Texas Debate Watch Party Thursday, February 21, 2008 Time: 7:30pm - 10:00pm Location: Village Pourhouse Street: 64 3rd Ave City/Town: New York, NY 3rd Ave and 12th St.
Believe it or not, I was as fanatically behind Hillary before Obama said in November 2006 that he might run, and then I switched. (Switching To Obama) I mean, I like Hillary. I think she is great. And the symbolism of her being a woman is just fantastic. But I switched for Barack, and I am with him for good. It is just that this race is unfolding to be so amazing to watch. They are going neck and neck.
One thing that has been guaranteed is they are going to have to forge a unity ticket. One can not possibly ignore the other. It was the same way for JFK and Lyndon Johnson in 1960. Bobby Kennedy got offended. I just fought this guy so very hard. Now he is on the ticket?
Right now I am thinking Barack will win the nomination, but barely so. Good thing that they do have good chemistry. In 2004 Hillary fought bad weather to make an odd hour flight to Chicago to go root for Barack when he was running for the Senate.
This new kind of politics is really refreshing. It is okay for me to say my heartfelt good things about Hillary and be rooting for Barack.
Long Campaign Is Okay
That way we keep the media attention. McCain can stay ignored.
In The News
Major union expected to back Obama CNN amid signs that his rival's support among superdelegates may be slipping. After India's prodding, Nepal govt. invites Madhesis for talks Hindu Former President Clinton Stumps in Texas The Associated Press Bill Clinton knocks Obama on health care Dallas Morning News McCain and Obama draw battle lines for November Guardian Unlimited Obama's bandwagon gathers speedThe Press Association one of the most coveted union endorsements - that of the Service Employees International Union. .... Mrs Clinton notched a minor, but much-needed victory of her own, winning the popular vote in New Mexico's caucuses on Thursday. ..... Obama has a good opportunity to take weekend primaries in Wisconsin and Hawaii Obama Won't Pledge to Take Public FundsThe Associated Press Key Labor Union Endorses Obama The Associated Press With Superdelegates in Doubt, Clinton's Options Could Be Spreading ... FOXNews with reports surfacing that her long-loyal superdelegates are flirting with Barack Obama’s candidacy, the New York senator’s options are spreading thin. .... while national polls show Obama leading, recent Ohio and Texas polls show her ahead. Polls also show her ahead in Pennsylvania, which votes in April. .... Obama’s camp has called for superdelegates to go with the wishes of their districts Super-delegate withdraws support for Clinton to back Obama Guardian Unlimited Black Leader, a Clinton Ally, Tilts to ObamaNew York Times Clinton Supporter John Lewis Has Second ThoughtsWashington Post Presidential Candidates' Focus Shifts to California Washington Post Obama's infusion of money -- more in a single month than Obama raised in the entire third quarter of last year -- enables the campaign to advertise at high levels in nearly all the Super Tuesday states, as well as in states with primaries to follow ........ Obama and Clinton prepared for a debate in Los Angeles tonight -- their first one-on-one encounter ...... Clinton ahead of Obama by 49 percent to 32 percent. Obama campaign reports $32-million infusionLos Angeles Times Also attending today's news conference was former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani ..... gained the distinction of spending more in other people's money for his sole delegate, captured in Nevada ..... The campaign reported 170,000 new donors, bringing the total to 650,000. ..... the "strongest day of the month was the day after the New Hampshire primary Campaigns move into rivals' home turfChristian Science Monitor New York and Illinois, two of the more than 20 states with primaries Tuesday, are a jackpot of delegates and deep-pocketed donors. ..... "Huckabee's got Chuck Norris out there, and McCain's bragging about Rambo's endorsement" ..... Her campaign boasts at least 20,000 volunteers and 35 offices statewide and is backed by much of the political establishment, including Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. ...... New York City, home to many young voters, blacks, and progressives – as well as half the state's Democratic primary votes. ..... "If we can get 40% of the vote that would be huge considering this is Clinton Back yard," a supporter blogged last week on a "Brooklyn for Barack" website. Top Al Qaeda Leader Killed ABC News killed in this week's attack by an unmanned predator in North Waziristan ..... A jihadi Web site today carried a banner congratulating the Muslim worldwide community for the "martyrdom of Sheikh Abu Al-Laith Al-Libi." Gov. Schwarzenegger Endorses McCain FOXNews 4 Edwards Delegates Throw Support to ObamaNew York Times four Edwards delegate candidates in New York City had switched their support to the Illinois senator.
If you are into a life into New York City, there is no escaping the Jewish identity. The Jewish people are an extremely important element of life in this city, and I will not have it any other way.
There are people who can just tell who is Jewish and who is not. I am not one of them. I look at some Jewish people, and I am like, you could be East European, you could be Jordanian. To me the looks are not obvious, last names don't help all that much, although I am getting a little bit better at it.
But then could you tell the difference between a Madhesi and a Pahadi? Or a Bihari and a Tamil? Your knowledge of the nonwestern peoples is way more scant than my knowledge of the western peoples. But then perhaps our knowledge of Africa is equally poor.
In the early 80s, I remember, Arafat would show up in India, and he would get treated like a head of state. The Palestinians are Third World, India is a leading Third World country. Back then it even claimed to lead the third pole in global politics, the so-called Non Aligned Movement.
My personal introduction to racism in America was part and parcel of my introduction to anti-Semitism. There was no mistaking it. I acquired an emotional knowledge that will last a lifetime.
The number one guy on my startup team, Adam, happens to be Jewish. I could not tell from his looks, or his last name. I once casually mentioned I lived in a Hasidic neighborhood, and how they are "this amazingly close-knit people." Adam has been a lifesaver to me. I don't know what I would have done without him. We are together going to do wonderful things.
He grew a slight beard over the Holidays, and I am like, you are beginning to look like my hero Larry Ellison. Ellison's bio Soft War is my mousepad.
Adam's cousin Micah once pointed at the TV and said, "Those are white people, we are not white people, we are Jewish!" I thought that was amusing. But then apparently there are people who are black and Jewish who go back thousands of years in the faith. I think that makes the Jewish people a very interesting people.
They are like the Newars of Kathmandu, they have an extremely rich culture. And I dig that. Collective identity is like accent, everyone's got one. It is just that some cultures are richer than others.
But then the Jewish people have a strand of pain that no other people can claim to have. The Holocaust was yesterday. I remember pain in my life from 20 years ago. For a people whose calendar goes back 5,000 years, something that happened half a century ago has got to feel like it was yesterday.
By now, that pain is primarily an emotional challenge. The wrong got done. Many people who did the wrong were brought to book. But by now there is mostly lingering pain. How do you deal with that pain? I don't know. I just know it has got to be there. I know it is there. I have witnessed it expressed.
All I know is the pain has to be processed. It can't be wished away. An extremely sophisticated state machinery systematically eliminated millions. There is no parallel to that in world history.
The Jewish people will never stop talking about the Holocaust, and that is the way it should be. The black people will not shut up on slavery and segregation and that is the way it should be. But then there is something else that is ongoing: Global Trafficking Of Women. I think that falls in a similar category.
I have limited knowledge of the Jewish identity. But I identify with the Jewish people as an underdog people. The Madhesi are an underdog people. The nonwhite are an underdog people.
NYC is a progressive city. I am all for getting along. We progressives will have our internal tussles, and we will compete on ideology and strategy, and we sure will compete on candidates. But overall we are one political religion: Progressive Political Religion: No Place For Superpowers. Even when we compete, we have to compete in a way that we don't lose sight of the big picture, of what we as a city mean to the rest of the country and the rest of the world.
But it can not be a false getting along where the only reason we seem to get along is because we refuse to tackle the hard social topics like race and gender. I am for pushing the edges of the envelope.
Formula For Permanent Peace In The Middle East
Israel is here to stay forever.
Create Palestine, a model democracy.
Democracy is right for every single country. All unelected heads of state must be deposed through mass movements.
And here is Ann Coulter, of all people, saying Christians are "perfected Jews." That is like saying women are people who wish they were men but they are not.
Sexism, Physicalism: Coupled
I think at some level they go together. Women and men are different, but they are politically, socially equal. Equality is a political consciousness thing. You acquire it. It is a mental journey to it.
Women are different physically. The whole pro-choice movement has been women saying, this is my body, you don't get to have a say over it. I will make my choices.
But there are social implications. Physicalism can come into play. If you think someone is a leader just because he is taller, that is physicalism. It is an ideology just like racism and sexism and anti-Semitism.
Abject Poverty, Infant Mortality
While we talk historic wrongs, we also have to take a look at the ongoing wrongs of abject poverty and infant mortality, and what have you. There is concrete data on these ills. These are not vague concepts.
The Internet
That is what will bridge the gap between the so-called First World, and Third World.
13 Million
I just learned there are 13 million Jews on the planet. That is about how many Madhesis there are on the planet. Jesus was a Jew. Buddha was a Madhesi.
Folks, we got something going on. We got common ground.
In The News
Obama Camp Says Clinton Nomination "Highly Unlikely" U.S. News & World Report Clinton would "have to win Ohio, Texas and virtually all other remaining primaries by roughly 2-to-1 margins over Obama ....... the Clinton campaign in response "argued Obama won't have the support of enough delegates and superdelegates to sew up the nomination before the party's August convention either." ...... "Clinton should be within 25 delegates of Obama after March 4 ..... Clinton's advisers "acknowledged that it would be difficult for her to catch up in the race for pledged delegates even if she succeeded in winning Ohio and Texas in three weeks and Pennsylvania in April." ....... the campaign "has something of a shellshocked feel." ...... "her supporters are watching the streak with mounting unease." Clinton leading Obama in Ohio, Pennsylvania: pollReuters leads him 55 percent to 34 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in Ohio Hezbollah Leader Vows Revenge on Israel New York Times Obama steps out in front Detroit Free Press she threw down this challenge: "Tell him to meet me in Texas. We're ready." ..... Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which together represent 64% of remaining delegates. ...... David Wilhelm, who managed Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, endorsed Obama on Wednesday. "It's time for superdelegates to begin ratifying the choice of Democratic primary voters," he said. ..... Wilhelm, an Ohio venture capitalist and himself a superdelegate The phenomenon which is Barack ObamaJamaica Observer having won 21 primaries and caucuses, to her 10 ...... Obama could not have won that many primaries and caucuses without the solid support of white Americans ..... Obama is being compared with names like John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Jesse Jackson in respect of his charisma and oratorical skills. ...... Of course, whichever candidate or party wins, Jamaica will continue to enjoy its historically close relationship with the United States. Obama's Mighty Numbers Forbes she is starting to lose her base. ..... In Virginia and Maryland, Obama outperformed Clinton among women, seniors (those over 60), and voters with annual incomes below $50,000, three groups that helped Clinton to her most significant primary wins in New York and California. Another group that supported Clinton on Feb. 5 but appears to be moving towards Obama is white voters; who preferred Obama by 5 percentage points in Maryland and were split 50-50 in Virginia. The Illinois senator also had more support among union households on Tuesday. ...... his lead balloons to nearly 700,000. Clinton renews calls for Fla., Mich. delegates to count Atlanta Journal Constitution Clinton Team Seeks to Calm Turmoil Wall Street Journal the campaign has something of a shellshocked feel, as staffers privately chew over a blowup last week where internal frictions flared into the open. ...... "Your ad doesn't work," strategist Mark Penn yelled at ad-maker Mandy Grunwald. "The execution is all wrong," he said ..... "Oh, it's always the ad, never the message," Ms. Grunwald fired back, say the operatives. The clash got so heated that political director Guy Cecil left the room, saying, "I'm out of here." ...... she launched her first negative ad, airing one in Wisconsin that criticized Barack Obama for not agreeing to debate before that state's primary. ..... McCain dumped his campaign managers last summer when his candidacy seemed to be tanking. Now he is the strong Republican front-runner. ..... The campaign projects it will raise around $20 million this month. ....... Ms. Solis Doyle recently returned home after two months on the road to find a family accustomed to her absence, she told colleagues. When her 6-year-old son cried out one night recently, he rebuffed his mom, saying, "I want Daddy." Ms. Solis Doyle flew out of the room in tears and told her husband: "Joey doesn't want me. S- this campaign, I'm quitting." ...... Ms. Solis Doyle told reporters: "This is my decision, my choice, my timing....There was no pressure." ........ Another idea from the campaign: Host several private events -- at supporters' apartments all located in a single Manhattan high-rise -- in one night, so Mrs. Clinton can appear simply by riding the elevator. ...... Williams began putting in place new processes to make decisions more quickly. Clinton Reshuffles Online TeamWashington Post
Obama a Hit in Japanese Town The Associated Press this port town on Japan's snowy west coast ...... Obama the town is nuts about Obama the man..... The mayor, Toshio Murakami, sent Obama a letter a year ago with a gift of lacquerware chopsticks, a DVD introducing the city, and a guidebook, but no one knows if the package arrived because they never received a response. ..... The 30-member support group plans to put on headbands and T-shirts with portraits of Obama to watch the results on television together, said Fujiwara. They plan to sell Obama sweets and chopsticks — once they get clearance from the candidate.
Rudy had a strategy. He was going to ignore the early states, and then he was going to win big in Florida, and then who could possibly stop Rudy?
We all know how that played out.
Now Hillary has a strategy. It is called the calendar has only 11 months to it. She is going to ignore the states this month.
Polls show her leading in OH, TX, PA. But then she was doing 10-50 or so in California and similary in New York for most of 2007. The end tally had Obama losing CA only by 10 points.
How can you lose 10 states in a row and still carry March 4? Beats me. Not gonna happen.
The superdelegates, if they are in the business of democracy, are just going to do the will of the people and get behind the candidate who won the most votes, the most states, and the most regular delegates. They can't go against that democratic current.
Sexist Bill
A few days back Bill Clinton went on record saying if Hillary is president he will "talk her through everything." Granted this guy is super gifted politically, but that is sexist talk. There are all these women all across America, and especially in California, who are salivating at the prospect of a first woman president, and Bill Clinton is saying he will do her job on her behalf. Women, take notice, this man is out to steal.
All States Count
At some level I am glad this has been such a drawn out process. That is the democratic way. This year most states will have had a say. And that will make us strong for the fall contest.
Michigan, Florida, Nevada
The white media routinely says the Clintons won Michigan, Florida and Nevada. Barack won Nevada. This is a contest for delegates, and Barack won more delegates in Nevada. And there were no contests in Michigan and Florida.
The white media has made a leap from calling Barack Osama last spring. This spring they are giving victories to his opponent that she can not claim.
Looks like we only carried Cornell, Ithaca. Otherwise Hillary carried the rest of the state. Fair enough. We did better in Illinois. I was thinking we might have done well in parts of the city.
I don't begrudge Hillary her home state success.
In The News
McCain and Obama Turn Fire on Each Other New York Times ANALYSIS-Seeds of class war sprout in Kenya's crisis Reuters Surging Obama whacks Clinton, McCain on economyAFP Clinton intensifies her attacks on new front-runner Obama Los Angeles Times A day after she lost her status as front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination ...... eight consecutive wins over Clinton ..... next Tuesday's contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii. ..... Texas, which holds its primary on March 4, along with Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. ..... "It's a Washington where politicians like John McCain and Hillary Clinton voted for a war in Iraq that should've never been authorized and never been waged -- a war that is costing us thousands of precious lives and billions of dollars a week" that could be used on infrastructure, job training and healthcare. ....... "After March 4th, over 3,000 delegates will be committed, and we project that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be virtually tied with 611 delegates still to be chosen in Pennsylvania and other remaining states," Penn said. Clinton works to make stands against Obama in Texas, OhioCNN Obama leading Clinton 45-41 ..... Virginia, Obama earned 64 percent of the vote compared with 35 percent for Clinton .... Maryland, the Illinois Democrat won 60 percent to 37 percent ..... District of Columbia, he won 75 percent to 24 percent ........ Obama for the first time has a lead over Clinton in the delegate count -- 1,253 to 1,211 ...... He did well with Democrats across race and gender lines Tuesday night, and seems to be eating away at Clinton's backbone of support: women. Clinton gropes for swift game-changer Inquirer.net has lost her once-gaping national poll leads, and seems at a significant financial disadvantage. ...... Wisconsin, which holds its primary Tuesday, had Obama up 11 points, suggesting, that, along with his former home state of Hawaii, he could roll off a 10-0 streak before March 4. ...... lead the total of pledged delegates by 136. ..... "The only way she could do it is by winning the rest of the contests by 25 to 30 points. We see not a single contest on the calendar left where we would expect her to win those kinds of margins." ...... The former first lady currently leads that block 242 to 156 ..... sparking comparisons with Republican Rudolph Giuliani's disastrous strategy. ..... whether the double-digit Clinton advantage in Ohio and Texas, and another potential firewall in Pennsylvania on April 22, might simply rupture under Obama's surge. Clinton struggles to convince party she's still in itGuardian Unlimited David Wilhelm, who managed her husband's 1992 campaign for the White House endorsed her opponent. ..... as Obama began to peel away sections of Clinton's supporting coalition among working-class households, women, Catholics and older voters, to win primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC by overwhelming margins ...... "Winning Democratic primaries is not a qualification for who can win the general election," he told a conference call with reporters. ..... Clinton's hopes of turning the contest around with big wins in the mega states of Texas and Ohio on March 4 might not work ..... Obama has embraced the role of Democratic frontrunner as the contest moves towards a decisive phase. ..... He won Virginia, 64% to 35%, Maryland 60% to 36%, and Washington DC by 75% to 24%. That now gives Obama 1,224 delegates against 1,198 for Clinton .... he made significant inroads into her core areas of support: working-class households, women, Catholics and older voters. Clinton Scrambles to Contest Wisconsin The Associated Press Clinton, Obama press ahead USA Today Obama Camp Claims Potomac Sweep Is Turning Point of CampaignFOXNews Tuesday night’s Potomac Primary was Gettysburg. ...... it is now “next to impossible” for Clinton to close Obama’s lead in pledged delegates. ...... nearly 500 delegates at stake in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania ....... she’ll be giving a concession speech after March 4. .... Obama eating into Clinton’s traditionally loyal bases of women, senior, Hispanic and white voters. ...... Obama, already claiming that he is the candidate of a “new American majority” ...... create 5 million so-called “green collar” jobs Open Caucus: Obama’s Winning StreakNew York Times Exclusive Interview: Obama Reaches Out to Critics and Republicans U.S. News & World Report Clinton strategists admit she needs to win Ohio and Texas on March 4 to remain in contention Obama overtakes Clinton in delegate tallyXinhua Her deputy campaign manager Mike Henry announced his departure Tuesday, a day after Maggie Williams replaced Patti Solis Doyle as her campaign manager. Henry was the campaign's main field architect and was best known for penning a memo last spring urging Clinton not to compete in Iowa, the first state to hold nomination contest. If Hillary Loses, Do Women Lose?U.S. News & World Report It's Obama's to lose now. The race is as good as over. The Obama Phenom is gaining velocity and surge. ....... Young women have rushed to latch on to Obama's comet coattails. A friend of mine who's fundraising mightily for him says "Obama is a woman" because he's more pro-choice than Clinton. After all, on that most stereotypical of women's issues, She loses progressives as she attempts to navigate the nonexistent common ground on this most divisive of issues. Obama, on the other hand, talks about Clinton refers to the "tragedy of abortion."the tragedy of unwanted pregnancies. In what seems to be the sunset of the era of the religious right, that's quite the courageous stand to take. ...... "I want a woman in the White House, but she's the wrong woman." ...... The nominee will either be a woman with double-X chromosomes or one with XY chromosomes who votes more like a woman than most with XX. Clinton Scrambles to Contest Wisconsin The Associated Press
They are for real. But then you are not exactly trying to get along with everybody. You are going to get close to a select few, by definition.
And then there is 2.0 group dynamics to do with a startup. The workspace is fundamentally altered. And so offline socializing is guided by chemistry as it should.
Digital Democrat
Don't sit on any committee. Don't take any official title. Show up for events. Capture some on camera. Get to know people. Help boost morale. But primarily just look at the big picture for the overall campaign.
The word blogger does not describe me. The term digital democrat does. You still have to know what you are talking about. But a blog can travel across space and time. You get transported. It is like you get to sit on many committees at once.
Ultimately it is not about the digital tools. It is about the candidate. It is about the message. It is about the campaign.
I am here just to experience the event attitude I have had with the political organizations in the city. Finally in Obama 08 I found the operation I had been looking for. My specialty is presidential level politics.
The idea has been to suggest grand strategy.
But even Obama 08 has been a vehicle to hone further the progressive agenda, the progressive message.
Three Very Different Worlds
Nepal.
Obama 2008.
Tech startup.
The group dynamics involved with each is so different. Can get your head spinning as you move from one to the next. But you are who you are. If someone can relate to only a small part of you, that is a limited relationship.
Caputo
It amazes me that now when I am no longer tense about Obama 08 like I was until February 5, Caputo has taken some of that place. And this worries me. Is this obsession unhealthy?
Maybe she is like me, she will never run for anything, but will always be just so obsessed by politics, friendship prized by top office holders. Of all the people I got to know making the rounds in the city since I moved in, she stands out. She is an extraordinary political talent.
She got offended I googled her up once. Whereas in the Silicon Valley, that is the culture. You google people up.
If nothing else, I'd love to have her on my corporate executive committee. But that can't happen this year. This year goes to my team in Mumbai.
Meeting for the first time was magic. But then the few times she has acted personal after that, she has always made it a point to make sure she is not the one who signs you into an event. Because if she does, then she acts "professional." Having never held a corporate job, I don't get it. For me it is like, of course you are not obliged, you don't owe me anything, let alone a feeling, but it is not possible for you to like me today, and not have liked me yesterday, or to not like me tomorrow. How do you feel about me? And whose responsibility is it to share that feeling?
For me that song and dance between the professional hat and the personal hat feels like an unwelcome rollercoaster ride. It is not about feelings. It is about a conversation about the external reality.
Feelings grow over time. Love grows. Hillary wrote an article as First Lady saying "we love each other more now than when we started."
At some level I have rebelled.
For her it probably is like, if this guy likes me, why did he not take the hint? And if he did not, then he is not into me, and so he should not bother.
That is where you enter the eery zone, you feel discomfort. And you seek a resolution. You are like, I want out. You never were in.
The One
If you ever liked me, if you like me today, what if I am The One? Will you still insist on the professional song and dance?
I wish we would have our first ever conversation. I think that would make all the clouds go away.
The soldiers of social segregation seek roles. That complicates things a little.
In The News
Clinton turns her attention to Texas, other key primaries Los Angeles Times Wisconsin, the scene of next Tuesday's battle. ..... Hawaii, Obama's native state, will also choose its favorite next Tuesday. .... Television cameras also caught Obama joking with Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, on the Senate floor during a national security vote. Clinton, Obama Already Targeting March 4 The Associated Press she could well have suffered 10 straight defeats by the time Democrats begin voting March 4 in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont — the biggest single day left on the Democratic nominating calendar. ...... 370 delegates are allocated March 4. .... Texas where Hispanics could supply up to half the Democratic votes. ..... El Paso, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and McAllen, all predominantly Latino cities where her husband, the former president, is so popular his portrait hangs in many Mexican restaurants. Obama-Clinton fight brewing for Texas Latinos Baltimore Sun Obama Courts Hispanics In TexasCBS News Obama to Latinos: I'm talking to youBoston Globe Fixing error gives Obama sweep of all state's countiesSeattle Times Republicans Root for Obama Yahoo! News Can Obama Keep the Momentum?TIME she has raised more than $10 million online since Super Tuesday, she still leads in most national polls and is making a big push to be competitive in Virginia ....... increasingly they are viewed as must-wins, her last chance at the nomination .... Obama would "evaporate relatively quickly once he faced the Republicans." ..... If he overwhelmingly wins the so-called Potomac Primaries, where 237 delegates are at stake, he could start to break away from Clinton, especially since he's also favored in the next two states due to vote on February 19, his native Hawaii and Wisconsin ........ Obama leads Clinton 1,004 to 925 ...... The Maryland and Virginia contests, which are open to all voters, could also have general election implications, testing Obama's appeal to Independent and Republican voters. Clinton, Obama: Why Not Both? the visionary and the technician, the candidate who could inspire the masses and the candidate who could get under the sink and fix the plumbing. ...... 62% of Democrats want Clinton to put Obama on the ticket; 51% want Obama to return the favor if he is the nominee. ........ Terry McAuliffe said on the morning of Super Tuesday that Obama has generated so much excitement, he would have to be considered for the party's vice-presidential nomination ....... An Obama adviser put it this way: "One could argue that the Senator should not even agree to discuss an offer of the vice presidency until Senator Clinton agrees to bar her husband from the West Wing for the duration of the first term. And then once she agrees to that, he should turn it down." ....... the Clintons intend to work as a team if Hillary is elected. "I'll be there, talking her through everything," Bill said in Napa Valley, Calif., last month, "like she did with me." One unaligned party wise man said, "Obama may look at the Clintons, at both of them—at that whole thing they have—and say, 'Jeez, that's just way too [messed] up to be a part of. That's just no place I want to be.'" ........ (56%) of Obama supporters favor choosing someone else. ..... there are those in Clintonland who think Obama has wronged her over the course of the campaign simply because he took her on. ....... John Kennedy tapped Lyndon Johnson in 1960, though the two men were like oil and water. Ronald Reagan named George H.W. Bush in 1980, though they never became very close. Walter Mondale gave a man he resented, Gary Hart, a good look in 1984, before choosing Geraldine Ferraro. And John Kerry recruited his former rival John Edwards in 2004, though the hard feelings on both sides never went away. Whoever wins these primaries may have no choice but to offer it to the also-ran. Obama's Extraordinary Wave Fails to Sink Extraordinary FoeWall Street Journal A few Democratic strategists, and some Republicans, think he is almost there now. ..... "I think he's just about put it away," said Joe Trippi .... "He doesn't have it yet. But all the momentum, all the victories are on his side." Sen. Clinton, he added, has "got to do something, and replacing Patti isn't enough." ...... "The Obama wave is unlike anything I have seen during my career. It would have totally swamped any traditional candidate" ...... "Apparently they have an 11-month calendar over there that's missing the month of February," Obama strategist David Axelrod ...... "If they lose Texas, it's bad," Mr. Trippi said. ...... the two would continue battling for delegates "on through the spring and likely to Denver."
Obama to Republicans: “Let ‘em bring it on.” FOXNews he is sounding like a more confident candidate. ..... he has begun to set his sights less on Hillary Clinton while focusing more on John McCain.
Obama Looks To Ride Wave Of Momentum CBS News, USA talk that the New York senator's campaign bid was falling on tough times ...... Obama has 1,139 delegates while Clinton has 1,132. .... her campaign predicted that while Obama may take the spoils in February, March would be her month.
Odds on Obama win rise sharply Financial Times, UK both Intrade and the Iowa Electronic Market - the two most closely watched political futures sites - give Mr Obama overwhelming odds of taking the nomination. ...... IEM gives him a 69 per cent chance against just 28 per cent for Mrs Clinton. ..... "If there was one piece of information I would look at for an election it would be Intrade rather than the opinion polls," said Jason Furman, an economist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Obama surge stuns Democrats Scotsman super delegates reconsider pledges as polls predict newcomer most likely to beat McCain ..... This weekend she became the first so-called super delegate of the Democratic Party to swap sides, announcing that she had switched from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. ....... Obama is winning in the ballot box, but Mrs Clinton has a nearly two-to-one superiority in super delegates ..... "The super delegates were supposed to represent the institutional interest of the larger party, as opposed to the crazies in the street" ...... 213 super delegates are for Mrs Clinton and 139 for Mr Obama. ..... Obama has won more states, has more regular delegates and 200,000 more voters ..... Obama has now warned super delegates to consider carefully how to vote. "My strong belief is that if we end up with the most states and the most pledged (regular] delegates from the most voters in the country, that it would be problematic for the political insiders to overturn the judgment of the voters" ........ Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Convention, last week urged both Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama to come to an "arrangement" before the convention to decide who will be nominated. .... "If 795 of my colleagues decide this election, I will quit the Democratic Party," said Donna Brazile, one super delegate. ..... more supers will follow Ms Samuels in switching sides. ...... "Super delegates want to win," Mr Noble said. "Virtually every poll shows Obama six, seven, eight points ahead of McCain. There is a pretty powerful argument that Mrs Clinton is on the wrong side of history, and these politicians (the super delegates] understand that."
I had an email from Planned Parenthood saying the event Let's Talk About Sex was full. So I was feeling a little stranded. The website did say the event was full but I had sent a RSVP over email anyways.
Just then I got a Facebook email from Arthur. Mark Penn was doing a book event at the Strand in the evening, and we were going to show up and protest. Ended up the protest program did not happen. But I wanted to see this guy Penn in person, size him up.
Strand is the legendary bookstore near Union Square. The lady who introduced Penn said her grandfather had founded the store, and her husband was an Oregon Senator, "and my father is there in the back." Family business.
I sat in the front row next to this woman who said she had known Penn for 20 years. I asked her if she voted for Hillary. She said yes. She had been a news producer with ABC News.
What did I see? He came across as someone very academic. But he has been a fixation in the Clinton camp since the Clintons went national. That asks for respect. He is one of those guys that crunch numbers, not cereals for breakfast. The flip side is when you get hit by something like a paradigm shift, which is what Obama 2008 is, you don't know what to do.
The book is an impressive one. Does Hillary know he is out selling his book instead of doing work for her?
Mark Penn Microtrends Marc Ambinder (August 20, 2007) - Political Book Watch: Mark ...His are an attempt to explain why people often make choices that are inexplicable to the naked eye. ....... a huge number of adult women play sports .... 57% of journalists are women. The professions of public relations and the law are trending toward the same lopsidedness. ..... In '04, Penn estimates that nearly 5M ex-cons were "disenfranchised." .... The surplus of single women "are left out of the institution of marriage." They are also more economically engaged than single men: single women bought twice as many new homes than single men in 2005. .... Within the past ten years, the number of women who sought younger male boyfriends has quintupled. ...... As of 2006, Nearly 60% of Americans have been involved in an office romance. 3.5 million Americans are in relationships where one partner lives in a different city than the other. More than 3 million marriages are interracial. ...... The proportion of new dads over 40 years of age "is skyrocketing." Amazon.com: Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big ... Mark Penn's Microtrends Interview
Clinton's PowerPointer - washingtonpost.comOne of the party's most prominent pollsters ..... While not her campaign manager in name, Penn controls the main elements of her campaign ..... If Clinton seems cautious, it may be because Penn has made caution a science ..... a wealthy chief executive who heads a giant public relations firm, where he personally hones Microsoft's image in Washington .... "Mark brings a certain certainty about his point of view that can feel like an anchor in stormy seas" ..... In their $5 million Georgetown mansion, Penn and his wife, Nancy Jacobson ..... Jewish and pro-Israel, like Penn ..... Israel. In 1981, he and business partner Doug Schoen helped reelect Menachem Begin, one of the most right-wing prime ministers in the country's history ...... Penn started his polling business with Schoen with the 1977 New York mayoral candidacy of Edward I. Koch, and he got to the White House through another New York pollster, Dick Morris ...... Penn likes to swim in as much hard information as possible ..... his business has exploded over the decades. ...... Penn and Schoen adapting corporate models to the political sphere and vice versa. ..... relies on a team of about 20 employees to do most of the day-to-day work Mark Penn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia TPM Cafe | Talking Points Memo | The Real Case Against Mark Penn
Man Friday
So on Friday I took the number one guy on my corporate team out to an Indian buffet lunch in Little India not far from the Obama 2008 victory party on Super Duper Tuesday, and ends up Adam's first place to live in the city was this high rise across the street from Tonic, where the Obama party was. There was an icecream place on the ground floor of the building. We went for it after lunch.
My first weekend in NYC was in 1999 when I was with a dot com in Philly for summer: I had helped found it. I had come over to the place of two high school classmate bankers who lived in a high rise exactly like this one. I shared that story with Adam.
"This might be the very building," I said.
Adam said he was flying off to vacation on Sunday. His girlfriend in New Haven will take his car. He said he had no idea where he was going.
"Now you are sounding like a startup guy," I said.
For the next six months, he will travel much - he might end up in China, Romania - and he will log into the virtual office. It is going to be cloud group dynamics the way it supposed to be.
Lunch was yet another brainstorming session. This was the first time I bought him lunch. He has bought me meals many times at his place on the 19th and 1st.
We are about to hire some IIT Mumbai people. Mumbai is a sister city to NYC.
Adam is the reason round one money got raised. And I am the reason he is going to drop out of Stanford Business. He applied for fall. Dropping out will read great in the bio pieces on him in the papers.
Some woman at the Zipper Factory (Planned Parenthood: A Different Kind Of Event) told me the main Hillary party on February 5 was at "Tonic West." It was a DL21C event near Times Square. I was puzzled.
That's interesting. The Obama party was at Tonic East, and the Hillary party was at Tonic West. I did not even know there was a Tonic West.
That did not just happen. Somebody made it happen that way. Who? (Tonic: What A Party) To me it reads like Elizabeth Caputo's political poetry.
A little bit of information like this puts me back to square one. The whole issue feels so unresolved.
Morgan Stanley raised more money for Hillary than any other bank in this city. CEO Mack has been an enthusiast, I guess. By the way, my man Friday Adam wrote directly to Mack to create his 2.0 job with Stanley that he has now duly quit.
And with the big hits banking has taken the past six months or so, it is a good idea to stay squarely on the boss' good side. That is totally understandable.
Caputo spent the major chunk of her time at the Parenthood event with some Hispanic looking dude. She came alone. At one point I thought she did the bag thing to him. So no interest, just a statement.
It all feels unresolved.
My feeling was, okay, so you are not uncomfortable that I am at the same event. That is different from getting thrown out of your last two events. But that is still not concrete.
This is what I mean when I say, you don't get to have it two different ways. You can't be this white woman who is out to make me look bad. And be someone who likes me at the same time. That puts me into socially unsafe situations.
Granted this event was after February 5, so the political tension was nonexistent.
But still it gets very confusing for me. My thing is simple. Either you don't like me and possibly feel uncomfortable in my presence, in that case I am on schedule to staying away. Or if you like me, tell me you like me, and let's hook up.
I sent out a RSVP for this.
Tuesday, February 12
8:00 pm
Women's Issues Committee Meeting: Monthly Issues Chat RSVP for Location and More Information
I know it's cold, I know you're tired, but we need to unite for this last stand TONIGHT at 6:30pm!
Mark Penn, Hillary's chief strategist, pollster, and all around trouble maker will be doing a reading of his new book, "Microtrends" at Strand Bookstore on 12th and Broadway (two blocks from Union Square).
Let's show Penn how strong Obama NYC is!
Bring signs and energy, let's rally together and get fired up for tomorrow's sweep!
All the best,
Arthur Leopold & Team Obama
Tuesday, February 12: Potomac Primary Watch At Irish Rogue
Event Name: D.C/Maryland/Virginia Primary Watch Party Time: Tuesday, February 12 at 8:00 PM - 1 hour Host: Nikos Taneris Location: Irish Rogue (New York, NY ) 356 West 44th St. Near corner of 9th Ave New York, NY 10036
Monday, February 11
I was kind of hoping to show up for this Planned Parenthood event. But I guess it is not happening. Back to Obama 2008.
Let's Talk About Sex Monday, February 11 6 PM 26 Bleeker St
Paramendra Bhagatto Planned
show detailsFeb 8 (3 days ago)
Hi. This is a RSVP.
I just went to your event for the first time and greatly liked it. It was a night out with women in politics. There I was given a flyer for this second event. And I am emailing my RSVP.
Thanks.
Lee, Melissato me
show details12:01 PM (3 hours ago)
Paramendra,
I'm sorry but our event tonight has already reached capacity and we are no longer accepting RSVPs. We'll be in touch about future events. My apologies for the inconvenience.
Feb 21, Thu 6-8 PM Activist Council Planned Parenthood 26 Bleecker St. New York, NY 10012
This event is also already full.
In The News
Analysis: Obama has advantage in weeks ahead CNN The prospect of a brokered convention is no longer dismissed as a far-fetched scenario.... money continues to pour into his campaign coffers with surprising ease Obama Basks in Crowds, Momentum The Associated Press the campaign announced Monday it is starting television advertising throughout Texas and Ohio, airing an ad that features Obama discussing the death of his mother at age 53 from cancer and the cost of health care ...... Typically it costs $1 million per week in Texas to wage a statewide political advertising campaign that saturates the approximately two-dozen TV markets. ..... Clinton quietly visited Edwards last Thursday in North Carolin
Barack by now has totally erased Clinton's national lead. But even before he did he managed to bring Clinton down to 40-50 in CA. Considering where he started in CA, that was huge. I am thinking he carried New York City.
Clinton 08 is counting on a strong showing in the three big March 4 states. Right now they are looking good, but they are not factoring in the fact that the rest of February looks great for Barack. His national lead is going to solidify. It is going to grow.
Since money is not a problem, it is important to do some extensive work in these three big states. Establish more offices, build organization. Run ads. Reach out to volunteers in states that have already voted and get them to do some major phone banking for these three states.
Clinton 08 counting on these three states is like Rudy counting on Florida. Rudy figured the January states don't matter. Clinton 08 thinks the February states do not matter.
Being aggressive in the South Carolina debate was a big reason why Barack swept that state. He might need to repeat that during the Texas debate. (Become Aggressive, Or Become Adlai Stevenson) Reagan also had a "I paid for this microphone" moment in 1980, was it?
Iraq continues to be his big selling point of differentiation.
That is when he has to do it. You can do it, champ.
In The News
An Obama Memo: Sweep Atlantic Online Obama’s current lead over Clinton: 84 pledged delegates (a total that increased 57 this weekend) ..... Pledged delegates: Obama – 1030; Clinton – 946 ....... States won: Obama – 20; Clinton – 11 ...... Caucuses won: Obama 11; Clinton – 2 ....... Obama won an upset victory in Maine, a state where internal and external polls had Clinton leading in the days leading up to the caucuses. ...... He won a Red State, Purple State, and Blue States this weekend – showing he has broad national appeal and can win in every corner of this country. ...... he’s won a larger share of the popular vote ..... he is the candidate best suited to win Independents, play well in Red States, and beat John McCain in November .... Obama won’t just win an election, he’ll win a new majority for change, so we can finally solve the problems we’ve been talking about for decades.
