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Hot topics about Decision '08

Posted: Monday, April 21, 2008 2:10 PM by Cathy Finkler

Hardball's Chris Matthews takes a look at some interesting Decision 2008 topics and shares his thoughts.

The Clintons’ recipe for success
The Clinton campaign has had a tough time managing former president Bill Clinton in this election. He was supposed to be the secret weapon but against whom? Sen. Barack Obama or his own wife? His gaffes, outbursts, and misstatements have dogged the Clinton campaign since the beginning.

But as we head into the final days of the Pennsylvania primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton is once again trying to use the Bill Clinton years to her advantage. On Thursday, at a Philadelphia dinner yesterday she said:

"Sometimes during this campaign my opponent criticizes the 90s and criticizes what my husband did. And that's fair. But when I hear him criticizing the 90s, I keep wondering what part he didn't like, the peace or the prosperity, because I liked both."


Unfortunately it wasn't "just" the peace and prosperity.  It was also the Clinton sitcom.  The Clintons assume memory loss on the part of the voters.  That's a secret to their success.

 

President for a term?

The wondrous Peggy Noonan has an interesting suggestion for John McCain on Friday. She wrote in her Wall Street Journal column,


“It seems to me it would be a brilliant thing for him to announce he means to be a one-term president, that he means to have a clean, serious, one-term presidency in which he will do things those under pressure of re-election do not and cannot do."

 

Peggy Noonan says voters in the middle would love it because you get a good man, and Obama gets time to grow. The problem is that one-term presidents are almost lame ducks to begin with.

 

Clinton needs the popular vote
In order to have any shot at the Democratic nomination at this point, Clinton needs to beat Obama in the overall popular vote.  Right now, she trails Obama by over 700,000 votes, not including Florida and Michigan.

 

If she were to win the overall popular vote, Clinton might be able to make a case for superdelegates to back her. But in order for that to happen, she first needs a major win in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.   How much does she need to win by, in my estimation? 

 

At least 200,000 votes!  A 200,000 vote win in Pennsylvania to begin the uphill battle of winning the popular vote. Watch video.

 

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Comments

SUBJECT: The Clintons tactics re our memory loss

Mr. Matthews:

I thank you for being one of two journalists (the other would be Keith Olbermann) whom have been more fair than any other on either cable or mainstream.

The two of you have been the only "anchors" or "regular guests" to ever remark against the Clintons regarding their feeling they are owed THIS presidency, a position I am sure is not popular with your employer.  Additionally you point out these errors in their "facts" as they "remember them."

As a result of being off work the past two months, I have been watching MSNBC most specifically, using my DVD-R to catch up to other channels for their reporting of this Presidential Democratic race.  I have this unsettling feeling that certain media higher-ups may be promised favors for supporting or tilting their coverage toward Hillary, despite her and Bill's complaints to the contrary.

Senator Obama has had ample opportunity to sling much more of the Clinton baggage about, but chooses not to do so.  (The Bosnia thing was absolutely an abomination.)  Sen. Obama's ads are tagged as "negative" when he is in reality defending Hillary's constant misstatements, both in ads and on the campagain trail.  Hillary's negatives are bad-mouthing her Democratic opponent.  Barack Obama's responses are pointing out truths, not the lies she puts forth (i.e. Hillary's recent statement that Barack Obama would leave 15,000,000 Americans out in the cold regarding health care.)

Please keep up your standards.  I do appreciate them.

And I would look forward to seeing you run for Senate, but I would miss your show.  Fortunately, for the "first time in my adult life" (I'm 52) I know about the Senate and House members (State and US,) while watching these individuals appear and give their support to either Clinton or Obama, and why they are giving that support.  I will no longer go into a voting booth and vote for ridiculous reasons.  Knowledge is power!

Susan Smith, Erie, PA (Sent Monday, April 21, 2008 3:24 PM)

You know I have been a Clinton supporter for a long time even when Sen. Obama came to the seen. I think one of her problems has been that she holds others to a different standard than her self and it makes her look underhanded and vengeful. She complains about who Sen. Obama consorts with when now there is a video on youtube showing the Pa. Govenor Rendell praising Minister Farrakhan. This is the same Farrakhan that she forced Sen. Obama to denounce during a debate. I just don't get her double standards and she would not get my vote in November should she be the Democratic nominee.      

Gerald / Macon, Georgia (Sent Monday, April 21, 2008 6:49 PM)

If I am not mistaken Sen. Obama needs to reach a certain number of delegates before he can claim to be the Democratic nominee.  So why is everyone wanting for Sen. Clinton to concede defeat when she hasn't been defeated yet?  Mathematically she could still becom the nominee.  Are Dems that afraid of Sen. John McCain? I think Democrats will get behind whomever the nominee is because the Republicans have done enough damage to our country.

Patricio Reyes (Sent Monday, April 21, 2008 8:10 PM)



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