I see on Drudge that some new states have checked in with primary/caucus results - looks like Obama is flying and Hillary's crying (again).
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My turn; from the Seattle Times:
And here's Ann Coulter demolishing McCain's claim to be a conservative. Quite effective.
In the question and answer session she also does a pretty good job on Huckabee and Ron Paul too. Rudy and Romney should have hired her to promote their candidacies.
Posted by: Patrick R. Sullivan | February 10, 2008 at 01:28 PM
That's pretty amusing, 21% of Washington Republicans going for Ron Paul. It must be all the strict constructionists out there.
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Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 01:35 PM
Coulter, Limbaugh and Hannity seem unable to comprehend that their gripe is with Republican voters, not with the candidates. What they haven't recognized is that there isn't a conservative Republican now alive who can win a national election; my concern is that such a Republican's parents may already be dead.
If they can't run a candidate they like who can win the nomination, what's the point in blaming the candidate who can?
Powerline has a nice take on Coulter, I think. McCain is for closing Gitmo, ending waterboarding and winning the Iraq war. Hillary is for closing Gitmo, ending waterboarding and getting out of Iraq even if that means losing a war we can win. That's one hell of a difference.
Posted by: Other Tom | February 10, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Over at Tradesports you can buy a contract for 39 cents that pays a dollar if she gets the nomination. If I knew how to do it--and were unmarried--I believe I'd buy a few thousand of those.
Posted by: Other Tom | February 10, 2008 at 02:10 PM
"She" means the crass fishwife.
Posted by: Other Tom | February 10, 2008 at 02:11 PM
Coulter, Limbaugh and Hannity seem unable to comprehend that their gripe is with Republican voters, not with the candidates
Yes to that, OT. And yest to your whole comment.
Posted by: MayBee | February 10, 2008 at 02:37 PM
"If they can't run a candidate they like who can win the nomination, what's the point in blaming the candidate who can?"
I'm sure they love to be able to pick who runs, but like the rest of us, they're ultimately limited to the ones who volunteer. Frankly, I think conservative hostility to John McCain is almost entirely unremarkable. What fascinates me is the reservoir of hostility among moderate Republicans for conservatives that's finally being tapped.
Posted by: JM Hanes | February 10, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Other Tom:
If I knew how to do it--and were unmarried--I believe I'd buy a few thousand of those.
You want I should buy those contracts for you? We can keep it hush-hush, on the QT.
Posted by: hit and run | February 10, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Jane-
I would never begrudge someone (teachers) making more money. I don't think they are underpaid, but it would be interesting to see what a school district might do if given the opportunity to hire teachers the way a corporation hires similarly educated employees. I know my company paid all new hires a certain range, and then gave raises as appropriate. My husband's first company, Procter+Gamble, actually made it a *firing offense* to discuss salary with co-workers.
Now, I've never seen Presidential candidates talk about raising the salaries of say, Assistant Magazine Editors. Why the President should advocate teachers, in particular, should make more money baffles me. They are not federal employees, they are employees of a state or local school district. Unions keep inidividual teachers from making more money. It is abusrd.
And yes, add to that their limited hours. It's all beyond ridiculous.
Posted by: MayBee | February 10, 2008 at 02:48 PM
Oh sorry. My manifesto should have been on last night's thread.
Posted by: MayBee | February 10, 2008 at 02:49 PM
I hear you Maybee, and I recognize that it is all just pandering. Every teacher I've ever met has whined about how hard they have it. They don't. My mother was a teacher, and we were very poor, but she's 82 years old now and lives better now than she ever did when working. Now a lot of that is because she was as tightfisted with a buck as humanly possible, because she knew she had no one else to rely on. She pays not one dime for her medical coverage. Her pension is forever. I'd never argue that she had it "too good", but teachers are taken care of without a lot of personal risk in the marketplace. That may be as it should be, but can't they at least stop whining about it?
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 03:38 PM
Powerline has a nice take on Coulter, I think.
I thought so, too (practically perfect, in fact, right down to the "guilty pleasure" bit). But I think the best point is the one you made, that her gripe is with primary voters (which is decidedly not on).
I wish there was some way to determine if a more classically conservative candidate might be viable. I personally thought Fred was the clear choice of the GOP crop, but recognize he had some negatives that might be off-putting (and others that were prone to mischaracterization by the media). I'd love to see some sort of virtual process that could replay the primary with some of the personality factors switched around (and perhaps some improved oratorical skills) to see how it shook out. Oh well.
Posted by: Cecil Turner | February 10, 2008 at 03:39 PM
Ann's candidate was Duncan Hunter-
He got 0% meaning no one even accidently voted for him.
Alan Keyes beat him in Florida.
But ya-there are people on blogs calling Ann an "icon" and influencer[sic] of millions!
[wait they may have something there-she's the "unendorser!"]
Posted by: Anon | February 10, 2008 at 03:49 PM
Other Tom:
That's one hell of a difference.
Especially considering that whichever of the current candidates takes the oath of office will be working with Madame Speaker:
Posted by: hit and run | February 10, 2008 at 04:21 PM
I read/heard this morning that if we are headed for a brokered convention, Pelosi and Reid will be called on to broker an outside deal to avoid that possibility. (Apparently we can't even trust the SUPER delegates and need Congress to intervene.
It would be really fun to look at their approval ratings after they anoint Hillary and force Barack to settle for second fiddle.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 05:00 PM
Especially considering that whichever of the current candidates takes the oath of office will be working with Madame Speaker:
Exactly. The idea that a Congressional compromise with McCain would essentially be the same as a compromise with Clinton/Obama is pure fantasy. That's true of any issue, but especially the war. The other obvious factor is that McCain will have to compromise with his own party on the going-in position, which a Dem would not. Which is why I have major heartburn with minimizing differences between the parties on defense.
Posted by: Cecil Turner | February 10, 2008 at 05:16 PM
Jane- amen. I too come from a family of educators. One story you may appreciate is my uncle, who was on the board of directors for his small town. At one point, the teachers were unhappy about something they were being asked to do, and kept calling him to complain. My uncle called the school principal and said if the teachers had time to call him and whine, they weren't being given enough work to do.
I would like to see John McCain use that line.
Posted by: MayBee | February 10, 2008 at 05:30 PM
Board of Education, of course. Not directors.
Posted by: MayBee | February 10, 2008 at 05:31 PM
Hersh's piece in the New Yorker on that facility/building in Syria that Israel bombed is here: Hersh
It's seven pages of (mostly) nothing.
Syria's silence - the dog that didn't bark - is extremely curious. Why aren't they screaming, as they usually do, about Zionist aggression et cetera?
And Israel's silence is also curious. After the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear facility, they widely promoted their actions including letting the pilots appear on national television for interviews.
Posted by: SteveMG | February 10, 2008 at 05:33 PM
That's pretty amusing, 21% of Washington Republicans going for Ron Paul. It must be all the strict constructionists out there
My neighbor has a Ron Paul yard sign and he is a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church.
The East side of the state is cheek by jowl next to the panhandle of Idaho where all those right wing nut cases reside. ::smile::
Posted by: glasater | February 10, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Well Obama is leading the RW in Maine. Early yet, but I thought she was expected to win.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 06:01 PM
Here's CNN's Maine report. BHO is leading 57/42 with 59% of the precincts reporting. RW better hit the afterburners on Broom I if she's gonna catch him. That or their are some humongous precincts still out.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | February 10, 2008 at 06:10 PM
CNN has a very nice money map which tracks contribution levels down to who's leading at the the county level. OH is much more interesting than TX for the March 4 contests. BHO has a very narrow lead over RW in OH while RW is flying away with TX.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | February 10, 2008 at 06:32 PM
Maybee,
I think I over reacted a bit.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 06:49 PM
BHO projected in Maine
Posted by: Rick Ballard | February 10, 2008 at 07:03 PM
Driving home tonight there was an enormous traffic back up to my exit. What do you know BHO is in town. I have never seen such a large response at the Virignia Beach conference center, formerly known as the Pavillion ever. Lots of late well heeled 50's boomers on the street, it might have been a stones concert. Made me think of a good friend who is infatuated with Obama, other than being a retired teacher she lives the most conservative of lives, cautious, yet competitive, loves order and routine, incredibly dedicated to contributing time to her church, her hobby as a masters swimmer, her grandchildren. She was a math teacher and from what I have heard from former students a very tough and good one. She is all about personal responsibility and is married for close to 40 years now to a marine. Yet she is a democrat and suffers from BDS. She is willing to give everthing we have as Americans away for some vague idea of fairness, getting the rich especialy businesses and the monolithic presence of public school. I just don't get it.
BHO is a new sensation.
Posted by: laura | February 10, 2008 at 07:05 PM
So Hill loses an expected win in Maine and her campaign manager has been replaced.
It must be Valentines Day or something.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 07:12 PM
oh sure, Jane. I "amen" you and then you say you overreacted. Anyway, I always enjoy your reactions, whatever they may be.
Posted by: MayBee | February 10, 2008 at 07:16 PM
I think the appropriate terminology for Maine is that Mrs. Clinton has "absorbed another savage drubbing." (With a seven-month football drought ahead, it's important that we keep sports cliches breathing, even if CPR is required.)
Posted by: Other Tom | February 10, 2008 at 07:20 PM
Maybee,
You didn't overreact - you changed the tone, and I came around. Credit due.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 07:27 PM
Oh gawd, katie couric is interviewing the RW on 60 Minutes.
I mean really.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 07:28 PM
Looks like the usual good sense is prevailing here. I have been dark in Tulsa since Friday am. Had a hearing scheduled for Fri but the judge's clerk made a mistake and the judge was unavailable until Monday. So, rather than go back to Atlanta for the weekend, I went to the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene. What a neat place. It sure makes you appreciate what a special human being Ike was.
Speaking of Ike, the "Old Guard" (conservative) Repubs of the early fifties couldn't stand him. They thought he wasn't conservative enough and that Bob Taft should have been the candidate. Taft was "sound" on the issues donchaknow.
Misapprehension of the American electorate is nothing new to the Rush/Coulter/Hannity gang. Even Reagan was not trusted by some.
Posted by: vnjagvet | February 10, 2008 at 07:28 PM
Ike was a cracker jack farmhand.
======================
Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 07:35 PM
The Gramscian residue covering chairs at every MSM outlet in the US has been pimping (there's that word again) six specious downbeat memes for seven years and have succeeded in driving the approval rating for Congress to all time lows.
And, at absolutely no additional cost, have shot down Broom I while elevating an empty suit stuffed with 10 tons of horse manure to Presidential contender status on the basis of changey hopeydopeyness.
Is this country great or what?
Posted by: Rick Ballard | February 10, 2008 at 07:35 PM
Poor Patti Solis Doyle. She just wasn't getting enough time away from running the campaign to devote to her family.
Now with Mrs. Bill Clinton giving her the boot, she'll be able to be a mom again.
Posted by: PaulL | February 10, 2008 at 07:48 PM
It took the lying MSM a good twenty years to convince people that every change in the weather was due to humans sending carbon into the sky.
You can fool half the people given enough time.
Posted by: PaulL | February 10, 2008 at 07:51 PM
I still remember Everett Dirksen weighing in on behalf of Taft and against the Eisenhower moderates: "We followed you before [with Dewey] and you took us down the path to defeat." One of my earliest memories relating to politics.
Posted by: Other Tom | February 10, 2008 at 07:52 PM
Ike was a cracker jack farmhand.
======================
Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 07:35 PM
I've always wondered if they grew the popcorn with the syrple on it or not.
Posted by: Larry | February 10, 2008 at 08:04 PM
That was the part that was fun, OT. There were audio stations throughout the museum with bits like that. For those of us in their 60's, 1952 does not seem so long ago. They had one exhibit that replicated a TV store in Abilene displaying the old black and white sets -- all turned on showing old kinescopes in their flickering glory. Price tag for one midline 18 incher: $351.00, a princely sum in 1952.
Just enjoying the RW's switching campaign directors. That is never a good sign, although McCain seemed to make it work. But it is kind of late for that sort of thing.
Posted by: vnjagvet | February 10, 2008 at 08:11 PM
A prize for you, Larry.
============
Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 08:14 PM
If I were writing McCain's campaign stuff--I'd admit that McCain Feingold missed the intended mark,and promise to move to replace it with a simpler law banning foreing contributions and requiring all contributions be posted online 24 hours after receipt.
After he wins he can deal with Gitmo and his inetemperate and stupid remarks about tribunals by saying he's now had access to classified information and has spoklen to his legal team who have persuaded him that is not a proper course of action and the priod rules (with some cosmetic tweaking) are all he'll push for.
I'd start naming some plausible business people,including Romney, and foreign affairs folks as his brain trust.I'd say Thompson has kindly agreed to advise him on judicial appointments and remind him of his role in shepherding Alito and Roberts thru the Senate.
Posted by: clarice | February 10, 2008 at 08:27 PM
Clarice,
That looks very good. I believe that an additional statement that: "As Chief Magistrate I will make protection of our borders a top priority." would be a nice capper.
Maybe a reprise of the spending portion of the Contract With America to boot.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | February 10, 2008 at 08:37 PM
Absolutely--then onward.
Posted by: clarice | February 10, 2008 at 08:43 PM
The problem is, if you want to win the general you move to the center, not to the right. I'm not sure McCain can do both.
Posted by: Jane | February 10, 2008 at 08:53 PM
Clarice, what makes you think McCain can take advice? That, by the way, was a hallmark of Bush, and any great executive.
=================================
Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 08:54 PM
CBS: Obama Takes Delegate Lead, Even Counting Uncommitted Supers...
Yowza.
Posted by: Topsecretk9 | February 10, 2008 at 09:12 PM
Well, I'm thinking of the silver lining here. The Clintons are no more. Even though I may have lost a $100 bet that seemed such a sure thing in August of last year.
Posted by: Sue | February 10, 2008 at 09:16 PM
The things he needs to do to get the right off his case are so simple (see above) that he can do them without really moving more than a nanostep and then he can move on..
Posted by: clarice | February 10, 2008 at 09:19 PM
The Clintons are no more.
I don't agree Sue. I think they will strongarm the supers no matter what.
Posted by: Topsecretk9 | February 10, 2008 at 09:23 PM
He has NO chance without independents, so I think he'll continue to court the center. He must be praying for the RW to pull off a victory.
Posted by: Porchlight | February 10, 2008 at 09:25 PM
And Sue - apparently she might not have to strong-arm them which should make the inter-party melt down all the more juicer.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080210/ap_on_el_pr/superdelegates
Posted by: Topsecretk9 | February 10, 2008 at 09:27 PM
I love Tony Snow. One of his comments at CPAC is billboard worthy:
"When Hillary and Obama talk about CHANGE their talking about what will be left in your pocket after they get done."
Posted by: Ann | February 10, 2008 at 09:50 PM
I don't agree Sue. I think they will strongarm the supers no matter what.
If they do that then they are no more. She has to win it in order to remain a more. Or something like that.
Posted by: Sue | February 10, 2008 at 09:54 PM
One certainly hopes Clarice, but if he has the likes of Lindsay Graham, as Attorney General or even Vice President (shudder); he will have to tack to the center-left.
If McCain finds a more pragmatic running mate, with imput on the national security
and legal staff (like Romney or Thompson);
more proper policies will ensue. We know that the al Sabah financed public relations
campaign has been able to nearly 'canonize'
the Gitmo detainees, like the "Tipton 3" and
stigmatize the US response. The 'Andy Worthington" piece in the Times on Hekmati, and the hit on the Panjhiri dominated Directorate of National Security by Nordland & Yousafsai, is all part of the
same assault; whose groundwork was laid by the likes of Dana Priest, on her smear of
Bagram's detention facility. Any who have challenged this view, like "Cully Stimson, have been strongly reprimanded. Would there
be room for the likes of Mr. Stimson, or Lt.
Col. Couglin in the McCain administration.
This is not an academic question, but a very practical one.Unfortunately, AQ never stops until it acquires the targets it's had it's eye on (WTC 1993,2001) In this case, the Capitol and/or White House; possibly by a member of the Ghamdi or Quahtani clans, like Detainee # 603, that Durbin shed those 'crocodiles tears' for. I say this base on the track record of such persons in Afghanistan,Iraq,Chechnya, Thailand, et al, in evading capture and/or becoming martyrs; as is the tradition among the leading Ilkwan Wahhabi clans, that challenged Ibn Saud back in thelate 20s and 30s. Having begun to reclaim their power with the capitulation after the Grand Siege
of Mecca in '79.
Posted by: narciso | February 10, 2008 at 10:17 PM
Ann: Tony Snow: "what will be left in your pocket after they get done.""
Tony Snow is wonderful, but you also need to credit Chris Muir: Day by Day, January 11, 2008
Posted by: sbw | February 10, 2008 at 10:19 PM
We will take care of RW in Ohio. It is an open primary and my family is located in the suburbs of Cleveland and Cincinnatti. She has Tubbs-Jones and Strickland but that's about it. The mayor in Cleveland and Columbus will be going for Obama as will the black population in Cincinnati. He will get the Independents since the repub race is settled.
Posted by: maryrose | February 10, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Thanks sbw, I appreciate you crediting Chris Muir. This whole CHANGE, Audacity Of Hope, CHANGE, Change We Can Believe In, Ready On Day ONE, HOPE is really getting out of hand. I think Mark Steyn said it pretty well too:
"He wants to waft us upward on a great uniting bipartisan marshmallow of "hope" and "change" so he can implement down-the-line by-the-book highly partisan hopeless unchanged liberal policies."
Posted by: Ann | February 10, 2008 at 10:53 PM
I saw over at Roger L. Simon, that Charlie (Colorado) has a piece at PJM How Karma is Like Pool.
Charlie, I suppose Inspector Clouseau was one of those you had in mind when it comes to misunderstanding:
Will any of Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, or Owen Wilson's movies hold up as well as (most) of the Pink Panther films have?
Posted by: Elliott | February 10, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Can't top Ladykillers.
============
Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 10:59 PM
"Let's get outa here"
==============
Posted by: kim | February 10, 2008 at 11:03 PM
I am going to miss my cowboy:
Bush orders clampdown on flights to US
Posted by: Ann | February 10, 2008 at 11:38 PM
Hear, hear, JMH.
Posted by: anduril | February 11, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Ann:
Thought of you, natch, when I saw this. You don't need to watch the video, just scroll down to the pix and you'll see your grass roots campaign taking off: Clearly, we are all about puppy love on the right!
Posted by: JM Hanes | February 11, 2008 at 01:24 AM
Plame is going to Tampa, Cigar city, spy town. She's going to USF around Valentine's Day. Is that TSK9 that is at USF or another guy?
Posted by: Ruy | February 11, 2008 at 02:34 AM
Open Primary. Running mate. Puppy love. Clouseau. Reflecting pools. Tony Snow. Clampdown.
Dick knew nothing. Watch out when she gets close cause there are allot of 'em and your drugged and they just need parts.............
Posted by: nw | February 11, 2008 at 02:43 AM
Is that TSK9 that is at USF or another guy?
Cryptic? What did I do to you?
Posted by: Topsecretk9 | February 11, 2008 at 02:55 AM
Okay, it's a whole new week, and I think everytime Mike Huckabee shows up on fox we should take a drink. (So far I'm half in the bag and it's 7:00 AM)
Posted by: Jane | February 11, 2008 at 07:02 AM
Ooh! Ann, thanks for the Mark Steyn on change. I love the marshmallow of hope. I'll file that one away for later use.
Posted by: sbw | February 11, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Thanks, J M Hanes
"Operation Puppy Love" is a great name for the grass roots campaign. Knut, eat your heart out!!! LOL
WOLF, WOLF!!
Posted by: Ann | February 11, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Cecil:
Exactly. The idea that a Congressional compromise with McCain would essentially be the same as a compromise with Clinton/Obama is pure fantasy.
More from that Nancy Pelosi interview:
It takes a willing suspension of disbelief to think retired generals should be consulted and their advice heeded aa opposed to the commanding general in Iraq, the pimped-out (per Keith Olbermann) Petraeus.
Of course, even that pales in comparison to a belief that stability can only begin when we leave.
That's either a willing suspension US national security for domestic political gain or an unwitting suspension of sentience
ERRATA: Who says those are mutually exclusive? The either/or construction leaves out the most likely scenario: BOTH/AND!!!
Posted by: hit and run | February 11, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Bench Memoes:
And an entertaining column by Steve Sailer:
Will McCain Go To The Mat With Obama
snippet1:
<snippet2:
blockquote>New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor interviewed Obama's fellow students at Harvard Law School, where Obama was elected president of the Law Review. In her January 28, 2007 article "In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice," she summarized his career there: "People had a way of hearing what they wanted in Mr. Obama’s words".
This discrimination lawyer has played it close to the vest with his deepest beliefs during his rocket-propelled ascent, not antagonizing anybody into strongly resisting his rise to supreme power. For example, the Illinois GOP was mau-maued into rolling over and bringing in a joke (black) candidate from out of state to run against him for the Senate in 2004—his first and only federal election victory, it is easy to forget. (The Bush White House helped by lobbying against a stronger GOP candidate, Jim Oberweis, because he had dared to campaign against illegal immigration.)
The NYT’s Kantor, though, gives a clue to the inner Obama:
"In dozens of interviews, his friends said they could not remember his specific views from that era, beyond a general emphasis on diversity and social and economic justice".
Let me translate that from Harvard Lawspeak into English:
* "Diversity" means racial quotas, multiculturalism, and immigration.
* "Social and economic justice" means tax and spend.
Now, Obama is a smooth operator. But the two people who have had the greatest influence on his adult life—his wife Michelle and his spiritual advisor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.—are not.
Posted by: anduril | February 11, 2008 at 10:38 AM
I am becoming increasingly irritated with Mike Huckabee. He CANNOT win the nomination. You cannot fight with the math!! And now he is acting like a jerk with this Washington State complaint. Very selfish and self-indulgent. It can only help the Democrats by creating disunity in the Republican party. It would be different if it were a close race like Obama/Clinton. But this one is over. Show some class Huckabee!! Get out now and work to support the party candidate. Dont' be a classless boor like that other politician from Hope, Arkansas.
Posted by: bio mom | February 11, 2008 at 11:03 AM
I've jokingly said that the conservatives fight with McCain is a B'rer Rabbit type thing--please please don't nominate or vote for him (heh). But in reading today's WaPo I read the comments of a voter who said just that--the opposition of the right made her think voting for McCain was a good thing.
NRO may be right on the Gang of 14 deal. I think the piece is not altogether accurate though--word from a conservastive friend on the Hill at the time indicated the deal was a good one for conservatives, suggesting the Reps couldn't hold against a filibuster.
In any event internal party polls showed great support for Harriet Meiers at the time the NRO was leading the fight against her.
Not everyone is a political junkie who actually pays attention to issues--and in the real world, it machts nicht what we think.
Posted by: clarice | February 11, 2008 at 11:30 AM
bio mom
Huckabee isn't creating disunity that isn't already there. The bright side is that the general population knows that Huckabee is the most, the very most, conservative in the race.
and they see that the most, the very very most, conservative in the race (which the general public defines on the social issues alone) is rejecting McCain.
That can only be a good thing for McCain in the general!
Posted by: Syl | February 11, 2008 at 01:22 PM