The Texas Blue: News
News Roundup, 5/21/08: The Results are In
By Joseph Vogas
Wed, 05/21/2008 - 10:12am
Last night the states of Kentucky and Oregon held their presidential primaries. Sen. Clinton won the Kentucky primary with 65% of the vote, while in Oregon, where turnout was reported to have been over fifty percent, Sen. Obama obtained 58% of the vote with 89% currently reporting.
Oregon: 88% Reporting, Clinton 42% - Obama 58% (UPDATED)
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 10:31pm
9:55am Central Time 5/21/08: The numbers are still sitting at Clinton 42% - Obama 58%.
12:46am Central Time: 68% of Oregon's precincts have reported and Senator Barack Obama has a 16% lead on Senator Hillary Clinton. Since Oregon is my home away from home, let's head over to CNN to have a look at their county-by-county map.
Advance Text of Obama's Iowa Speech
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 8:40pm
Senator Barack Obama will address supporters in Iowa tonight even as the ballots in Oregon are still being counted. It is projected that he will pass the majority threshold in pledged delegates tonight, although what that means for the primary contest in a general sense (i.e. whether it will end any sooner than June 3) remains to be seen. The Huffington Post has an advance copy of his speech here.
Clinton Claims Kentucky Primary
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:53pm
Senator Hillary Clinton jumped out to a big lead in Kentucky early in the count and did not relinquish it. As of 9:00 PM CST, CNN has the numbers at 65/30 for Clinton with 99% reporting. You'll have to wait a bit for Oregon's results, which aren't expected to start rolling in until 10:00 PM CST.
The High Turnout Continues
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 4:35pm
Keith Olbermann just reported that turnout in Oregon — a state where all votes are mailed or dropped off — is expected to be 50 percent. That's a million people, and I'm willing to bet it is a higher turnout than Oregon has seen in quite a while. Never let it be said that that Democratic primary of 2008, as long it was, didn't have staying power or generate interest all the way through.
Last Stop For The Straight Talk Express?
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 3:43pm
Is McCain going to have a campaign staff left by this time next month? The latest member of Team McCain to leave is chief strategist and media adviser Mark McKinnon. McKinnon, a former Democrat and a key part of George W. Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns, said he is "transitioning, shifting position from linebacker to head cheerleader." Of even more interest is this nugget:
Dirty Laundry
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 3:00pm
Minority Leader John Boehner has refused repeated calls to remove Oklahoma Republican Congressman Tom Cole as the head of the NRCC. Now some rank-and-files have the knives out for both of them. Politico has the story.
Bush On The Trail
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 2:36pm
My initial take on the McCain campaign was that it would do everything possible to distance the candidate from President George Bush, seeing as how his presidency may instantly turn into a giant liability if the two of them are seen or photographed together, or if the rumor starts that they ever inhabited the same planet. So I was surprised to hear about Bush's robust plans to campaign for (and with) McCain. The Nation's John Nichols was surprised, too.
Sen. Kennedy Diagnosed With Brain Cancer
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 11:51am
Doctors for Senator Ted Kennedy say the senator has a malignant brain tumor.
Sen. Lieberman attacks Youtube
By Joseph Vogas
Tue, 05/20/2008 - 11:15am
On Monday, Sen. Lieberman forwarded a letter to Dr. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google. In his letter, Sen. Lieberman requested that Google's video service, Youtube, remove several allegedly pro—al-Qaeda videos from their site.