With the US dollar on the decline, a recession possibly on the horizon, and our post-9/11 reputation diminished greatly, much of the world is looking elsewhere for leadership.
The latest , titled "The Post American World," explores how the world is looking beyond America:
The post-American world is naturally an unsettling prospect forAmericans, but it should not be. This will not be a world defined bythe decline of America but rather the rise of everyone else. It is theresult of a series of positive trends that have been progressing overthe last 20 years, trends that have created an international climate ofunprecedented peace and prosperity.
It's a good read. I encourage you all to take a look at it.
Just to note, one of the reasons why I support Barack Obama is because I believe heis the one most capable of restoring that sense of worldwideAmericanism. We need an internationalist in the White House.
Hillary Clinton's campaign has a secret weapon to build its delegatecount, but her top strategists say privately that any attempt to deployit would require a sharp (and by no means inevitable) shift in thepolitical climate within Democratic circles by the end of this month.
With at least 50 percent of the Democratic Party's 30-member Rules and Bylaws Committee ,her backers could -- when the committee meets at the end of this month-- try to ram through a decision to seat the disputed 210-memberFlorida and 156-member Michigan delegations. Such a decision would giveClinton an estimated 55 or more delegates than Obama, according toClinton campaign operatives. The Obama campaign has declined to give anestimate.
Using the Rules and Bylaws Committee to force the seating of twopro-Hillary delegations would provoke a massive outcry from Obamaforces. Such a strategy would, additionally, face at least two othermajor hurdles, and could only be attempted, according to sources in theClinton camp, under specific circumstances:
With the Clinton family, anything is possible. Though, super delegates should realize that such a move would reward two states that violated the DNC rules -- one of which did not even have Obama's name on the ballot. It would go against the will of the voters in all the other states, and possibly hurt turnout in November, especially among African-American voters.
It was nice to watch Tim Russert actually spend some time focusing on real issues this morning, as opposed to asking Barack Obama an endless number of questions about Jeremiah Wright. During a portion of the full hour on Meet the Press, they discussed the proposed gas tax holiday. Obama explained that a short-term repeal of the gas tax would only cause demand to go up, meaning that the price would go up anyway and offset any money that consumers save. And as demand increases, that leads to shortages and long lines. Also, the gas tax takes money away from highway construction, which would lead to job loss.
Following Tuesday's races in North Carolina and Indiana, we will near the end of our primary calendar. Just six contests remain, which will take place in less than one month. When we wake up on the morning of June 4th, all the pledged delegates will have been decided, and the super delegates will have to make a decision.
If Hillary survives Indiana in two days, she has an opportunity to win a few more. Here is a look at the coming primary schedule:
May 13th: West Virginia (28 pledged delegates and 11 super delegates). Clinton is ahead there in the polls, even though Obama is the favorite among state party activists.
May 20th: Kentucky (51 pledged and 9 super delegates) and Oregon (52 pledged and 13 super). Clinton is poised for a landslide victory in Kentucky. Meanwhile, in Oregon, Obama has a huge lead among just about all social demographics, including white voters. In a new poll, he leads Clinton in Oregon 51% to 39%.
June 1st: Puerto Rico (55 pledged and 8 super). This race is actually huge. There are more pledged delegates up for grabs in Puerto Rico than any other contest after North Carolina. There has not been any polling there since early .
June 3rd: Montana (16 pledged and 9 super) and South Dakota (15 pledged and 8 super). It is likely that Obama will win there because it is a caucus, stemming from strong support in Missoula at the University of Montana. In South Dakota, Obama was in the last poll by a comfortable margin. Also, many of Obama's top advisers used to work for Tom Daschle. So the campaign has deep roots in that state.
Worst case scenario for Obama, Hillary trounces him in West Virginia, destroys Obama in Kentucky and narrowly loses in Oregon -- giving her the needed momentum to win Puerto Rico. If she wins Puerto Rico, maybe she could squeak out a win in Montana. South Dakota will be tougher for her. Then she could fight on to the convention.
Best case for Obama, he keeps it close in West Virginia, loses in Kentucky but wins handedly in Oregon. He then wins in Puerto Rico, setting him up to sweep the June 3rd contests, thus giving super delegates little reason to not jump aboard the Obama bandwagon.
Unlike April, when we had to wait and wait for the Pennsylvania contest, there will be elections every week in June (with the exception of the last Tuesday). I know this has been a long primary season. But now that we are nearing an end, at least try to enjoy it.
While the last two weeks have seemed like one big doom and gloom moment for Barack Obama, NBC today that Obama will appear on their Sunday show Meet the Press for the full hour just two days before the vote in Indiana and North Carolina.
If he ever had a chance to turn things around, this is the one!
I hate to be the supplier of bad news for Obama fans, but his road ahead in Indiana is looking as steep as it's ever been. Rasmussen, one of the most reliable polling firms this campaign season, that Clinton has a 5-point lead in Indiana, 46% to Obama's 41%. In North Carolina, according to , Obama's double-digit lead has been cut in half. And in North Carolina poll, Clinton leads by two.
Back to Indiana, since that is where the action will be on election night. On the this morning, Michelle Obama appeared to plead with the media to forget the whole Jeremiah Wright soap opera:
"We hear time and time again voters are tired of this," Michelle Obama said in an interview the couple gave to NBC's "Today" show.
"They don't want to hear about this division, they want to know whatare we going to do to move beyond these issues," she said. "And whatmade me feel proud of Barack in this situation is that he is trying tomove us as a nation beyond these conversations that divide."
Whether voters are tired of it or not, the reality is that the media is fixated on it. Instead of questioning Clinton's personal problems (and there are a lot of them), Obama is facing all this questions and is constantly on the defensive. He has less than five days to try and change what the media is talking about, or else he will lose Indiana. Right now, all the undecided voters in both races, Indiana and North Carolina, are more likely to second-guess Obama. The Obama Campaign needs to give those undecided voters a reason to second-guess Clinton.
Like her or not, Clinton is a fighter. It will also take a fighter to beat her. Obama needs to get moving!
Give Hillary Clinton the slight edge in Indiana, following her Pennsylvania win and the media's obsession with Reverand Wright. Here are two new polls.
:
50% - Hillary Clinton 42% - Barack Obama
:
46% - Hillary Clinton 46% - Barack Obama
With one week to go, Obama is on the verge of losing Indiana. He needs to campaign hard there. If he wins both contests (North Carolina and Indiana), the power-players in the Democratic Party will put more pressure on the super delegates to endorse. If they split, however, Obama is just asking for a long battle into the summer. Remember, Kentucky and West Virginia, two sure Clinton states, have yet to vote. For Obama, he has Oregon and South Dakota that will go for him. Being that neither candidate will pull off a surprise win in any of those states, neither candidate has a reason to drop out. Indiana is what Obama needs to win to rally the Democratic Party around him.
Our economy is in the tank. Gas prices are at an all-time high. think that gas might reach $10 a gallon in the near future, boosted by a declining dollar and an uncontrollable spike in demand. Consumer confidence is at a . This is the second recession under President Bush, yet all the 43rd president can do is . And this is just on the domestic front. Don't even get me started on our mess abroad.
With all this happening, we are perhaps in the middle of the most important presidential campaign in a generation. There are issues to be discussed. Yet, all the media seems to be focused on now is Reverend Wright. The Obama Campaign is stuck in a corner. Today on the campaign trail, Obama yet another big press conference on Reverend Wright, following his former pastor's address on Sunday in front of the NAACP.
Why can't all this stop? The media does a great job of putting candidates into a box. They have with John McCain as well -- portraying him as an old, angry man. Or Obama, a fringe liberal who attended an anti-American church. So the media finds any evidence to back up their preexisting view of a candidate and reports it. Hardly do they report contradicting stories, as if to tell the American public, "I know you can't handle nuance, so let's make this easy for you by reporting only one side of the story." Like today, the media is ignoring the fact that Barack Obama called for non-violence in New York City, which angered Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton went on to accuse Obama of trying to "." But that does not fit the media's perception of the anti-American, pro-Black Panther -- otherwise known as Barack Obama. So they won't report it.
This campaign is now nothing but a circus, and the media has complete control over it. No wonder it has lasted this long. Cable news doesn't want it to end. It's their soap opera. It's their excuse for not reporting actual news. The Clintons love drama. As long as the media reports on the tactics, which the Clintons are good at, and not real issues, this contest will continue all the way to the convention.
And so continued during a conference today with conservative bloggers:
All I can tell you Jennifer is that I think it's very clear who Hamaswants to be the next president of the United States. So apparently hasDanny Ortega and several others. I think that people should understandthat I will be Hamas's worst nightmare....If senator Obama is favoredby Hamas I think people can make judgments accordingly.
Just another effort by the right-wing to brand Barack Obama as un-American, even though Obama truly has lived the American dream.
Three new polls taken in the state of Indiana reflect how close this May 6th contest will be, and how any stumble by either candidate along the way could make the difference.
:
50% - Hillary Clinton 45% - Barack Obama
:
48% - Barack Obama 47% - Hillary Clinton
:
41% - Barack Obama 38% - Hillary Clinton
If I were the Clinton Campaign, I would renew calls for a debate before the Indiana primary. Obama would not be able to say no, based on the unwavering excitement among Indianans that for the first time ever they could decide the outcome of who becomes president in January of 2009. Their local media affiliates are really hyping up this contest. Obama would look dismissive and out of touch if he backed away from such an offer.
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