How Many Of You Out There In DU Land Think The WH Played Specter Just Right?........

[global1]

I mean they got Specter to switch parties just when they needed him. Specter did come through with his vote for the important ones that the WH wanted. They did live up to their end of the bargain and backed him in this race. And I think they knew that Specter would be beat in this race - used him - and now are actually pleased that Specter lost. I don't think that they put too much pressure on Sestak to stay out of this race either.

My feeling is the WH got exactly what it wanted tonight in this race and that the MSM is trying to make it look like Obama should take the hit for backing the wrong guy.

Chess - people - Chess!!!!!!

[Jennicut]

1. Of course...use Specter for some votes. Sestak ended up the better candidate vs Toomey

so I would think there is no spilled milk over this at the WH. And they got Specter to switch, part of the deal WAS some support.

[Sebass1271]

2. yur giving the white house ppl too much credit..

i don't think Rahm is THAT smart...

[Lost4words]

7. +1 nt

[xultar]

15. +1

[Cha]

35. The White House doesn't get enough credit..they're

way more intelligent than the average internet drive by.

[arcadian]

58. wrong

you are equating power with intelligence

[Kerrytravelers]

3. He does play Chess well.

I could buy your premise.

[FrenchieCat]

4. Specter will be voting till January.......

That's a lot of votes left.
We should have those votes, IMO!

and a nice young Democrat for change in November!

[saracat]

5. Wow. That is some twisted reasoning. Obama has never had coatails.

[O is 44]

11. I'd say it is more the canidate then Obama....n/a

[saltpoint]

6. I just think Pennsylvania Dems made a great call for a stronger

nominee against the insane and unstable Pat Toomey in November.

Toomey is bad, bad news.

Go, Joe.

[Cha]

8. Of course, the corporatemediawhores are trying

to hit the White House on backing Specter. They're too damn dumb to know that they back the incumbant or willfully ignorant.

[Orangepeel]

9. Obviously, the deal was "switch and we'll back you" I don't think they tried to undermine Specter.

By all accounts, they did what they could, except for stumping for him over the weekend once it was likely he'd lose. They're probably not crying about him losing, though.

[LaydeeBug]

10. I absolutely do! (but I never criticized the way they did)

I have bitched about other things though. :)

[Hippo_Tron]

12. I've been saying that all day

I'm not sure they planned it all that way but I don't think the President really gives a rat's ass that Specter lost tonight (even if the Vice President is unhappy about it).

But the President's critics won't see it way. They will say that Specter was a corporatist (whatever the fuck that even means) and Sestak wasn't a corporatist and that Obama supported the corporatist.

[jenmito]

13. Andrea Mitchell: "The WH has to really be concerned about the Specter loss."

"The voters said even the PRESIDENT can't tell them how to vote." Yet they also complained about Obama not doing ENOUGH for Specter. :eyes:

I think the WH played it just right. And as Chuck Todd said, they're OK with Sestak winning, since he'll be harder to beat in Nov."

[SpartanDem]

14. I wouldn't say they're pleased

they wanted Specter to win, but that's more because parties don't like primaries to incumbents whether from the left or the right. Remember when Mr DLC Harold Ford thinking about challening Gillibrand the WH backed her. But they aren't heartbroken life goes on and they'll get behind Sestak.

[bigwillq]

60. Good post.

:thumbsup:

[xultar]

16. ROFFPNMFPLMFAO. More 3 D chess ahe.

[FrenchieCat]

19. What would you call having Specter's vote for two years?

diddley winks?

It's not like Sestak is going to the Senate in washington tomorrow.

[saracat]

21. Yeah it is true that the DLC Dems vote the same as the GOP so it really isn't a difference with

Specter voting. Oh and save the setting the agenda stuff. We don't really use it anyway!

[xultar]

25. True Dat.

[pokercat999]

17. This is a "screw you" from the Dems in PA to Obama. To try

to spin it in the way you are says a lot about you........and where your lips are. Kiss ass - people - Kiss ass.

[FrenchieCat]

20. So you think that Specter only lost because voters voted Sestak to spite Obama?

Where are your lips?
Over at the MSM microphone?
Cause you are giving it to them with your mouth....for sure!

[pokercat999]

23. I think that was part of it. Dems didn't want a rethug jammed

down their throats by a rethug lite. You will remember (I know it was a long time ago) the original post was stating the WH "played" Specter and all but planned his loss. I think the WH did their usual "almost nothing" and events overtook them per usual.

[FrenchieCat]

24. The only thing that Obama wagered for was Specter's vote in the Senate for 2 years....

he got that.
Everything else is all good.

[pokercat999]

26. It must be nice to have that direct line to the WH. The rest of

us have to go by what we see and what we saw tonight was Obama's head handed to him by real Democrats.

[FrenchieCat]

30. There's actually a lot more people, even here, who see it as I do.....

One of the things I noticed, apart from Sestak alluding to Brown's win in MA yesterday, he's been pretty positive on this Administration, and he's had many chances to rail on them a whole lot, if that is what he was running against.

So dilute yourself into thinking this is not more than a win/win for the WH....cause in reality,
that's what it is. Not only does Obama continues to get specter's vote till January,
but he gets a young candidate for change in MA to run against Toomey.

You might think Obama's head was handed to him on a platter,
and you would be agreeing with some of that MSM ass talk. :rofl:

[Cha]

43. No it wasn't ..just your cheap shots sayin' everything

about you and nothing about President Obama.

[dionysus]

66. shit, they hate him worse than they ever did bush, and it's showing. somewhere a dem candidate will

lose a race for dog catcher, and they'll be like "SEE!!1!! REAL DEMS(tm) ARE SHOWING HOW MUCH THEY CAN'T STAND HIM!!1!!"

[Cha]

71. Yeah, this anonymous has the

vicious cheap shots goin' like it's real personal.

[MadBadger]

33. Give me a break. This was a "We dont Fucking Trust you Arlen." That's all this was.

[Pirate Smile]

42. Exactly. Democrats feel perfectly comfortable (and they should) to vote for whoever the hell they

want to in a Democratic Primary and still support the President.

I can't believe all these pundits don't get that.

I think most Democrats also know that the President needs these Senator's (Specter & Lincoln) votes in the Senate so they take his endorsement with a grain of salt.

This isn't that complicated. I don't get the massive amount of stupid conventional wisdom we are getting. But I suppose that is just standard operating procedure.

[freddie mertz]

57. And it was carried out in direct defiance of the WH-DNC-Rendell machine.

Yes, we knew there was a deal and understood that.

But when Specter went "swift-boat" on Sestak, it was all over.

They tried but they couldn't stop it.

[SunsetDreams]

34. Actually,

It says alot more about you, if you can inject your own personal feelings onto a race, that you think that the reason the voters did not vote for Spector is to say "screw you" to Obama. I think you are the one that is spinning.

[Cha]

39. No, your post says everything about

you and absolutely nothing about Pres Obama.

[polichick]

52. As a PA Dem, I agree. It was a vote for a REAL Democratic party...

...and a message to the president that we're not buying his political deals - with big pharma, big oil, Wall Street, the Republicans or a fake Dem like Specter.

(Few who worked here to elect Obama participated in his organization's gotv for Specter - in fact most quit the group months ago.)

[dionysus]

55. what's it like to live in an imaginary world where everything people do is to spite the president?

i'll tell you one thing, you guys have very healthy imaginations!

[arcadian]

59. what's it like to live in an imaginary world where the president can do no wrong?

[dionysus]

64. never claimed that. you however, are part of that group that wail 24/7/365 about everything,

even imaginary shit.

[arcadian]

69. You tell yourself that

[treestar]

77. Not every local vote is about the President

People decide who to vote for in local elections for many reasons. It is oversimplifying to reduce every local election to a referendum on the President.

[treestar]

76. Why would Dems want to screw a Dem President?

Especially when 91% of them support him.

[saracat]

18. Sorry .Politics 101, you do not get to take credit for the candidate you did NOT support .The

DCCC and the WH did NOT support Sestak. Their candidate lost. The WH lost. Sestak won. The people were not influenced by the Democratic Party OR the WH. It is a message to the WH and the WH had better pay attention. They already were sent a message by Mass. This is lesson number 2! We can win in November but not with candidates that stand for nothing.

[marlakay]

22. I just emailed white house and told them that

that I am glad Joe won and that I think Obama knew exactly what he was doing. But I reminded him that if he wants us to work for him in 2012 he will have to do more for the left.

[girl gone mad]

27. This is just goofy talk.

You can try to spin it any way you like, but the bottom line is that for the 4th or 5th time in a row now, Obama backed a dud of a corporate sell-out candidate, and his political coattails are simply non-existent. Voters actually want that thing Obama promised them in 2008. You know. Change.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

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[Cha]

37. Oh, we have big change..it's just some are too

busy complaining to actually know what's going on.

The White House backs the incumbant and these Dem Victories tonight are a WIN for the White House and for those of us who like Dems to win.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

28. I don't know enough to say whether or not the WH "played" Specter

They backed him over Sestak and even supposedly tried to clear the field for him. Ultimately, Sestak chose to stay in the race and the people decided to choose him over Specter= Democracy in action. I almost feel a little sorry for Specter since he switched so that he could avoid losing to Toomey in the GOP primary only to lose to Sestak in the Democratic primary but he gambled and-as sometimes happens-he lost. Ah well. His time is clearly up but at least he'll be able to keep fighting with us until then. He will probably be even more valuable to us now that he's not casting votes with an eye towards November. He's definitely got a lot more experience in the Senate and I was happy to see him switch parties last April but I had sincere doubts that, even if he had won, that he'd have the stamina- at his age and with his health- to win in November and/or be able to fully serve out his next term. Congratulations and welcome aboard, Joe! :thumbsup:

[zulchzulu]

31. The White House treated Specter like you would your crazy Uncle Wilbert

They gave him enough support to make it be seen that they support a fellow Democrat. But they also knew that Specter became a Democrat after he knew his beloved career was a "difficult" because his paper tiger-styled Republican days were over.

Specter was a conman mostly. An opportunist that was willing to play dirty politics to keep his day job. He voted like a Republican eventually after saying he wouldn't and was a stooge for the GOP for decades.

The White House knew he was going to crash like Amelia Earhart was never going to fly around the World. It was like predicting the Mets would be World Series champs.

[MadBadger]

32. I think the fact that Obama never campaigned with Specter says something to that effect

[rug]

36. You're right!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

38. The people played "chess". They saw right through Specter and didn't allow the president

to tell them what to think. It's really Obama who's got egg on his face. In the waning days of the campaign, he realized that the people were right; that Sestak could beat Toomey. Intrader had Sestak beating Toomey and Specter losing.

The White House needs to stop taking the Democratic base for granted. That's really the story of the night.

Don't allow the punditry to tell us anything different. It really was a night FOR the Democrats. The Repukes have their tea baggers. Dem turnout is up! The Republican Party is divided. That's really the story of the night. Not this bullshit about incumbents this or that; or, a referendum on the president. Obama is popular in PA; he is sitting on a 50%+ approval rating nationwide. This isn't about Obama. All politics are local. It's about the people and the mood of the country.

The Washington Talking Heads were wrong. The people are right!!

[golfguru]

48. Your post makes the most sense on this thread... eom

[freddie mertz]

56. And that is how history will record this.

The Sestak campaign and PA voters (like myself) defied the WH and Rendell steamroller and won this race, hands down.

The WH opposed us every step of the way.

That is how everyone who voted for Sestak saw it.

This was a vote FOR a genuine Dem and AGAINST the mendacious machine politics of Harrisburg and WDC.

[FrenchieCat]

40. Obama has one in the hand, and one in the bush!

LOL!

[Bluenorthwest]

62. Your contention here is so damning to Obama

You claim he was feigning his support for Specter, that it was fake, a lie. Well, of course, in Christianity, honest and direct speech is demanded. There is very clearly no room given for what politicians call 'spin' which is framing the truth in a deceptive way, that is specifically forbidden by the teachings of Jesus himself.
On some days, Obama and Biden claim to be such devout Christians that they simply have to oppose equal rights for 'those people' , although Jesus never said a bad word about 'those people'.
So in their world, Christians are allowed to lie, dissemble, make public claims that they do not really mean. As long as they go after teh gay with the likes of McClurkin, slandering all the way.
Just hard to deal with these 'oh they were lying for advantage' excuses to defend a man who says "I am a Christian, so I oppose equality."
The hypocrisy is so deep. Want to have their Christ and eat it too. Want be bigoted in his name, and yet also be less than truthful for personal advantage, also in his name.
Charming, really.

[dionysus]

65. rofl

:cry:

[liberalpragmatist]

41. I doubt there was much of a strategy here

I was rooting for Sestak, but I actually think Specter's switch - though opportunistic - was more sincere than people give him credit for. I mean, he was a Democrat back in the '60s, switched because he was anti-machine, and was increasingly trapped in a GOP that kept trending right. I doubt he was as liberal as his new voting record suggests, but I also doubt he was actually as right-wing as his record became by the end of the Bush years.

I think that the White House was very happy for Specter's switch, and let's face it: it really was a good thing for us. We got health care passed, which probably wouldn't have happened without having 60 votes for at least a short while. And he's supported the White House on numerous other issues. I think the White House pledged to support him to bring him into the party, and they probably WERE planning on his winning reelection. However, they could see his campaign losing steam in the final few days and didn't want to be associated with a loss.

I actually think that Obama SHOULD have campaigned for Specter over the weekend. I doubt his popularity would take any hit, and Sestak would probably still have won, but at least he'd earn some more loyalty from Specter, who - if he feels the WH snubbed him - might vote more unpredictably as a lame duck. I think Obama campaigning for him in the closing days would have been a way to potentially guard against that.

But honestly I can't complain too much. Sestak is a very good candidate, and I think he'll have a better chance than Specter of holding that seat.

[Cha]

44. We'll see how Specter

is in his last days in the Senate.

I pretty much agree with a lot of what you write about Specter.

[totodeinhere]

45. Now that Specter has nothing to lose, we will see in these next few months what he...

really believes.

[Uzybone]

46. All politics is local

until it somehow involves President Obama and then it becomes a referendum.

[Moochy]

80. "somehow" ... its not a mystery how it happened.

"I love Arlen Specter" Obama, 2010

[WCGreen]

47. If you have been involved in politics at all on the inside...

You can see this was fairly obvious.

Obama didn't really campaign all that much in PA and they are letting Bill carry the weight for Blanche.

Anyone running against an incumbent should expect to have the establishment party back the incumbent. It's just how things are in the world.

If you didn't back the incumbent, why would they help you when you need their vote in the future.

It's not chess, 3D or otherwise, it's called politics...

[Kind of Blue]

79. So well said. My sentiments exactly.

This election was not 3D chess.

[suzie]

82. Very difficult for some to grasp.

[DCBob]

49. I wouldn't say the WH "played" Specter.. it was just a political deal when he switched.

The WH must have given him some commitment they would publicly support him against any primary challenger. I think its nothing more than that.

[Unvanguard]

50. They're probably pleased, but I don't think they expected Specter to lose.

I mean, a few months ago, nobody did.

[babylonsister]

51. No? This was posted Monday...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=301699&mesg_id=301699

White House bracing for Arlen Specter loss?

I think they knew.

[Unvanguard]

72. They knew by Monday, sure.

But Monday was late. The White House had supported Specter against Sestak from essentially the moment the primary challenge was announced, and until maybe a month ago Specter had a very strong lead in the polls.

[freddie mertz]

53. Obama and co.'s "handling" of the race was incompetent throughout and mean-spirited in the end.

The WH, DNC, DSSC, OFA, and the Rendell machine did everything they could to STOP Sestak, but the electorate had other ideas.

In the final hours, they sent out anonymous "sources" to diss Specter and make it seem like they wanted Sestak all along.

Only the most gullible could be expected to fall for this transparently dishonest attempt at "spin."

"We wanted to lose all along."

Give me a break, please.

[WeDidIt]

54. Yep, picture perfect play n/t

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluenorthwest]

63. I think they tried to get a Republican elected and failed

OFA put huge effort into Arlen. We had a Primary here yesterday too, not a word from the White House for our Wyden, not a word. So they were doing for Arlen that which they did not do for other Democratic incumbents, and it did not work.

[closeupready]

67. Oh, geez.

:eyes:

[jobwithout]

68. If Pres Obama Tried to fart

but shit his pants, some people would say it was part of his grand 307 dimensional chess game. The reality is politics is unpredictable and the whitehouse misread this.

[yurbud]

70. I hope you're right. Specter probably knew he was toast

[Jakes Progress]

73. Queen's alternative gray pawn to level four sub-light three.

Check mate in sixty three years.

[depakid]

75. Hard to argue with the result...

[bvar22]

78. Played it just right?

Campaigning for a Republican, and running and hiding when the polls turned against them?
Played just right?
LOL.

The White House looks like more than just a loser.
They look like a fair weather loser,
and then trying to spin this as a victory.
No Thanks.

When Pee Wee Herman fell off his bike in front of a crowd of pre-pubescent girls, he stood up and said, "I meant to do that!"

Tonight, the White House and blind supporters are using the Pee Wee Herman Defense.
This is NOT ten dimensional Chess.
It is simply pure bullshit.
The White House campaigned for a Republican....and LOST....and then tried to hide.
Deal with it instead of making up elaborate fantasies.



CHESS...The game where the Pawns are sacrificed to protect the Royalty.
By God, Obama IS playing chess!!
.
.
Sucks if you are a Working Class Pawn.



"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans."---Paul Wellstone

[suzie]

81. +1