Edwards has not decided who to endorse yet

I'm watching CNN. Edwards will speak with both Obama and Clinton about who to endorse. I respect him because he has fought hard about lobbyists and corporations corrupting the way our gov't does business... and that may be my biggest problem with politics.

This race keeps getting more and more exciting.

Edwards out, no endorsement

From:

"Edwards out, no endorsement

Former Sen. John Edwards is expected to bow out of the Democratic presidential race today. His campaign will end at 1 p.m. in the same place it began: New Orleans, a city that Edwards used to encapsulate his message that Washington has turned a blind eye to the needy.

Edwards, with his populist focus, bested Hillary Clinton in Iowa but couldn’t keep himself afloat for the next three contests. At the same time, Edwards’ second-place Iowa finish meant that he couldn’t even win a state in which he had a top-notch ground organization and a long presence, raising questions about his ability to win in any state. But a tireless Edwards continued on to New Hampshire with a 36-hour campaigning marathon that sought to show presidential stamina.

Politico’s Mike Allen takes stock of Edwards’ woes:

Besides the media fascination with the other candidates, Edwards suffered from image problems, including owning a mansion that conflicted with his “Two Americas” message about the struggles of the underclass. He became wealthy as a trial lawyer, and his casual-Friday-style attire on the campaign trail was not enough to erase perceptions of him as something of a Southern dandy.

The Republican National Committee, and even some of his Democratic critics, constantly invoked the mantra of “house, hedge fund and haircut” to remind people of his grand tastes and lucrative business dealings.

Edwards’ exit makes tomorrow night’s debate in Los Angeles the first one-on-one between Clinton and Barack Obama. He is not expected to immediately endorse either candidate."

Candidates on the issues

I think we need this:

Two Quick-Sheets. I did your homework for you!

Thanks for this information go to:

http://rgj.com for Quicksheet 1 and

http://www.2decide.com/table.htm for Quicksheet 2

Quicksheet 1:



Quicksheet 2:

Barack Obama is not an Operations Officer - Admittedly

But what Barack Obama will say about himself is that he is a motivational speaker!

During tonights democratic debate in Nevada, the candidates were asked; "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Obama was specifically asked to comment on a comment he made about himself not being an operations officer. Obama reaffirmed this statement and noted that a president's job is not to oversee operations... it is to appoint the overseers of operations... but provide America with a vision - inspire a vision, talk about the vision, talk about the American Dream...

His idealistic chatter was so void of those tangible rocks of foundation that it failed to stay in place for very long... if at all. The "hope" his talk was inspiring was as fleeting as a message written written in the sand at the shore of a beach - gone just as soon as the next wave came crashing gently over it. The wave would be reality. The reality would be the grim look at the crumbs that remain in the plate that was called the American Pie. The reality would be the teeny size of my bank account, the astronomical cost of a new home, and the formidable cost of investing in my future - which I will need another degree for....

Obama - PLEASE - give me something to grab onto. Hope is always high when my pockets are full.

Obama continues to point out the "why" things are as bad as they are; wow he sounds dumb. Every "why" is because of a misguided "vision" a misguided "American Dream" - and the answer will be to instill a new sense of accountability, a new sense of hope a new sense of... huh?

Whatever, sounds awesome - I completely agree! And thank you, by the way, for pointing out the literary themes in the history we just created/are in the process of creating.

Now WHAT THE F*$% DO YOU PLAN TO DO ABOUT IT? THINGS!!! PLANS!!! NOT HOPES - NOT DREAMS - NOT INSTILLING THEM - TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME - WHAT IS YOUR PLAN??????????????????

Please note - his "uh, um" factor when asked specifics on these plans is extremely high.... then he draws us back to the broader shifts and themes and... whatever...

If I needed a life coach, I would get one!!

grrr

Hillary in 2008! Shit, Edwards and/or McCain too - just not Obama! He isn't even clear on the job description!!

By the way, I was very pro-Obama a year ago - before I started to listen to these guys speak. I had that anti-Hillary sentiment as well. I think the sensationalism of having a black President truly guided me when I was for Obama as president. When it comes down to it this guy just isn't qualified.... or at least the way he talks doesn't seem like someone who has a plan.... you know, the ladder to the dream... that dream we are all unifying and agreeing upon... according to Obama.

Interesting Opinions about The Exit Polls from the NH Primaries

Found here:

"She’s Back… Why Hillary Won in New Hampshire and Lost in Iowa
Posted on January 9th, 2008 in Election 2008, Hillary, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton by liberalcollegekid

Well the vote is in, and once again I got it wrong… Congratulations Hillary.
However, for those that think of the 2008 Presidential election as the Ballot Bowl, the results in New Hampshire should certainly make for an interesting run up to the next Democratic primary in South Carolina. As of this writing, Hillary leads there by 8 points.



The 2008 race is forcing Democrats to make uncomfortable decisions. In the caucus state of Iowa I think two things combined to boost Obama over Hillary that didn’t exist in New Hampshire.

First, the caucus creates a different kind of vote. That is, the caucus is a public vote, where everyone present gets to see who you are voting for. Democratic voters this year have their choice of a woman, an African American, a Latino, and a few white guys. One can easily imagine how this could become the oppression Olympics in terms of what group is most deserving of a vote based on their minority’s past experiences. In essence, voters are being asked if they would rather have the first female president or the first black president, not an easy choice. It is especially a difficult decision when everyone else around you gets to see who you are voting for. We have to ask the question, how much of Obama’s vote in Iowa came from people who wanted to be for a black candidate in front of others? While this question and others like it make me extremely uncomfortable I think there may be something to this theory. South Carolina is another primary state and Nevada is another caucus state. If the results of those two follow New Hampshire and Iowa we will certainly have to give this theory some serious consideration.

Next, the caucus rules in Iowa require that people casting their vote for candidates who receive less than 15% of the vote switch to another candidate or not vote. This means that lower tier candidates, which for the Democrats in Iowa included Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, and Mike Gravel all had to find others to vote for (except in just a few places where Biden and Richardson received more than 15% of the vote of those present). We have to ask the question of who did the best when these candidates’ voters had to switch to candidates with more votes. Kucinich was fairly outspoken in asking his voters to go for Obama as a second choice. The rest of the candidates had to choose between Edwards, Clinton and Obama. This election season both sides are talking about the need for change. Clinton, clearly, represents not change but a return to the prosperous 90’s. So, many voters likely moved to Edwards because of his emphasis on the middle class and to Obama based on their desire for change in Washington.

These two factors had no bearing in New Hampshire, though. Women turned out in record numbers, but something else existed in New Hampshire that was missing in Iowa. The New Hampshire vote was a primary, done in private. No one to try and convince voters to change their vote, no one there to see who they were voting for. This helped Hillary, more so than anyone else could have predicted. Obama came into today projected to win New Hampshire by double digits, and left 3 points behind Clinton. The exit polling didn’t show it though, early exit polls and even those later into the evening were showing Obama in the lead. However, as the votes were counted it became clear that Hillary had won.

So why were the exit polls wrong? If my theory holds true its the same thing that happened in Iowa: people want to be seen as voting for the African American. Now its on to South Carolina for the Democrats where the African American vote is around half of the Democratic electorate. Don’t think race will be a factor in this election? Think again."