Newscoma

I saw this on Twitter from the Memphis Flyer.

Harold Ford. Jr. has a column in the June 2, 2008 edition of Newsweek. Here is a snippet:

The night Barack Obama is expected to accept the Democratic nomination will be Aug. 28, the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King had a dream, and Barack Obama is part of its fulfillment.

We live in a more just and open country than we did 45 years ago, a country where an African-American may be elected president. That doesn’t mean the country is perfectly just, or that we live in a new, post-racial era. But concerns about race in this election are overstated.

Do many rural or working-class people have questions about Obama? Sure. But these are less about race than about culture. Obama has not lived their lives.

The last two sentences I agree with. But, I think I would like to add that none of the candidates truly understand rural America but I also agree it’s more about culture from what I’m hearing in the trenches. That is the reason that John Edwards resonated so strongly here in northwest Tennessee.

It’s a compelling read.

In my little neck of the woods, I have to tell you, the John Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama is a bigger deal than you might think. And I agree with Goldni that I think the timing of this was very much balanced for positive press after West Virginia.

Prior to Super Tuesday, I really had to give a lot of thought between Edwards and Obama. I read the issues (including Hillary Clinton’s) and when Edwards dropped out January 30th, my decision was pretty much made for me. I’ve also said that if Clinton won the nomination, I would throw her my vote. It isn’t much but it’s mine.

The people that I know really like Edwards and here in northwest Tennessee, he has always been very well-received. The populist platform, regardless of the $400 haircut that keeps being brought up, resonated with a lot of folks here which does have a blue-collar base.

Now, will his endorsement make a difference? Yes, but news cycles these days don’t last very long. The video for Chocolate Rain has had a longer life-span than political news stories these days.

He has 19 delegates. He does seem to balance the two remaining candidates as well. When Bill Richards came out earlier for Obama, he honestly took a beating from the Clinton camp. With Edwards waiting, he won’t go through what Richards went through. Someone asked me yesterday did I think Obama would name Edwards as his running mate.

I told them no but then again, I’ve been wrong before. I just don’t see it. Of course, I also thought Mike McWherter would run.

With all of that said, Obama got the cookie he’s been waiting for with Edwards’ endorsement.

How long will the buzz last in the blogosphere and in mainstream media?

Hard to tell.

A little bunch of nothing which started making the rounds this afternoon. Or is it something?

[youtube=[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR_Y5FqvFmU&hl=en]

Did John Edwards say at the end of this clip from Morning Joe “I just voted for him on Tuesday?”

You decide.

No official endorsement but interesting.

Nice interview at the Ticker this morning with John and Elizabeth Edwards. I thought it was interesting but they say a lot without saying anything.

When it comes to Hillary Clinton, John Edwards praised the New York Democrat for her tenacity, saying she “shows a real strength that’s inside of her.” But the former North Carolina senator also said Clinton represents a “lot of the old politics.”

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Edwards said she is a strong proponent of Clinton’s healthcare plan, though is disappointed the New York senator accepts donations from lobbyists.

As for Barack Obama, John Edwards said he wants to “see more substance under the rhetoric.” But he gave Obama praise for wanting to “bring about serious change and a different way of doing things.”

Elizabeth Edwards said she is impressed by the fact Obama has “motivated so many young people to be involved,” though she does not like his healthcare plan and said his advertisements on the plan have been “misleading.”

John Edwards later added he thinks it’s a “great symbolic thing to have an African-American who could be president.”

That sentiment, People reports, caused Elizabeth Edwards to roll her eyes:

“What about the great symbolic thing about a woman?” she asked.

I like the banter between them though. They seem very comfortable. I like that. In many ways, they have become the first couple of the Democratic Party. Not bad.

So Barack Obama had a good weekend. He swept the primaries and caucuses, won a Grammy and, for these last couple of days, had the Midas touch.

I think it’s very interesting how he has younger folks headed to the polls in droves. With that thought out of my cranium, let’s take into consideration that things shifted in the political world this weekend.

First of all, Ron Paul must really be a Republican if he says he won’t run third party. I honestly thought Dr. Paul would venture out on a revamped Constitutionalist ticket for the Libertarian party. Shows how much I know.

Hillary Clinton had a rough weekend but don’t count her out yet. Those pesky superdelegates could change everything.

From the Associated Press,

Of the 796 lawmakers, governors and party officials who are Democratic superdelegates, Clinton had 243 and Obama had 156. That edge was responsible for Clinton’s overall advantage in the pursuit of delegates to secure the party’s nomination for president. According to the AP’s latest tally, Clinton has a total of 1,136 delegates and Obama has 1,108, following Obama’s victory Sunday in Maine’s caucuses. A candidate must get 2,025 delegates to capture the nomination.

The numbers illustrate not only the remarkable proximity between the two candidates, but also the extraordinary influence superdelegates could wield in determining who becomes the nominee.

The story goes on to say that Clinton wields more power with the Democratic party political insiders on this one.

Here’s my thing. I really don’t want either candidate to take on the role of the victim. I think it goes without saying that anytime anyone, Obama or Clinton, falls behind then the tone moves into the underdog vibe.

Clinton may not have won the primaries this weekend, but she is by no means the underdog here. The next couple of weeks could change on a dime. And it has to do with superdelegates and not so much for the popular vote.

I enjoy seeing both of the candidates play up their strengths with confidence. I realize I might be naive here and I realize that it’s a dog and pony show at this point but on a personal level I don’t enjoy seeing the manipulation of and by the media on this. It’s politics not Melrose Place. And, let’s be honest, superdelegates are basically just politicians. So, the voters have to depend on them to name the nominee. Once again I say there are deals being made and in this election I’ve seen a little bit more transparency about the whole process this year (I think the internet has a bit to do with this) but the key question is simple.

Who will the superdelegates go for?

Obama or Clinton?

I’m not so sure who it will be.

And I see a shift going back to the electability issue which enrages so many folks but is a valid dialogue. So, the question is, who can beat McCain? And who will John Edwards endorse and does it matter at this point?

Talk amongst yourselves.

Sabrina Bates, chief staff writer extradonaire, found this story this evening and sent it to me.

John Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race this week and initially, his campaign asked the secretary of state to remove his name. But NBC 10 has learned that Edwards’ campaign has since asked for Edwards’ name to remain on the ballot.  

Interesting.

Vibinc offers a very thoughtful analysis of what it’s like to be a yellow-dog democrat. For me to even pull one snippet out wouldn’t do the whole piece justice.

Head his to his home on the web to read his thoughts on the democratic race for president.

I’m sort of surprised that John Edwards decided to bow out. The cynic in me thinks there is more here than meets the eye as that’s usually going on with politicians. We see one thing, but other stuff is going on as well.

You never know.

In all honesty, I don’t know why he didn’t do any better. I was leaning heavily toward voting for him even though I knew he wasn’t going to get the stage in Denver.I thought he’d stick around and gather up a smattering of delegates and start brokering deals.

That’s how it’s usually done. Politicians wheel and deal.

I’m sort of surprised that Edwards didn’t do that. Or did we? Once again, you never know.

And that cynic is me is asking “What happened?” Because I think something did. Either personal or a deal down the line perhaps?

Not sure.

A member of my staff is a HUGE Edwards supporter and she is somewhat heartbroken although she is a realist as well. She liked him and every day I would get an update on him from her, something I rather enjoyed over coffee each morning. It’s the enthusiasm that she shared that brightened my morning. I wish I could have 1/4th of her energy and passion about this race, but I don’t.

And now we are down to four choices. Two republicans, two democrats…

It is what it is.

It backfired. The whole Hillary/Bill wrassling tag team blew up in their faces yesterday when Barack Obama beat the tar out of the two. And I can’t just write about Hillary as her name will be on the ticket but it’s a twofer deal. And it’s a deal I’m not grooving (Apologies to Mack) on right now although I might have been more open to it just two weeks ago.

I think Obama’s anthem of change is creating a great deal of inspiration and thought because it hasn’t been negative and apparently hitting a chord in non-traditional voters (although John Edwards hasn’t been as negative as well which I think deserves mentioning.) The whole race/sex thing, although it will be a factor with voters and there is no getting around that, was created as a wedge issue this past week by The Clintons and mainstream media ran with it. But it wasn’t as big of an issue as The Clintons made it into in South Carolina. We will have to see if it seeps into the states voting on Super Tuesday.  And it reeks dishonest and politics as usual to me and I don’t like it. Bill Clinton went about three steps too far and Hillary let him. And I liked Bill in office but I’m not liking what I see today.

The Clintons made huge missteps this week and Hillary’s campaign paid for it. She needs to rethink her strategy but anything as this point will seem contrived, I’m afraid. One thing I do know is that The Clintons aren’t dummies and they’ve bounced back before.

I can’t help but believe that John Edwards is done as a viable candidate for the White House at this point because if there was any state he should have taken with some ease was South Carolina but I don’t think he’s out of the running of being a very important factor as we stumble toward the Denver convention. He has delegates.  So who will he swing those delegates to because it might change things up? I don’t know at this point. In the world of politics, there is always something else going on.  Does he have a chance? In a “traditional” presidential campaign, I’d say no.

But this isn’t a traditional campaign year.

There isn’t getting around the fact that Obama is striking a chord among the American people including myself. I find myself watching him speak of his message of change but taking over the Bush Administration is going to be a challenge for whomever wins the White House.

Now, who is best to deal with this mess? And why should they get our most precious commodity right now?

That would be our one vote.

I saw some pretty contentious posts yesterday after the South Carolina Democratic Debate. Usually it was on the left. I’m from the left, so I paid attention.

I said last year that whoever stands on that stage in Denver later in the year is going to be the one getting all of our votes. Same with the Republicans.

Now, with that said, I’ve not endorsed anyone yet (like my endorsement makes a bit of difference to any other voter but I’m just saying.) I’ve not endorsed because I don’t know and my vote makes a difference to me.

So, I will say this:

John Edwards: I like him. I do. I thought he handled the brawl between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pretty well the other night. There are things about the way he handles the issues that speak to me personally. I talked to ViBinc the other night and he made some very good points about health care and spoke to me about why he digs him. It was a good conversation. I like what David had to say as well about, and I know we aren’t supposed to talk about this word, electability. I’ve also had some correspondence with Russ McBee who actually broke down why he’s supporting Edwards very effectively that gave me a lot of pause. But, I’m an old hippie, and electability makes a difference to me. I don’t like Edwards’ statements about same-sex marriage. And there is a piece of me that wonders what he really, truly wants out of this race. Has his time passed? I truly believe that people run for office for different reasons. But I’m weighing giving him my vote on Super Tuesday.

Barack Obama: The whole Present/Not Present allegations thrown at the Senator don’t wash with me. You can easily look up on the Internet the amount of votes that Hillary Clinton has missed as well. That debate argument seemed contrived and petty to me. Obama also speaks to me. I do like his message of change and I have spent a great deal of time reading his issues. I don’t think there is anything wrong with feeling a bit of hope about my government and that’s where Obama excels. As political bloggers or junkies, we have to keep in mind that is how people vote. So, along with his message of hope and change, I’m reading the issues that are important to me and seeing if his plans hit upon those said issues. I also like the enthusiasm he creates in some of the younger voters I read on the web and that are in my community. So, I’m weighing giving him my vote on Super Tuesday.

I’ll be honest. I’m tired of the Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush line of faux political royalty that has been a staple in this country since 1988. I don’t think Hillary Clinton would necessarily be a terrible president and I’ll vote for her if I have to. She does say some things I don’t disagree with her. She just doesn’t convey as well to me the things I’m looking for politically at this time of my life that the other two do. That’s just me.

Politics are uncomfortable. I get that. And it bugs me that the Democratic-controlled congress hasn’t been very effective since the election in November of 2006. I realize, however, there are folks out there that have been doing the heavy lifting in getting their candidates elected for which I’m appreciative. I’ve learned from you.

I need a bit of hope. I just don’t know who’s going to give that to me.

Who will make the difference? I have until Super Tuesday to figure it out.

I only have one vote. And it’s mine.

 
First hour went to Edwards.

Second hour went to Obama.

Of course that’s just my opinion.

They all kept saying they were going to face John McCain in November which I thought was interesting. Immediate reactions from CNN can be found here.
Random thoughts. I don’t think Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton like each other too much and found that them trying to hammer the hell out of each other was distracting in the first hour. John Edwards did stay on task that hour. He made points on his statements about poverty.

So, let’s look at what they say they say the issues are on their websites:

Obama, Edwards who has an 80-page book for download and Clinton

I think I’m just going to start reading the issues ’cause man, do I need an aspirin right now.

“Oh, I’m in the race. I’m in the race for the long-term,” he said. “Got my butt kicked and now I’m going to get up in spite. Going to fight for all the things that I care about — and those causes have not gone away and haven’t changed.”Edwards said McCain “is starting to look like the Republican nominee and I think it’s important for us to have somebody to run against McCain who can beat him and the national polls show that I’m the one who beats John McCain in the general election.”

From a story from the Associated Press. Currently, I actually know more folks on a personal level that have committed their vote to Edwards although it remains to be seen on Super Tuesday. On the other hand …

Now the Illinois senator himself is taking on the former president, telling Good Morning America that he feels as if he’s running against both Clintons.

In the interview, Obama reportedly says that the former president has been misrepresenting both “my record of opposition to the war in Iraq” and “our approach to organizing in Las Vegas,” as the controversy over Saturday’s Nevada caucus vote continues to grow.

And of course, for our early morning cornucopia Chuck Norris called John McCain old.

Norris is 67 incidentally. (Insert Norris quote here about how he could whup on someone, cure cancer, etc.)

Let’s see, in the last 20 years it’s been Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush …

If I wrote music and could actually sing, I think there is a song in there somewhere. I vote Kanye. Or Laurie Anderson.

Yeah, that sounds groovy.