February 2008 - Posts
Fighting the Obamenon:
Not to give you any flashbacks to the SAT's...Or flash-forwards. But which number is bigger: 15-million? Or four. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the hint, is that the fifteen million represents the minimum difference between two remarkable February fund-raising efforts. 35 million for Senator Clinton. "Considerably more" -- several reports peg it at, at least 50 million for Senator Obama. But no... in this world at least, none of those numbers is larger... than four. CONTINUED >>
Clinton Defection:
As a practical matter, the Super-Delegates figure to end up meaning nothing to the Democratic nomination. As a mathematical matter, the decision by one of them, to leave Hillary Clinton's column for Barock Obama's, may be utterly insignificant. But in our fifth story on the Countdown: As a symbolic matter -- the day after her last debate -- the day she pleaded with the super-delegates to give her more time -- it may mean everything. CONTINUED >>
Cleveland Rocks:
Just seven weeks ago tonight, after what seemed like a game-changing victory in the New Hampshire Primary... Senator Hillary Clinton announced that, quote, "I found my own voice." Tonight, in the fifth story on our Countdown to the 20th Democratic Debate...As those intervening seven weeks have elapsed, Senator Clinton has seemed to add voice after voice to the sound-track of her campaign... until she seems to have more different ones available to her, than Rich Little. Thus the question -- a week before what could easily be her final tests in Ohio and Texas, 57 minutes before what could easily be the final debate of her campaign: which voice will she speak in, tonight. Or... which voices? CONTINUED >>
Tonight is the 20th and perhaps final Democratic Primary debate and if the past few days have been any indication, it could be a barn burner. Keith will be on at 8pm ET to do a full hour of wall to wall debate preview...and then hand off to Tim Russert (who will join us to preview at 8 o'clock) and Brian Williams who will moderate the big showdown. Afterwards at 10:30 ET, Keith is back with Chris Matthews, and our normal cast of political junkies to digest the evening's events until midnight ET. It promises to be a tremendous night...millions will be watching, we hope you're among them!
*Unless there's another debate, in which case this debate would be the second to last debate.
Ire Straits:
With wild-eyed anger in Cincinnati on Saturday...And then condescending and cynical sarcasm in Rhode Island on Sunday...Senator Hillary Clinton may have written her own political obituary. The corollary question: in so doing, did she also hand John McCain some of the paper and ink he'll need to try to write Barack Obama's? Our fifth story on the Countdown: Whatever the Clinton campaign thinks it is writing -- today it might have supplied the accompanying illustration: of Obama in traditional African robes. CONTINUED >>
Tonight at 8pm ET we'll have all the latest on the McCain scandal (though he would disagree with that description) including reaction from his fellow presidential candidates, fallout from the Limbaugh-lead McCain detractors on the right, and much much more.
Plus...tonight at 10 pm, we'll have another special post-debate Countdown follwing the CNN hosted Obama/Clinton debate. As Keith says...watch it there, understand it here.
We have breaking news regarding the McCain campaign from the New York Times. We're not exactly sure what to make of all this...but right now, the show is getting juggled so stay tuned.
Texas Two-Step
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If you had somehow not yet defined the Clinton-Obama campaign as "ugly"... Tonight, on the eve of the Wisconsin primary, pull out your needlepoint and start making the letter "U." Our fifth story on the Countdown: the word thrown at Senator Obama by Clinton campaign honcho Howard Wolfson is "plaigarism" -- a charge that sank Joe Biden's first presidential bid 20 years ago. But the purported victim of the plaigarism, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, says he and Senator Obama use each other's wordings all the time and he has no complaint. On at least one occasion Senator Obama explicitly credited the source anyway... And the issue of the overlap of language was discussed by both men in a Boston Globe article from April of last year. And oh by the way, the polls in Wisconsin are all over the map. CONTINUED >>
Friday Night Fights:
Last Friday in Portland, Maine, former President Bill Clinton ruminated on what he seemed to acknowledge was over-zealous campaigning on **his** part, in the race between his wife and Senator Obama. "Even if I win an argument with another candidate, it's not the right thing to do. I need to promote her but not defend her." The shelf-life on that, apparently, exactly one week. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Bill In A China Shop. The former President, at Tyler, Texas, this afternoon, asserting that one of two competing moods in America today belongs to those who find it, quote, "inspiring that we might elect a president who literally was not part of any of the good things that happened or any of the bad things that were stopped before" un-quote, in the 1990's. The quote capping another contentious day between the Democratic challengers. Some polling data, first. CONTINUED >>
Claiming Names: Nine days after Super Tuesday and New Mexico has finally reported. Senator Clinton has won -- by two delegates. Our fifth story on the Countdown: we await official word as to whether or not this stops Senator Obama's winning streak. From whom, I have no idea. CONTINUED >>
The Texas Two Step:
There is no Democratic nominee but there is a front runner and it is not Hillary Clinton. And the state of her campaign perhaps summed up by a brief maintaining of two mutually exclusive positions. The Senator was simultaneously accusing Senator Obama in Wisconsin... of refusing to debate her...while she herself was still threatening to pull out of a debate with Senator Obama... in Ohio. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the position on the Ohio debate has changed, she's officially in. But other changes loom.
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Searching for John Edwards: Senator John Edwards is back in the race for president. Not literally, mind you... But -- in our fifth story on the Countdown -- with both of his former rivals now actively seeking his endorsement... What the North Carolina democrat decides could have a big impact in a primary that has become all about momentum.
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Weekend Warriors: If Democratic Party officials in Michigan had not decided to play a game of chicken with the DNC...They would be holding tomorrow's premier event on the primary calendar -- 156 delegates in one key contest between Super Tuesday and the upcoming Chesapeake Tuesday. In our fifth story: Instead? Well, the Detroit Red Wings are home, Sunday. And -- while Michigan mulls over the idea of a primary do-over, and Florida laughs at it -- Senators Clinton and Obama are vying this weekend for more delegates, than they did in all of January. Florida's guffaw, in a moment.
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Scare Mitt-less: If you think the roiling waters will simply smooth out over the wreck of the SS Romney, permitting the new Republican Candidate-Presumptive John McCain to sail without issue towards November... Listen carefully to the sound of the booing at the Conservative Conference, this week in Washington -- twice as tell-tale as usual. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Politico.Com reporting that a registrar at CPAC admitted quote "we've been instructed to tell participants not to boo McCain... we want to seem above Democrats." Even after Mitt Romney dropped out... Even after he called for party unity... Even after the conference-goers had already joined in forced, artificial cheering for McCain... Even after people who live to be told what and what not to do, were told what and what not to do... They booed John McCain anyway.
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The white haired guy on the right. Of course, Mike Huckabee is still in the race, so we may be jumping the gun a little bit, but today Mitt Romney dropped out. Who will Rush vote for now? What does it mean for the Democrats? And what portions of the Obama/Clinton bashing Romney did in his fairwell speech are based in reality? Big night of politics tonight...plus, we're all over this new report that Roger Clemens' trainer says he has the physical evidence to take the Rocket down (even though the Rocket says he told Congress under oath he didn't use steroids).
What Happened Wednesday: The last time we heard such startling news about a Presidential campaign, it was about Rudy Giuliani, and to many it forecast his "Check, Please," moment. Not only has Hillary Clinton today confirmed that she loaned her own treasury five million of her dollars... But tonight -- certain members of Senator Clinton's campaign staff confirming to NBC News that they have voluntarily chosen to work without pay this month. Work, for a campaign facing a cash crunch -- at least when compared to the giant Obama ATM, which raised another three mill on the internet, today, alone. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the good news for Senator Clinton? Super Tuesday was pretty much a tie. And New Mexico is still too early to call.
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Here we go, folks...coverage all day long on MSNBC, and then at 6PM ET the big guns come out. Keith will host the coverage with Chris Matthews for the duration of the night, and until all the votes are counted. We have a metric ton of political firepower for analysis and commentary...including in no particular order Lester Holt, Norah ODonnell, Chuck Todd, Howard Fineman, Tim Russert, David Gregory, Brian williams, Tom Brokaw, Joe Scarborough, Pat Buchanan, Rachel Maddow, and Eugene Robinson.
We also have some new toys...we'll have surrogates for all the campaigns...and maybe a few surprises too. It's going to be a historic evening and we hope you join us. (also...if you want to catch live coverage online, here's a link...here's an interactive real time delegate count)
'Til Tuesday: 20 years ago not a single state had cast a single vote in a presidential primary by the 5th of February. And no Super Bowl had ever been played later than January 31st. Yet tomorrow... is Super Bowl Parade Day, Super Tuesday, and -- just for good measure -- Fat Tuesday. Our fifth story on the Countdown: an epic Democratic race across 22 states apparently tightening up so quickly that the camps of both candidates are tonight, tamping down expectations.
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Primary Colors: As an American cliche, it is one of the oldest, dating back to the real Civil War which really did pit family member against family member. Our fifth story on the Countdown: it was the gravel-voiced New York Congressman Charles Rangel, who, just as the first Obama-Clinton "truce" went into effect, told a New York interviewer that Senator Obama was quote "absolutely dumb to infer that Doctor King, alone, passed the legislation and signed it into law." That was sixteen days ago. Today Mr. Rangel's wife endorsed... Barack Obama. Thus, the Democratic candidates re-joined the battle...House by house...And... spouse by spouse.
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