Tracking the 2008 Campaign in the Tennessee Valley
Archive for the 'Barack Obama' Category
Friday, May 9th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

For the first time in the primary campaign, Barack Obama took the lead in committed superdelegates today.
But many right-wingers (correctly) point out: wasn’t Obama supposed to get a ‘flood’ of supers once it became clear he was the inevitable nominee?
What do you think?
Posted in Barack Obama, Superdelegates | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 9th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

What do you think? Weigh in by posting a comment!
Posted in Barack Obama, Strategy | Post a comment »
Friday, May 9th, 2008 by Dan Lehr
First up, John McCain on the “the O’Reilly Factor:”
Part 1
Part 2
Barack Obama was interviewed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer last night:
Part 1
Part 2
Also, John McCain appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Wednesday. Click this link to watch.
Posted in Barack Obama, Interviews, John McCain | Post a comment »
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

Hillary Clinton can’t close the deal, & her prospects for securing the Democratic nomination are slimmer as of this morning.
Exit poll results here. Interesting tidbits:
- The college student vote was decidedly split in both states
- Voters who called the Jeremiah Wright issue “an important factor” in their vote went overwhelmingly for Clinton. The inverse was true for Obama - voters who didn’t care about it went overwhelmingly for him.
- Voters who made their minds up in the last week swung Clinton. Guess that gas tax holiday pander worked for a lot of folks.

Now for some Cherokee County results! This is the only North Carolina county in the NewsChannel 9 viewing area [in red in the above map]. Despite a huge loss across the state [particularly in the central region known as the “research triangle,”], Clinton won huge in Cherokee County, 73%-25%. Interestingly, neighboring Clay County had the exact same percentage with about half the number of voters than Cherokee County. Details here from the hometown paper, the Cherokee Scout.
Another interesting Cherokee County factoid:
- Total Democratic voters: 3224
- Total Republican voters: 1075
A majority-Democrat county in the south? Yes, it’s more common than you think - Grundy County, Tennessee often shakes out the same way, too. The reason? Many southerners are so conservative that they vote against Republicans because of “that rogue Abraham Lincoln.” No, seriously.

What about Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos” effect? It seems to have been a factor in Indiana, as outlined here. [by the way, we’d like to go on the record to say we have absolutely no problem with the strategy behind Operation Chaos. Democracies are messy things, & voters of all stripes have every right to vote how they want. To try to put a stop to it somehow would tarnish the democratic values we all share.]
Obama’s victory speech in North Carolina:
Clinton’s “victory” speech in Indiana [2 parts]:
So what happens next?

..ONLY THE UNCOMMITTED/UNDECLARED SUPERDELEGATES KNOW FOR SURE! STAY TUNED!!
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Local Politics, The Ballot Box, Voters | Post a comment »
Monday, May 5th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

January 15th, 2008, Democratic Debate, Las Vegas
TIM RUSSERT: You said each of you have strengths and weaknesses. I want to ask each of you quickly, your greatest strength, your greatest weakness.
JOHN EDWARDS:”I think weakness, I sometimes have a very powerful emotional response to pain that I see around me, when I see a man like Donnie Ingram, who I met a few months ago in South Carolina, who worked for 33 years in the mill, reminded me very much of the kind of people that I grew up with, who’s about to lose his job, has no idea where he’s going to go, what he’s going to do.
I mean, his dignity and self-respect is at issue. And I feel that in a really personal way and in a very emotional way. And I think sometimes that can undermine what you need to do.”
HILLARY CLINTON: “I get impatient. I get, you know, really frustrated when people don’t seem to understand that we can do so much more to help each other. Sometimes I come across that way. I admit that. I get very concerned about, you know, pushing further and faster than perhaps people are ready to go.”
=========================
Barack Obama, at a rally in Las Vegas Nevada four days later (reacting to the ‘weaknesses’ answers):
“Now, I didn’t, nobody had clued me in, that ya know, see, if I had gone last I would have said ‘My biggest weakness? I like to help old ladies across the street. I didn’t understand the question, but this is what I mean. This is political speak. This is what you learn in Washington from all those years of experience — it’s funny, except its sad, because it means that the American people are constantly having to sort out ‘what do people really mean?’”
===========================
Barack Obama, Meet the Press, May 4th, 2008 (asked about why he didn’t break with Reverend Wright sooner):
“And, you know, that is–that may be a fault of mine that I own up to, which is, is that I’m concerned about how other people feel, particularly somebody who I’ve known for quite some time.”
Posted in Barack Obama | Post a comment »
Monday, May 5th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

(above: Madam Toussaud’s wax renderings of the Democratic candidates)
An exciting hour for Sunday morning talk show fans.
After the jump, see Obama’s hour-long interview on NBC’s Meet the Press & Clinton’s interview/town hall on ABC’s This Week.
(more…)
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Interviews | Post a comment »
Monday, May 5th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

The horse on the left, Eight Belles, the one Hillary Clinton picked to win, placed in the race.. but suffered two compound fractures & immediately had to be euthanized. So sad.
& the horse on the right, while it wasn’t Barack Obama’s pick, was named “Big Brown.”
So you can bet that you won’t hear either candidate making any type of metaphors on this race & their campaigns.
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 by Dan Lehr

Happy Kentucky Derby weekend!
We’re a fan.. we’ve been to 9 of them. The above photo is the 1998 race from our perspective in the stands.
After the jump.. find out which horses the candidates are picking to win the Run for the Roses & see how the polls are shaping up for the other “biggest horse race in town.”
(more…)
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Polls | Post a comment »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 by Dan Lehr
Posted in Barack Obama, Humor | Post a comment »
Thursday, May 1st, 2008 by Dan Lehr

Interesting pair of articles from the Politico’s John F. Harris & Jim Vandehei about the attacks either campaign is keeping itself from pursuing:
What Hillary Clinton Wishes She Could Say
What Barack Obama Wishes He Could Say
What do you think?
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Strategy | Post a comment »
Thursday, May 1st, 2008 by Dan Lehr
Posted in Barack Obama, Interviews | Post a comment »
Thursday, May 1st, 2008 by Dan Lehr

Very interesting NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll out today about what the current campaign’s biggest political albatrosses are at the moment (what do I mean by “albatross?” click here). In other words, what could be a “dealbreaker” for voters with any particular candidate.
We’ll dive into the details after the jump… you may be surprised which candidate has the biggest liability.. & what it comes from.
(more…)
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Polls | Post a comment »
Thursday, May 1st, 2008 by Dan Lehr
Clinton lambasts Obama for not supporting a suspension of the gas tax.
Obama responds with an ad of his own:
Both the New York Times & the Washington Post have editorials calling out this pandering flim-flammery for what it is.
Posted in Ads, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, The Economy | Post a comment »
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 by Dan Lehr

To John McCain: Stop Being So Private. “Americans need to know about his vision for the nation’s future, especially his policy positions and domestic reforms. They also need to learn about the moments in his life that shaped him. Mr. McCain cannot make this a biography-only campaign – but he can’t afford to make it a biography-free campaign either. Unless he opens up more, many voters will never know the experiences of his life that show his character, integrity and essential decency.”
To Barack Obama: Recapture Your Early Campaign’s Magic. “You have talent, intelligence and tapped into something powerful early in your campaign. But running for president is unlike anything you’ve ever done. You’re making mistakes and making people worry that you’re an elitist. So while you’ll almost certainly win the nomination, Democrats are nervous about the fall. You’ve given them reasons to be.”
To Hillary Clinton: Reclaim Your Bipartisan Record. “Obama’s argument is twofold. ‘Vote for me because I’ll bring Republicans and Democrats together.’ And: ‘There are big issues facing the country, and it requires leadership and energy to solve them.’ Well, the … best counter to those is Hillary saying, ‘I’ve actually worked with Republicans and Democrats to get things done.’”
What do you think? Which candidate is most likely to follow Rove’s advice? Least likely? Will they all ignore him? Post a comment!
Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Strategy | Post a comment »
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