Category: Presidential Campaign

Nasty Rudy Shows Self to Journos

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Well, the press if finally seeing the real Rudy Giuliani. Now that they have something on him that does not reflect well, the city money for his assignations, the authoritarian and paranoid control freak is coming out:

“We’ve already explained it,” he said, walking past reporters after a town hall meeting.

Giuliani, who is normally friendly to reporters, bristled past them, and campaign staffers were unusually physical in keeping the press away. Several campaign aides told campaign reporters to return to the press area, and some of his security detail manhandled reporters.

This is is something that New Yorkers, and those who have followed his exploits, already know.

He is, after all, the man who fired his wife on TV on Mother’s Day.

Jesse Jackson Says Dem Candidates Ignore Black Issues, Except for Edwards

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Fascinating. It’s clear that he is criticizing Obama with this statement:

Yet the Democratic candidates — with the exception of John Edwards, who opened his campaign in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward and has made addressing poverty central to his campaign — have virtually ignored the plight of African Americans in this country. The catastrophic crisis that engulfs the African-American community goes without mention. No urban agenda is given priority. When thousands of African Americans marched in protest in Jena, La., not one candidate showed up.

Truth be told, I agree.

Among the serious candidates*, only Edwards is talking to issues of inequality and poverty.

In fact, Obama’s basic message, one of “bipartisan civility” pretty much excludes any discussion of the divide between the haves or have nots, because such a discussion would inevitably lead to people saying nasty things to each other.

This is why we do not need a conciliator in chief.

*Which excludes Kucinich.

Edwards Says He Prefers Obama to Clinton

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I’m not sure if his statement is some sort of back door endorsement, or idle musing.

“The differences between Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) and myself are much more dramatic than the differences between Sen. Obama and myself,” Edwards told reporters after receiving the endorsement of the progressive group Caucus for Priorities, which seeks a reallocation of defense dollars into social programs.

I think that there is a real “anyone but Hillary” Caucus among liberal activists, and it will be interesting to see what happens if Hillary loses in Iowa.

Would Reverent Moon Please Buy the Washington Post Too???

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It would improve the quality of the journalism there no end. We have a front page article saying that a bunch of nuts, who have been thoroughly debunked, are claiming that Barack Obama is a crypto-Muslim.

The more I read stories and opinions from the Post, the more that I am convinced that the entire Watergate affair was just stupid dumb luck.

Journamalist Perry Bacon Jr., today’s worst person in the world!

Giuliani Used City Money for Visits to Then Mistress, Judith Nathan

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What’s more, he also cooked the books to conceal this:

The documents, obtained by Politico under New York’s Freedom of Information Law, show that the mayoral costs had nothing to do with the functions of the little-known city offices that defrayed his tabs, including agencies responsible for regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for indigent defendants.

But wait, there’s more, he also provided a police driver and city car for his chippie.

In a world of real journalism, this would be the lead story for the next week…In Rupert Murdoch’s America??? Page 12.

All Democrats Should Behave Like This

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There is a lot I don’t like about Hillary Clinton….Hell…..There is a lot I don’t like about bill Clinton…..but Hillary Clinton’s behavior to the press is not one of them.

Read the article about how Senator Clinton and her people hit back at Bob Novak’s bogus story about here digging Dirt on Barack Obama. Not only were they in front of the story, they got Bob Novak to essentially retract the story.

This episode indicates why Hillary is not as bad a candidate as a lot of people say, though I’m still leery about her being the “leader of the free world”.

She handles the press well….and she is not out for them to love her, they are out for them to fear her.

What’s more, it works. Novak backpedaled because the press was scared enough of Hillary and her people to actually press him on his story, which was clearly Rove disinformation.

Of course, then she goes and spoils it all by saying that she’ll appoint Colin Powell a foreign emissary, the man who lied about WMDs before the United nations. Because she’s so tied in with the “very serious people” inside the DC beltway.

My head hurts.

In-F%$#ing-Sane: The Michigan State House

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Well, the state courts have said that it is legal, but with everyone by Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd having withdrawn their names from the ballot, why should it matter?

Well, now the state legislature is poised to put candidates back on the ballot against their will.

If this is not a bill of attainder, it certainly is a violation of the free speech rights of the candidates, who have the right NOT to run in any state that they wish.

If this passes, it will be in court before the governor’s signature ink is dry.

Besides, I want to see Chris Dodd beat Hillary Clinton.

Oops, I spoke too soon, the House approved the bill, but the state Senate refused to take it up, so iut’s just the house that is batsh$@ insane, not the whole legislature.

Gee, People are Upset That Edwards Tells the Truth

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I’m not a fan of Senator Clinton. I am less of a fan of Obama, whose Adlai Stevensonesque Hamlet act is very old, and whose homophobic dog whistle overtures to socially conservative black Democrats in South Carolina are despicable.

What John Edwards is saying is factually accurate. Clinton is refusing to commit to removing troops from a combat role in Iraq, and while not personally corrupt herself*, she has surrounded herself with people who make money lobbying for big money interests, Mark Penn only being the most egregious case, and she has defended this system of pay to play in the debates.

It is a legitimate course for Edwards to take. For what it’s worth, FDR was very much the slick prepackaged politician in 1932, so Hillary may be better than I expect if she gets the nomination, and wins the general, which is the likely result for any Democrat who wins the nomination this time around.

*She is arguably the second most investigated individual of the past 30 years. The best that Richard Mellon Scaife could come up with Whitewater, a land deal in which she lost money.

Republican Rivals Start Opposition Research Huckabee

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Well, this is pretty good evidence that he has them running scared.

I’m not sure really why the need to do the research though. They already have the very public case of Wayne Dumond, where Huckabee lobbied for the convicted rapist’s parole, and Dumond later raped and murdered a neighbor.

He did this because Dumond’s first victim was a distant cousin of Clinton, so the wingers were claiming that he was “railroaded”, because…well…it involved Bill Clinton.

This is how Wingnuts thing.

Mike Huckabee Calls for Investigation of Bush Over Plame Leak

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I think that Huckabee has been tacking a bit against Bush, he unfavorably compared Bush and Musharraf, but his latest statement, calling for an investigation of Bush on the Plame affair, is kind of stunning.

I think that Huckabee believes that he can win by tacking against Bush. There is a significant enough plurality of Republicans who are sick of Bush to put him over the top in a multi candidate field.