Richardson endorsement does matterBy: Gebe Martinez
March 21, 2008 05:56 PM EST
It is easy to see why New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation’s only Hispanic governor and recent presidential candidate, endorsed Barack Obama www.barackobama.com over Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Richardson, like Obama, knows what it means to be treated differently for looking different. So when Obama delivered this week's blunt, personal assessment of the state of race relations in the United States — in which he noted, “We may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction” — Richardson decided it was time to go public with his choice for president. Obama, Richardson said, “is something special that the country needs right now.” But as Richardson put his arm around Obama at a rally in Oregon, the Clinton campaign dismissed the endorsement as one whose value had passed. After all, 95 percent of the Hispanic electorate already has voted in this year’s primaries, and most of them went for Clinton. The Clinton campaign ignored the fact that they, too, had eagerly sought the backing of the governor: a former congressman, diplomat and member of President Bill Clinton’s Cabinet. If Richardson is viewed only as a Hispanic leader, then the Clinton campaign is correct in assessing that the governor’s influence in most of the remaining primary states is limited, because the number of Latino voters in those states is smaller. But this endorsement requires a much broader view to see why it matters now, as well as for the November election if Obama wins the Democratic nomination. First, Richardson is a big name among superdelegates, who may have to decide the almost-tied nomination fight. He has given the Obama campaign a morale boost, especially during a time when the Illinois senator has been dogged by controversy over the racially charged sermons of his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. To those Obama supporters who might have become skittish because Wright’s angry words undermined Obama’s optimistic message of “hope,” Richardson tried to offer reassurances about the candidate’s character. Obama could have given a “safe speech” but instead spoke directly to the issue, Richardson noted. Second, by turning away from his friendship with former President Clinton, and against Sen. Clinton’s close victory in the New Mexico caucuses, Richardson signaled to other “superdelegates” that they can choose whomever they wish. The Clinton campaign has been pressuring Obama’s “superdelegates” who come from areas won by the New York senator — such as House members from California and Texas — to follow the will of their voters. Third, Richardson, who focused much of his campaign on national security issues, is telling voters that he is assured in how Obama will handle the presidency. Clinton won the Texas primary earlier this month partly by using a dark television ad that claimed she was the only one qualified to answer the national security “phone call” in the middle of the night.
During his own presidential bid, the governor argued his experience outweighed Clinton’s and that he could be the “change” agent that Obama was claiming. Now, Richardson says there were other overriding considerations. “As a presidential candidate, I know full well Sen. Obama's unique ability to inspire the American people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship and reconciliation,” Richardson said. The Clinton campaign argues that the Richardson endorsement would have been more valuable earlier in the primary season, before large numbers of Hispanics voted in Super Tuesday states such as New Mexico or in the Texas primary. “The time when he could have been most effective has long since passed,” said Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn. “I don’t think it’s a significant endorsement at this point in time.” Sergio Bendixen, the Florida pollster who has run Clinton’s campaign with Hispanic voters, added that while Puerto Rico has yet to vote — and there are small groups of Hispanic voters in the upcoming Pennsylvania, Oregon, Indiana and North Carolina primaries — Richardson is not well-known in those areas. “His areas of influence have been in the Southwest,” Bendixen said. “I don’t think [Richardson’s] endorsement will have any impact.” The Clinton campaign’s outreach to Hispanics has been so deep that in the year before the caucuses and primaries began, even Richardson had trouble winning support among Hispanics who were confused by his ethnicity because of his last name. Obama, meanwhile, has been trounced by Clinton among Hispanic voters in major states. Obama barely won a majority of the Hispanic vote in his home state of Illinois, and he also won the Hispanic vote in Connecticut and Virginia. Clearly, if Obama wins the nomination, Richardson’s bilingual and bicultural appeal will be most useful heading into the November election, when Hispanic voters are expected to be the deciding vote in major battleground states, including Richardson’s home territory of New Mexico. Richardson can tell Hispanics that Obama also understands what it is like to look different or come from somewhere else. In the meantime, Richardson offers proof of one more point. The Hispanic vote matters, as Latinos will make up at least one out of every 10 people casting ballots in November. It could be even higher given the larger-than-expected Hispanic voter performance in the primary season.
Bill Richardson's early childhood was characterized by an atypical biculturalism, strong family bonds, and a consistent commitment to giving back to the community.
Bill Richardson was born on November 15, 1947 in Pasadena, California to William Richardson and Maria Luisa Lopez-Collada. William Richardson was a banker who had been working in Mexico City for decades and he settled his family there shortly after Bill's birth.
Growing up in Mexico City, Bill Richardson experienced a unique blend of American and Mexican cultures. His parents wanted to make sure their children were proud of both their countries and felt comfortable in both cultures and languages. Hamburgers and hotdogs were served on the Fourth of July, and parties were held on September 16th, Mexican Independence Day.
William and Maria expected great things from Bill and his younger sister Vesta. Governor Richardson attributes his work ethic and striving nature to the lessons his parents taught him. "My father made it very simple, he used to say, 'If you're going to do something, be the best at it, that usually means you have to work harder than everyone else.'"
Vesta and Bill also learned that giving something back to your community was part of what it meant to be successful. These lessons have driven Vesta's career as a successful pediatrician in Mexico, and have been a constant stream in Bill's life of public service as Congressman, Energy Secretary, UN Ambassador and Governor of New Mexico.
In 1961 a young Bill Richardson left his family in Mexico City to attend high school in Massachusetts. It was tough for teenage Bill to be the new different looking kid at his school; he was the only Hispanic student there. But with the help of a coveted slot on the Varsity baseball team, and a few good friends, he began to bridge the divide between these two worlds.
Barbara Flavin and her family lived across the street from the school, and they had heard about the new student from Mexico with a vicious breaking ball. One afternoon Barbara saw Bill walking out of town. She offered him a ride back to school. The next January, Bill left a sombrero and a love note on her porch. They were married in 1972.
Bill followed in his father's footsteps and entered Tufts University in Boston in 1966. His interest in politics was sparked while on a school trip to Washington, D.C. during which Senator Hubert Humphrey stopped to talk to Bill and his classmates about American values and the power of public service. Governor Richardson calls this a turning point in his political awareness: "Senator Humphrey was a proud Democrat and presented his convictions with such strength, that I began to realize how a progressive vision could change the world."
It is amazing how Bush and Cheney can speak lies about what is really going on in Iraq and the press simply prints and publishes their false statements. Apparently the only way we will quit hearing these lies is when they leave office.
Bush, Cheney and the Neo-cons must sit around laughing every evening toasting how they got the press to do their dirty work for another day.
Fox News is no surprise........but can the rest of them wake up and print "news" not propoganda?
Tonight I am staying up late praying with all my heart that our guy sends this speech tomorrow out into the bleaches....so far, all everyone will remember is the crack of the bat! Obama has to put this "yesteryear foolishnes" to bed, and say goodnight once and for all.
Please respond...
Treasure
Why isn't the media bringing any attention to the Clinton money scandal?
Let me know what you think?
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWfU196AwKA
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnsPFS-Qq1Q
Share these videos with your friends and write letters to the news channels until the media is forced to tackle this issue on the air.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/17/poll.democrats/index.html
(CNN) -- A majority of Democrats would like to see Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton win their party's presidential nomination, according to a national poll out Monday.
A new poll out Monday shows Democrats prefer Sen. Obama over Sen. Clinton to win the nomination.
Fifty-two percent of registered Democrats questioned in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say the senator from Illinois is their choice for president, with 45 percent supporting Clinton.
The poll also suggests Democrats are more enthusiastic about an Obama victory (45 percent) than for a victory by the senator from New York (38 percent).
The two remaining major candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination are locked in a fierce battle for their party's presidential nomination, with Obama holding a slight lead both in delegates and the overall popular vote in the primaries and caucuses to date.
"The same patterns that we have been seeing in recent exit polls are holding true for Democrats nationwide as well. Obama's biggest support comes from men, younger voters and independents who lean Democratic," CNN polling director Keating Holland said. "Clinton does best among women, older voters and whites. One interesting difference, unlike the exit polls in many states, there is no difference in the national poll between college-educated Democrats and those who never attended college."
The nomination could hinge on two major matters: superdelegates and the possibility of do-over primaries for Florida and Michigan.
The two states broke national Democratic Party rules by moving up the dates of their primaries to January. None of the major Democratic candidates campaigned in the two states, and Obama's name wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan.
The national Democratic Party also banned Florida and Michigan's delegates from attending the party's national convention this summer. But with the fight for the nomination nearly deadlocked and the reality that winning both Florida and Michigan is crucial for the Democrats to take back the White House in November, there's now a movement toward letting both states vote again. Watch more on the Florida, Michigan primaries »
Sixty-three percent of Democrats said the two states should hold new primaries, with 19 percent saying delegates from Florida and Michigan should be seated at the national convention based on the results of the January primaries, and 15 percent saying no delegates should be seated at all.
If Clinton and Obama finish the primary season with close to an equal number of pledged delegates, then superdelegates could decide which candidate wins the nomination.
There are nearly 800 superdelegates, mostly Democratic members of Congress, top elected state officials and leading members of the Democratic Party. Fifty percent of those polled say that it's a bad idea for the party to have superdelegates, with 42 percent supporting the system.
Since the party is not going to scrap the superdelegates, the big question is how they should base their vote for the nomination.
Democrats appear split on this question -- 49 percent say that superdelegates should base their votes on their view of who would be the best candidate; 46 percent say that superdelegates should base their votes on the results of the primaries and caucuses.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted by telephone March 14-16, with 1, 019 Americans questioned, including 463 registered voters who identify themselves as Democrats or independents who lean Democratic.
Now we have Greenspan saying this recession (which Bush is still denying exists) could be the worst since WW II. Greenspan should now he was part of the decision process that supported cutting taxes to far and creating a deficit. He stood by and claimed the houseing bubble was not a bubble. He watched as credit markets spun the web that is now unwinding.
Obama needs to start calling this the Bush Recession - 20 times a day at least. If we do not voters will fail to realize that McCain policies (which are Bush reruns) a destined to continue the failure.
Sen. Schumer has started calling it the Bush Recession.
We need to brand this and call a spade a spade.
Hello everyone!
I have spent more than thiry years trying to inspire hope in children of all ages, through children's stories, songs and plays. As a motivational speaker, I have had some success inspiring people, in churches, schools and colleges, all over the United States. This is a great opportunity to do something nationally that will go down in history, for the sake of the children.
I believe in this man, Obama. So I am organizing an environment friendly hope chain, to connect from state to state across United States. Starting with this blog,emails,chain letters,phone calls. Then meeting up with Obama supporters of all ages, on the borders of each state taking pictures and connecting chains on trees,poles etc, wherever permitted. Then hope chain watchers will check the chain regularly to see that it stays connected. I have not set the date yet...but let me know what you think?
Interested? email me: kids4obama@yahoo.com
Does anyone know what the name "Obama" literally means? email me please....
To get health care reform in this country we need to get at least some business support. Better Health Care Together is a group with some big business players like Intel and Kelly Services. Here is a very good executive summary they published. If you would like the full report email me.
Share this information with people you know in business:
Health‐Cost Crossroad: Executive Summary
This issue brief describes how the problems in the health system affect U.S. businesses; how thissituation affects workers and families; and why reform is needed by 2012.
Highlights include:
Rising Health Costs Stress Businesses: Businesses provide health insurance for 61 percent of all nonelderly mericans and finance a quarter of our $2 trillion health system. Yet, job‐based health insurance premiums have risen by 98 percent between 2000 and 2007, nearly five times faster than the rate of nflation.
This affects all companies in different ways:
• New challenges in a changing economy: The volatility of the booming service industry makes itexpensive for these businesses to provide workers with health insurance. In 2007, 59 percent of the companies in the service industry offered health benefits, compared to 78 percent of manufacturing firms. The rapidly changing nature of work calls into question the employer‐based insurance model or an increasing portion of the workforce.
• Perennial challenges for small businesses: Health benefit costs tend to be higher for businessesthat have fewer workers to bear the administrative costs and risk. Because of this, only 45 percentof businesses with fewer than 10 workers provided health insurance in 2007 – down from 57percent in 2000.
• Diminished global competitiveness: Health care costs continue to rise rapidly, which impedesAmerican companies’ viability in the global marketplace. Although it has since rebounded, theUnited States fell to sixth place in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness ranking in2006, in part due to health costs.
• Burgeoning cost of covering retirees: Rising health care costs are preventing employers fromcovering their retirees. By 2007, only 33 percent of large firms offered retiree health benefits. Thecosts have become so great that, in 2006, 46 percent of large employers capped spending on retiree ealth benefits.
Few Options for Businesses: Businesses have few options to ease the burden of high health costs.While many have pioneered cost‐control strategies, others’ actions have resulted in:
• Less coverage: The proportion of firms offering health benefits fell from 69 to 60 percent between 2000 and 2007. About 80 percent of the uninsured are in working families.
• A “hidden tax”: Reduced coverage does not eliminate health costs; costs often get shifted to those who can pay, adding as much $500 to $1,500 to premiums.
Unsustainable Trends: By 2012, if trends persist: the number of uninsured will climb by 7 million (to 54 million), health costs will top $10,000 per capita, and business costs will rise by 55 percent.Solution: The solution for businesses and the nation is system‐wide reform that covers all, improves value, promotes wellness, and shares responsibility for managing and financing a new American health care system. Better Health Care Together is a coalition aiming to achieve this reform by 2012.
America’s 25 million small businesses are the backbone and engine of the US economy. Over half of the private work force takes home a small business paycheck. The ingenuity and hard work of America’s dynamic small businesses create three quarters of our new jobs year after year. Barack Obama will support small business by guaranteeing affordable health care is available, improving access to capital and investing in innovation and development.
Small Business owners and their employees deserve affordable health care. Two cornerstones of the American Dream are a job with pay good enough to support a family and quality health care that is dependable and affordable. Yet skyrocketing health care costs have made it increasingly difficult for employers, particularly small businesses, to provide health insurance for their own families and for their hardworking and loyal employees. For small businesses to continue to succeed America needs a healthy competitive workforce and that depends on reducing employer health care costs.
Barack Obama’s health care plan will help small businesses that want to cover their employees by letting small firms buy into a new low-cost, high-quality national health plan similar to the one offered to members of Congress. For small businesses, having a single employee with catastrophic expenditures can make insurance unaffordable to all of the workers in the firm. The Obama plan would reimburse employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they use the savings to reduce the cost of workers’ premiums. It is estimated that Obama’s health plan will save business $140 billion annually in insurance premiums.
If you work and promote health care reform you may be interested in the work of the Herndon Alliance to assist you. We are a support group for 100 national and state groups that promote health care reform. We do research on how to most effectively communicate health care reform. For example we have met with the Obama health care staff and campaign people to provide them the results of our research, polls, focus groups so they can most effectively communicate the Obama health care plan.
check out our website: www.herndonalliance.org
Our best chance to get comprehensive health care reform is to elect Barack Obama President, sweep in with large coat tails and win many seats in the US Senate to support President Obama.
Terry Gardiner
Herndon Alliance
Director of Business Work Group
Huffington Post | March 14, 2008 12:30 PM
Craig Gregg, former counsel to Bill Clinton and now Obama supporter www.barackobama.com , sat down for an interview with National Journal. His comments reflected more strongly a memo he had penned last week, suggesting that Hillary's claims of experience were overblown. An excerpt from the interview:
Q: But was that experience, do you think, that is -- having a lot of influence with advisers, giving private advice to her husband -- was that experience that has helped prepare her to be commander in chief? Craig: Oh, I don't doubt that. The point that I am making is that her claims of the nature of that experience are overstated. The fact is she did not sit in on national security meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the situation room. She conducted no negotiations. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy. She did not have her own national security staff. That's the fact. Now the experience that she did have -- watching and sometimes sitting in the room where discussions were going on and also meeting heads of state and foreign ministers -- that is good experience, and it's invaluable to understanding how the world works when it comes to international organizations as well as international negotiations.
Craig: Oh, I don't doubt that. The point that I am making is that her claims of the nature of that experience are overstated. The fact is she did not sit in on national security meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the situation room. She conducted no negotiations. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy. She did not have her own national security staff. That's the fact. Now the experience that she did have -- watching and sometimes sitting in the room where discussions were going on and also meeting heads of state and foreign ministers -- that is good experience, and it's invaluable to understanding how the world works when it comes to international organizations as well as international negotiations.
Read the whole interview here.
The Clinton responded quickly, noting a contradiction between this statement and other statements. Only last week Gregg claimed:
When your entire campaign is based upon a claim of experience, it is important that you have evidence to support that claim. Hillary Clinton's argument that she has passed "the Commander- in-Chief test" is simply not supported by her record.
The comments by Gregg come at a time when the Clinton camp is facing increasing scrutiny over the former First Lady's record.
The Boston Globe reported this morning that Sen. Clinton had less to do with the passage of the SCHIP program in the early 90s, and cites Republican Orrin Hatch who, with Sen. Ted Kennedy, helped spear the legislation:
"The White House wasn't for it. We really roughed them up" in trying to get it approved over the Clinton administration's objections, Hatch said in an interview. "She may have done some advocacy [privately] over at the White House, but I'm not aware of it." "I do like her," Hatch said of Hillary Clinton. "We all care about children. But does she deserve credit for SCHIP? No - Teddy does, but she doesn't."
"I do like her," Hatch said of Hillary Clinton. "We all care about children. But does she deserve credit for SCHIP? No - Teddy does, but she doesn't."
This health care reform plan proposed by Fuchs and Emanuel is consistent with the Obama plan but would go much further. Under this approach the mandatory debate disappears.
Guaranteed HealthCare Access Plan
The Guaranteed HealthCare Access Plan guarantees all Americans a health plan of their choice.The American public realizes that our healthcare system is fundamentally broken. Polls consistently demonstrate that they believe a comprehensive overhaul is needed. Voters are uneasy about the uncertainty, ever rising costs and reduced scope of their healthcare coverage.
They want an American solution that guarantees affordable quality healthcare for all citizens and gives them peace of mind.
A reformed healthcare system requires five essential components:
• Guaranteed coverage for all Americans• Individual choice of health plans• Built-in cost and quality controls• Politically independent administration• Dedicated funding
The Guaranteed HealthCare plan is an innovative approach to comprehensive healthcare system reform that was originally conceived by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Chairman, Department of Medical Bioethics, National Institute of Health, and Victor Fuchs, Professor of Economics (Emeritus), Stanford University. More recently, respected institutions such as theCommittee for Economic Development, the American Medical Association and the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center have published reform proposals that contain major elements of their plan. Professor Laurence Kotlikoff of Boston University recently has offered a reform plan that is very similar to the Guaranteed HealthCare plan.
Of all of the competing ideas for healthcare reform, only the Guaranteed HealthCare plan fully addresses all five essential components of reform. Under this plan:
• The Federal government provides every American with a healthcare certificate to redeem for a participating health plan• Participating plans must offer a standard set of services in exchange for a certificate• Individuals are free to choose among competing plans for one that most closely matches their specific needs• The competitive nature of this insurance market, together with cost and quality standards established by a politically independent health board, assure cost control and quality improvement• The Guaranteed HealthCare plan is funded by a dedicated tax that would be managed by this same independent health board
Learn more: www.healthcareguaranteed.org
Myabe there is some justice! Voters seem to be rejecting the negative campaigning by Clintonians. And the good news is the more people learn about Obama the more his ratings go upl
But a more interesting nugget is buried deep in the poll. It seems that the more voters see of Bill Clinton, the less they like him. The poll shows a significant shift in his approval rating from a year ago. In March 2007, some 48% of those surveyed had a positive view of the former president, and 35% had a negative view. Now his negatives outpace his positives, 45% to 42%.
Over the same time span, Hillary Clinton's positive numbers rose from 39% to 45% while her negatives remained static, sliding up from 43% to 44%.
As for Obama, the more voters saw of him -- or, at least the more they learned about him -- the more they liked him. In March 2007 his positive numbers were 37% and his negatives were 17%. But some 26% said they were "neutral" about him and 20% said they didn't know -- nearly half of those surveyed. Now, Obama's positive-negative numbers are 51% to 28% with only 18% neutral and 3% undecided.
Pollster.com shows a sad result from the effects of the negative campaign by Clinton.
http://www.pollster.com/08-US-Pres-GE-MvO.php
For months and months Obama had gained on McCain in a matchup. Now the poll averages show a flattening in the Obama and McCain matchup.
Correctly so the early stages of the campaign saw all Democratic Presidential candidates do the right and smart strategy - attack Bush, expose the Republican & McCain record for its sad reality.
Clinton and her surrogates have switched strategies to character attacks and slippery innuendo. No longer do they attack McCain and Bush who have drug our country down.
We must appeal to rational Clinton supporters and uncommitted Democratic leaders to put a stop to this before all Democrats are drug down.
Just FYI -- I don't consider a discussion of Fair Tax versus Flat Tax especially pertinent to this listserve, and so I will not be approving emails about it. Tax code and tax policy is certainly an important issue, but it is only tangential to the main discussion of this listserve.
Thanks for your understanding.
-Moderator
Demand Geraldine Ferraro's departure from the Clinton campaign.
FAX: 703.962.8600
When I sent around the image of Barack in Kenyan clothing as part of a collage with Ronald Reagan some thought it would be more proper with Democratic images. OK I say...
Here it is...
Tim Russert: Senator Obama do you believe your campaign has become negative and how would you characterize Senator Clinton's campaign?
As we have seen this election it is dangerous to rely to heavily on polls, especially any single poll. What I believe is meaningful is the DIRECTION of the Poll Averages.
At Pollster.com this graph shows Obama widening the lead over McCain steadily over the last two months.
The McCain and Clinton matchup has fluctuated over the last year. This is in alignment with Hillary's high negative and McCain's ability to appeal to the independent vote.
Also several commentators have pointed out that Foster winning the former Hastert seat yesterday in Illinois demonstrates the Obama coat tails effect.
