WHAT IS BILL CLINTON UP TO?
When Bill Clinton tells friends that Obama is going to have to “kiss my a–” to get his support, is he just ranting? No. He’s pursuing a carefully crafted two-step he has worked out in advance with Hillary. Its the old good cop, bad cop routine. Hillary repairs her relationship with the Democratic base by falling all over herself to back Obama, appearing at rallies, dedicating herself to campaigning for him, and boosting him at every turn. She has to. She has built up so much ill-will among blacks and young people by her prolonged and nasty efforts to stop Obama that she needs now to get well. But Bill deliberately takes the opposite tack, snarling and staying away. He’s doing this, not as a fit of pique, but to hold out for more concrete rewards — money to repay Hillary’s debt. The more the cash rolls in, the more Clinton will see the light. The lighter the cash flow turns out to be, the angrier he will get. And, if in his snarling and snapping, he can enhance Hillary’s chances to be vice president, all the better.
AFTER HILLARY: CAN A WOMAN WIN?
Yes. Certainly. Absolutely. Undoubtedly. She can. In fact, Hillary, even in defeat, demonstrated the viability of a female candidate for president.
Hillary lost because she is Hillary and because she was outsmarted by Obama. She lost despite being a woman, not because of it.
In the early going, before Obama began seriously to challenge her, Hillary was winning easily in all the national polls. There was, indeed, a sense of inevitability to her impending triumph. This consensus was not illusory; it was based on solid polling data and very real advantages she had at the time in funding, name recognition, field organization, and political momentum. Hillary lost because of a myriad of factors, none of which had to do with being female:
WHY IS BUSH ENTERTAINING ABU DHABI CROWN PRINCE?
Published on FOXNews.com on June 27, 2008.
Why is the president of the United States entertaining Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Camp David when his own State Department has singled out the Sheik’s homeland, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), for its continuing violations of human rights?
Abu Dhabi is one of seven oil-rich – and anti-Israel states – in the United Arab Emirates. Using its massive sovereign wealth fund of over $875 billion, Abu Dhabi has been gobbling up American assets, buying considerable stakes in U.S. businesses like Citigroup, the Carlyle Group, Advanced Micro Devices, and Toll Brother and is now bidding on the Chrysler Building.
OBAMA’S NEW STRATEGY
Published on TheHill.com on June 24, 2008.
Have you noticed a change in Barack Obama’s campaign? Instead of avoiding controversies over values, religion and race, he seems to welcome them and wade into the debates with an increasing enthusiasm.
Characterizing how the Republicans will attack him, he predicted that they would criticize his “funny name” and add “and by the way, did you notice that he’s black?”
Obama used to go out of his way to avoid this kind of reference, but now he brings it on. Deliberately.
Why?
IS OBAMA TEFLON?
Published on DickMorris.com on June 24, 2008.
It’s been a rough two weeks for Barack Obama, but his poll numbers remain strong and unchanged. Is he a Teflon candidate?
Consider what’s happened since he clinched the Democratic nomination and Hillary “suspended” her campaign:
- Obama flip flopped on his pledge to spurn private contributions and finance his campaign publicly – as long as his opponent did likewise. McCain said he’s willing and Obama flipped and said he’s not.
ASKING THE BOMBERS TO TRY AGAIN
Published in The New York Post on June 19, 2008.
In an ABC interview on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama urged us to go back to the era of criminal-justice prosecution of terror suspects, citing the successful efforts to imprison those who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993.
It was key to his attack on the Bush administration, which he charged, has “been willing to skirt basic protections that are in our Constitution . . . It is my firm belief that we can crack down on threats against the United States, but we can do so within the constraints of our Constitution. . .
MCCAIN SCORES WITH OFFSHORE DRILLING PROPOSAL
Published on FOXNews.com on June 18, 2008.
John McCain has drawn first blood in the political debate following Barack Obama’s victory in the primaries. His call yesterday for offshore oil drilling – and Bush’s decision to press the issue in Congress – puts the Democrats in the position of advocating the wear-your-sweater policies that made Jimmy Carter unpopular.
With gas prices nearing $5, all of the previous shibboleths need to be discarded. Where once voters in swing states like Florida opposed offshore drilling, the high gas prices are prompting them to reconsider. McCain’s argument that even hurricane Katrina did not cause any oil spills from the offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico certainly will go far to allay the fears of the average voter.
OIL PRICES: ’08’S DEFINING ISSUE
Published on TheHill.com on June 17, 2008.
Gas prices are the first important issue in the 2008 elections. But both parties have been pathetic in their solutions and, one suspects, in their understanding of what is going on.
Democrats call for windfall profits taxes. Bad idea. How can you get oil companies to explore and drill if you tax away their profits? Republicans focus on a gas tax “holiday,” an 18-cent palliative to gas prices that now top $4.50.
IN MEMORIAM: TONY SCHWARTZ
For decades, the three S’s dominated media in our politics: Bob Squire, David Sawyer and Tony Schwartz. Now the last of this splendid trio has passed away. It makes us all feel a bit more mortal, a useful thing for politicians.
Tony was special. Everything I have ever learned about advertising and media either comes directly from his teachings or is anchored in his wisdom. He basically founded modern political media. A disciple of Marshall McLuhan, he translated his ideas into practical ways to influence voters and convey a message from a candidate.
HOW TO PICK A VICE PRESIDENT
Published on FOXNews.com on June 11, 2008.
Bill Clinton’s selection of Al Gore changed forever the calculus presidential candidates need to use in choosing their running mates. Previously, presidential candidates usually used their VP pick to help them to carry a pivotal state or region, as JFK did in choosing Lyndon Johnson in 1960.
But the single state theory doesn’t work anymore. Voters can tell the difference between the first and second place on the ticket and don’t let the tail wag the dog in determining their votes. After all, John Kerry couldn’t carry North Carolina even after putting Edwards on his 2004 ticket.
