This week he said, "I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she's feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal. Here was what he said last time....do you think he would say this about John McCain "You challenge the status quo and suddenly the claws come out." Then we have the debate comment, You're likable enough." It's a way of thinking about women. A way of demeaning women in power; even saying we're not up to the job. What would you say if a person you were working with or competing with said this about you ladies?

Hmmm. I understand that Senator Obama, when he's at a loss for words, blows smoke out of both sides of his ass.

June 13, 2007

Clinton Applauds Passage of Green Jobs Energy Amendment

Measure Now Included in Comprehensive Energy Bill

Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) announced that the Senate has approved a green job training proposal she introduced with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The measure authorizes new programs to train workers for “green collar jobs” that involve the design, manufacturing, installation, operation, and maintenance of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The amendment is now part of the comprehensive energy bill currently being debated by the Senate.

Rather ineffectual Obama attempt at a response. Obama's taste for ridicule using doses of Brit style sarcasm is just tiresome if not affected.

There something far more nefarious going on according to mydd.com.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/2/16/143326/350

...Rove was another step ahead of Obama.

Forty percent of the Obama voters in Iowa were Republicans. Obama will tell you his "inspiration" message is working. Republican operatives tell a different story.There is a very successful GOP strategy to take out Hillary in the democratic primaries that is capitalizing on the Obama strategy.

But more importantly there is a nationwide roster of Republican party activists who have backed Obama and then brought their constituents along with them to vote Independent or cross party lines to vote for Obama. This is a fact of this primary season.

The pattern is so widespread that one has to wonder what is going on?

Obama, via his now obvious campaign strategy outlined above, would have us believe that his cross party appeal is bringing in tons of new voters. Men and women, he asserts, who are abandoning their party to vote for him. And some Democratic Party officials and activists are supporting Obama based on this assertion. Who doesn't want a candidate who can bring in masses of new voters? Nancy Pelosi it has been rumored, impressed by this vote-getting ability, is considering endorsing Obama.

But what if Obama is not actually bringing in tons of new voters? What if Republicans have organized to cross party lines or vote independent with one goal in mind: to defeat Senator Clinton. And what if this strategy was developed by top level Republican party functionaries-- including Karl Rove-- who believe Clinton will be the more formidable opponent in the general election?

Anecdotal evidence in support of a Republican manipulation is everywhere. Remember the recent Obama win in Maryland? Nicole Price, the Maryland political director of Obama's campaign told the Washington Times that when she arrived in the state to ramp up the campaign. She found "a home-grown campaign already thriving." Republicans backing Obama had put more yard signs in Maryland than in South Carolina and they had paid for the signs "themselves." The Times also noted that in Louisiana, where he won by a wide margin, exit polls showed that Republicans who voted in the Democratic primary favored Mr. Obama 3-1 over Clinton. About 5 percent of the voters in the Democratic primary said they were Republicans.

According to the Washington Times story, Daniel B., Chance, a retired oil man, voted for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Maryland Republican primary in the morning. He then spent the afternoon making calls from the phone bank at the Obama campaign's Baltimore County Headquarters in Towson.

The critical point here is this: what is a loyal Huckabee supporter doing making calls for Obama?

Moreover, the Huckabee supporter joined a large mix of either Republicans like himself or Democrat for-a-day Republican converts who were also making calls on behalf of Obama.

Besides this anecdotal evidence, are there any hard facts which support a widespread Republican manipulation of the Democratic primaries? Time magazine reports,

"Rank and file Republicans in red states have switched their party registrations to vote in Democratic primaries."

In Nebraska, the mayor of Omaha publicly rallied Republicans to caucus for Obama on February 9th. And according to CNN in Iowa 44 percent of those voting for Obama were Republican.

I never thought I would have my suspicions raised to wonder at Obama supporters who come here and tell me about how horrible Clinton is or hate Hillary or how bad the Clinton administration was in the 90s, etc., etc., etc. I just never bought that there could be that many republican shills doing this. Well, I do now.

From Salon today...."Today, reporters received an e-mail with a quote from Kevin Hassett, John McCain's economic advisor. Speaking about Barack Obama's economic plan, Hassett said, "The fact is that Obama's plan today is the most shameless piece of potential plagiarism that I have ever seen. He basically took [Hillary] Clinton's words and Clinton's policies and called them his own. If I were a professor I'd give him an F and try to get him kicked out of school for something this terrible." This email was actually sent by Hillary's campaign but the quote was from McCain's advisor.

If this remark by Obama is supposedly the "qoute of the day," an example of subtle sexism, then I'm blinded by my male gaze. First, it doesn't rate as newsworthy, and second it doesn't pass my smell test.

Politicians do, as a fact, "periodically," go on the attack when they are "down" in the polls, ratings, numbers, money, or feel pressured or threaten. Sen. Clinton has resorted to attacks when things have not gone well fo her, as she did in South Carolina when Obama's numbers started going up, and hers down.

This is what Mitt Romney did to McCain and Huckabee when down in the polls or not getting any traction; he periodically launched negative attacks on them, using the contrast and compare techniques—supposedly.

This kind of de-contexualized reporting—not even referring to it via YouTube, really looks juvenile, cheap, and stupid.

If people think that Obama was trying to make a sexist dig at Clinton they should look at the clip on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qNpeGPdhEw

When left-of-center journalists start doing this kind of selective citing, in effect distorting news for political or ideological gain, how is this not different from the GOP Attack Machine?