Well, at least I can't say I don't live in interesting times.
Mar. 7
Obama's now ex- foreign policy adviser confided to a right-wing British newspaper that she considers Hillary Clinton a 'monster.' Sadly, she didn't say 'off the record' till after she'd said. As my mom used to say, "You may be brilliant, but sometimes you ain't too bright." D Cupples wondered whether Samantha Power was secretly working for Hillary.
At The New York Times David Brooks prophetically suggested that it might not be a good idea for the Obama campaign to abandon its New Politics of Awesomeness, Truth, and Infallibility. But is New Politics all Obama's got?
Mar. 8
Sadly for the Obama campaign, the Canadian Minister Stephen Harper popped up to scotch the baseless rumors that it was really the Clinton campaign that contacted the Canadians to assure them that they weren't taking NAFTA too seriously.
Watch ex-Obama adviser Samantha Power wave her hands around at Jeremy Paxman. She also was revealed on the same day to have told the Brits that Obama didn't really believe it was possible to set a firm date for withdrawal from Iraq. Meanwhile, Obama's intelligence adviser (former Bush employee) announced that he was afraid he very much disagreed with Obama's vote against telecom immunity. In other words, Obama doesn't mean a word his advisers say.
But then Hillary stuck her foot in her mouth. In a comment that got way, WAY more media attention than Obama's little slip-ups, she suggested that of the two Democrats, only she has the qualifications to run against McCain. This remark was later reframed as a statement that she and McCain were better qualified to run than Obama.
It's 3 AM. Who do YOU want answering the Red Phone? Don't say 'John McCain.'
Once again, there were rumors that the Democratic party might call on Al Gore to save the day. Don't do it, Al Gore! You're too good to waste on this nightmare.
Mar. 8
As expected, Obama won the Wyoming caucus and 18 more delegates. But don't get too smug, Obama supporters: there's not much chance of Wyoming voting Democratic in the general. In other words, Obama once more proved he can win in states that are going to vote Republican in the general election. If you don't understand the math, read this extremely useful explanation by D Cupples.
Al Sharpton, who totally is not a surrogate for Obama, threatened a lawsuit if the DNC seats Florida and Michigan delegates based on the first primaries. As D Cupples points out, this was never the plan anyway, but whatever. Rock on, Rev. Al.
Mar. 10
Meanwhile, William Kristol has some advice for John McCain. He might as well, I guess. He's bound to be right at some point. He hasn't been yet.
Mar. 11
No Quarter posted a list of the Obama campaign's various NAFTA-gate statements. Because of the Spitzer scandal, nobody cared.
Did you know: studies show that there is an anti-Hillary bias in the media? You didn't? I know. Shocking, isn't it?
Mar. 12
Once again as expected, Obama wins yet another red state (Mississippi) and picks up a few more delegates from a state the Republicans are going to win in the general.
Tucker Carlson backed into saying that Hillary was a strong diplomat and better prepared than Obama. State Department official James Rubin "explained that Hillary Clinton, while not a major player, did help in Northern Ireland and China while she was First Lady."
There was talk for about two minutes of a mail-in do-over in Florida. I'm not writing about any do over primaries until it's settled (if it ever is).
Meanwhile, in classic Rovian fashion, the Obama campaign sends out an email telling voters that the Clinton campaign wasn't "just attacking me; they're attacking you." If the Clinton camp sent out a similar email, they left me off the list, because I sure haven't seen it.
Mar. 13
On the night before a day bringing somewhat dire coverage for the Obama campaign, former BN-Politics favorite Olbermann---whom I'm tempted to rename "Obamaman"---issued a statement criticizing the Hillary campaign. It gave some voters chills; I just rolled my eyes, while D Cupples' little Olbermann-loving heart finally cracked in two. Along with Hillary supporters everywhere, we BN-Politics blogmates took a solemn oath never to watch or link to MSNBC again.
Even so, D Cupples bravely deconstructs Olbermann's speech----and MSNBC's recent campaign coverage here. But did we really need another Fox news? she asks.
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