Posted on 11/06/2006 1:40:37 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
SILVER SPRING // Democrats brought former Vice President Al Gore to Maryland today to boost the candidacy of their U.S. Senate candidate, Benjamin L. Cardin, struggling to hold on to a seat in danger of slipping into Republican hands.
Cardin, a 20-year House member, was in a tight race with Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele for a vacant seat that Democrats badly need to win to have any chance to take control of the Senate.
....A spokesman for Steele, Doug Heye, said his candidate slept only 45 minutes the night before his last day of campaigning. Heye said the Maryland visits by Gore and Clinton -- plus two visits by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama -- demonstrate that Democrats are scared of losing the seat.
"They have brought in every heavy-hitter they could think of. They're bringing in their top allies -- that says they know this seat is very much in play," Heye said.
Matthew Crenson, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University, said the Senate race is still Cardin's to lose. But he thought Steele's television ads -- which show off his charisma without getting into specifics on issues or even mentioning that Steele is a Republican -- have helped make it a tight contest.
"I think Cardin will probably carry it off, but it has gotten a lot closer," Crenson said. "We've had some very close elections in Maryland, and it wouldn't surprise me if this was one."
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Fred Barnes - .....Michael Steele, Maryland's Republican lieutenant governor, has run a strong and clever race against Democrat Ben Cardin to replace retiring Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes. Maryland is normally a blue state, but Steele, who is black, is trying to cut into the state's large black (and overwhelmingly Democratic) community. He trails Cardin, a respected but dreary congressman, by a few percentage points. Steele's ability to attract black voters, while holding on to Republican voters, matters a lot. Conservative political strategists regard his campaign as the best of this election cycle.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/weeklystandard/20061106/cm_weeklystandard/10stories
People who underestimate Michael Steele's appeal among black socially conservative voters are underestimating his chances to win this race. It's by no means a sure bet, but here on the ground in PG County, it's easy to imagine this passionate constituency can carry Steele to victory.
http://sixers.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmIxY2NlYTg0MTc1YTRhOTdkNjhkMTkzMTc3N2E3N2Q=
……..For Paul Sarbanes's Senate seat, Cardin has never led in SurveyUSA polling, but has been exactly tied, or effectively tied, in 3 prior polls. Today, his 3-point, 49% to 46% advantage is still within the survey's margin of sampling error, and a Steele upset remains a possibility. SurveyUSA's final poll, Steele gets 1 in 4 black votes.
http://wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=53355
Hey, Tennessee Fats, I'm sure Cardin appreciates the gesture...hopefully you'll just bring bad luck.
The Al Gore kiss of death.
Almost as good as the Bill Clinton kiss of death.
Cardin dreary? He makes Harry Reid look like a ball of fire! Bringing in Gore shows desperation. Personally I think Steele has it in the bag already.
....Adding a poignant historical note was the presence of a woman standing on the platform with Clinton and the elected Democratic officials. Clinton made a particular point of introducing her to the crowd: Betty Currie, his former White House secretary, who became famous during the Monica Lewinsky episode by arranging her visits with Clinton in the Oval Office.
.....When Clinton said, “I came back to Maryland – you’ve been good to me, you voted for me twice,” the crowd exploded again in frenzied cheers.
It seems almost contrary to the laws of political nature that this politician with such crowd-pleasing gifts will never again be on any ballot again for his party.
But his role now is a surrogate: He came in Sunday night to bolster O’Malley and Cardin who in the new Mason-Dixon MSNBC poll Sunday were tied with their Republican opponents, Ehrlich and Steele.
It was Clinton’s second trip to shore up Cardin and O’Malley in the past few weeks.
“I want to thank President Clinton for coming back to Maryland two times,” Cardin told the crowd. “President Clinton knows it is high stakes this Tuesday in Maryland. Maryland is one of half dozen states on Tuesday that will determine the future direction of our country.”
“If you believe the Iraq war is wrong, there’s a candidate who voted against it four years ago,” Cardin said, referring to himself. The crowd burst out in applause, but Clinton kept his hands at his sides.
Referring to Steele, Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson told the rally that Prince George’s County voters would not vote for him or other black Republicans simply “because they look like us.”....
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15588588/
Caught a Clinton advert for O'Malley last night. Hopefully that will sink Marty O too!
Clinton was here in Wisconsin last week stumping for our Rat Governor.
Hopefully that’ll sink him too!
Democratic Party, just a bunch of fat(Gore), bald (Cardin),Grey-haired (Clinton)white guys.
Did anyone ask Betty if she talks to Monica these days? And I wonder if Betty still has the Clinton's cat or if it got run over by a car like poor Buddy did.
Cardin pulling out the really heavy artillery - so to speak.
Here's an idea for a fun last-minute Steele commercial:
Mr. Steele: My opponent says that I was handpicked by the Washington establishment.
[black and white photos of Mr. Cardin with Sen. Schumer, Rep. Pelosi, and others]
Mr. Steele: He says that I'm a Washington insider, all entangled with the Washington establishment.
[black and white photos of Mr. Cardin campaigning with Mr. Obama, Mr. Gore, Mr. Clinton, et. al.]
Mr. Steele: Here are a few of the folks that I've been campaigning with.
[color video of Mr. Steele being endorsed by local black ministers, local black politicians, Wayne Curry, Prince George's County Council members]
Mr. Steele: You may notice that these folks aren't exactly "Washington insiders." In fact, they're something of "Washington outsiders," and outsiders from the powers-that-be in this state, too. The same Washington insiders and Maryland powers-that-be that annointed Mr. Cardin over former representative and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume. The same powers-that-be that are pulling in all their chips to get every powerbroker in the Washington establishment to come out and campaign for him.
But the choice tomorrow is yours. The real candidate of the Washington insiders and Maryland powerbrokers...
[more black and white photos of Mr. Cardin with lots of prominent white Democrat politicians, perhaps a video clip of Mr. Cardin being endorsed by state Sen. Mike Miller]
...or the candidate who hangs out with these folks.
[uplifting color video of Mr. Steele with Russell Simmons, Cathy Hughes, Wayne Curry, and other local folks who have endorsed him]
Mr. Steele: I'm asking for your vote tomorrow, and all these folks are asking you to vote for me tomorrow, as well. Thank you.
[more uplifting color video]
Cardin combines a reluctance to engage, which makes him yellow, with typical Democratic tendencies twoard Socilism, making him pink. Overall, he's kind of orange.
Now we bring in the blotchy Earth-tones of Al Gore, for a somber, dark brownish coloration.
It would be nice to add the rosy cheeks, er, nose, of Ted Kennedy, and the embarrassed flush of John Kerry, to Ben Cardin's new "Rainbow Coalition."
LOVE THOSE "BLUE" SHIRTS. COURSE THE RED TIE WILL HANG THEM UP TO DRY....
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