All this talk about Hillary becoming Secretary of State has my head spinning.
If Hillary does take the job, she could single-handedly start a chain reaction that could change a good portion of the political landscape of Brooklyn overnight.
It all starts with the open U.S. Senate seat. As Liz Benjamin reported last week in The Daily News, Governor Paterson would likely appoint Brooklyn/Manhattan Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez to replace Clinton. The rationale behind the move makes sense. Paterson is under fire by a duo of rogue Democratic State Senators from the Bronx for the dearth of Latinos in leadership positions - a sharp thorn in Paterson's side given that the two State Senators are threatening to keep the State Senate in Republican hands if the Democrats don't make concessions. Elevating Velazquez to the Senate seat could go a long way to diffusing this criticism, while at the same time scoring points for Paterson with women voters.
Here's where things get crazy. If New York suddenly has Senator Velazquez, who is most likely to run for her Congressional seat?
(drum roll)
Vito Lopez!
Would any elected official in Brooklyn dare oppose him? I doubt it. And why wouldn't Vito want to be Congressman? Being a Congressman means way more money and power - the two things Vito loves most. What better promotion could he hope for?
And he could eat his cake too! Rep. Joe Crowley in Queens is both a Congressman and chair of the Queens Democratic Party. There's no reason why Vito couldn't keep his iron hold on Brooklyn's Democratic Party - and then some. Especially now that Mayor Bloomberg owes Vito big time for lining up Brooklyn's Council Members to hand Hizzoner another term.
Congressman Vito Lopez? I think I already hear Vito salivating. It finally seems appropriate that Vito left all of the Hillary for President signs up in the window of his office for weeks after Obama won the Democratic nomination. Could anyone be pulling harder for Secretary of State Clinton than Vito?
Oh, and who would run for Vito's Assembly seat if it became available? Diana Reyna? Erik Dilan? Then, would that mean more open Council seats in Brooklyn? Start your speculations now. If everything plays out according to Vito's wildest dreams, a lot of politicians' plans could be changing in the very near future.
Showing posts with label Hillary Clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hillary Clinton. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
John McCain Is Not MY Friend
While Joe Biden and the Clintons have repeatedly subjected us to rapturous proclamations of their love for John McCain, my feelings for the man have evolved from tolerance to begrudging repect, and now, to flat-out disdain. In fact, the more I learn about this guy, the more I don't like him.
The article that really tipped me over the edge was sent to me by my friend, Ellen Enders. This expose in Rolling Stone magazine, entitled Make-Believe Maverick, retells McCain's biography from a (rare) unfiltered persepective, unclouded by the first principle that McCain is an American hero. It casts McCain as an impetuous, angry, and unprincipled brat, who believes that power and, ultimately, the Presidency is his birthright. And it presents a compelling lifelong history of incidents and personal accounts to evidence the point.
Yes, it is a long read and, at times, verges away from conventional journalistic objectivity. But, hey, the truth is often ugly.
The article that really tipped me over the edge was sent to me by my friend, Ellen Enders. This expose in Rolling Stone magazine, entitled Make-Believe Maverick, retells McCain's biography from a (rare) unfiltered persepective, unclouded by the first principle that McCain is an American hero. It casts McCain as an impetuous, angry, and unprincipled brat, who believes that power and, ultimately, the Presidency is his birthright. And it presents a compelling lifelong history of incidents and personal accounts to evidence the point.
Yes, it is a long read and, at times, verges away from conventional journalistic objectivity. But, hey, the truth is often ugly.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Shocking News: SNL Makes The Optimist Laugh
For the first time in a long time, Saturday Night Live actually made me laugh this week! For those of you who missed Tina Fey's spot-on impression of Sarah Palin (who makes me cry!), I encourage you to indulge below.
Poor Hillary! SNL captures just how humiliating it must be for her to be grouped together with a nitwit like Palin.
Poor Hillary! SNL captures just how humiliating it must be for her to be grouped together with a nitwit like Palin.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Two Missed Morsels in the Spitzer Feeding Frenzy
Among the deluge of articles about the Spitzer scandal in the last three days, two tasty tidbits have been overlooked.
1. If Spitzer does get his wet dream (er, not that one) of the Democrats at last taking control of the State Senate, but the Dems only do so by a slim margin, then none other than Spitzer's arch-enemy and soon-to-be Lieuntenant Governor Joe Bruno would be the tie-breaker in close votes. Can you imagine? As bad as Spitzer's personal fall must be hitting him, the realization that he is going to be responsible for getting Joe Bruno a promotion must be nearly as despicable.
2. Before David Patterson lucked into the Governor mansion, it was widely speculated that he was the frontrunner for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat if she is elected President. With Hillary's surge and Patterson certain to stay in Albany, all of a sudden there must be a flock of powerful New York Democrats salivating over the job of Junior Senator.
1. If Spitzer does get his wet dream (er, not that one) of the Democrats at last taking control of the State Senate, but the Dems only do so by a slim margin, then none other than Spitzer's arch-enemy and soon-to-be Lieuntenant Governor Joe Bruno would be the tie-breaker in close votes. Can you imagine? As bad as Spitzer's personal fall must be hitting him, the realization that he is going to be responsible for getting Joe Bruno a promotion must be nearly as despicable.
2. Before David Patterson lucked into the Governor mansion, it was widely speculated that he was the frontrunner for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat if she is elected President. With Hillary's surge and Patterson certain to stay in Albany, all of a sudden there must be a flock of powerful New York Democrats salivating over the job of Junior Senator.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Brooklyn Losing Power in the U.S. House, but Strong in Senate
According to Congress.org's recently released 2008 Power Rankings for the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Brooklyn's Congressional delegation doesn't have as much weight to throw around as borough residents might think. Out of the nation's 435 members of the House, only one Brooklyn Congressman, Rep. Edolphus Towns, slips into the top 50 most powerful at #43 on the list. Despite his prominent placement, Towns is still likely disappointed by his Power Ranking. In 2007, he came in at #18 on the list.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, who comes in next at #63, also lost influence from last year according to Congress.org, which ranked him as #43 last year. As did Jerrold Nadler, who went from #128 in 2007 to #162 in 2008. Brooklyn's sole Republican member of the House, Vito Fossella, tumbled precipitously from #116 in the 2005 Power Rankings to #315 this year, though his decline reflects the fact that his party is now in the minority, rather than his performance. Fossella actually bettered his 2007 ranking of #365.
The only other member of the Brooklyn delegation to ascend the list was my congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who leapt to #96 from #180 last year.
Our borough's newest member of Congress, Rep. Yvette Clarke, who won her seat in 2006, almost doesn't register in the rankings. After premiering at #366 on the list last year, Clarke has fallen to #402, giving her the dubious distinction of the 5th LEAST influential Democrat in the House.
Despite our decline in the House, Brooklynites can console ourselves with our seniority in the U.S. Senate. Both New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton place in the Top 10 most powerful members, Chuck at #5 and Hillary at #9.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, who comes in next at #63, also lost influence from last year according to Congress.org, which ranked him as #43 last year. As did Jerrold Nadler, who went from #128 in 2007 to #162 in 2008. Brooklyn's sole Republican member of the House, Vito Fossella, tumbled precipitously from #116 in the 2005 Power Rankings to #315 this year, though his decline reflects the fact that his party is now in the minority, rather than his performance. Fossella actually bettered his 2007 ranking of #365.
The only other member of the Brooklyn delegation to ascend the list was my congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who leapt to #96 from #180 last year.
Our borough's newest member of Congress, Rep. Yvette Clarke, who won her seat in 2006, almost doesn't register in the rankings. After premiering at #366 on the list last year, Clarke has fallen to #402, giving her the dubious distinction of the 5th LEAST influential Democrat in the House.
Despite our decline in the House, Brooklynites can console ourselves with our seniority in the U.S. Senate. Both New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton place in the Top 10 most powerful members, Chuck at #5 and Hillary at #9.
Could Gore Broker Peace...Between Barack and Hillary?
As we continue to head toward a brokered convention, Clinton and Obama supporters alike are confronting more seriously our worst fear - that the only thing that can beat the Democrats in 2008 is a division in our own party.
Mindful of this chilling scenario, The Post has an interesting editorial this morning arguing that the only person who might be able to find a peaceful resolution to the battle between Barack and Hillary is Al Gore. Now I'm usually hesitant to agree with the Post, but this strikes me as right. Except for a joint ticket, any other resolution to the pending superdelegate crisis will leave the losing candidates' legions of supporters feeling cheated.
But were Al Gore to negotiate a compromise between the two campaigns it would have a sense of legitimacy far more difficult to assail. Gore has become the sole figure in our party respected by all Democrats and no one in the country can accuse him of being insensitive to the nuances of a stolen election.
Mindful of this chilling scenario, The Post has an interesting editorial this morning arguing that the only person who might be able to find a peaceful resolution to the battle between Barack and Hillary is Al Gore. Now I'm usually hesitant to agree with the Post, but this strikes me as right. Except for a joint ticket, any other resolution to the pending superdelegate crisis will leave the losing candidates' legions of supporters feeling cheated.
But were Al Gore to negotiate a compromise between the two campaigns it would have a sense of legitimacy far more difficult to assail. Gore has become the sole figure in our party respected by all Democrats and no one in the country can accuse him of being insensitive to the nuances of a stolen election.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Big Vote Miscount in Brooklyn Favors Clinton
What do Americans have to do to make sure our votes count?
Since 2000, this has become an increasingly infuriating question for voters across the States. But the latest to be disenfranchised - at least, for the time being - seem to be the people of New York City.
The Times has a devastating story today revealing that in 80(!) election districts, including many in Brooklyn and Harlem, Barack Obama was initially credited with a whopping zero (that's "0") votes on primary night.
Upon actually tallying the numbers, Obama's vote count has grown dramatically, but apparently not yet to the point that he has won in any of the districts previously called for Clinton (although some are VERY close). Nonetheless, the discrepancy does matter, especially here in Brooklyn where Clinton eked out a margin of victory of less than 2%.
Delegates are allocated according to the vote count in each Congressional district. If Obama's vote totals continue to rise in our borough, he could take away one or two of the delegates previously thought to be won by Clinton.
And at this point in the race, every delegate counts a lot.
Since 2000, this has become an increasingly infuriating question for voters across the States. But the latest to be disenfranchised - at least, for the time being - seem to be the people of New York City.
The Times has a devastating story today revealing that in 80(!) election districts, including many in Brooklyn and Harlem, Barack Obama was initially credited with a whopping zero (that's "0") votes on primary night.
Upon actually tallying the numbers, Obama's vote count has grown dramatically, but apparently not yet to the point that he has won in any of the districts previously called for Clinton (although some are VERY close). Nonetheless, the discrepancy does matter, especially here in Brooklyn where Clinton eked out a margin of victory of less than 2%.
Delegates are allocated according to the vote count in each Congressional district. If Obama's vote totals continue to rise in our borough, he could take away one or two of the delegates previously thought to be won by Clinton.
And at this point in the race, every delegate counts a lot.
School Shootings Strike Home Again
As soon as I read yesterday afternoon about the school shooting on Thursday at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, I called my cousin, Malinde Caldwell, who is a senior at Northern. I breathed a sigh of relief the second she picked up the phone. She was shook up, but fine - as were her friends.
Malinde, who has nearly completed her study to become a special education teacher, was off campus at the time doing her student teaching. Since the shooting, though she lives only a few blocks from the University, she hasn't been back on campus. It's not that she wants to avoid the reality of what occurred in the auditorium in which she has had many classes over her time at Northern. That would be impossible. Her apartment is next to DeKalb's sole hospital, which has been overwhelmed since the shooting by a volume of dead and wounded far beyond what the tiny hospital could ever have conceived of having to treat.
For me, the shooting at Northern was a bracing reminder of last semester at St. John's University, where I work as an adjunct professor. Fortunately, the University's alert campus police aided by some courageous students were able to diffuse that incident before anyone was hurt, but what might have been was a horrifying image lost on no one at the school. Since Columbine, we Americans have become all too familiar with how this type of madness looks.
This was no less than the fourth school shooting in the U.S. within a WEEK. Since she was in a position to understand this latest headline on a human level, I asked my cousin why it was she thought these massacres are occurring so frequently in our country. She responded that since the gunman at Northern, unlike the one at Virginia Tech, demonstrated no real sign of being disturbed prior to Thursday, she didn't blame the University at all for failing to stop the senseless slaughter of her classmates.
The preventive measure that she said was "obvious" was stricter gun control laws. I couldn't agree more. If only this conclusion were as "obvious" to our elected officials!
All of the guns used by the perpetrator were purchased legally - two of the four within the past week. No questions asked. For a small wad of cash, a would-be murderer had all he needed to kill six innocent kids and forever mar the lives of many more.
We are far past the point of pushing for background checks and waiting periods to ensure people who might misuse guns won't get their hands on them. At this point, the alleged right to hunt and bear arms is dwarfed by the right of our citizens not to be hunted - the right to life, so to speak.
I was disappointed by the reaction of our presidential candidates to the shooting at Northern. Senator Obama said existing guns laws need to be strengthened and bullets need to be traced as they are in California. Senator Clinton said "we’ve got to figure out how to get guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, gang members and people with mental health problems". I couldn't find any comment online from Senator McCain.
It is time that our politicians stop pandering to the nation's gun lobby. I am not sure what Senator Obama means by strengthening our gun laws, but I am certain it is inadequate by my standard. And as for Senator Clinton, there is a simple solution to getting guns "out of the hands of criminals". America must make it illegal once and for all for private citizens to own automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and, yes, even handguns, as is the law in England and many other countries with startlingly fewer incidents of gun violence.
Gun vendors are not psychologists, nor should they be expected to be. And our government has proven far too many times that it is ill-equipped to or incapable of deducing whether an aspiring gun owner will one day turn out to be a murderer.
The only way to rid our society of gun violence is to rid it of guns.
How many more children need to die before this point becomes as "obvious" to our leaders as it is to the victims of these crimes?
Malinde, who has nearly completed her study to become a special education teacher, was off campus at the time doing her student teaching. Since the shooting, though she lives only a few blocks from the University, she hasn't been back on campus. It's not that she wants to avoid the reality of what occurred in the auditorium in which she has had many classes over her time at Northern. That would be impossible. Her apartment is next to DeKalb's sole hospital, which has been overwhelmed since the shooting by a volume of dead and wounded far beyond what the tiny hospital could ever have conceived of having to treat.
For me, the shooting at Northern was a bracing reminder of last semester at St. John's University, where I work as an adjunct professor. Fortunately, the University's alert campus police aided by some courageous students were able to diffuse that incident before anyone was hurt, but what might have been was a horrifying image lost on no one at the school. Since Columbine, we Americans have become all too familiar with how this type of madness looks.
This was no less than the fourth school shooting in the U.S. within a WEEK. Since she was in a position to understand this latest headline on a human level, I asked my cousin why it was she thought these massacres are occurring so frequently in our country. She responded that since the gunman at Northern, unlike the one at Virginia Tech, demonstrated no real sign of being disturbed prior to Thursday, she didn't blame the University at all for failing to stop the senseless slaughter of her classmates.
The preventive measure that she said was "obvious" was stricter gun control laws. I couldn't agree more. If only this conclusion were as "obvious" to our elected officials!
All of the guns used by the perpetrator were purchased legally - two of the four within the past week. No questions asked. For a small wad of cash, a would-be murderer had all he needed to kill six innocent kids and forever mar the lives of many more.
We are far past the point of pushing for background checks and waiting periods to ensure people who might misuse guns won't get their hands on them. At this point, the alleged right to hunt and bear arms is dwarfed by the right of our citizens not to be hunted - the right to life, so to speak.
I was disappointed by the reaction of our presidential candidates to the shooting at Northern. Senator Obama said existing guns laws need to be strengthened and bullets need to be traced as they are in California. Senator Clinton said "we’ve got to figure out how to get guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, gang members and people with mental health problems". I couldn't find any comment online from Senator McCain.
It is time that our politicians stop pandering to the nation's gun lobby. I am not sure what Senator Obama means by strengthening our gun laws, but I am certain it is inadequate by my standard. And as for Senator Clinton, there is a simple solution to getting guns "out of the hands of criminals". America must make it illegal once and for all for private citizens to own automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and, yes, even handguns, as is the law in England and many other countries with startlingly fewer incidents of gun violence.
Gun vendors are not psychologists, nor should they be expected to be. And our government has proven far too many times that it is ill-equipped to or incapable of deducing whether an aspiring gun owner will one day turn out to be a murderer.
The only way to rid our society of gun violence is to rid it of guns.
How many more children need to die before this point becomes as "obvious" to our leaders as it is to the victims of these crimes?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Brooklyn's Mysterious Superdelegates
With all the national talk about the role superdelegates will have in deciding who will be the Democratic nominee for President, you might just forget that our borough has its own fair share of these shadowy power brokers.
Brooklyn's superdelegates are Reps. Yvette Clarke, Anthony Weiner, Nydia Velazquez, Edolphus Towns, and Senator Chuck Schumer. Guess who they're all supporting?
If you answered Hillary Clinton, you're a winner. (And I guess Hillary is too!)
Brooklyn's superdelegates didn't exactly go out on a limb. Every superdelegate from New York who has pledged their support for a candidate so far has gone for our state's junior senator. The fact that Hillary has in her corner her colleagues from New York's congressional delegation is no surprise. After all, every superdelegate from Illinois, save the Mayor of DuQuoin, Illinois John Rednour, has already weighed in on Barack Obama's side.
It looks like Democrats will have a deadlocked National Convention to look forward to in August. Who knows? Maybe Brooklyn's superdelegates will end up tipping the nomination in Hillary's favor. We could be like Florida in 2000!
Brooklyn's superdelegates are Reps. Yvette Clarke, Anthony Weiner, Nydia Velazquez, Edolphus Towns, and Senator Chuck Schumer. Guess who they're all supporting?
If you answered Hillary Clinton, you're a winner. (And I guess Hillary is too!)
Brooklyn's superdelegates didn't exactly go out on a limb. Every superdelegate from New York who has pledged their support for a candidate so far has gone for our state's junior senator. The fact that Hillary has in her corner her colleagues from New York's congressional delegation is no surprise. After all, every superdelegate from Illinois, save the Mayor of DuQuoin, Illinois John Rednour, has already weighed in on Barack Obama's side.
It looks like Democrats will have a deadlocked National Convention to look forward to in August. Who knows? Maybe Brooklyn's superdelegates will end up tipping the nomination in Hillary's favor. We could be like Florida in 2000!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Enough Already With the Hillary Bashing
The Optimist has made no secret of his support for Barack Obama's candidacy for President, but that doesn't mean that he'll sit idly by as the mainstream media mercilessly skewers our Senator without reason.
The Times has an excellent opinion piece by Professor Stanley Fish today analyzing the "vicious and irrational" attacks heaped upon Hillary Clinton by her rabid critics on both the left and right.
Now, I take issue with Hillary's vote for the Iraq War and her inexcusable support for the appalling Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran, but beyond that I don't really have too much else negative to say about Senator Clinton.
What Fish makes clear in his article is how groundless, if not outright silly, the criticisms levied by Hillary-haters are. Really, beside some visceral emotional dislike some of you may have for our Senator, what has she done to justly earn your ire?
I've met Hillary in person. I found her to be positively charming and warm. Certainly not the soulless Gorgon Chris Matthews would have you believe.
The Times has an excellent opinion piece by Professor Stanley Fish today analyzing the "vicious and irrational" attacks heaped upon Hillary Clinton by her rabid critics on both the left and right.
Now, I take issue with Hillary's vote for the Iraq War and her inexcusable support for the appalling Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran, but beyond that I don't really have too much else negative to say about Senator Clinton.
What Fish makes clear in his article is how groundless, if not outright silly, the criticisms levied by Hillary-haters are. Really, beside some visceral emotional dislike some of you may have for our Senator, what has she done to justly earn your ire?
I've met Hillary in person. I found her to be positively charming and warm. Certainly not the soulless Gorgon Chris Matthews would have you believe.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
GO VOTE!
After many months of talk, it's finally time for action! Regardless of your choice for either the Democratic or Republican nominee, The Optimist urges you to take a few moments today to exercise your most important right as an American.
Democracy starts with you. If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice.
The Optimist already cast his vote today, heading down to P.S. 110 on Monitor Street in Greenpoint to do so. The election inspector who signed me in described turnout so far today as "fabulous", which did not surprise me, but heartened me nonetheless since I've gone to the polls many times in recent years and found myself the sole voter in a large, desolate room.
Since the Democratic field has been winnowed to two candidates, some Brooklyn voters may have found themselves surprised by the wealth of options they faced in the booth this morning. Along with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich were all still on the ballet.
In addition, Brooklynites who favored Obama or Clinton were asked to approve a slate of five delegates to stand for their candidate of choice at the Democratic Convention. On my ballot, Obama's five delegates were Paul Newell, a community activist who has taken on the mammoth challenge of trying to unseat the Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver in this September's primary; 23-year-old Rachel Lauter, who has been a very active member of Brooklyn for Barack; prominent local gay issues and AIDS activist Daniel Tietz; Matthew Cowherd, an attorney with mega-firm Skadden Arps; and Allison Davis.
As for Hillary, her delegates of choice were State Senator Martin Dilan; Councilmember Rosie Mendez; Luis Garden Acosta, a community activist and founder of Williamsburg's El Puente; Chung Seto, a former Executive Director of the New York Democratic Party; and Charles Obe.
In the last few weeks, the polls have shown a narrowing of Hillary Clinton's once insurmountable lead over Barack Obama in New York State. Who will win depends solely upon you.
Remember the words of former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon: "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Simon was one to know. He served under Nixon.
Democracy starts with you. If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice.
The Optimist already cast his vote today, heading down to P.S. 110 on Monitor Street in Greenpoint to do so. The election inspector who signed me in described turnout so far today as "fabulous", which did not surprise me, but heartened me nonetheless since I've gone to the polls many times in recent years and found myself the sole voter in a large, desolate room.
Since the Democratic field has been winnowed to two candidates, some Brooklyn voters may have found themselves surprised by the wealth of options they faced in the booth this morning. Along with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich were all still on the ballet.
In addition, Brooklynites who favored Obama or Clinton were asked to approve a slate of five delegates to stand for their candidate of choice at the Democratic Convention. On my ballot, Obama's five delegates were Paul Newell, a community activist who has taken on the mammoth challenge of trying to unseat the Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver in this September's primary; 23-year-old Rachel Lauter, who has been a very active member of Brooklyn for Barack; prominent local gay issues and AIDS activist Daniel Tietz; Matthew Cowherd, an attorney with mega-firm Skadden Arps; and Allison Davis.
As for Hillary, her delegates of choice were State Senator Martin Dilan; Councilmember Rosie Mendez; Luis Garden Acosta, a community activist and founder of Williamsburg's El Puente; Chung Seto, a former Executive Director of the New York Democratic Party; and Charles Obe.
In the last few weeks, the polls have shown a narrowing of Hillary Clinton's once insurmountable lead over Barack Obama in New York State. Who will win depends solely upon you.
Remember the words of former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon: "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Simon was one to know. He served under Nixon.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Obama's Last Stand
Though the contest was less trumpeted than South Carolina's primary next Saturday, Hillary Clinton's victory in Nevada yesterday virtually secured her the Democratic nomination for President. Not only does Barack Obama now have to score a resounding victory in South Carolina to stay alive, come Tsunami Tuesday on February 5th he has to upset Hillary either in the Clinton-stronghold of California or on her home turf in New York - a distinct unlikelihood given the extent to which Hillary has out-campaigned him in both states.
The Optimist sees only one final move for Barack before the sun sets on his exhilarating effort. Obama's last chance is to offer John Edwards whatever he wants - even the Vice Presidency - to immediately withdraw from the race and throw his unequivocal support behind Obama's candidacy. It is only through combining their coalitions that Obama has a chance to loosen Hillary's grip on the nomination. And even then, it will be an uphill battle.
Edwards would be wise to take such a deal, though he is unlikely to do so. He has obstinately vowed to stay in the race until the convention, despite faring increasingly worse in each successive state he has competed. South Carolina will be the final nail in his coffin.
If Edwards is truly serious about enacting his critical anti-corporate, populist agenda, he must get into a position of substantive power in the Cabinet. He must not squander the last leverage he possesses to do so by sticking it out through Tsunami Tuesday, just for the sake of pride. If he does so, he will end Obama's campaign on the same day he ends his own.
And then, all the sound and fury will have signified nothing, and Clinton and McCain will square off in November just as everyone predicted they would in 2006.
The Optimist sees only one final move for Barack before the sun sets on his exhilarating effort. Obama's last chance is to offer John Edwards whatever he wants - even the Vice Presidency - to immediately withdraw from the race and throw his unequivocal support behind Obama's candidacy. It is only through combining their coalitions that Obama has a chance to loosen Hillary's grip on the nomination. And even then, it will be an uphill battle.
Edwards would be wise to take such a deal, though he is unlikely to do so. He has obstinately vowed to stay in the race until the convention, despite faring increasingly worse in each successive state he has competed. South Carolina will be the final nail in his coffin.
If Edwards is truly serious about enacting his critical anti-corporate, populist agenda, he must get into a position of substantive power in the Cabinet. He must not squander the last leverage he possesses to do so by sticking it out through Tsunami Tuesday, just for the sake of pride. If he does so, he will end Obama's campaign on the same day he ends his own.
And then, all the sound and fury will have signified nothing, and Clinton and McCain will square off in November just as everyone predicted they would in 2006.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
My Primary Thought About New Hampshire
It's certainly a sobering day for the borough's Obama and Edwards supporters, but The Optimist has a silver lining even for those downtrodden souls. First, as Edwards pointed out in his concession speech yesterday, less than 1% of the nation's electorate has voted so far, which means that ultimately New Hampshire could be just as insignificant (or important) as Iowa. Jusk ask former N.H. primary-winners Paul Tsongas, Gary Hart, and this past week's flashback favorite, Edmund Muskie.
My second point might be hard to swallow for some of you, but is just as important to internalize. New York hasn't elected one of its own as President since F.D.R. One needs only to read any of the scads of stories about local elected officials who have been trailing Hillary around the country as part of her arsenal to understand how much our state has staked upon the success of her campaign.
Unlike Bush, who seemed afraid to visit The Big Apple before 9/11, Bill Clinton hooked up New York throughout his two terms in office. His pro-NYC policies - not Giuliani's (as he likes to pretend) - were the overriding impetus for the unbridled prosperity our City experienced in the 90s. There is no reason to think that Hillary won't reinvigorate this largesse.
As our Senator, Hillary has brought home the bacon for New York. If she becomes our President, New York will be first in line to feast.
My second point might be hard to swallow for some of you, but is just as important to internalize. New York hasn't elected one of its own as President since F.D.R. One needs only to read any of the scads of stories about local elected officials who have been trailing Hillary around the country as part of her arsenal to understand how much our state has staked upon the success of her campaign.
Unlike Bush, who seemed afraid to visit The Big Apple before 9/11, Bill Clinton hooked up New York throughout his two terms in office. His pro-NYC policies - not Giuliani's (as he likes to pretend) - were the overriding impetus for the unbridled prosperity our City experienced in the 90s. There is no reason to think that Hillary won't reinvigorate this largesse.
As our Senator, Hillary has brought home the bacon for New York. If she becomes our President, New York will be first in line to feast.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
DeBlasio vs. Barron: Round 1
Elizabeth Benjamin at the News had an article in her blog yesterday about the first dust-up in the race for Brooklyn Borough President in 2009. It seems that one of Councilman Bill DeBlasio's supporters, Rabbi Joseph Stamm, accused DeBlasio's only announced opponent, cantankerous Councilman Charles Barron of being anti-semitic to raise funds for DeBlasio's campaign. Though DeBlasio came with the usual yada-yada denials about not condoning the Rabbi's invite, Barron predictably used the opportunity to skewer DeBlasio and get his candidacy in the paper.
DeBlasio, who managed Hillary Clinton's successful bid for Senate in 2000, should know better. Doesn't he understand that the only way to run against a savvy media-manipulator like Barron is to pretend he doesn't exist?
DeBlasio, who managed Hillary Clinton's successful bid for Senate in 2000, should know better. Doesn't he understand that the only way to run against a savvy media-manipulator like Barron is to pretend he doesn't exist?
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