News Roundup, 02/25/08: The Third Act Begins
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 10:32am
Friday felt like the start of something — almost as if the primary in Texas turned into a movie over the last few weeks, and the day after the debate in Austin was the jumping off point for the third act.
Obviously the debate was a centerpiece in the Texas operation for both campaigns, and there was a great deal about each candidate's performance to unpack in the aftermath. I offered my thoughts on what we're likely to see between now and March 4th here.
Friday, however, would prove to bring more tragedy than anything else. A member of Senator Hillary Clinton's police motorcade was killed in a motorcycle accident, and that prompted Senator Clinton to cancel the rally scheduled for Fort Worth later in the afternoon. She did make an appearance to tell the gathered supporters what had happened; we have video of that entire speech here.
Republican Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi has been under investigation for some time for some problematic dealings here and there that attracted the attention of a federal grand jury. On Friday, he was indicted on almost three dozen charges, including money laundering, extortion, and wire fraud. Renzi had already announced plans to retire, and now House Republican leadership is starting to strong-arm him to resign before the end of the term.
John McCain continued to run into problems with his campaign last week, and the new problems were not lobbyist-related this time. McCain is having a hard time convincing the FEC to let him out of his request for matching public funds. If McCain were going to adhere to the law, he would already be out of room to raise additional money, because the FEC says he cannot tell them he's withdrawing his application — the FEC makes the final call. However, McCain is not going to follow the law and will continue to raise money because his lawyer told him everything is okay. If McCain is charged with and convicted of willfully breaking campaign finance laws, he could face penalties and possible jail time. More on the story here.
And in cased you missed the news yesterday, Ralph Nader announced his candidacy for president on Meet the Press. I will say, however, that the collective cringing you hear from Democrats nationwide is unwarranted. Unless something totally unforeseen happens, I have a hard time believing that Ralph Nader will be a force to be reckoned with in this year's election.
Lastly today, we shot a lot of video at Obama's rally on Wednesday, the debate on Thursday, and the Fort Worth Clinton event on Friday, and we've been bringing it to you over the weekend. There's still more to come, but below you can find a list of what we have so far:
Obama Campaign:
In The Spin Room - Chet Edwards
In The Spin Room - Ron Kirk
In The Spin Room - David Axelrod
Clinton Campaign:
In The Spin Room - Garry Mauro
In The Spin Room - Mark Penn
Texas Democratic Party
In The Spin Room - Ed Martin
In The Spin Room - Bill Brannon
Outside the Debate
Clashing Camps
Interview with Hillary Supporter
Outside the Dallas Obama Rally
Interviews with Obama Supporters
We'll have more for you throughout this week, so stay tuned to the Texas Blue.
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TO; Texas Dems, Independents, even Republicans
By conor
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 1:15pm
Before you vote, I urge you to read the excellent article in the December issue of the Atlantic entitled "Goodbye To All That: Why Obama Matters" (available on line). I think you will be glad you did.
Okay, dude
By Josh Berthume
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 1:38pm
That's at least the second time you've shopped that article here. I'm going to delete the earlier one and leave this one, but we get it, and point taken. More repetitions will feel like spam.
Thanks
By conor
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 5:01pm
Thanks for deleting the earlier post; I certainly don't want to spam the idea, just want to send the message.
I am new to blogging. Am I posting the message where it will b e read?
You're good
By Josh Berthume
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 11:26pm
The comments go out without moderation, so people will see it. People do see it, in fact.
After a pat on the hand, Obama says, "Don't worry.."
By unchainthedogs
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 7:29pm
"he defused his white mother’s fears that he was drifting into delinquency." Obama's mother "marched into his room and demanded to know what was going on. He flashed her “a reassuring smile and patted her hand and told her not to worry.” This, he tells us, was “usually an effective tactic,” because people were satisfied as long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves."
Obviously, I did find the article, and these couple of sentences stuck out to me. Sounds like what I see now. Why would I be "glad I read the article." I don't get it. That "reassuring smile" and pat on the hand doesn't work for me, I want in- depth answers and less of the arrogant, "don't question me too deep, just trust me and let me control things" patriarchal type attitude, so I will stick with Hillary Clinton for President.
Sorry you missed the point;
By conor
Tue, 02/26/2008 - 12:26am
Andrew Sullivan was saying that Obama is uniquely qualified, because of his generation and (accidental) background, to be the best candidate at this moment in history.
Obama uniquely qualified because of his generation & background?
By unchainthedogs
Tue, 02/26/2008 - 8:05am
I disagree that he is uniquely qualified. I read the article that you wanted us to read and I did get the point, it's the same points that we hear his supporters say everyday, nothing new in the article for me, except for what I pointed out above, that Barack Obama thinks his smile and patriarchal pats should be enough for people to trust him and not question him. I'm not buying it and am not voting for the boy.