Letters to the Editor
Uncle Fester
Published Letters: 1346 Editor's Choice: 12
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@MICKI Biden beats Hillary?
[Read the article: A look at exit polls from the Mississippi Democratic primary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Obama was NOT black, but all other things were equal, he would NOT be where he is today. My guess is, if Obama the black man, had not been in the race, John Edwards or even Joe Biden would be slugging it out with Hillary and would have knocked her off by now.
This is crazy on several levels. I was a Biden fan. He and Dodd were the two foreign policy choices. Richardson was a close second, but he had the charisma of a stone and performed poorly in the first few debates. Looks better now with the beard, though. I thought Biden was good, but I knew he was never going anywhere. The press wrote him off as last season's loser before he started. He was the guy that couldn't keep his mouth shut and always stepped in doo (and he lived up to that). He always lagged severely in the polls. He came off as the angry finger-wagging lost Dutchman at a few of the debates. His campaign only raised 11M total over many months. That's a week or two for Hillary or Obama.
Meanwhile Hillary had the cash, the big establishment donors and endorsements, the polls, the mighty Clinton brand mystique and the national name recognition that goes with that. She had eight years as First Lady and six years in the Senate. She also had the backing of a movement. The media was fauning over her. I can remember back to last fall. It was Hillary's to lose.
I think you are totally dissing Obama's non-skin color qualities. He got into Harvard Law and did really well. He may have gotten a break getting into Harvard Law, but he had to have something going on to thrive in that environment. It's not like getting a gentleman's C at Yale. Obama also taught constitutional law at U. Chicago for years. So he learned how to speak, how to argue, how to write and how to keep an audience engaged and interested. When he got into politics, he learned how to campaign and organize. He has been in politics for over 12 years. To say that being black is more important than all of the above is insane. In this cycle, any brillant speaker (male, female, black, white, etc.) with a cool personality, an outsider change mandate, and a killer organization that can live off the land (the internet) is going to be highly viable.
He's ahead because he had a better strategy and better execution of same. He followed the Art of War and campaigned where his competitors weren't: he enlisted large number of young voters and went after all 50 states. Do you think it was an accident that Obama is pulling in so many young voters? Or was it part of his strategy all along?
Bindens (non) Funding: http://opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp?cycle=2008
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@manos
[Read the article: Obama camp targets Clinton experience claims]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dude, you should read the link that doc provided before. It sounds like Hillary did a lot of meeting and greeting, phone calling, and no doubt some arm twisting godfather style. Credit where credit is due. What does it really add up to? I don't know, but at least it sounds more compelling than Bosnia.
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@KateTex: How can this possibly bode well for November?
[Read the article: A look at exit polls from the Mississippi Democratic primary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The rest of the country is not like MS. I think that bodes well.
MS was a red state that Obama was hoping to put into play. Depending on how many Republicans voted in the primary and who they voted for, MS may be out of reach in the general. But what about some purple swing states like Missouri or Wisconsin? Those seem to be in play for Obama.
I notice that you spend a lot of time attempting to disabuse Obama supporters of their foolish notion to support Obama. Why not spend some time like doc and others explaining the strengths and virtues of Hillary? The Northern Ireland angle looks more realistic than I thought, thanks to doc.
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Finally hit bottom?
[Read the article: The bowel movement]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I actually thought this article a step up from some of the recent political 'articles'. It was way more honest.
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@Asher
[Read the article: A look at exit polls from the Mississippi Democratic primary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Asher, there aren't many blacks in KS or ME. You know that. 90% of the black vote is only from the most recent election in MS. Saying that Hillary lost because of blacks is B.S. Obama has won a ton of non-black delegates and popular votes starting in Iowa, another stronghold of blackpower. Edwards was a good candidate, but he was a last season's loser, just like Biden. I don't think his Iraq war vote helped him either. Obama has a better personality than Spitzer or Ashcroft. He's a better orator. I don't think he has a black personality. Do you?
And in my mind, you are ignoring the most critical factor. Hillary thought it would be over by Feb 5th. Obama did not. Obama has the change mandate. The throw the bums out message. Hillary has spent a lot of effort trying to discredit that message. Why is that?
You guys are trying to peel Obama like a onion, saying this doesn't matter or that's really not too much, and ending up with nothing. But if you add it up, it's a lot more than just being black, dude.