Letters to the Editor
BryanS
Published Letters: 365 Editor's Choice: 1
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Good lord, why am I even bothering to get into the mud with WES...?
[Read the article: Obama can't win general election, Clinton advisor says]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I still think that the republicans may end up launching a more hysterical, coordinated attack on Obama than they would against Hillary.
And I still think that there's a large percentage of Republican insiders who are so sick of John McCain being such a pain the ass for his own party that they'd like nothing more than to see him end his career with a massive, humiliating defeat in November. These are the same folks who had no problem aiding and abetting the "John McCain is a crazy POW who has an illegitimate black baby" whispering campaign.
Plus, with the popular opinion of the Republican party at near-historic lows, I think most Republicans are already resigned to sitting this one out for the next 2-4 years and accepting that the Democrats are going to capture the White House and Congress. And it's not a bad plan. With the economy in the toilet, the housing crisis getting even worse, and the Middle East... well, continuing to be the Middle East, the Repubs will be able to run in the 2010 mid-terms and 2112 presidential and ask, "are you better off now than you were 2 or 4 years ago?" Because the answer is almost certain to be "no."
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@ jebldmm
[Read the article: Obama can't win general election, Clinton advisor says]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How does this differ from Obama's people saying that if Clinton does not win "X", then she will not be able to win the primary?
X = a majority of delegates
Hillary is clearly losing the race for delegates, and losing it badly. It started around Feburary 5th, and it has consistently gotten worse for her. The trend began when Obama was still trailing her, and its direction has not changed, merely sped up and slowed down at certain points.
If things keep going the way that they've been going, Hillary will have to convince 70% of the undeclared superdelegates to go her way at the convention.
Since Iowa, 65 superdelegates have declared their allegiance
Obama has picked up 53 of their endorsements. Hillary has picked up 12.
12 is 18% of 65.
18% is less than 70%.
These are called "facts." They can be extrapolated to show a pattern, which can be used to predict future events with more accuracy than just pulling random statements out of your ass, which is what Mark Penn and the Clinton campaign have been reduced to.
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And for the record...
[Read the article: Obama can't win general election, Clinton advisor says]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't feel as if Penn is slandering the Obama campaign with that statement, or playing dirty politics, or hitting below the belt, and as an Obama supporter, I'm not crying victim. I just find it simultaneously funny and sad how far the Clinton campaign has to go to convince itself and its supporters that they still have a shot at this thing.
Penn's declaration that Obama can't win the general isn't going to hurt Obama one bit. If anything, it's going to help Obama by underscoring just how out of touch with reality Hillary and her people are. I mean, if one campaign makes public declarations that are obviously, patently false, how can you believe anything that comes out of their mouth? For cryin' out loud, his fellow campaign advisers had to contradict him on a conference call. No wonder everyone else in the campaign hates this guy. No discipline whatsoever.
At this point, being an Obama supporter is like rooting for a dominant boxer in the 10th round. As long as he doesn't get himself knocked out by being careless, he's easily going to win the judges' decision. Having the ability to be cautiously optimistic about your fighter's chances allows one to relax a bit and have a good laugh at his opponent's missteps.
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My fingers are crossed
[Read the article: Clinton, Obama talk peace]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'd love to be able to look back at the Ferraro debacle and see at it as a low point in the campaign that needed to be reached before things could start getting more civil. I don't think that either of them is at their strongest when they're hip-deep in slung mud, and it certainly isn't doing the party any favors when things get as heated and personal as they have.
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Nothing but good news there
[Read the article: Who wants to be a Democrat?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No matter who you support (unless it's John McCain), you've got to see this as a big plus for the party. This is different than Rush Limbaugh's listeners showing up in Texas and Mississippi to try and prolong the Democratic infighting. This is bringing in new voters to the party who are excited about one of the candidates, and therefore more likely to vote for down-ticket Dems whom the nominee would presumably campaign for.
I wish we heard more stuff like this. Both of these candidates have a lot of passionate support that could be used to help strengthen the party, but lately it seems like that passion is misdirected and doing more harm than good. And yeah, maybe a lot of these johnny-come-latelies won't stick around for November if their preferred candidate loses the primary, but if even a handful do, and if even a smaller handful open up their checkbooks, it could pay huge dividends over the next four years.
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You know what would be awesome?
[Read the article: Memo to Clinton and Obama: Stop spinning]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If we could get 200 comments on this article by the end of the day Monday from armchair campaign managers who make hyperbolic predictions based on cherry-picked facts and anecdotal evidence. Because what the Democratic party and primary needs right now is some more "nuh-uh/yah-huh."
We can do it! Go team!