions of voters.

Get over it. Suppose Obama leads in delegates and popular vote but the superdelegates hand the nomination to Clinton. Obama's black, young, and upscale delegates will storm out of the convention and promise payback in the fall.

Most of Obama's voters - particularly African-Americans, the Democrats' most loyal supporters - will never support Clinton if Obama's legitimate claim to the nomination is nullified. Can you say, "President McCain?"

The press can't believe it's over. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd nailed it weeks ago. On one hand, she said, the political analysts rationally know it's over for Clinton; she can't win; the math doesn't work. But the same analysts irrationally cling to the belief that somehow the Clintons will find a way to cheat political death.

The Clinton will to win. Clinton undoubtedly feels the top spot belongs to her. She's won all the big blue states and has institutional support through her husband's appointments; the convention experience of her people is light years ahead of anything Obama has. But her greatest asset is an unyielding will to win, an all-consuming commitment to getting one's way. (This happens to be the title of a book by firebrand college basketball coach Bobby Knight, who recently resigned after a dismal season, proving that will is often overrated.)

The Bredesen plan. Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has proposed a superdelegates "primary" for June after the primaries and caucuses are over. Rather than wait for the convention, all 795 superdelegates would on a given date commit publicly to Clinton or Obama. It could be done online, avoiding the need for travel.

This forces the hands of "uncommitted" superdelegates, who have plenty of information to make an informed decision, and allows the party to know its winner by early June, bringing an end to this exhilarating, maddening campaign. As the Grateful Dead sang, "What a long, strange trip it's been." And it's only half over.

Dan Payne is a media consultant who has worked for Democratic candidates around the country. He does political analysis for WBUR radio.