Quick plug…Tonight I am a guest on www.newsradiomagazine.com at 6:45pm PST.
The republicans had a primary in Michigan. Mitt Romney was the winner. After a deep analysis, this tells us…absolutely nothing. The only thing that can truly be determined by observing Detroit is that the Lions are still terrible. The republican primaries have told us zilch. Mike Huckabee won the activists in Iowa, John McCain won the rebels in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney won his de facto home state where economics is key. Fred Thompson wants to win his fellow Southerners in South Carolina, and Rudy Giuliani very well could win his fellow New Yorkers in Florida. We know nothing, and attempts to dispute that would make us liberals, aka liars.
As for the fun and games involving the Las Vegas democratic smackdown, first, I offer a brief musical interlude.
“I’m gonna give it everything I’ve got…may lord please let the dice stay hot…let me see a seven with every shot…Viva…Las Vegas…Viva…Las Vegas.”
(in Elvis voice) Thank you very much.
That song has so much testosterone it should be used in male enhancement ads.
Speaking of those needing male enhancement, the democrats had a debate in Las Vegas. Before providing the recap, it is important to note that while the location of the debate was Las Vegas, Nevada, and the issues facing America are global, the democrats running for President are permanently entrenched in Selma, Alabama.
Yes, Selma, Alabama. There has been no progress, nothing has changed since 1863, the system is rigged, blah blah blah, wake me up when you can speak without being boring.
Forgive me for being unsympathetic to a culture of victimhood, be it feminists who preach strength and burst into hysterical tears, or racial hustlers who talk about uniting people while benefiting from hostility and divisions to line their own pockets.
While Al Queda is plotting to continue to engage in global terrorism, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are arguing about who is more authentically connected to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am sure this 1960s version of street cred will save us when our cities are burning and subways are being bombed because our politicians were busy fighting about nonsense.
Bombs have gone off in London, Bali, Madrid, and Glasgow. The terrorists did not care what color, gender, or religion the victims were. They did not discriminate.
Barack Obama may be a lightweight, but he does not seem to be a bad guy. The Clintons are throatslitters, and they are prepared to play the race and gender cards if that will be their ticket to power. I do not think Hillary is a racist. She just has a bloodlust for power, and if that means tearing America apart along racial and gender lines to further her own ambitions, so be it. John Edwards sees two Americas, and I wish he would go to the other one. I see two Americas as well, North and South. Perhaps Edwards can be deported to Brazil. It might make him appreciate the USA more.
As for Hillary, perhaps the walls are finally closing in, and like a cornered animal, she will fight to the death. If this bloodies the democrats, allowing republicans to win, that allows her to try again in 4 years instead of 8 years. I say that the walls are closing in because of the results in Michigan. Yes, she won, and she will spin it as a triumph. The truth, never to be confused with anything emanating form the mouths of the Clintons, is that Hillary ran unopposed. She scored 55% of the vote, with uncommitted approaching 40%. That is a loss everywhere reality exists.
Yet the reason Hillary is a disaster is because she is simply a dour person. She is against everybody in her way, but does not seem to be for anything except getting elected. Barack Obama is likable. The one time he came across as unlikable was when he was condescending towards Hillary, saying she was “likable enough.” He paid the price in New Hampshire. Yet he is much more likable than her overall. He is black, but he has gone out of his way to appeal to voters of all stripes. He is not running as the “black candidate.” Hillary is the female candidate. Her gender is her rationale, and she knows men do not vote for her. Since Obama appeals to many, Hillary needs to peel away by any means necessary. As she gets desperate, she gets racially tinged. She does it through her surrogates, but we are responsible for those we associate with.
So despite the fact that Selma Alabama was four decades ago, and most people agree with civil rights, and want harmony, harmony helps Obama and hatred helps Hillary. If it takes burning a village to get elected, Hillary will do it. When Hillary destroys Obama as a human being and wins the nomination, she will continue to use racism, sexism, and every other ism to defeat republicanism. Obama is wrong on issues. Hillary is poison. For those who want to talk about change by claiming nothing has changed, support Hillary. For democrats who want to get beyond the racial and ethnic divisions that hurt all of us, support a man who happens to be black, but would rather reach us all.
Or better yet, for those more interested in 2023 than 1863, vote republican.
For those who want to go back to 1863, below is the recap of the democratic debate. The positive of this debate was that the lower tier was removed, and the big three remained, the way the debates should be. The bad news is that all three are losers.
Let’s get ready to rumble! The Michael Buffer debate recap is below.
Moderator Brian Williams got the debate off with a bang by diving into the current controversy involving disputes over who was closest to Martin Luther King Jr.
Hillary Clinton immediately announced that neither race nor gender should play a role in the campaign. She praised Barack Obama and John Edwards. She blamed her exuberant uncontrollable supporter for the flap, and then blamed republicans.
Obama agreed with Hillary. He said race has always been an issue, but we cannot solve challenges unless we come together.
Edwards said as a Southerner, it is personal for him. We have made progress, but have more to do.
Tim Russert asked Obama about his staff accusing Hillary pushing the racial angle.
Obama took full responsibility, saying his staff was overzealous on the issue, and that he told them to stop. He also stated that all 3 candidates were committed to racial equality, and that he would be judged by whether he can help All Americans on issues such as home foreclosures and foreign policy. He nailed it.
When asked if their was an attempt to marginalize him as a black candidate, he stated it was not. He said that the American public could see through that. When asked about his loss in New Hampshire, he said race was not the issue, and that Hillary won fair and square. He was taking the high road, and very effectively. He said, “Change will happen because the people determine it.”
Hillary was asked if Robert Johnson would be axed from the campaign based on his comments about Obama, given her prior statements about all her campaign staff being accountable. She did nto directly answer the question. She blathered about the stakes being high, and disavowed the comments herself. All she said about Johnson was that he retracted his comments. She ducked.
Edwards was asked why choosing between the first woman or first black candidate should not be awful, in terms of being forced to choose. Edwards spoke of his own personal beliefs, and how fighting for the issues that matter trumps the rest. He spoke passionately, but ducked the question.
When asked what a white male can do against historic candidacies, he expressed pride in the democratic party for it’s diversity, but smartly pointed out that Obama and Hillary asked not to be judged by race or gender.
Obama was asked about his comment saying Hillary was “likable enough.” Obama stated that he regretted the way it came across. He stated that all 3 candidates were good people, but that he was the one to bring people together, and would be truthful with the American people.
Edwards was asked if he and Obama were ganging up on Hillary. Edwards said if it looked that way, it absolutely was not that way. He then went into his stump speech.
At this point, Osama Bin Laden was laughing himself silly at these questions, thrilled that the focus was off of him and onto nonsense. Also, a heckler started ranting about race based questions, but it was not Bin Laden, just some unwashed liberal.
Hillary was asked about her husband’s comments about Obama, and how he would be trounced by the republicans. She stated the party would be unified in November, and that she was ready to lead from day 1. Perhaps she did not hear the question. She ranted about how “pathetic” it was that President Bush was “begging the Saudies to lower the price of oil.” This was a lie, but again, this is Hillary.
She also said she has “heard voices for 35 years.” I will resist the urge to take it out of context by bringing up Eleanor Roosevelt.
Russert then asked a very pointed question. He acknowledge that Hillary feels she is the most prepared, but he asked her if Obama and Edwards were at all prepared to be President. Shockingly enough, she ducked, stating that was for the voters to decide.
Obama was asked about his comment about one of his weaknesses, that he is not an “operating officer.” He stated the Presidency is not about schedules and paperwork. It is about vision, bringing together the best people, and solving problems. It was a legitimate answer.
Each candidate was asked about their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.
Obama said his greatest strength was to bring people together. His greatest weakness is his being disorganized with paper, and that he should not be given papers until 2 seconds before he needs to use them. He needs good staff to help with his mess of an office.
Edwards said his greatest strength was his fighting for his beliefs, for children. His weakness was his powerful emotional responses to pain around him. He cited one of his many examples he trots out to tug at heartstrings. That is a phony answer because many would not consider that a weakness at all.
Hillary stated that she is passionately committed to what America stands for. She wants to be a change agent, especially for children.
She then admitted that her sincere flaw is her refusal to answer questions honestly, and that she is corrupt. Just kidding. She did finally admit that she gets “impatient and frustrated when people don’t seem to understand that we can do more.” You see, it is everyone else’s fault. She gets “very concerned about pushing further and faster than others are ready to go.”
Will somebody please remove this woman from her sky horse already? The question was about trying to humanize the candidates, and despite her one calculated moment of almost crying, she was back to being Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons. She should just say she is perfect and be done with it.
She then stated that while bringing people together is important, she knows how to run the bureaucracy. She then laced into President Bush, and implied Obama would take the same approach with regards to implementation.
Obama clarified his position, took a jibe at President Bush, but did not hit back at Hillary. He did stumble in continuing his answer, although he did recover and say that the issue was not managing the bureaucracy where Bush went wrong, but in his failure to bring people together.
Obama was asked about false rumors about him on the internet, most involving his Muslim heritage. Obama stated he was a Christian, and answered an undignified idiotic question in a dignified manner.
Osama Bin Laden joined the Brian Williams fan club, and declared NBC News the official station of those that care more about garbage innuendo than worldwide terrorism.
Barbara Walters was then brought in to ask Hillary what kind of tree she would be. No, not really.
Hillary was then asked about Citigroup and Merrill Lynch going to foreign nations for help with the mortgage crisis. Hillary was asked if this was wrong. Way to lob a softball, Brian. Hillary expressed outrage, and then blamed Wall Street for the irresponsible behavior of American citizens. Yep, big, bad rich people are always wrong. She blamed the President for refusing to bail out businesses. If he did, she would blame him for bailing out the rich.
Edwards bashed the rich. This got Osama Bin Laden angry because he is rich. His support for democrats might slip if they can raise his taxes. Perhaps Edwards wants to withdraw troops from Iraq and direct them at Wall Street given his love of class warfare.
Obama correctly pointed out that part of the problem is that we do not have an energy policy. He did get in some Bush bashing, but his was milder, as before. Also, he seemed to be the only one of the three actually discussing policy issues. He stated that the administration does not believe in oversight. Again, Obama is completely wrong in asking for more regulation, but that is a policy difference. He wants more regulation. It is the wrong stand, but at least it is a stand.
Russert asked Edwards about voting in favor of the 2001 bankruptcy bill, and whether he regretted his vote. He immediately stated he was wrong. Edwards can be very slimy. He simply disavows past votes. Yet on the other hand, he is willing to apologize, something Hillary will not do. Even if Edwards is calculating, he stated he was wrong, and that usually ends discussion of an unpleasant vote. He did mention eliminating big banks as the intermediaries between colleges and students trying to get loans.
Hillary was asked if she was wrong to vote for the bankruptcy bill. She did say she was wrong, but then stated that it never became law, and she was glad about that. She started unequivocal, but then quickly did equivocate. Unlike Edwards, she just cannot let herself be wrong. She then bashed Countrywide Financial. She stated these issues fall hardest on minorities. She was practically screaming, but yet loudness is not emotion.
Obama stated that he opposed both the 2001 and the 2005 bankruptcy bills. He is able to agree with Hillary on an issue, say almost the same exact words, yet come across as cool and reasonable. In the past debate, he was seen as aloof, and it hurt him. This time he was just calm and cerebral, and it helped him. He also did tell one hard luck American story in the way John Edwards would, but Obama comes across as less deliberately heart tugging.
Basically, Hillary was grating, Edwards was sugary, and Obama was reasonable.
Obama was asked a fabulous question from an elderly retiree. The retiree was living on dividend income, and was scared that democrats would raise the taxes on dividends by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. This question was brilliant because it blasted the notion that the stock market is for the rich, and old ladies cannot be yelled at. It was a legitimate policy question that every democrat should be forced to answer. Democrats like to portray republicans as wanting to throw old people on the streets, but its is the democrats that want to tax one of their sources of survival, dividends.
Obama said he would exempt middle income folks from taxes on dividends. He then wandered off into unfairness in the tax code anyway. Obama feels that rich people living on dividends should pay more. He does not understand that investing is real work. Again, while Obama is fundamentally wrong, debates are about how candidates discuss issues, and he showed a clear grasp of his own plan, and what he would do.
Hillary was asked about freezing interest rates to prevent foreclosures, and if she understood the long term ramifications of such a measure. Apparently the questioner took Economics 101, which Hillary did not. Hillary tried to sound like an economics professor, insisting she knew better than the Federal Reserve. She then used the term “green collar jobs,” which is either a new term to describe environmental professionals, or a made up term. I cannot say either way.
The candidates were then allowed to question each other. FINALLY!
Brian Williams jokingly stated that he did not know if this was a good or bad idea. Whether the questions themselves were good or bad, it is an excellent idea.
Edwards stated he would not be preachy or holier than thou, which meant he would be. As he laughed, Obama sat stone faced, in this case justifiably so. Edwards wanted to know why Obama and Hillary take money from drug companies.
Obama stated that if a mid level executive sends him money because he likes his hopeful message, that gets recorded as a company donation even if there is no coordination. It is a fair point, although the contributions might not be voluntary. Obama did state that he cosponsored a proposal to have public financing of campaigns, and that he received many donations from small donors.
At this point Brian Williams proved to be completely incompetent by stating that he misspoke, and that the candidates were not allowed to ask two questions, or one of each other opponent, but only one question in total. That meant Edwards questioned Obama, but could not question Hillary.
Again, this was not the fault of the candidates, but it definitely blindsided them. It also hurt Edwards, who most likely would have questioned Hillary and not Obama if given the choice, rather than tell him he could question both of them.
Hillary asked Obama to join her in helping end the War in Iraq. She then bashed President Bush. Apparently she does not even like to question her opponents, preferring to talk about herself. Obama was wrong. Hillary is not likable enough.
Obama quickly agreed to work with her on this. For a hard woman like Hillary, she missed an opportunity, serving her primary opponent a softball. Obama took the softball and ran with it, mentioning that we were on pace to be in Iraq until 2018. He also managed to discuss the issue without the rancor. Obama disagrees with opponents. Hillary despises enemies. I learn this by simply listening to them.
When asked by the moderator if they supported Obama’s vow to bring troops home in 2009, Hillary and Edwards said yes. Russert then reminded all 3 candidates that when asked in a prior debate to pledge to have all troops out of Iraq within their first year in office, they all refused to make that pledge. Russert stated that he “was hearing something much different tonight.” They all tried to protest simultaneously.
Obama tied to straddle the fence, as the others nodded their head. When Obama brought up President Bush, Hillary stated that it was not just President Bush. She blamed all the republican candidates.
Hillary then took a bold gamble by criticizing John McCain on the war, which even republicans running against him are loathe to do. He said we might be in Iraq for another 100 years. Of course, this does not mean we will be at war that long. McCain compared it to still having troops in Germany and Korea, which are not war zones.
Hillary then said the most truthful thing she has ever said. She stated, “The republicans have an entirely different view than we do.”
Yes Hillary. We do. We’re right. Your wrong. Thank you for just giving us the clip that should be used in every single republican campaign commercial from now until November.
Edwards then said it was dishonest to say you will not have troops in Iraq to protect people. Yet he then said there will be no permanent military base and no combat troops. Huh? It must bother Hillary that Bill Clinton and John Edwards can say this stuff but she cannot.
Obama pointed out the discrepancies in Edwards’s position(s). Edwards disagreed, but Obama said Edwards offered a “distinction without a difference.” Obama won the argument, perhaps because he was right.
Hillary was asked about colleges losing Federal funding for banning ROTC and military recruiters form campuses. She was asked if she would vigorously enforce that law.
She said she absolutely would. She then criticized President Bush on support for the military, so I guess she is better on military issues than he is. She is the audacity of hope minus the hope. When asked about Poison Ivy League schools currently breaking this law, she hemmed and hawed.
Obama promised to enforce the law. He then spoke about national service in exchange for college money, similar to Americorps.
Edwards promised to enforce the law. He then shifted to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
These candidates wanted to spend as little time as possible talking about punishing universities that simply break the law by banning military personnel on campus.
Obama brought up Walter Reed, and how this administration has failed our veterans.
Hillary feigned outrage about a new military brain injury.
The candidates were then asked about Yucca Mountain, giving them an opportunity to suck up to Nevada voters. We have to store nuclear waste somewhere, and the Nevada desert is good enough. Asking them to be against Yucca is like asking them to be against ethanol subsidies in Iowa. It begs for gutlessness.
Obama was against Yucca from the very beginning. He seems to have been against everything from the very beginning. I wonder what he thought of Adam and Eve.
The debate was mostly civil, but finally Hillary took the gloves off. She pointed out that Obama was supported by Excelon Corporation, which supports Yucca, and that Edwards voted for it twice.
Obama and Edwards both said they were against Yucca, but they seemed scared to death to take on Hillary.
Edwards did state that while Obama was open to nuclear power, and Hillary, by her own words was “agnostic,” on the subject, he was firmly against building more nuclear plants.
Hillary again pointed out that Edwards ducked the question. Yes, this was ironic, given that all Hillary does is duck questions, but she was nevertheless right. Edwards got defensive and stammered as Hillary smirked.
Obama voted for the 2005 energy bill and Hillary voted no. This bill benefited nuclear power, and Obama was asked about 29 new plants on the verge of being built.
Obama stated that he supported the bill because it also supported clean energy alternatives. If we could figure out a cost effective and safe way to use nuclear power and a safe way to store it, we should do it.
Hillary referred to the bill as the Dick Cheney lobbyist bill. She then rambled on, and said oil companies do not need enormous profits. She mentioned windfall profits taxes. Liberals get angry when Hillary is referred to as a socialist, but this is socialism. It is income redistribution pure and simple. Calling Hillary a socialist is not an insult. If she chooses to see it that way, then that says more about socialism being wrong than anything else.
Edwards was asked what to do in place of nuclear power, since wind and solar would not be sufficient. Edwards then pointed out that Hillary raised the most money from big special interests, including this industry. Edwards calling Hillary a hypocrite is the same as before when it was done to him…ironic, hypocritical itself…and right.
Edwards then crossed the line by saying that America was the “worst polluter on the planet.”
Hillary said she was against coal unless it could be clean, and she wanted “large demonstration projects.” She then stole some Obama’s rhetorical style, minus the appropriate voice inflection of course, and stated that this was like landing a man on the moon, and a President must lead. It was a fair point in terms of elevating the significance of the issue.
Obama eloquently stated that ordinary citizens had to contribute to help make change. It was reminiscent of JFK and his “ask not…” speech. I credit him for having the guts to say that the people have to contribute to solve problems.
When asked about making immigration the official language, Edwards danced around it as long as possible. He said we should “help” people learn English.
Hillary was then served a major softball. She was asked if a Hispanic voter who said that Hispanics would not vote for blacks represented her views?
She then said she was a racist. No, of course not. She disagreed with the comments.
She said that the “agenda for Hispanics and African-AMericans is the agenda for America.”
Obama stated that Hispanics would vote for a black man and made the crowd laugh and clap loudly by saying, “In Illinois they all voted for me.”
Once again, human touch versus programmed robot, with Obama sounding authentic and Hillary sounding like…well…her.
Obama stated that he stood with Ted Kennedy and John McCain on immigration. Perhaps he was trying to destroy McCain by praising him, rather than bash a war hero on the war, Hillary’s approach.
Obama was asked about the high dropout rate among black men from high school. Obama stated that we need more money pumped into early childhood education. This continued a theme with Obama during this debate. He is wrong with regards to the solutions, but at least he answers the d@mn questions. He stated that we have solutions, but not urgency in the White House on education issues.
He also then spoke about the necessity of black fathers to take responsibility, and that as a man who grew up without a father, he understood.
This might have been the one debate moment in any of the debates where Obama answered a question in a way that none of the other candidates would have been allowed to answer. A white candidate, especially a republican, bringing up black fathers, would have gotten protest calls. Obama can discuss it. Life is not fair. It should be discussed.
Hillary kept saying that the debate was a “black-brown” debate. I can only imagine a republican using that rhetoric, such as former President Bush referring to his grandchildren as the “little brown ones.” Hillary then sucked up to the debate organizers and mentioned her 35 years of blah blah blah.
Edwards stated that we needed “second chance schools.” I do not know what that means. There are reform schools.
Russert then brought up the homicides of young black men, which of course became a gun control issue rather than a personal responsibility issue.
Hillary was asked if she would implement a national gun registry for each firearm sale. Hillary said yes, and that she was “against illegal guns.” All good people are against that, but that did not seem to matter. Hillary of course took a swipe at the NRA without mentioning them. SHe also accidentally said something telling. She pointed out that she understood that “the prevailing political winds” did not allow for much more gun control.
Again, this should be a campaign issue. The prevailing political winds should not be what guides people. Convictions should guide people. I would respect Hillary if she would simply take her chances and say she favored gun control. I would disagree with her, but at least it would be an actual stand. We know she favors gun control, but she cannot come out and say it. At least now we know she admits to being a political coward, afraid to offend anyone. She is one day going to perish by “strangulation by triangulation.”
She did promise to reinstate the assault weapons ban, but said she supported the Second Amendment. She did acknowledge that she backed off a national licensing registration plan, which I thought she said she favored a few minutes earlier.
Obama stated that licensing gun owners “cannot get done.” The man about hope was not hopeful on this one. He alluded to the NRA by name. He stated we should crack down on gun abuse.
Edwards said he was always against gun registration. He also said that he would reinstate the assault weapons ban. Brian Williams got confused and announced that the debate was in Los Angeles and not Las Vegas. Hillary cackled.
Hillary was asked about her tough rhetoric about being prepared for a terrorist attack shortly after criticizing Karl Rove and the White House for saying virtually the exact same thing. She shifted the debate to Homeland Security.
Obama was asked if other candidates exploit 9/11. The ball was soft and light as a feather as it approached him. He did state that Clinton was using fear to score political points. He promised to be honest and straightforward with the American people. He actually did mention Osama Bin Laden.
Hillary was asked if she felt that Al Queda would be more likely to attack America if Obama was President as opposed to her. She said no, but then reaffirmed that she would be ready for day one. That fine line was shrinking. She stated that when President Bush does it, it is invoking fear, but when she does it, she is just being calm.
Edwards was asked if it was appropriate to talk on the telephone to Pervez Musharraf on the day Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, which could have given him cover and legitimacy when the people were angry at him for Bhutto’s death. Edwards said it was appropriate, but then stated that he called somebody in Musharraf’s office, but not him. Ummm…yeah…ok. Edwards then explained that he talked tough, which would mean something if he was not merely a private citizen running for President, as opposed to an actual political leader.
The candidates were then asked a useless question that Brian Williams somehow thought was meaningful. The candidates were asked at what moment they decided to run for President.
Hillary stated that she decided over New Years one year ago. No, she really decided it whe she was in the womb.
Edwards stated that he decided in December a year ago. No, he decided in 2003, when he ran the first time.
Obama also stated that in December of 2006 he made the decision. No, he began exploring it shortly after being elected to the Senate in 2004. He elicited laughs when he said his “wife is extraordinary, and his children are above average.”
This debate had the potential to be the best one among the democrats since it eliminated the distractions and contained only the 3 major candidates. It turned out to be the worst because Brian Williams is an imbecile.
Yes, Tim Russert was as good as ever, but Brian Williams needs to be for universal health care so he can have cranial-glutial extraction surgery covered by his plan. His questions were atrocious.
As for the candidates, this was not even close.
Hillary Clinton performed dreadfully. She was back to her wooden, stiff, obfuscating, parsing self. As I said, earlier, strangulation by triangulation. She was better than Brian Williams, but the worst of the candidates.
John Edwards split the difference. He did not stand out, but was better than Hillary.
I disagree with Barack Obama on almost every issue, but for a man that I often refer to as an empty suit, he brought the substance for this debate. He spoke about issues, and did so in a crisp, clear manner.
In fact, Obama was the adult on stage, which I have not said in past debates.
These candidates are all, to quote Hillary Clinton from earlier, “pathetic.” Yet this was about picking the best of the worst.
Barack Obama clearly won this debate, by a landslide.
eric
Hey, is that radio show a call in format?
JMJ