Democrats: October 2007 Archives
Elizabeth Edwards often has made the excuse that her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, doesn't get as much media attention as rivals Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton because he's not black or a woman. "We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman," she said. [Mmm... no, but like Obama and Clinton, you could come up with better campaign strategies to get up in the polls, make your campaign more interesting and attract more media attention.]
The Washington Post examines whether John and Elizabeth Edwards are trying to appeal to people who may not want to vote for Barack Obama because he's African American or Hillary Clinton because she's a woman.
Carla Babb, a journalism student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, wondered why John Edwards based his poverty focused presidential campaign in an affluent Chapel Hill neighborhood, rather than in a low income community that would better reflect his message about ending poverty. She videotaped interviews with Chapel Hill residents about the issue (they were split), and the video was later posted on the University's website and YouTube.
The video got few hits and went virtually unnoticed, until the Edwards campaign tried to get it taken off the web. Babb said, "I was completely shocked to get a phone call from the Edwards campaign saying that the story was straight from the Republican Party and that we needed to take it down." The campaign also threatened that leaving the video up would harm the Edwards' relationship with UNC (ie., no more alumni contributions from us, Tar Heels!). Both John and Elizabeth Edwards attended law school at the University.
See also:
Edwards campaign tried to stop student's TV story, professor says [AP]
Edwards tussles with UNC j-school [The News and Observer]
Hillary Clinton has earned the support of the majority of African American female voters, but she wants an even bigger piece of that pie. She sat down with Isabel Wilkerson of Essence, a magazine that targets African American women, for an interview published in the current issue (November 2007). Here are a few exerpts of what she had to say about her marriage and family:
On her marriage:
“I know the truth of my life and of my marriage, my relationship and partnership, my deep abiding friendship with my husband. It's been enormously supportive to me through most of my life. Now obviously we've had challenges as everybody in the world knows. “But I never doubted that it was a marriage worth investing in even in the midst of those challenges,” she says, “and I'm really happy that I made that decision. Again, not a decision for everybody. And I think it's so important for women to stand up for the right of women to make a decision that is best for them.”
On the most romantic thing her husband has done for her: She hesitates for longer than is comfortable, then she says, “Oh he's so romantic. He's always bringing me back things from his trips. He brought me a giant wooden giraffe from Africa. Oh, he bought me this watch,” she said, holding out her left wrist to show off a Chanel watch, its bracelet made of white cubes shaped like elegant dentures, if you can picture it. “I had dental surgery, and he said it reminded him of teeth.”
Outside of work, what her proudest moment is:
“Chelsea,” she says without hesitation.
Pick up Essence to read the entire interview.
Those who say African Americans base their voting decisions solely on race are totally wrong.
Hillary Clinton has widened her democratic primary lead over rival Barack Obama (who, we all know, happens to be African American), thanks to the support of African American registered democrats. A recent CNN poll shows that African Americans support Clinton over Obama 57% to 33%. Clinton takes a greater lead among African American women, who support her over Obama 68% to 25%. African American men are split betwen the two candidates, with 42% favoring Clinton and 46% favoring Obama.
Clinton has also secured the endorsements of two prominent African American congressmen , Rep. Charles Rangel and Rep. John Lewis.
Democratic Presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. talks on a cell phone upon her arrival at a Presidential Health Care Forum, sponsored by Families USA and the Federation of American Hospitals, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster, said that 24% of Republican women could support Clinton over Barack Obama because of "the emotional element of potentially having the first woman nominee." The Obama camp disagrees.
See:
Pollster: GOP women will support Clinton [AP]
Family portrait? Vice President Dick Cheney poses with his cousins, the Obamas. Reuters Photo.
Lynne Cheney told MSNBC today that she discovered that her husband, Dick Cheney, and Barack Obama are 8th cousins.
No more Mr. Nice Guy!
Barack Obama has pulled out the boxing gloves against rival Hillary Clinton. Here's an excerpt from a fundraising letter that his campaign just emailed under the heading "Hillary's Money."
We continue to build the largest grassroots movement in history, but Washington lobbyists and special interests rallied to help Hillary Clinton out-raise us for the first time.
If we want real change in this country, then we need to prove that together we are stronger than the lobbyist-driven money machine that has dominated Washington for too long....
Hillary Clinton aggressively seeks money from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. She's even said that these lobbyists represent real Americans.
She's wrong.
I think it's time to turn the page on that kind of politics, and that's why I have not accepted a dime from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs in this race. We rely on a network of more than 350,000 ordinary people to make us competitive -- more supporters than all the other Democratic candidates combined.
Washington lobbyists have chosen their candidate and are determined to provide her with an overwhelming advantage.
BFFs La-Toria Haven and Meghan McCain campaign for Meghan's dad, Sen. John McCain. Photo from McCainBlogette.com.
Amidst all the hoopla about Al Gore's Noble Peace Prize win for his work to spread awareness about global warning, La-Toria Haven, BFF to Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan, wants to make sure that Sen. McCain gets a piece of that action. She highlights Sen. McCain's record on environmental advocacy and links to Republicans for Environmental Protection in her blog entry today at McCainBlogette. McCainBlogette follows the adventures of Meghan McCain and her friends on the campaign trail. Those of you polichicks who wear red dresses with your stilettos, check it out.
Photo from BarackObama.com
Barack Obama is Christian. An untraceable email campaign, however, has sought to turn voters with anti-Muslim attitudes away from Obama by spreading the lie that he is Muslim. So not cool.
Politico published excerpts from the untruthful emails:
“Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background,” warns an e-mail titled “Who Is Barack Obama,” that was circulating in South Carolina political circles this summer and sent to Politico by a South Carolina Democrat.
“The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the U.S. from the inside out; what better way to start than at the highest level?”
“Please forward to everyone you know,” it ended.
The other widely forwarded e-mail is titled “Can a good Muslim become a good American” and answers that question in the negative, before concluding: “And Barack Hussein Obama, a Muslim, wants to be our president!!!”
Polichicks, check out this Washington Post profile of a woman in politics doing her thing. Julianna Smoot took Barack Obama's fundraising plan from just a hope and a prayer to a lean, mean money machine.
Julianna Smoot wearing her best accessory, a smile. Photo credit: Rick Carioti, The Washington Post.
Bill Clinton is hosting a book party for Chelsea's ex-boyfriend, Ian Klauss, who penned Elvis Is Titanic. The move is unusual in that, at least, I hope my dad isn't throwing any festivas for any of my exes.
Chelsea and her friends are expected to attend the book party, and Ian has dedicated the book to Chelsea.
Apparently, Chelsea and Ian really meant it when they said "let's still be friends" at the end of their break up talk. (We all say that, but who ever really means it?)
Parade Magazine recently suggested to Brad Pitt that he run for president. The response?
"Oh, my God!" Pitt says in surprise. "I never thought about it. I have no desire at this point. Maybe I serve better by not going through that door." He laughs. "George should do it!" he says, offering up pal Clooney. "He'd be quite good. I think Ben Affleck should run."
Just as long as Brad doesn't endorse John Edwards.... That would cause a problem at home with girlfriend Angelina Jolie.
Hillary Clinton whupped some you-know-what in fundraising this past quarter. She raised $27 million, and for the first time, beat Barack Obama in number of new donors and amount of primary election money raised.
See also:
Clinton Outpaces Obama in Fundraising in Third Quearter [CNN]
Clinton Leads the Field in Campaign Fundraising [The Los Angeles Times]
From The Hotline:
October 01, 2007
Quote Of The Day
From today's Hotline:
"The choice was pretty easy for me, obviously. Not like Giuliani's daughter."
-- Cate Edwards, NBC/National Journal, 9/29.
[Cate is making reference to Caroline's preference for Barack Obama over her own father, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.]
James Denton, who plays hearthrop Mike Delfino on Desperate Housewives, says that he is "desperate" for "the kind of change that John Edwards is offering - the kind of change that America deperately needs." He also says that Edwards is desperate for cash and asks for contributions. If you are desperate to see for yourself, the video is below.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks with Dr. Nadine Burke about expanding coverage for children under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Photo credit: Pelosi's official website at www.house.gov/pelosi.
Everybody's sweating the polichicks! Politicians are doing all they can to book appearances on daytime talk shows to reach us.
So on that note, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will appear on The View tomorrow to discuss her role as the first woman Speaker of the House, children's health insurance (she's fighting for it!), Iraq, and the news of the day. The interview will air live, and the Speaker will appear as the first guest on the third segment of the show. The View airs at 11 a.m. EST on ABC.
Be sure to watch!
Tyra asked Barack to send a message to her brother and his fellow troops who are stationed in Afghanistan. The clip below aired today on the Tyra Show.
When asked who would play him in a movie, Barack Obama said that he would like Denzel Washington to play him but admitted that Will Smith would be better because of the ears.
The clip below aired today on the Tyra Show.Looking for his future in a crystal ball, Barack Obama exclaimed, "I see the White House right there!" The clip below aired today on the Tyra Show.
They're sweating us, polichicks! We've talked a lot about how the presidential candidates are all hitting the daytime talk shows that target female audiences. They've been on Ellen, The View, Oprah, Rachel Ray, and others.
Well, Barack Obama is no different. He wants us too! Watch him on the Tyra Show today at noon. Tyra Banks says that this is "the most important interview that I have ever done" and has dedicated the entire hour to Barack.
