Update: June 3, 2008 Night of FINAL Democratic Primaries
If you don’t know, Barack clinched the Dem. nomination, and collected 59.5 superdelegates in one day, with more to come, obviously.
You can find his speech here. Disuss this one, ya’ll I wanna know what you’re thinkin…
Pt. 1 Obama clinches nod
Pt. 2 Obama clinches nod
Sable Verity: Clinton’s entitled mindset stops her from supporting Obama
###
One of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s top financial supporters offered $1 million to the Young Democrats of America during a phone conversation in which he also pressed for the organization’s two uncommitted superdelegates to endorse the New York Democrat, a high-ranking official with YDA told The Huffington Post.
Haim Saban, the billionaire entertainment magnate and longtime Clinton supporter, denied the allegation. But four independent sources said that just before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Saban called YDA President David Hardt and offered what was perceived as a lucrative proposal: $1 million would be made available for the group if Hardt and the organization’s other uncommitted superdelegate backed Clinton.
Contacted about the report, Saban, initially very friendly, became curt. “Not true,” he said, “it’s simply not true.” He declined to elaborate. Did he talk to the YDA superdelegate? “I talk to many, many superdelegates. Some I don’t even remember their names.” Did he propose any financial transaction? “I have never offered them or anybody any money” in exchange for support or a vote, he said. The Clinton campaign did not return a request for comment.
Members of the Young Democrats agonized about the potential fallout of Saban’s call; his financial offer represented one-third of the group’s 2008 budget. Democratic officials and fundraisers were consulted about how to respond, and at times the discussions were “emotional,” one participant said. “It is scary for them, Haim is very powerful, he has great influence over donors who give to them.”
Another source said that Hardt and others were acutely aware of Saban’s status within Democratic circles and were concerned that their organization would suffer long-term harm if they declined his offer or if news of the proposal became public.
“I said I thought that the appropriate response was to call Haim back and say thank you but we are not interested,” said the source. “I also said that it was surely the case that this story would get out because it is too interesting not to and they should think about how to deal with it. It was a day or two [before they responded]. They felt afraid. They were like, ‘Holy shit, this is Haim Saban.’”
The rest of this article can be found at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/19/superdelegates-turned-dow_n_102450.html
I wish the media could just make up it’s mind. We covered this last week in a post with the same title, sans ‘again’.
It outlined, that for various unclear reasons, each media outlet has a different delegate and superdelegate count for Obamara and Clinton. CNN had Obama the furthest behind Clinton in Supers, which is why when ABC called Obama ahead last week, CNN yawned and went back to covering the O man’s jeans, a game of Taboo, and his walk outside the captial; gee, that all seems so…news worthy, doesn’t it?
Alas, CNN nowa grees Obama is in the lead with Superdelegates, Clinton’s last claim to fame:
With the endorsement of Congressman and Senate candidate Tom Allen, Barack Obama has pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in CNN’s count of Democratic superdelegates, 274-273.
In a statement released by the Obama campaign Monday, Allen said both Democratic candidates were “supremely qualified” to be president.
“I have been friends for a very long time with former President Clinton and Senator Clinton. I respect their service to our nation. Hillary Clinton has run a vigorous campaign and has attracted a passionate following in Maine and around the country. She loves this country and is a true leader. For her service, I am grateful,” he said.
“Most of the primary voters across the nation have now spoken. It is time to bring a graceful end to the primary campaign. We now need to unify the Democratic Party and focus on electing Senator Obama and a working majority in the United States Senate…”
Allen first met former President Bill Clinton when both were Oxford University students four decades ago.
More than 70 top Clinton donors wrote their first checks to Obama in March, campaign records show. Clinton’s lead among superdelegates, a collection of almost 800 party leaders and elected officials, has slipped from 106 in December to 23 now, according to an Associated Press tally.
“If you have any, any kind of loyalty to the Democratic Party, perhaps you need to rethink your strategy and bow out gracefully in order to save this party from a disastrous end in November,” Rep. William Lacy Clay (Mo.), an African American Obama supporter, said in an appeal to Clinton. Read more »
I wonder if this will still hold true after last night’s debate tabloid soap opera bullshit.
From Halprin at Time’s THE PAGE Blog
1. There has been no collapse of Obama’s Pennsylvania poll numbers.
2. There has been no collapse of Obama’s national poll numbers.
3. There has been no rush of superdelegates to Clinton (quite the contrary).
4. There have been no prominent Obama supporters who have uttered discouraging, off-message words about what he said.
5. There has been no panicked leaking out of the Obama campaign.
6. There has been no diminution of the fighting spirit of the Obama campaign.
7. There have been no moments in which it appeared that the controversy has gotten inside Obama’s head or consistently rattled him on the campaign trail.
8. There have been no uncommitted Democratic leaders who have uttered critical words about what he said.
9. There has been no flood of prominent liberal columnists writing tough words about Obama.
10. There have been very few person-on-the-street-based news stories in which the overwhelming sentiment is anti-Obama.
11. There has been no overwhelming attack on Obama from the right-wing media machine — or, at least, not enough to force more Old Media coverage (a la the Swiftboaters in 2004).
12. There has been no clear audio (or video) from the closed San Francisco fundraiser.
13. There has not been enough Clinton money to fund an overwhelming advertising campaign about the flap.
14. There has been no clarity from the Clinton campaign about whether it is making an argument about Obama’s out-of-touchness, about his electability, or about both.
15. There has been no firestorm on late-night comedy shows or among people around the water cooler.
16. There have not been sufficient new developments to keep it as the lead story on every television newscast (or even to keep it IN every newscast).
The field negro Politics
|
Sable
mrwjd
Jack & Jill Politics Race & Ethnicity Roland Martin Stereohyped Racialicious
