Palin Isn't Attracting Hillary Voters

To think that anyone thought it would. The only former Hillary voter who would vote McCain-Palin are the PUMAs, which number about 10,000 if they're lucky.

WaPo: Just 9% of women who supported Clinton in the primaries say they are more likely to vote for McCain because of his inclusion of Palin on the Republican ticket, according to a poll of 800 women conducted on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
A majority — 55% — said Palin’s inclusion on the ticket makes them less likely to vote for McCain, who will be nominated at the Republican convention tonight.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. Emily’s List raises money for Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights; Palin is staunchly against abortion.

Roll Call Details

Go Hillary! Go PUMAs!

Here are the roll call details. Whatever. This strikes me as nitwitty, on the verge of lunacy. It's nothing but symbolic. At this point, we should just nominate Hillary and spare Obama. I don't think America is ready for enlightened leadership yet. I'm having a bad day.

CNN: But on a Wednesday morning conference call with reporters, campaign officials said that a joint statement from the Obama and Clinton campaigns laying out the roll call process had been sent to state delegation chairs Tuesday night.

Vote tally sheets have been given to the state chairs, who will distribute them to the members of their delegations. They are reviewing them at state delegation breakfasts in Denver this morning.

From about 5 to 7 p.m. ET – 3 to 5 p.m. MT – the official party roll call will take place. First, a speaker will nominate Clinton, then another will nominate Obama. Two people will second Clinton’s nomination, and three will do the same for Obama. The office of the Democratic National Committee’s secretary will collect the tally sheets, and roughly half an hour of speeches will be followed by a state roll call. After its completion, each candidate’s total will be announced by the state chairs.

On the Unity Bus

Well, after checking around, it looks like everyone liked Hillary's speech well enough, at least the democrats did, even the hardline sites like DailyKos. 

The republicans, however, are still trying to drive wedges- Hillary didn't say enough and what Hillary left out. (I noticed she didn't say she was a proud wife).

Republicans are working that Obama-Clinton divide as far as it will take them. They sure are good at dirty tricks, pandering and exploitation but they can't run the country very well. 

Hillary's speech was inspiring enough, so I'll take it and ride the unity bus until Bill decides to skip Obama's speech or something like that. 

Oh, I guess I won't even bother with that. The Clintons are in it to win it -- in 2012. That's a fact. I'm so done with the Clintons and the PUMAs. 

May they reach their catharsis moments. Everybody on the bus. 

Hillary Supporters Saying They'll Get There

By the end of the week, many of Hillary's diehards say they'll do what's best for the country and back Obama.

Just saw that clip on GMA and on NPR, Hillary supporters say Obama better give Hillary the silver medal or else they won't get on board. They say that they worked hundreds of hours campaigning for Hillary, so it's easy to see why they're upset.

But how about the flipside? How about the Obama supporters, who also spent hundreds of hours campaigning for Obama?

Up to this point, even though Obama won, (many of them clearly don't understand why Obama won, which is part of the problem), they haven't acknowledged that fact, and this election has been all about Hillary. 

Every Obama moment has also been a Hillary moment. But I see her diehards budging.

PUMAs will never back Obama. Many of them were republican to start and just wanted to see the first woman president.

This Nevada blogger, who is at the convention, says the numbers of Hillary supporters protesting are small. (fun pics.)

But its seems we're getting close to catharsis.

Meanwhile, the republicans are relishing the tensions, using a former Hillary supporter in a new ad. Because Hillary and McCain are so different, anyone who jumps to McCain has some other issue.

NPR: The two campaigns struck a deal on the roll-call vote, partly to appease the more than 1,500 pledged Clinton delegates who are at the convention.

Kagan, who circulated a petition to get Clinton's name on the convention ballot, says that while he'll vote for Clinton in the roll call, he will ultimately support Obama.

But Marquez says she does not support Obama at this point — and that she'll vote for Clinton in the roll call.

Marquez says that all the Clinton delegates stay in touch and communicate, and it's her impression that the majority at this point do not support Obama.

A new TV ad for Republican John McCain is targeted at that group.

"I'm a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat," a woman in the spot says. "Now, in a first for me, I'm supporting a Republican, John McCain." The Arizona senator, she said, has the experience and judgment for the job.

It remains to be seen how that message resonates with Clinton's supporters — and if it translates into votes in November.

What Hillary Sold During the Primaries

For the past several months I've been trying to understand the Hillary diehard line of thinking, how they came to the conclusion that Obama was an empty suit and this morning it clicked.

After listening to Hillary supporters talk this morning about how race affected their vote, there it was: Hillary sold Obama to her supporters as an inexperienced and unqualified black man who was trying to use his race to get ahead.

That's the way they saw it. They didn't see Obama as a qualified candidate. Geraldine Ferraro was a good example.

In Hillary's effort to get to the White House, she didn't engage in overt racism but she used Obama's race against him, which when you think about it, is devious and ingenious and it's no wonder she wasn't thought of for the vice presidency.

Hillary's Name Will Be Up for Nomination

Looks like Hillary and her PUMAs will have their way at the convention. Interesting. Perhaps this is a bold move to defuse, since nothing will come of it

But I doubt it will lead to "catharsis." It certainly won't lead to votes for Obama. The Hillary supporters who aren't in emotional crisis have already backed Obama. The PUMAs and her diehards have made it clear they will not. In fact, they believe that this will lead to her nomination. Then what will they do when it doesn't? I imagine they'll cry some other kind of foul. 

CNN: The presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announced Thursday that Senator Hillary Clinton’s name will be placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

"Since June, Senators Obama and Clinton have been working together to ensure a Democratic victory this November," said the campaigns in a joint statement. "They are both committed to winning back the White House and to to ensuring that the voices of all 35 million people who participated in this historic primary election are respected and heard in Denver.

"To honor and celebrate these voices and votes, both Senator Obama's and Senator Clinton's names will be placed in nomination."

The release said Obama’s campaign encouraged the move to promote party unity, and recognize Clinton's status as the first woman to compete in every presidential primary.

This is sweet. One of those unnamed "source" types says this is about Hillary making history. It hasn't been about moving forward that's for sure:

CNN: The source added the Obama campaign "always knew it would probably have to happen." "They have known since the day she dropped out that she wanted this 'for history,' " the operative said.

Clinton would not be the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for president at a major party convention. U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was placed in nomination at the 1964 Republican convention, and U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm of New York was placed in nomination at the 1972 Democratic convention.

Want a sample of where these supporters are at?

What audacity, what self importance, what the h**l is he talking about? I wasn't aware that it was his decision to make as to whether or not her name was added to the nomination. I hope to god that she steels the nomination from him, although I doubt that will happen seeing as how everyone involved is so enarmored by his elities, egotistical self important attitude. United States watch out for this fake. You are about to regret the biggest mistake ever made by the citizens of this country.

This is from the pumapac, enjoying their 15 minutes of fame:

In 10 days Puma PAC and all of the JSND coalition will be in Denver, Colorado to protest the coronation of an Unready King and to bear witness to the unraveling of our Party. This is the final count-down to our first major public demonstration. Marylandpuma, mamapauma, dances, trish, Lori, Saharra and I are in a dervish of activity making it all happen so that when we get there we all look good, feel good, and ARE good. This isn’t a Million Woman March. It’s more like Thousand Woman Stand.

Statement:

Statement from the Obama and Clinton Press Offices
August 14, 2008

Since June, Senators Obama and Clinton have been working together to ensure a Democratic victory this November. They are both committed to winning back the White House and to to ensuring that the voices of all 35 million people who participated in this historic primary election are respected and heard in Denver. To honor and celebrate these voices and votes, both Senator Obama's and Senator Clinton's names will be placed in nomination.

"I am convinced that honoring Senator Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion," said Senator Barack Obama.

Senator Obama's campaign encouraged Senator Clinton's name to be placed in nomination as a show of unity and in recognition of the historic race she ran and the fact that she was the first woman to compete in all of our nation's primary contests.

"With every voice heard and the Party strongly united, we will elect Senator Obama President of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again," said Senator Hillary Clinton.

Senator Obama and Senator Clinton are looking forward to a convention unified behind Barack Obama as the Party's nominee and to victory this fall for America.

Hillary's Aide: She Lost Iowa Because of Edwards

It's amazing the lengths that Hillary, her husband and crew have gone to undermine Obama. 

It's obvious. She didn't win and she doesn't want Obama to win. It's getting tedious.

She campaigns for Obama and says she's behind him and then she's off coyly telling her supporters another thing. 

Today, Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania, is saying Hillary could win Obama 15 states.
The idea is even being floated that she could win the nomination at the convention.

And let's not forget Mark Penn, who advised Hillary to paint Obama as Un American. Creep. I'm sure John McCain thanks you. 

Now her former communications director said they would've won Iowa if Edwards hadn't lied. Nice unity.

Her crew is so divisive and they're in denial or they're prepping for a Big: I told you so. If Obama lost in November, that would boost Hillary. 

If Obama didn't have to fend off the Hillarys as well as McCain and the Republicans, he might be further along.

Swamp: Sen. Hillary Clinton's former communications director, Howard Wolfson, said he believes the New York senator would have won Iowa if John Edwards' affair had been exposed earlier, forcing him out of the race.

"I believe we would have won Iowa, and Clinton today would therefore have been the nominee," Wolfson told ABCNews.com.

"Our voters and Edwards' voters were the same people," Wolfson continued. "They were older, pro-union. Not all, but maybe two-thirds of them would have been for us and we would have barely beaten Obama."

PUMAs Still See Hillary's Path to Victory

PUMA leader Will Bower on Fox. He will NOT vote for Obama and still thinks Hillary can win. If you're not familiar with the PUMAs, check this out.

Hillary Says Her Supporters Need Catharsis

They always NEED one more thing. Can we just have one more moment, they plead? We need closure, catharsis. 

What a bunch of bull and talk about setting back women. These diehard supporters have acted like this is a love affair as opposed to a political election. 

The only thing Hillary wants to prove is that she was this close to winning the election. She and her husband are trying to hold on to power. This is not about the country. I hope the Obama camp shuts them down or gives them a room to party in. Alone. That way they can feel all the catharsis they want. Of course, Obama won't do that. 

His camp will come up with some sort of compromise but don't think that this will lead to "catharsis" or the backing of Obama. 

These folks have made it clear, they're never voting for Obama. Most of Hillary's supporters already support Obama. Even Gloria Steinem has moved on. She moved on by June.  It's just a vocal minority who just can't let go. Hillary has only egged them on by talking out of both sides of her mouth. This isn't about sexism. 

Want a sampling of who these people are? Visit this link and click on some of the websites. You'll see plenty of anti-Obama sites. despicable ones. Hillary should've denounced these folks, not coddle them. I suppose it's a much needed ego stroke, though.

If Obama wins this election, it will be a truly remarkable feat, giving that he has to negotiate with the Clintons and placate the democrats, while battling McCain and the republicans. A two-front assault. 

Here's Obama's response to catharsis: 

AP Obama told reporters Thursday he thought the negotiations with Clinton aides had gone "seamlessly," but he also rejected the notion that there might be a need for emotional release on the part of some Democrats.
"I don't think we're looking for catharsis," said Obama. "I think what we're looking for is energy and excitement."

PUMAs still think they're "18 million voices." Here's the PUMA leader, who says he still sees a path to victory for Hillary.

Clintons Undermining the Democrats

She shouldn't even bother campaigning for Obama. She doesn't even think he can win. She's transparent. Her efforts to undermine the democrats continue as she drops hints to her supporters every chance she gets that she's very hurt. She has inspired the PUMAs to march during the convention. It reminds me more of a love affair than a political election. She's even got the wingnut support. 

MSNBC's Chuck Todd asks: 

So this is in Clinton's power whether her name is put into nomination, not Obama's nor Howard Dean's.) Watching the video clip, you can tell that Hillary still hasn’t gotten over losing, and given all of the people she had telling her that she’d be the next president, we can understand the denial; she had been preparing for this moment for nearly four years. But we've asked this question a million times and we ask it again: Would the Clintons have been as deferential (or be expected to be as deferential) to Obama if the roles were reversed? What has happened over the last few days has given Obama the high ground here.

Answer: No, the Clintons would've mopped up their power and moved on.

Time: But behind the united front, says an adviser, "it's not a great relationship, and it's probably not going to become one." In private conversations, associates say, Clinton remains skeptical that Obama can win in the fall. That's a sentiment some other Democrats believe is not just a prediction but a wish, because it would prove her right about his weaknesses as a general-election candidate and possibly pave the way for her to run again in 2012. Clinton is also annoyed that Obama has yet to deliver on his end of an informal bargain, reached as part of their truce, that each would raise $500,000 for the other. "Hillary has done her part in that regard," says an adviser. "Obama has not."

Bill obviously is suffering too. This is how powerful people fall with a thud. 

Meanwhile, if Hillary Clinton's feelings are still bruised, her husband's are positively raw. The former President is particularly resentful of suggestions—which he believes were fueled by the Obama camp—that he attempted to play upon racial fears during the primaries. Not helping is the fact that Obama has yet to follow up on the tentative dinner plans he and Bill Clinton made at the end of the primary season. "It's personal with him, in terms of his own legacy," says a friend of Bill Clinton's. "And the race stuff really left a bad taste in his mouth."

David Axelrod, Obama campaign strategist, says the media is making it worse than it is:

Axelrod also suggested that an ABC reporter who pressed Bill Clinton about his apparently reluctant support for Obama was "picking at the scab... This whole interview was calculated to try to create conflict. I thought Clinton was very restrained in his responses.'' Asked if the Clintons are acting in "a unified fashion,'' Axelrod said they are. "I think that Sen. Clinton, you're going to see her out there (campaigning for Obama.).. I think she is making a good faith effort on behalf of Barack... I think she will be a force this fall.''

Younger Women: Hillary Lost on Issues

Hillary lost on issues and it wasn't a loss for women, it was a loss for Hillary. NOW THAT'S Feminism -- of the new variety, where people are NOT judged on race, religion, gender... How refreshing, compared to the PUMA response. Ick.

WaPo: I recently met with a group of high school and college women who had come to D.C. for a leadership conference. I wondered whether they felt -- as many women in my generation do -- that Hillary Clinton suffered in the Democratic presidential primary from rank bias against women. So I asked them: Did Clinton's sex play a part in her losing the nomination? And did her loss dissuade them or their girlfriends from wanting to pursue political careers?

Their answers were no and no.

On the first question, they though Clinton lost on the issues. This was not women's loss; it was hers. On the second question, they're not disheartened. If anything, by almost winning, Clinton inspired them to work even harder to elect themselves or other young women. Read the rest -- a must read

Like the race issue, women have made great strides, thanks to the feminist movement, but the feminist movement has not advanced with the strides it has made. They're still fighting the old fight and to the younger people, where sexism isn't as rampant, it's just not ringing any bells.

Still Pushing Hillary as Vice President

Here's an interesting update: McAuliffe is talking out of both sides of his mouth, or the media has it wrong. CBS says that he said Gov. Tim Kaine is Obama's best No. 2 but then he told MSNBC that Hillary's the best choice:

Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe recently weighed in on the veepstakes in a rather surprising way. McAuliffe said that Kaine, not Clinton, would be the party's best option for the second spot on the ticket. Like Obama, Kaine was a civil rights attorney before he entered politics, and as governor of Virginia could help the Democrat's chances of turning that state blue.

McAuliffe's other best choice.

Swamp: Terry McAuliffe, chairman of Sen. Hillary Clinton's former campaign for president and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has a running mate for Sen. Barack Obama:

Hillary Clinton.

"Hillary Clinton. I don't even think it's a close call,'' McAuliffe said in an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe today. "How do you not pick Hillary Clinton? We would sweep all across the country, up and down the valley... Think about it.

"It would be a bold move,'' he said. "I don't think people would expect it... It's be a bold move: Barack Obama, leadership, take this country to a new place, first African American, first woman.... History!... I'm telling you!... All across the country!""

If Hillary Clinton came out and denounced her racist supporters, I'd be more comfortable with Hillary. But she hasn't rejected them, only encouraged them. 

She could've put an end to this PUMA stuff but she didn't want to (she still needs their money) and that's why she's not likely to be vice president. 

Besides, Obama doesn't need or won't get the PUMA support. He's already got the Hillary democrats -- the PUMAs are NOT democrats. They had their eye on the prize -- the first woman president and all that that meant. These supporters are set to try to make a mockery of the nomination in August. Though, I'm not sure their numbers are large enough to matter. 

So why is Hillary's camp still bent on idea that Obama needs Hillary? I have no idea but they're out of touch with reality.

If Obama thinks she's right for him, I wouldn't complain. But Hillary and Bill seem all about preserving power --theirs. 

Hillary in a Pickle

She's helping Obama raise money and at the same time trying to pay off $25 million in debt. Maybe this is why she can't cut her PUMAs loose: 

Mantz is still Clinton's national finance director, a once-illustrious job that now carries the responsibility for a grab bag of thankless chores. He must help retire $25 million in campaign debt, and is piecing together a schedule of fundraising events -- no picnic in the best of times -- for a candidate who has lost but who needs new donors because so many of her earlier contributors gave the legal limit.

And he is in charge of persuading cranky Clinton donors, many of them still bitter about the way she lost, to open their checkbooks for Sen. Barack Obama, while he endures the doubts of Obama supporters suspicious of how much Clinton is doing for herself rather than for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
.......

Top Clinton supporters have formed new alliances to help the Obama campaign: The group Lawyers for Hillary, which raised $2 million for Clinton during the primaries and advised her campaign on legal issues, has recast itself as the Obama Lawyers Unity Fund, with nearly 75 members helping Obama raise money. (The group is working with, but distinct from, the Lawyers for Obama committee, which has been part of the Obama organization from the start).

On Wednesday night, two prominent Clinton supporters in Florida held a fundraiser for Obama featuring his wife, Michelle, that raised between $500,000 and $600,0000, aides said.

All together, Mantz said, Clinton has raised an unspecified but large amount -- "I would think it's several million already, and millions to go," he said -- and his counterpart, Obama finance director Julianna Smoot, agreed.

"She's been great," Smoot said in an interview, listing the joint events in which Clinton has participated.

An analysis by The Washington Post found that more than 2,200 Clinton donors became first-time Obama donors in June, giving him $1.8 million of the $52 million he raised last month. Of those, 355 contributed at least $2,000, for a total of $1 million. That leaves a long way to go for Clinton and her contributors to be considered a prime source of cash, but it represents what Obama advisers believe is the beginning of a real rapprochement.

Though a few election cycles have passed since former rivals had to help each other in this way, there are historical examples of the kind of partnership Clinton and Obama are trying to develop: Former president Jimmy Carter and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy helped each other retire debt after the 1980 presidential race, as did Sens. Gary Hart and Walter F. Mondale after the 1984 contest.

This year, the level of cooperation between the two campaigns' donors has varied, in part based on geography. In such places as New England, Georgia and Florida, top fundraisers for Clinton and Obama had relationships that predated the campaign, and they reported finding it relatively easy to unite after the primary race.

The Florida event with Michelle Obama on Wednesday night was an example of comity: held at the South Beach home of Abigail and F.J. Pollack -- who were once top-dollar bundlers for Clinton, with Abigail Pollack estimated to have raised more than $1 million for Clinton during the primaries -- the party pulled in more than Clinton herself did during her stops in New York earlier in the month.

Set Hillary Free

Apparently, Hillary's got a website registered for 2012. Ambition beats all and why not? 

She's got about 10,000 PUMAs who will back her. (some will be rallying at a conference aug. 8-10). Most of their "network" of bloggers are simply splash pages. 

That Hillary hasn't outright rejected these folks is definitely a sign she's in it to win it even if it's in four years. 

She's not fooling anyone. I think we all can see that her heart is not in supporting Obama. Neither is Bill Clinton's. I say release her. Set her free. 

It's nice not to see either of them around. It's good to hear fresh, new voices. 

Apparently, one PUMA has been put to rest. And another.

Oops, McCain Lapses

John McCain forgot about Hillary's PUMAs, the ones who are voting for McCain because Hillary lost, when he called Obama's healthcare plan "Hillary Care." Oopsies.
Funny stuff.

CNN: "My friends, we've seen this movie before," McCain said. "It was called 'HillaryCare' back in 1993, and we're not going to do it again. We're not going to have the government take over the health care system in America."

At a later moment in the town hall, when stressing his own bipartisan record, McCain accused Obama of generally having "the most extreme record of any member of the United States Senate."

Edwards Serious About Vice President Slot

He says so here.
He's been my pick.
John Edwards' focus on poverty is one of the tenets of an Obama administration. I think they'd work well together. People discount him because he's already been vice president and he's already run for president. But I think people have warmed to him. He got a lot of support in the primaries. His wife, Elizabeth, and her focus on healthcare would be an asset to an Obama administration.
Also, no one votes for a candidate based on the vice president, except maybe the Hillaries. What would those PUMA gals do if she was Obama's vice presidential choice? I suspect they'd really be in a tizzy.

Obama Hires Hillary's Women's Outreach Rep

Perhaps she can help the PUMAs give it a rest with the anti-Obama rhetoric.

Swamp: Another veteran of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is joining up with Barack Obama, and this one comes with the explicit blessing of the New York senator.

Dana Singiser was director of women's outreach for the Clinton campaign, after serving as staff director of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee that Clinton chaired.

For the Obama campaign, Singiser will serve as senior advisor directing efforts to win the women's vote.

Hillary Could Silence the PUMAs

She needs to address these splinter women's (and men's) groups who are demonizing Obama. 

I checked out justsaynodeal.com, which lists a bunch of "blogs" and websites but after clicking on about 20 of them, there was nothing but a page or two, but they offered plenty of hate for Obama. Small but vocal. 

One highlighted Obama as a "Muslim punk" another had a monkey ad on their site. Another called him a "jackass."

I know this is not what Hillary is about. She couldn't possibly approve of these women's efforts. She must be embarrassed or maybe sad. It looks like she did attract a different crowd. 

She needs to address them personally and sincerely and tell them that it's okay to support McCain but it's not okay to attack Obama based on race or accuse him of being a terrorist. 

There's a lot of hate being spread around the Internet and Hillary could go a long way to do something about it. 

After all, if she tells them they're wrong and foolish, then what are they going to do?  

CNN Still Pushing Hillary for Vice President

CNN has a new poll out -- their own -- that says:

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Friday, the number of Clinton supporters who plan to defect to Republican Sen. John McCain's camp is down from one month ago, but -- in what could be an ominous sign for Obama as he seeks to unify the party -- the number of them who say they plan to vote for Obama is also down, and a growing number say they may not vote at all.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey completed in early June before the New York senator ended her White House bid, 60 percent of Clinton backers polled said they planned on voting for Obama. In the latest poll, that number has dropped to 54 percent.

You'll note, that the first sentence says that the number of Clinton supporters who plan to defect is down, so that's good, right? But the second sentence contradicts the first and it doesn't really make sense, and where are the numbers? 

What they don't say is how many Hillary supporters are left. Who are they polling, the PUMAs? I suspect there aren't many, just those diehards who turned democrat to vote for the first woman president.

Then the poll goes on to say that 43% of democrats still want Hillary as president and goes on to question whether Obama can win without her as vice president. So the CNN really polled two groups? Registered democrats and a Hillary supporter pool. 

For one, they don't need to be polling Hillary supporters anymore. That race is over. The most telling polls are individual state polls. 
The poll is just BS.

PUMAs Phony Hillary Supporters

The self-declared PUMAs aren't really Hillary supporters. Hillary, after all is a democrat, and she and Obama see nearly eye to eye on issues. PUMAs are voting for John McCain. 

These "supporters," which Hillary probably would be embarrassed to have, voted solely to see the first woman in office, not a good reason to vote for someone. 

My hunch is they would've voted for McCain if there had been two men in the race for the democratic nomination. Otherwise, how would you explain such a shift: Hillary to McCain? I'm sure McCain and plenty of men are having their laughs at the expense of these women who've turned a political campaign into an emotional affair.