Posted on 05/10/2008 7:46:21 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Barack Obama's aides charged Wednesday that their candidate would have done even better Tuesday were it not for meddling by an unlikely booster of Hillary Rodham Clinton: longtime Clinton family nemesis Rush Limbaugh.
The impact of the popular conservative radio commentator's "Operation Chaos" emerged as an intriguing point of debate, particularly in Indiana, where registered voters could participate in either party's primary, and where Clinton won by a mere 14,000 votes. As he had before several recent primaries, Limbaugh encouraged listeners to vote for Clinton to "bloody up Obama politically" and prolong the Democratic fight.
Limbaugh crowed about the success of his ploy all day Tuesday, featuring on-air testimonials from voters in Indiana and North Carolina who recounted their illicit pleasure in casting a vote for Clinton. "Some of the people show up and they ask for a Democrat ballot, and the poll worker says, 'Why, what are you going to do?' He says, 'Operation Chaos,' and they just laugh," Limbaugh said Tuesday.
But Limbaugh called off the operation Wednesday, saying he wants Obama to be the party's pick because "I now believe he would be the weakest of the Democrat nominees."
The Obama campaign and many of its supporters condemned Limbaugh's intervention tactic Wednesday. Campaign manager David Plouffe said Limbaugh "had a clear factor in the outcome."
Whether that is true remains in question.
Those citing Limbaugh's influence pointed to Clinton's edge among Republicans in Indiana and North Carolina.
In Indiana, 10 percent of Democratic primary voters described themselves as Republicans, a higher rate than in any state but Mississippi, and they went for Clinton by eight percentage points, according to exit polls. In North Carolina, they were 5 percent of the electorate, and went for her by 29 points.
By contrast, Obama won GOP voters, often by big margins, in many earlier contests.
Also notable was that in Indiana, six in 10 Republicans who supported Clinton on Tuesday said they would vote for presumptive GOP nominee John McCain over Clinton in the fall, if that were the matchup. By contrast, most Republicans who voted for Obama said they would back him against McCain.
But at least as much data suggested that many Republicans voted for Clinton because the Democratic primary was the more meaningful one and because they simply preferred her to Obama. In Indiana, about nine in 10 GOP Clinton voters said she would make a better commander in chief, and more than six in 10 said she would have a better shot at beating McCain.
And Clinton's edge among Indiana Republicans was relatively small. Her eight-point advantage among Republicans, nearly all of whom are white in the state, was much narrower than it was among white Democrats, whom she won by nearly 2-to-1 over Obama.
Edward Carmines, a political scientist at Indiana University, said that he concluded from the data that while Operation Chaos "existed to some extent, I don't think it was a major factor."
Howeird Dean thinks so. He told Fox's Chris Wallace "...many consrvatives have crossed party lines and voted in the dem primary".
Hee Hee Hee. Operation Chaos is a very well thought out strategy. Simply put, a few short weeks ago Rush saw that Barack Obama was set to be ushered in as a messiah of sorts what with all the fainting and prostrations of his followers at rallies in response to his saying . . nothing . . and saying it better than anyone has ever said it before. John McCain has made it clear that he is “above all that” and will do no negative campaigning. So, if Hillary hadn’t been kept in the race (practiced negative campaigner that she is) for as long as necessary to bloody Obama up, we would never have known about the Reverend Wright’s racial rants and Obama’s 20 year choice to sit under that “hate whitey and the U.S.” rhetoric or some of his other questionable choices in “friends” and in not desiring to display any outward show of patriotism. We also would never have known that Hillary is capable of bald-faced lying about being under sniper fire - scratch that, we knew about the great big Clinton fibbing tendencies already. Rush will know when it’s time for Hillary to be dispatched (if that’s ever even possible with the Clintons!), but he was determined it wouldn’t be an easy road to the White House for either Hillary or Obama.
obama is such a lightweight. no wonder he squeals like playground weasel.
I think that Rush got IN for Hillary. If you are a Democrat how sad is that.
Since Dubya is the current president, he should give Rush the Presidential Medal of Freedom for being the commanding officer of Operation Chaos. (After we trounce Obambi in november of course.)
The facts you posted are so obvious that it seems even the most blind or jealous could see them.
BUT all you need to do is read a few threads on OC and the number of FREEPERS in denial is amazing.
Not this conservative. I wanted no part of this - ever. How could I look at myself in the mirror knowing I had VOTED FOR HILLARY?! FOR ANY REASON?
It would be like selling my soul to the devil "just for the fun of it".
I think Rush did this because the MSM called him “irrevelant”.
I really hope things work out well.
There has been media manipulation for years...for good or bad.
Let's do the emath.
Indiana Democrat Primary
Total votes = 1,275,000
Percentage of Republicnas who voted = 10%
Number of Republicans who voted = 127,500
Percentage of Republicans who voted for Obama = 46%
Percentage of voters who voted for Clinton = 54%
Number of Republicans who voted for Obama = 58,650
Number of Republicans who voted for Hillary = 68,850
Clinton's margin of victory (Republicans) = 10,200
Clinton's margin of victory (All voters) = 14,000 votes
Clinton's margin of victory if Republicnas didn't vote = 3,800
Dems mess with our primaries and give us McCain, so we mess with theirs. What goes around, comes around.
Which all assumes the accuracy of exit polls. Wasn’t a directive of OC to lie to exit pollsters?
I guess the point I was trying to make was...will the outcome be beneficial?
We got Reverend G.D. America Wright and other things that have buried Barry.
Plus did Republicans screw with Democrat contests in exclusivity or did Democrats and Independents give us McCain?
Payback can be a b!tch.
Did he? I seem to remember Rush saying at the start of the campaign that Hillary would be the next president of the US.
***Rush said from day one that Obama was going to win, but he wanted to use Hillary to bloody him up since Republicans and McCain wouldn’t do it.***
Rush used Hillary who is power hungry.
Right now Hillary is working on destroying Obama for 2008 so he will lose and she can run in 2012.
How about “Independents”?
I had no problem voting for her on Tuesday. Obama is far more frightening a Marxist ideologue than Hillary is.
we have gone from “no effect”
to “perception is the effect”
to “there is an effect but a small one”
why is the MSM trying to conceal the fact this is happening and is very real.
Notice how the expected “rush releases super delegates” seemed to squish obamas much vaunted superdelegate anouncemet to just ONE switch and six were for obama anyways superdelegate announcements.
based on ever reliable exit polling? doubtful.
you don’t count conservatives who are unaffiliated who registered. I know more than a few conservatives who are No Party Affiliation who would participate in operation chaos.
Even acception the fiction of exit polling, that gives us your phanton 3k.
The most lasting benefit of OC may be that both parties close their primaries to anyone not registered as a member of that party. Where state law allows that to happen, anyway.
Rush said from day one that Obama was going to win...
...well, no...what el rushbo ws saying, way back when, was there was an 80% chance that Hilary would be the next U.S. president...around the time that Hilary made the slip up on the drivers licences to illegal aliens, rushie was urging Obama to come on strong and take on the opening the Clintons left on the table...
Rush’s actual influence on the campaign has been zero...though he sure does talk big about winning Pa and Ohio for her...states she’d have won if George Washington were running against her...crediting him with too much just drives his ego and turns what once was an interesting show into rank hucksterism...
Maybe some conservatives are not quite as "conservative" as we think they are. I don't feel the need to meddle in the "Dark Side". Obviously you and Rush think you do.
Confused liberals/'Rats (Americans) are too stupid to make up their own minds and need "us" to do it for them, obviously.
I agree. Those wanting to let Obama have a free ride to the Democratic nomination that don't realize how dangerous he is fall into that category.
Obama will destroy the economy faster than Jimmy Carter did. The prospect of him trying to deal with the war on terror is equally frightening.
In short order he knew Obama was it and he sent Hillary in to bloody Obama up since Republicans were too wimpy to attack.
I think we agree there as well... maybe? :-)
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