OBAMA DAILY NEWS Saturday March-22-2008

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO THE OBAMA DAILY NEWS THREAD

Saturday March-22-2008


Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., left,
with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore.
(By Alex Brandon -- Associated Press

Esteemed DUer's, please consider taking a moment (or more) to graciously participate
by posting news and announcements about the Obama campaign on this thread. You can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web. :think:

2. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU,
providing a link to the original thread :applause:

3. Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page :thumbsup:

Get your DU-o-matic codificator (to format your posts) here
Read the Daily News Archives here

[grantcart]

1. Please don't tell the Clinton's about this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5203063

[grantcart]

2. Somebody knows something

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5198689&mesg_id=5198689

[grantcart]

3. Why is Gov Patterson cheating Clinton of a superdelegate?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5187317&mesg_id=5187317

[kwenu]

34. You could have titled your post "Why do Clinton superdelegates frequent prostitutes?"

[grantcart]

4. Devistating collapse of Obama's Campaign because of Wright's comment shown in poll

[JimGinPA]

5. Obama’s Speech on Race Played Well, a Poll Finds

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: March 22, 2008

A national poll released Friday showed that voters who had heard or read about Senator Barack Obama’s speech this week on race relations and on his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. broadly approved of it.

Seven in 10 said Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, did a good job talking about race relations, and as many said he did a good job explaining his relationship with Mr. Wright, according to the CBS News poll.

More than 6 in 10 said they mostly agreed with what he said about race relations in the United States, including a broad majority of Democrats and independents.

Fewer Republicans — 4 in 10 — agreed with the message.

Still, the poll showed some erosion for Mr. Obama. Just over half of registered voters now say he would be a president who is able to unite the country, down from two-thirds a month ago.

How the issue will affect Mr. Obama’s presidential aspirations remains to be seen. But 7 in 10 voters nationwide who have followed the race and the issue involving his former pastor, Mr. Wright, said it would make no difference in their vote decision.

The CBS News poll was conducted Thursday among 542 registered voters who were initially interviewed on March 15-18. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.




http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/us/politics/22poll.html?ref=politics

[mac2]

6. Are you Obama people having your own love in?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

7. You can start an "Clinton Daily News" if you want, its not hard to do

I would be happy to start one for you, but the DU forum won't let me post another link for many hours.

I like having the Obama news because the threads around here disappear too quickly
and its nice to be able to keep up with more interesting ones this way.

Plus, I post articles that I think others might have missed, but because of the
3 OP limit, otherwise wouldn't be seen.

You can do it.

[grantcart]

17. wtf I missed the 'Love In' ? Nobody tells me nothin - I miss all the fun

[Blondiegrrl]

11. I come here to get NEWS about my candidate, not to snipe about petty things.

Unfortunately, some of the remarks here make it difficult to turn the other cheek.

So I, for one, am extremely grateful for the daily news thread.

[quantass]

8. K&R

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. WaPo: Why Obama Stands With His Church

"...that church plays a religious and cathartic role unlike that of any other institution in the black community.
It's a haven, a place for emotional release and personal affirmation.
The pastor is given much leeway, so long as the church is held together as a family."

Why Obama Stands With His Church

By Colbert I. King Saturday, March 22, 2008; Page A13

All they wanted to do was pray with the rest of the congregation.
But that was asking too much.

...So one Sunday morning as Allen, Jones and the other black worshipers knelt to pray,
white church elders tapped Jones and Allen on the shoulders and told them to take
their praying upstairs to a recently built balcony.

Rather than submit to such humiliation, Jones, Allen and the rest of the black worshipers walked out.

The two men formed their own congregations. Jones gained permission from the Episcopal Diocese
of Pennsylvania to establish America's first black parish, St. Thomas African Episcopal Church.
He eventually became the Episcopal Church's first African American priest.

Allen formed a Methodist congregation that eventually became today's multimillion-member
African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

The walkout in the City of Brotherly Love occurred in 1787 -- a year that marks the beginning
of America's independent black church, a theological movement born out of racism.

...more at the link

[Ysabel]

10. k and r (n/t)...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. Slate: Richardson's Obama Endorsement Does Matter. Here's Why.

Picking Up the Bill
What Richardson's endorsement means for Obama.

By John Dickerson. Slate. Friday, March 21, 2008

As a presidential candidate, Bill Richardson often seemed to be off by one beat. He was never as natural in debates or interviews as he was in person. At one debate, Barack Obama had to rescue him when he wasn't paying attention. As Richardson told the Washington Post's Jose Antonio Vargas, when he got lost and didn't hear the topic he was supposed to address, Obama whispered, "Katrina." The cue jump-started Richardson's talking points.

Richardson has now repaid the kindness by endorsing Obama. In this case, his timing couldn't have been better. The nod was the high note in an otherwise bad week for Obama, in which his poll numbers dropped and he continued to suffer the fallout from remarks by his longtime pastor,
in spite of the candidate's efforts to address it head-on in a big speech on race in America that was well-received, according to polls. Richardson's biggest assist, though, was that he took sides in a stalled Democratic Party argument over delegates. In the numbers vs. narrative debate, the New Mexico governor backed the view that because Obama has an insurmountable numerical
lead among pledged delegates, the nomination has effectively been decided. There is no story Clinton can tell to convince superdelegates to reverse that mathematical fact, in his view. "My great affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver.

It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall."

Endorsements get more attention than they deserve; still, Richardson served in two top posts in the Clinton administration, and both Clintons have courted him heavily. His move matches that of John Lewis, the Georgia congressman who dropped his support for Clinton to back Obama.
Richardson's decision was "as close to a defection as they come," says Joe Trippi. Edwards' former strategist argues that the superdelegates to watch in the coming drama may not be the undecided ones but the ones already pledged to Clinton. They may decide to confront her at some point—perhaps if Obama wins the North Carolina primary in early May—arguing that to continue to fight for a nomination when the math is against her will wreck the party and ruin her reputation....

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

13. WaPo: Speech Translation -Obama's approach to race could also help our relationship with the Muslim

Speech Translation
Obama's approach to race could also help our relationship with the Muslim world

By Shadi HamidSaturday, March 22, 2008

While Barack Obama's speech on race earlier this week was geared primarily toward domestic concerns,as an American of Middle Eastern origin, watching from a café in Jordan, I was struck by the possibilities it offered not only for race relations at home, but for our relationship with Arabs and Muslims abroad.

Thus far, the national discourse on the question of Muslim anti-Americanism, and particularly the violence and terror perpetrated in the name of Islam, has been dominated by condemnation and denunciation.

As it must be. ...At the same time, we can't simply wish future violence and terrorism away by relegating it to the domain of irrational, crazed fanaticism. We cannot say that "they hate us for who we are" and leave it at that.

...But Obama is right that in order to address that anger and radicalism -- whether it comes from the young Muslim underclass or in a milder form from pastor Jeremiah Wright and others in the black community -- we must understand the context in which grievances came to be and target the conditions that continue to nurture those grievances.

On Tuesday, watching his speech from Jordan, I felt for the first time in a while that we could begin coming to terms with the past and accounting for the injustices committed against those at home, and those abroad, who are waiting to see what America will do next.

... more at the link

Shadi Hamid is director of research at the Project on Middle East Democracy and a fellow
at the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

14. WaPo: Obama Detractors Miss the Mark

A Pastor Notes Michael Gerson's Double Standard r/e Romney vs Obama Faith

When Michael Gerson lauded Mitt Romney's speech in his Dec. 7 op-ed column,"Answering Critics -- and Kennedy," he did not take Romney to task for the failings of the Mormon faith and its violent past, exclusion of blacks and acceptance of polygamy. I understand that these are matters of the past.

But to give Romney a free pass and then skewer Barack Obama this week is dishonest.

When Obama addressed race, Gerson went after the pastor of his church, not the content of his speech. Gerson demonstrated an incredible failure to comprehend the black church experience and the art of homiletics in the context of a congregation.

Particularly galling was his use of the HIV remark in one of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons and comparing this to Nazi Germany while turning a blind eye to the failure of the Bush administration's abstinence-only program, as evidenced by the report that one out of four teenagers is infected with a sexually transmitted disease <"STD Data Come as No Surprise, Area Teenagers Say," Metro, March 13>. This man is shameless.

-- Joseph M. Clark, Washington Grove,
The writer is a retired clergyman.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. WaPo: The Senator and the Preacher (Krauthammer's real fear)

The Senator and the Preacher

Saturday, March 22, 2008; Page A12

Dan Balz's thoughtful March 20 analysis, "Will the Answer Outlive the Question?"
failed to acknowledge the real reason for the overblown flap about the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and Sen. Barack Obama. It is to be found in Charles Krauthammer's March 21 op-ed column, "The Speech: A Brilliant Fraud": the right wing's full-court press against Mr. Obama.

Clearly, Mr. Krauthammer and friends are afraid that Mr. Obama will get the nomination, and they have mounted a two-part assault. The first relates to what Rev. Wright said and whether Mr. Obama endorses him. I find this ironic given the fact that the right wing is also accusing Mr. Obama of being a closeted Muslim.

The second and more insidious part of the strategy is to bring to the surface white people's latent racism by revealing that black people are angry at white people. I say this as a white person. The Republicans want fear of black people to deliver the Democratic nomination to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton so they can recycle 20 years' worth of lies and screed about her in the general election campaign. To Mr. Obama's credit, he brought the racism issue out in the open, but he is up against some powerful propagandists in the form of Mr. Krauthammer, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and company.

JUDITH McGUIRE

Chevy Chase linked here

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

16. TPM: Clinton "Essentially In The Red"

Clinton "Essentially In The Red"

The latest FEC reports suggest that the Clinton campaign finished February in the red.
By Greg Sargent - March 21, 2008,

The latest FEC reports appear to suggest that the Hillary campaign may be in the red:

Despite a strong month of fund-raising in February in which she brought in $35 million, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton finished the month essentially in the red, once her campaign’s outstanding debts are factored in, as well as her personal loan, according to filings submitted late last night to the Federal Election Commission.

After spending about $31 million in her efforts to keep up with Senator Barack Obama, Mrs. Clinton finished February with more than $33 million in cash on hand, but $21.5 million of that is earmarked exclusively for the general election, leaving her with $11.7 million for the primary.

Mrs. Clinton, however, loaned her campaign $5 million earlier this year and she listed $8.7 million in debts to various vendors, making clear why she has not yet paid herself back from her loan.

It should be noted, however, that Hillary isn't obliged to repay the $5 million debt to herself. Nonetheless, even factoring in that, once you subtract the other debts her cash on hand number would be in the neighborhood of $3 million.

By contrast, Obama has over $30 million on hand for the primary.

Here's where this really hurts: With the super-delegates. The Clintons' fundraising prowess has been one of the factors convincing the super-dels that this race isn't over and that they should wait out the contest. Revelations like this one could make it a good deal tougher to make this case.

link

Looks like the writer of this OP at DU was "right on the money":

DU: Ms Clinton can not drop out its about the money and she is stuck being Baghdad Bob just to.......
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5202171

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. TPM: Endgame Signals?

Endgame Signals?

Anthony. TPM. March 21, 2008

As Josh pointed out on the home page, Politico has an article up essentially stating that the media has kept the Clinton candidacy afloat. Does this signal a shift in how the campaign will be covered in the wider media? How will Vandehei and Allen's peers interpret this article? Does it even matter?

Add to this Richardson's endorsement which, despite Mark Penn's words to the contrary, is significant - significant enough to make headlines. This may just be a way for Obama to move the news cycle beyond Reverend Wright, but I think there is a bigger picture here.

... I have the sense that the general public, mainstream media and especially the super-delegates were waiting to see Obama's reaction to the latest controversy. What could have signaled his endgame, in fact became a signal that while this is the end, it is his opponent's. Vandehei and Allen seem to be telling their counterparts that the party's over - it was fun, but it can't last forever.

And what about Richardson? Is this more than political theater? Is there significance to the DNC and superdelegates that it's time to close ranks? Has the party decided that a nasty fight in Pennsylvania and beyond would once again snatch defeat from jaws of victory? And let's not forget that Michigan and Florida revotes are not happening. ...Rhe super-delegates can't realistically move en masse, that would appear to be undercutting that remaining states' votes. But they can trickle in over the next several weeks which would keep the news and momentum positive for Obama. Combine that with the news beginning to be reported through the lens of near-impossible delegate math and it could dramatically affect the outcome in Pennsylvania.

.... more at the link

A great comment posted to that article:

To optimize our chances I think it is essential for all Democrats to face the truth - our candidate will either be Obama, badly wounded, and campaigning for the support of a fractured party, still licking its wounds from a long drawn out primary campaign, or it will be Obama, fresh from a 4 month respite from campaigning against Clinton, and with a united Democratic Party behind him. potsed by hoppycalif2 March 21, 2008

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. Was Mike Huckabee's response to Obama's speech the tipping point.?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gTFLOu8fjxU

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. 'Honesty gap'

'Honesty gap'

Ben Smith, Politico. March 20, 2008

This data from Gallup isn't all that new, but is pretty striking — and a sign that the damage of the
long primary isn't just to Obama.

Really, if this goes on long enough, all Americans may loathe all three candidates.

Hillary is not electable, no matter how she intend to spin it.
53% of American said they don't trust her despite the PR hit Obama has suffered lately.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. DU: Carville calls Richardson's endorsement an "act of betrayal."

DU: Carville calls Richardson's endorsement an "act of betrayal."

"An act of betrayal," said James Carville, an adviser to Mrs. Clinton and a friend of Mr. Clinton.

"Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic," Mr. Carville said, referring to Holy Week.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5203330&mesg_id=5203330

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

22. DU: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Endorsing Obama for President (celebrate)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3236987&mesg_id=3236987

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. DU: Ms Clinton can not drop out its about the money

....and she is stuck being Baghdad Bob just to.......
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5202171

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. DU: Hillary's Harrowing Trip to Bosnia or . . . maybe not so much.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5203159&mesg_id=5203159

[grantcart]

43. similar thread now with excellent video

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5211987&mesg_id=5211987

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. DU: The video the DNC had when FL pleaded before them. Very damning.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5187022&mesg_id=5187022

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

26. DU: Handy Guide to the Last 10 Democratic Primary Races in 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5200597

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

27. DU: Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah... Passports.... Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah... Crazy Preacher

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5203654&mesg_id=5203654

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. Drawn Out Primary Battle Hurting Fundraising for Dem Natl. Conv Committee

Denver short on funds for Democratic National Convention

The mayor thinks the extended nomination contest has distracted potential donors.By DeeDee Correll, Los Angeles Times March 21,2008

...The long and winding fight for the Democratic presidential nomination is giving a fundraising migraine to the Mile High City.

As the host city, Denver must raise $40.6 million by June 16 for the party's Aug. 25-28 convention. This week, the host committee missed its second fundraising deadline, and

Mayor John W. Hickenlooper said he believed the drawn-out battle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois had distracted potential donors.

"I think there's still so much focus around who the candidate will be that it is hard for people" to focus on the convention, he said.
...
Denver's host committee fell $5 million short of its goal to raise $28 million by March 17.

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

29. Stephen Colbert: The Gospel of John; Playing Rev. Wright side by side with Jerry Falwell

Stephen Colbert: The Gospel of John; Playing Rev. Wright side by side with Jerry Falwell just after 9/11 to see what is offensive. 3/21

link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

30. Money In The Bank: Obama $30 Million... Clinton $3 Million

I would say that this hurts Clinton more than anything.

Obama Has Clear Money Advantage

JIM KUHNHENN | March 21, 2008

WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lived hand to mouth during the rush of presidential primaries while Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama outspent her and put money in the bank.

New Federal Election Commission reports show Obama raised at a clip of nearly $2 million a day in February, an open spigot of money that left him with $30 million in the bank for March.

Clinton had her best fundraising month as well, at $34.5 million. But counting her debts to vendors she ended with a net $3 million. And that's not factoring the $5 million she lent her campaign and has not paid back.

The current respite between primaries _ the next one is April 22 in Pennsylvania _ may cut back on some of the spending. It also denies the two campaigns the head-to-head contests that drive fundraising.

more at the link

[Tatiana]

31. Great job. Loved the Colbert link. Keep up the good work! n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

32. Will Rush Limbaugh Be Indicted for Voter Fraud?

Will Rush Limbaugh Be Indicted for Voter Fraud?

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted March 21, 2008.

As Ohio election officials investigate illegal crossover voting in the 2008 primary, questions arise on Limbaugh's role.

As the board of election in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where Cleveland is located, launches an investigation into illegal crossover voting in the state's 2008 presidential primary, a big open question remains unanswered: Will county officials go after the ringleaders of apparently illegal electioneering where thousands of Republican voters swore -- under penalty of law -- allegiance to the Democratic Party in order to vote for Hillary Clinton?

In case you missed it, Rush Limbaugh, the nation's top-rated talk radio host, was urging Republicans in Texas and Ohio to skip their party's primary on March 4 and instead cast a vote for Hillary Clinton in order to prolong the fight between her and Barack Obama. And that Tuesday, as media in both states reported, thousands of Republicans did just what Limbaugh and others had suggested -- they changed parties to vote for Clinton.

"I want Hillary to stay in this, Laura," Limbaugh told Laura Ingraham on Feb. 29, near the start of his Hillary crusade. "This is too good a soap opera. We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically, and it's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it and don't have the stomach for it, as you probably know."

...While this all makes for great talk radio and sounds like fun, there is one catch:

What Limbaugh encouraged Republican voters to do in Ohio was a fifth-degree felony in that state, punishable with a $2,500 fine and six to 12 months in jail.

That is because in order to change party affiliation in Ohio, voters have to fill out a form swearing allegiance to that party's principles "under penalty of election falsification."
...
more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

33. Fox News chris wallace and brian kilmeade object to attacks on Obama!

So good thought I would post it again since some may have missed this historical moment:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5195261&mesg_id=5195261

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

35. Did Clinton Win Ohio on a Lie?

Did Clinton Win Ohio on a Lie?

by Paul Rogat Loeb

Suppose someone in the North Korean government released a false story that shifted a key American election. If Bush were negatively affected, we might be bombing Pyongyang by now. But this just happened with what Hillary Clinton called "NAFTAgate." Without it, she might never have won Ohio, or her margin would have been minuscule. But as a Canadian Broadcasting Company story reveals, practically the entire story was a lie, one that played so central a role in Clinton's Ohio victory as to thoroughly taint any claim she raises about a swing state mandate.

...
Taken together with a week of media framing that the respected Project for Excellence in Journalism described as overwhelmingly critical of Obama, and initial twenty five-point margins based on name familiarity and insider connections, these attacks also contributed strongly to her Ohio victory. Back-to-back sympathetic Saturday Night Live shows helped as well (with the one claiming the media was biased against Hillary being written by right-wing comedy writer Jim Downey--who also wrote the sketch portraying Al Gore as a buffoon in the 2000 debates). Support from popular governor Ted Strickland and former Senator John Glenn also helped.

So did the exhortations of Rush Limbaugh and Fox commentators for their listeners and viewers to cross over and vote for her to keep the Democrats bloodying each other up. As the Wall Street Journal's Susan Davis reported, Republican votes that had gone to Obama--72 to 28 in Wisconsin and 72 to 23 in Virginia--now broke 53 to 46 in Texas. The earlier votes, from all reports as well as my own conversations and correspondence, were based on Republicans who genuinely preferred Obama as a candidate. But those in Texas and Ohio included a significant number consciously trying to create political mischief. Davis also interviewed a precinct worker who'd witnessed dozens of Limbaugh listeners bragging about their Democratic votes, and I've gotten emails testifying to similar occurrences in Ohio.

But "NAFTAgate" was key. Without it Clinton victory would have been non-existent or minimal. The nine delegates Clinton netted from Ohio can't be changed, but the salience of this lie casts into doubt everything she says about the lessons of this victory.

more at the link
http://eatthestate.org/12-14/DidClintonWin.htm

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

36. Richardson: Clinton Advisers "Kind Of Turned Me Off"

Notice Richardson's words, when he refers to Clinton's advisors, Richardson says "his" advisors.

Richardson: Clinton Advisers "Kind Of Turned Me Off"

Martina Stewart and Alex Mooney CNN March 21, 2008

(CNN) – Bill Richardson criticized a Clinton campaign adviser Friday for suggesting his endorsement of Barack Obama is insignificant.

"I resent the fact that the Clinton people are now saying that my endorsement is too late because I only can help with Texans — with Texas and Hispanics, implying that that's my only value," the New Mexico governor told CNN's John King.

"That's typical of some of his advisers that kind of turned me off." Earlier Friday, Clinton campaign senior strategist Mark Penn said he thought Richardson's endorsement came too late to make an impact.

...In the interview Friday, Richardson also said he called Hillary Clinton Thursday to inform her of his decision to back Obama, a conversation he described as "painful."

"It was painful and it wasn't easy," he said. "I've spoken to others who have had that same conversation and they say at the end, it’s not all that pleasant.

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

37. Clinton "Essentially In The Red" (She's broke, only media propping her up)

The media has been propping up the Clinton campaign or it would be over by now.

Clinton "Essentially In The Red"

By Greg Sargent - March 21, 2008,
The latest FEC reports suggest that the Clinton campaign finished February in the red.

Despite a strong month of fund-raising in February in which she brought in $35 million, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton finished the month essentially in the red, once her campaign’s outstanding debts are factored in, as well as her personal loan, according to filings submitted late last night to the Federal Election Commission.

After spending about $31 million in her efforts to keep up with Senator Barack Obama, Mrs. Clinton finished February with more than $33 million in cash on hand, but $21.5 million of that is earmarked exclusively for the general election, leaving her with $11.7 million for the primary.

Mrs. Clinton, however, loaned her campaign $5 million earlier this year and she listed $8.7 million in debts to various vendors, making clear why she has not yet paid herself back from her loan.

It should be noted, however, that Hillary isn't obliged to repay the $5 million debt to herself. Nonetheless, even factoring in that, once you subtract the other debts her cash on hand number would be in the neighborhood of $3 million.

By contrast, Obama has over $30 million on hand for the primary.

Here's where this really hurts: With the super-delegates. The Clintons' fundraising prowess has been one of the factors convincing the super-dels that this race isn't over and that they should wait out the contest. Revelations like this one could make it a good deal tougher to make this case.

link

Looks like the writer of this OP at DU was "right on the money":

DU: Ms Clinton can not drop out its about the money and she is stuck being Baghdad Bob just to......
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

38. (Updated) OBAMA TAKES LEAD IN GALLUP!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5208252&mesg_id=5208252

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

39. 2004 Election Redux, Did Carville Tip Bush Off to Kerry Strategy (to fight over Ohio)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=170x9785#9789

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

40. Is it over? Two major-league reporters finally state the obvious:

(((((((((((((((((((((( The RBC Update: Is it over? ))))))))))))))))))))))

2008.03.21 16:22:43


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two major-league reporters finally state the obvious:

"One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of
the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has
virtually no chance of winning."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://WWW.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/03/is_it_over.php

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

41. "It is time for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves"

"It is time for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves"

21 Mar 2008 posted at Daily Kos.

Bill Richardson's announcement this morning that he is endorsing Barack Obama for President has, understandably, generated a lot of discussion this morning. Richardson has been criticized over the past six weeks for not weighing in on the nomination. His choice of words in the endorsement statement, however, indicate he may have held off in order to break a perceived stalemate.

I have made a decision to endorse Barack Obama for President....

My affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver. It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall.

This opening paragraph argues that the nomination process has been decided. Coming from a former Clinton Administration official who remained friends with both Bill and Hillary Clinton (and who was famously courted by Bill Clinton on Super Bowl Sunday), such a comment has more power than if it had been made by most other superdelegates. If Bill Richardson is stating that the primary season should end now, it could well encourage other superdelegates to follow his lead.

....But the fact Richardson endorsed is not the reason I wrote this diary. The timing and the choice of words indicate to me that Bill Richardson is using his stature and relationship with the Clintons to try to settle the Democratic nomination now. Watch the news this week to see if this endorsement leads others to go public with a decision to support Barack Obama.

more at the link

[grantcart]

42. The Demarcation Line

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5212725

[Scurrilous]

44. Kick

:kick:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

45. Politico: "Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning"

Story behind the story: The Clinton myth

By: Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen March 22, 2008

One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.

Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency

...The notion of the Democratic contest being a dramatic cliffhanger is a game of make-believe....The real question is why so many people are playing. The answer has more to do with media psychology than with practical politics.

Journalists have become partners with the Clinton campaign in pretending that the contest is closer than it really is. Most coverage breathlessly portrays the race as a down-to-the-wire sprint between two well-matched candidates, one only slightly better situated than the other to win in August at the national convention in Denver.

...A Democratic strategist said that given the unlikelihood of prevailing any other way, Clinton now must “scare” superdelegates “who basically just want to win.”

The strategist said Clinton aides are now relying heavily on the controversy over Obama’s retiring minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to sow new seeds of doubt.

more at the link

Read the entire article, and email it to your friends.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

46. Richardson nearly backed Clinton, says 'it's time'

Richardson nearly backed Clinton, says 'it's time'

by Mark Silva "The Swamp"

Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and erstwhile candidate for president, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois today in his quest for the Democratic Party’s nomination.

But Richardson had come close to endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York earlier this year, he allowed tonight. Richardson, who served as Energy secretary in Bill Clinton’s administration, had a visitor in Santa Fe not long ago. Bill Clinton came to watch the Super Bowl with him.

“Yes, I was’’ close to endorsing the former first lady, Richardson told Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s Countdown this evening. “I almost did.’’

...“I waited, because I was legitimately very torn,’’ Richardson told Olbermann. “You mentioned my ties to the Clintons, my loyalties to President Clinton, my support and respect for Senator Clinton. But, I just realized that if I was going to make a difference, at a time we need party unity, at a time when the campaign was really getting nasty and personal, at a time when Sen. Obama responded, I believe,in such a courageous way to a problem in his campaign -- those remarks by his own pastor -- I felt that I needed to step in and say that I am backing Sen. Obama because I think this man has got omething very good about him, something very special.

“We've got John McCain running around the world, boosting his foreign policy credentials, raising funds, building support; and we're bickering. And we're a Democratic Party that has been on the resurgence. And the American people are on our side on the issues. But when it appears that we're downgrading each other, attacking each other, not talking positive, cat fighting, nastiness, then I think the time has come for individuals, like myself, that have been in the arena, that maybe have run for president, to say, all right, the time has come to stop this.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

47. Open Ltr to Rep Corrine Brown: Stop attacking and blaming Howard Dean.....

Corrine Brown's campaign email address is:
[e-mail]

Open Letter to Representative Corrine Brown:

Stop attacking and blaming Howard Dean for the mess you are in.
The Dems were complicit in this mess,and made no sincere effort to stop it.
Even one of Clinton's advisors was part of setting the rules and penalties
that are facing your state now. Stop pretending that Florida Democrats were helpless -
we have the video and the news articles that show otherwise.

Here are two news articles, a video of Sen. Steve Geller, and more of the famous Mad Floridian's journals detailing the complicity and posturing of Florida Dems in moving Florida's primary up.

Democrats sarcastically offered an amendment to move their primary back, according to this Tampa Bay Times reporter's blog (video included). You can hear Gelber's tone of voice and that he doesn't really want to correct the primary date.

Gelber: Don't blame FL Dems for delegate loss

February 21, 2008 UPDATE: Gelber may have audio, but Republicans have video -
- of Sen. Steve Geller offering an "amendment" to move the primary back.
It was fun and games back then. No longer. See it here.

The House Democratic leader, continuing his push for a new, vote-by-mail primary,
on his new blog repeats the Democratic argument (scoffed at by the DNC)
that they were helpless to stop Republicans from moving the primary to Jan. 29.
He even includes audio of David Rivera laughing at the Democrats' amendment to shift the date to Feb. 5.

What we wonder, though, is what would have happened if Florida Democrats
opposed the early primary from the start, rather than waiting until the last minute.
Instead of cheerleading the idea of an early primary violating the national party rules
and brushing off Howard Dean, who knows if the new governor stressing bi-partisanship
would have been keen on rolling Democrats.
....

Any opposition was voiced in jest. Dems felt that Florida should be first since it was so big.

Remember the buttons they wore at convention "Size Matters" and a screw through Howard Dean's name.

Moving the Florida primary helps the big money candidates like Hillary,
and not the ones like Edwards etc. There has been an effort to undermine Howard Dean for a long time in Florida.

Florida's presidential primary could be as early as January

Associated Press Thursday, March 22, 2007
...House Republicans and Democrats passed the earlier primary bill (HB 537) by a 115-1 vote
a challenge to the national parties that are wielding threats in an attempt to prevent a nationwide
race for earlier and earlier primaries.
...
By its own state law, New Hampshire must have the nation's earliest primary.
Its secretary of state has said he will choose a date in the fall to ensure the Granite State's primacy.

National Democrats have recommended a Jan. 22 vote in New Hampshire. If that date is chosen,
Florida's vote would occur Jan. 29, with early voting starting two weeks earlier.
California, with the largest state population, signed a Feb. 5 primary into law last week.

Florida lawmakers believe the state's demographic and political diversity merit a greater say
in the selection of nominees.
They're tired of candidates treating the fourth-largest state as a fundraising ATM,
only to take the money to campaign in small states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

And they say they are willing to call the bluffs
of the national parties, which have threatened to take away
delegates the state parties send to the nominating conventions

.

Madfloridian's Journal
Each Entry Highlights the Complicity and Posturing of Florida Dems
in Moving Up Primary

Florida leaders have never done the one thing they need to do.
They have never taken responsibility for their actions.

Florida Democrats invade Georgia
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1905

Dean told not to plan a vacation in Florida.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1902

Court decision on March 17 could determine who Democratic nominee is.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1897

Florida Democrats thought they would only lose "half" the delegates.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1903

Dean says FL and MI would not negotiate with the DNC...took it public instead.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1888

Florida, Michigan and the Jackasses That Over-reached
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1890

Tampa op ed: "Arrogance Cost Florida Chance To Influence Election"
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1875

Terry McAuliffe wants to change horses in the middle of the stream.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1882

From instigator to victim. It was a Dem who introduced the early primary bill in Florida.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1829

How it began last August....how Florida Democrats began their propaganda war
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1819

Jeremy Ring (D-FL) said "relevance is more important than "partying" in Denver.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1836

The worst part is that this very day FL Dems still shift blame....
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1870

Is Hillary's campaign being run as a "shadow DNC" for her benefit?
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1883

More Florida shenanigans and more insults to Dean from that state.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1858

Think I exaggerate about Florida's attitude? Here's a county chairperson's rant against Dean.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1827

Enough of this. Florida Democrats now threaten Dean and the DNC with a "voting rights probe".
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1453

The "appropriate legal official" to "investigate" Dean and the DNC...is...Gonzales.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1452

Nelson: "I will lead the delegates to Denver whether or not the DNC plans to let them in."
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1455

Two summaries of the DNC committee ruling about Florida.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1456

Florida sowed the seeds of a propaganda war against the DNC.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1458

Proof. Vindication. Both Florida parties did it for "relevance." From March.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1459

The latest Florida propaganda tactic here about attacking the DNC...local email.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1460

Florida's Geller joked about his amendment: "sarcasm and audible laughter in chamber"
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1461

One Florida county is saying there will be further bloodshed. Much argument here today.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1462

Florida Democratic Party website building anger toward the DNC
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1465

Democratic activist sues over loss of Florida delegates
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1466

"Dean was conciliatory and offered DNC help for the state"..hour long phone call
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1467

Gelber admits they did not fight the GOP about the primary.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1468

"Primary bully Florida ought to be ashamed"...four articles catch on to Florida's primary ploy.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1469

Bill Nelson today will file a bill for regional primaries...but first he had to get your attention
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1478

Bill Nelson today: "DNC penalties unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable"
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1479

Carl Levin and Terry McAuliffe made a deal about primaries in 2004.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1483

Email from Florida DEC chairs saying not to give to the DNC or candidates.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1481

Pelosi says it is not Florida's fault at all. So if the speaker says it I must be wrong.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1567

"Florida Democrats are all for it"...March 2006. All for the early primary that far ahead.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1564

Details on how Florida worked with the GOP to set the early primary date.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1617

Nobody sued Terry McAuliffe when he said Michigan's delegates would not get near Boston.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1638

Nelson and Levin of Michigan file the bill today. It's getting deeper
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1741

My postings about the heartbreak of the Florida primary fiasco.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1607

Florida Dems at convention have button that says "Screw Dean"...very classy.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1608

Senate leader ponders suing 'rogue states' over primary
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1527