The Hillary Effect

My definition: the effect Senator Hillary Clinton has on making people either love or hate her.

No other woman in politics has been criticized in the ways Hillary Clinton has. For many reasons, Senator Clinton has a very polarizing effect on people. You either love her or hate her. Such reasons include peoples’ inability to separate her from their opinions of her husband, people are not ready to have a female president, or conversely just want to have a female president. Some people say she is too radical, while others think she is one of the few politicians who want to change completely Washington and to make politicians and policies work for the people, not the big businesses. But no matter what people say about her, everyone notices her. John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich could not say the same when they were in the presidential race. The attention she receives, both good and bad, might actually keep her in the race and help her make it back into White House.

A Republican for Obama!

A VERY interesting article in WASHINGTON POST (how many more ex-president family members need to come out and endorse Obama so people finally realize that OBAMA needs to be the NEXT PRESIDENT!!!)

I like Ike...and Obama. Why I'm Backing Obama
By Susan Eisenhower
Saturday, February 2, 2008; Page A15

Forty-seven years ago, my grandfather Dwight D. Eisenhower bid farewell to a nation he had served for more than five decades. In his televised address, Ike famously coined the term "military-industrial complex," and he offered advice that is still relevant today. "As we peer into society's future," he said, we "must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow."

Today we are engaged in a debate about these very issues. Deep in America's heart, I believe, is the nagging fear that our best years as a nation may be over. We are disliked overseas and feel insecure at home. We watch as our federal budget hemorrhages red ink and our civil liberties are eroded. Crises in energy, health care and education threaten our way of life and our ability to compete internationally. There are also the issues of a costly, unpopular war; a long-neglected infrastructure; and an aging and increasingly needy population.

I am not alone in worrying that my generation will fail to do what my grandfather's did so well: Leave America a better, stronger place than the one it found.

Given the magnitude of these issues and the cost of addressing them, our next president must be able to bring about a sense of national unity and change. As we no longer have the financial resources to address all these problems comprehensively and simultaneously, setting priorities will be essential. With hard work, much can be done.

The biggest barrier to rolling up our sleeves and preparing for a better future is our own apathy, fear or immobility. We have been living in a zero-sum political environment where all heads have been lowered to avert being lopped off by angry, noisy extremists. I am convinced that Barack Obama is the one presidential candidate today who can encourage ordinary Americans to stand straight again; he is a man who can salve our national wounds and both inspire and pursue genuine bipartisan cooperation. Just as important, Obama can assure the world and Americans that this great nation's impulses are still free, open, fair and broad-minded.

No measures to avert the serious, looming consequences can be taken without this sense of renewal. Uncommon political courage will be required. Yet this courage can be summoned only if something profoundly different transpires. Putting America first -- ahead of our own selfish interests -- must be our national priority if we are to retain our capacity to lead.

The last time the United States had an open election was 1952. My grandfather was pursued by both political parties and eventually became the Republican nominee. Despite being a charismatic war hero, he did not have an easy ride to the nomination. He went on to win the presidency -- with the indispensable help of a "Democrats for Eisenhower" movement. These crossover voters were attracted by his pledge to bring change to Washington and by the prospect that he would unify the nation.

It is in this great tradition of crossover voters that I support Barack Obama's candidacy for president. If the Democratic Party chooses Obama as its candidate, this lifelong Republican will work to get him elected and encourage him to seek strategic solutions to meet America's greatest challenges. To be successful, our president will need bipartisan help.

Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole. Without his leadership, our children and grandchildren are at risk of growing older in a marginalized country that is left to its anger and divisions. Such an outcome would be an unacceptable legacy for any great nation."

BARACK THE VOTE

A lot of rambling

On February 12th, I took my 18 year old sister and we went and voted for the very first time. She seemed as excited about the process as I was, though in a much more subtle way. I know she voted in a democratic race, but she will not tell me who she voted for. I have a suspicion that she voted for Obama but I think it speaks of her growing maturity that she realizes how important this process is to our future and values her decision. I am proud of her and I hope she knows that we had a hand in whatever the outcome turns out to be.
I still have my "I voted" sticker on the bag that I took to New Hampshire with me. The bag that holds so many great memories, including a "Stop Global Warming Sticker," coffee stains from the morning that I fell asleep holding my coffee cup which then ended up in the bag, pen marks from when I was waving my pen around while talking about my annoyance with Rudy (I cant clean that mark off....oh Rudy, How I miss thee!!! haha).
Because of the trip to NH to observe the primary process, I feel that I have gained such an insight on how important this election process really is. I knew that I wanted to always be in an informed citizen, voting on issues that would shape my future, but I did not realize how greatly this trip would benefit me as an individual. At work, my boss refers me to the costumers as the 'Political Junkie" and "Obama girl wannabe." He always brings in articles from news papers and magazines that mention Obama, and we even began to read a book called "The Bound Man: Why we are so excited about Obama and why he will not win." (Needless to say I do not agree with the book but it is very interesting reading a Black mans perspective on why our nation still votes on issues of color....hopefully something we are moving past, but still a sad reality.)
One has to be a very open minded person in order to be able to surround themselves with people who are not just diverse in race or ethnicity but instead diverse in political and religious beliefs. I believe that this is also a very hard thing to do, people do not want to be disagreed with.
I know that I have friends who have a different position on political issues, and I know that I do not want to bring politics up with them. I can not expect to change their beliefs and would be offended if they wanted to do that to me,and so I think it is a lot easier to talk politics with people who at least share a basic similarity on political issues (not saying this is the right thing, just the easier choice).

Results of Tuesdays Election........ I am left a little SHOCKED!
While in NH Professor GP and Muir stressed the importance of the role that Media played in the election process, and I think I have been noticing it more and more. I went to sleep thinking that Obama had lost Ohio but it was ok because he had won Texas. I woke up to a whole other story. But what was shocking was the huge deal they were making the election to be. "She is back from the dead!" they kept repeating about Clinton and making the situation look very scary for Barack (I am not doubting that they did the same thing for the last 12 elections that Hillary lost to Obama....but maybe I am a little more biased about this!) But the fact remains that Clinton only received 4 more delegates than Obama did, but you'll never hear that on the news. They like the exaggerate this results so much that we don't even know what is really going on.

To quote Toi..."now I'm just rambling!" haha I guess that's what you get when you wait to post and you have so much to say you don't know where to start and go to...... I need a couple more posts before I get everything out of my head and onto this blog!
By the way, I AM STOKED ABOUT THE REUNION TONIGHT!
See you soon,
Homa

Listen to This

Take some time out and listen to this. To me, there is a huge similarity to me between Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr. It could just because the way this video was made as far the black and white lighting or the chants... such as "Yes We Can" and "I have a Dream"... thats just me, but see for your self.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fZHou18Cdk

Ohio and Texas

Was anyone surprised by Clinton's victories last night? At first I was surprised by the margin of victory she had in Ohio but then when I thought about it, I realized that it really shouldn't be that surprising, as well as her victory in Texas. Because of Obama's, (was it 11?) straight victories, there has been a lot of talk about how Clinton needed these victories to avoid the nail in the coffin and i imagined that pushed Clinton supporters to the polls in droves. That probably also helped keep Obama supporters away from voting, as well as the weather (in Ohio), which was nasty. Maybe Obama fans figured his momentum was so great he would sweep Ohio, Texas, Vermont with ease and they didn't need to go out in the nasty weather to vote? It's going to be interesting to see the caucus results for Texas. It's a shame the Republican primaries haven't been this exciting/close. I wonder if Mitt Romney had remained in the race, in those areas where Huckabee almost took McCain, could he have won them? Is it really that people love McCain that much or just that they prefer him over Huckabee? I really can't understand why he dropped out so early. Oh well. Now it's McCain vs. the winner of the Democratic fight to the death!

Frustrated Voter

So as I look at the calendar by my computer I noticed it is March 2nd, and there are five people left in the race for the White House: John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Hiliary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Ron Paul. Where has everyone gone? Well all the money is disappering from donors and a large number of states have had primaries already. The candidates we have now are the same candidates we had a month ago. Less than 5 weeks after the New Hampshire primary that included thirteen candidates from the Republican and Democratic Parties combined the field has dwindled to five. What happened to nomination process that included the candidates actually fighting and still camapaiging in March? With everyone so eager to have a hand in picking the nominee we've sped the process up so fast that its not even Spring and we know who the nominee is in the Republican party and there are two candidates slugging out in the Democratic party. I love politics, I love the election process, I just love everything political but I have to admitt that this primary process is annoying me. I would love to get actually see candidates fighting for votes across the country through Spring but that might not happen til 2012. Which brings me to another point: when does campaigning for 2012 begin? 2011? 2010? 2009? The day after election day this year? Why can't we be satisfied with just one election at a time? We shouldn't have to have a nominating process that last two years. Some of these candidates have been campaigning for a year already, and its only March. Is that right? I have to admit that I'm sick of this election, sick of the fighting, sick of delegates and super delegats. Lets just talk issues and make America better.

Bill for Obama??

so I dont know if this is a real ad.. but this is something that i saw and has been playing via internet (at least what ive seen)

I am confused.. reactions?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe0BPwWAxnk

Questioning Obama....

So today i heard something very interesting and i am not sure if it is true or not:
Obama recieved 10 million dollars from a "slum lord" named Tony Rosco (i believe)...and JUST IRONICALLY there-soon-after bought a 1.6 million dollar house. What was the 10 million dollars for and will this make Obama a "puppet" in office because he took unofficial bribes and therefore may be pressured in making some changes that is in the best interest of Rosco but maybe not the American people?? Again i do not know the specifics of the case i was just hoping someone would clear it up for me.....also i heard that Obama's wife made the comment "having my husband run for Presidency is the first thing that has ever made me proud to be an American".....does that mean that she was ashamed of this great country? Was America so horrible that she was right in saying that?

Recent Talk

Hello All,

I have read everything that has been said and I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts and/or experiences with all of you since we got back from New Hampshire. After reading Patrick's recent response, it encouraged me to share a story. I went out and voted on Feb. 12th {my birthday : ) } but I am not too sure if all of you knew that I am a Hillary supporter but after talking and listening to my family and friends, some may say that my decision is either smart or stupid. I will try to explain briefly why some feel that way.

Before the caucuses and primaries began, A LOT of family and friends were all about Hillary as I am. I am not sure if it was because of the great reputation she has behind her husband or simply because of her views. But all I know now is that most of the previous Hillary supporters are ALL about OBAMA now. One day a good friend of mine and I were talking, and he was telling me that he simply was not voting for Obama because his name sounded too much like Osama. Although that sounded very immature, I have come to find out that were many people's thoughts in the beginning. But after his countless victories over Hillary, their views change about him and suddenly think, "he may not be that bad after all". Whether they truly sat down and did their research or not, it's funny how people change from week to week. Facebook alone has amazed me because I see so many of my friends writing notes about it saying, "Hilary just needs to drop out of the race... there's no hope". Many of my male friends who at first was all for Hilary, now refuses to put that woman in office. However, I hear a lot of the older woman in my family who would rather vote for Hilary because they say the risk of becoming the President is not worth Obama's life, assuming because of the recent talk that there have been death threats towards Obama if he was in office. I think with any democratic female minority, the decision was and will forever be a hard one because I don't like feeling like I let any particular person down and I know that's how a lot of closest friends feel. Many ask me, "why wouldn't you vote for Obama?"... "Do you know how long and hard our ancestors fought for this opportunity?" Those are just some the questions that I hear whenever the topic of politics come up. For instance, their are nationally recognized african american organizations that have made Obama T-Shirts to show that they are supporters. I have even heard people talk in the future and say, "President Obama". I have even heard McCain make reference to Obama in his speeches as if he already knows that Obama is going to be his only competition in the end.

I know I am starting to ramble now, but I hope some of this makes sense... I am going to get some more thoughts together and come back later... so it won't be so confusing.. : )

Obama and Clinton neck and neck

So I get washington post emails everday, and the latest polls say Clinton leads in Ohio, 50 to 43 %, Obama! wow, good job Clinton, finally getting something. Actually Ohio is were my brother and sister in law live, so i have a feelin they might vote for Clinton, because i parents did in MD polls... but i dont know specfically why.. maybe they like her economy plan, which seems to be her stregnth. In Texas, clinton barely has a winnig prediction in polls of 48% and Obama 47%.. maan that is close, eeks.. thats when you got to campaign galore. She seems to be be a lead for most hispanics in Texas, which might be the reason they predict that 1% lead. Unfortunetly for CLinton, wining these two latest states still wont be good enough to beat out all the states Obama has won.. it helps a lot, but still she needs to do some serious campaigning, and convice a lot of people, inorder to get a tighter grasp and better chance, to beat Obama. Well they have until march 4 i believe, is the offical day Ohio and Texas vote? Bill even said that it is vital for Hillary to win Ohio and Texas, because that will then keep her in the race for nomination. Democrates are split between the two because they all want an experienced candidate who can bring real change and progress, which is most likely thought to be Hillary, but they also find that Obama will be a good president who will fufil the needs and would bring the most change in Washington. For this exact reason i was not sure who i was going to vote for back in the MD elections, its such a tough choice, because i think they are both great candidates who will get a lot done. A lot of what the demographics is in each state, is what will be the big counter for who will win each state. (like any other election). Oh man this election process has been crazy. Its such a close race, its like you never know whats gonna happen each time!
Oh what about the supposed affair McCain had? Does that seem to be affecting his campaign? Can someone tell me more about that becasue i just heard about it and therefore do not know whats going on with that and the rublican votes.

Potomac Primary and More

I don’t know how many of you guys actually voted past Tuesday, but it was really interesting to see so many people at the voting stations. I live right across voting station in my voting district, and I think I saw as many people as I would normally see for the presidential election. There were many people in the line! As far as I remember, I didn’t see that much people back in 2004 primary in the same place, so I guess this primary is really different. There wasn’t much surprise or excitement compared to the Super Tuesday from last week, but I was happy to see that Sen. Obama finally made his breakthrough, which he supposes to made a month ago in NH. Now, for the first time in this campaign, Hilary has to run her campaign as an underdog, and it would be really interesting to see how she would make a great comeback like she did in NH. It would be very interesting to watch Obama campaign too. Since he is considered as a front runner, both Sen. Clinton and Sen. McCain would attack his campaign, and it would be very interesting to see how Sen. Obama reacts on those negative spins. Speaking of negative campaign, I heard very disturbing stories about Hilary campaign in Texas. As many people expected, Sen. Clinton won CA primary by winning over Latino voters, and she might win Texas by the same mechanism. However, what really disturbed me about Hilary campaign’s Latino strategy was that her campaign tried to use the century-old division between African Americans and Latino population in the Southwest, especially in CA and Texas. Hilary campaign already launched rapid negative ads against Sen. Obama specifically targeted to Latino voters in Texas, which is pretty large blocks of voting coalition. I also heard from my Latino friends in Texas along with some online sources saying that Hilary campaign is raising unpleasant racial campaigns there like she did in South Carolina. Hilary’s TA campaign theme goes something like this – if you Latino people put inexperienced Black man on the White House, you all would regret and suffer. Of course, she stays clean on all those unpleasant businesses, but Texans are saying that those kind of ugly words are clearly out there. Hilary desperately needs to win TA and Ohio, but I really hope that she wouldn’t purposely try to divide the country to win her presidency.

Now that Obama campaign made a major breakthrough and Sen. Obama became an unstoppable rock star figure, I was started to worry about if he could really bring us changes that he promised over and over again on the campaign trail. After all those excitements from campaigns are over, he needs to seriously working for American people who gave him enormous support and enthusiastic spirit in his historical campaign. Some people were really disappointed by Clinton’s eight years of presidency because he campaigned like he would be the next JFK, but he turned out to be just an ordinary president who did his job relatively well compared to other average presidents. I guess people are really excited about Obama campaign now because they see next Dr. King or next Kennedy from his campaign. However, if Obama turned out to be very ideological, but not practical president like President Carter back in 70s, it would be another nightmare and disaster for liberals. I was really surprised to hear about Romney drop out last week. Obviously, I think he is an extremely good candidate for conservative (R) s, and I thought he was kind of guy who would fight until his last man, last dollar. But, I guess it’s always smart decision to quit while you still have a choice rather than forced to quit. Some says Gov. Romney looks for 2012 bid, but I’m not sure how it would work for him. Waiting for next chance seems worked very well for Sen. McCain, but it was completely opposite affect for Sen. Edwards. Everybody thought John Edwards had a bright future back in 2004, but he couldn’t even come to second on his own party. I don’t even know Gov. Romney would go for another round, but I hope he could make a great comeback for next round to make 2012 primary more interesting.

Voting Day

First, THANK YOU! professor Muir-i think was who helped me be able to post!

ok second lets talk about voting day.
So i was really excited to vote yesterday, Ive never voted before, i knw im horrible for not votin at the last presidential election but Im out of state and couldnt drive to MD.. and i knew my absentee ballot wouldnt count so.. ya
So im driving to MD, i call my dad to make sure i got what i need and all.. im pumped lets go, voting in a primary is just and exciting thought, this is prob the biggest election in history, you know and im pretty up to date, it becomes a big deal to me (esp after NH).. my moms all mad that im 'wasting' my time to drive to MD.. whatver i didnt have a class til 4:30pm.. so i get to my community center where the voting was being held, gave my info and whatnot.. THEN the lady tells me im registerd as an independent!!!!!! I was like, ok, what do i do now? and she was tellin me how MD is a closed primary, only democrats and republicans can vote.. BUT I THOUGHT I WAS REGISTERD AS A DEMOCRATE!! (crap).. grant it i registerd like 5years ago, so maybe then i wanted options, bc you never know a candadite from a diff party suprises you and you like there ideas/stands.. so she tells me i can vote for the board of education.. i didnt know anything about the candidates! but since thats my field i thought it was important to do it.. they gave me a booklet with the runners info.. so i made the best choice i could and voted for that.. i mean im proud i did that bc its important too.. HOWEVER.. i was SO upset that i couldnt vote for the presidental primary.. im not gonna lie, i got emotional.. as you all know this election will/has made history! I know I can still vote in the actual novemeber elections.. but still i dunno, i kinda feel jipped (sp?).

I'm happy at least the person i was gonna vote for won, with great numbers.. all of the district.. I mean both democratic candidates i think are great choices.. but i like Obama more. The problem however is that evryone says that Obama wont get the nomination bc hes black and he will get assasinated as soon as he becomes president.. what the heck.. and then i hear from others that if he gets the nomination, democrates are gonna vote for McCain instead!! none of the older crowd seem to want Obama (even though he got so many states). I dont know whats gonna happen, this really is such a close race, not just for the Democrates, but I mean you really dont know which political party will win! It can go either way and it is just crazy!!!

ok, everyone stay warm, be safe, and try not to stress out :) ~Nishah

Today is the Virginia Primary!!! Dont forget to vote....unless ur voting against my party...just kidding vote vote vote!!!!

Heartbroken Follower

Well I guess it's official now. Mitt Romney has decided to stop compaigning and leaving it up to McCain, the dinosaur. Now the republican party will lose the election it seems since Obama and Clinton have such steam going behind them.

As the whole group knew I was supporting Romney and now...I'm heartbroken. There goes my vote.. Now since he is out I will have to decide on who to vote for next teusday and I'm certain its going to be for Ron Paul (youre welcome David). If he decides to drop out now too I'm voting Obama.

This just looks to me like the Republican party is giving up. McCain has the nomination it seems and I really hope he doesn't get it. I'm surprised Romney dropped out, I figured Huckabee would drop out before him but he is still on the ballot. This republican is quite upset. hah

Mitt Romney!

Mitt Romney has decided to suspend his campaign! At first I was pretty surprised, but then I thought back to Tuesday and figured it was coming. His Super Tuesday results were pretty disappointing and that would have been his biggest chance to top McCain, butI thought he might have waited until after the Kansas/Lousiana primaries coming up in two days. Since distribution of his delegates is left up to each State's Republican party, it's going to be interesting to see where those votes go. I feel like his suspension, along with the fight between McCain and the ultra-right wing conservatives could catapult Mike Huckabee into a position where he could pose a threat to McCain's front-runner status!

Hillary

So, it not much of a secret to anyone who went on the trip that I am a republican. Despite that, I feel the need to defend Hillary Clinton in one specific aspect....her attire. Yesterday in one of my classes we were talking about her choice of attire. The majority of the class was bashing her because they said that she wasnt wearing appropriate clothing because she "did not look presidential". Some people made fun of the blue turchoise necklace and the brown suit she wore at the debate in California.
Who can say what is the correct attire for a female running for president?
I believe that there is no guideline for what she can and cannot wear mainly because she is the very first female to run. Now im not saying that she can wear jeans but I dont think because she wore a blue necklace and a brown suit makes that she looks unpresidential...am I wrong?

Super Tuesday Results

So, who watched the results? Can you predict now who will be the next President? What do you think of Huckabee's success? Any surprises?

JM

Two more bite the dust!

John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani have both dropped out of the presidential race. While I'm not surprised at Giuliani's departure, given his dismal performance in Florida, I'm still a little surprised that Edwards is calling it quits so soon. His numbers haven't been that great, but a few days prior to his dropping out he issued a statement saying that he "wouldn't drop out, no matter what." Why the change of heart? I'm a little curious. I’m also curious about his decision not to endorse anyone and whether that will change before Super Tuesday. Obviously, his decision to endorse someone would have a relatively big impact, but should the not, I think most of his votes will go to Hillary and only a fair few to Obama. I can’t wait to watch it play out over the next few days. People have been talking about what Edwards will do next, does anyone see him or NOT see him on the VP ticket?
I'm also wondering what the ramifications of Giuliani's endorsement of McCain are going to be. While I think it's going to pick up some votes for McCain, I think it's going to concern the ultra-conservatives who have taken issue with Giuliani for his pro-choice views, as well as some of his other more liberal policies. McCain isn't seen as a die-hard conservative anyway, which may be an appeal to independents and moderates, but being endorsed by a Pro-Choice Republican isn't going to go over well with Evangelicals or ultra-right wingers, who don’t want to be ignored, and who shouldn’t be. Last night’s Republican debate is a testament to that as McCain and Romney essentially waged a “Who’s the true conservative?” debate. We haven’t heard a whole lot about the evangelical vote (which makes up a large portion of the “ultra conservative” category) this primary season but I think on Super Tuesday we’re going to see the evangelicals show up in masses. One thing’s for sure: Super Tuesday is going to be awesome and exciting. I can’t wait!

Bringing Home the Youth Vote

Every four years people complain that voters under 30 are all talk. They like to get involved initially, but then get bored and often don't vote at all.

Prof. G-P and I are doing some research on this topic. What do you all think about this? Based on your newfound knowledge and the awareness of your friends, do you think more young people will vote this year? Is the Obama excitement working?

Please let us know your thoughts on this topic.

Thanks,

JM

Families Divided

I wonder what everyone is thinking about Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama. Remember our wonderful visit with the Kennedy children in Nashua (Bobby, Kathleen and Kerry) who support Clinton?

This is not the first family divided over these two candidates. Jesse Jackson and his wife are also split between Obama and Clinton. I know many other couples/families in the same situation. Why is this the case? What resonates about each candidate?

I know that one of Kennedy's reasons for the Obama endorsement was the campaign strategies used by Bill Clinton in S.C. My thought about Bill is that he needs to get out of the way and let Hillary find her voice again. He's too much the attack dog now. He loves campaigning - he was always at his best doing this. This is likely his last big hurrah and if Hillary doesn't win, he'll be taking it very personally.

Anyone watch the State of the Union address last night? Thoughts????