Loebsack Endorses Obama
ArchPundit
Not too surprising. He backed Paul Simon in ’88, Harkin, Bradley, and then Dean. Now Obama I’m hoping he’s not a curse, however.
Obama
Clinton Hits Stage Three
Of Tucker McElroy’s 7 Stages of Barack.
3. Holy shit, in his book he talks about doing blow, this could hurt him big time.
Worse, it’s a lame ass passive aggressive attempt:
In an interview, Shaheen said, he remains perplexed about why, at this fraught point in history, voters and the media are not giving more attention to experienced Democratic candidates such as Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden and are instead elevating into the first tier alongside Clinton a pair of candidates with less experience in Washington, Barack Obama and John Edwards. Shaheen also expressed his personal misgivings about whether Obama or Edwards would be electable if they became the party’s nominee.
Among his concerns about Obama as the nominee, he said in an interview here today, is that his background is so relatively unknown and that the Republicans would do their best to unearth negative aspects of it, or concoct mistruths about it. Shaheen, a lawyer and influential state power broker, mentioned as an example Obama’s use of cocaine and marijuana as a young man, which Obama has been open about in his memoir and on the trail.
“The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight … and one of the things they’re certainly going to jump on is his drug use,” said Shaheen, the husband of former N.H. governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is planning to run for the Senate next year. Billy Shaheen contrasted Obama’s openness about his past drug use — which Obama mentioned again at a recent campaign appearance in New Hampshire — with the approach taken by George W. Bush in 1999 and 2000, when he ruled out questions about his behavior when he was “young and irresponsible.”
Shaheen said Obama’s candor on the subject would “open the door” to further questions. “It’ll be, ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'” Shaheen said. “There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It’s hard to overcome.”
There is a solution to the problem. Answer honestly. I know, shocking idea.
Better Liars Please
The Oprah runs a virulently non-union shop meme is shot down by Bob Johnson at Kos, but really, it wasn’t hard to disprove:
‘Oprah & Friends’ and AFTRA Enter into New Contract
CHICAGO (June 27, 2007) — Members of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, who are heard as program hosts and announcers on the ‘Oprah & Friends’ Program on XM Satellite Radio Channel 156, have entered into their first collective bargaining agreement with Oprah & Friends Inc., which produces content for that program.
“This ground-breaking agreement is the first contract that provides union salaries, benefits, and working conditions for talent on a program only carried by satellite radio,” said Eileen Willenborg, AFTRA Chicago Local Executive Director, who worked with “Oprah & Friends” to reach an agreement. “I commend the producers at ‘Oprah & Friends’ for working together with AFTRA members to create a sensible and responsible agreement.”
AFTRA National Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth concurred with Willenborg, saying “The work of AFTRA members in Chicago to bring union standards to employment opportunities in satellite radio can serve as a model for all broadcasters working in this new service.”
The new agreement addresses compensation for program hosts and guests, including coverage for those who qualify for benefits from the AFTRA Health and Retirement Funds. Additional provisions in the first contract include union security, grievance and arbitration, dues check-off, non-discrimination, late penalties, and the right to participate in pre-tax savings plans.
Retroactive from January 1, 2007, the agreement expires August 31, 2009. There are currently nine program hosts and one announcer covered by the AFTRA agreement.
Harpo Radio Inc. produces content for the Oprah & Friends channel (156) on XM Satellite Radio, which debuted on September 25, 2006. “Oprah & Friends” features a broad range of original daily and weekly programming on a variety of topics including self improvement, nutrition, fitness, health, home, finance and current events hosted by popular personalities from The Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah Magazine, including Dr. Maya Angelou, Dr. Robin Smith, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Bob Greene, Nate Berkus, Jean Chatzky, and Gayle King. Plus, Oprah takes XM listeners’ calls on her weekly Talk to Me program. The Oprah & Friends channel is broadcast from a state-of-the-art XM studio in Chicago.
The Point Isn’t that Policy Details Are Bad
Dana Milbank has a column being criticized in several places for suggesting that Hillary Clinton comes off as too smart.
“We have one form of learning, which is pretty much an auditory form of learning supplemented by some visual aids,” she announced. “We are leaving out . . . kinesthetic and esthetic learners.”
Further, she reported that “60 percent of our in-age cohort will not graduate from college” and that “a child drops out of school in America every 29 seconds.”
She blamed Bush education policy, which “homogenizes the classes,” and pledged to help “individual districts and states achieve a level of facility and teacher preparedness and adequacy.”
Let’s hear it for facility preparedness and adequacy! Put your hands together for kinesthetic learning and the de-homogenization of the classroom! Save the in-age cohort!
The audience sat quietly through this, applauding in the appropriate places. They gave Clinton a seated ovation when she finished, rising only to put on their coats.
For a quarter-century now, Democrats have had a habit of selecting brainy, establishment presidential nominees who are frequently pedantic but rarely passionate. Al Gore and John Kerry were bookish, and Michael Dukakis didn’t even show emotion when asked about the hypothetical rape and murder of his wife.
The lone exception was Hillary Clinton’s husband — and it’s no coincidence that he has been the only successful Democratic presidential candidate in three decades. But Hillary lacks Bill’s presence on the stump; hers is a message of leadership by laundry list.
“I also created the Healthy, High-Performance School programs,” she told the teachers. And, “We worked hard to create a program for 100,000 federally funded teachers.” And, “I proposed . . . the National Teacher Corps.” And, “I’ve joined up with several of my colleagues to propose renovating and rebuilding crumbling schools.”
The initial response I’ve seen is that this is a horrible attack on her and that only the empty press would argue that knowing details is a bad thing.
The problem is that’s not what he said His examples make the point. Who of the last 4 Democratic Presidential candidates could talk policy longer than any of the rest? Bill Clinton. Yet he could talk in public about policy in a way that discusses values more than policy details.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is deals in details and it’s not effective. People are motivated not by policy discussions, but by values. That’s how George Bush won twice even though his policy prescriptions were in the minority. He convinced people they share his values.
If Democrats want to go down this path again, we can have the same fights we’ve been fighting since 1988.
Same as Michael Dukakis
Sames as Al Gore
Same as John Kerry
Or there are at least two candidates who actually talk to people about how the policies relate to their values and actually reach them instead of giving them a 10 point plan. And both of those candidates can give you the 10 point plan other times. The fetishization of wonkishness is the biggest weakness Democrats have. Not because it’s bad to care about policy, but because elections are largely about values and if you aren’t fighting primarily about values then you aren’t engaging in the right fight.
Someone Else’s Good Predictions from Comments a While Ago
We’ve seen the stages before because we’re from here, but it’s fun to watch the national press go through it all over again.
1. Holy shit, you’ve got to hear this guy speak.
2. Holy shit, this guy was the first African American editor of the Harvard Law Review. Everyone we talk to says he’s really smart.
3. Holy shit, in his book he talks about doing blow, this could hurt him big time.
4. Holy shit, the right is going bonkers (He’s not really black because he wasn’t decendant from slaves – Keyes, His middle name is Hussein – tv right, Holy shit he’s in our church – religious political right, He’s a false messiah and the anti-Christ – nutjob right)
5. Holy shit, everywhere you look people are wild about Barack Obama. Don’t they know he did blow and HIS MIDDLE NAME IS HUSSEIN?
6. Holy shit, he won huge.
7. Holy shit, I can’t believe I lost like that. But at the end of the day I can’t really be too upset about it because I like the guy. (Dan Hynes 2004, Hillary Clinton 2008)Not McCain though, we all know how he gets when Barack steals his thunder. (see Ethics, WATB)
Apparently Me Tooting his Horn Wasn’t Enough
errr…that sounds much different than I meant,
Who Else Voted Present?
The 1997 Bill:
Those voting present were: Sens. Miguel del Valle, D-Chicago; Jesus Garcia, D-Chicago; Robert Molaro, D-Chicago; Barack Obama, D-Chicago and Margaret Smith, D-Chicago.
The 2001 Bill:
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 6, 2001, Friday, BC cycle
BYLINE: By The Associated Press
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 269 words
The Illinois Senate voted 39-7 Friday for SB562, a measure requiring parental notification before minors obtain abortions. Voting “yes” were 30 Republicans and 9 Democrats. Voting “no” were 7 Democrats. Voting “present” were 1 Republican and 10 Democrats.REPUBLICANS VOTING YES
Bomke (Springfield); Burzynski (Sycamore); Cronin (Elmhurst); Dillard (Hinsdale); Donahue (Quincy); Dudycz (Chicago); Geo-Karis (Zion); Hawkinson (Galesburg); Wendell Jones (Palatine); Karpiel (Carol Stream); Klemm (Crystal Lake); Lauzen (Aurora); Luechtefeld (Okawville); Robert Madigan (Lincoln); Mahar (Orland Park); Noland (Blue Mound); O’Malley (Palos Park); Parker (Northbrook); Peterson (Long Grove); Petka (Plainfield); Philip (Wood Dale); Radogno (LaGrange); Rauschenberger (Elgin); Roskam (Glen Ellyn); Sieben (Geneseo); Sullivan (Park Ridge); Syverson (Rockford); Thomas Walsh (LaGrange Park); Watson (Greenville); Weaver (Urbana)
DEMOCRATS VOTING YES
Clayborne (East St. Louis); DeLeo (Chicago); Demuzio (Carlinville); Munoz (Chicago); O’Daniel (Mount Vernon); Shadid (Edwards); Viverito (Burbank); Lawrence Walsh (Elwood); Woolard (Carterville)
DEMOCRATS VOTING NO
Cullerton (Chicago); Halvorson (Crete); Lightford (Chicago); Ronen (Chicago); Shaw (Chicago); Silverstein (Chicago); Trotter (Chicago)
REPUBLICANS VOTING PRESENT
Myers (Danville)
DEMOCRATS VOTING PRESENT
Bowles (Edwardsville); del Valle (Chicago); Hendon (Chicago); Jacobs (East Moline); Emil Jones (Chicago); Link (Highwood); Lisa Madigan (Chicago); Molaro (Chicago); Obama (Chicago); Welch (Peru)
Do people really want to start down the road of attacking Madigan and Jones too?
Let’s Add to the Hypocrisy
Who else voted Present?
Lisa Madigan on at least one vote:
ENDORSED BY IL NOW PAC
Statewide
Rod Blagojevich D-Governor
Alexi Giannoulias D-Treasurer
Dan Hynes D-State Comptroller
Lisa Madigan – Attorney General
He’s So Unprincipled
Hysterical once I realized who was on the Illinois side of the attack….the Hull campaign staff and Bonnie Grabenhofer the President of Illinois NOW. You know, the Bonnie Grabenhofer of Illinois NOW who came to the defense of Blair Hull after allegations of spousal abuse with this:
IL NOW pres. Bonnie Grabenhofer “said the six-year-old
allegations are troubling, but there are still reasons to
support Hull.” Grabenhofer “said voters need to balance those
private allegations with Hull’s public commitment to women’s
issues” (Chicago Sun-Times, 2/28). Grabenhofer: “The whole
thing raises some troubling questions. Just that it happened.
But I don’t know if this one incident that happened a number of
years ago undoes what he has done.” Grabenhofer “cited Hull’s
work supporting abortion rights groups financially and his
support of his daughter’s Supreme Court battle to preserve Title
IX” (Krol, Arlington Heights Daily Herald, 2/29).
Now, my primary criticism of Hull for that fiasco was not getting it out early, but at the same time there was something absurd in Illinois NOW’s defense of the incident.
Bridget is Falling Down on the Job
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