The Swamp
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Posted May 5, 2008 6:30 AM

The Swamp

by Mark Silva

At the start of his election-eve interview with Sen. Barack Obama, CNN's John Roberts told the candidate: "We are declaring a Rev. Wright-free zone today... Is that OK with you?''

"Fair enough,'' replied Obama, with a smile from Evansville, Ind.

Obama, reminded that he has "been pounded by Clinton,'' also was reminded that the party's internal contest "may be nothing'' compared to a general election contest against Sen. John McCain. Obama was asked how we will defend himself.

"We've probably taken as many hits as anybody has in this presidential campaign,'' Obama said. "Sen. Clinton has not. Sen. McCain has not.... Yet I'm still here... The American people are going to be interested in who's fighting for them... who's making sure they're living out the American dream... That's ultimately what this is about. This is not about me.''

Obama also was asked, if Clinton should become the party's nominee after all these contests, how he will feel.

"I'm not going to speculate on that,'' Obama said on the eve of primaries in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday. "The day before two elections, the last thing I'm thinking about is super-delegates.''

He also was asked if the party's nominee can be picked without counting Florida's and Michigan's delegates - as Clinton is pressing for.

"I think there is no doubt that we've got to get Michigan and the Florida delegation seated,'' Obama said. "I've always said that the people of Michigan and the people of Florida deserve better.'' Unfortunately, he said, a system of rules was set up that led to a vote in Michigan in which his name did not even appear on the ballot. He insisted, without detail, that he is looking for a "fair'' resolution of that dispute.

Obama also faced a question about his opposition to a summer gas tax holiday, which Clinton is promoting, suggesting that people who oppose it may not understand the pressures that working families face from rising prices. Asked what he says about being portrayed as elitist, Obama said: "I think that's nonsense, if that's what she intended.

"For 20 or 30 years, we haven't done what's needed to make sure people are making ends meet,'' he said. "If we're going to deal seriously with gas prices, we're not going to pretend to do something by offering a gas tax holiday that would offer, at best, 30 cents a day... but is more likely to reward oil companies further, because they're just likely to jack up prices...

"I want to provide a tax cut to middle class families of $1,000 a year... at the same time, I want to invest in alternative energy,'' Obama said. "We can't keep putting off the day of reckoning... There is nobody who thinks a gas tax holiday is going to bring long term relief.... If we're serious about helping them, let's provide some relief... but let's not pretend we're doing something.''

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Comments

GUAM 50/50 split!
Senator Hillary Clinton ties Obama in Guam! Pundits like CNN & MSNBC got it wrong again predicting Obama would win by double digits. Each candidate got 50% of the votes! More than half the voters will not vote for obama! 56% who heard speech less likely to vote for Obama, his unfavorable rating among registered voters up 37 percent!! Clinton leads McCain 48 to 41 percent among all registered voters, while Obama and McCain are tied. National lead dropped 10pts now tied with Senator Clinton and he is now losing in IN too. Once 25 pts ahead in NC now just 5pts- They are not going to give this Presidency to Obama because hes black and if we don’t blacks will stay home, so what? American is ready to elect a black man not this black man who recently revealed a major character flaw and again calls into question his judgment and truthfulness of the candidate whose entire appeal has been based on character or his lack there of and not solutions. If Clinton is not on the ballot Working White Middle class will stay home and Obama cannot win on just black votes. David Axelrod said Obama doesn’t need white middle class voters. Axelrod said, “The white working class has gone to the Republican nominee for many elections, going back even to the Clinton years. This is not new Democratic candidates don’t need to rely solely on those votes.”
DEMOCRATS WANT OBAMA OUT NOW!


Obama's Chickens Come Home to Roost too little, too late. The Wright controversy had revealed a major character flaw and calls into question his judgment once again and truthfulness of the candidate whose entire appeal has been based on character. Wright is like an uncle you love and respect As imperfect as he may be, he has been family to me for so many years, I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community” "I can no more disown him [Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown my white grandmother." a woman who once confessed her fear of black men after a black man had tried to shake her down for money. She gave him some, but he kept demanding more. "If the bus hadn't come, I think he might have hit me over the head," Obama says she told him. Rev Wright was right! Obama speech is ONLY for political purposes after the severe drop in polls!

Obama is now declaring himself shocked and disappointed at Wright's unrepentantly racist and anti-American views? Obamas obviously support his feelings of anti-America and white hatred that the church endorses to stay for 20 years and raise young daughters in that atmosphere Obama can no longer plausibly claim innocence in this matter, because he is the one who has encouraged Wright by trying to excuse and explain his views. All of this is why it is no use for Obama to backpedal from his association with Reverend Wright, or to denounce him now, six weeks too late. It was Obama who sought to provide the Reverend Wright with immunity from criticism--and he can't complain when the reverend tries to take full advantage of that immunity. This is the final collapse of the noble promise of the Obama campaign. The man who had once put himself forward as the candidate who would transcend racial politics once and for all has ended up legitimizing a Christian equivalent of Louis Farrakhan--and injecting him into the American political debate. http://www.dontvoteobama.net


Grace under pressure, that's our Obama.

Can't wait til January 2009, when he is sworn in.


I get so tired of the posts about Wright. I would much rather deal with the issues. Posts talking about Wright being a racist, coming from a white guy who knows absolutely nothing about being black, is just plain ignorant. They believe in their fantasy land that racisim doesn't exist. While I don't agree with Wright, I can certainly understand growing up in an age where blacks had to fight discrimination, an anger still exists. Living here in the south, I listen to more discrimination every day from my neighbors, people I work with, more people than you can possibly imagine. I've lived it and listened to it for over 20 years and I can still say they don't speak for me. I heard Lou Dobbs bashing Obama about this and he said 99% of Americans aren't racist.....Are you kidding me???? You would have to be a complete idiot to make a statement like that. Most of us would love it if it were the truth, but in reality, it just isn't so. Obama calls for unity...and I believe him, but listening to all these white people who think they understand blacks and the struggle they've had is just a joke.


You deserve to be here. You are the voice for most of us, all the years that candidate did not consider youth vote or for someone who plans to bring the country together. Thanks for bring hope again into people's life. With all what you are going through and had gone through, with the press feed on you everyday like bees feeds on honey cum. Remain standing tall you will win the primary and the election.


Did you get the memo, DEMS WANT OBAMA OUT?

Caucuses don't count...


Oddly enough "Dems," I don't recall the pundits saying much of anything about Guam before the primary. Anyway, the real test is tomorrow. If it is a split, as the polls suggest, then the campaigns just soldier on for a few more weeks (Clinton takes WV next week, they KY and OR split the following week). Barring something significant, it appears the race will come down to Obama's 11-0 streak in February.


Poor Obama. Always the victim. Not a great quality in a presidential candidate.


Obama is the underdog and has ALWAYS been that. Clintons have painted themselves as Rocky, but only one person has been battered and spit upon. He's done all of that tearfully and continues to bravely staggering on, cross on back. And even with his wife asking him WHY every humiliating, heartwrenching step of the way. And his answer...FOR HOPE of CHANGE. That's Christian, Patriotic nobility.


When no economist supports Hillary's 'gas tax holiday', she calls economists 'elites'. Sounds like Rush Limbaugh to me. Is he Mark Penn's replacement?


Allison, dream on you fool. Even if he gets the nomination Hillary's voters will not, I repeat NOT vote for him, so you may as well face facts. NO January for Wright's protege.


There is a different standard for Obama, the black candidate versus the white candidates and a different standard for GOP reverands and Dem reverands.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04rich.html?em&ex=1210132800&en=e5d5126f1b93ece3&ei=5087%0A

America may let race trump all the issues again.

And no, it's not "Obama is always the victim", It's American voters that are the true victims. America will lose it's super power because of the Archie Bunkers. Obama has a 200 million dollar database according to a Republican official. Obama is by far, not a victim.


Do you realize that the economist are still predicting a recession? I think that have their heads up their B*Ts. We are in a recession, and the next thing will be a depression. Watch the market slide. I hope I am wrong about the market because I work for an investment firm. So much for the econimists and what they know.


Obama WAS the favorite, but now the Republicans are hoping to run against him (and not Hillary). Why? Obama's idiot reverend is killing Obama with rural and blue collar white voters. Obama says he's taken lots of hits so far, but just wait until the GOP attacks begin. WIN WITH HILLARY or RISK LOSING WITH OBAMA - what will the Democrats do?


when will obama realize he has lost the nomination? he has not won one single big battleground state. he has not won anything since feb. 5 except 10 states that Hillary did not contest. he has outspent Hillary 4 to 1. now he cannot even win the guam caucuses. he cannot close the deal. it is over obama you have lost fairly. after your coming loses in indiana and north carolina you need to get out so democrats can have time to rally around a true winner like IRON LADY HILLARY CLINTON.


To RFB:

So if your opinion is that Hillary suporters will not vote for Obama if he gets the nomination, what happens to the rest of the country? Are her supporters, so selfish that they will help continue the war in Iraq? Assist in furthering the economic hardships felt by lower income families? Wow, that is sad. So, to clarify, if Hillary does not get the nomination, we as Americans should prepare for a few more years of war and tough economic times? That statement speaks volumes about her and her supporters.


I would suggest RFB begin to research how to support this war. Don't let your beliefs get in your way.


Obama has always been the underdog, what a laugh! He has been annointed by the media, and his followers are overzealous fanatics. What more do you need to win then always have the halo of a spotlight and sensitivity always with you. I have never seen a candidate in all of election history have so much fabricated opposition like Mrs. Clinton, and yet still be doing so well. The fact is, and this is a FACT, half of Democrats have consistently wanted her and NOT Obama. So enough from his supporters thinking Dems have chosen. Let's be fair, its split, with the media as a tiebreaker. (and yes, I find it ironic, that Obama supporters, the more likely group to be critical of media coverage has so happily been content with how this race has been monitored, my faith has been so challenged in this silly election.)


Senator Obama should not have attached himself to the Pastor in such a way as to make him appear as his guiding light (Mentor). He should not have written a book with the title named after the sermon the pastor gave (The Audacity of Hope) that blamed the white people for many problems openly. He should have left the church long ago when he was no longer in need of local signatures to get his name on the ballots for a seat inside Illinois state politics. He should have distanced himself from the pastor, the pastors’ friends (some of whom make the regular democrats wonder) and a few of the fund raisers (Like Tony "The Bag Man" Resko). He really should not have purchased a house with Tony and all that baggage in tow. And he really should not have added a million dollar ear-mark for the very same hospital his wife worked at (at approximately the same time his wife got a 200K raise from 130K to 320K).

Those little 'bone-headed' moves make the senator appear as a racist suffering from poor judgment that uses his neighbors for political gain and has an elitist’s point of view while being corrupt for his own families benefit. In other words, he looks like an Illinois politician.


RFB:
You know...the crap about not voting for Obama if Hillary doesn't get in smacks of childish selfishness. Boo hoo...we will take our ball and go home if we don't get what we want. God I can just see the reddened, tear drenched eyes and snot dripping from your nose as you continue to ignore a good candidate.

Go vote for McCain then. You are no democrat. Democrats follow a party line and set of beliefs. Obama follows them.


The fact that so many of Clintons supporters are saying they will vote for McCain rather than Obama in November is reflective of the character of the candidate they support. At their core they less about America or the party and more about winning for themselves. I would respect them more if they just admitted their racism which prevents them from voting for a Black man n matter who he is or what his policy positions are.


everybody has the right to say about obama. but it is also rightful to remind everybody that he is still leading in the race. how hillary would overhaul his lead is something that requires a miracle, repeat a miracle. hillary will be a loser. let's just hope she is not a sore loser.


It's amazing how confident some of the these Clinton supporters are. You do know that Obama is STILL leading by around 140 pledged delegates & is picking up super-delegates at a faster pace than Clinton.

You do know that the nominee is chosen by delegates, right? Your not that ignorant that you really believe polls choose our nominee?

Oh, and by the way....how many super delegates have jumped ship to Clintons camp.....none that I've heard from....but plenty are coming back the other way :)

Obama '08


If Hillary and McCain REALLY favor a gas tax holiday, they should introduce legislation to implement it. Otherwise, it's just pandering.


All these divisive comments -- you are playing into hostile hands. What are you fighting about? We have two great candidates; one will win the nomination. Then we'd better get behind that person and fight to get this country back on track. Anything else, and you are fools. Support your candidate, but stop tearing each other down. There's no reason for that, unless you're so insecure that you can't argue the positive.


Who cares about the popular vote? Obama's ahead with delegates. Obama '08!


Hey DEMS,
Obama won Guam, it was close, but neither candidate campaigned there in person. This pertains to their votes at the caucus, this doesn't mean what they will or won't vote for afterwards, I find it funny that SOME Clinton supporters say the people want Obama out, while he is STILL ahead in delegates, money, and the counted vote so far. However, as they fall behind, the scare tactics seem to come out, how the war will keep going, he can't beat McCain, etc. Anybody else noticing, how Clinton and her suppoters keeps sounding more and more like Bush and his supporters as this contest goes on?


This Dem wants Hillary out:
Time for a new party free of the bitter gun owning, gender war, ethnic war, racist bigots.
I will never vote for Hillary Clinton as she cheats to win, uses racist slurs to win, uses lies and more to win. This is not a fighter this is a crook who will bring genocide to the subjugated people of Iran by nuking them. 50% of Democrats can see nothing wrong with slaughtering a people who live under the tyranny of the Mullahs?
This is no party I really want to belong with. Most people I know who will still be alive in 2012 hate the Clinton's and believe she'll steal victory from Obama. They have no faith in the DNC following their own rules. This is a sad comment on the Dems. This shows they are worse than the Republicans. At least they follow the rules.
The Democrats have once last chance. Follow the rules, most delegates count wins, if fairly counted.
The Democrats so far have shown themselves to have a strong, if not vast core of bigots. Who really but racists want this kind of party? Mr. Squinty and Ms. Bug eyed really are the face of the old Southern Democrats. Demanding the Blacks get to the back of the line. And being over 60 they can't stand the younger Democrats taking over. What a sad place America is. Hillary will win because unlike Obama she is willing to cheat, steal and slander.
The Democrat party will split and maybe that's good for America. Obama thinks he can tell us to support Hillary but he will make a big mistake as our support is not his to play with. He merely expresses and lead this movement. Once he gives in we will move out. There will be at least 25% of us who will never vote for Clinton.


We're all Dems here (except for the ditto heads posting). Why not support the party and its causes over a candidate? Why not support our nation and its laws over our party?

We're letting pundits and opposition insert fear, uncertainty, and doubt into this nomination and that only serves the neo-con agenda.

There's much more at stake this November than our 'favorite' getting the nomination. And it behooves us to support the issues first, candidates second. And both candidates have virtually the same stance on the issues. So just take your pick as to which you like better.

But come June, rally behind the apparent nominee and lets move on.


With Obama we have a true chance to change the world and the US in a way that has not been available to us since the assasination of Bobby Kennedy. With Clinton we have something better than McCaine. I hope we do not settle for clouds when the stars are so within reach.
The biggest dissapointment in all of this is that at a time when it looked like we may be abale to put behind the politics of divide and conquer the Clinton campaign resuscitated it. That makes me very sad. Barack is the only candidate that has made it a priority to unite, and that is what is most needed in this country after it has been split divided and sold out over the past 20 years.


The Archie Bunker mentallity I like that dipiction of some the Dems. But it is true no one is really looking at Clintons pitfalls, you want Hillary you are also getting Bill as well. I can't stand all this negative going on and the insults of Carville. Such low blow ethics don't belong in white house. I wonder how they really see us, probably as Archie Bunker.


I AM NOT VOTING FOR A LIAR SOMEONE WHO DOESNT REMEMBER BEEN SHOT AT? HOW IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU NOT REMEMBER BEEN SHOT AT? AND THEN YOUR HUSBAND WAS BOLD ENOUGH TO SAY YOU WERE TIRED AT 11PM THATS WHY YOU SAID THAT? AND YOU TELLING ME IF THE PHONE RINGS AT 3AM YOU WILL ANSWER WHEN YOU TOO TIRED AT 11 PM TO KNOW WHAT YOU SAYING? NOW YOU WANT TO OFFER ME RELIEF ON GAS PRICES? WHERE WERE YOU LIKE YOU SAID YOU HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR ME FOR TWENTY YEARS? AND TALKING ABOUT PASTURES HAS ANYONE EVER ASKED THE CATHOLICS WHY THEY STILL GO TO CHURCH AFTER ALL THIS ABUSE ABOUT YOUNG BOYS? WELL I KNOW WHERE MY HEAD IS I AM NOT STUPID TO BE CHEATED INTO THE SAME WASHINGTON OLD GAMES.


Rev. What's His Name will look meaningless when the Rep. go after HRC and Bubba. Talk about guilt by association. READ THIS and vote smart http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/roves-next-trick----if-ob_b_99983.html


No matter which one wins (I'm routing for Obama), the real question is how will they repair the damage that they're doing to the democratic party. Racism or no, they've turned ths into a "my delegate is better than your delegate" party. Come November, McCain won't even have to try ... whoever's the loser, their supporters will take their ball and go home, leaving the Democrates to go 4 years under Bush 2.0. I wish someone would ask them about THAT instead of their pastor or who shot at whom ...


I'm tired of all of the distractions and I want to see the primary decided on issues. It seems to me that Hillary lost 11 contest in a row on this basis before the lies, triangulation, and "kitchen sink" nonsense. These are the acts of a desperate person who will doanything to win but what about us and the country. We'd be better off without her


I have to wonder how the Democrats here who are supporting the Obama/Wright smear of guilt by association would be responding if it were a Republican attacking our Democratic candidate in such a manner.

You have to ask yourself at some point, are you becoming what you despise in order to win?

I just think to myself that in my family, how we fight between ourselves is one thing, but not in a million years would we ever give the opposition any ammo against our own family.

What profit is there in gaining the whole world but losing your soul? Are you the same people that think it's okay to use steroids in baseball as long as your team wins? Or that it's not cheating if everyone else does it?

Where's the moral line here? Or is it
"Win now, worry about that later.."?


I am just shocked that editor allowed to post link into racist website full of hate and stupid lies
It is in the post from
DEMS WANT OBAMA OUT...


Did anyone else notice that Clinton promised the residents of Guam an electoral voice in the general election...while the sentiment is admirable and the logistics debatable, it would require changing the constitution - which is very specific on how the electoral college works - or making Guam a state. Rather serious offers to be making for the first time on election eve in a small territory in the middle of the Pacific.


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