Letters to the Editor
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"Routinely overperforms in elections"?
Routinely? The woman has, as far as I know, only been in two elections in her entire life! This strategist is way, way too in love with his own rhetorical excesses.
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Ah
That's better, thank you.
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Mark Penn is mightier than the sword?
If Mark "Burson-Marsteller" Penn says it, it must be...well, if not true, at least true-seeming, right? He's the top PR man for one of the most notorious of PR firms in the country (and please, look them up on your own, Clintonites, if you even care), after all.
It's so nice of him to trot out a playlist for anybody wanting to sophistically argue down Obama for the coming months. I'm sure the Anonymouseketeers and the Hilly-Come-Latelies (those are the named folk who've all registered on Salon in the last week or three who're tirelessly rabid pro-Clintonites and virulently vituperative anti-Obama) will be rehashing Penn's Points for weeks to come.
And thank you, Salon, for posting a blurb about the Krugman piece against Obama, ignoring Sunday's Frank Rich piece that went after Clinton, and now posting Penn's Points. I know Salon is pro-Clinton, but sheeeeeeesh. I had to comment on this...
Obama's campaign relied on recent polling for their arguments, while the Clinton memo, authored by Chief Strategist Mark Penn, anticipates Republican arguments to come and explains why Clinton can refute them.
Telling difference, that -- Obama's campaign actually polled people for their results, and Clinton's campaign relies on an on-the-payroll PR man's dreamed-up hard sell. He couldn't have offered a more telling contrast between the candidates if he'd tried.
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Part of the joy of this election, if Obama gets the Dem nod
will be watching him systematically dismantled by the Repug smear merchants and then watching the smug looks slide slowly off the faces of his duped supporters. I'm stocking up on popcorn--can't wait!
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@ Pacifica
If there are Dems who won't vote for Hillary in the fall, it will be because the Clintons negative campaign leading up to SC. There is also the issue of Florida and Michigan. Officially, Hillary was fine with their primaries not counting, except when it came time for her to remove her name from the ballot. Now because she "won" by breaking the rules, she wants those delegates seated. There's also the issue of the Super Delegates. If the only way she can win the nomination is through them, there will be hundreds of thousands of voters, who will end up feeling disenfranchised.
Respect is earned, not given automatically. If Hillary has created bad feelings, she has no one but herself to blame. While I plan to vote for the Democratic nominee, regardless, it will take a double dose of dramamine, for me to vote for her.
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another case of cythera
a recurring disease, it would appear. The Dick doesn't shoot ducks; he shoots old lawyers, after drinking heavily and confusing a 6'3" gray haired man for a quail. On a game preserve. That's Our Dick. The other Dick is Billary's significant Udder. Nice racist slurs, Bill. You kin take the boy outa the Ozarks, but ya can't take the Ozarks outa the boy. Watch the Clintons run straight out of the Rove playbook between now and March 4.
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Executive Summary
Here's my readers' digest of the top comments in this thread so far:
[The Democrat party generally] always seems to assume that the Republicans will define the central issues which then have to be further defended by the Dems. -apophasis
This memo only confirms my disenchantment with the current Democrat Party Machine, and why HRC is a tired, old-school Democrat. -terry
Can you imagine how nasty things would be if there were ideological differences involved? -Anon
As you can guess from my choice of the 2nd quote, I back Obama, with money as well as my vote. But I think supporters of both Democratic camps need to seriously cool off. It's OK to be passionate about a candidate without demonizing the other. Sure, there's a lot I don't like about HRC, but the last thing I want to do is get in a shouting match with Clinton supporters that further weakens the party.
You can win a race by running faster than the others, or by whacking your fellow competitors in the kneecaps. In the sport of politics, it's always plenty of both, but let's focus more on the running, shall we? At least until the convention?
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@tom payne
I agree. Billary will soften Obama up and McCain will take him down. Yessir!
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@-- cythera45
So, cythera45...
you've posted 66 times and counting since yesterday. About only one topic: PRO-HRC/ANTI-OBAMA.
You have to be on the HRC payroll. If not, you should demand they pay you for all the water your carrying.
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Call me crazy ...
But I actually believe that Barack Obama will not let the Republicans define him or force the Democrats to run the race on Republican terms. I think he's strong enough and smart enough to force the election to a higher level.
For too long, the Republican "dirt" machine has sent Democrats cowering into the corner, playing weak defense and whining. I don't think Obama will do that; I think he will redefine the terms of the race and transcend their low-level tactics. And I think it's about damn time this happened and the Democrats started defining the issues.
I think it's about time we stopped fearing what the Republicans will do to the Democrats and start focusing on what the Democrats will do FOR the country.
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@terry
My candidate is ABO--Anyone But Obama. He must be stopped--and he will. If not by Hillary, then by McCain in November.
P.S. I'm surprised you can count!
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OK, heyjude
You're crazy.
Kerry tried to stay above the Rovian tactics in '04, tried to run on what he thought was his strength. He was destroyed. Get ready for a rerun.
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Shame on Salon
Shame on Salon, for the "Obama supporters a cult?" headline. Don't try and hide behind asking a question. This is the typical biased yellow crap other news outlets use. P.U. and shame on you!!
GS
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This is really getting ridiculous
Mark Penn is the status quo. Why do we let geeks like this affect our opinions about anything? From wikipedia:
Penn has served as a fellow at the New Politics Institute. He advised British Prime Minister Tony Blair "for his successful run for a third term." Penn is best known for serving as President Bill Clinton's pollster and political adviser for the 1996 re-election campaign and throughout the second term of the administration. He also ran the polling and messaging and was part of the media team for the successful Senate campaign of Hillary Clinton, serving as her chief campaign adviser.
He advises organizations and companies on a wide range of image, branding and competitive marketing assignments. He has been a key adviser to Bill Gates and Microsoft since the late 1990s.[4] His present firm, Burson-Marsteller, has been linked to controversial security firm Blackwater and struggling mortgage lender Countrywide.
Tony Blair - Bill Gates - Blackwater - Countrywide
What an icon of change. Please.