Yesterday, I was on MSNBC discussing Obama’s veep search, as well McCain’s proposal to hold 10 televised town hall meetings with Obama. Props to Josh, whose post was the fodder for our discussion on the teevee. Check it out. Happy Friday.
Jun 6, 2008 by Peter Slutsky in
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Imagine this: It’s August 28th, 2008 in Denver, Colorado and the Democratic Party is concluding its convention on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech by nominating the first African American candidate of a major party in American history. The crowd is cheering, the balloons are falling, and across the country and the world there is a sense of history being made.
On to the stage steps the tall figure of Barack Obama beaming his megawatt smile and waving at the crowd. He is flanked by his wife Michelle, his running mate, and the running mate’s spouse. They’ve joined hands and lifted their arms in the air. It’s a new day and a new direction for the Democratic Party.
Can you really imagine the last person on that list to be former President Bill Clinton? Can President Clinton be the fourth most important person on the stage that night?
And come January, when it would become President Obama, could he truly run his administration with President Clinton advising Vice President Clinton across the street in the Old Executive Office Building? The man is undeniably brilliant but can he stand in the shadows?
I think Senator Hillary Clinton would be a great running mate and a great Vice President. It could be a 16-year ticket of progressive good governance. But I worry that Bill Clinton, the only Democratic president I have known in my lifetime could not handle his far less prestigious and powerful role.
I’m not sure this is a dream I want to have.
Jun 5, 2008 by Joshua Skaroff in
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Happy last primary day! Keep an eye out for Matthew, who will be on MSNBC between 2:30pm-3:00pm EST today to discuss all things politics!
In other news:
McAuliffe: Clinton Ready To Go [LINK]
Clyburn Gets Off The Fence [LINK]
Governors Supporting Hillary Prepare For Switch To Obama [LINK]
Dick Cheney Is Funny, Kind Of [LINK]
Retiring Clinton’s Debt? [LINK]
TPM: Inspector General: NASA Distorted Climate Data [LINK]
Gallup Poll: Obama Edges McCain Nationally [LINK]
Bill Clinton Is Pissed At Vanity Fair (With Audio) [LINK]
G.M. Closing 4 Plants In Shift From Trucks Toward Cars [LINK]
Wes Clark Floats Obama-Sebelius [LINK]
Climate Change: GOP Not Warming Up [LINK]
Sen. Robert Byrd Hospitalized [LINK]
Jun 3, 2008 by Peter Slutsky in
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I’ve seen this Bill Clinton quote floating around for a while, but the TPM guys finally have the video up.
DoubleSpeak encourages all Pennsylvanians to head out and vote tomorrow and heed our wise former president’s words.
Apr 21, 2008 by Joshua Skaroff in
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In what could be the most critical days remaining in the race for the Democratic nomination it appears, as Senator Obama said in last night’s CNN debate, that it is truly “silly season in politics.” During the debate, Sen. Clinton continued her line of attack concerning alleged “plagiarism” by Sen. Obama and hit him hard, calling his lines, “change you can xerox.”
Obama’s use of Governor Patrick’s rhetoric does not constitute plagiarism therefore rendering her attacks false and pretty truly silly. Americans are looking for solutions, not canned attacks.
Yet, it’s still worth noting that Sen. Clinton has done the exact same thing over the course of her campaign - a glaring example taking place just last night:
Hillary Clinton: “You know, the hits I’ve taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country.”
Bill Clinton 1992: “The hits that I took in this election are nothing compared to the hits the people of this state and this country have been taking for a long time.”
I think people are really tired of this story. It truly is just silly.
UPDATE on the silliness: CNN has picked up the story
Feb 22, 2008 by Matthew Slutsky in
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This quote says it all. Hillary Clinton must win Ohio and Texas.
“If she wins Texas and Ohio I think she will be the nominee; if you don’t then I don’t think she can.”
– Bill Clinton, quoted by ABC News, on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination.
Feb 20, 2008 by Peter Slutsky in
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Not surprisingly, Fox News and the GOP Noise Machine are trying their level best to turn Scooter “Jailbird” Libby into a martyr for St. Dick of Wyoming. Let’s look quickly at how the law actually affects Scooter.
Firstly, an experienced prosecutor like Patrick Fitzgerald would have never indicted Libby if he wasn’t sure he had the goods to convict. Since proving false or inaccurate statements is not enough to establish perjury or obstruction, it can be very difficult to secure a conviction for these crimes.
In traditional criminal law doctrine, there are two main elements to each crime. One is actus rea, the conduct element of the crime, and the other is mens rea, the accused’s state of mind about the crime in question. In the case of perjury, it was Patrick Fitzgerald’s obligation to establish that Libby knowingly lied and misled the Courts and investigators. If Libby had merely misremembered, he would not have the required mens rea to be guilty of perjury.
Despite Libby’s vow to move for a new trial and appeal the decision, as is his right to do, it is highly unliklely that higher Courts will be eager to reverse the Libby verdict. Appellate courts do not look at facts anew when a case is before them; they look only to see if reversible errors of law were made at the trial level. Libby will certainly point to the media hullabaloo and the excuse of the 12th juror as grounds for a new trial. But the courts will be reluctant to give the circus another night under the big top, and will also give great weight to the moral authority of a jury verdict.
Libby’s best remaining shot at exoneration lies squarely in the hand of George W. Bush. Under Article 2, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, the President is given broad authority to pardon individuals for past crimes, as well as any offenses that person may commit in the future. Politically, it is highly unlikely Bush would dare to pardon a crony like Libby before Election Day 2008. To pardon Libby would risk giving a huge gift to Democrats in their goal to retain Congress and reclaim the White House. However, Bush could easily pardon Scooter Libby after Election Day and before the next President, Democrat or Republican, is sworn in. Republicans and Democrats alike were appalled by the pardons issued by President Bill Clinton right before W. moved into the White House, particularly the pardon of scumbag financier Marc Rich. To prevent just such an eventuality, Congressman Barney Frank and others have proposed amending the Constitution to bar last minute pardons after Election Day. Until that day, however, Bush is free to tarnish his legacy by giving Scooter a walk on his way out of the White House. Hopefully, the mainstream media will press Bush and Tony Snow on the pardon issue until 2008.
Mar 6, 2007 by Alex in
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At the end of last week, I wrote about the Obama-Clinton face off in Selma, Alabama this weekend. In this morning’s Washington Post, Anne Kornblut and Peter Whoriskey go to great lengths to clarify a point that didn’t really need clarification at all.
“This is the site of my conception. I am the fruits of your labor,” Obama told an audience of civil rights movement veterans. “When people ask me if I’ve been to Selma before, I tell them I’m coming home.” An aide later said the senator did not mean to imply that his birth was a literal result of the Selma marches but rather of the movement overall.
You can watch clips and read the transcript of Obama and Clinton on their websites. Both candidates made great speeches. However, as expected, Sen. Clinton was kind of upstaged by the other Clinton…no, not Chelsea.
National Public Radio also does a great piece on the Selma events. Have a listen.
Mar 5, 2007 by Peter Slutsky in
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The Washington Post ran a story this morning noting that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) campaigns will cross paths this weekend in beautiful Selma, Alabama.
Obama will give the keynote speech at a service honoring the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, the site of “Bloody Sunday.”
Obama (D-Ill.) announced several weeks ago that he would deliver the keynote speech at a service honoring the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, joining Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and other veterans of the civil rights movement in marking the historic event.
Well, where there is an Obama these days, there has to be a Clinton.
Reluctant to give any ground to Obama even at this stage of the campaign, Clinton (N.Y.) decided early last week that she, too, would go to Selma this weekend. She arranged a simultaneous appearance at a church just steps away from the one where Obama will speak Sunday morning, and she agreed to accept a civil rights award on behalf of her husband.
On behalf of her husband? No, team Clinton is bringing out the big boy for this appearance.
Late yesterday, after organizers initially said that the former president had not committed to attend, the Clinton campaign announced that he would be making the trip after all.
President Clinton is showing up to help Hillary after news that Sen. Obama has been gaining ground with black voters in a newly released ABC News/Washington Post poll.
This should be interesting. Stay tuned for weekend coverage of the events in Alabama. Maybe Hillary and Barack can share a flight, or maybe even carpool together.
Mar 2, 2007 by Peter Slutsky in
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Day 21
4:58 PM CT.
(first post in Central Time!)
We are spending lots of time in our vehicle these days and therefore have lots of time to listen to good music and quality NPR programming. We also have a six-disk version of Bill Clinton’s book “My Life” which I’ve really been enjoying. We just spent the last two hours listening to President Clinton as he recounts memories of his childhood, his many electoral campaigns, and his first couple of years in office. We’ll keep you posted as to how the story plays out but right now I get the sense that he’ll win the 1996 election.
We just entered Wisconsin! We’ll spend a couple of days in the Badger State producing our next three episodes and doing some interviews with local and statewide elected officials. We’re working to try and interview Senator Russ Feingold which would be a real thrill for all of us.
This pretty much sums up my weekend.
Ok, we’ll talk soon.
-Matthew
Oct 9, 2006 by Matthew Slutsky in
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