Oprah for Obama

Sometime in the Iowa and New Hampshire primary campaigns, Obama went from being another candidate to being a major alternative to Hillary. I hate to raise the issue, but I think I have the answer--Oprah. Yes, I know—or I share the usual male attitude toward her show. It is an endless stream of sappy self help books, anti male rhetoric, and tips on the need to avoid bad hygiene habits by Dr. Oz. But still she has an enormous following among older women, and her support for Obama indirectly tipped the scales at the outset. How? Well, she helped turn out huge crowds, and that gave him the chance to present his message which more and more people came to like. She sold him, and he sold himself. Now the campaign is about him, his character, his readiness, and his rhetoric. Poor Hillary can not get us to focus on public policy, so she gets more frustrated and then sounds shrill.
She can't win because she and Bill are used to going bare knuckled against opponents all their careers. Now she can't do that with Obama--the people don't like her going after him. The latest New York Times poll shows him with a 54-44 margin over Clinton among all Democratic primary voters. Obama's problem is what happens when she is gone and he has to face McCain--a personable warrior who will stress national security experience and his heroic war record.

Churchill Didn't

The Clintons, desperate for a victory, are charging Obama with plagiarism since he used language similar to that of his governor friend in Massachusetts. He was trying to say that language is important in politics. In fact, Winston Churchill’s' greatest speech in which he promised blood, sweat, toil and tear was borrowed from Garibaldi's speech to the Italian troops in their revolutionary war.

Obama Leader?

While the New York Times is close to pronouncing Obama the democrats candidate, Hillary looks ahead in Ohio, Pennsylvania, maybe Texas, and likely to get Florida and Michigan in a floor fight. That is a big bloc.

Huckabee is continuing on in part because has nothing else to do. Who wants to go back to hope Arkansas?

Biden is out raising money to pay off his campaign debt. Too bad, he at least had a plan thought out to leave Iraq.

Odd and Ends, Election Updates

The state of California spends over $30 million a year to protect its Governor. Wasn’t this fellow once the Terminator?

Obama is not only beating Hillary in a string of primaries but, more ominously for her, he is winning the Democratic primaries by very large margins.

Bill Clinton said recently that he always wanted to vote for a woman president and also for an African American president, so he understands why people are flocking to Obama. That does not help Hillary, Bill.

My grandson in Virginia voted for Obama; he is tired of the Baby Boomers presidents.

Super Tuesday Elections

The Super Tuesday elections were a real mixed bag. McCain generally rolled over Romney, but his strength is in states that will likely go for the Democrats in the general election: California, New York, New Jersey. Huckabee cut into his opponents’ votes especially in the conservative South. He is all that is left for so called social conservatives, or people who want to tell others how to live their lives so they can feel saved. It is said, in the media, that Romney has a transparency problem, which is code words for saying that he does seem to a lot of people not to be telling the truth.

As for the Democrats, the picture is more complicated. Hillary did well in New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts as well as other states like Arkansas. Obama carried Connecticut, Illinois, and important states in the South and Midwest. She does well among older women and blue collar workers. Her ability to carry Hispanics, especially those more likely to watch Spanish language televisions, and Asians was critical to her election victory in California.
Someone said that in the Democratic contests it is a battle between those who drink Dunkin Donuts coffee vs. those who drink Starbucks.

Bill Bequeathed The Presidency?

Big discussion about whether Bill Clinton can be nominated on a Hillary ticket and then could he assume the president if she is incapacitated or dies. Law professors and lawyers doing what they do best are really trying to confuse the Constitution which clearly says that one must be eligible to be president to run for vice president, and which prohibits a person from serving more than two elected terms (or two elected terms and less than two years if succeeding your elected predecessor) They have decided that the 22nd Amendment stops one from being elected a third time but not from serving as president. Thus they are arguing that the 12th amendment does not apply anymore--"no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to be that of Vice-President." That means he could not even be nominated or certainly be elected legitimately.

As for Bill, he said the Constitution should be amended so that one can not serve more than two consecutive terms. Right, Bill!!!

Clinton Wins NJ

The Democratic primary shows that Senator Clinton has in New Jersey the same strengths that she exhibited elsewhere. She draws better from women, whites, those with high school and partial college education and with older voters who are supportive of her claims of experience on the national level.

The most important issues are the ones the Hall Institute identified last year in our open letter to the candidates -- the economy, health care and the war in Iraq.

McCain Wins NJ

Although the issue of illegal immigration is important among Republicans, GOP voters in New Jersey overwhelming picked an advocate of immigration reform in Senator John McCain. Republicans stressed both experience and change as twin themes they want in the White House. That combination is appropriate for a long time Republican who is often a maverick in his votes and behavior.

Willie Speaks and The People Listen

Song Meister of the people Willie Nelson has suggested that the elections could be canceled because our current president could refuse to give up the White House: "It's a long time until election day and some sort of national crisis could put off the elections and we could have George in there ten years longer."