Tag: Hillary Clinton (page 27)

Big Tent Democrat wrote earlier about the Quinnepac poll showing Hillary leading Barack Obama in Ohio, and PA. From the same poll, via MyDD, about a contest between McCain and Hillary and Obama:

• Florida: McCain 44 percent - Clinton 42 percent; McCain 41 percent - Obama 39 percent;
• Ohio: McCain 44 percent - Clinton 43 percent; McCain 42 percent - Obama 40 percent;
• Pennsylvania: Clinton 46 percent - McCain 40 percent; Obama 42 percent - McCain 41 percent.

In Georgia, an Insider Advantage poll today shows:

McCain: 47 percent, Clinton: 40 percent
McCain: 48 percent, Obama: 40 percent

In both contests independent voters said they would vote for McCain by a 52 percent-to-30 percent margin. Among Democrats, 75 percent said they would vote for Clinton. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats said they would vote for Obama.

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Barack Obama unveiled an economic plan this week. From the Chicago Sun Times:

Obama's plan today is the most shameless piece of potential plagiarism that I have ever seen," McCain economic advisor Kevin Hassett said.

"He basically took Clinton's words and Clinton's policies and called them his own," Hassett said. "If I were a professor I'd give him an F and try to get him kicked out of school for something this terrible ... I remember Mrs. Clinton saying shared prosperity and I remember the bill that she introduced in August for infrastructure. The fact is these are things Obama has taken as his own without crediting the source of the ideas which was Mrs. Clinton."

Hillary's campaign responds: [More...]

Newsday has a five-step plan for Hillary Clinton to rebound from the post-Super Tuesday wins of Barack Obama. It was created by "experts and Clinton backers."

1. Recapture "Hillary voters," starting in Wisconsin.

The Feb. 19 Wisconsin primary, which the Clinton campaign has downplayed, will provide her with a chance to regain her footing with blue-collar whites and women in Milwaukee and its suburbs. A Strategic Vision poll taken before this week's losses shows Obama leading by just 4 points and one Clinton aide said the "game would change if we can sneak a win there" by focusing obsessively on the economy.

Her campaign has convinced her to spend three days there this week, rather than spending all week in Texas or Ohio.

2. She has to win Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Win Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. If Obama wins even one, Clinton's primary-night speech could be her farewell address. Citing internal polling, Clinton's people believe she has a very strong advantage in Texas, where she will bank on Hispanic voters who propelled her to wins in California, Nevada and Arizona. She's also strong in Pennsylvania, leading by 20 or more points, although recent poll data is scarce.

Ohio, say the experts, is a little different.

Obama is expected to perform very strongly in Cleveland's big African-American community and in Columbus, a mini-Seattle with a high concentration of college students and professionals. Clinton is expected to do well in rust-belt cities like Youngstown and Toledo and conservative parts of the state, including Cincinnati and its suburbs.

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Hillary Clinton's campaign has released a statement today, The Path to the Nomination.

The campaign also notes that since Super Tuesday, it has received more than $13 million online from 135,000 donors (virtually all new).

She also congratulates Sen. Obama on his victories in recent contests.

I've reprinted the statement below the fold:

NOTE: Comments are now closed. (BTD)

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton missed the final FISA vote today -- they were the only Senators, along with Sen. Graham, to miss it. It occurred between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The vote was 68 to 29, so it wouldn't have mattered had they been there. Both were present to vote with Sen. Dodd against cloture a few weeks ago and Obama was present this morning to vote on the Amendment.

Hillary Clinton released this statement on the FISA vote today:

"I believe we need to modernize our surveillance laws and give our nation’s intelligence professionals the tools they need to fight terrorism and to make our country more secure. At the same time, smart, balanced reform must also protect the rights and civil liberties of Americans. In my opinion, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 falls short of these goals, and for that reason, I oppose the bill.

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Clinton Calls on President to Support Humane and Effective Standards for Interrogation, Urges President to Remove Veto Threat from Intelligence Authorization Bill

Washington, DC—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on President Bush to remove his threat to veto the Fiscal Year 2008 Intelligence Authorization Bill, which applies the U.S. Army standards for interrogation to U.S. intelligence agencies and contractors, and bans the practice of waterboarding. In a letter to the President, Senator Clinton urged him to live up to the standards that America has promoted around the world.

“Our nation and our President must strongly and unequivocally stand for the rule of law—especially when we are under threat from an enemy that embodies the antithesis of our values,” Senator Clinton wrote. “In the process of accomplishing what is essential for our security, we must hold onto our values and set an example we can point to with pride, not shame.”

The text of Senator Clinton’s letter is below the fold:

Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson makes some interesting points on why Barack Obama's foreign policy positions show his relative ineptitide in this area.

He also uses a past exchange between Obama and John McCain to show Obama isn't a fighter and may be one who capitulates too easily.

But will Mr. Obama fight? His brief time on the national scene gives little comfort. Consider a February 2006 exchange of letters with Mr. McCain on the subject of ethics reform. The wrathful Mr. McCain accused Mr. Obama of being "disingenuous," to which Mr. Obama meekly replied, "The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you."

Mr. McCain was insultingly dismissive but successful in intimidating his inexperienced colleague. Thus, in his one known face-to-face encounter with Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama failed to stand his ground.

Of Obama's foreign policy pronouncements, Wilson says: [More...]

A Brown University, Rhode Island poll taken Feb. 9-10 shows Hillary Clinton maintaining her lead over Barack Obama, 36% to 28% with 27% uncommitted and 9% undecided. In September, Hillary's support was at 35%, so she gained a point. Obama gained substantially, from 16%
to 27%, garnering the votes of those previously for Edwards, Biden, Dodd, etc., but he's still 9 points behind Hillary. The undecided/uncommitted votes now are at 36%, in September they were at 35%.

Rhode Island's primary day is March 4, same as Texas and Ohio. The full poll results are here (pdf.) [More...]

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will be in Virginia, Maryland or D.C. tomorrow night after the primaries.

Hillary will be campaigning in El Paso, TX while Obama will be in Madison, WI. (Via Al Giordano at RuralVotes.)

Hillary will be in San Antonio on Weds, although more events may be added.

While Chelsea Clinton has been making the rounds of college campuses in Wisconsin, Hillary won't be there until Saturday night, three days before the primary. Obama hasn't been in Wisconsin since October, but his wife Michelle is already there holding roundtables.

Hillary has agreed to appear at a Wisonsin debate, but Obama has not yet responded.

Clinton also agreed to appear at a debate at Marquette University, but Obama has not responded to the invitation. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton called on him Monday to do so, saying it was the best way for Wisconsin voters to see where the candidates stand on issues.

The youth vote will be big in Wisconsin, which will favor Obama.

If history is any judge, many of those who turn out for the primary will be first-time voters. In the 2004 general election, the state had the second-highest turnout of young voters. Minnesota was No. 1.

You might have missed that in today's Associated Press poll, Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama 46% to 41%. The reason: The headline to the articles about the poll all say "Obama Leading McCain." (Big Tent Democrat discusses other aspects of the poll here.)

In the fight for their party's nomination, Clinton has a 46 percent to 41 percent edge over Obama, the Illinois senator. That represents virtually no change from last month but a significant tightening since last year, when the New York senator led comfortably in most surveys.

...Democrat Barack Obama would narrowly defeat Republican John McCain if they were matched today in the presidential election, while McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton are running about even, according to new general-election sentiment since the Super Tuesday contests.

So the AP would rather talk about last year than last month, when the big news this month has been Obama's surge...yet it hasn't resulted in a lessening of her lead.

As to the McCain factor, Hillary and McCain are 45% to 46%, essentially a tie. Obama-McCain is 48 to 42%. Then there's this: [More...]

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article today by Bob Egelko comparing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on crime issues.

Shorter version: They are pretty similar and not particularly liberal (certainly not as much as I would like them to be.)

There are some things I take issue with. For more on Obama's record on crime and defendants' rights, see my earlier analysis here.

It's true, as the article says, that while both support the death penalty, Obama worked to revise it in Illinois to prevent wrongful convictions and Hillary was an early and consistent supporter in Congress of the Innocence Protection Act.

But neither one opposes the death penalty for the guilty. Obama, for example, supported legislation in Illinois to increase crimes eligible for the death penalty -- specifically for those convicted of brutal murders of the elderly and mentally disabled. (Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2001, available on Lexis.com) He also supports it for heinous crimes.

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Is this an appropriate photo of Hillary Clinton for Time Magazine? Not to my mind. I think it's very offensive. Not just the depiction, but the uneven anatomy. Gross.