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February 2008 - Posts
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Campaigns toss around lots of numbers, many of which get published without any double-checking. And with delegates we’re usually not sticklers, since everyone has their own count . But one number being floated today struck us as just plain wrong. Obama Read More...
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At Tuesday's debate, Hillary Clinton unleashed the canned complaint of the week: Well, can I just point out that in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time. And I don't mind. I—you know, I'll be happy to field them, but Read More...
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The Obama campaign comes back on Hillary's " 3 a.m. " ad with their own takeoff , "Ringing." It starts like Clinton’s, but quickly morphs: "When that call gets answered, shouldn’t the president be the one — the only one — who had judgment and courage Read More...
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Did someone from Barack Obama’s campaign call an official from the Canadian Embassy and tell them that the senator’s opposition to NAFTA is just “rhetoric,” as CTV reported ? No, according to both the campaign and the embassy. But whether or not someone Read More...
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We were pretty much on board for “Yes We Can.” Nothing wrong with a little inspirational music to sweeten the policy memos. Not so sure about this one , though. Is it just us, or are these Obama tribute videos getting creepier and creepier? (Also, way Read More...
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On a conference call chock-full of logical fallacies and non sequiturs, Howard Wolfson responds to Barack Obama's claim that Hillary's new "3 a.m." ad constitutes "fear-mongering": I think it’s an insult to voters to say that a discussion about national Read More...
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Ah, expectations. With yet another Tuesday right around the corner, the campaigns are spinning like dreidels. The Obama campaign is essentially arguing that Hillary is beaten on the board. On a conference call this morning, David Plouffe said that Clinton Read More...
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It’s well-known that Barack Obama’s success has depended largely on independent and Republican voters. The corollary to that, however, has been less thoroughly reported: Obama is losing among Democrats. Over at the Perfect World , Cal Lanier crunches Read More...
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Today, on a conference call with the campaign’s finance committee, Clinton heavyweights were celebrating an impressive fundraising month. The campaign raised $35 million over the past 28 days, which is a Clinton record. Thirty-four million of it can be Read More...
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Slate intern Alex Joseph sends in this dispatch on Ralph Nader's press conference in Washington, D.C.: Roughly two dozen reporters gathered at the National Press Club today to find out who will be Ralph Nader’s running mate in his fourth consecutive bid Read More...
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The oddly fickle (and spookily accurate ) political-futures markets have made some bizarre predictions . Anyone betting against Ron Paul or Al Gore to become president stood to make a lot of money. There was also a big Giuliani-for-VP upswing last week, Read More...
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The subject of John McCain’s place of birth—he was born on a military base in the Panama Canal Zone, where his parents were stationed in 1936—is back on the table now that he’s got the GOP nomination locked down. The “debate,” if you can call it that, Read More...
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There are two kinds of insults. The first type doesn’t let the insulter deny that he is, in fact, hurling an insult. When Lloyd Bentsen told Dan Quayle, “You're no Jack Kennedy,” that was a deliberate, nonrefundable dis. When Ann Coulter called John Edwards Read More...
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The night before Super Tuesday Hillary Clinton bought airtime on the Hallmark Channel to have "a national town hall." Emboldened by her mediocre success across the country the next day, she's bought another hour of airtime on Monday night, hours before Read More...
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A comedian has apparently infiltrated Barack Obama's Fact Check page: Former President Bill Clinton said today: There's a one-minute ad on in Texas telling you how terrible things were in the 90s. [NBC, 2/27/08 LINK ] FACT: No such ad exists. [reality, Read More...
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It’s fitting that a crazy, mucked-up Democratic primary season like this one comes down to the craziest, muckiest contest of all: Texas. The Lone Star State has never played a large role in a presidential primary—even Bill Clinton himself has said it’s Read More...
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Take a deep breath—all of the Democratic debates are over; 20 up, 20 down, and assuming there aren't any more debates going forward, that's the last time we'll see Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the same room for a while. Strangely, that’s both a Read More...
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Both candidates pull punches at the end. Brian Williams poses the question: Is there a fundamental question the other must answer to voters? Obama takes the opportunity to return Hillary’s praise from last debate—“she would be worthy as a nominee”—and Read More...
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Obama’s old stammer is coming back. When Russert brings up Obama’s promise to accept public funds during the general election, Obama denies that’s what he said. “Tim, I’m not yet the nominee. When I’m the nominee—if I’m the nominee,” I’ll sit down and Read More...
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A hawk-eyed reader observes: Are Obama and Russert wearing the same tie? If so, does it mean Russert has Obamamania? Maybe SNL was right ! Read More...
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The Iraq exchange is pretty boilerplate, with Hillary saying that Obama’s opposition to the war in 2003 wasn’t all that impressive, that he has since said he didn’t know how he would have voted on the war authorization, and that they have voted identically Read More...
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Tim Russert pulls a Tim Russert and tries to corner Hillary on NAFTA, asking if she’ll terminate the agreement in the first six months of her presidency. She wriggles around a little bit and basically says that, no, she wouldn’t pull out of it, but she Read More...
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Clinton lands a good answer on job creation. Russert mentions a promise she made in 2000 that New York would gain 200,000 jobs. The state ended up losing 30,000 jobs. Now she’s promising to create 5 million jobs across the country. How can we believe Read More...
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Clinton gets snippy at the moderators for, she claims, always asking her to answer questions first: “We should ask Barack Obama if he’s comfortable and needs another pillow.” Wowza! It's a nice play on the media-hates-Hillary narrative, although you wonder Read More...
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The first question is about intraparty tribal warfare, but we’re already talking about the nuances of health-care plans! What’s going on? The foundation of Clinton’s argument is that by not pursuing universal health care, Obama undermines a foundational Read More...
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Welcome to Cleveland. Introductory observations: Has this campaign made Brian Williams go gray? They’re all sitting around the same table. Are Russert and Obama playing footsie? A friend in the room (who has been reading way too many blogs) characterizes Read More...
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In response to a New York Times article alleging that morale is low in Hillaryland, the campaign submitted a letter to the Times signed by 503 supporters and staffers, reassuring the world that they “are working tirelessly each and every day and night, Read More...
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Mike Huckabee, who wants you to know he’s still in the race, has challenged John McCain to a debate. Here's something for them to debate. Be it resolved that: 994 (McCain's current delegate count) + 88 (Ohio) + 140 (Texas) + 20 (Rhode Island) + 17 (Vermont) Read More...
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Part three of the Clinton vs. Obama debate-a-thon airs tonight (9 p.m., MSNBC), and it’s being billed as the last, final, ultimate one-on-one showdown ever, forever … until Hillary steamrolls Obama in Ohio, and we do it all over again. But the past week Read More...
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That was fast. In a mere four hours, an insult was hurled, an apology offered, and an acceptance announced. That could well be a record for presidential campaigns. At an event in Cincinnati, talk-radio host Bill Cunningham gave a speech endorsing John Read More...
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It’s probably too late for this publication—we who brought you the Encyclopedia Baracktannica —to start condemning others for abusive permutations of Barack Obama’s name. There is one word, however, that you will never find in our Encyclopedia, no matter Read More...
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With a debate in Ohio tomorrow and a primary there a week from now, the Clinton and Obama campaigns have been struggling to distance themselves from NAFTA—and to portray the other as NAFTA’s best friend. But the fact is, both candidates have said good Read More...
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Back in December, TV Guide published a roundup of the presidential candidates’ favorite TV shows. (Clinton: The Ed Sullivan Show ; Edwards: Boston Legal , Obama: The Wire. ) Noting a few oversights, we did some digging and figured out that Mike Gravel Read More...
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On a conference call with Clinton advisers just now, a reporter asks why the campaign is using harsh words against Barack Obama, given that previous negative attacks haven’t played well with voters. Communications Director Howard Wolfson weighs in: “Every Read More...
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Over the past week, we’ve seen a bunch of Hillary Clintons. At the debate in Austin on Thursday, we saw Comtemplative Hillary , who spun an anecdote about wounded soldiers into a reflection about the big picture of this campaign. Then on Saturday, we Read More...
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In case you were growing tired of fights over NAFTA , lofty rhetoric , and debates , the Democrats have a new spat du jour for you. Today, the Drudge Report posted a big, fat headline that howled, “Clinton staffers circulate ‘dressed’ Obama.” Accompanying Read More...
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It’s been more than a year since Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announced their exploratory committees. Ever since, Democrats across the country have been dragged through 19 debates, $200 million-plus in fundraising, and 40 primaries and caucuses. After Read More...
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Cuba’s national newspaper, Granma, posts a recent column written by Fidel Castro, in which he weighs in on the current crop of presidential candidates. (See here for the original.) Most of it reads like nonsense—could be the translation, but probably Read More...
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We first observed Hillary Clinton’s uncanny resemblance to a Star Trek character at last night’s debate. But Slate ’s John Swansburg was the one who nailed it: She’s The Next Generation ’s Tasha Yar . Behold: Update 5:44 p.m.: Don't forget, Hillary isn't Read More...
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From the crossroads of cultural and political commentary (his sofa), Slate associate editor John Swansburg fires off this analysis: Did the New York Times host an impromptu screening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off yesterday? A little matinee to take everyone's Read More...
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So Round 1 goes to McCain. The Arizona senator’s campaign has successfully turned a story about his alleged inappropriate ties to a lobbyist into a debate about the journalistic integrity of the New York Times . If anything, the Times piece appears to Read More...
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For all the speculation that Hillary Clinton was going to strap herself with explosives and fling herself at Barack Obama last night (figuratively, figuratively), the whole affair was pretty tame. But there was one notable exception, and it fell so flat—and Read More...
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Neither candidate exactly answers the last question, “What moment tested you?” Obama takes the opportunity to recite his entire biography. Hillary, however, pivots in a way that evokes, of all things, her Diner Sob . Only this time, she sets herself up: Read More...
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Obama wins the award for best regional pander. While discussing progress made by the surge, he points out that “the First Cavalry out of Fort Hood played an enormous role” in reducing violence. That must be worth five well-chosen Spanish phrases! Read More...
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Both candidates stampede the moderators after the commercial break by forcing a continued discussion of health care. Obama cites the Massachusetts plan as an example of mandates gone bad. “They have exempted 20 percent of the uninsured, since they’ve Read More...
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John King: Are you saying your opponent is all hat and no cattle? Hillary goes for it! After a polite intro, she all but name drops Kirk Watson, who couldn’t name a single Obamaccomplishment . Obama's response is one you couldn't have seen him giving Read More...
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Hillary nails the border fence question. Yes, I voted for a border fence in the context of comprehensive immigration reform. But no, I don’t agree with how the Bush administration is going about it. Her proposal recommends erecting a fence “where appropriate”—i.e., Read More...
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Obama looks like a Roman senator. Hillary looks like a guest star in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Update 8:35 p.m.: A friend corrects me. More like Chronicles of Riddick . Read More...
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WAS OBAMA JUST PEEKING AT HILLARY’S NOTES? The clock reads 8:29—look it up later. Read More...
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The main difference between Clinton and Obama on the subject of policy regarding Cuba is that Clinton would make Cuba take the first step toward compromise, whereas Obama would be willing to have the United States do so. “I would not meet with [Raúl Castro] Read More...
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I like how people stop applauding the second CNN’s John King enters. They start again when they realize it sounds rude. Applause is high when Hillary enters. They reach another decibel when Obama comes into view. The two candidates stand around for a Read More...
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Hard to believe, but it’s been three weeks since we huddled around the TV to watch Barack, Hillary, and Wolf chitchat on a garishly blue and red stage. This is the 19 th debate, so if you’re having trouble motivating yourself to watch, it’s understandable. Read More...
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If you, like us, have had your face buried the McCain lobbyist story for the past 24 hours, there’s a chance you missed developments in two mini-scuffles—from here on out, McFlurries—involving the senator from Arizona. The first involves public funding. Read More...
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Feb. 14: Barack Obama was your new bicycle . Feb. 16: Hillary Clinton was decidedly not . Feb. 17: John McCain tried to get in on the joke . Feb. 17: Ron Paul made it weird . Feb. 17: Michelle Obama made it annoying . Feb. 18: Steve Jobs made it jump Read More...
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In our quest to catalog every original song about a presidential candidate, we rarely come across tunes as infectious as this one . Think of it as Raffi meets will.i.am. A brief excerpt of the lyrics : Hey mama, Obama he got the mo, jama talkin' 'bout Read More...
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The New York Times piece on John McCain's lobbyist ties has people scratching their heads over not just why the paper ran it, but why they ran it now. A few rationales being floated: Theory #1: The Times wanted to influence the election. Rush Limbaugh Read More...
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From John McCain’s press conference today: I have many friends who represent various interests ranging from firemen to police to senior citizens to various interests that appear before my committee. McCain defending the honor of lobbyists ... it's not Read More...
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