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In a race that may be a precursor to the Ohio and Texas Democratic primaries in March, Barack Obama won a decisive victory in Wisconsin last night, leading Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 points. He also won Hawaii, taking over 75 percent of the vote in a state where he had campaigned as a "native son." His victories last night mark his ninth and tenth consecutive primary or caucus wins and put his pledged delegate count at 1,140. Clinton has 1,005 pledged delegates. When you add in committed superdelegates, Obama leads Clinton 1,301 to 1,239, with John Edwards's 26 delegates still in play. Chris Bowers at OpenLeft points out that Clinton has now surpassed Jessee Jackson's 1988 total of 1218 delegates. 1988 saw the highest number of delegates ever won by a Democrat who did not win the nomination.
Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee also won the Badger State last night, winning the state's 13 delegates. And his win in Washington's GOP primary yesterday put McCain at 918 delegates to Mike Huckabee's 217. 1,191 delegates are needed to win the Republican nomination. And you've gotta hand it to the Republicans: they know how to circle the wagons. McCain commended Huckabee for his tenacity, but quickly turned to Obama in his Wisconsin victory speech. "I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change," McCain told supporters Tuesday night.
Obama's wins last night set the stage for a near monumental showdown on March 4 for the Democrats, leaving Clinton no leeway for campaign error in the coming weeks, or margin for defeat. The Clinton campaign tried to write off last night's losses, saying that Obama predicted a win two weeks ago. And Clinton took a shot at Obama last night in a speech to supporters in Youngstown, Ohio, a preview of the beating the two Democrats are about to administer to each other over the next two weeks. "I want to talk to you about the choice you have in this election and why that choice matters. It is about picking a president who relies not just on words but on work -- on hard work to get America back to work."
Image via AP
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Her ego is too big and the stakes are too high for this to realistically happen, but for the good of the party, Hillary should immediately withdraw from the race...
She's fought a hard and respectable campaign, but in less than two months has gone from the clear frontrunner to losing ten consecutive primaries/caucuses. Furthermore, Obama has been steadily eating away at her base, showing that he does indeed have broader-based appeal...
Stepping down now would ensure that a Democrat has the best shot at winning the general election in November. Otherwise, she will only continue to launch attacks against Obama that the Republicans can pick up and run with, or squander donor money that might otherwise go to Obama's campaign. And in her own best interests, stepping down now would better position her to run again in four years should Obama lose to McCain...
Neither side will have the huge majority to win in Denver and claim a party mandate, so why not ride it out and roll the dice in Colorado?
Objectively, the good news is that'll make the world focus on the Democratic Convention and it becomes a way to showcase the party's platform and diversity of the people that make up the party for three nights on national TV for free.
And I say this as an Obama supporter, Hillary is just taking a chance here, she could still be frisky this summer. Don't write her off just yet.
Michelle Obama stated that for the first time in her life, she is pround of her country. She sees the U.S. as an embarrassment.
That comment shows why lefties are going to have a tough time in November. Most of the rest of us are proud of this country.
By the way, one of our space shuttles landed this morning. Michelle's reaction was likely "Meh."
"Frisky"?
Nice....that's a keep
Did anyone catch his speech from Houston last night? Anyone who doesn't think he has any substance is just plain tone deaf.
Ward Up: You got the talking points memo from Rove, too? I didn't realize you're on the mailing list....
OK, Kevin, what did she really mean?
I read all of Michelle Obama's comments for context and still find the statement puzzling, even with the right-wing propagandists chewing this over in the usual manner.
I notice you often fail to engage people who had different views than you, and offer no competing ideas in return. Do you really expect to persuade people to you point of view with such methods?
I have said it before and I will say it again: her firewall strategy is a terrible idea.
Taking a play from 9iu11anis playbook is retarded.
So Ward, does automatically not being proud of somthing mean you are embarrased by it?
I am not proud of the direction that this country has taken in this administration. I am not proud of some of the things under the Clinton administration, either. That doesn't mean that I am embarrassed to be a US citizen (but at times I am). People want change. I'm not all big on the Obama bandwagon, and maybe she didn't use the best choice of words, but aren't you jumping to some conclusions here? You must have gotten the Fox News cliff notes.
And nice assumption on the space shuttle. I hope you were proudly saluting the skies and saying the pledge as the space shuttle landed today. You were, right?
Michelle Obama should have phrased her statement differently. She should have said, "I've never been more proud of America in my adult life." Ninety-nine percent of the same meaning without anything for the Right to chew on.
That being said, there hasn't been a lot to add to the U.S.'s greatest hits since 1982 (when Michelle turned 18). Who even knows if she meant 18? She could have meant 30.
There's been no V-E day, moon landing, no Emancipation Proclamation.
Feel free to correct me. I know you will.
Michelle Obama stated that for the first time in her life, she is pround of her country. She sees the U.S. as an embarrassment.
Like many of the right wing nutjob news outlets, you conveniently left out the really that proceeded proud in her statement. Kind of changes the whole context of the statment, doesn't it?
Proceeded should in fact be preceded...
Yes, I know better.
Matilda: the statement is puzzling, and who knows what the hell she meant. I am not excusing her. But, she is not running for the presidency, her husband is. Bill Clinton has said some pretty stupid comments during this race as well ("bullets in their brains" comment comes to mind), but Bill isn't running, Hillary is. Is a comment made by a spouse a reflection of the other's views? Perhaps. But, I don't understand why this is really that big of a deal to begin with. We all say stupid stuff, things are sound right until they come out of our mouths. A comment like this is not going to change the way Barack Obama views foreign policy, or healthcare, or economics. And if people change their vote because of one stupid thing uttered from a potential first lady's mouth, so be it.
Did you read the entire statement, Sparky?
I think the right-wingers are making far too much of this, but her comments, at the least, were massively clumsy, giving that her husband is a front-runner for the presidency.
God help me for being positive, but I can point to three things I've been proud of as an American since 1982:
The role of US researchers and government in developing the Internet and Web (we didn't do all the heavy lifting, but we did a good portion of the work; and I know work began long before, but still);
The use of the Hubble telescope (again, we had help, and what can I say--I'm a space geek);
and the continuing attraction of our country to historically high levels of immigrants, many of whom are willing to risk their lives over and over again to get here. While we are far from perfect or merely ideal, we must be doing something right.
Those are all good points, Matilda, but I don't know that there's a moment when you'd well up with pride.
The immigrants thing, though, you've got to strike. There's a movement to build a huge freakin' fence to keep them out. It would be hard, as an American, to be proud of America's behavior toward immigrants.
I mean, the obvious answer would be, for her, when she realized that as a descendant of slaves, she'd graduated from the most prestigious law school in the country. That's a pretty sterling moment for the U.S. right there.
I am not sure if that's her family's background, though.
Mondegreen: Fair enough.
But I am the type of person who puts more stock into long-term effort that results in lasting accomplishment rather than moments that are often friendlier for PR and TV and end up on some list-nostalgia show.
The fence debate is beyond silly, but that's another issue.
That comment shows why lefties are going to have a tough time in November. Most of the rest of us are proud of this country.
Your false pride's making me tear up. Or is it the Lee Greenwood or Toby Keith playing in the background of your post, I can't tell. I think most Americans are going to see through such Rovian B.S. come November. The crazy 20%'ers (or whatever) that are still falling for "my government/president" right or wrong are annoying the majority of the population that can tell the difference between loving your country and being ashamed of the actions of your government.
Yes, Matilda, I did read your entire statement. Sparky can read good.
@Matilda:
And as a fellow space geek, the Hubble was a hit and miss project that, despite the fact they could have lifted it higher in Earth orbit, and repair and save it, NASA didn't place it in it's long term priorities list.
The Mars Probes are way cooler and have outperformed even the most wild predictions by anybody.
But really, RC Cars on another planet? A bus-sized telescope? Taking credit for the internet and computing standards that were actually invented by the Europeans at a Swiss physics lab? And Mondegreen said everything I could say about immigrants...
Anyway:
"It's the economy stupid" should be enough to sink the Republicans. It's going to be hard to cut the bloated of corpse of Bush's SPEND SPEND SPEND! SPEND MORE ANYONE HAS IN HISTORY! legacy from the back of the party.
We are what we've been looking for!
Oh I don't know maybe Ms. Obama( notice I spelled it right for the first and last time) thinks this country has committed and still continues to commit alot of shameful and barbaric acts against humanity and nature, but now( because of her husband) she is hopeful for a better day. God you folks are soooo shallow with no context for any thing beyond your narrow MTV purview. Should she have said it? No, especially with shallow Morons like yall. In a more enlightened country should she have said it as a starting point for a national discussion on our past and how to move forward, Yes she should have!
Morons! And I’m getting the "Most Thoughtful Commentator of the Month Award" next month!
Yeah, spookhatespuppies, those Hubble pictures have really sucked, and the USA did nothing in regards the Internet and WWW. I bet the computer folks at U of I are real shocked about that one. Or the DoD folks as well.
Fuck it. It's a sad, surreal day when I'm the one being positive and saying good things about the USA.
But I will take the Mars rover, too.
I was proud of my country after the 2000 election, too. Sure, the election was decided against my preferences, and the election was decided in a partisan manner (imagine that, elections decided in a partisan manner), but we did so in a way that at least approached constitutional guidelines, and did so without bombs or tanks or gunfire or threats of such, and with little more acrimony than was the case with similar disputed elections (read history if you don't believe me). Sure, that's corny, but it says a lot about our system compared with some other countries.
And I am proud that I've managed to, since childhood, change economic classes in this country with little else than my own effort and, of course, some luck. Corny, too, but I did it with much more ease than seen in some other developed countries, including those in W. Europe that are supposed to be so much better than the USA.
And believe me, I am anything but the mindless patriot.
Sparky: It wasn't my statement I asked about. It was Mrs Obama's.
It's amazing how far Obabama can get when you are charasmatic and have no specific policies to be critizied on. His healthcare plan is a joke yet democrats think he can fix the ailing healthcare system. Good thing his supporters don't care what his actual plans are. Staff Healthcare Reviews
Hey Tilda you are just another proud ignorant American! Heck, I'm doing well too, but I'm silly enough to hold my self up as an example!
Why don't you pick up todays NY Times and read about the dead mobility for the growing bottom, instead of promoting this boot strap bull sh*t!
Yea I can see that you certainly took advantage of a midwest cornfield college or community college education that the rest of these drones got. And to mention Western Europe with adding
they not only now lack mobility but food because they wanted our "American democracy" Well now they got it which means that the growing class of poor folks sleep on steam greats in Moscow, the Ukrane,etc, etc
And just who do you think under developed the
"developing “countries you're pointing you stubby little finger at!
Your positions shift like todays wind, pick up a book for crying out loud
I was proud of my country after the 2000 election, too.
So you were proud that the election was stolen, rather than decided by bombs and gunfire? Are your standards for our country really that low?
If the Hubble was so great and we got more than pretty pictures, NASA would've fought tooth and nail to fufill it's astronomical mandate to hold on to it.
But we learned just as much from Earth-bound radio telescopes that didn't put human lives and billions of dollars in jeopardy.
And the internet was a worldwide phenomenon. With significant contributions from Europe and Asia. To claim it as an American victory is pretty short sighted. Just like claiming victory in Europe during WWII when American-British forces faced a mere 7 German divisions to the 34 the Soviets faced on the Eastern front.
But you didn't ask me what I'd chalk up as major American achievements since 1982... I was just shooting down yours as silly. But off the top of my head:
- Taking a potential political minefield like Kosovo and making it a stable region.
- Building a major trade partnership with the second richest and most powerful nation on Earth (China). Sure, we lost a metric shit ton of jobs and the trade imbalance is embarrassing, but we've curtailed a potential military face-off with them (a war we'd easily lose) and the magic power of free market capitalism has helped move them closer and closer to democracy. Maybe Nixon gets a little credit here, but Bill Clinton did a lot of heavy lifting, too.
- The pluck and spunkiness of Kerri Strug in the '96 Olympics. She was our brave little warrior. Keep jumping in heaven, Kerri! (single tear)
-The fall of the Berlin Wall and eventual collapse of communism was pretty rad. And I'll chalk that one up to Reagan/Bush I's reckless defense spending.
How can you call yourself a space geek and diss Hubble?
They aren't fixing it because they're launching a new and improved version in 2010.
Among many other discoveries, at the very least, it has beamed back pictures of the farthest objects ever seen from earth in the history of humankind.
You were not clear. I read her entire statement. Sparky can read, and did read both of them: the first statement in Milwaukee and the amended statement in Madison. I do not typically respond on blogs without at least knowing what is being stated, and in what context.
Yes, it was a stupid and clumsy statement that she made, and she needs to be careful. All I am saying is I think it is silly to dwell on the comment like this, just as it would be silly to dwell on how McCain responded, as I cannot imagine a person being proud of their country 100% of the time, and that they will always will be proud of what this country does. The handling of Hurricane Katrina comes to mind as a day that as a country we were not proud. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe McCain felt that it was handled appropriately.
Perhaps I am missing what you are trying to say to me?
Kosovo stable? Uh, did you miss this week's move, and the reaction of Russia to it, and what this might mean for other sepeterists? As well, NATO was heavily involved in Kosovo, and the EU after.
Try again.
China? Really? As much as I like the idea of free trade, we are now reaping some of the sour benefits of our reckless China trade policy. But I see your point in regards to Nixon and B. Clinton.
Olympics? Uh, OK. I don't get weepy at TV moments, save, perhaps, for the Tianemmen Square protestor blocking a tank.
Fall of Communism? Well, we obviously had to something to do with that, but I see the Cold War also as a story of American fear and paranoia and incompetence, and a story of an absurdly managed Soviet economy--not so much an achievement as managed failure. But I give you points for reckless defense spending, a true American accomplishment that keeps on going.
Pinko: It wasn't stolen. The very messy election was decided in a constitutional matter, like it or not. And I was heartbroken that Bush got in, but it wasn't the first messy election the US has had, nor likely the last. Get the fuck off it already. If Gore had won, one could have easily made the stolen claim as well. (By the way, I was in one of the Florida counties during the recount, and saw with my own eyes the shennigans on both sides. And I've read enough to suspect the only difference between the Gore team and Bush team is that the Gore team wasn't as good as post-election work in 2000).
Spook: It is alright to say anything good about America at any time? And, by the way, I was talking in relative terms. How many times have you actually been to Europe, by the way? How many Europeans have you studied with or worked with? I am not saying my experience makes me an expert, but W Europe is not the utopian paradise many on the left seem to think it is, though in many areas it does kick our ass.
By the way, my positions do not shift like the wind. On some things I am more conservative, on others more liberal. Just like most Americans, I think. You, sir, are more of a plain old ideologue, an old-fashioned and destructive sort who often seems like you are reading from the "How to be a leftist" handbook. I am more of a realist-pragmatist, and am blessed with the ability to think in critical terms and act accordingly.
@matilda...
Not stolen?
Katherine Harris, the Florida Secretary of State who presided over the 2000 presidential election, was also Bush's Florida campaign co-chair.
His brother, Jeb, was the governor.
And in an extremely tight race, a large segment of the Florida black vote that in all likelihood went to Gore was disenfranchised.
But I get it--it was a long time ago and we can agree to disagree on whether is was actually stolen. But for you to say that you were proud of the way it was handled is absolutely ridiculous. Not even Dubya himself would have the balls to make that statement.
@matilda...
Not stolen?
Katherine Harris, the Florida Secretary of State who presided over the 2000 presidential election, was also Bush's Florida campaign co-chair.
His brother, Jeb, was the governor.
And in an extremely tight race, a large segment of the Florida black vote that in all likelihood went to Gore was disenfranchised.
But I get it--it was a long time ago and we can agree to disagree on whether is was actually stolen. But for you to say that you were proud of the way it was handled is absolutely ridiculous. Not even Dubya himself would have the balls to make that statement.
Senator Obama endorsed Todd Stroger in the 2006 election. Such lapses in judgement could have greater consequences should he become the president.
People still talking about the 2000 election? It was a long time ago, and at this point only elitist Democrats who grew up in rich families can't accept they lost. No doubt Mom and Dad told them how "special" they were growing up, so they have a hard time not getting there way.
What if they called it the Obama Space Telescope? Would it still be overrated?
The Obama Space Telescope--Probing the Universe for Hope!
If we are talking Olympic moments, it's got to be the U.S. beating the Soviets in 1982.
I think it's hard to be proud of our relationship with China. We're borrowing a ton of money from them to 1) buy goods made over there instead of over here and 2) finance a war in a country that never presented an existential threat to us. (Even if you support the Iraq War, you'd be hard pressed to say Iraq or Al Qaeda was going to take over the U.S. government).
I think embarrassed is probably the more accurate why to look at our relationship with China.
@A2:
I knew about the new and improved Hubble, that's why I pissed on the original one. It had major flaws and problems with the mirrors from the outset, and images don't mean quite as much as some of the real data coming back from Arecibo.
@Matilda:
The image of people jumping down on the Berlin Wall is probably the single greatest moment in history during my lifetime (until someone lands on Mars), so sue me if I want America to get a little credit for it.
While the Olympics was a joke, I still think choosing to be friends with a nation (no matter how flawed they are) rather than saber-rattling with a nation of 1.3 Billion over Taiwan is a major step in the right direction. Especially with our history of sending gunboats and Marine Expeditionary Units at the slightest sign of problems. Wal-Mart be damned...
It is nice to have a discussion with someone who has an intelligent command over America history and the space program, two of my favorite topics. So props there. But we did miss the single greatest scientific achievement since man walked on the moon... The mapping of the Human Genome.
America (Fuck Yeah!) did the hard work on that one, at least.
It was a long time ago, and at this point only elitist Democrats who grew up in rich families can't accept they lost. No doubt Mom and Dad told them how "special" they were growing up, so they have a hard time not getting there way.
Ah the fumbling, clumsy Rovian reasoning that works so well on the conservative mouth-breather demographic. "Elitist" the new codeword for not being a retard and being able to point out bullshit when you see it. Proud elitist snob here!
Well I guess I will take Mike Griffin and his 10 physics degrees endorsement over yours, but obviously yes it had mechanical problems.
Spookhates: Thanks for mentioning the genome. I missed that.
I agree on the best moment of your life, but for me, it happened before that, with the demonstations in E. Germany, especially in Liepzig, when I realized the whole rotten structure was about to fall. God, an instance when real peaceful demonstration worked in big ways--it was beautiful.
Pinko: OK, tell me how the aftermath of the messy election could have been better handled.
Listen, I agree with all the bad news about the 2000 election. But there was crap on both sides, and it other states as well. I take expection that you imply the Republicans won the election only through a series of conspiracies. I see the 2000 election and its aftermath as a series of very messy, very hard-fought battles by both sides that were ultimately decided in a constitutions, not extra-constitutional, manner. In this word, that is still saying something.
That said, the Bush people were far better at being slimly, which is incredible given the Gore campaign had a Daley brother on its side.
We cannot talk about the 2000 election without mentinoing that Al Gore lost both his own home state (Tenn) and Clinton's home state (Ark) to Bush.
No "Karl Rove-speak" here and no "elitist" angle.
If Al would have won at least ONE of those states, then Florida would not have even mattered.
The whole flap over this absolute nothing of an issue demonstrates one thing and one thing only: Republicans are scared shitless of November, and are already grasping at the tiniest of straws out of abject fear and desperation. That's all.
Frankly I can't blame them: They have a candidate who's aligning himself ideologically with a president who has a 19% approval rating, a candidate who can't even get his own party's base to vote for him (to the point that they're voting in surprisingly large numbers for Mike freaking Huckabee, a sure-loser), independents -- the only hope for McCain to win -- are already overwhelmingly breaking towards Obama, and the Democratic party is being redefined and re-energized by a giant new swath of young voters who aren't just vocal, but also savvy and organized -- and who are giving a giant middle finger to the very kinds of political scumbaggery that Cindy McCain and Sen. McCain's acolytes have already started engaging in.
This really appears to be the Democrats' 1980, and Republicans don't know what to do about it, and they don't have anywhere to turn: They've known for decades that if turnout really went up that they wouldn't have a prayer -- they know they're on the wrong side of public opinion on just about every issue. They've gotten by (just barely, sometimes) for a long, long time on wedge issues, demagoguery, and instilling fear, but that strategy appears to be getting flushed right down the crapper because people just aren't going to take that anymore.
So as despicable, petty, pathetic and childish as it is, in a way, I can't blame them for trying to manufacture some outrage over this issue. Their party doesn't stand for much that anybody believes in anymore, and there's precious little they can do about it.
Dear Tilda
I reside in the school of prophetic pragmatism and because I've also been blessed with the ability to think critically, I make sure that it doesn’t go to waste, which is why I read constantly often when I’d rather be doing something else.
And sorry Pinko, no matter how much I like your name, lets be real. To argue that the election was stolen is subterfuge.
The “stolen” is a minor technicality to the relevant truth/fact that the election should not have even been CLOSE in a modern democracy or republic, what ever term you wanna use.
The American public got the type of president they deserve and we will continue down this road unless we as a nation, under go some sort of intellectual vertigo to shake us out of our stupor of complacency and conformity to instead of growing older, we start to grow up due i.e a maturation of the soul that a brotha named Hegel talked about some years back.
Clearly both 9/11 and Katrina failed to do this, And I don't think O'Bama is the answer. Maybe I'm wrong as he has gotten better on the stump?
A2 Funny! Humor is good during times like these
times
Spook:
I think you're generally right about most of the people in this country needing to "grow up". The thing is, I'm of the opinion that that's actually what's happening, and I think Obama is proof of that; and I don't think he's merely taking advantage of it, I think he's a product of it.
But I could be wrong... Only time will tell.
Ah, Spook, nobody screams 'brotha' more than old GWF.
Ah-men Rev. I've inherited an American blues tradition which means deeply humanistic, but not optimistic, while always incaptured in hope. So I do see/feel something off in the distance this election cycle as you discribe. Maybe it just starting? For some reason I keep thinking of St.Elmo's Fire discribed with different means by Both Shakspeare and Herman Melville.
Yoknap, I can't find that link?
Ward Up: You got the talking points memo from Rove, too? I didn't realize you're on the mailing list....
Kevin: Actually, I got that information from Michelle Malkin's website. You see, the mainstream media will usually don't report negative items about Obama.