Clinton Message Just Released, Will "Strongly Support Senator Obama"

This came to me via an Obama group email, which in turn was gotten from a person who has a friend that's on Hillary Clinton's mailing list..

Below is a message from Hillary to her supporters:

Dear Supporter,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary

CNN Clobbers Fox, Beats MSNBC On Obama's Speech

According to Mediabistro, CNN's decision to carry Senator Barack Obama's historic speech live caused it to beat all networks, cable and broadcast, for June 3rd, outpacing ABC, the other network that had Obama's speech live, 4.3 million viewers to 4 million for ABC.

(Before you see the numbers below, FNC is Fox, CNN is CNN, and HLN is Headline News.)

Here are the numbers:

25-54 demographic: (L +SD)

Total day: FNC: 298 | CNN: 407 | MSNBC: 294 | HLN: 134

Prime: FNC: 739 | CNN: 1415 | MSNBC: 1053 | HLN: 199

5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:

FNC ElectionHQ: Hume: Shep.: ElectionHQ: ElectionHQ: ElectionHQ: H&C:
242 280 326 528 843 847 415

CNN Blitzer: Blitzer: Dobbs: Elec.Cent.: Elec.Cent.: Elec./Coop: Cooper:
293 351 579 885 1465 1890 975

MSNBC Hardball: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.:
250 320 531 617 1068 1473 598

HLN Prime: Prime: Beck: Grace: Beck: Grace: Showbiz:
112 92 241 308 116 203 218


Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data.


Total Viewers: (L +SD)

Total day: FNC: 1086 | CNN: 1102 | MSNBC: 770 | HLN: 303

Prime: FNC: 2389 | CNN: 3519 | MSNBC: 2627 | HLN: 496

5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:

FNC ElectionHQ: Hume: Shep.: ElectionHQ: ElectionHQ: ElectionHQ: H&C:
1100 1443 1398 2006 2745 2415 1341

CNN Blitzer: Blitzer: Dobbs: Elec.Cent.: Elec.Cent.: Elec./Coop: Cooper:
1058 1114 1502 2242 3788 4523 2323

MSNBC Hardball: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.: Spec.Cov.:
770 965 1266 1719 2713 3450 1346

HLN Prime: Prime: Beck: Grace: Beck: Grace: Showbiz:
272 238 611 712 363 469 457


In reading this, CNN beats all other news channels in the 25 to 54 demographic and overall for June 3, election night. But CNN beats Fox on every night, even when there's no election coverage. Whie Fox News Channel may have a victory in one time slow or another, it's just that -- one slot at one time. CNN has a larger audience, and it's thought to be due to the fact that CNN is more of a "news ticker" channel whereas Fox is personality driven. CNN commands higher ad rates and is believed to be the "snob" channel.

As for Fox News, it really is competitive with -- drumroll -- no one. According to fair.org, Fox News's most popular show, The O'Reily Factor, draws four times fewer viewers than the CBS Evening News, which is considered to be a ratings disaster. If that's the case, then Bill O'Reilly's the Titanic. It's why they resort to the upskirt tactics and other "Jump the Shark" programming. MSNBC falls late night -- in my view -- because of that stupid prison-programming where they seem obsessed with showing the inside of a prison. It's depressing and channel-turning -- away from MSNBC. Their power is in news, but they don't seem to know that.

Clinton to Officially Quit Running For President Friday - New York Pushed Clinton To Concede

Hey, I thought she quit running for President yesterday! But it's being reported that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will officially end her run for President of the United States Friday, as Senator Barack Obama's clinched the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States.

Reportedly, Senator Clinton was pressured by two groups: the New York political delegation, lead by the legendary Representative Charlie Rangle, who said that Hillary Clinton left the New York group in a kind of confusing position. He also said that Clinton could have been far more generous in her speech. That he said this publicly and has been a supporter of hers spoke volumes. Here's the video:



There's also a feeling with some New Yorkers that Hillary Clinton is being offered a special cabinet position in the Obama Administration, but also a feeling expressed by one person that New Yorkers were "used." This is what I found at the Long Island Nassau Suffolk County New York Political Forum:

Its was all part of a greater agenda to get back to Washington DC. (whether its successful, remains to be seen). Hillary used NYers. We gave her a Senate seat, we gave her lots of money and attention. She did nothing for upstate, nothing for Long Island, and sucked lots of money out of the metro area for her Senate and presidential runs.

What this is all about:
Hillary Clinton will be offered a dignified exit from the presidential race and the prospect of a place in Barack Obama's cabinet under plans for a "negotiated surrender" of her White House ambitions being drawn up by Senator Obama's aides.

She becomes part of Obama's cabinet, abandons her Senate seat, and moves back to Washington DC fulltime.

So, how does it feel, million dollar donors, successful moneymen, getting f**ked without even being kissed. All that to know a Cabinet secretary.

But, wait....she thinks Obama can't win, so she may still be stuck here. What is plan B?

Charles Barron, Democratic New York City Councilmember and long a New York political player says that Obama should not select Clinton as VP and was also disappointed in Hillary's speech; he favors Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, and talks to us about her and other views regarding Obama in this video:

Obama Selection Of Caroline Kennedy To Seek VP Candidate May Spell End for Clinton

Senator Barack Obama asked Caroline Kennedy to head the effort to find a Vice Presidential candidate, and that move could spell the end for Senator Clinton's quest for the number two slot. The reason is simple: Ted Kennedy doesn't think Clinton would make a good fit, and has said so.

Kennedy is joined by Eric Holder, the former Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, and Jim Johnson, the man who ran John Kerry’s veep search.

The Clinton's have not pleased Ted Kennedy, first with the whole MLK and race-bating campaign they waged, and recently with her TERRIBLE gafe regarding RFK and assassination.

Again, the term today is Popularometer, and Clinton's -- both Bill and Hillary -- is at an all time low.

I also think what may have happened is that Clinton wanted Obama to immediately ask her to be her VP and he said he was going to form a search committee and have a process. I'll bet that's what happened and explains why she didn't concede. But it all boils down to her not getting her way.

I can see the needle on the Popularometer falling yet again.

BET"s Bob Johnson Asks Jim Clyburn To Push For Obama Clinton Ticket, But Bill Clinton Cursed Clyburm!

I've got Fox News -- yes, Fox News, and specifically "Studio B with Shepard Smith" -- on now, and Smith's reporting that BET's Bob Johnson, an outspoken supporter of Hillary Clinton, has asked via letter to the office of South Carolina's Congressman Jim Clyburn, for Clyburn to push for an Obama / Clinton ticket.

Here's the problem.

Just a over a month ago, former President Bill Clinton, Hil's hubby and that famously tempermental campaigner, lost it with Clyburn and according to the Wall Street Journal cursed at him, thus pushing Clyburn to be even more outspoken in his opposition to the campaign tactics of the Clintons, and to eventually endorse Senator Obama for President.

So why the hell would Clyburn want to walk down the road of essentially helping the Clintons? And Clinton supporters flooding Clyburn's office with racist hate-calls certainly doesn't help at all.

Both Bill and Hillary have to learn to be humble here. As I just wrote, their Populaometer's at an all time low. Time to appologize to Clyburn and fall behind Senator Obama.

Clinton's Speech Pisses Off Many - Can't Concede To Obama

Hillary Clinton may be slowly taking herself out of the race for Vice President with her speech where she stopped short of conceding to Senator Barack Obama, who's the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee. On CNN and on the blogs and in listserves, Clinton's being skewered, and even CNN's Jeffrey Tobin, long a kind commenter on the Clintons during this campaign, called her speech an example of "deranged narcissism".

..and the commenters over at The Huffington Post agreed with her:

Jeffrey Toobin: Clinton's Refusal To Concede "Deranged Narcissism"
stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust buzz up
Huffington Post | June 3, 2008 11:30 PM


- CarmenCameron See Profile I'm a Fan of CarmenCameron
The math doesn't convince her that she actually LOST. A title won't convince her that she's not ACTUALLY president. Her insanity would have her dictating policy and negotiating treaties with other countries.

HRC is mad and so is our nation if we support her hell-bent, out-of-control and plain-ol' SICK demand for power.

Mr. Toobin is not only RIGHT, he's the only MSM talking head with GUTS to say out loud what the vast majority of Americans ARE thinking!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:56 PM on 06/04/2008
- FearlessSpeech See Profile I'm a Fan of FearlessSpeech
BEST pundit quote of the campaign. Thanks for the honesty Mr. Toobin!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:53 PM on 06/04/2008
- MrsPeel See Profile I'm a Fan of MrsPeel
I absolutely agree.

I saw watched this live. Despite David Gergen's immediate distancing from Toobin's comment, I think Toobin told it like it is.

Some folks say the media have been against Hillary. IMO, I think she's had it fairly easy. I could use a few more like Toobin speaking up.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:51 PM on 06/04/2008
- sage25 See Profile I'm a Fan of sage25
Toobin took the words right out of my mouth!

I love it when someone loses his or her PC media facade and just belches out the truth.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:51 PM on 06/04/2008
- JeffWasHere See Profile I'm a Fan of JeffWasHere
Hillary is the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "I'm invincible. The Black Knight always triumphs. Oh, I see. Running away. Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!" Actually, she's worse than the Black Knight, because when both his arms and legs were chopped off, he at least conceded a little and said "All right, we'll call it a draw."

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:48 PM on 06/04/2008
- dm92 See Profile I'm a Fan of dm92
I can't catch my breath right now I am laughing so hard....

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:24 PM on 06/04/2008
- portchester See Profile I'm a Fan of portchester
Jeff Toobin ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:44 PM on 06/04/2008
- dm92 See Profile I'm a Fan of dm92
honesty and b*lls for a change on the corporate media - great!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:25 PM on 06/04/2008
- sueno See Profile I'm a Fan of sueno
Toobin is the man!
Obama won!
Why is everyone soo worried about Clinton!
She's acting like a spoiled child-
Don't you think that something deeper is wrong with the display that she's putting on.
She's willing to hold the democrats hostage- so that she comes out on top!
Her popular vote argument is also little pychotic, yet nobody wants to correct her-
Why does she have to be pampered off stage? particularly after the bombs, she and bill dropped.
The media's thirst to suck up to her is un-real! Is the media's debt to the Clinton's finally over?
CAN THE PUBLIC NOW RECEIVE UNBIAS COVERAGE, WITHOUT PEOPLE LIKE CARVILLE & DAVIS ON IT'S STAFF.
Toobin's right- OBAMA WON, WHERE'S THE JOY?

Or if not the Huffington Post, then James Fallows over at The Atlantic, who wasted no time in lowering the boom on Senator Clinton.

You HAVE LOST the nomination. There are NO MORE primaries. And you're urging your supporters to nurse their bitter feelings on your web site, and keep selling their bikes to give you money that you'll spend on... what? The unseemliness -- and, yes, destructiveness -- of this is too obvious to mention, though perhaps not obvious enough to have occurred to you.
This is a new low.

Indeed, between HRC's no-concession speech, Bill Clinton's skewering in the Vanity Fair, and the former President's reported cursing at Rep Jim Clyburn, the Clinton's popularity meter -- let's call it a "Populometer" -- is at an all time low. They're in a damage control situation and the trouble is they don't act like it.

Stay tuned.

Barack Obama Gets 2,118 Delegates To Officially Seal The Nomination!

Barack Obama sealed the deal. He's officially done it! He's the Democratic Nominee!

An Obama / Clinton Ticket Is What The Democratic Party Needs

Ok, I've written it, and I'll stand by it. I think a Democratic ticket with Senator Obama and Senator Clinton on it as VP will not only heel Democratic Party wounds, but bring the country together and confound Senator Clinton's more reason-challenged supporters.

Obama / Clinton has a nice ring to it for a host of reasons. First, it's a change ticket because for the first time we would have an African American man and a European American woman running together. Morover, it would fuse two campaigns that have done an extraordinary job of raising money. Senator Obama's campaign alone has taken in over one-third of a billion dollar, a level never before seen in American politics. Senator Clinton has a large list of well-known donors, and while may of them would come over Senator Obama anyway, having her on the ticket makes this process a certainty.

Finally, it's a good marriage of the Clintons, who are the ultimate insiders and Senator Obama, who's the best outside-insider. Senator Obama's the best example of a corporate heretic America Politics has ever seen. He's arugably better than Bill Clinton, which brings me to my next point.

Obama will have Bill at the ready in a unique role that seems taylor made for him. Look, I could care less about the Vanity Fair article for many reasons, but foremost amoung them is that it's tone was really personal and read like an attack on Clinton as a man, not as a politician. I'll get to that later, but in my view, it's time for us -- including me -- to lay down our arms and bring the Democratic Party together. The war's over; let's not take it to the convention.

Another Sad Example Of Clinton Backer Racism

I just saw and read this story on a listserv I'm a member of and it presents the "major problem we as Obama supporters must attack". To save you the gory details, it's about a call the person, who worked for the Democratic Party, took from a Clinton supporter.

The caller can be identified as 1) expressing stereotyped views, 2) getting them from television (generally CNN, FOX, and MSNBC), and then expressing racist views (and racism as we know is a mental illness), where the person would say, referring to Barack Obama, "A person from that kind of a culture that is not advanced on the evolutionary scale cannot serve as the President of the United States."

What?

This is a statement not far from that made by Harriet Christian, the DNC Rules Committee visitor from New York, who was thrown out ofthe meeting for launching into a racist rant, and who's the new image of modern racism, and seems to have Clinton supporters on message boards like HillaryClintonForum.com, who support her really, well, paranoid views (paranoia is a foundation of racism, and also is found to be a psychotic behavior.)

The problem is bigger than just one for Obama supporters, but its for the Democratic Party. We're allowing a mix of television producers and execs who are used to manipulating our fears for ratings, racists, and the totally under-educated to hijack the Democratic Party.

We've got to take it back.

This is the full post from "irish09,"


This is what we need to address
by irish09, Mon Jun 02, 2008 at 11:32:48 AM EST

I am an intern for the Democratic Party in a swing state. Part of my duties today (besides making coffee of course!) was to answer incoming phone calls. Some people in this area decide to call the local Democratic Party to vent their anger and frustration regarding the primaries and their results. Many of them are angry Clinton supporters, though there are some Obama people who are very upset that she hasn't stepped out yet. I want to tell this community of a conversation that I had this morning with a Catholic woman who identified herself as a lifetime Democratic voter.

This caller is a Clinton supporter and she started the conversation by asking, "Why did our party make this mistake of nominating an inexperienced candidate with so much baggage from Chicago?" I of course provided the company line that the Democratic Party has not endorsed a candidate and that ultimately we are going to support whichever candidate is nominated.

She pressed further, "but even him?!" This is when I started to engage with her and try to push her towards the candidate that does appear to be our persumptive nominee. In regards to the lack of political experience, I told her that Barack Obama has been in elected office for more years before the presidency than George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and many former presidents, including Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Franklin Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson. What matters in this election is judgement, which can be achieved through the sheer number of years in government or the ability to appropriately see a problem and find its solution. In regards to Obama, we know that he wants to push for an end to the war in Iraq, economic reform, and greater health insurance benefits. For McCain, we know that he wants 100 years in Iraq, no substantial change to our nation's "markets," and reductions in a number of items that affect our nation's safety net. Who has the better judgement there to solve our problems?


From here, this caller discussed how women feel so shunned in this process because the Democratic Party itself decided to throw women to the side. I calmly told her that the party doesn't get to decide the nominee, that voters decide through the primary and caucus process. And I told her that women made up the majority of voters in all contests for the Democratic nomination, except for in Puerto Rico. She said that McCain and the Republicans "are moving towards the center and his policies really can appeal to me and many other women." I tried to point out certain policy proposals that I feel would really upset women, including cutting SCHIP, but this didn't seem to go over well with her.

Finally, she went on about Obama's "baggage" which consists of "Chicago machine politics, Farakhan, Ayers, Wright, and that church of his which is so against what I as a Catholic believe in." This was a doozie. I started by asking for where she heard this information - and she said TV. Of course, I told her that she shouldn't accept everything she sees on TV wholesale, which she said that she didn't. I talked about how almost every politician will have a connection to a political machine - it's part of the game. The bigger issue is how a candidate attempts to run a campaign that is as clean as possible, which made me bring up that Obama doesn't accept a dime from lobbyists. I informed her politely that there isn't a connection at all between Farakhan and Obama and that the media, regardless of party, will always blow non-stories into front page news. I also mentioned that all candidates have baggage, include the Clintons.

Then, she asked, "well what about the church? They all hoot and holler." I, like the caller, am a Catholic. I also major in Theology at the University of Notre Dame, which has allowed me to experience all kinds of faith experiences. I told her that I have attended African-American churches that are much like Senator Obama's now former church. It is a completely different style of worship that is interactive and focuses on creating the fire of the Holy Spirit in the church members. It is a wonderful way to express faith and to form a religious community.

Her response, "but what about saying 'God damn' during church services?" I kindly pointed to the former rite of the Catholic Church that included many uses of the word "damn" or "damned." The word "damn" in a religious context has no value as a modern curse word.

Now this set her off, though. She went on, "A person from that kind of a culture that is not advanced on the evolutionary scale cannot serve as the President of the United States. Thank you for listening to me, good bye." Quite the horrible, race-based ending to our conversation.

This phone call shows what exactly we need to address during this campaign. Obama's lack of experience and "baggage" need to be artfully addressed. I obviously failed today because the woman was receptive to none of it. We need to be prepared for this sort of thing, especially as we unify this party. It is also clear that the media narrative about maverick McCain is too quickly accepted by even core Democratic groups. It's obvious that the minute that Obama hits the magic number, he needs to run a biographical ad, and then he, along with 527s and whatever the DNC can muster, need to put together a constant negative ad campaign out against McCain that highlights his many failures in judgement.

Finally, we need to remember that there is a race element to this campaign. That is the world that we live in. We need to find a way to not allow the media's narrative to become one of Obama being a "scary black man." Frankly, talking to this woman, and others over the past few weeks, I am afraid that we are unable to reach many voters who are in our base camp because of certain prejudices. What can we do to look up this base? We need to decide that as soon as possible or else John McCain will run away with this thing and be George Bush's third term.

*I'm not saying that Clinton supporters are all inherently racist. I am merely saying that race is probably a problem for at least some of her voters, which is a reasonable statement.

Update: Thanks for placing me on the rec list, my first time! These are important issues and to move forward as a party searching to create change not only in this election but in our culture, we need to discuss them.

Harriet Christian - Who Is Harriet Christian And What Of Racist Clinton Supporters?

Harriet Christian being escorted out of the DNC Rules Committee by two Black men totally adequate for the task.

Who is Harriet Christian? Records over at the Huffington Post's special project called "Fundrace" on the identification and location of donors to presidential campaigns shows that she does indeed live in New York City, at 20 Waterside Plaza, along the East River with a nice view I might add, and has worked or is working as a Waitress and also worked or is working for Infocus Realty at 419 Lafayette Street 2nd Floor New York, NY.

Indeed, she's currently listed as a sales agent there with the following contact information: 917-716-1757 and email at HChristian@INFNYC.com

Now, let's stop and think about that for a moment. A person who would scream "inadequate Black Male" and rant about her right to say that is the last person you'd think would sell an apartment to someone Black. She's got to be a poster child for racial discrimination in New York real estate. If there's someone out there who's been discriminated against by her, well, here's your online proof of her bias. InFocus Realty should be very concerned about this; I don't yet know if they are.

Harriet's racism reflects on the firm that hired her to work in real estate.

Then this comments posted in the Manhattan Offender:

I actually found myself at a bar sitting next to Harriet Christian shortly after she made that comment. Harriet has the Hillary Clinton tattoo. Harriet says, you want to see my new tattoo? So, she hikes up her dress and sure enough, there’s Hillary on her inner thigh. You know who this is don't you? This here's Hillary Clinton. Bet you can't guess who’s tattooed on my other leg, she says, hiking her dress even further. I look at her other thigh, but the likeness escapes me. I don't recognize the other face, I said. But I'd know that one in the middle anywhere – that there's Sandy Berger: http://theseedsof9-11.com

Posted by: Peggy McGilligan | 01 June 2008 at 03:07 PM

But what's most terrible beyond Harriet's racist rant is the supportive -- that's right, supportive -- comments at the forum called HillaryClintonForum. These people are totally sick.

For example:

My favorite quote, "You can call me white, but I can't call you black! That is not my America."

Or this:

She says it like "it" is.

And this work-of - genius:

Harriet Christian for VP

And this outrage:

A woman after my own heart! You go girl!!

What the hell was that? I could not believe the comments over at that post, but hey, you can't see them in person before you, so you can see just how dark their hearts are.

What you're reading over at Hillary Clinton Forum shows the worst in America, and it is that they are so happy this person who's White is really talking for people who apparently do feel that Blacks don't know their place and are Democrats, an are acting just like Father Michael Pflager said Hillary Clinton herself was acting (and I totally think the Father was offbase).

But I think Father Plager -- who's not a reverend as Anderson Cooper called him, he's Catholic -- should have talked about some Clinton supporters like the ones on the Clinton Forum, as he'd have been totally correct.

I doubt people would have been so upset.

The Four Michigan Delegates Obama Now Has Didn't Belong To Clinton To Start

The Four Michigan Delegates Obama Now Has Didn't Belong To Clinton To Start

At the historic DNC Rules Committee of Saturday May 31, 2008, both Florida and Michigan delegates were seated but with 50 percent of the common voting power each and with Senator Clinton receiving 69 delegates and Senator Obama gaining 59 delegates. The total number is 128 delegates, so the 50 percent split mark would be 64 delegates.

The Clinton camp, lead by Senior Campaign Advisor Harold Ickes, claims that they were forced to give 4 delegates to Senator Obama. Before we take on their claim, let's give it a closer look.

The charge of Ickes and others, like Clinton campaign supporter Lanny Davis, is that Clinton should have gotten 73 delegates and "uncommitted" 55. When they didn't get their way, Ickes, claiming to speak for Senator Clinton, but really, I think got carried away, said they were going to take their fight to the DNC Convention.



They will lose the fight again if they do.

The reason is that Senator Clinton kept her name on the Michigan ballot, whereas Senator Obama, Senator Edwards, Governor Bill Richardson, and the other Democratic Presidential candidates took their name off the ballot, because they, and Senator Clinton, knew and admitted that the "Michigan primary would not count."

The remainder was the "uncommitted" vote, which, when the actual Michigan primary was held against DNC rules -- which told the state not to hold its primary ahead of the schedule orginally set for it by and with the DNC -- became an unusually large percentage of the vote, something like 30 percent of the total.

The Clinton people base their delegate estimate on that actual voting outcome, and say that the legitimacy of the Michigan process rests in the 600,000 people who voted in that state. That's the basis for the anger of some Clinton people like Ickes. And here's the major problem.

The delegates never actually belonged to the Clinton campaign, but to the DNC, because Michigan was stripped of its delegates by the DNC, which the DNC Rules Committee has the power to do, and did.

Because of that fact, the DNC Rules Committee could come up with any scenario they could and had the votes to pass, and that's what happened. The Rules Committee could have elected to do absolutely nothing and have a "zero-delegate" outcome, which means Senator Clinton would have no delegates seated from Michigan. Those delegates would be allocated by the DNC because, again, the DNC stripped Michigan of its delegates to start with.

And regarding the 600,000 voters, there's a great argument and study that suggests as many as 1 million people did not vote in Michigan because they were under the impression the primary would not count by the view of the DNC. And they were right. The DNC stripped Michigan of delegates.

Because of this, delegates were malleable by the DNC. In other words, because Michigan was stripped of delegates, the DNC could give life to and then shape and mold the delegate count and split as it chose to do so, and it did just that.

The DNC was well within its right to do what it did, and Senator Clinton in reality had no right to any number of delegates. She, like the other candidates including Senator Obama, was at the mercy of the DNC Rules Committee.

Harold Ickes knows this, and admitted on today's Meet The Press show with Tim Russert, that the reason the Clinton people and Senator Clinton said that they knew Michigan wasn't going to count. Here's what Ickes said on MTP today:

MR. ICKES: Michigan was, in fact, a real primary. Six hundred thousand people voted, Tim, compared, compared, compared to 160,000 in '04, which had a high--which had a real, live primary as well.

MR. RUSSERT: Then why did Senator Clinton say it wasn't going to count for anything?

MR. ICKES: I think at that time people were focused on Super Tuesday, and a lot of us did not feel that it was going to go beyond that.

Wow.

Think about that. I also can't believe Tim Russert didn't hammer Ickes on that statement because Harold just admitted on national television that the reason Clinton didn't concern herself with "defending Michigan" at the time was really because they didn't think they were going to need the delegates to win.

Wow.

So now that they're counting every delegate from here to Mars, suddenly challenging DNC rules and working some weird form of Jedi-mind trick on hapless political pundits , Michigan suddenly counts and the count must favor them.

That's not the way it works. Here's the bottom line: Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates, the DNC thus had the right to create delegates and shape and mold the delegste split, and as it turned out Senator Obama had the votes in the DNC Rules Committee -- including from Clinton supporters -- to achieve the outcome we see before us now.

End game.

CNN Trying To Fix Democratic Election For Clinton; Obama Ahead in Popular Vote

I'm watching CNN's telecast of the Puerto Rico vote and they're -- Wolf Blitzer's -- trying to fix the election for Senator Clinton. The reality is that we count all votes of the 48 state and we have two that broke the rules. Plus, you can't just "give" votes cast in Florida and Michigan because the election was tainted. The DNC Rules Commitee established that.

Thus, the real popular vote tally is this:

Obama - 17,601,742 48.3% Clinton - 17,325,334 47.6%

Obama +276,408 +0.7%

That shows Obama ahead and it includes all of the caucus states, including Washington. The bottom line is that you can't just exclude states that have had fair elections and played by DNC rules -- that's 48 states.

CNN's trying to fix the news and public opinion by presenting what are in fact false scenarios. Frankly, I think the FCC should investigate CNN's actions, and those of the other networks as well.

Oh, and Terry McAuliffe is real wrong because to be frank, the four delegates were not -- not Senator Clinton's to begin with. Terry, the Michigan election was against DNC Rules, how many times do you need to be reminded of that? She did not win those delegates "fair and square."

Clinton Supporter Harriet Christian Racist Rant Shows Worst Of America

After the DNC Rules Committee, Harriet Christian, a Clinton supporter from Manhattan who's voice you could hear at various parts of the committee meeting and louder as it became apparent that Senator Clinton was not going to get a significant gain from any decision the group made, let loose with a totally racist rant that shows the worst of America and reveals every stereotype anyone had about people who support Hillary Clinton.

UPDATE: Who is Harriet Christian and what of racist Clinton supporters?

Harriet says she's proud to be an American Woman. "The Democrats are throwing the election away; for what? An inadequate Black male?, she said. Here's the full text of her comments:

"I'm proud to be an older American woman....

"The Democrats are throwing the election away. For what? An inadequate black male, who would not have been running had it not been a white woman that was running for president? And I'm not gonna shut my mouth anymore. I can be called white, but you can't be called black. That's not my America. It's equality for all of us. It's about time we all stood up for it. I'm no second class citizen, and God damn the Democrats....

"I came here for the vote of every American, and our Democratic Party threw us down the tubes. I was a second class citizen before, now I'm nothing. Why? Because they want to do what they want to do. And they think we won't turn and vote for McCain. Well, I got news for all of you: McCain will be the next president of the United States."

I wonder if Hillary Clinton thinks the same way. Given the way she and Bill Clinton ran their campaign, there's a lot of evidence that points to the affirmative response.

Here's the video...



And this response from YouTuber BrandonKeatingSr:

DNC Rules Committee May 31st Meeting Video Clip Series

This is a great May 31st 2008 DNC Rules Committee video series created by sallj2007 on YouTube. The ultimate result of these deliberations was that the delegates from both Florida and Michigan were seated with one-half of the vote for each delegate. The new delegate total is 2,118, with Senator Obama now at 2,052, needing 66 to win, and Senator Clinton at 1,877.5 delegates, 240.5 short of the number needed to win.

Here's the series:

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



Part 4:



Part 5



Part 6



Part 7



Part 8



Part 9



Part 10 - Reporter Summary of Events



Part 11 - Chuck Todd Summary

The Jon Ausman Petition Re: Florida Delegates - By DNC Member Jon Ausman

The Jon Ausman Petition

In the matter of today's DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, there was a mention of something called the "Ausman Petition" which was accepted by the Obama campaign and Robert Wexler's saying on MSNBC, also by the Clinton camp. Now that's just the delegate petition, but not the Superdelegate Ausman Petition. Below is the letter by DNC Member John Ausman which presents his petition:

The staff of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have completed and submitted their review of the two appeals seeking to have 23 superdelegates and 92 pledged delegates award to Florida .

The first appeal notes the DNC Charter states Democratic US Senators, Democratic US House Members, former DNC Chairs and DNC Members “shall” be delegates to the Democratic National Convention. This “bill of rights” given to 23 Floridians cannot be taken away by a subordinate body created by the DNC since that subordinate body does not have the authority to do so.

The second appeal states the penalty for violating the “timing rule” “shall be” a fifty percent (50%) reduction in the pledged delegates and the loss of the three (3) unpledged add-on delegates. This means Florida should have at least 92 pledged delegates.

The remaining 93 pledged delegates and three (3) unpledged add-on delegates I hope to win at a later time if not on this appeal itself.

Review by Co-Chairs, Rules and Presidential Politics

The two Co-Chairs of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) have been reviewing the staff comments and recommendations since 31 March 2008. While the 2008 Delegate Selection Rules provide a strict timeline in many areas when an appeal is made it is silent on how long the Co-Chairs can review the appeals and the staff review.

For those who suggest the Co-Chairs are stalling, or planning to delay hearings until June, I say lets give them a reasonable amount of time to review the documents. If the staff has two weeks to review and write a report then lets give the Co-Chairs the same two week period of time.

This means the Co-Chairs should make a statement on Monday, 14 April 2008, at the latest.

The Co-Chairs can say one or both appeals are meritorious and grant the sought for remedies, they can deny one or both appeals (which will allow me to appeal such a denial within five days to the DNC RBC, or they can call for a DNC RBC Committee to here argument on the appeals.

I believe we are going before the full DNC RBC and I would like to be there no later than Saturday, 10 May 2008.

Unfortunately, these two appeals involve more than the consideration of what the written rules governing the DNC say. Rather than interpret the rules as written consideration is now being given to what the two Presidential campaigns want (what they want, of course, is what benefits them the most).

I believe one campaign is very interested in allowing the DNC RBC decide the matter while the other is stalling in order to preserve their position.

One would think both parties would see the tremendous advantage of resolving this matter early as it would help improve fundraising for both campaigns in Florida (not to mention DNC and FDP fundraising) as well as allow our attention to focus on getting ready to be Senator McCain, but short-term views are prevailing over the long-term benefits of ending this running sore.

With respect, I am,

Jon M. Ausman, Member
Democratic National Committee
Florida

Young Hillary Clinton Video Shows What America Thinks Of Hillary

This is a totally funny video staring starring Jerry O'Connell and Brandon Johnson, and starring Laci Kay as Young Hillary Clinton. It reminds me of Reece Witherspoon's performance as Tracy Flick in the movie "Election" where she was a "do anything to win" high school kid.

Well, Laci Kay portrays a young Hillary Clinton who's totally power-hungry and manuevering. But what's interesting is that this video reflects how people see Senator Clinton and it's not good for her political future at all.

Father Michael Pfleger Is NOT Obama's Pastor or A Trinity Pastor; He's At Saint Sabina Roman Catholic Church!!

What Father Michael Pfleger said about Senator Hillary Clinton is on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News (of course) but each of these mainstream media cable networks is telling a huge lie:

Father Michael Pfleger is not -- I repeat -- not a pastor of Trinity Church. He's also catholic, whereas Trinity is methodist. Father Michael Flager is the white pastor of predominantly black Saint Sabina Roman Catholic Church on Chicago's South Side.

So now, I guess the media's going to set up camera's over at Saint Sabina Roman Catholic Church? Oh brother!

But the biggest problem is the ever-lowering credibility of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Thank God for Scott McClellan.

Next Democratic Battleground: DNC Rules Cmte meeting 5/31/08

Tomorrow may be a strange day at the Marriott Wardman Park in NW Washington D.C.

UPDATE: DNC Rules Committee Online As of this writing.

While the Clinton campaign denies organizing a scene to influence the decision of the Democratic National Committee's Rules & Bylaws Committee, reports persist that they've been actively urging supporters to pressure the DNC to fix the game Hillary's Way - in marked contrast to messages to Obama's supporters. On a conference call with reporters, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe appeared to distance the Obama campaign's intentions from Clinton supporters' planned protests outside Saturday's meeting. "We are NOT encouraging our people to gather and protest on Saturday," he said.

Meanwhile, according to Carl Hulse in the NY Times, the two top Democrats in Congress were pressing superdelegates who had yet to declare a preference in the race to make their choice public by the middle of next week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid reportedly have been contacting uncommitted superdelegates, encouraging them to prepare to go public and resolve any last question about the contest between Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. "By this time next week, it will all be over, give or take a day," Mr. Reid said in a Thursday appearance at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

And Senator Obama does seem to be enhancing his delegate count with the support of Boyd and Betty Richie, two of the few uncommitted superdelegates from Texas. "I believe Senator Obama is the candidate who can best provide the leadership and change Texans desire," said Boyd Richie in a statement issued by the party. "Senator Obama has the skill and ability to unite Americans from all walks of life and put our country back on the right track."

Of course neither candidate can control what goes on outside the Wardmann Park hotel; even if they have generally good control over their own campaigns the passions are running high among volunteers and supporters - and one cannot totally ignore the potential that provocateurs might be inserted by parties interested in seeing the situation spin into a conflict which is then splashed all over the Sunday morning talk shows in pursuit of ratings.

What will Saturday foreshadow? The Denver nominating convention will be a lively affair, and the turnout in November's general election should reflect a highly energized desire to seat a Democrat in the Oval Office atop record numbers of first-time voters which increasingly looks like a mandate for change.

read more at Huffington Post | digg story

Hillary Clinton's Facial Expression Of Anger

Hillary Goes Hulk, originally uploaded by herbsao.

Writing of "intensity" we have Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton really looking like she's letting loose on some person she was talking to. All I can write is "yikes" she needs to get her temper in check, lest be be matched with the tempermental Senator John McCain. Whatever, that's a really frightening photo, in all honesty.

Chelsea Clinton's Other-Worldly Eyes

APTOPIX Clinton 2008, originally uploaded by 2103770879.

In all of the talk and debate about Barack v. Hillary, it's easy to forget we're talking about people -- passionate people.

That passion comes through in Chelsea Clinton's intense yet happy stare as she talks to supporters at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008, during a campaign event for her mother, Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)