"In my younger days, I was about ideology... Now, I'm just about winning."

[wyldwolf]

After months of personal arm-twisting from several Democratic presidential candidates to dedicate himself to their campaigns, Santa Clara County's assessor ( Larry Stone) on Monday finally revealed that he's backing - surprise, surprise - Hillary Clinton.

Stone - who has raised more than half a million dollars for Democratic presidential candidates in the past two decades - said he just needed more time - time to be convinced that Hillary Clinton, a woman with high negatives especially among white men, could actually win the presidency. "In my younger days, I was about ideology," said Stone, 66, who backed the unsuccessful campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry. "Now, I'm just about winning."

Clinton has a track record of surviving "the inevitable swift-boating that will be part of a grueling campaign," Stone said, and he is confident she will "govern from the center of the political spectrum."

So, what's the big deal about an endorsement from a county assessor? Stone is certainly no Steve Jobs from Apple, or Eric Schmidt from Google, both marquee CEOs who would lend a high-tech panache to any campaign. Stone's got what they may not - a willingness to spend countless hours on the phone asking people for money, and a Rolodex a mile long.

"A guy like Larry Stone is important, not because of the money he has, but because of his ability to go to people who have money," said Larry Gerston, a San Jose State University political-science professor. "That makes him a rainmaker of sorts and that's very, very valuable."

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5898858

[William769]

1. He is only one of many.

:)

[pat_k]

2. To bad he doesn't realize that the road to winning is to impeach. . .

. . .Bush and Cheney for torturing and spying on us w/out warrant.

It's heartbreaking to see so many public figures exacerbating the problems that are destroying the Democratic Party when they could be solving them.

The Party's Number 1 problem is the perception that they are weak. Impeaching Bush and Cheney would demonstrate commitment and fortitude. Limiting themselves to pea-shooter half-measures incapable of forcing Bush and Cheney to do anything they don't want to, when they have a gun in their pocket that IS capable of stopping them, just confirms the image that Democrats are weak.

Their Number 2 problem is their failure to define overarching principles that inspire. Impeaching Bush and Cheney allows them to define themselves as champions of the People's Government and the Constitution -- pretty heady stuff. As long as impeachment is "off the table," Democratic leaders can't accuse Bush and Cheney of their violations in strong terms because it would beg the question "If they are so bad, why aren't you impeaching?" They have trapped themselves in a world of doubletalk and euphemism, and there may be nothing LESS inspiring then strategy-driven doublespeak.

It's 89 weeks until the inauguration of our next -- hopefully legitimate -- president. It's 82 weeks until the 110th Congress adjourns. It's 35 weeks until the Iowa caucus. At the current casualty rates we will see 1800 servicemen and women killed and 13,000 injured between now and the inauguration. We will see 700 killed and 5200 injured between now and the Iowa caucus.

To bad Stone-- and other influential public figures -- don't say "The obsession with the 'horserace' so early is just a way to pretend the Bush presidency is over. Well, it is not over. Only impeachment can end it -- something that 58% of Americans want (see note). Only impeachment can rescue our constitution. Only impeachment can restore our moral authority and make it possible to extract ourselves for the horrible quagmire in Iraq."


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Note: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-27-2007/0004514285&EDATE=">Newsweek Jan 27 --"58 percent of all those polled say at this point in time, they personally wish that Bush's presidency was over; 37 percent do
not feel that way."