Don't Abandon California

Hillary abandoned South Carolina and paid for it heavily. Barack should not abandon California. That is too big a prize to let go.

Women in California are giving Hillary her lead. I think many of them will change their minds after South Carolina and the Kennedy endorsements sink in. But my primary weapon against Hillary would be Hillary herself. Spread rumors that you are looking to make Edwards your Attorney General. As in, you are not thinking of him as running mate. The women of California can have Hillary on the ticket. If they want some symbolism, they can sure have it. I mean, I like Hillary.

A Vote For Barack Is Not A Vote Against Hillary

I can so totally see why for the women of California Hillary is attractive. If you are a working woman, intelligent, well educated, you face gender as an issue on a daily basis. So if you are driven by self-interest, you will let gender be your deciding factor.

But if you think about the country and the fresh leadership it sorely needs, or that race is a bigger hurdle than gender in America, or if you think about the world and especially Africa and what a President Obama could mean to that continent, you are going to have to go for Barack, even if you might be a California woman.

15 Point Lead

Hillary's 15 point lead in California is from before the political earthquake in South Carolina, from before the high voltage endorsements by the JFK daughter Caroline and the JFK youngest brother Ted Kennedy.

The Kennedy Endorsements

This is how it worked. Caroline's children had a friend who worked for the Obama campaign, and he lighted the fire. The children got Caroline's ear. And when Caroline endorsed, Ted Kennedy was compelled to.

Never underestimate the power of an Obama campaign worker.

Obama-Edwards

If it boils down to that, it might as well be an Obama-Edwards change ticket, if all the Edwards delegates throw their lot behind Obama to give him the nomination he will otherwise not have. Edwards has also not taken lobbyist money. He has exhibited strong labor support. He will help greatly in the South especially when there might be no Southerner on the Republican ticket.

McCain-Romney

Is that what we are looking at?

In The News

McCain, Clinton have big leads in California Los Angeles Times the battles remain hugely volatile ...... Clinton held onto a 49% to 32% lead ...... Democratic women continued to power her effort, siding with Clinton by nearly a 2-1 margin. ..... The poll was conducted largely before Obama's victory Saturday in South Carolina and today's high-profile endorsements of him by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and his niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg...... 3 in 10 likely voters said they could change their minds .... increasing her margin of support among Democratic women from 15% to 26%.
Why the Kennedys Went for Obama TIME For a moment, Obama looked overwhelmed when he saw all of the Kennedys waiting for him. Then he gathered Caroline in a big hug. "Thank you so much," he whispered. "I'm so excited." ..... Caroline and I are very close, and she started this process ...... She took her children to listen to all of the candidates ...... we had a long lunch in the middle of the summer. They were talking about it at that time; they were talking about Barack Obama. ....... This is about who you're for, not who you're against. ..... It was actually my kids talking about it last Christmas vacation. A friend of theirs, who is here today, is working for Senator Obama. ........ I don't think there's anybody who understands the possibilities of government more than Ted Kennedy. ..... his voice has all the power of 30, 40 years ago. He is at the heart and soul of the Democratic Party — the belief in civil rights, the belief in opportunity for all people, in upward mobility, in caring for the least of these, a vision that extends beyond our shores. And he speaks to a vision in which we are a beacon for those who are still trapped in poverty or oppression.
Obama's Win Reshapes the Race
Obama on his way to win nomination Daily Times
Ted Kennedy's roof-raising endorsement of Barack Obama. Slate and bet the whole darn Kennedy Compound that this man is The One ...... he performed a double vivisection on the Clintons ..... Obama fights for what he believes in, "without demonizing those who hold a different view." And unlike some he could name, what Obama is selling is "not just about himself, but about all of us," Kennedy thundered. ........ the choice as he described it was between fear and hope, the past and the future, meanness and possibility. ...... urged voters not to listen to former President Clinton's naysaying, likening it to Harry Truman's suggestion that JFK was too green to be president back in the day ...... Diann Heine, a longtime aide to Hubert Humphrey, left American University's Bender Arena building crying. "I never thought I'd feel this way again," she said. "It's a miracle."
Clinton, McCain Lead in NY Poll The Associated Press Hillary Rodham Clinton, 56 percent Barack Obama, 28 percent ...... On the Democratic side, 70 percent said they had made up their minds compared to 25 percent who could still change their minds. Forty-five percent of Clinton supporters were certain to vote for her compared to 20 percent for Obama.
Dirt Is Found on the Clinton Campaign Trail in Iowa FOXNews