Barack Obama or John McCain

[Michael Hogan]

In American Politics, "nice" guys finish last....

....Obama is beginning to look and sound like an empty suit who doesn't have the stomach for a real American political campaign and who doesn't have the guts to stand up for his own people. The superdelegates are not looking for a "leader " who shows no backbone.

Obama looks like he is about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

He is beginning to look and sound like a wimp.

That seems very hard. He is clearly trying to do "politics" in a new way. I am sure in the long-term he will not suffer from this approach. Hilliary will be seen as a hypocrite and the Democrat leadership will see that he is a candidate who is trying to unite the party. There will be no problem bringing back Samantha Power later.

In an op/ed article published today by the International Herald Tribune, Maureen Dowd writes:

After losing Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and his mojo, and getting whipsawed around by Hillary and his own chuckleheaded coterie of advisers, he will now have to come to grips with something he has always skittered away from: You can't be elected president unless you prove you're tough.

Hillary's undeniably tough, as even admiring conservatives admit.

The Wall Street Journal op-ed page dubbed her Ma Barker, saying she had tapped into the angst of blue-collar women who know they have to ignore their "moping" men and "suck it up and hold the house together."

Ma Clinton knows where Obambi's soft spots are; she knows he likes being petted on his pedestal, that he's unnerved by her, and that he can never fully accept how shameless she is. What could be more shameless than suggesting to Democrats that John McCain would make a better commander in chief than Obama?

The Obama campaign seems naive when it keeps reacting with hurt feelings and play-by-the-rules protestations to the Clinton modus vivendi of grabbing the slightest slip and ripping it open. Hillary's kneecapper Howard Wolfson compares the goo-goo Obama campaign to Ken Starr with a straight face.

The superdelegates are watching to see if Obama can stiffen his backbone. After seeing their candidates lose races they should have won in 2000 and 2004 because they flinched at Republican political waterboarding, Democrats do not want to watch the bully swipe their lollipop a third time....

Full story: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/09/opinion/eddowd.php

[J. Raymond Carroll]

That seems very hard. He is clearly trying to do "politics" in a new way.

In an op/ed article published today by the International Herald Tribune, Maureen Dowd writes:

The superdelegates are watching to see if Obama can stiffen his backbone. After seeing their candidates lose races they should have won in 2000 and 2004 because they flinched at Republican political waterboarding, Democrats do not want to watch the bully swipe their lollipop a third time....[/indent][/b]

Like Maureen Dowd, I had high hopes that Obama would put Hilary in her place and win the presidency (indeed, it looked like he had it in the bag) until Hillary Clinton called on him to fire Samantha Power and Obama ignominiously caved in to Hillary's demand.

Now we know who's boss in the Clinton-Obama relationship.

If Obama can't stand up to Hillary, how can he handle the Republican attack machine?

Recall that Barak Obama was elected to the senate almost by default, so this is his first REAL election campaign.

The Clinton camp initially denied that Woolfson had really compared Obama to Ken Starr (it was already on the record), but as soon as Obama fired Power, Hillary went on television and DEFENDED Wolfson's comments. She came flat out herself and said Obama IS like Ken Starr, (because he had the unmitigated gall to demand that she produce her tax returns as every other candidate has done).

Hillary and Obama went eyeball to eyeball, and Obama blinked.

Obama whimpers that he is staying out of "knife fights," while everyone can see him bleeding badly from the knife wound that he just helped Hilary to inflict.

One of the first rules of politics says "do not allow yourself to bleed in shark-infested waters."

Brzezinski—another of Obama's foreign policy advisers—relayed the following statement: "I think an expression of regret for using an inappropriate description of Senator Clinton should have sufficed. And I don't think she should have resigned.

"

http://www.observer.com/2008/brzezinski-po...t-have-resigned

Samantha Power has made it clear that Obama DEMANDED her resignation, so Brzezinski is really criticizing Obama for caving in to pressure from Hillary.

Brzezinski is saying that Obama was a schmuck when he fired Samantha Power, and he is not the only alpha male (or alpha female) who is thinking that way. Nancy Pelosi, an alpha female and THE SUPER_SUPER DELEGATE, made it clear in her SF Chronicle interview on Friday that she was waiting for Obama to prove that he has REAL leadership ability. (Nancy is a survivor of how many election campaigns?) Before that long Friday was over, she may have had her answer.

Hillary has shown her power by dictating a new reality. To win the nomination now, all she needs to do in the remaining primaries is show a favorable trend in the popular vote. Right now Obama leads by 600,000. If that number starts trending downwards in Pennsylvania and the primaries that follow, then Obama

will be seen as a flash in the pan and give credence to Hillary's claim that voters are showing "buyer's remorse." (for various reasons Wyoming & Mississipi don't really count, in this reality).

I have seen Obama on television a few times since Friday, and he looks and sounds like a mere shadow of the man who once said "yes we can."

Obama often quotes JFK "let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate." JFK left us one of the greatest lessons in history when he addressed the deadly problem of Russian missiles in Cuba. It is a lesson that negotiation is a creative art form that requires the ability turn anything that lies around into a meaningful bargaining chip. Woolfson handed Obama a negotiating weapon with his Ken Starr comment, but OBAMA WAS AFRAID TO NEGOTIATE. He didn't have the guts.

He should have demanded Woolfson's resignation as a prerequisite before he even considered accepting Power's resignation.

I just heard on television that Hillary, who was loaning money to her campaign not long ago, raised $3 Million IN ONE DAY on the internet.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/07/...in3918053.shtml

(Political Animal) SAMANTHA POWER REVISITED....Matt Yglesias responds to the news that Obama advisor Samantha Power has resigned after being quoted calling Hillary Clinton a "monster":

So thinking a bit more reflectively about this Samantha Power business, I'm pretty pissed off. Sure, you can rail against the perfidy of the Clintons, but this sort of ritualized calls for resignations is all in the game. Having her resign, by contrast, is just playing the game poorly. Remember when fresh strategic thinking and common sense were going to break with the conventional wisdom? I do. The "monster" business was a dumb thing to say, and certainly the kind of thing you apologize for, but no kind of indication that she was a bad person to get foreign policy advice from.

I'm trying to figure out if I agree with this or not.

David Corn of Mother Jones comments:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archiv...onstergate.html

Non-News Flash: Aides to presidential candidates routinely refer to the competition in harsh terms, particularly when they talk to reporters off the record. More than once, a top Clinton person has told me that s/he believes Obama is a self-righteous fraud--or worse. It was, of course, always off the record. But if I had reported any of these remarks, I could have gotten the pop The Scotsman has received for disclosing Power's comment.

The Clinton people do deserve chutzpah points for trying to turn this nothing-burger into a full-course feast. During a conference call with reporters yesterday, Clinton's top spinner, Howard Wolfson, compared Obama and his aides to Kenneth Starr because they dared to question Clinton's refusal to release her income taxes. (In The Washington Post, Dana Milbank credited me with asking the question that prompted the Ken Starr remark --a quip obviously locked and loaded before the call.) The comparison was ridiculous. But in Democratic circles, there's not much of a bigger slur than, Hey, you're Ken Starr! For Democrats, Starr is the functional equivalent of a monster.

So the Clinton crowd does not have the moral high ground in this round. Yet what was the net result? Power, a talented journalist and thinker who gives a damn about genocides (certainly more so than Bill Clinton did during the Rwanda nightmare), was forced off Obama's campaign. [Read: Obama was a schmuck to fire her.]

Edited March 9, 2008 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Obama sounded whiny after his losses, chastising reporters on his plane for asking him hard questions about Goolsbee and Antonin Rezko.

Privately, his people conceded that he hadn't been as fierce about winning as Hillary, once more playing rope-a-dope.

Never mind rope-a-dope, Maureen. No one has commented yet about the slipshod, hip-shooting style of decision-making on display in Obama's handling of the Power CRISIS, yet people feel uneasy about it. It just doesn't sit right.

Good decision-making requires a period of pre-contemplation. Charles Sanders Peirce called it the Play of Musement. It is the look you see on JFK's face as he sits in his rocking chair contemplating the possible consequences of the Federal- State showdown over Dorothy Malone's college enrollment. The cinema-verite documentary film of the Dorothy Malone decision is now a classic, but I would very much like to see an equally verite documentary about how Obama made the decision to FIRE Samantha Power.

Once, talking to someone on air force one, JFK pointed to Ken O'Donnell and boasted: "If I told O'Donnell to jump out of this airplane right now, he would do it."

Samantha would have done no less for Barak, yet he fired her as soon as Hilary demanded it. So loyal is the bold Barak that he said "yes, your majesty"

and "get lost, Samantha" as soon as Hilary's words reached his ears. THe documentary of Obama's first major Power decision will be entered in the Short Film category and will win first prize in the CRINGE category.

Regardless of whether you think the decision itself was right or wrong, the inappropriate SPEED and ALACRITY of the decision-making process (he obviously did not consult with Brzezinski) ,and the appearance of kow-towing to Clinton when he didn't have to, will be gnawing on the minds of voters and superdelegates.

[Dawn Meredith]

So the Clinton crowd does not have the moral high ground in this round. Yet what was the net result? Power, a talented journalist and thinker who gives a damn about genocides (certainly more so than Bill Clinton did during the Rwanda nightmare), was forced off Obama's campaign. [Read: Obama was a schmuck to fire her.]

____________________________

I totally agree Ray, but if he were to ask her back he'd be called a flip flopper. This is turning into a total mess. The Dems can't seem to do anything right. I was of the opinion that HRC and Obama would make a dream ticket and win, but now ....the level of anger is too great. And the Michigan and Florida mess is just one more indication that the Dems seem destined to fail.

Hate radio did drive this. (I read a lot of the comments on the blogs posted here). Rush does have power and his ditto heads listen to him. They don't think, he tells them not to. It's a sad and sorry state of affairs. I liked and voted for Obama but can't believe he actually fired Power. He does look like a wimp now.

Dawn

[J. Raymond Carroll]

This New York Times profile of Obama today seems to be suggesting that he is not quite ready for prime time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/polit...SZIVPCFj14qzwWQ

[Scott Deitche]

Just because Obama removed Power fomr his campaign, does not mean he wouldn't put her into a Cabinet position come next January should he win. I suspect there are behind the scene machinations we are not privy to regarding this issue.

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Just because Obama removed Power fomr his campaign, does not mean he wouldn't put her into a Cabinet position come next January should he win.

If that is the case, and if Power really is qualified for a cabinet -level job, then that is another way of saying that he was acting like a schmuck when he fired her.

It will be the ultimate irony if Power ends up working for President Hillary:

Power's still backing Obama. But she noted, "if he doesn't get the nomination I will be backing Senator Clinton with the same enthusiasm."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=296007

Edited March 10, 2008 by J. Raymond Carroll

[Guest David Guyatt]

I have just been listening to Samantha Power, Barack Obama's foreign policy advisor, being interviewed on the BBC. She was very impressive. He will not go far wrong if he gives her a senior post in his government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Power

http://www.blogger.com/profile/05314504138452855865

An self respecting conspiracy theorist would argue that this is the reason why he just accepted her resignation.

Common sense in politics is a dangerous precedent. Hilary must be whooping for joy.

The way it works - wearing my swish cynics hat - is that both the actual presidential runners will be acceptable to the powers that be. Heads they win, tails they win. The rest of us lose. That the way reality works. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.

Sadly America, you'll get what you're given and swallow it... just like we Limey's do. Deciding who is the president of the greatest criminal power in the world is far too important a decision to allow ordinary folk a meaningful say.

[John Simkin]

He is beginning to look and sound like a wimp.

Obama is in a difficult position. According to some commentators when women see a woman attacking a man, most think “good for her”. However, when a man responds, he raises the risk of being seen as a bully. At the same time, if he does not respond in kind, some men will see him as a wimp. Personally, I think he has got it right. But then again, I am an outsider and might be judging it by British standards.

[J. Raymond Carroll]

He is beginning to look and sound like a wimp.

Obama is in a difficult position. According to some commentators when women see a woman attacking a man, most think “good for her”. However, when a man responds, he raises the risk of being seen as a bully.

In this case, the "offending" comments were made by a woman, so sexism was not the issue in "Monstergate."

Besides, the comments were clearly not serious and were not intended for publication. Numerous American reporters have pointed out that they hear comments like this from both camps all the time and wouldn't dream of publishing them. The American press would have treated this, on one major level, as a story about unscrupulous British paparazzi if Obama had handled it the way a President or any POLITICAL PRO would have handled it.

Everyone knows that Hillary is as tough as ten men. During the Ohio campaign she launched a new "Kitchen Sink" strategy, making it clear that that from now on the gloves are off against Obama. Only A few days before "Monstergate" Hillary stuck a shiv in Obama's ribs while pretending to defend him: OBAMA IS NOT A MUSLIM, she said, "AS FAR AS I KNOW.

She has made it clear that Obama can't make her apologize.

In the early moments of Monstergate Hillary's campaign began a mass email protesting Power's off- the-record comments and demanding that Obama FIRE HER. Judging by the blogosphere, even Hillary's own supporters, especially FEMALE supporters, thought this was a bit ridiculous, and apparently most of Hillary's supporters never received the email because the campaign stopped sending it. Obama fired Power about an hour after Hillary's demand. During this same period, Hillary's campaign manager was comparing Obama to Ken Starr who is considered a genuine monster in Democratic circles.

If Obama was a hardened political pro he would firstly have bought Time to assass the situation and consult some SERIOUS people besides his immediate campaign "Chuckleheads" (as Maureen Dowd now refers to them).

When new York Governor Elliot Spitzer was caught with in a hooker scandal yesterday, resignation appeared inevitable, given Spitzer's prior record of putting prostitution rings in jail. Yet Spitzer did not resign immediately, he decided to at least allow 24 hours to go by so that he could see which way the wind is blowing and talk to senior political people outside his immediate coterie of staff. To that extent, Spitzer acted like a pro.

Spitzer was in deep quicksand, yet he did not act in a panic. Monstergate was a storm in a teacup by comparison, yet Obama went into immediate panic and fired Power, his chief source of advice and information on GENOCIDE. It seems genocide is not a very big priority, after all, compared to Obama's "sensitivity" to the "hurt" that Power had inflicted on poor Hillary.

Everyone I've spoken to thinks Obama made himself look really weak, laying the groundwork for Hillary to patronize him as a possible Vice-president. After the panicky way he handled Monstergate, some people wonder if he even has the stuff to be Vice-president. l

Personally, I think he has got it right. But then again, I am an outsider and might be judging it by British standards.

I am a European who has lived in the States long enough to have a sense of how Americans think. In a political campaign, they expect an eye for an eye. They would have been delighted if Obama, after accepting Power's apology, had gone on television and said:

Hillary is not a monster --AS FAR AS I KNOW.

[Guest Gary Loughran]

He is beginning to look and sound like a wimp.

Obama is in a difficult position. According to some commentators when women see a woman attacking a man, most think “good for her”. However, when a man responds, he raises the risk of being seen as a bully.

In this case, the "offending" comments were made by a woman, so sexism was not the issue in "Monstergate."

Besides, the comments were clearly not serious and were not intended for publication. Numerous American reporters have pointed out that they hear comments like this from both camps all the time and wouldn't dream of publishing them. The American press would have treated this, on one major level, as a story about unscrupulous British paparazzi if Obama had handled it the way a President or any POLITICAL PRO would have handled it.

Everyone knows that Hillary is as tough as ten men. During the Ohio campaign she launched a new "Kitchen Sink" strategy, making it clear that that from now on the gloves are off against Obama. Only A few days before "Monstergate" Hillary stuck a shiv in Obama's ribs while pretending to defend him: OBAMA IS NOT A MUSLIM, she said, "AS FAR AS I KNOW.

She has made it clear that Obama can't make her apologize.

In the early moments of Monstergate Hillary's campaign began a mass email protesting Power's off- the-record comments and demanding that Obama FIRE HER. Judging by the blogosphere, even Hillary's own supporters, especially FEMALE supporters, thought this was a bit ridiculous, and apparently most of Hillary's supporters never received the email because the campaign stopped sending it. Obama fired Power about an hour after Hillary's demand. During this same period, Hillary's campaign manager was comparing Obama to Ken Starr who is considered a genuine monster in Democratic circles.

If Obama was a hardened political pro he would firstly have bought Time to assass the situation and consult some SERIOUS people besides his immediate campaign "Chuckleheads" (as Maureen Dowd now refers to them).

When new York Governor Elliot Spitzer was caught with in a hooker scandal yesterday, resignation appeared inevitable, given Spitzer's prior record of putting prostitution rings in jail. Yet Spitzer did not resign immediately, he decided to at least allow 24 hours to go by so that he could see which way the wind is blowing and talk to senior political people outside his immediate coterie of staff. To that extent, Spitzer acted like a pro.

Spitzer was in deep quicksand, yet he did not act in a panic. Monstergate was a storm in a teacup by comparison, yet Obama went into immediate panic and fired Power, his chief source of advice and information on GENOCIDE. It seems genocide is not a very big priority, after all, compared to Obama's "sensitivity" to the "hurt" that Power had inflicted on poor Hillary.

Everyone I've spoken to thinks Obama made himself look really weak, laying the groundwork for Hillary to patronize him as a possible Vice-president. After the panicky way he handled Monstergate, some people wonder if he even has the stuff to be Vice-president. l

Personally, I think he has got it right. But then again, I am an outsider and might be judging it by British standards.

I am a European who has lived in the States long enough to have a sense of how Americans think. In a political campaign, they expect an eye for an eye. They would have been delighted if Obama, after accepting Power's apology, had gone on television and said:

Hillary is not a monster --AS FAR AS I KNOW.

Hi Ray,

Just a quick note to say thanks for your commentary on events. It really is most perceptive, witty and insightful - a great combination.

I now look forward to reading your analysis daily.

Many thanks

Gary

[William Kelly]

As far as an impact on JFK assassination research goes, it would be extremely significant for a Democrat to win the next election and put in place an Attorney General who will support the Emmett Till Bill and establish a Federal Task Force to investigate unsolved civil rights homicides of the 60s.

Such an Attorney General could also convein, or allow an Asst Fed DA to convein a Special Federal Grand Jury to review the evidence and determine if indictments can be brougtht in the case.

After the Assassination Records Review Board determined the Kefhaver Committee records on organized crime were NOT related to the JFK Assassination and NOT made part of its records, the 50 years lapsed for the regular release of Congressional records and I requested access to them.

I was denied because they said the Kef Com records still had to be sanitized before being released.

Then I read in the acknowledgements of Gus Russo's book on the Chicago Mob that he got access to the Kefhauver Committee records, thanks to the efforts of John McCain.

Bill Kelly

[Mark Stapleton]

I am a European who has lived in the States long enough to have a sense of how Americans think. In a political campaign, they expect an eye for an eye. They would have been delighted if Obama, after accepting Power's apology, had gone on television and said:

Hillary is not a monster --AS FAR AS I KNOW.

It's a pity you're not Barack's chief adviser, Ray.

I'm also grateful for your fine analysis here. You're making me worried but bookmakers have Obama a short odds favorite to win the nomination. He's at 4/11 (73.3%) and Clinton at 15/8 (34.8%). Money talks.

http://www.electionbetting.com/

[Christopher Hall]

As far as an impact on JFK assassination research goes, it would be extremely significant for a Democrat to win the next election and put in place an Attorney General who will support the Emmett Till Bill and establish a Federal Task Force to investigate unsolved civil rights homicides of the 60s.

Such an Attorney General could also convein, or allow an Asst Fed DA to convein a Special Federal Grand Jury to review the evidence and determine if indictments can be brougtht in the case.

After the Assassination Records Review Board determined the Kefhaver Committee records on organized crime were NOT related to the JFK Assassination and NOT made part of its records, the 50 years lapsed for the regular release of Congressional records and I requested access to them.

I was denied because they said the Kef Com records still had to be sanitized before being released.

Then I read in the acknowledgements of Gus Russo's book on the Chicago Mob that he got access to the Kefhauver Committee records, thanks to the efforts of John McCain.

Bill Kelly

"Thanks to the efforts of John McCain"?

What does this mean?

I'm still not going to vote for him, but this is still good to hear if it's true.

Perhaps he will lend some legislative assistance to getting more JFK records opened.

[J. Raymond Carroll]

'm also grateful for your fine analysis here. You're making me worried but bookmakers have Obama a short odds favorite to win the nomination. He's at 4/11 (73.3%) and Clinton at 15/8 (34.8%). Money talks.

http://www.electionbetting.com/

Thanks for the kind remarks, guys. For me this started out as Obama's cakewalk to the white house, Now I'm reminded of Damon Runyan's proverb that THE ODDS ON ANY GIVEN PROPOSITION aRE 6 to 5 AGAINST, and I can still remember my first very first bet, on a 6 to 1 outsider named Cassius Clay.

It's a long long time from here to Pennsylvania, Gary, so weekly updates are all I can promise. Right now Barack's campaign is claiming to have its Mojo workin:

Barack Obama's White House campaign lashed out in fury Tuesday after a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter attributed his stunning march through US politics to his race.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=08...;show_article=1

Now Barack's top aide is demanding that Hillary fire Ferraro, who made PUBLIC remarks about Barack that many people will see as TRULY OFFENSIVE, in contrast to Power's private peroration.

Notice how Hillary's reaction is reported: No IMMEDIATE comment. Ten bucks says Hillary is going to give this some cogitation before she tells Obama he can kiss her XXX (Kathy Beckett won't let me say ASS)