Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Barack Obama. Bad news for Hillary in a state where she leads and must win.
DNC Chairman Howard Dean stepped in and said for the first time that this race must be resolved by . It will not go to the convention still deadlocked. Again, bad news for Hillary.
Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT), a very powerful elder in the Democratic Party that chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, is . This comes one day after Chris Dodd, another Senator, on the former First Lady to get out because she has no chance of winning. Once again, bad bad news for Hillary.
This has all happened in such a short time frame. Obama previewed to us a few weeks ago that his campaign would roll out a series of high-profile endorsements before the Pennsylvania primary, giving him added momentum to possibly win there. So is this it for the endorsements, or will there be more? Gore? Edwards? Carter?
Both time and momentum are not in Hillary's favor. If Obama wins Pennsylvania, this thing is over. A few weeks ago, Hillary was so far ahead there. But with all this added momentum, plus the start of Obama's six-day there, he may actually have a chance.
Could Chris Dodd be thinking of dropping out of the race? If he does, he may thank those that are urging him to do it. In fact, there are rumblings in Washington that Chris Dodd, who has generated momentum with his netroots following, may for his Senate Majority Leader spot:
As the political season reaches its Iowa caucus climax, momentum isbuilding for Sen. Chris Dodd to parlay his presidential campaign into abid to challenge Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV, for Majority Leader.
Almost all of the support for this effort now comes from thenetroots, much of which favors such a move. But talk of Dodd making arun at the post has slowly crept into the corners of Capitol Hill aswell. And in light of the Connecticut Democrat's this week over granting immunity to telecommunications firms thatconducted warrantless surveillance, some in the progressive communitysee the framework for a potential shakeup.
Lastly, with Hillary's in California, many are wondering whether Bill Clinton's latest on Barack Obama was out of mere desperation.
It's January 19th. The Iowa Caucus, the one we have all been waiting for, is two weeks from tomorrow.
According to the site Wonkosphere, which has successfully predicted everything poll-related thus far this election cycle, says that both Barack Obama and Chris Dodd will move up in the polls. Wonkosphere tracks internet buzz from the 2008 race on a number of blogs. They measure the change in buzz, and use that to determine which way each candidate will likely head in the coming month.
So let's look into the for November:
"Total buzz share doesn't tell the whole picture though," saidWonkosphere's Kevin Dooley. "We have found that it's not the absoluteamount of buzz share that matters, but rather the change in buzz sharewhich is predictive of movement in the national poll numbers. So whileRon Paul won October, he was at the same level of buzz share inSeptember, so we don't expect his national poll numbers to move.Conversely, Giuliani and Romney both gained buzz share in October, sowe expect them to gain in polls, almost exclusively at the expense ofFred Thompson."
Amongst liberal bloggers, Hillary Clinton (21%) won buzz share inOctober, followed by Barack Obama (16%), John Edwards (13%), Joe Biden(6%), and Chris Dodd (5%). Comparing these results to September,Wonkosphere predicts that Obama will gain ground on Clinton, Edwardswill lose some ground, and Chris Dodd will begin to look like thefront-runner for viable "fourth choice".
When you say, "Look how great it was during the 90s," and then refuse to release your records from that time, you cannot expect to get off easy. On immigration, on Iraq, Iran and Social Security, both John Edwards and Barack Obama finally took a stand. As I write this, many of the pundits are writing that Obama won the debate. I would say that overall John Edwards got the edge -- although barely. He was much more forceful, and came across as the more charismatic one. Obama was strong as well, and had a moment when he physically turned towards Clinton and accused her of doublespeak. Both Edwards and Obama were very strong. Hillary Clinton played rope-a-dope, and survived only because of how far ahead she is in the polls.
Here's my debate rankings:
John Edwards: The line directed at Hillary, "We should be in tell the truth mode," pretty much summed up how Edwards confronted Hillary without hesitation.
Barack Obama: Close, but not first place. Took Hillary to task on Social Security, the former First Lady's double-talk on immigration and schooled her on Iran.
Dennis Kucinich: As one commenter on this site wrote, if Barack Obama took the positions that Kurinich took in this debate (with the exception of the UFO answer), he would be winning in the polls.
Hillary Clinton: Clearly on the defensive the entire time. Not an implosion. But her Washington establishment roots and history of lying was exposed.
Chris Dodd: Much stronger than his other debate performances -- but that's not really saying much.
Joe Biden: Nothing doing there.
Bill Richardson: Not really impressive at all. He defended Hillary Clinton, which was not smart because he needed to create a distinction with her.
One more note. You can thank Hillary Clinton and all the other Senators who voted for the Iran bill for the recent spike in oil.
Welcome to 's coverage of the Halloween week Democratic debate from Philadelphia, which runs two hours. We are experiencing temporary difficulties with our chat window, and do apologize. As a last ditch effort, I will live blog it. Just keep pressing refresh for updates. Feel free to comment as well:
And so concludes our live blog. Sorry again about the chat window not working. But we made the most out of it. We will definitely fix those technical difficulties beforehand next time. SO WHO WON THE DEBATE?
11:02: Barack Obama will be Mitt Romney for Halloween.
10:58: Why is Russert asking if there is life on other planets?
10:57: Kucinich says he saw a UFO (No joke!)
10:55: Obama and Edwards are double-teaming Hillary on the former First Lady's answer about drivers licenses for illegal immigrants.
10:50: Obama on air travel: "This is a problem that has been building for a long time" ever since deregulation took place. "Anyone that has been flying commercial has known that service has gone down."
10:47: Obama says the reimbursement systemz for Medicaid and Medicare are not working properly.
10:40: Pretty much every candidate feels that children need to go to school longer. Edwards proposed that children's health care should be free.
10:33: KUCINICH: It is time for the Democrats to move on the issue of impeachment.
10:22: The moderators are now focusing almost entirely on domestic issues. Each of the candidates are given 30 seconds.
10:18: Edwards explained that America can be patriotic about other things in America besides war.
10:17: Edwards says he would use the arm of the Justice Department to investigate price-gouging on the part of oil companies.
10:12: They are on their second of two commercial breaks.
10:11: Obama says he is not fearful of Mitt Romney's swift boating of Obama's name.
10:09: Clinton claims there is little difference between herself and Obama on Social Security. However, there actually is a difference. Obama wants to raise the Social Security tax cap from $97,000 to $200,000.
10:07: Obama accuses Clinton is giving convoluted answers on Social Security. OBAMA: "I am not fearful to have a debate about this (social security) with Rudolph Giuliani."
10:01: Biden is slamming Giuliani, saying that he is not qualified to be president. As far as what Giuliani ever talkes about, it's always "a noun, a verb and 9/11."
9:59: Edwards again was strong, saying that we are not going to look our children in the eye and hand this mess over to them.
9:51: Edwards had a few great lines -- confronting Clinton on her defense industry connections. Furthermore, Edwards courageously said that the 2008 race isn't about any of them. It is about the next generation of children being better off than their parents. Excellent!
9:49: I just got back into the room as Obama laid the smack down on Hillary for not releasing records, and prolonging the secrecy of the Bush Administration. And then now Edwards is laying into her. Edwards says that if you want the status quo, then vote for Clinton.
9:39: Commercial intermission. I'm taking a quick break.
9:38: CLINTON: "I stand for ending the war in Iraq, and bringing our troops home." (That's spin.)
9:36: EDWARDS: "We should be in tell the truth mode." Edwards is really slamming Clinton!
9:34: CLINTON: "We've got to get the Iraqi government to understand its obligations, because there is no military solution."
9:31: Kucinich calls for the US to fully participate in the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
9:30: Richardson wants an international agreement that we use diplomacy first. RICHARDSON: "I went head-to-head with Saddam Hussein. ...I've done it (diplomacy)."
9:28: Chris Dodd says Pakistan more dangerous than Iran, especially if Pakistan falls.
9:26: BIDEN: "President's make wise decisions" based on "the situation they find themselves in the world."
9:24: CLINTON: "I intend to do everything I can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb." She was then challenged by Russert.
9:23: KUCINICH: "We need to reject" war against Iran. "There is no basis for it whatsoever....When you say all options are on the table, you are licensing President Bush." (Excellent, Kucinich!!!)
9:21: RICHARDSON: "I am the only one up on this stage that has negotiated with a foreign country." Kucinich interrupted in response, "That's not true."
9:19: Edwards slamming Clinton, asking, "Has anyone read this thing?" -- pertaining to the Iran vote.
9:18: Clinton is defending her Iran vote, saying that it gives Bush "carrots and sticks" to confront Iran.
9:18: CLINTON: "We will not permit him (Bush) to go take offensive action against Iran."
9:16: OBAMA: "This kind of resolution (Iran war resolution) sends the wrong message" to the world.
9:15: BIDEN: The Administration's actions have "driven underground every moderate in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Each presidential election cycle starts earlier than the previous one. At this exact time in 2004, campaign tactics were not as as this time around. For example, here's how desperate Chris Dodd's campaign was this afternoon:
As several hundred potential voters headed to their cars afterlistening to Sen. Barack Obama, they found green cards on theirwindshields.
"Presidential candidate Chris Dodd invites you to discuss his planto deliver real results for American families -- on the rural economy,education, health care, energy and more," the card read, as part ofadvertising a campaign visit by the Connecticut senator here thisweekend.
Looking for people to listen to you? Can't draw 10,000 people like Obama routinely does? Just show up at his campaign event and harass those people.
Two years after hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, there are still so manypeople without homes. Robert Greenwald has a new video and message abouthurricane Katrina, and what you can do to help.
Below is quoted from an email sent by Jamiah Adams and Paris Marron of
Tomorrow marks the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and still thereare tens of thousands of families without homes. 30,000 families are scatteredacross the country in FEMA apartments, 13,000 are in trailers, and hardly any ofthe 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt. To sharesome of these people?s stories, we have put together a short film, "Whenthe Saints Go Marching In."
During the making of this video, we heard the heartbreaking stories of goodpeople unable to return home. We have heard the story of the Aguilar family wholost their home to the storm and only received $4,000 in payments from theirinsurance company. We have met Mr. Washington, an 87-year-old man and formercarpenter, who owned three homes prior to the storm. He is still living in aFEMA trailer today. And we've met Julie, who could have returned to her job andnormal life, if the government had opened up the public housing units that shehad lived in prior to the storm
is a site dedicated to helping the victims of Katrina.
'Two years after Katrina and thousands are still w/o homes'
I don't understand how some of our politicians sleep at night, knowing theconditions others are in...and not only in New Orleans, but throughout Our Country.
You can sign a petition for Senator Dodd.
We, the undersigned, urge the United States Senate to pass (S1668) to assist the Gulf Coast region in rebuilding the infrastructure lost after the Katrina and Rita disasters.
Passage of this bill is an important step towards returning the Gulf Coast residents to their homes.
The signing of the petition consists of Name, email and Zip Code.
The hits against Obama just keep on coming. Almost two weeks since Hillary Clinton called Barack Obama naive for wanting to talk directly with US foes, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden are joining the hit parade.
In response to Obama's foreign policy speech yesterday, in which he said as president he would put more pressure on Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden, Dodd and Biden went on the offensive.
Let's start with Dodd, who called Obama "":
"Over the past several days, Sen. Obama's assertions about foreignand military affairs have been, frankly, confusing and confused,'' Doddsaid in a statement released by his campaign. "He has made threats heshould not make and made unwise categorical statements about militaryoptions.
"We are facing a dangerous and complicated world,'' Dodd said. "Thenext president will require a level of understanding and judgmentunprecedented in American history to address these challenges."
What Dodd choose not to address was whether it was unwise for him in 2002 to of Bush's war. Nonetheless, he is definitely cozying up to Hillary's camp.
Biden also took aim at Obama, calling him "":
“In order to look tough, he’s undermined his ability to be tough, werehe President. Because if you’re going to go into Pakistan -- which isalready our policy by the way, if there’s actionable intelligence-- youneed actionable intelligence from moderates within Pakistan workingwith you. Now if you’re already going to say I’m going to disregardwhatever the country thinks and going to invade, the likelihood you’regetting the cooperation you need evaporates. It’s a well intendednotion he has, but it’s a very naïve way of figuring out how you’regoing to conduct foreign policy.â€
Actually, Obama never said he wanted to invade Pakistan. He said we have to take the fight to al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- bringing in a new emphasis of what the war is about instead of focusing on Iraq. That could mean stepping up diplomacy to get Musharraf to send his troops into the border region. It could mean conducting air-strikes on places where we think Osama is hiding. We're not invading Pakistan.
With all the foreign policy experience Biden and Dodd have, it is surprising that they don't know the difference between ground wars and intelligence-sharing operations with other countries.
Here are the of the straw poll, sponsored by and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and taken by at the :
TAKE BACK AMERICA STRAW POLL Barack Obama - 29% John Edwards - 26% Hillary Clinton - 17% Bill Richardson - 9% Al Gore - 8% (Write-In) Dennis Kucinich - 5% Chris Dodd - 1% Mike Gravel - 1% Joe Biden - 1%
For those of you whose eyes were glued to the television for two hours, you witnessed a much more aggressive, combative and up-front debate than the first one two months ago. In our live chat during the debate, our visitors had a wide variety of views about who won. But we did reach a consensus about a few things.
Chris Dodd did not help himself out at all.
Dennis Kucinich was predictable, but did not tell us anything new.
Hillary was Hillary.
Mike Gravel thought outside the box, but didn't establish himself as presidential material.
Wolf Blitzer's questions were much more entertaining than Chris Dodd's answers.
Overall, even though some of you may disagree, we thought that the upper second-tier candidates stood out -- particularly Bill Richardson and Joe Biden.
Biden, the U.S. Senator from Delaware, explained his unpopular decision to support the President's Iraq funding bill that did not include a timetable. He did it by stating that practically speaking, the Senate needs 67 votes. Until we get those 67 votes, when non-legislators like John Edwards tell you that the Senate isn't doing its job, they are spinning the truth. Agree with what Biden said or not, he did come across as extremely practical on foreign policy issues. That will give his campaign more life as we head into the summer months.
Richardson started off very slow. But as the Brody File , he grew stronger as the debate went on. He took a principled stance on the Darfur issue -- saying that we should boycott the Summer Olympics in 2008 if China refused to get involved and pressure the Sudanese government. He was strong on energy and all other foreign policy-related matters. By the end of the debate, it was clear that Richardson was the most experienced. The fact that Clinton kept applauding Richardson's work in her husband's administration really added legitimacy to his excellent resume. On paper, he is clearly the most qualified to be president. Tonight, he told us why. He was very effective. He won the debate.
John Edwards came in a close third. On the issue of Iraq, he Clinton and Obama's feet to the fire:
"Others were quiet. They went quietly to the floor of the Senate, castthe right vote. But there is a difference between leadership andlegislating," Edwards said.
Both Clinton and Obama voted against the bill - which passed - but without making a strong case against the legislation.
"I think it's obvious who I'm talking about," Edwards said.
That was one of the many excerpts where Edwards blamed people like Clinton and Biden for not condemning their own war vote in 2002.
As this column is being written immediately after the debate, this is less thorough. Expect more columns about the debate in the coming days.
Our editorial board has put together rankings for how each candidate did tonight:
Bill Richardson
Joe Biden
John Edwards
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Dennis Kucinich
Mike Gravel
Chris Dodd
Feel free to put in your ten cents in the comment box.
Recent Comments