McCain beats Romney handily, Giuliani is set to endorse McCain tomorrow, the Terminator is praising McCain and Nancy Reagan is gonna lend the mantle of Saint Ronnie to McCain, and Romney has been such an utter douchebag with his big money attack ads and phalanx of bootlicking supporters that Huckabee is going to stay in the race just to screw Romney. And if anyone deserves a right and proper screwing, it is that smarmy SOB Multiple Choice Mitt.
Maybe we should be less concerned with a Hugh Hewitt Suicide Watch and focussed on a John Cole Schadenfreude Watch.
The country could really do a lot worse than a McCain/Obama or McCain/Clinton match-up in November. No, the Republican race is not over, and Romney could still win, but I am going to watch the establishment freak out and I am going to love it.
srv
More like McCain/Lieberman. Making ppGaz proud.
Chief
I think that McCain will get more votes in thr General next November than any other Republican.
But, with the economy souring, it could be a Dem landslide.
The Other Steve
McCain is the Elected Official Establishment Candidate.
Romney is the Pundit/Asshat Establishment Candidate.
Andrew
Of course, Romney is a far more competent executive and far less likely to start optional wars. And less likely to fall asleep in cabinet meetings.
Travis
‘A lot worse’?
Who wants war with Iran. John ‘There will be other wars’ McCain? Fuck that.
Bruce Moomaw
Unfortunately, given that the guy who so upsets the GOP Establishment is also fond of actually singing “Bomb, Bomb Iran” on campaign platforms, saying that it would be “fine with him” if “we stay in Iraq for a century”, and announcing that he knows exactly how to catch Bin Laden immediately but won’t tell Bush how to do it because only he himself is brilliant enough to execute his strategy — and that this character, alone of all the GOP candidates, has a serious chance of actually getting elected — the fact that the GOP Establishment is upset may end up as a rather Pyrrhic victory for us all. (And that’s not to mention what Rudy will get from him in exchange for that endorsement tomorrow. Attorney General, maybe? Supreme Court Justice? McCain is quite dotty enough to do it.)
Chuck Butcher
Oh John, I believe that things are going to get better and better for you. This one’s going to the Convention, also. The Dems will live with how it works out, I bet you the Republicans can’t. Somebody is going to feel really screwed, Evanganuts is my guess, there will be stink enough even for your twisted sense of vengence. Oooooh keep rooting for the one that’s down, this could get way bloody.
T. Scheisskopf
Schadenfreude? That’s the type of sausage you used in your crockpot dish the other night, right?
I hear it goes well with a Sauce de Ted Sampley’s Exploding Brain.
Jake
And you need an electron microscope to tell the difference.
The Grand Panjandrum
Not to mention that lovely square jaw, the big, broad manly shoulders, and that hairrrrr…. Just so … mannish.
myiq2xu
Ever since John got that Crockpot(c) things have been weird around here
That’s not even the worst one today:
/throws up in mouth
socraticsilence
For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed Hqannity and Colmes, Watching Sean Hannity meltdown was schadenfeundentastic, seriously, plus Dick “I’m always wrong” Morris was actually kind of insightful (the reason Huckabee won’t drop out– which Hannity basically tired to beg/bully his chief of staff to do– is because he like all the other GOP canidates, hates Mitt Romney, well that and he’s actually second nation wide, not Mitt, his asnwer basically made Hanity apoplectic.).
As an aside will Arnold’s remarks help or hurt Obama.
The Other Steve
Bruce Moomaw – I don’t think you understand.
To the pundit class, starting wars is great if it gives you tax breaks and shit.
The problem with McCain is he won’t support tax breaks and shit, even if he does love war.
myiq2xu
Where do we buy tickets?
Is there a pool? I wanna get in the action!
crw
2008 = GOP’s 1968?
Jake
I was hoping pHuckabee would stay strong longer. I know the Mitten Fetishist Brigade hates McCainiac, but pHuck’s win in Iowa gave the fRighties Tears of Burning Blood level conniption fits. Me like.
A question: Did the pundicks freak out this badly during the 2000 election did they not care who won, provided he was GOP?
Brachiator
On the other hand, Romney is not only an empty suit, but he is dumber than Miss South Carolina. Here is a little tidbit from various news outlets covering Romney’s post-Florida speech:
‘This gaffe, however, was amusing: He said that America is facing competition for jobs “from countries like Asia and India.” Not only isn’t “Asia” a country, but India is on the Asian continent.’
See it for yourself.
Mitt Romney, Stupid AND a Flip-Flopper
Kirk Spencer
I’m not certain McCain can pull 50%+1 of the delegates, even with Rudy’s endorsement. I’ll know better – we’ll ALL know better – about the possibility next Wednesday.
The thing that hurts McCain most is that everyone but Romney is functionally out of money. Huckabee gets a bit of a bye from the faithful volunteers, but that’s only going to matter in some of the states with high numbers of evangelicals. So this week leading up to Feb 5 is relying on ads and programs already paid for, with very little opportunity to capitalize on either the Florida results or candidate endorsements. Which means McCain gets some bigger states, Huck gets the Southern states, and Romney gets the rest. That’ll make the delegate split ~40% McCain, ~35% Romney, and ~25% Huckabee. One of them COULD blast on out of the day, but…
Basically, I figure we’ll see McCain and Romney end the delegate selection with less than 50%, and Huckabee holding enough he can make either The One. If that happens, April through August will be filled with dog whistles and naked pandering for Huckabee’s votes.
wasabi gasp
I was kinda rootin’ for Romney ‘cuz he’s so good lookin’, but McCain’ll look even better on the receiving end of Bush’s condescending smirky squint for a valiant effort come November.
stickler
Kirk Spencer:
That is a disastrous scenario for the GOP. April through August, with no nominee? And cracker dog-whistles? Yikes.
Somehow, I doubt it. The GOP will coalesce around somebody, no matter how improbable they may seem today. And they’ll flog the poor hopeless wretch’s desiccated corpse like he was Bob Dole in 1996. And he’ll meet with roughly the same fate, only without the honorable exit or the mordant black humor.
Jake
Fixed.
Meh. People refer to “Africa” as though it is a single country, unless they’re talking about Egypt or possibly Libya. If this were the dumbest thing he’d ever said he’d be eligible for the GOP’s version of Mensa.
Bruce Moomaw
Let’s keep in mind that — thanks to the fact that the Dems use proportional-vote delegate selection in virtually all their primaries, while the GOP goes almost entirely for district-winner-take-all — at this point, amazingly, the Dems are somewhat MORE likely to come out of the primaries with a 3-way convention deadlock than the GOP is. Like Kevin Drum, I have to pinch myself to believe this has now actually happened, but it has.
Louise
More evidence that John has come all the way over to the dark side: He and TBogg are thinking exactly alike.
myiq2xu
In 2000 it was supposed to be a coronation, not a race, but McCain almost messed that up.
That’s why so many GOPers hate him – it’s hard to get the attack dogs to lick the boots of someone you sicced them on.
Dreggas
Heh.
Could this be the clash of the titans? Obama get’s the mantle of JFK and McCain gets the mantle of St. Ronnie?
Kynn
Wait, Rudy was still in the race!?
stickler
Myzxtplxzyk:
Oh, you just wait. The GOP attack dogs are nothing if not loyal. Their slobbering hymns of praise come this July will be nauseating to behold.
firebrand
McCain vs. Clinton – McCain by a moderate margin.
McCain vs. Obama – Obama in a LANDSLIDE.
If you don’t mind, I prefer the latter.
F. Frederson
Unfortunately, the media would cream its shorts over a McCain nomination. That is something to worry about.
curtadams
Oh, Romney’s already got his screwing. Between McCain winning FL and getting Giuliani’s endorsement, Romney is totally sunk. Huckabee’s not going to get much done without money either. The Republican race is over. Strange that theirs may wrap up and ours drag on to the convention.
MNPundit
I think Pat Buchanan said it best: No Jobs. More illegals… and a
.
myiq2xu
If and when their corporate masters give the okay.
You don’t think Limbaugh and Hannity et al formulate their own opinions do you?
They are told what to think, then they tell their fans.
moondancer
The longer the campaign went, the more I thought Mittster was channeling Ted Knight(Mary Tyler Moore show).
Its bad to have to explain snark because the reference is ancient.
stickler
Mr. Mxzxczhtplyik:
Well, precisely my point. At some point in the very near future (perhaps tomorrow, when it becomes obvious that Mitt! can’t even win over the GOP crazybase) the Powers That Be will shift gears and Hannity will be doing some knobgobbling on a certain former POW. Then, all that anti-McCain stuff will be chucked down the memory hole, and all will be right (way right) with the world.
Don’t believe me? Wait two weeks, then listen to Rush.
Robert Johnston
I guess this means that internal polling led Giuliani to conclude that he doesn’t have a chance even in New York. I’m so sad that we’re not going to see his complete and eternal humiliation at such a loss.
Anne Laurie
I’m waiting for the YouTube clip of the Lieberman-Huckabee slapfight for the position as McCain’s VP. And the subsequent clip of Willard Romney offering Lieberman money to switch candidates. (Lieberman will, of course, accept the money, and then rat Willard out, probably on Larry King.)
Steve J.
For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed Hqannity and Colmes, Watching Sean Hannity meltdown was schadenfeundentastic
A LOT of the gasbags despise McCain. I hope the Newshounds have a clip of Uncle Sean losing it. :-)
conumbdrum
I was rooting for the Mittster, if only because the thought of him pissing his millions away in a futile attempt to buy the White House is a pretty sweet scenario…
On the other hand, the thought of Rush Limbaugh’s lapsing on the Oxycontin, Kathryn Jean Lopez drowning her sorrows in a quart can of Hershey’s Syrup and Hugh Hewitt sobbing himself to sleep makes St. John’s win almost worth it.
cleek
what-evah.
faced with a choice between McCain and Hillary Clinton, they’ll learn to love McCain as one of their own quick enough.
Chris
You aren’t kidding. Not to mention Clinton’s “experience” argument will look like nothing next to the senior-senior-Senator’s from Arizona. The press falls all over itself loving John McCain, and to his credit he seems to know how to play them like a fiddle.
Wilfred
That’s what they want you to think. But according to your erstwhile colleague at RedState the real story is about Romney’s Florida win
gypsy howell
Exactly right. If the last 7 years have taught us nothing else, the republicans can and will turn on a dime and pretend that all their trashtalking about McCain never happened.
My nightmare scenario is a McCain – Clinton matchup. If that’s the case, get ready for 8 more years of republican misrule. By 2016, we won’t remember that we ever HAD a Constitution because we’ll be so busy shipping back dead 18-year olds from Iran.
cleek
rephrased: we’ll be a net importer of dead 18-yr olds.
cleek
no, wait. that doesn’t make any sense at all.
bad cleek, no cookie.
Mary
Edwards is out
Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voter’s sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.
The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two of his advisers.
The decision came after Edwards lost the four states to hold nominating contests so far to rivals who stole the spotlight from the beginning – Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
Jen
Yeah, I agree that McCain-Clinton is probably a loser. Out of every matchup that was plausible a month ago, I think that one is the only one we could lose with, ergo it is the one which will happen. I belong to no organized political party, indeed.
Jen
Oh, thanks, Mary. That surprised me, actually. I thought he’d stay in long enough to make sure he had damaged HRC as much as possible.
4tehlulz
Edwards out…that’s a bit surprising; it appeared he was going for a kingmaker role at the convention.
Let the BAAAAAAWWWWWWfest begin at the Great Orange Satan.
Wonder if he’ll endorse anyone in the near future.
Zifnab
*cries*
*takes off Edwards sticker*
*puts on Obama sticker*
*grabs cup of kool-aid, and throws a saddle on the Magic Unity Pony*
Oh well.
Wilfred
The only reason to pull out today is to make a difference on Tuesday – I hope he throws his support to Obama.
Punchy
I’m feel like I should go there and write a diary on how to tie a noose. It’d get a gazillion hits.
Neal
That’s a beautiful pony you got there, Zifnab.
How’s the kool-aid?
Once again you have made me make a mess of my monitor.
Zifnab
Go transcend yourself.
timb
The last poll on Real Clear Politics is from last week and shows Hillary 46% and McCain 46%. After what Hillary has been through and brought upon herself, I think that’s respectable. The better question is what state did Kerry win that Hillary loses? I can’t find one…New Mexico? Iowa?
What state did Bush win in 2004 that McCain can lose? Florida. The Dems are fine
Jen
Zif, I console you. I do. I like Edwards ’08 quite a bit myself. Couldn’t really bring myself to support him, because he was a seriously lame senator and I remember him saying things like “NC doesn’t need unions, we need to stay a right to work state” etc. etc. not all that many years ago — so I’ve stayed wary about the transition. It is probably sincere, but I always figured it could also be him seeing and filling a niche.
Does the “sour grapes” thing help you? It always helps me.
The Other Steve
How will I make it through the day without reading about Edwards latest bowel movement over at the Great Orange Satan?
Jen
This is kind of an interesting exercise… doesn’t take long.
TheFountainHead
I’m pretty surprised that Edwards is stepping out…and it worries me a great deal. It only helps Obama if he also endorses Obama. If not, well, then the math looks better and better for Hillary.
The Grand Panjandrum
Edwards out of race for nomination.
The Other Steve
BTW, the Senate passed a Stimulus package that is considerably better than the one coming out of the House.
It actually includes Seniors living on social security, and extends unemployment benefits.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
The “o fuk” moment has approached.
Brace! Brace!
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
Bush will be certain to veto that. Senior CEOs don’t live on welfare.
TheFountainHead
You ain’t kiddin’
It’s a damn good thing I don’t have much work on my desk this week because I feel mighty distracted…and I think I’ve developed a stress related ulcer. The bloggers are literally killing me.
John S.
Don’t bet on it.
The DNC royally fucked up by letting the GOP parade through here unchallenged for the past month, and McCain was all over the airwaves with his ‘straight talk’ bullshit. A lot of people eat that up, especially seniors who are the same age as him.
Can Democrats fill in the void they left for themselves down here? I sure hope so. But it is anything but guaranteed.
Zifnab
Once I get over being Unity Pony Saddle Sore, I’ll come around. Thank you for the thought though. Edwards might have been more rhetoric than substance. I wanted to see him stick around and pimp the rhetoric more than anything. He gave the debates a good kick to the left that they desperately needed.
At the end of the day, my real dream pick would have been Chris Dodd, but that just wasn’t going to happen.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
To be fair, I don’t think the DNC was planning on having a primary that is bigger than the coming general.
To be more fair, I don’t think the DNC plans at all.
The Other Steve
Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?
Svensker
My brain hadn’t gone beyond the “bomb Iran” scenario. If possible, this is even worse. Crikey.
What is wrong with Republicans? How did I used to be one?
Zifnab
Oh, hey, slightly off topic. Deep thoughts on Barak Obama:
Fe E
Hey Zif–is there any room left on that saddle?
I just had a realization, as a Twin Citian, I’ll get the opportunity to see all the GOP crazy up close and personal. I SOOOOOOOOO hope the GOP race goes all the way to the convention. I might have to take time off from work to watch the fun.
I also think I might have to work on my methods for making popcorn on a tailgating grill. I’m very confident I can pull it off, I just want to do a couple of practice batches before gametime.
Zifnab
Clinton
Lower taxes
Family values
National security
Government waste
Protect our borders from gay marriage
Democrats are worse
Zifnab
The Magic Unity Pony’s saddle transcends spacial constraints. There is always more room regardless of your age, sex, or political affiliation. Here, have some kool-aid.
ThymeZone
I agree with Fountainhead about Edwards, and also think that Edwards has to not only endorse, but campaign for Obama. Hard, and immediately. If he doesn’t do that, or if he doesn’t endorse Obama at all, or endorses HRC, then I have to say, fuck him very much. He just wasted several months of our time.
Jen
Zif, that’s just absolutely horrifying.
There is always room on the saddle. It’s a MAGICAL unity pony.
Z
Zif,
It will be OK. There are pluses to having a Unity Pony. According to Vicente Fox, they scare Bush. If we ride all our Unity Ponies up to the White House, he might run screaming out the back door.
TheFountainHead
Yeah, I really hadn’t thought of just what a slap, to his supporters and the party at large, this would be if he now sat back and did not participate. This is the “fighter” remember?
Jen
Well, for all that thirdhand gossip is worth, I know some folks who know some folks well inside the Edwards campaign. They haven’t actually hoped that he would win the nomination for quite some time. The goal was move the dialogue to the left, keep the VP option open, and lately it’s been to draw from HRC. I find it pretty unlikely that he’ll endorse her. How withdrawing plays out for that race is anyone’s guess, but my guess is that he wouldn’t have done it now unless he thought it was a good time to try to derail her.
The Other Steve
I plan to be out of town.
Fortunately, school will be back in session but I ain’t taking any chances. As fun as it would be watching the diaper laden Republicans, I do not underestimate the stupidity of liberals.
Neal
From CNN:
“Former Sen. John Edwards is quitting the Democratic race for president, two campaign sources told CNN Wednesday. He reached out to rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Tuesday, an aide said, and asked both to make poverty a top issue. Edwards does not plan to endorse either at this time, an official said, but he may do so in the future.”
This is when I say: “Fuck you John Edwards”. You wasted our time and cost Obama quite a bit.
I was really hoping he would get himself a pony. Him and Al Gore…I don’t care much for either, but it would help. Fuck.
It’s really looking like Clinton/McCain this morning.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
OK, now…
As an Obama supporter, I’ll just say: Edwards don’t owe you (us) shit.
Fe E
Copy that, silly me for not realizing that sooner!
As others in this thread have covered, I really gave up on an Edwards win a long time ago. In fact I don’t even know that an Edwards win was something I truly wanted, but I was planning on Caucausing for him to keep the dialogue moving left.
LarryB
If you compare the numbers for a McCain /Clinton matchum vs those for McCain/Obama, the spread between them is less than 0.5%. This is well within the margin of error for any of the polls involved. Given that, on what besides your wishful thinking was that comment based?
PK
I wonder how Sean Hannity will go from McCain hatred to McCain love! We have always been at war with Oceania! I bet Fox news viewers will not even notice.
demimondian
But, but, but — Edwards kept HRC out, and that’s what he existed for. He split the vote, and now that he’s gone, all the split votes will go for Obama. After all, the split votes would never have gone for Clinton, even though they would have, so Edwards hurt Obama.
Or something like that. Or, perhaps, not…
Timb
In addition, as the Surge draws to a close and al-Sadr’s self-imposed cease fire ends, Iraq is going to be on the front page a lot more as our newly armed Sunni proxies start killing our armed pre-Surge Shia proxies. That’s right, when facing a civil war, General Genius Petreaus thought it would be best of both sides could kill each other.
That, in case you didn’t do the math, is not going to help a John McCain general election campaign.
Personally, I hope it remains quiet and al-Sadr becomes comfortable running his Party for the next few decades, but, unlike the Bushies, I don’t plan based on hope.
Jen
Well, I’m not speaking for firebrand, but for me, it’s the Republican machine (they *will* line up behind McCain and march in lockstep; they *will* turn out the vote, big-time, against HRC and that is something hard to capture in the polls) and the Democratic machine (“oh, look, here’s the only way to sabotage an election which should be ours for the taking! Oh goody, defeat at last!”)
Neal
No, I agree with you, He doesn’t owe any of us anything. I’m just venting…and I think – and this is just my hypothesis with nothing to back it up other than observation – that he drew away from Obama in the early contests, mainly New Hampshire. That, and I just wish he would have endorsed Obama. A lot.
Oh well.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
This isn’t over until the convention. Relax, there’s time.
I’m just worried he’ll back Hillary for fear of retribution. If Hillary can’t destroy Obama, she’ll definitely try to poison everyone else’s well instead.
(Yes, I’m explicitly stating she has no honor)
Neal
You are correct, Jen.
Zifnab
Swing by Kos and check some of the numbers analysis. The elections in Iowa, NH, and SC were all about the swing voters. Wherever the independent vote went, so went the winner. In SC, for instance, the polls predicted accurate percentages for Edwards and Clinton, but Obama’s numbers spiked. Obama also won the plurality of independents. In NH, the polls predicted accurate percentages for Edwards and Obama, but Clinton’s numbers spiked. Clinton also won the plurality of the independents. In Iowa, basically the same.
The independent swing voters have also been the deciding factor in the McCain/Romney race.
Where Edwards die-hard supporters will go now that he’s out of the race is a good question to ask, but I suspect they’ll now just be a bigger pool of undecides to draw from, and the game will basically be the same. If Obama wants to win, he needs to keep appealing to the people who haven’t made up their minds. The Kennedy endorsements, the passionate public speaking, and the media blowjobs he has received, will go a long way towards facilitating that.
Neal
…and you are explicitly correct there.
Do I read too much Sully or something?
Man, last night has me in a foul mood in regards to HRC.
The Other Steve
Oh, did you get into an argument with myiqis40 as well? :-)
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
Question is best asked through a different perspective.
Better?
Reading him can be great fun for some people, but I don’t think anyone comes away unharmed. I’m included.
The Grand Panjandrum
I think a portion of Edwards support may have been an anti-HRC reaction. But I rather doubt it was a significant (>10%) portion of his support. Those will probably go to Obama, but the remainder will probably split out close to 50-50 for HRC/Obama.
In other words, it might be a slight Obama advantage. Unless I’m wrong about the anti-HRC sentiment in the Edwards camp, or their is a significant anti-Obama (rather than pro-Edwards) faction within the Edwards camp.
Jesus! Now I’m confused. WTF did I just write? Oh yeah. Slight advantage Obama. Why couldn’t I just type that? Must be my inability to STFU.
Gus
The Other Steve and Fe E, what do you think of Pawlenty as a possibility for McCain’s Veep? I’m torn, because I think he might help McCain in the upper midwest, but I’d love to have his smarmy ass the fuck out of MN.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
myiq is just bloodthirsty, methinks.
If Obama got up at the convention, picked up a sig .45 and popped Hillary in the head, on stage, and subsequently pledged That Fucking Cat was next, myiq would be on here first thing cheering.
/look it up
//name calling… tsk tsk.
Wilfred
Won’t happen. Bush will not pull any troops out if doing so might jeopardize McCain’s chances. Surge increases will not end until the election; American soldiers will die trying to keep the peace and Clinton will have nothing to say about it. Obama would.
TheFountainHead
So here’s my thing:
I keep thinking about it, and it really comes down to this for me, as to why I would like Edwards to work to elect Obama now. This is not based on polls (which is tantamount to saying, this isn’t based on nothing) but my own personal read of the land.
Edwards needs to work for Obama because Hillary Clinton versus John McCain in the general gives us a long, uphill battle that we might lose, and an electorate that splits along (bitter) party lines. In other words, Bush v. Kerry or Bush v. Gore version 2.0. Now, of course any general election is going to be work, especially against McCain, and I’m not saying Obama will kill him in a landslide, though that might be possible, but at least such an election would look different from the last few we’ve had. Both of those candidates blur party lines and we’d have a chance at a general election that actually pulled the electorate together instead of trying to divide and conquer it. Think about it. Obama has no real qualms about forcing the far left to do business with the center, and McCain can get the far right to back him (begrudgingly, perhaps) even when he tries to bring the Independents into the fold. McCain has been showing us his toothy fascism in the primary, but I really think that would subside after he received the nomination.
Shorter: McCain v. Clinton still leaves stabbing each other to death. Obama v. McCain has the potential for a truce.
The Other Steve
He had less than 50% support in 2002, and just barely squeaked out a win in 2006 against a terrible candidate.
I just really don’t think he’d help the ticket.
And if he did win, we’d be stuck with Molnau. Ugh
Zifnab
Wow. Way to play off the negative angry black man stereotype. Racist. No Unity Pony for you!
/throws hand grenade and ducks
The Other Steve
I don’t think the people supporting Edwards will support Obama. I agree with Pajanadrum… there’s a handful, but most will split 50/50.
Edwards support is weird… If you look at the exit polling, the people who support the US staying in Iraq forever(like 7% of total Dems) supported Edwards and so on.
The only people who believe in the Edwards Magical Pony are bloggers. The voters who supported him largely did so because he’s a white male.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
If you’re thinking Bush will defend the party, you’re not paying attention. That administration exists to take everything of value it can and piss all over everyone in a show of self-demonstrated power-hoarding.
If you’re thinking Bush expects McCain to keep the Iraq occupied indefinitely, nevermind then. This would, also, not be the first time the flightsuit misjudged someone’s character.
Zifnab
Also, I really think you are calling this thing way, way, way too early for McCain. How does nearly-broke underdog McCain become the default victory candidate on the right when its Hillary and Romney with all the money and a large chunk of the popular support?
I question whether McCain will get the cash infusion he needs – after blowing his wad in Florida – in time to compete as a serious contender in 20 different states at once. Romney only lost by 5 points in Florida. That’s no more of a “landslide” than when Hillary beat Obama in NH. With 911 and Grampa Thompson out of the race, I can see a great number of die-hard conservatives voting for Romney. Maybe I’m delusional, but my money is still backing the richest horse on this.
Neal
Okay, too much work to quote the “Did I do too much coke part?”…but goddamn, that was funny.
I generally don’t regret Sully like I have the other.
:)
Caidence, I almost got into one with myiqis40, but I tried to be gratious and just diffuse it. He was accusing Obama of playing the race card as opposed to the Clintons…and that “no balconies” thread from last night turned into a blood bath between others which was just fun to watch.
The Grand Panjandrum
Someone mentioned in another thread that HRC won the Florida vote and that, although no delegates were at stake, this win would help keep her “momentum” moving forward. Well, I think we can safely say that Edwards announcement today sucked all the oxygen out of this news cycle.
Florida could at best be described as a straw poll, and even that win is now essentially muted by the Edwards withdrawal.
4tehlulz
Free media blowjobs.
The Other Steve
Using a German gun like the Sig Sauer ain’t going to help him win over the NRA crowd.
I would suggest the Smith & Wesson Model 460XVR. It’s a gun Dirty Harry would be proud of.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
ha. I wasn’t even thinking about race when I wrote that.
I honestly believe Hillary is more likely to be the first to grab a handgun.
crw
But…Bush has an opportunity to completely break the army here by keeping up ridiculous operational tempo. Do you really think he’ll turn down an opportunity to royally screw the country like that?
Gus
The Other Steve, on the other hand, he recently had a 59% approval rating, and Minnesotans always vote for tickets that have a Minnesotan on the team. He’s been campaigning like crazy for McCain for a couple years. He comes across as likable, so people outside Minnesota don’t know what an asshole he really is. Governor Molnau, shudder.
D-Chance.
The Man Who Would Be King and Purty Boy are BOTH dropping out? Guess both got the best offers they thought they could get from one of their rivals…
BTW, you KNOW that Romney really did win Florida? Most of McCain’s votes came from independents and Democrats… at least, that’s the word spreading in Conservative Blaghistan this morning. So talk Hugh down off the ledge, he has an out.
PS, in addition to NRO’s meltdown, the Derb can’t resist doing his bit of Paul-trolling… ;)
“Romneybot lost a big one? In the immortal words of Little Richard: Boo [shriek!] hoo [shriek!] hoo [shriek!] hoo.”
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
myiq’s core is: he’s downright latched on Bush and torture. I mean LATCHED.
The first candidate, Dem or Republican, to say he’ll apply the John Yoo Treatment to Bush and crush his testicles with a vice grip will probably get myiq’s immediate and unwavering support. I don’t blame him much for that.
myiq is thirsty for HRC because he wants to type in the detonation codes and let her lose on the Bush Administration. I’ve advocated more thorough, less catastrophic methods, and he and I subsequently tussled.
Jen
Neal, I’m glad you enjoyed the blood bath, but I’m jus’ saying, that inco girl is psycho, and she only has it in for me, for no discernible reason that I can figure. To the rest of the world, she is content with non sequiturs.
The Other Steve
A wet team would be more effective than nukes.
Ross
Mitt must have been stuck in Priesthood Classes when the Beatles invaded the USA. He has clearly never heard of the early classic “Money can’t buy me Love”. It will be a hard lesson for him.
The Grand Panjandrum
Sweet. I’m a long bow hunter but I carry a 500ES as a back up.
Kirk Spencer
responding to a lot, so I’ll not mention names (mea culpa, mea maxima culpa)…
Slight change of my earlier post due to Giuliani’s formal exit. Yes, he endorsed McCain. But where will his supporters go? We’ll know for sure next Tuesday. If they go for McCain, it’s his. If they split, then McCain can’t pull a majority as long as both Romney and Huckabee stick it out. If that happens, expect lots and lots of backroom smoke and mirrors and promises to prevent the six months of pandering.
A big point to remember. McCain’s campaign is basically broke right now, and he’s hoping to appear dominant enough to get the donors currently waiting to drop coins in his wallet. Huckabee is broke too, but he’s got a support network that’ll work regardless. And Romney is NOT broke.
re the final battle… In polls, McCain is competitive with both Obama and Clinton at this time — and he’s the only one who is. There is a challengeable assumption in the polls, however, which is that turnout (on both sides) will be comparable to previous elections, and that the numbers of self-declared Dem and Rep are still fairly constant. Countering that assumption are two facts – recent D/R self-identification polls have had a notable shift to the D, and turnout among D voters so far has been significantly greater than that for the R.
I think that if Clinton wins the nomination it’ll spur a fair number of “anybody but Clinton” voters on the R side to come out and play. It might even have a slight impact on the D side with their own ABCs. But the election is in the margins, and so far all the places where the independent voice can be heard – open primaries and caucuses – show that 20-30% of the electorate is overwhelmingly anti-R. I am therefore quite confident that REGARDLESS of who wins the nomination, the next president will not be a Republican.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
Yeah baby! Come april, ready for brawl!
1x S&W 500
20x 500 rounds
1x shooting lane
6x shooting lane dividers, buckling from the shockwave
4x bystanders going “ahhK WTF wuz THAT???”
/why the hell is the smith and wesson website blocked at work here? odd…
dslak
You can put a fork in Obama: he’s done
As an Obama supporter, I’d say that it’s high time to make nice with Hillary, because she’s going to be facing an uphill battle, and it’s really important that the current Republican Party is destroyed in the near future.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
Um, whut? Obama lose, so be nice to Hill, because she’s on the losing end, so we can hurt the Repubs?
I’m confused. Who’s hurting Hillary now, sans Obama? How is making nice with Hillary going to matter in said battle? And where’s the guarantee that she’s going to do anything useful for that matter, besides line her own pockets?
Jen
Noooooooooooo dslak don’t fall off the pony nooooooooo
I’m waiting until Super Tuesday to get some actual idea of what the effect will be. I’ve read helps Obama, helps Clinton, splits evenly — and Edwards hasn’t endorsed anyone yet. It’s too early to tell what’s going to happen.
Simultaneously, preparing for the worst is an important coping mechanism for me, so I will soon begin stocking the larder for the McCain Depression Presidency and toughening up my skull for banging it on the desk…
demimondian
It’s been high time all along — not because she was inevitable, but because somebody has to win, and that means everybody else has to lose. (Except in the case of Joe Lieberman. Fortunately, Connecticut changed the filing laws after that particular travesty.) That means we need to remember that we have a lot more in common with one another than we have with everybody else, and whether it was Obama, Clinton, or Edwards, we as a party needed to remember that sooner or later we would congeal behind who ever won.
Even if that was[shudder] Dennis Kookspinach.
TheFountainHead
I completely disagree. Sure, things got more interesting the way things do when you find yourself walking in the woods and suddenly between a mother bear and her cubs, but to claim he’s done because an exit poll from more than a week ago said 4 in 10 will go to Hillary is pretty silly, to put it nicely.
Dennis - SGMM
I remain confident of the Democrats’ ability to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. Hillary will be the Democratic nominee, McCain the Republican. Hillary will lose, the Republicans will pick up a few more seats in Congress.
The only good news in this is that the Clintons will, at long last, be off of the national stage. This will allow an actual progressive to run in 2012 as well as letting the Repubs take the fall for all of Bush’s shit.
demimondian
Caidence — Clinton needs Edwards’ supporters less than Obama does. If the split really is 60-40 Clinton, then Obama loses all the big states except Illinois next Tuesday, which gives Clinton a huge bump going into the convention, and makes her selection a virtual lock.
Dreggas
There’s something stereotypical in saying those words in the same sentence…racially stereotypical even…
dslak
Was there some guarantee of this with Obama? I thought we were talking about politicians, not saints.
Same here, but I think it’s reasonable to expect that Obama will go down in flames now.
Demi, I agree with your general sentiment. I was just thinking out loud about how comparing Hillary to the anti-christ might be counterproductive.
The Grand Panjandrum
No so fast. The quote you pulled is almost meaningless without knowing anything else about it. This story was written by a journalist. Most journalists know just enough math, stats, and science to get themselves in trouble every time they open their mouth or put a word on paper. In other words they are illiterate in that narrow sense. Granted that number may be striking, but I have many questions as to how one interpolates that vague statement into a Clinton victory. More data is required.
TheFountainHead
I think it’s folly to assume the numbers are that solid at this point. I think a lot of Edwards supporters go into the “undecided’ column till the day before Super Tuesday. Why decide now when you can be pandered to for a week? Also, we have no idea how endorsements might play out in the next six days. You’re calling the game at half time because a coach got ejected from the sidelines.
The Other Steve
My uncle used to go up to Canada and hunt bear with a long bow and a backup gun.
Although I think it was mostly an excuse to fish and drink beer, cause he never brought home a bear. :-)
The Grand Panjandrum
Aw, c’mon demi you’ve never had a “close encounter”?
Jen
Well, I’ve always said I would vote for her if she were the nominee. I *still* occasionally fantasize about mythical Florida Nader voters getting in accidents with Chevettes.
But if she becomes the nominee by getting Florida and Michigan’s delegates, I absolutely will not. Other incredibly dirty Clintonian tactics may also present themselves as a bar.
But for the moment, I will stay right here on the pony.
Now, let’s reprise the entirety of last night’s discussion, hmmmmmmmmmmmm? :)
dslak
TGP, there’s some missing data for the move from that poll to a Clinton victory, but in this case there’s no point in insulting the author of that piece just because you don’t like the conclusion. Demimodian’s previous comment does a good job of filling in the blanks in that argument, but I can put it more formally if you’re still not seeing it.
TheFountainHead
As I submitted my last post, it dawned on me. Edwards dropped out of the race so that the MSM can make Superbowl metaphors of the race all week now! DUH! How did I miss that!! It’s all clear now!
The Other Steve
But does it give her enough votes to lock it up?
I’m all for deciding this at the convention.
crw
Um, maybe I’m dense here, but that would seem to indicated 35% of Edwards supporters are still up for grabs. Depending on how those “undecideds” break it could make a huge difference.
John S.
No doubt.
I may not be thrilled with another Clinton as president, but I will pull that lever without hesitation – particularly if she goes up against that insufferable douchebag McCain.
dslak
Which is why I see no problem in hoping for a good showing on Super Tuesday. I wouldn’t count on it, however.
Ed Drone
One thing that occurs to me is that McCain as the GOP nominee will mute the Rethuglicans’ clamor for draconian immigration action, making it harder for Democrats to pull in Hispanic voters. Alas. But it also makes it harder for them to play the ‘scary brown people’ card in white America. Whether it’s a net loss or gain is hard to predict.
Ed
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
I wasn’t talking about Obama. I was asking: Why would we supporting Hillary with the assumption she’s going to do something, instead of waiting for at least a fake pledge?
(And don’t tell me she did. She keeps hedging on the issues. I’m waiting for “Holy shit YES TORTURE IS WRONG” to come out of her mouth. Because HOLY SHIT TORTURE IS WRONG!!!!)
oooo-kay. So where’s the “make nice” part come in for me, if she’s locked in? Where’s the fire?
curtadams
Re: McCain not having enough money:
Romney’s broke too. No time to find the link, but his campaign was net broke in December. He’s never gotten many contributions, so he’s run the campaign out-of-pocket. While rich, he’s not rich enough to finance a national Feb 5 campaign unless he spends half his fortune. I don’t see that. McCain gets enormous amounts of free media. He doesn’t need much money. Considering that McCain was already leading in 8 or 9 states, to Romney’s *one*, before FL, before Giuliani’s endorsement, Romney is as sunk as the Titanic.
What’s Rush saying today? Bet he’s already backtracking.
The Grand Panjandrum
Completely unnecessary. I’m a mathematician.
dslak
Because whoever the Republican candidate is, 1) they’ll be worse, and 2) the current Republican Party must be destroyed.
Oh, and with Hillary on the ballot, the Democrats probably won’t do as well in Congressional races as they would otherwise, so having a Democrat in the White House would be a really, really good thing.
myiq2xu
Obama shot his wad in Iowa – he’s toast, Clinton is a lock from here
Jen
I thought JC would like to know that Obama is transcending again.
And if we gave you some money, would that stop the site from shutting down all the time?
dslak
Now that John’s a Democrat, he should have a team of crack programmers working on his site at all times. Perhaps they’re prevented from working their magic due to it still being a PJM enterprise?
Krista
He’s learned well from his erstwhile companions at RedState. I expect the plea for $50K to go up any day now. ;)
And Jen, I believe you’re a girl. For whatever that’s worth.
John S.
Sorry, but your opinion doesn’t comport well with the facts:
Zifnab
He shot his wad again in South Carolina. He’s in a dead heat in a dozen states in the Super Tuesday running. New York and California could hurt him a great deal, but I wouldn’t sell Obama out any time soon.
crw
Obama has plenty of cash left, so he can fight it all the way. That said, he definitely has a tough row to hoe, and his continuing vagueness isn’t helping any. I though he had some Double Secret Uber Plan to start rolling out policy specifics in his speeches?
grandpa john
Hmmm, I can see that its going to be a long time till Nov.
about polls and who is electable, Am I the only one here who remembers that the winner is determined by electoral votes won, and that head to head polling on a nationwide basis of determining total votes, don’t mean shit. Unless it is done on a state by state basis and unless you can point to some polls from the swing states that show how the various candidates are doing, then all the pontificaters here are blowing hot air about who is or is not electable.
But hell it sure lets us blow a lot of smoke up one anothers behinds and waste a lot of time doesn’t it?
Kirk Spencer
Curtadams, Romney doesn’t have to spend in all the states with votes on Tuesday. Just those where he’s within 10 or so of McCain – which is still a lot, just not all of them.
In most states there are 10-15% who were Giuliani supporters, and another 10-15% who were still listed as undecided. If he can break 2/3 of those to him, he takes more states. And the critical point is he doesn’t even have to win most of Tuesday’s states, he just has to win enough that he does “better than expected” and McCain does worse, thereby stealing the “inevitability” crown from McCain. Without certainty, some donors refrain from dumping money in his coffer – or more importantly, several put it in other coffers besides his.
For the GOP, Tuesday’s votes will determine whether it’s a brokered convention or McCain is the certain nominee. And while I give a slight nod to the latter, there’s not enough odds for me to bet money on it.
Jen
Oh hi Krista! Thanks. She also thinks I’m a Paulbot. She is not, um, smart.
LiberalTarian
Well, electoral college or no, we do still get to pick our nominees for president, wot?
grandpa john
Well yes we do get to pick our nominees, but much of the discussion here has been about picking the nominee based on perceived electability according to nation wide polls. wich actually doesn’t mean shit, since the election will be determined in a few swing states.making the only polls significant then are the ones in those particular states
JC
The freakout, on the right wing sites, is AMAZING.
Seriously.
Half of the people seem to want to take their ball and go home. Half are calling the other WATB, for not bucking up, saying “do you want 8 years of Hillary??!!”
Have you seen Michelle Malkin? Townhall? Redstate? The Corner? They are all freaking the FRACK out.
It’s truly fascinating, in a revolting kinda way.
PazuzusPetals
The freakout, on the right wing sites, is AMAZING.
They should all take a nice, relaxing Canadian vacation. Smoke them some medical marijuana, marry them some gays, and drown ’em some freedom fries in malt vinegar. It’ll be fabulous, and they won’t remember why the hell they came up here in the first place.