A bit of anecdotal evidence of Edwards' lack of presence.
This past weekend there was a huge community/health fair in Harlem on 135th Street. My wife went as a participant with our daughters while I was working. She commented later in the day that people were all over the place handing out Hillary ‘08 and Obama for President stickers. I asked her if there were any Edwards people around and she didn’t recall seeing a single one.
I think the die is cast and it’s gonna be Clinton and Obama fighting it out for the nomination.
I'm not sure what's going on with Edwards. But I'll be surprised if she can hang on for 3 fricking months to the top of the heap.
Posted by idiosynchronic at August 21, 2007 02:30 PMWho would give any credence to a NewsMax poll? Having said that I find this to be just a bizarre political scene for both sides.
Posted by Tommy Harper at August 21, 2007 03:31 PMWhat would media coverage be like if there were no polls? Would Kucinich get as much coverage as Clinton and Obama? Would he have gotten more time to talk at the debate? I get so tired of these polls. It's a circular. Some candidate polls higher, gets more coverage, and polls higher still. If they're high in the polling and there's any slip-up, it's over (Dean for example. I just really didn't get what the big deal was about his yell. It didn't sound "presidential"--what Bush DID?) Anyway, I'm interested in the polls, but at the same time, it directs the media attention and tells the rest of us (the ones who aren't being polled) what to think.
Posted by CG at August 21, 2007 04:26 PM(Dean for example. I just really didn't get what the big deal was about his yell. It didn't sound "presidential"--what Bush DID?)
Sorry CG, I heard (saw) that "yell" while watching "The Daily Show"...(appropriate picture acquired) do you understand now, why it wasn't "presidential".
I did one thing and that was LMAO, and everytime I saw him, I thought of that "yell".
I really judged him quite harshly at the time.
The yell was all about who he was and what he, and those supporting him, were trying to do. He was leading. That's very presidential in my book.
Posted by snark at August 21, 2007 05:40 PMKarl Rove's no genius. His strategies rely on cheating, thugging and illegal means. Propping up his "mandate" took:
= millions of other people's money, and nearly a quarter of a billion quite apart from election fraud, libel and thugging, to "elect" the world's most loathed man to office,
= a servile media machine jockeying for "insider" gossip and pandering to the god of ratings and cowed by being thought unpatriotic,
= a rubber stamp congress often voting against their own individual interest for fear of being swarmed by partisan extremists within their own group
= a complicit cardboard opposition also cowed by the threat of being labeled enemies of the state and publicly shamed.
Roves just getting out of town before the total score can be added up. He's like the big shot who gets back slaps for treating people to drinks and a big spread but disappears when it's time to pay.
He's no more a genius than someone who gets his way by offing someone's kin and then threatening the family of anyone who next says "no" to him.
Everyone can smell the rot of what's out of sight. Wait till the tide pulls out and the hastily dumped evidence of malfeasance floats to shore in full daylight.
Posted by Ellie at August 21, 2007 06:20 PMThe "yell" didn't matter. If it hadn't been the yell, it would have been something else. Personally, I thought how stupid we have become as a Nation when a candidate can't show excitment without ridicule.
Posted by Judith at August 21, 2007 06:26 PMThe "yell" didn't matter.
Judith, I think it did matter. I judged harshly, I'm sure others did to.
It was comedy when I first heard it, unfortunately it was the one incident that stayed with him.
Kerry was the Veteran at the time. The one I thought would lead us through these tough times.
Not much laughing for me now.
Posted by Seven of Six at August 21, 2007 07:33 PM
I'll agree with Seven here. The yell was all it was and it cost him dearly. Talk about melting away, that ice cream just vanished. I liked the "she" Idio. I was too surprised to see Newsmax referred to here, very surprised.
Ellie, leaving the WH in August before the primaries is customary, allows people to get aligned with somebody else or just get a break. Rove's been working with W since 1993. No running away here, just clearing the deck. They have each others digits.
Posted by peter at August 21, 2007 07:51 PMOn the issue of "the yell":
A few news media unfairly altered the audio of their footage to make it seem that Howard Dean was yelling unnecessarily, rather than making an excited utterance to be heard over a noisy, excited crowd. They played it relentlessly for no reason other than to be part of a choreographed and scripted pile-on.
The Edwards hair "issue"?? Stoopid Republican math. Depending on what overhead gets added in, anyone who's had to have professionals fix their hair and makeup for a TV, film or public appearance is guilty of the same thing. Hell, Bush's "regular guy" hair relies on anyone involved working at sweatshop wages and donated overhead.
These self-important journalists should be disgraced and reminded of this sorry chapter in their careers for the rest of their careers. The ones who are abusing the public airwaves, profiting and growing rich off them but not providing the service and responsibility in exchange for what empowers and enriches them, should be particularly shamed for what they did and continue to do.
Maureen Dowd invented out of whole cloth the John Kerry "quote" of snootily pretending he followed NASCAR. It wasn't a misstep on his part but the media was snickering at it anyway. What possible motivation does she have of depriving half the population of hearing what their likely party's candidate has to say on issues rather than serving as her on ramp to the fucking media kewl club?
Maureen Dowd could have shown a modicum of responsibility, not censoring her voice or curtailing her thoughts but not fucking passing off as a quote somethimg that someone didn't actually say.
She could have allowed people who didn't support Bush to have an honest shot at electing someone else.
But no. She'd even prolong a war for this validation; condemn thousands to death and disenfranchise millions to play a stupid comment for some snickering colleagues.
I hope that shallow sack of crap is reminded often what her shallowness cost in blood. Thousands of Iraqis and troops needlessly paid with life and limb just so she could preen for some DC kewl kids who are even more shallow and ruthless than she is.
Posted by Ellie at August 21, 2007 08:47 PMEllie, we heard it live, as it happened. It didn't change with each hearing. I tell you Senator Harkin looked so out of it. He didn't seem to know what was happening.
Posted by peter at August 21, 2007 09:04 PMPeter, I was referring to the "Dean scream" mentioned upstream, and there was absolutely no newsworthy reason to rerun that few seconds of news footage ad nauseum except to create a persona for something who stood up, directly and in a threatening way, to the right wing juggernaut.
Aug recess departures are to be expected, but Rove's not just an admin lackey. Given the various investigations coming to a head, regardless of his post-admin plans, you'd think his experience in tough times ahead would be requested and he'd stick around at least past the first bumpy patches.
Posted by Ellie at August 21, 2007 10:01 PMwake up to the fact that the kewl kids in the korporate media slimed Gore and Dean and are now sliming Edwards
Posted by Gay Veteran at August 22, 2007 06:02 AM