Showing posts with label political campaign. Show all posts
Showing posts with label political campaign. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, June 8, 2009
PJ Kim for NYC District #1
Our friend, PJ Kim, is running in the Democratic Primary for New York City Council on September 15, 2009. PJ's seeking to represent City Council District 1, which covers all of Lower Manhattan, including: Chinatown, Tribeca, Soho, Little Italy, Battery Park City, the Financial District and parts of the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village.
We've known PJ since he was in high school. He's brilliant, thoughtful and a person of character. For the people living in District #1, he would be great representative. More on PJ here.
We've known PJ since he was in high school. He's brilliant, thoughtful and a person of character. For the people living in District #1, he would be great representative. More on PJ here.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sam Yoon Running for Mayor of Boston
Sam Yoon finally made an announcement to run for the Mayor of Boston. Go Sam!
"Sam Yoon looks ahead to run in historical mayor race" Boston Herald
"Yoon launches a pioneering bid for mayor" The Boston Globe
You can donate here to support this historic run.
"Sam Yoon looks ahead to run in historical mayor race" Boston Herald
"Yoon launches a pioneering bid for mayor" The Boston Globe
You can donate here to support this historic run.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Charlie Rose: A Conversation with Jon Meacham & Evan Thomas
Excellent conversation on Charlie Rose with Newsweek's Jon Meacham & Evan Thomas. Also Newsweek's "behind the scenes" pieces on both campaigns is a must-read for you politics junkies, which they have been running since 1984.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Obama and Former Hillary Staffer Comes Clean?
HatTip to RedState, "What you were never intended to know in this election"
After a long and careful consideration of all the implications and possible consequences of my actions today, I have decided to go through with this in the hope that our country can indeed be guided into the right direction. First, a little personal background… I am a female grad student in my 20’s, and a registered Democrat. During the primaries, I was a campaign worker for the Clinton candidacy. I believed in her and still do, staying all the way to the bitter end. And believe me, it was bitter. The snippets you’ve heard from various media outlets only grazed the surface. There was no love between the Clinton and Obama campaigns, and these feelings extended all the way to the top. Hillary was no dope though, and knew that any endorsement of Obama must appear to be a full-fledged one. She did this out of political survival. As a part of his overall effort to extend an olive branch to the Clinton camp and her supporters, Obama took on a few Hillary staff members into his campaign. I was one such worker. Though I was still bitterly loyal to Hillary, I still held out hope that he would choose her as VP. In fact, there was a consensus among us transplants that in the end, he HAD to choose her. It was the only logical choice. I also was committed to the Democratic cause and without much of a second thought, transferred my allegiance to Senator Obama... (read the whole post!)
Interesting post supposedly from an Obama campaigner. Who knows? It's interesting to note how critical the VP selections have been and will be in this election year versus prior presidential election years.
I am almost certain Obama would had a guaranteed win if he choose Hillary. So if he loses, I would place most of the blame on this decision. Same with McCain, if he loses, I would place most of the blame on his selection of Palin.
I still give Obama a gut-check call of a 70% chance of winning. Exciting, exciting.
After a long and careful consideration of all the implications and possible consequences of my actions today, I have decided to go through with this in the hope that our country can indeed be guided into the right direction. First, a little personal background… I am a female grad student in my 20’s, and a registered Democrat. During the primaries, I was a campaign worker for the Clinton candidacy. I believed in her and still do, staying all the way to the bitter end. And believe me, it was bitter. The snippets you’ve heard from various media outlets only grazed the surface. There was no love between the Clinton and Obama campaigns, and these feelings extended all the way to the top. Hillary was no dope though, and knew that any endorsement of Obama must appear to be a full-fledged one. She did this out of political survival. As a part of his overall effort to extend an olive branch to the Clinton camp and her supporters, Obama took on a few Hillary staff members into his campaign. I was one such worker. Though I was still bitterly loyal to Hillary, I still held out hope that he would choose her as VP. In fact, there was a consensus among us transplants that in the end, he HAD to choose her. It was the only logical choice. I also was committed to the Democratic cause and without much of a second thought, transferred my allegiance to Senator Obama... (read the whole post!)
Interesting post supposedly from an Obama campaigner. Who knows? It's interesting to note how critical the VP selections have been and will be in this election year versus prior presidential election years.
I am almost certain Obama would had a guaranteed win if he choose Hillary. So if he loses, I would place most of the blame on this decision. Same with McCain, if he loses, I would place most of the blame on his selection of Palin.
I still give Obama a gut-check call of a 70% chance of winning. Exciting, exciting.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Summary of the Obama Campaign and Camp
A great cartoon that summarizes many in the Obama camp. Ever read political discussion threads between McCain and Obama supporters? Many times some Obama supporter will infer or directly say that the McCain supporter is being racist because of their criticisms on Obama. Can someone throw out these intellectual light-weights? I believe some of this stems from the Obama campaign itself and Senator Obama's own words and inference.
There is criticism of McCain's campaign being so negative and "hateful," but those of less intellectual rigor cannot identify how subtle tactics are just as negative.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Help Elect Sam Yoon for Mayor of Boston in 2009!
Christine and I attended a fundraiser for Sam Yoon tonight. We were co-hosts along with many active members of the Asian American community in the Bay Area.
It was a good turnout for people interested in learning more about Sam and those that were already committed to supporting his bid to become the first Asian American mayor of Boston. Sam is a Boston City Councilor At-Large and already made history as the first Asian American ever to run for elected office in Boston (and he won!).
I'm personally crossing party lines to help him since I believe the timing and cause is good for the Asian American community (I'm a Republican and Christine is an independent). Considering contributing at his website here. Meeting Sam and listening to him allowed us to recognize his sincere desire to create a positive change in Boston. He has a big vision to make a lasting impact for his city. Who wouldn't want that for any community?
Please note that individuals may contribute up to $500 in a calendar year. Corporate contributions and contributions from foreign nationals are prohibited. Individuals under 18 years of age have an aggregate contribution limit of $25 per year.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Palin and Giuliani Homers, Huckabee Triples
The Republicans answered the challenge of the left-leaning media's bashing of Governor Palin over the past several days. I missed Mitt Romney's speech, but everyone else tonight hit their stride. Mike Huckabee's speech was solid. I would have classified it as a home run, but then I saw Giuliani's and Palin's speech afterwards and changed it to a triple. Giuliani and Palin hit homers, and they might have been upper deck home runs. I think the Obama/Biden camp is sweating.
Rudy's delivery and words were simply excellent. Here are his best lines (full transcript here):
"... He worked as a community organizer. He immersed himself in Chicago machine politics.
Then he ran for -- then he ran for the state legislature and he got elected. And nearly 130 times, he couldn't make a decision. He couldn't figure out whether to vote "yes" or "no." It was too tough.
He voted -- he voted "present.
...
But he's never -- he's never run a city. He's never run a state. He's never run a business. He's never run a military unit. He's never had to lead people in crisis.
He is the least experienced candidate for president of the United States in at least the last 100 years.
Not a personal attack, a statement of fact. Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.
...
Let's look at just one example at a lifetime of principled stands that John McCain's brought about: his support for the troop surge in Iraq. The Democratic Party had given up on Iraq.
And I believe, ladies and gentlemen, when they gave up on Iraq, they had given up on America.
The Democratic leader -- the Democratic leader of the Senate said, and I quote, "This war is lost."
Well, well, if America lost, who won, Al Qaeda, bin Laden?
...
They would have acted in their self-interest, and they would have changed their position in order to win an election. How many times have we seen Barack Obama do this?
Obama -- Obama promised to take public financing for his campaign, until he broke his promise.
Obama -- Obama was against wiretapping before he voted for it.
When speaking to a pro-Israeli group, Obama favored an undivided Jerusalem, like I favor and like John McCain favored. Well, he favored an undivided Jerusalem -- don't get too excited -- for one day, until he changed his mind.
Well, I'll tell you, if I were Joe Biden, I'd want to get that V.P. thing in writing.
Our hero, our candidate, John McCain said, "I'd rather lose an election than a war." Why? Because that's John McCain.
When Russia rolled over Georgia, John McCain immediately established a very strong, informed position that let the world know how he'll respond as president at exactly the right time. Remember his words? Remember what John McCain said? "We are all Georgians."
Obama's -- talk about judgment. Let's look at what Obama did. Obama's first instinct was to create a moral equivalency, suggesting that both sides were equally responsible, the same moral equivalency that he's displayed in discussing the Palestinian Authority and the state of Israel.
Later -- later, after discussing this with his 300 foreign policy advisers, he changed his position, and he suggested the United Nations Security Council could find a solution.
Apparently, none of his 300 foreign policy security advisers told him that Russia has a veto power in the United Nations Security Council.
By the way, this was about three days later. So -- so he changed his position again, and he put out a statement exactly like the statement of John McCain's three days earlier.
I have some advice for Senator Obama: Next time, call John McCain."
These last lines were hilarious and really reflects the inexperience, lack of knowledge, and the lack of fortitude of Obama. We really need a President to hit the ground running during these dangerous times. We don't need a President to go through on-the-job training.
More on Rudy's home run speech, "Giuliani Questions Obama’s Qualifications" NYTimes
"Giuliani rips Obama, touts 'hero' McCain" USA Today
Governor Sarah Palin's speech was a home run too. Maybe a grand slam considering that it was her first time on the national stage. My favorite excerpts (full transcript here):
"... I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.
I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.
...
I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.
I might add that, in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.
No, we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
...
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
... Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And...
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We've got lots of both.
Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already.
But the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need...
We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers."
Rudy's delivery and words were simply excellent. Here are his best lines (full transcript here):
"... He worked as a community organizer. He immersed himself in Chicago machine politics.
Then he ran for -- then he ran for the state legislature and he got elected. And nearly 130 times, he couldn't make a decision. He couldn't figure out whether to vote "yes" or "no." It was too tough.
He voted -- he voted "present.
...
But he's never -- he's never run a city. He's never run a state. He's never run a business. He's never run a military unit. He's never had to lead people in crisis.
He is the least experienced candidate for president of the United States in at least the last 100 years.
Not a personal attack, a statement of fact. Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.
...
Let's look at just one example at a lifetime of principled stands that John McCain's brought about: his support for the troop surge in Iraq. The Democratic Party had given up on Iraq.
And I believe, ladies and gentlemen, when they gave up on Iraq, they had given up on America.
The Democratic leader -- the Democratic leader of the Senate said, and I quote, "This war is lost."
Well, well, if America lost, who won, Al Qaeda, bin Laden?
...
They would have acted in their self-interest, and they would have changed their position in order to win an election. How many times have we seen Barack Obama do this?
Obama -- Obama promised to take public financing for his campaign, until he broke his promise.
Obama -- Obama was against wiretapping before he voted for it.
When speaking to a pro-Israeli group, Obama favored an undivided Jerusalem, like I favor and like John McCain favored. Well, he favored an undivided Jerusalem -- don't get too excited -- for one day, until he changed his mind.
Well, I'll tell you, if I were Joe Biden, I'd want to get that V.P. thing in writing.
Our hero, our candidate, John McCain said, "I'd rather lose an election than a war." Why? Because that's John McCain.
When Russia rolled over Georgia, John McCain immediately established a very strong, informed position that let the world know how he'll respond as president at exactly the right time. Remember his words? Remember what John McCain said? "We are all Georgians."
Obama's -- talk about judgment. Let's look at what Obama did. Obama's first instinct was to create a moral equivalency, suggesting that both sides were equally responsible, the same moral equivalency that he's displayed in discussing the Palestinian Authority and the state of Israel.
Later -- later, after discussing this with his 300 foreign policy advisers, he changed his position, and he suggested the United Nations Security Council could find a solution.
Apparently, none of his 300 foreign policy security advisers told him that Russia has a veto power in the United Nations Security Council.
By the way, this was about three days later. So -- so he changed his position again, and he put out a statement exactly like the statement of John McCain's three days earlier.
I have some advice for Senator Obama: Next time, call John McCain."
These last lines were hilarious and really reflects the inexperience, lack of knowledge, and the lack of fortitude of Obama. We really need a President to hit the ground running during these dangerous times. We don't need a President to go through on-the-job training.
More on Rudy's home run speech, "Giuliani Questions Obama’s Qualifications" NYTimes
"Giuliani rips Obama, touts 'hero' McCain" USA Today
Governor Sarah Palin's speech was a home run too. Maybe a grand slam considering that it was her first time on the national stage. My favorite excerpts (full transcript here):
"... I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.
I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.
...
I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.
I might add that, in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.
No, we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
...
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
... Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And...
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We've got lots of both.
Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already.
But the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need...
We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers."
Friday, August 29, 2008
McCain's Picker Is A Winner... Biden is Boring
Headlines are in...
"Alaska Gov. Is McCain's VP Shocker
Sarah Palin, 44, Is First Female Republican Running Mate" CBS News
"McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate" NYTimes
"Surprise, surprise. John McCain picks Sarah Palin" Christian Science Monitor
Brilliant move by McCain. This shows that he's willing to take risks and change the landscape. I know Obama's Biden pick disappointed many on the left. Biden doesn't excite. It's boring. He's boring. Palin as Vice President of the United States excites. Don't you hear the footsteps of moderate women and Hillary supporters pacing towards the Republican ticket?
Palin is an excellent choice for the base of the Republican party especially conservative, pro-lifers. People have an incredible amount of respect and admiration for her since she chose not to have an abortion after learning she was carrying a child with Down syndrome.
Like Obama, she is inexperienced but at least had gone through difficult executive-level decisions which Obama has never faced. She doesn't have foreign policy experience but doesn't need it. As Vice President, she will learn it all and then be ready for the presidency. As I posted a while ago, I still believe that the first woman President will be from the Republican party.
"Alaska Gov. Is McCain's VP Shocker
Sarah Palin, 44, Is First Female Republican Running Mate" CBS News
"McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate" NYTimes
"Surprise, surprise. John McCain picks Sarah Palin" Christian Science Monitor
Brilliant move by McCain. This shows that he's willing to take risks and change the landscape. I know Obama's Biden pick disappointed many on the left. Biden doesn't excite. It's boring. He's boring. Palin as Vice President of the United States excites. Don't you hear the footsteps of moderate women and Hillary supporters pacing towards the Republican ticket?
Palin is an excellent choice for the base of the Republican party especially conservative, pro-lifers. People have an incredible amount of respect and admiration for her since she chose not to have an abortion after learning she was carrying a child with Down syndrome.
Like Obama, she is inexperienced but at least had gone through difficult executive-level decisions which Obama has never faced. She doesn't have foreign policy experience but doesn't need it. As Vice President, she will learn it all and then be ready for the presidency. As I posted a while ago, I still believe that the first woman President will be from the Republican party.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Another Misjudgment of Character by Obama
Jim Johnson, former CEO of Fannie Mae and a committee member in vetting Obama's Vice Presidential candidates, has stepped down from his position with the Obama campaign. Obama's response is again lame. They are stating that he was "just a volunteer" and trying to downplay his significance. Please. Is the general public that stupid? Unless your hypnotized by the Obama magic, anyone is going to raise an eyebrow a few times now. I'm surprised he didn't say, "This isn't the Jim Johnson I knew..."
The Wall Street has a great op-ed, "Friends of Barack"
From The Washington Post, "Obama Defense of Johnson Raises Questions":
Johnson is drawing fire over his jumbo home loans from Countrywide Financial, a major actor in the subprime mortgage mess, that may have been below market rates. The loans were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Johnson also has drawn criticism in the past for his role in generous compensation packages to executives of companies on whose boards he served.
More from The Washington Post (standard news article, less opinion):
"Obama's Choice of Insider Draws Fire
Republicans Assail Head of VP Vetting"
The Wall Street has a great op-ed, "Friends of Barack"
From The Washington Post, "Obama Defense of Johnson Raises Questions":
Johnson is drawing fire over his jumbo home loans from Countrywide Financial, a major actor in the subprime mortgage mess, that may have been below market rates. The loans were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Johnson also has drawn criticism in the past for his role in generous compensation packages to executives of companies on whose boards he served.
More from The Washington Post (standard news article, less opinion):
"Obama's Choice of Insider Draws Fire
Republicans Assail Head of VP Vetting"
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wright Stirs Obama... What Took So Long?
So Obama finally responds in a clear manner against Wright today. What took so long? Also what took so long for him to realize who Wright was? I question Obama's judgment unless he really didn't attend Wright's church that often, which is possible. For this elite, it seems church was merely a political duty. Either way, he was foolish to accept Wright on a surface level and let him officiate his wedding, or foolish to simply accept him because he was a pastor of a powerful church in Chicago.
Remember when Wright said, "America's chickens are coming home to roost" with regards to the 9/11 attack? His defense of this statement was awesome and incredibly twisted, "Jesus said, 'Do uhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifnto others as you would have them do unto you.' You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic divisive principles."
I believe Jesus was focused on how we should treat others, and highlighting that we wouldn't want to be treated poorly so we should treat everyone with love, kindness and respect. I don't think there was an inverse intent of his statement that assumes others are allowed to do the same or worse to you. In the case of Wright's terrorism comparison, 9/11 was far worse of a direct attack on America than what America has done to any terrorist groups. How could he even compare? He's crazy.
Instapundit has good summary post here.
"The Gift That Keeps on Giving" By George Will
"The Wright Side of the Brain" WSJ
Remember when Wright said, "America's chickens are coming home to roost" with regards to the 9/11 attack? His defense of this statement was awesome and incredibly twisted, "Jesus said, 'Do uhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifnto others as you would have them do unto you.' You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic divisive principles."
I believe Jesus was focused on how we should treat others, and highlighting that we wouldn't want to be treated poorly so we should treat everyone with love, kindness and respect. I don't think there was an inverse intent of his statement that assumes others are allowed to do the same or worse to you. In the case of Wright's terrorism comparison, 9/11 was far worse of a direct attack on America than what America has done to any terrorist groups. How could he even compare? He's crazy.
Instapundit has good summary post here.
"The Gift That Keeps on Giving" By George Will
"The Wright Side of the Brain" WSJ
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Reaction to Obama's Speech
Yeah, I have to post on this a bit more :) For you tech readers, I'll write more substantive posts next week :)
"'Barack, I Didn’t Do It for This': An Homage to Andrew Goodman" Roger Simon's poem
"Obama speech brings range of reactions" USA Today
"Can't We Ignore Race? Please? The trouble with Obama's speech."
Liberal, Mickey Kaus, has a great analysis on Obama's speech:
Troublesome Equivalence II
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street .... [E.A.]
The most disastrous sentence in the speech. If Obama's saying that those who fear young black men on the street are racists, the equivalents of Rev. Wright in offensiveness, then he's just insulted a whole lot of people. If he loses the votes of everyone who fears young black men, he loses the election. People fear black men on the street--as even Jesse Jackson once momentarily admitted--because they cause a wildly disproportionate share of street crime. Does Obama want to be the candidate who says that thought is verboten?
Later, he says:
So when [whites] are told ... that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Who would tell them such a thing? Obama, a dozen paragraphs earlier, dissing his own grandmother.
In general. Obama's explanations of black anger seem intimate and respectful. His explanations of white anger seem distant and condescending. ("They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away ....") Unfortunately for him, it's white votes he needs.
"'Barack, I Didn’t Do It for This': An Homage to Andrew Goodman" Roger Simon's poem
"Obama speech brings range of reactions" USA Today
"Can't We Ignore Race? Please? The trouble with Obama's speech."
Liberal, Mickey Kaus, has a great analysis on Obama's speech:
Troublesome Equivalence II
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street .... [E.A.]
The most disastrous sentence in the speech. If Obama's saying that those who fear young black men on the street are racists, the equivalents of Rev. Wright in offensiveness, then he's just insulted a whole lot of people. If he loses the votes of everyone who fears young black men, he loses the election. People fear black men on the street--as even Jesse Jackson once momentarily admitted--because they cause a wildly disproportionate share of street crime. Does Obama want to be the candidate who says that thought is verboten?
Later, he says:
So when [whites] are told ... that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Who would tell them such a thing? Obama, a dozen paragraphs earlier, dissing his own grandmother.
In general. Obama's explanations of black anger seem intimate and respectful. His explanations of white anger seem distant and condescending. ("They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away ....") Unfortunately for him, it's white votes he needs.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
"Hardball" Way Too Hard for Obama Supporter
All style no substance? This is a hilarious video where Hardball's Chris Matthew asked Obama supporter, State Senator Kirk Watson, for some of Obama's legislative accomplishments. He couldn't think of one. I'll be a hefty sum that a vast majority of Obama supporters can't name one either. McCain is easy since many know at least the McCain–Feingold Act. Anyway, watch this. Hilarious!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Breakfast with Dick Morris... "Obama is Done."
I attended a fascinating breakfast reception with Dick Morris today hosted by Lead21 and The Lincoln Club of Northern California.
He started off by stating that Obama is done, and Hillary's lead in the remaining states were too great to overcome. He described the Clintons' strategy to secure this lead by diverting attention to Bill and dividing the votes along racial lines. It was interesting because it seemed that he was telling this story with an undertone of respect for their political brilliance.
I've heard this from another direct source when I visited the White House during the Coro Fellowship. After we visited President Clinton, we sat down with Sandy Berger, his National Security Advisor, and he began to tell various stories of Bill Clinton's sheer political skill and brilliance. Even during prep sessions for news conferences where his closest advisers would grill him, Clinton would always outshine them. Berger said that President Clinton would correct his brain trust often, "That's not the question to ask, this is the question..."
Anyway, so Dick Morris discussed how over the past week or more, much of the media attention has been on Bill on the issue of race in South Carlina ("Bill Clinton Accuses Obama Camp of Stirring Race Issue" NYTimes). Morris stated that Obama has been a candidate not running on the race card, but the Clintons want to use the South Carlina election to make it about race to create a white backlash to the bloc-voting by African-Americans (more from Morris, "How Clinton Will Win The Nomination By Losing South Carolina").
He also described how Bill is playing the cape in a bullfight by publicly calling out Obama. Morris talked about how he and Bill played this back in 1992, which is better described in his recent article ("There's A Method To Crafty Bill's Madness"):
As the 1992 Republican convention approached, Hillary ratcheted up her comments and profile precisely to attract GOP fire so that they would leave Bill alone. He and I discussed the plan.
Hillary's comment, for example, about "baking cookies and serving tea" put her squarely in the Republican Party's sights as the convention approached.
The Republicans fell for the lure big time and spent their entire convention going after Hillary. Bill was scarcely hit.
And the 1992 GOP convention is one of the few that afforded its party no bounce at all. Now Bill is returning the favor.
So it's not only luring Obama to hit the cape instead of the matador, but the star power of Bill draws the media to him and maintains the political status quo in the campaign. Morris described how Bill did this when John Kerry ran. During the Democratic convention in Boston that year, Bill came out with his new book two weeks before and held book signing events there right before the convention. The local press focused on Bill Clinton and not John Kerry. Morris said that this was a strategic move, so that Kerry wouldn't win and improve Hillary's chances to run in 2008. Brilliant (yes, I love Guinness beer). Evil but brilliant.
He also discussed how Rudy Giuliani or John McCain were the best candidates to win against Hillary Clinton. Romney doesn't extend beyond the conservative base along with Huckabee. Giuliani and McCain attract moderate Dems and independents on various social and domestic issues, such as McCain's immigration position that almost killed his run earlier this year but gathered the respect of the Latino community.
What was really interesting was when Morris stated that he could work for Obama as he did with Clinton because he was charismatic, ethical, and practical. I believe he stirred some feathers of the Republican old guard that was present in the room, but Morris is a hired political gun and he wants to work with the best politicians to help craft their strategy. Morris said both Bill and Obama were practical, but he could never work for Hillary and the country is in deep trouble if she wins because she is such an idealogue.
One example that he brought up was when Bill wanted to cut the capital gains tax, so he sent Morris in to convince Hillary. He said that she wouldn't budge or listen to any reasonable points. Bill pushed it through anyway, but experiences such as this revealed her personality and ideology. Morris believes Hillary's policies will create a mass exodus from the stock market and real estate because she will increase the capital gains tax on par with the income tax rate. Additionally, her policies will greatly increase government programs and her universal healthcare plan will push the total rates above 50% and up to 61% for the top income bracket in the U.S.
So Morris' talk pushed me further down the road to support John McCain. While I'm not completely satisfied with any of the Republican candidates, McCain is the one I agree with on many issues and I feel has the best chance against Hillary. I was initially leaning towards Rudy, but stories of his preference to surround himself with "yes" men and second-rate talent is a huge turn off. I believe as a leader you should always surround yourself with the best people and those that have views counter to your own. Fear of challenges to your authority and differing thoughts is one of the greater weaknesses a leader can have.
Strategically, I wish and still hope for Obama to win because I believe the Republicans can defeat Obama easier. Who knows what will happen? Maybe Hillary will make a major misstep? Rudy will actually win Florida and steamroll all the way? We'll have to wait and see.
He started off by stating that Obama is done, and Hillary's lead in the remaining states were too great to overcome. He described the Clintons' strategy to secure this lead by diverting attention to Bill and dividing the votes along racial lines. It was interesting because it seemed that he was telling this story with an undertone of respect for their political brilliance.
I've heard this from another direct source when I visited the White House during the Coro Fellowship. After we visited President Clinton, we sat down with Sandy Berger, his National Security Advisor, and he began to tell various stories of Bill Clinton's sheer political skill and brilliance. Even during prep sessions for news conferences where his closest advisers would grill him, Clinton would always outshine them. Berger said that President Clinton would correct his brain trust often, "That's not the question to ask, this is the question..."
Anyway, so Dick Morris discussed how over the past week or more, much of the media attention has been on Bill on the issue of race in South Carlina ("Bill Clinton Accuses Obama Camp of Stirring Race Issue" NYTimes). Morris stated that Obama has been a candidate not running on the race card, but the Clintons want to use the South Carlina election to make it about race to create a white backlash to the bloc-voting by African-Americans (more from Morris, "How Clinton Will Win The Nomination By Losing South Carolina").
He also described how Bill is playing the cape in a bullfight by publicly calling out Obama. Morris talked about how he and Bill played this back in 1992, which is better described in his recent article ("There's A Method To Crafty Bill's Madness"):
As the 1992 Republican convention approached, Hillary ratcheted up her comments and profile precisely to attract GOP fire so that they would leave Bill alone. He and I discussed the plan.
Hillary's comment, for example, about "baking cookies and serving tea" put her squarely in the Republican Party's sights as the convention approached.
The Republicans fell for the lure big time and spent their entire convention going after Hillary. Bill was scarcely hit.
And the 1992 GOP convention is one of the few that afforded its party no bounce at all. Now Bill is returning the favor.
So it's not only luring Obama to hit the cape instead of the matador, but the star power of Bill draws the media to him and maintains the political status quo in the campaign. Morris described how Bill did this when John Kerry ran. During the Democratic convention in Boston that year, Bill came out with his new book two weeks before and held book signing events there right before the convention. The local press focused on Bill Clinton and not John Kerry. Morris said that this was a strategic move, so that Kerry wouldn't win and improve Hillary's chances to run in 2008. Brilliant (yes, I love Guinness beer). Evil but brilliant.
He also discussed how Rudy Giuliani or John McCain were the best candidates to win against Hillary Clinton. Romney doesn't extend beyond the conservative base along with Huckabee. Giuliani and McCain attract moderate Dems and independents on various social and domestic issues, such as McCain's immigration position that almost killed his run earlier this year but gathered the respect of the Latino community.
What was really interesting was when Morris stated that he could work for Obama as he did with Clinton because he was charismatic, ethical, and practical. I believe he stirred some feathers of the Republican old guard that was present in the room, but Morris is a hired political gun and he wants to work with the best politicians to help craft their strategy. Morris said both Bill and Obama were practical, but he could never work for Hillary and the country is in deep trouble if she wins because she is such an idealogue.
One example that he brought up was when Bill wanted to cut the capital gains tax, so he sent Morris in to convince Hillary. He said that she wouldn't budge or listen to any reasonable points. Bill pushed it through anyway, but experiences such as this revealed her personality and ideology. Morris believes Hillary's policies will create a mass exodus from the stock market and real estate because she will increase the capital gains tax on par with the income tax rate. Additionally, her policies will greatly increase government programs and her universal healthcare plan will push the total rates above 50% and up to 61% for the top income bracket in the U.S.
So Morris' talk pushed me further down the road to support John McCain. While I'm not completely satisfied with any of the Republican candidates, McCain is the one I agree with on many issues and I feel has the best chance against Hillary. I was initially leaning towards Rudy, but stories of his preference to surround himself with "yes" men and second-rate talent is a huge turn off. I believe as a leader you should always surround yourself with the best people and those that have views counter to your own. Fear of challenges to your authority and differing thoughts is one of the greater weaknesses a leader can have.
Strategically, I wish and still hope for Obama to win because I believe the Republicans can defeat Obama easier. Who knows what will happen? Maybe Hillary will make a major misstep? Rudy will actually win Florida and steamroll all the way? We'll have to wait and see.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
NOOOO! CLINTON WINS NEW HAMPSHIRE
What happened? Hillary Clinton's own team had them losing by 11% and Obama's camp had a projected 14% margin of victory. Did the Bradley effect occur during a primary? Did voters publicly support Obama but then voted for a white candidate? Or is this political season as unpredictable as some analysts have stated where voters change their minds every few days?
Whatever reason I was hoping for an early exit by Clinton. Strategically, I believe Republicans have a better chance for a win versus Obama than Clinton. Some coverage here:
"Clinton Escapes to Fight Another Day"
"Did emotion help Hillary win in New Hampshire?"
Whatever reason I was hoping for an early exit by Clinton. Strategically, I believe Republicans have a better chance for a win versus Obama than Clinton. Some coverage here:
"Clinton Escapes to Fight Another Day"
"Did emotion help Hillary win in New Hampshire?"
Monday, May 21, 2007
PERSONAL DEMOCRACY FORUM... THUMBS UP!
Christine and I attended the Personal Democracy Forum last Friday. It was a great combination of my two interests in life: technology and politics. I went for GoingOn Networks to explore some partnership possibilities while Christine's CEO was speaking there.
The some sessions were basic in terms of how technology affects conversations and communications since the conference was in NYC :), but some were informative and interesting, such as Thomas Friedman's talk.
Dave Winer has some commentary about Friedman's talk here, which I agree with to some degree. Friedman seemed to come from a media elitist perspective where the "Internet" is a vast resource that can be unreliable and led to such false notions has Al Gore being Jewish. Of course, we all know about the unreliable nature of newspapers, such as the NYTimes, but prior to today's information resources there were no checks on these "trusted sources." In the years before the Internet was available, how many falsehoods went unchecked within news reports from mainstream newspapers and TV stations?
It will be interesting to see how YouTube, blogs, and other new media mediums will affect this election cycle. Anyway, more from:
JD Lasica here and here.
Molly Webb from Demos has some thoughts here.
Robert Bluey a good post here.
"Google CEO talks new media politics" from CNET.
Christine and I attended the Personal Democracy Forum last Friday. It was a great combination of my two interests in life: technology and politics. I went for GoingOn Networks to explore some partnership possibilities while Christine's CEO was speaking there.
The some sessions were basic in terms of how technology affects conversations and communications since the conference was in NYC :), but some were informative and interesting, such as Thomas Friedman's talk.
Dave Winer has some commentary about Friedman's talk here, which I agree with to some degree. Friedman seemed to come from a media elitist perspective where the "Internet" is a vast resource that can be unreliable and led to such false notions has Al Gore being Jewish. Of course, we all know about the unreliable nature of newspapers, such as the NYTimes, but prior to today's information resources there were no checks on these "trusted sources." In the years before the Internet was available, how many falsehoods went unchecked within news reports from mainstream newspapers and TV stations?
It will be interesting to see how YouTube, blogs, and other new media mediums will affect this election cycle. Anyway, more from:
JD Lasica here and here.
Molly Webb from Demos has some thoughts here.
Robert Bluey a good post here.
"Google CEO talks new media politics" from CNET.
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