Ben AdlerWed May 28, 6:51 PM ET - POLITICO.COM
Like Hillary Rodham Clinton, the three other women most frequently mentioned as possible running mates for Barack Obama are widely recognized as shrewd, trailblazing politicians who would provide critical ballast to an Obama-led presidential ticket.
But according to interviews with Republicans in their home states, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill differ from Clinton by two important measures: They've managed to win elections without developing polarizing personas, and they've shied away from emphasizing gender in their campaigns.
The distinctions are important for Obama, the front-runner in the Democratic nominating contest, as his campaign begins the process of thinking about possible running mates. Selecting a woman might serve to mend the gender-based rifts that have surfaced as a result of Clinton's historic candidacy — and Sebelius, Napolitano and McCaskill all possess red-state political portfolios that would make them attractive vice presidential candidates.
Some common themes emerge when talking to Republicans who have battled them. All three are respected for their ability to win in difficult political environments for Democrats, and all are credited with having done so by successfully tacking to the center, reaching out to Republican voters by crafting an independent image. In part, that's why Napolitano and Sebelius made Time magazine's "5 Best Governors" list in 2005.
Napolitano draws praise from the other side of the aisle for managerial competence and canny political skills. Arizona Republicans describe the former federal prosecutor as extremely smart, noting that she has adeptly handled hot-button issues such as immigration.
"I think Gov. Napolitano, to the dismay of a lot of Republicans in this state, has been effective because she has governed from the center," said Jaime Molera, a Republican political consultant in Phoenix. "She has not been seen as a partisan Democrat."
Molera points to her successful budget compromises with the Republican state Senate last year as a prime example.
Napolitano's opponents also agree that her pragmatic approach is an asset — though critics say it reflects a lack of core principles.
"I can't help but wonder if her strengths and weaknesses are one and the same. She's a highly calculating politician. She does not make a move without considering the political implications," said Republican consultant Garrick Taylor. "That has benefited her in a traditionally Republican state, but she runs the risk of being cast as a typical politician."
In Kansas, where Sebelius has managed to frustrate the Republican political establishment while winning over GOP voters, opponents also view her with a kind of grudging admiration. Though conceding she is warm and persuasive in small settings, Republicans gleefully note that she fell flat in her first moment in the national spotlight — when she delivered the Democratic response to the president's State of Union speech in January.
But more than anything else, Sebelius' foes generally agree that she has a great talent for recognizing and seizing opportunities in a state where the Republican majority has been bitterly divided between conservatives and moderates.
"She ran as a conservative. She won [reelection] in Kansas because she's adopted whatever things the Legislature has done," said Republican state House Speaker Melvin Neufeld. "She takes credit for whatever happens, which a good politician does."
When Sebelius first captured the governorship in 2002, she did it with a Republican business executive as her running mate. Four years later, in her 2006 reelection, she stunned the state's political establishment by selecting a new lieutenant governor candidate to run with — the state's former Republican Party chairman.
"Kathleen has done a good job of walking through fissures in the Kansas Republican Party," said Republican state Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt. "She's governor because our party has been fairly deeply factionalized since the late '90s, particularly during the last two gubernatorial cycles."
McCaskill is also respected for her savvy political instincts, winning credit for her campaign trail work ethic and for not making the same mistakes twice.
In an unsuccessful 2004 run for governor, she concentrated heavily on urban areas and got beaten badly in rural counties. When she won her Senate seat in 2006, it was with a populist flavor and a more pronounced focus on rural Missouri.
"She learned that a Democrat in Missouri can't just focus on urban areas," said Jared Craighead, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party. "You need to focus on rural areas."
"Claire McCaskill is a crafty politician who campaigns hard," added Gregg Keller, a Republican consultant who managed Talent's 2006 campaign.
Curiously, while Sebelius and Napolitano both do well among women voters — according to 2006 exit polls, Napolitano won 66 percent among women in her easy reelection win — McCaskill's advantage seems less pronounced. In 2006, she won 51 percent among women in a narrow victory.
Like Sebelius and Napolitano, McCaskill did not highlight the gender factor. "I frankly hope gender is not an issue in this campaign at all," she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2006. "This is not something we're stressing around the state."
In Arizona and Missouri, Republicans also said gender has been a political nonissue.
"The story in Arizona is that we've had a number of female chief executives," said Taylor, the Republican political consultant. "So [Napolitano's gender] has been part of a story line but hasn't been part of her narrative personally."
"I don't know that [Sebelius'] gender has played a big role, other than that her percentage of female appointees has been greater than most governors," said Kansas state Senate President Stephen Morris.
Regardless of the strengths Sebelius, Napolitano and McCaskill might bring to the ticket, home state Republicans insist that none of them could deliver their respective states if they were on the ticket.
McCaskill has narrowly lost and narrowly won Missouri in her two most recent elections, and her popularity doesn't rank with the two governors. Kansas, which delivered 62 percent to President Bush in 2004, is not considered a competitive state for the Democratic nominee. As for Arizona, local Republicans say any boost Napolitano might provide would be washed out by the presence of another home-stater on the ballot — presumptive Republican nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
---FranklinOttawa
Hi,
I found this video on YouTube and it's kind of disturbing. This guy is so angry and I don't get his point! He supports the Clinton and he is lashing out on Barack Obama and Black people for letting down the Clinton after Bill Clinton gave Black people so much. What a ridiculuous argument! It's like going back to slavery era when slaves was told to stay with their masters who "gave them a home, food, etc." Ridiculous!
http://blogs.sohh.com/hiphop4prez/2008/03/pastor_manning_barack_obamas_5.html
Franklin
Hi, I hope today the Clinton camp will experience an upset in the primary. As the Public Policy Polling shows, Obama is leading by 3 points in PA. Mainstream media never show these polls. Check for more here:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_042108.pdf
Tim Russert (Meet The Press on NBC) put out a good portrait of Hillary's Bosnia lies:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/13/tim-russert-nails-hillary_n_96419.html
This should be played again and again in Penn, Indiana, etc...
DRUDGE FLASH --------------------------------
HILLARY Colombia ties don't stop with Penn By EAMON JAVERS | 4/7/08 6:56 PM EST
Clinton is using an anti-trade message to win over working class voters in Pennsylvania.
Mark Penn isn’t the only Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter on the wrong side of the Colombia trade agreement.
The Democratic-leaning advocacy firm the Glover Park Group, former home to Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson, signed a $40,000 per month contract with the government of Colombia in April of 2007 to promote the very agreement that Clinton now rails against on the presidential campaign trail.
That means Glover Park Group was arguing the same position on the free trade agreement as has Penn, the contentious Clinton strategist and Burson-Marsteller chief executive who lost his campaign job over the weekend after The Wall Street Journal revealed that he’d met with Colombian officials to plot strategy on the pact.
Several other Glover Park employees have deep connections with the Clintons, including founding partner Joe Lockhart, who served as the White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Joel Johnson, who was a senior communications adviser in the Clinton White House.
Six employees of Glover Park Group contributed a total of nearly $20,000 to Clinton’s campaign in 2007, according to data kept by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Source: http://www.observer.com/2008/waning-penn
From NBC's Mark MurrayOn the Clinton conference call unveiling its new ad, Slate's John Dickerson -- as he did with the earlier 3:00 am ad -- asked: When has Hillary Clinton ever answered the phone at 3:00 am before regarding an economic crisis?
There wasn't the "pregnant pause" there was the first time.
Communications director Howard Wolfson responded that unless one is president, "you don't have a single moment" like answering the phone at 3:00 am. But Wolfson noted that Clinton "has a lifetime of experience, both in and out of the White House… Ultimately, voters make this decision." And he added, "Voters have made this decision, based on the results of Ohio and Texas, that Sen. Clinton passed this test."
Dickerson followed up, asking the Clinton campaign to point a specific example when Clinton responded to an economic crisis. Wolfson pointed to her efforts to ensure that New York got the resources it needed after 9/11. "There is much, much credit to go around," he said. "But. Sen. Clinton certainly did her part."
---
Listen to that "pregnant pause". It's pathetic to hear how this guy is trying to find an experience example for Hillary... You couldn't find one! Wow!
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/02/pregnant_pause.html
Barack Obama has taken the lead over Hillary Clinton 45-43 inPennsylvania, according to the newest survey from Public Policy Polling.
Learn more here:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Penn_Release_040208.pdf
(CNN) — A key Hillary Clinton supporter appeared to be a bit off message during a recent interview with a Canadian radio station.
Learn more:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/01/clinton-backer-obama-will-win/
Senator Hillary Clinton’s lead in the Pennsylvania Primary is shrinking.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Pennsylvania shows Clinton leading Barack Obama by just five percentage points, 47% to 42%. For Clinton, that five-point edge is down from a ten-point lead a week ago, a thirteen-point lead in mid-March and a fifteen-point advantage in early March.
Support for Clinton slipped from 52% early in March, to 51% in mid-month, 49% a week ago, and 47% today. During that same time frame, support for Obama has increased from 37% to 42%.
Obama recently received a key endorsement from Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and has also spent more on television ads than Clinton. If Obama is able to pull off an upset in the Keystone State, it would effectively end the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Obama currently leads Clinton nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. However, while an Obama victory could end the nomination battle, Clinton remains ahead in the state and recently demonstrated her ability to finish strong in the Ohio and Texas Primaries.
Tensions clearly remain in the contest. If Obama is nominated, just 56% of Clinton supporters say they are likely to vote for him against John McCain. Forty percent (40%) of Clinton voters in Pennsylvania say they are not likely to vote for Obama.
On the other hand, if Clinton is nominated, just 67% of Obama supporters say they are likely to vote for her against McCain. Twenty-nine percent (29%) are not.
Just 21% of Pennsylvania’s Primary Voters say that Clinton should drop out of the race while 18% would like Obama to leave. Those figures are similar to results from a recent national survey. Fifty-one percent (51%) in Pennsylvania say it’s very likely the contest will not be resolved until the convention in Denver. That figure includes 61% of Clinton voters and 38% of those who support Obama. Overall, another 33% say a convention decision is Somewhat Likely.
Forty-seven percent (47%) say they have followed news stories Very Closely about Clinton’s Bosnia misstatements. Another 27% have followed those stories Somewhat Closely. Overall, 19% consider that issue to be Very Important in their voting decision. That figure includes 6% of Clinton supporters and 36% of Obama voters. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Pennsylvania voters say that most politicians lie or embellish the truth when discussing their own accomplishments. Only 12% disagree.
Clinton voters, by a 64% to 26% margin, believe that American society is generally fair and decent. Obama voters are evenly divided—45% hold that optimistic view while another 45% say society is generally unfair and discriminatory.
Among voters who say the economy is the top voting issue, Clinton maintains a sixteen-point lead over Obama. Among those who view the War in Iraq as the top issue, Obama has a seventeen-point advantage. Among those who say health care is most important, 48% prefer Clinton and 40% choose Obama. Overall, 54% say the Economy is most important, 19% say it’s the War in Iraq, and 10% say Health Care.
In the Keystone State, Clinton is now viewed favorably by 74% of Likely Democratic Primary Voters, Obama by 73%.
A separate survey found that both Democrats are in a competitive race with John McCain for Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes. Nationally, McCain currently leads both Democrats in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Looking at the Electoral College, the race is essentially a Toss-Up.
Just 3% of Likely Democratic Primary Voters rate the economy as good or excellent while 70% say it’s in poor shape. Just 2% say it is getting better while 91% say the economy is getting worse. Nationally, the Rasmussen Consumer Index shows that consumer and investor confidence has fallen to the lowest level of the past seven years.
After another insinuation by the Clinton's, Obama is once again cleared. When are they going to stop?
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Obama_vindicated_on_lawschool_title.html
It turns out Hillary was telling the truth about the Bosnia landing... Or wasn't she?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHVEDq6RVXc
Funny stuff!
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America's history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another's truth.
Dean J. Snyder, Senior Minister
Foundry United Methodist Church
March 19, 2008
Why this story is not making headlines on CNN all day?
BONNEY LAKE, Washington (AP) -- Casey Knowles didn't much like a recent campaign commercial for Hillary Clinton -- even though she's in it as a sleeping 8-year-old.
Casey Knowles says she didn't see the ad until Jon Stewart lampooned it on "The Daily Show."
After all, she about to turn 18 now and is a big supporter of Barack Obama.
"What I don't like about the ad is its fear-mongering," Knowles told ABC's "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" on Sunday. "I think it's a cheap hit to take. I really prefer Obama's message of looking forward to a bright future."
The well-known Clinton ad aired in Texas before last week's vote and implied a lack of experience on Obama's part. It showed an exterior of a Colonial-style home and old stock footage of Knowles sleeping in bed.
A narrator describes a phone ringing in the White House: "It's 3 a.m. and your children are safely asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"
Clinton won the Texas primary by a 51-47 percent margin.
Knowles said she didn't see the ad until Jon Stewart lampooned it Thursday on "The Daily Show." Her brother noticed it was her, and the family replayed the commercial on their digital recorder to be sure.
"They were parodying this ad, kind of poking fun at it," Knowles said. "My brother was like, 'Is that Casey?' And we just erupted. Sure enough, it's me."
The file footage was originally shot for a railroad company advertisement. The Clinton campaign bought it from Getty Images.
Knowles, a senior at Bonney Lake High School who turns 18 next month, has been campaigning for Obama. She attended his rally at Seattle's KeyArena on February 8. Her mother, Pam, told The News Tribune of Tacoma that Casey cried and trembled after shaking the candidate's hand.
· Commentary: Now it's Obama's turn to adjust
The next day, she was a Democratic precinct captain for the state's caucuses. If she plays her cards right, she could go to the national convention.
Not to mention that she could be in another ad. After her identity became known, Obama's campaign contacted her.
"I mentioned that we should make a counter ad, me and Obama, against Hillary," she said. "They thought that was really funny. They actually might take me up on it."
That said, Knowles said she plans to vote for whichever Democrat wins the nomination.
Source: Associated Presse.
It seems that Hillary Clinton camp was first to talk to Canadian officials in order to downplay her promess of reopening NAFTA. The leak of a memo attributed to Obama camp is now a big story here in Canada! Canadian prime minister says that the "move' was unfair to Obama and he'll ask for an investigation.
Let me say that few polls showed that Canadian preferred Clinton (left) and McCain (right or conservatives). Canada is not as ready as the US to have a Black or woman prime minister anyway...
Anyway, here are some reports from CBC about the leak:
Who sparked NAFTA-Gate?
Unfair to Obama
PM's Denial
I still want to know about what "experience" Mrs Clinton is talking about? When asked the question about what specific experience she has in responding to a crisis at 3 in the morning, she can't give one solid example. She always says, there are a lot of them... What? Are you kidding me? I think Obama should challenge Mrs Clinton in this crucial question everyday...
I also wonder where was Mrs Clinton when her husband received a phone call from Romeo Dallaire in Rwanda to in order to prevent one of the worst genocide in recent history? I guess was to sleepy or not interested in those poor africans. And what did she do specifically to avoid another genocide in Kosovo? In fact, Mrs Clinton takes credit only for what was good during her husband presidency but she won't take responsibility for some disaster in managing crisis during the Clinton days in office..
Come on!
By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The leak of information about Barack Obama's position on the North American Free Trade Agreement was "blatantly unfair" to his campaign, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Wednesday.
Harper said the government was mounting an "internal security investigation" to find out who leaked the information, which suggested Obama's campaign had said not to pay too much attention to his protectionist rhetoric on NAFTA.
"This kind of leaking of information is completely unacceptable and in fact ... it may well be illegal," the prime minister told Parliament.
"It is not useful, it is not in the interests of the government of Canada, and the way the leak was executed, Mr. Speaker, was blatantly unfair to Sen. Obama and his campaign."
Obama's rival in the U.S. Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton, had seized on the Canadian information to try to demonstrate that Obama could not be trusted on foreign affairs and that he said one thing in private and another in public.
The issue arose when Obama and Clinton said in a debate last week they would threaten to pull out of NAFTA -- which joins the United States, Canada and Mexico as trading partners -- unless its environmental and labor standards are renegotiated.
Shortly after, a memo circulated that was written by a Canadian diplomat after a February 8 meeting in Chicago with Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee.
"He (Goolsbee) was frank in saying that the primary campaign has been necessarily domestically focused, particularly in the Midwest, and that much of the rhetoric that may be perceived to be protectionist is more reflective of political maneuvering than policy," the memo read.
On Monday afternoon, on the eve of the Democratic primaries in Texas and Ohio, the Canadian government issued a formal statement regretting any inference that Obama was taking a different position in public from views expressed in private.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, said the flap probably had only a minor effect on the outcome because both candidates were offering a welcome change on trade policy.
"The Canada thing was much ado about nothing, I think, to most voters," he said in a call with U.S.-based reporters.
Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers Union, said he agreed with Brown. But Lori Wallach, director of Global Trade Watch, part of the Washington-based advocacy group Public Citizen, said it may have helped stop Obama's momentum.
Obama was 24 points behind Clinton when he started campaigning in Ohio and managed to close much of that gap, partly by criticizing her for supporting NAFTA when her husband, Bill Clinton, was president, Wallach said.
The memo helped "blur the distinction" that Obama was trying to make between himself and Clinton on NAFTA and may help explain why he stopped rising in the polls shortly before the vote in Ohio, she said.
In Ottawa, Jack Layton, leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, said the leak had damaged relations with the United States, and he even asked Harper to call in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Harper said the clerk of the Privy Council -- Canada's top civil servant -- was handling an internal security investigation.
"Based on what they find and based on legal advice, we will take any action that is necessary to get to the bottom of this," Harper said during the daily Question Period in the House of Commons.
International Trade Minister David Emerson said on Wednesday he did not believe Obama would just abandon NAFTA.
"I'm sure if Mr. Obama were the president he would look after the best interest of the United States," Emerson said when asked by reporters. "I just do not believe for a moment, not a nanosecond, that walking away from NAFTA is in the greater interests of Americans. When they get down into that, it'll become pretty clear."
Source: REUTERS.CA
The most amazing thing about Obama performance in the primaries is that the whole world is watching and people are proud to see this young man succeeding over political establishment. As an african-canadian, I am proud of this man with a name similar to my brother's (Obama) of the same village in Billy, Bitam in Gabon (Central Africa).
Most of all, Obama brings out new ideas and change the world needs. He is what America needs right now: change! After the Bush era, the world and America need this young man to set a new tone in american politics.
Obama unites people from all race, communities, background, etc. This is crucial. You don't have to be black to vote for Obama. Obama speaks to everybody and understands the differences better than Hillary. He is the man of the moment!
Bravo Obama et bon succès!
Franklin.
Check my blog in french
