He's now basing this resumption in "operation chaos" on the flimsy premise that "a TV station in Indianapolis thinks they caused the operational pause in Operation Chaos."
Sh'yeah. Right.
At this point, I see no reasonable doubt: Rush Limbaugh is pushing for a Clinton victory.
Excuse me while I get physically sick over what happened to someone I used to admire.
He was probably waiting for ratings. If the ratings were tanking, he would have come up with a genious reason for dumping operation chaos.
I raised the question, but I am still in doubt as to why. I think that one can offer at least two reasonable options as to why Rush is doing what he is doing:
A. Take Rush at his word. He sincrely wants to create so much havoc in the DemocRAT race that it will destroy any chance of a DemocRAT victory by either Hillary or Obama.
B. Rush is in the tank for Hillary. He has been bought out, or coopted, coerced, or for some external reason been pushed to make her the candidate.
What were the other 198 voters polled?
It's hard to take any polling numbers for the general election this far out from the election seriously, even if there weren't over-sampling going on.
"He's now basing this resumption in "operation chaos" on the flimsy premise that "a TV station in Indianapolis thinks they caused the operational pause in Operation Chaos.""
Really? That's not what your link says.
"I don't want to deflate them. I don't want to ruin their day out there in the newsroom at WISH-TV, but the operational pause in Operation Chaos was due strictly to the Obama press conference yesterday while we awaited what I knew was going to happen, media reaction, because we had to determine what course of action we would order next given the media reaction to Obama yesterday."
You are sounding hysterical. You might want to get a grip before you hurt something.
Based upon these updates to the delegate/superdelegate count and how the power is being shifted, etcetera...
One might be led to believe that Rush’s approach has been wisdom. The delegate count appears TOO close now for either one to gain the needed 2,025 in order to clinch the nomination outright, but although Hitlery (still) holds the leaad in the SuperDelegate count, buh-Rockstar Hussein Obamessiah is picking up ninnies (S-Ds) at a faster pace.
If this trend even so much as stagnates at this point, let alone continues, or accelerates - the count WILL BE TOO CLOSE to declare a clear-cut winner going into the Demo convention in Denver, neither having gained 2,025.
That represents one of two possibilities. My previously mentioned “Nightmare Scenario” {See Post #334} is one.
The other is a Demo convention in disarray and some level of political {and maybe real!} chaos, with both candidates still lobbying for delegates and Supers to pledge themselves...
Let them go right in the doors of their own convention with the nomination undecided, and a table spread with contentious issues to fight over. Like some have said - get out the popcorn!
For instance...
The black Democrat vote being what it is - do we really think Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson - the “Rev. Shakedown” twins - are NOT going to show up and grandstand jockeying with one another AND Obama for position in the limelight AND a place at the “Power Table”?
Also, do we HONESTLY believe that Hillary trying to forcibly usurp the delegate lead of the popular and likeable Obamessiah will play well with the black Demos on a national stage? Heck, even now, two formerly staunch Klinton supporters have chosen to back buh-Rockstar Obamessiah - Lois Capps, and Joe Andrew.
Both of these pretenders to the Oval Office are dangerous to America. Both must be defeated. Like it or not (and I don’t) McCain and his Veep-to-be-named ARE the alternative.
Let’s just cut to the chase and start tossing out Veep contender suggestions.
I’ll make my case for Marc Racicot (though there are others I would readily accept).
I have personally always liked former Montana Gov., Marc Racicot. I have met him personally on at least three different occasions, and he possesses a youthful vigor, and energy, and a quiet sort of charisma.
Racicot is a staunchly PRO-LIFE, Catholic Christian, loves America and served his country honorably in the US Army (he was a Capt. at discharge) later served as a deputy DA, then a State AG, and two successful terms as Governor. He proved himself a capable leader, and administrator, well able to work with others. He has since been a leading presence as a GOP fundraiser.
Racicot is a husband, father, and principled family man to his very core. Above all else, he is a thoroughly decent human being, and while not so egotistical that he has to hold the first seat at the table, he is service-minded enough to respond when he knows he is needed.
We need him - or someone very much like him on the GOP ticket!
AP Newsbreak...
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“Party leaders are encouraging superdelegates to pick a side by late June to prevent the fight from going to the national convention in August, and it seems some are listening as the race enters its final five weeks of voting.
Chelsea Clinton got a superdelegate for her mom while campaigning in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, just as Obama press secretary Bill Burton sent out a statement announcing the support of Rep. Lois Capps. The statement didn’t mention the personal connection — Capps is Burton’s mother-in-law.
Clinton had a big jump start among superdelegates, many of whom have ties to the Clintons and backed her candidacy early on. But most of the superdelegates taking sides recently have gone for Obama, who has won more state contests.
Obama trails Clinton by just 21 superdelegates, 243-264, cutting her lead in half in less than two months. This week, he picked up seven delegates to her four.
The superdelegate chase is a key piece of good news for Obama in what has been a bad week. The Illinois senator is coming off a big loss in Pennsylvania, steeped in controversy surrounding his outspoken former pastor while Clinton fares better against Republican likely nominee John McCain in the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
But the problems aren’t stopping his ability to win support from superdelegates who are likely to cast the deciding votes in the Democratic race.
Rep. Bruce Braley of Iowa said he decided to endorse Obama even though his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has been creating waves by making controversial statements and suggesting that Obama secretly agrees with him. Obama denounced Wright in a news conference Tuesday and said the pastor does not speak for him.
“That’s been one of the most frustrating things about this prolonged campaign, is we seemed to have gotten away from the critical issues that started this campaign during the Iowa caucuses and now it’s more about the side spectacle than the issues that voters really care about,” Braley said. “I’m confident that he has taken this issue head-on. He has addressed it in a thoughtful and enlightened way.”
Superdelegates are nearly 800 elected leaders and Democratic party officials who aren’t bound by the outcome of state contests and can cast their ballot for any candidate at the national convention. They are especially valuable in this race since neither Clinton nor Obama can get enough delegates to win the nomination through the primaries and caucuses held across the country.
Obama now leads in the delegate count overall 1731.5 to 1598.5 for Clinton. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the nomination. About 230 superdelegates remain undecided, and about 60 more will be selected at state party conventions and meetings throughout the spring.
Clinton had stalled in drawing their support as Obama won more states than she, but Clinton won Pennsylvania last week and has been able to announce a new supporter every day this week — two on Wednesday.
The Clinton campaign said Luisette Cabanas, vice chair of the Democratic Committee in Puerto Rico, came on board while the candidate’s daughter Chelsea was campaigning on the island. Cabanas cited Clinton’s policies, especially on health care, as “the best by far of any candidate in history.”
“Today I endorse Hillary Clinton for president because of her strong win in Pennsylvania,” Cabanas said in a statement. “She has shown a firm conviction and the character needed to lead the nation.”
Capps said it wasn’t an easy decision to pick between Obama and Clinton. She has family ties to both candidates — Obama’s spokesman is married to her daughter, Laura Burton Capps, who also worked in the Clinton White House.
Lois Capps filled the congressional seat held by her late husband, Walter Capps, when he died suddenly 10 years ago. Bill Clinton had campaigned for Walter Capps and presided over his congressional memorial service.
Capps said Hillary Clinton would be a great president and fill a dream for those who have fought for women’s rights. But she said Obama’s call for a change in Washington was the most important factor in winning her support.
“Walter once said that ‘we are strongest as people when we are directed by that which unites us, rather than giving into the fears, suspicions, innuendoes and paranoias that divide,’” she said in a statement. “For years I have been waiting for a president that speaks to that vision. I believe Barack Obama may very well be that rare leader.”
Two of the most important superdelegates to sign on this week come from the states that vote next — North Carolina and Indiana, which hold primaries on May 6 and are the largest states left to vote. Obama got the support of Rep. Baron Hill of Indiana, while Clinton won the backing of North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley even though Obama is expected to win the state.
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AP NewsBreak: Former Democratic leader switches to Obama
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton switched his allegiance to Barack Obama on Thursday and urged fellow Democrats to end the bruising nomination fight.
“This has got to come to an end,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew told reporters in his hometown of Indianapolis just days before Tuesday’s crucial state primary. He said he planned to call all the other superdelegates he knows and encourage them to back Obama.
Bill Clinton appointed Andrew chairman of the DNC in 1999, and he led the party through the disputed 2000 presidential race before stepping down in 2001. Andrew endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton last year on the day she declared her candidacy for the White House.
In a lengthy letter explaining his decision, Andrew said he is switching his support because “a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain.”
“The ship is taking on water right now,” Andrew said at the news conference. “We need to patch those holes, heal the rift and go forward to beat John McCain.”
Asked for a response to Andrew’s decision, Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said, “We support that Democratic process and think that every American should be able to weigh in and support the candidate of his or her own choosing.”
Andrew said the Obama campaign never asked him to switch his support, but he decided to do so after watching Obama’s handling of two issues in recent days. He said Obama took the principled stand in opposing a summer gas tax holiday that both Clinton and McCain supported, even though it would have been easier politically to back it. And he said he was impressed with Obama’s handling of the controversy surrounding his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Wright’s outspoken criticisms of the United States have threatened Obama’s candidacy. Obama initially refused to denounce his former pastor, but he did so this week after Wright suggested that Obama secretly agrees with him.
“He has shown such mettle under fire,” Andrew said in the interview. “The Jeremiah Wright controversy just reconfirmed for me, just as the gas tax controversy confirmed for me, that he is the right candidate for our party.”
Andrew’s decision puts Obama closer to closing Clinton’s superdelegate lead. Clinton had a big advantage among superdelegates, many of whom like Andrew have ties to the Clintons and backed her candidacy early on. But most of the superdelegates taking sides recently have gone for Obama, who has won more state contests.
Obama now trails her by just 16 superdelegates, 247-263. This week, he picked up 11 superdelegates, including three add-on delegates named by the Illinois Democratic Party, while she netted three.
Superdelegates are nearly 800 elected leaders and Democratic Party officials who aren’t bound by the outcome of state contests and can cast their ballot for any candidate at the national convention. They are especially valuable in this race since neither Clinton nor Obama can win enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination through state-by-state elections.
Obama now leads in the delegate count overall 1735.5 to 1597.5 for Clinton. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the nomination. About 230 superdelegates remain undecided, and about 60 more will be selected at state party conventions and meetings throughout the spring.
Other party leaders are encouraging superdelegates to pick a side by late June to prevent the fight from going to the national convention in August. Andrews wrote in his letter that he is calling for “fellow superdelegates across the nation to heal the rift in our party and unite behind Barack Obama.”
It’s the second endorsement for Obama this week that could be influential in Indiana. Rep. Baron Hill, who represents a crucial swing district in the state, endorsed Obama on Wednesday. Clinton has the backing of Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who has a vast organization in the state and has been campaigning aggressively with the former first lady.
Obama and Clinton are running close in Indiana and both need a victory there — Obama to help rebound from a loss to Clinton in Pennsylvania and to prove he can win Midwestern voters, and Clinton so she can overcome Obama’s lead in the race overall