Boring.....

Posted at September 26, 2008 9:34 PM in response to Presidential Debate Number One

Quick word of support for Babs. Why is she the symbol of "Elitism"? She's from a very modest background and her lack of affect and down to earth persona was a large part of her appeal in the early years of her career; sort of like Sarah Palin with talent, a mind, and a heart.

Posted at September 17, 2008 1:30 PM in response to Overstating Drudge's Influence For Fun And Profit

I think Gibson, contrary to all expectations, showed how to handle Palin. He never asked agressive questions or questions that tried obviously to set her up, which would have tipped her off to give bs canned answers (which she did frequently anyway), and he never berated her for her evasive answers, which would have allowed the republicans to spin her as a victim of a hostile media.

He asked simple, clear questions and then waited for her to ramble on until he returned to the question.

In the debate, Biden should seek the most open framework possible, be as clear as possible, let her prattle on, and the succintly give a clear and correct answer to his own question.

Posted at September 13, 2008 3:13 AM in response to Charlie Gibson's War

Somebody upthread hit the nail on the head. No one will watch the interview but like the debates, it'll all be about the spin. GOP is I'm sure already got its talking points out to its people about how she showed great American small-town values in confronting a hostile media set to embarass her...

The Dems need to get in front of this right now. A single line has to come from ever Dem who appears on a tv show or radio for the next 96 hours:

Sarah Palin showed in vivid lack of detail, in a "blurr of words" that she is too dangerous to be a heartbeat from the Presidency. She certainly has shaken up the race and excited the hard-right base, but the time has come for us to pick a team capable of governing, not just sloganeering. Sarah Plain failed that test.

Posted at September 11, 2008 8:25 PM in response to Sarah Palin On Bush Doctrine: Homina, Homina, Homina

Agreed, but for tactical reasons. Palin's antics are designed not to appeal to Clinton-supporting women, which survey data shows they do not, but to culturally conservative lower to middle income white men, which they do. Nothing would motivate this demographic even more or more of them than Hillary Clinton.

The way to take down Palin is to use her flaws to call into question MCcain's judgement and undermine his claims to put "country first"; she's an obviously political choice to placate the hard-right, rather than a choice that will help govern. The ones to make this case are a) Democrats with reform credentials, like Feingold (who has been entirely absent this election), and b) non-partisan, republicans or ex-republicans who can talk about how openly partisan and political the GOP has been for the last 8 years (Hegel, Leach, Lugar, Lydia Green of AK).

And the rhetoric should be to tie Palin to the disaster of the AK GOP. Public statements up and down the DEmocratic party asking if she's going to endorse Ted Stevens, asking if she'll give back the federal money for the bridge to nowhere project she kept for AK, and above all, why John McCain didn't ask her these questions before he allowed the hard-line right-wing political operatives who control his party to impose her.

HRC is best used at firing up our own supporters, who are not wavering but who certainly need to vote in massive numbers for us to win.

Posted at September 8, 2008 1:40 PM in response to Howard Wolfson is Right

Just for the record, she is not the only sitting governor under investigation for abuse of power. Nevada Gov Jim Gibbons is under investigation by the state ethics board and by the FBI for unrelated abuses of power in two different offices (Gov and Congress, respectively).

Posted at August 31, 2008 5:13 PM in response to From an Alaskan Blog - "Flirtatious Pause" = Clueless Response

Either your source or your write-up is wrong. Salt Lake is not in NV and none of NV is reached by SLC media. If they are advertising in SLC, its to defend Utah (which I doubt). The NV media markets are Las Vegas, Reno and one station in Elko.

Posted at August 29, 2008 6:35 PM in response to Source: McCain, GOP Significantly Expanding Advertising Map Into New States

Oh ho. How you gonna go? With your hands on your head or on the trigger of your digi-mini-cam?

Posted at August 28, 2008 6:34 PM in response to Just Try Taking This Seat from TPMtv

I'm not sure where this is going but I presume its a rehash of the silliness about the "Betray-Us" resolution. Man, you've got to get over this sort of symbolic, meaningless politics; That vote was meaningless, and any attempt to turn it into a litmus test is part of that same, bizarre "democrats must respect the netroots" juvenility that most people got over sometime around July 2004.

As for the organization, I'm seeing it; look at the numbers of field staff on the ground. In my state, a key swing-state, the Obama campaign field staff is already two or three deep per assembly district -- in 04, there was about one campaign field staff per congressional district until Labor Day. And thats entirely above the state party's coordinated campaign field staff. Does staff equal voter contacts or votes; no, but its a pretty good measure for this early in the cycle.

And finally with respect to Ganz's comment on MoveOn and field organizing, following the campaign's lead this time rather than going its own way with a hastily crafted, misguided and ultimately disastrous independent effort might be a good idea.

Posted at August 3, 2008 5:02 PM in response to Boys, Some Evidence Please

There's some informed speculation that in fact what Dawn wanted was to end the divorce. Its unclear if she really loves him, wants the political access that being First Lady provides, or, as this article suggests, fear of the dirt he could dump on her.

Posted at June 9, 2008 6:06 PM in response to Dawn Gibbons Goes Dark