John Russo | Zennie Interview | Russo On Oakland, Obama VP, Raiders

I met with Oakland's elected City Attorney and my friend John Russo the day after election day to talk about his unopposed win for a third term, how Oakland has changed, Oakland Politics and the District Three Council race, who Senator Obama should pick as his VP, what Russo's is proudest of with the evolution of his office, and the talks between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Raiders.

Russo explains that the talks are between the Raiders and the Oakland / Alameda County Joint Powers Authority and that they're going well. He also confirmed that Raiders Manager of The General Partner Al Davis is not in good health and has not attended all of the meeting. As to the possibility that the Raiders would get a new stadium, he said no, but they're in agreement on the matters of concern to the Raiders.

Given what I know from trying to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland (we lost to Jacksonville), that means we should expect to see an upgraded Coliseum at some point in the future.

What was surprising news was that the Raiders were the party that initiated the talks, and not the City of Oakland or The County of Alameda. I personally feel that's a signal of the Raiders new willingness to work with the City and stay in Oakland.

Also, we talk about why he ran unopposed and how Oakland's political landscape has changed.

Clinton Aide Kantor Video Was Doctored - Kantor Did Not Make Statement

I just listened to the video that was the source of the first video out and around the Internet which said that Mickey Kantor called Indiana people "White Niggers".

After further review, he did not say it.

Here's the actual video from the movie "The War Room":



Mickey is saying that "they're shitty," and it seems he's referring to pollsters, and not people in Indiana. Then he does say "How would you like to be, but then the rest is not even audible. It would have to be doctored to have one be able to hear him say the words "White Nigger."

As far as I'm concerned, Mickey is owed an apology by bloggers like me. Sorry Mickey.

ABC= Assault Black Candidate Obama Smeared by ABC News In Debate

Once again, ABC News showed its biased and unprofessional approach in this election year with a debate last night that seemed not to be that at all, but an attempt to assault Senator Barack Obama.

Charlie Gibson and George Stephanapolos should be fired for this. They were terrible. It's a good think Obama weathered the storm, but this was supposed to be a debate anyway.

This Place Is Packed As of 10:26. A Scene

This is a hell of a scene. There must be about 15,000 people here in this hall and all are paying rapt attention to Kamela Harris' speech, but also waiting for former President Bill Clinton. But what I'm surprised at his the power of her speech. She represented Barack well.

..But the Big Show's next (Clinton, Bill).

Obama Wins Texas | Clinton Lost Texas | Obama Gains 99 Delegates

The Texas Secretary of State is set to certify the official election results for the Democratic primary. As predicted, Barack Obama has beaten Hillary Clinton. While Clinton won the state's popular vote, Obama racked up more caucus support, so that, now that the final tally is in, the Lone Star state's delegate total reads: Obama - 99 delegates versus Clinton's 95 delegates. So, if someone from CNN, or Fox, or MSNBC, or CBS, or ABC says Clinton won Texas, you can email this to them and laugh heartily.

read more | digg story

Clinton Blueprint For Victory Would Tear Dems Apart

In today's Column, Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza outlines what the Clinton Campaign considers its way to victory. It includes two actions that will drive the Democratic Party apart: 1) Clinton as fighter, which really means Clinton using racist means of campaigning, and 2) having Florida and Michigan count.

Look, I don't care what anyone else writes, Florida and Michigan are using their voters as tools to get what they want. That's smelly. Both states signed a contract and then violated that contract. So the voters should stay put and if they're pissed off about it, then they should throw their elected officials out of office.

Barack Obama's ahead -- deal with it.

Clinton Keeps Donation From SEXIST IPA Company With 103 Female Victims

Wow. I can't think of a more explosive and really not smart decision on the part of Hillary Clinton as she runs for President. Clinton took $170,000 from a firm called International Profit Associates (IPA), which, according to reports has been accused of "sexual assault, innuendo, and anti-female language, with claims from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of 103 female victims."

International Profit Associates is a business consulting firm with a record of sexual harrassment so bad it was featured on the Oprah show and The Big Idea with Donnie Deutch. But IPA has also been the subject of 470 complaints to the Better Business Bureau across the nation in the past three years. Moreover, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and George Bush have taken money from IPA.

It's reported that Former President George Bush was paid $82,000 to speak at a company banquet in 1999, and former President Bill Clinton received $125,000 to appear in 2001.

Here's the video of women who worked at IPA and appeared on "The Big Idea With Donnie Deutch." The video shows the woman complaining that the IPA manager asked for her to perform oral sex on him.

CLINTON PISSES OFF TEXAS WITH LAWSUIT THREAT OVER CAUCUS

In a classic case of "What are they thinking" Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is threatening a lawsuit against the Texas Democratic Party over the complicated Texas Caucus process. The lawsuit action contrasts with the "Go with the program" approach of the Barack Obama campaign, where the Obama website has a special section devoted to the Texas Primary and a guide to the voting and caucus process.

The Clinton website's Texas link takes one to a phone banking page; there's nothing on the website about the Texas Caucus process.

What's interesting about this also gives a window to why the Clinton team is failing. It comes from the old "control" centered mentaility, which says "I must have control over what I do not understand," hence the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign's 21 Century approach is to jump into the culture of a region, in this case, Texas, and inform its supporters on the "rules of the game" there.

Which process do you think works better?

But the larger concern I have is with the slash-and-burn approach of the Clinton campaign and its impact on the Democratic Party. The Clinton's seem bent on destroying the party for their own purposes. An Obama win would mend the party quickly; a sweep of all states would terminate the Clinton campaign and right this ship before it's too late.

What's the concern of the Clinton camp? They feel the party has not trained each campaign on the process itself. However, it could be said that the Clinton campaign didn't even bother to learn about the caucus process either. The Obama campaign's not complaining. Perhaps that's because they're prepared.

Think about it.

Clinton Is Democratic Nixon - Dick Morris On O'Reilly Factor

Boy, I've heard some really deep terms used to describe the Clintons and particularly Senator Clinton, but this one takes it. On Wednesday's "O'Reilly Factor" Dick Morris called Hillary Clinton the Democratic Nixon.

When I think of Nixon, I think of the term "Tricky Dick" so with Clinton I guess the word would be, well, I don't know...Really, I don't. But that's not the point, the main warning is that Clinton has the same trust issues that President Nixon had, and that's why he was called "Tricky Dick.

Barack Obama Wins 8th Straight Primary - Takes Delegate Lead

Wow. After being considered the underdog, Senator Barack Obama won primaries in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. Also, he won these presidential primaries with huge margins, on the average 60 percent and 74 percent in D.C.

These mark Obama's 8th straight primary win and at a time when some stated that Senator Hillary Clinton needed and would take at least one of these states, most likely Virginia -- but it did not happen.

Obama steamrollered Clinton.

What's even more interesting is to see the mood of CNN's anchors, the "Clinton News Network" which for months has tried to pave the way for Senator Clinton to be the president, and failed. I said it earlier this year, you can't prop-up a person the people don't want to be president, you just can't do it.

It's particularly nice to see CNN contributor Donna Brazile get angry regarding the Clinton campaign strategy, as she did this night. I was -- ok, am -- tired of her daily stomping for Clinton using CNN's airwaves. Now she's got to deal with the harsh reality of a total butt-kicking given by Obama for America.

Hillary Clinton On Walmart Board - Video Shows Her On It

This video by ABC and now on YouTube is a daminng example of Senator Clinton's past association with Walmart as one of its board members. She says she now denounces Walmart's practices, but why did she associate with them in the first place? Here is the video.

Clinton Snubs Obama In Greeting Ted Kennedy During State Of The Union

ALERT: AP's Laurie Kellman at center of fixed "snub" story - click here!

After a day which saw Senator Ted Kennedy endorse Senator Barack Obama for president, you'd think Senator Clinton would take time to avoid playing games with Senator Obama.

Not so.

Instead of directly congratulating Senator Obama, Senator Clinton reaches over and calls only to Ted Kennedy as if Barack wasn't even there! Insulted, and forced to give space to Ted Kennedy so he could reach Senator Clinton's hand Barack turned.

Frankly, I don't blame him. Senator Clinton can't be civil at all; she has to be "in-your-face" rude, which she was.

Obama Lawyer Claims Clinton Nevada Violations - Brietbart.com

These series of reports have come hot and heavy in emails and blogs, but this is the first report where a legal representative has gotten involved. According to Brietbart.com, Barack Obama's lawyer has sent a letter to the Nevada State Democratic Party head regarding alledged violation of election laws during the Nevada Primary. Brietbart reports ...

The letter to Nevada Democratic Chairwoman Jill Derby from Obama lawyer Robert Bauer lists instances of early door closings, obstruction of voters, and improper handling of voter preference cards. Obama aides said the campaign has received more than 1,600 complaints, including 300 that came in to a hotline at the time of the caucuses.

Bauer said the campaign is not challenging the outcome of the caucuses at the precinct level, but he asked Derby to conduct an inquiry into the Clinton campaign tactics during the caucuses. The campaign offered to provide the names and contact information of the individuals making the complaints as well as unedited copies of their accounts.

The Clinton campaign has also complained about behavior at the caucuses. On Sunday, Clinton senior adviser Dave Barnhart said he witnessed an enormous "gantlet" of Obama supporters at the Mirage casino-hotel caucus site who tried to intimidate Clinton backers.

Attached to the Obama complaint was an instruction sheet that Bauer's letter attributed to the Clinton campaign. The sheet offers guidance on how to persuade caucus goers to caucus for Clinton.

One line states: "It's not illegal unless they tell you so."

"This certainly suggests that, for the Clinton campaign, the operative standard was, simply and only, what it could get away with," Bauer wrote.

The letter complained that the Clinton camp distributed a caucus guide to supporters that said caucus site doors would close at 11:30 a.m. The party's rules stated that caucuses would be called to order at 11:30 a.m. but said attendees had to be signed in by noon.

Wow. From NH to Nevada and on, one pattern emerges: the Clinton's do not play fair.

Chicago Tribune Says Clintons Tell Lies

The Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn tears a new one into the Clintons regarding their lies and mistatements, which are, well, lies. Check out this from Zorn:

Originally posted: January 22, 2008
Why stop short? The Clintons are lying about Obama's remarks on Reagan
(Barack) Obama stopped just short of calling (Hillary) Clinton and her husband liars... from the Swamp's live blog of last night's Democratic debate.

Hmm. I see no reason to stop short. Bill and Hillary Clinton have lied brazenly about Obama's recent statement about Ronald Reagan.

Let's look at the transcripts (emphasis added):


Hillary Clinton, Jan 18:

My leading opponent the other day said that he thought the Republicans had better ideas than Democrats the last 10 to 15 years.

Bill Clinton, Jan 18:

(My wife's) principal opponent said that since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas....I'm not making this up, folks.

Well, yes he is. The key, inflammatory words in the Clintons' quotes are better and good, and I invite you, reader, to find it in these transcripts of what Obama has actually said:

I don’t want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what’s different are the times. I do think that for example the 1980's were different.

I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it.

I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.

I think Kennedy, twenty years earlier, moved the country in a fundamentally different direction. So I think a lot of it just has to do with the times.

I think we’re in one of those times right now. Where people feel like things as they are going aren’t working. We’re bogged down in the same arguments that we’ve been having, and they’re not useful.

And, you know, the Republican approach, I think, has played itself out.

I think it’s fair to say the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last ten, fifteen years, in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom.

Read it all again if you want, you won't find "better" or "good" in there, or synonyms or implications along those lines.

When the Clintons used "better" and "good" in alluding the Obama's remarks, they weren't paraphrasing, they weren't misremembering, they weren't distorting. They were simply lying.

Rush Limbaugh Hit For Using "Spadework" Term That Hillary Clinton Used Twice

Conservative shock-jock Rush Limbaugh's the hit-person-of-the-day for using a term in a monologue that's generally taken to be racially offensive, even though it's formal definition has nothing to do with race.

On his show, Rush twice used the word "spade," which can be used as a racial slur. Specifically, Limbaugh said that "Obama is holding his own against both of them [Bill and Hillary Clinton], doing more than his share of the 'spadework,' maybe even gaining ground at the moment, using not only the spade, ladies and gentlemen. But when he finishes with the spade in the garden of corruption planted by the Clintons, he turns to the hoe. And so the spadework and his expertise, using a hoe. He's faring well."

But as people are piling on Rush for using the term, they seemed to forget that Senator Clinton's staff used the same words on July 24, 2007....

In a post-debate rebuttal of Sen. Obama, reported by CBS, a member of Sen. Clinton's inner circle had this to say:



"I would think that without having done the diplomatic spadework, it would not really prove anything," former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in a conference call with reporters set up by the Clinton campaign.

It's not the first time Senator Clinton has done this. According to Rush Limbaugh himself, Senator Clinton herself has used the term "spadework" before. Here's Rush:

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Did you hear what Mrs. Clinton said on the Today Show today with Matt Lauer? She said that Barack Obama "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president." He "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president," as though she has. Now, let's imagine, shall we, if Trent Lott, or Mitt Romney, or Ross Perot had said that Barack Obama "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president." Nothing that happens in the Clinton campaign is coincidence, folks. Barack Obama hasn't done the "spadework"? Whew. Where is the Reverend Sharpton on this? By the way, big story: Reverend Sharpton is waiting on his time to endorse. He's waiting for commitments. That means he's probably waiting for money from one of these two camps.

He's right. Where's Al Sharpton on this issue? And why do the Clintons throw racist barbs into the campaign?

Al?

Obama Ahead In All NH Polls Except CNN Poll - Did CNN Bias Impact Their Poll?

Several Polls have been conducted after the Iowa Caucus and all of them have Senator Obama ahead save for one poll: The CNN / WMUR / UNH Poll, which has Obama and Clinton tied at 33 percent, with Edwards at 20 percent.

Why is the CNN Poll the only one that does not have Obama ahead? It's a good question as last year, many pollsters had Senator Clinton in front in national polls, except a June 5th USA Today / Gallup Poll, which had Obama tied with Clinton. Frank Newport of Gallup, Inc., stated that he actually called for a new poll with a different sample size because he could not believe that Obama was tied, and wanted to be consistent with other polls. So what kind of sample configuration did they use this time?

Well, the introduction to the PDF file reads "Interviews with 672 likely New Hampshire primary voters in
New Hampshire conducted by telephone on January 4-5, 2008." When I read "most likely" voters, that is older voters. But the file data does not tell us what the age range was. But my guess is that the average age was skewed up over the other polls, thus explaining how Clinton could tie Obama.

But even with that, the CNN / WMUR / UNH Poll reports that 60 percent of the people responding said that Senator Obama was the most inspirational candidate and that 72 percent had a favorable response to him, versus 46 percent and 18 percent respectively for Senator Clinton and 58 percent and 13 percent for former Senator Edwards.

Wow. That seems to be the foundation for a potential landslide in Obama's favor in New Hampshire.

But still the question of how the CNN / WMUR / UNH Poll could come out with a Clinton / Obama tie and not an Obama lead is active. In the search for the answer, I found this note in the PDF file, which you can get by clicking on this link.

The data have been weighted to adjust for numbers of voters and telephone lines within households, respondent sex, and region of the state. In addition to potential sampling error, all surveys have other potential sources of non-sampling error including question order effects, question wording effects, and non-response.

To "weight" data is to change it by adding a mutiplier, thus effecting the final outcome of how the data reads. What's very disturbing is that the data file does not explain how the data was "adusted" and what was effected. That's scary and my guess is that that weighting process is at the center of the "tie" we see in this poll, versus the other polls. Take a look below.

But before you do, consider the constant CNN bias that has been exacted against Senator Obama and for Senator Clinton, as well as the CNN personalities like Larry King, who support Hillary Clinton, yet claim to report the news without bias. Also, ask why both CNN and ABC are only mentioning the results of the CNN / WMUR / UNH Poll, and not the others?

I'd call this a massive bias against Senator Obama, and the mainstream media trying to control what you the voter thinks. But in an Internet World, that's hard to do, plus, it should be considered illegal.

Here are the polls:


RealClearPolitics.com Average

Obama 33.2
Clinton 31.2
Edwards 19.2
Richardson 5.0

McCain 32.7
Romney 27.8
Huckabee 12
Giuliani 9.5
Paul 8.5
Thompson 2.2

Concord Monitor (January 5)

Obama 34
Clinton 33
Edwards 23
Richardson 4
Kucinich 3

McCain 35
Romney 29
Huckabee 13
Giuliani 8
Paul 7
Thompson 3

See full results here.

***

CNN/WMUR Poll (January 4-5)

Clinton 33%
Obama 33%
Edwards 20%
Richardson 4%
Kucinich 2%

Sampling error: +/-5% pts

McCain 33%
Romney 27%
Giuliani 14%
Huckabee 11%
Paul 9%
Hunter 1%
Thompson 1%

Sampling error: +/-5% pts

See full results here.

+++

American Research Group (January 5)

Obama 38%
Clinton 26%
Edwards 20%
Undecided 8%
Richardson 3%
Gravel 3%
Kucinich 1%

Barack Obama leads John Edwards among men 42% to 21%, with 19% for Hillary Clinton. Among women, Obama leads Clinton 35% to 31%, with 20% for Edwards. Clinton leads Obama among Democrats 34% to 32%, while Obama leads Edwards among undeclared voters (independents) 49% to 21%.

McCain 39%
Romney 25%
Huckabee 14%
Giuliani 7%
Paul 6%
Undecided 6%
Hunter 1%
Keyes 1%
Thompson 1%

John McCain leads Mitt Romney among men 42% to 21% and McCain leads Romney 35% to 30% among women. McCain leads Romney 44% to 19% among undeclared (independent) voters, with 18% for Huckabee. Undeclared voters are now 27% of the total Republican vote.

See full results here.

+++

Rasmussen Reports (January 4)

Obama 37%
Clinton 27%
Edwards 19%
Richardson 8%
Kucinich 3%
Gravel 1%

See full results here.

McCain 31%
Romney 26%
Paul 14%
Huckabee 11%
Giuliani 8%
Thompson 5%
Some other candidate 2%

Poll Of Dems And Repub Insiders Favors Clinton and Giuliani, But No Clear Favorite - Watch Out For Obama

An LA Times poll currently has Senator Hillary Clinton and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the favorite with party insiders -- whatever the hell that means.

What the poll fails to capture is the rise in support for Barack Obama. Party insiders have ties to current incumbents and are often the last to adjust to the desires of the public at large.

But watch out for Obama. He now has more support amoug Black voters than Senator Clinton and is drawing huge crowds whereever he goes.