First thoughts

Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:19 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: First Thoughts

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Obama On Iraq: A day after getting a handful of minutes to speak, er, question Petraeus -- and after talking with NBC’s David Gregory on TODAY earlier this morning -- Obama gives a speech today on Iraq from Iowa. In it, per the campaign, he will outline his plan for ending the war in Iraq, which includes pulling out combat troops at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year. Yesterday, while talking at, er, grilling Petraeus and Crocker, Obama said: "I have to say, and this hasn't been commented on, I think that we should not have had this discussion on 9/11 or 9/10 or 9/12. Because I think it perpetuates this notion that somehow the original decision to go into Iraq was directly related to the attacks on 9/11." Yet as a rival campaign points out to First Read, if that’s true, why is he giving an Iraq speech today on September 12? Still, this is Obama's next best chance to emphasize what the campaign believes is a real difference between him and Clinton on the top issue in the primary.

*** The Hsu Keeps Dropping: When the Clinton campaign announced on Monday night that it was returning the $850,000 Norman Hsu had raised, it appeared that the story was over, right? Well, not quite… The New York Times reports today that the Clinton campaign, per an adviser, will try to get most of the money back -- if it came from the donors’ own bank accounts, and not from Hsu or another source. So is it really returning the money when the campaign seeks to get it back? Also, the Politico notes that bulldog Rep. Henry Waxman “has promised to ask the National Archives for documents relating to President Bill Clinton’s Office of Political Affairs… [That] could mean fresh scrutiny and publicity for long-forgotten meetings and presentations during the Clinton administration” -- which could be another headache for the Clinton campaign.

*** A Lot Of Finger-Pointing Going On: One can only imagine the finger-pointing going on inside the Clinton fundraising machine. It's never been a happy team of folks as there was some infighting over control and strategy early on. Nothing has been easy on the Clinton fundraising front. While they've raised impressive money, they've only found themselves "keeping up" with Obama, which of course is not how it was supposed to be. And now with the Hsu fiasco, don't be surprised if some who felt as if they weren't being listened to will push to get their way. With just 18 days to go before the end of the third fundraising quarter, this controversy couldn't be coming at a worse time.

*** One New Yorker Up, The Other One Flat-lining: Despite the Hsu story, Clinton keeps soaring in the polls. A brand-new Washington Post/ABC poll has her maintaining her double-digit national lead over Obama, while Bloomberg/LA Times shows her leading in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. On the GOP side, meanwhile, the Post/ABC poll finds Giuliani out in front -- but losing ground to Thompson. Moreover, the Bloomberg/LA Times survey shows him trailing Romney in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Thompson in South Carolina (although he’s just a few points behind, within the margin of error in NH and SC). But Giuliani flat-lining in the national polls probably says more about Thompson. Despite Beltway insiders nitpicking every little detail about Thompson’s announcement tour (the staff departures, his different statements on Osama bin Laden, saying that he often doesn’t attend church), Thompson has gotten a nice bounce since officially jumping into the race. Of course, Thompson got a similar bounce in June, dragging Giuliani down a bit and then Giuliani floated back up. Will this bounce stick? And what does it mean for Romney, who may have more at risk with the rise of Thompson? Maybe that explains the phonyfred.com Web site?

*** Get Ready For Another Poll: Is Clinton the overwhelming national front-runner? Is Thompson truly catching up to Giuliani? How do Americans view the surge? And do voters view this VERY early presidential contest as a positive or a negative? For answers, watch NBC Nightly News beginning at 6:30 pm ET -- or click on to MSNBC.com at the same time -- for the results of the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.

*** The Monster Mash: The eight Democratic presidential candidates participate today in the Yahoo!/Huffington Post/Slate Mashup, an online forum moderated by PBS’s Charlie Rose. There will be additional questions from online readers and viewers. But candidates will not interact

*** On The Trail: Elsewhere today, Dodd appears on Countdown with Keith Olbermann; Giuliani campaigns in Akron, OH; Huckabee raises money in Beverly Hills; McCain, in Iowa, continues on his “No Surrender” tour; Paul campaigns in Southern California; Richardson fundraises in Texas; and Romney is also in Texas, where he speaks to the Midland County Republican Women's Club and then raises money in Dallas and Houston. Also, Elizabeth Edwards appears on Rachel Ray.

Countdown to LA GOV election: 38 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 55 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 66 days
Countdown to Iowa: 124 days
Countdown to SC GOP primary: 129 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 146 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 419 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 496 days

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Comments

Looks like Hillary is running her campaign on a Hsu string budget.

Jay Letters (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:27 AM)

I guess Sandy Berger better get over there and start shoving paperwork down his pants again. This time, they better do a strip search on the way out.

The Clinton's Chop Suey connection just might come back to bite them this time and the pain should be excruciating

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:35 AM)

Why should Hillary give money back that didn't come from Hsu?
Romney's campaign says it will give Alan Fabian's money back.
But NOT money that came from donors Fabian arranged for.
Fabian, by the way, was Mitt Romney's National Fundraising Co-Chairman, and a Giulliani contributor, until he was indicted August 9th on charges of Bankruptcy Fraud, Mail Fraud, Money Laundering, Perjury and Obstruction of Justice.
You would never know that because the Republican-BIASED, Conservatively-OWNED media won't tell you.

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:37 AM)

God, the jokes here

Hillary clinton's favorite potatoes: Hsu string
Her favorite hsu's: tennis
Her favorite game: Horsehsu's

With Hillary, I guess the hsu is on the other foot now.

Now the other Hsu has hit the ground.

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:43 AM)

Hillary will still be the nominee and win the presidency. Go Hillary!

THe girls at UNF (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:45 AM)

since first read or the corporate owned press in general can't post anything edwards says I will

Edwards Response To Troop Withdrawal Announcement By President Bush
Sep 11, 2007 5:21 PM

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – In response to President Bush's announcement that he will withdraw 30,000 troops from Iraq by next summer, Senator John Edwards released the following statement:

"President Bush has stated that he will withdraw 30,000 troops by next summer. The truth is that because the president's Iraq policy has brought our military close to the breaking point, these forces would have been withdrawn anyway—unless the president planned to extend tours to an unconscionable 18 months. The president taking credit for this withdrawal is like taking credit for gravity.

"It's time to end this sad game of excuses and Beltway double-talk. Last November, the American people voted for real change in Iraq, but instead the president has clung to the status quo and Congress has caved. For over a year, I have called for an immediate withdrawal of 40-50,000 troops—not by next summer, but today—to jump-start the comprehensive political solution that will end the violence in Iraq and allow a complete troop withdrawal within a year. In the face of the president's irresponsible tactics, Congress must stand united and say with one voice: No timetable, no funding. No excuses."

MK,MO (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:47 AM)

Obama, Biden and Dodd were brilliant yesterday. You can see the video on MSNBC on the internet (I don't watch TV anymore, so that is how I see these things.)

McCain looked ridiculous, lobbing soft balls to Petraeus and Crocker, until his natural propensity for honesty popped up and he asked them something about the corrupt Iraq police force. If American leaders could just get back to being honest and straight forward we may yet avoid the fate of the Roman Empire. Obama, Biden and Dodd gave me some hope.

Amy B Portland, ME (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:47 AM)

Jay Letters,
...and it looks like Mitt "Squirrel Hunter" Romney, and Gigolo Rudy 'G' "took us to the cleaners," because Alan Fabian (who was involved in fundraising for both) was charged with MONEY LAUNDERING.

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:53 AM)

I provide you, the voter/reader, with the tools to enable you to have fun exposing them yourselves.

Whenever they post their, "opinions", ask, "Where did you get that information? could you please post the link?" Then you can go to the actual sources of their information. Almost all of the most current factual information on the candidates, the polls and the candidates' finances and contributors can be found below. I will be posting this list EVERY morning and updating the sources as they become available. The best way to combat lies is with TRUTH. Here is your ammo pack!

http://www.fec.gov/index.shtml The Federal Elections Commission is where the candidates file the financial information for their campaigns.

http://www.opensecrets.org/ Opensecrets.org is "Your guide to money in U.S elections."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ Is THE source for political junkies, with links to every major political site on the right, left and center.

http://www.pollster.com/

http://romneyfacts.com/ Mitt, then and now!

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/ is the one of the most accurate polling companies in the business, with daily tracking polls.

http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=asc#vr Has the voting records for all members of congress, and their Liberal/Conservative ratings.

http://votesmart.org/index.htm Here's what they say at the site;
Thousands of candidates and elected officials. Who works for you? Who is seeking your vote? Project Vote Smart, a citizen's organization, has developed a Voter's Self-Defense System to provide you with the necessary tools to self-govern effectively: abundant, accurate, unbiased and relevant information. As a national library of factual information, Project Vote Smart covers your candidates and elected officials in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and interest group ratings. What would you like to know?

Van

Honest Abe (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:57 AM)

Obama's criticism of the timing of the hearings was due to the ongoing effort to conflate 9/11 and Iraq. Since he, himself, is NOT trying to conflate the two and, in fact, continually emphasizes the exact opposite, the timing of his speech is irrelevant to the critcism of the administration efforts to have people believe that one is connected to the other.

jg40 (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:00 AM)

I wish people would see just how corrupt and how far over the line Hillary will go to win. Why is she still up double-digits???? People need to pull their heads out of their back ends and see that she is a power hungry, do-anything-to-win political hack. Haven't they seen what 7 years of this has already gotten us?

I will not vote for her. If she wins the Democratic nomination, I hope that Fred Thompson orMitt Romney wins the Republican nomination. At least then I'll have someone with a little bit of integrity to vote for.

Mike K, Denver (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:03 AM)

The more media pay attention to HRC money scandals the more they will realize that she's not to be trusted with America's security. I am very sure the money trail will lead us to what happened during her husband's administration. Please follow the money folks.

I am interested in her records that were sealed in Arkansas. Democrats wake up before you loose another election.

As for Iraq, i totally agree with Obama and Biden. Mccain seems to be dellusional about iraq's problem. I understand he's for the troop so is the rest of us; however, we need to give the troop the mission that make sense like going after Bin Laden.

I still can't believe it that 6 years later this administration failed to capture Bin Laden. What is the simple explanation for that? Of course it is Iraq.

Bee (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:03 AM)

Thank you for keeping us up to date with where Ron Paul is campaigning & what he's up to. I appreciate seeing him included, especially as I believe we'll see his influence on the Republican campaigns increase as time goes on.

Rich, Valparaiso, Indiana (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:05 AM)

From MSNBC's article today:

"Clinton campaign aides refused yesterday to release the names of the 260 donors whom Mr. Hsu recruited to the campaign, preferring to wait until they finish their own research on the individuals.
Mrs. Clinton and her advisers are concerned that rival campaigns or the news media will dig into the background of each donor, and they want to be prepared if some of the donors end up having money funneled to them from Mr. Hsu or have shady backgrounds."

Let's see, returning $850,000.00, divided by 260 secret donors, equals $3,269.23 each, if they all gave equal amounts. Isn't there a $2300 limit? How can they be allowed to keep the names secret? And now the Hsu bundled donatins are not going to charity but returned to the owners? What owners? It came from Hsu, he bundled it with other peoples names, but nobody can believe that. How much goes back to the San Francisco family the Paws? Enough to move out of the little bungalow next to the airport runway? Since this Congress loves to investigate everything, where is the one looking into Hillary and her millions?

And I quote Cuba Gooding Jr. "SHOW ME THE MONEY"

RH Oregon (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:11 AM)

Why is he giving a speach on the 12. My goodness it is campaign season and he is addressing the issue he did not set the date for the Petraeus report. Can you guys show your bias any louder.

ki houston (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:36 AM)

By "rival campaign," I have to assume you mean the Biden campaign. Honestly, Biden's behavior yesterday (reading the newspaper while Obama spoke, not letting Obama get a response from the witnesses at the end, etc.) left much to be desired. I've always been a fan of Biden but right now I'm thinking he's just one giant ego.

demagirl (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:44 AM)

Rudy's souffle is falling, Obama's never really rose.
It's Hillary vs. Fred for President in 2008.

TheRealist nyc (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:45 AM)

"Yet as a rival campaign points out to First Read, if that’s true, why is he giving an Iraq speech today on September 12? "

Uh...that's rather easy. Because the Petraeus and Crocker hearings ended yesterday and, as such, Iraq policy is in the news and at the forefront of American thought, right now. Congress is about to use the hearings as a springboard to discuss what effect it can and should have on shaping Iraqi policy. The entire country is looking to see if this is the moment policy changes.

So he's giving a big speech on...Iraq policy.

Was that really so hard to figure out yourself, guys? Or were you so bowled over by another campaign's charge of hypocrisy that you couldn't take the time to draw the obvious conclusions.

Michael, Miami, FL (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:46 AM)

You know, guys, polls about who is ahead in the polls, at this point, are pretty close to meaningless. It's like putting odds on who is going to win the 2008 World Series before the 2008 season even begins. But, I guess, if it weren't for the polls political writers might actually have to go out and dig up some corruption or malfeasance to stay busy.

Robert Catalano, Salem, OR (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:48 AM)

If I was running her campaign, besides purging the tainted money, I would be aggressively looking at the donors to other candidates. My hope would be that all are exposed for taking tainted money and a conversation about the need for public financing of federal elections can take place. Then we can talk about the influence of unions, trial lawyers, lobbyists, et al.

Dale, Birmingham, AL (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:56 AM)

polls mean nothing---many just lie to the pollster

HMT-MI (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:58 AM)

I don't see how Clinton "kept up" with Obama's fundraising since he raised millions more than her for the primary in both Q1 and Q2, so that's a pretty generous assessment for the Clinton campaign.

Additionally, whoever the "rival campaign" spokesperson is that wonders why Obama's speech would be on 9/12 is an idiot. With Petreaus' testimony already taking place on 9/11, obviously Obama isn't going to stay silent on Iraq the next day, because that wouldn't do anything to lessen the implicit connection suggested by the date of the Petraeus hearing; the cat is already out of the bag. Since Obama waiting a week to speak wouldn't have done anything to lessen the impact of the poor timing of the Petraeus report, why on earth would anyone do such a thing? Total lack of common sense by this unidentified "rival campaign"...

Shadow, Hamden,CT (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:00 AM)

"Donor trouble was Clinton fear" -- that's the headline -- and so afraid of it was she that she told her aides (an' tol' 'em an' tol' em ... ) to be VERY CAREFUL so that she wouldn't APPEAR to be "greedy and ethically challenged."

[BEING greedy and ethically challenged is okay, long as you don't get caught; but APPEARING to be greedy and ethically challenged, well ... that can come back to bite ya ... so let's keep everything double-blind and decently laundered, Staff ... is that clear?]

But (apparently and alas) she couldn't control her own "over-zealous" staff -- that will be a future headline; and has anybody but me noticed how very many "over-zealous" staffers infest DC, and how their bosses are never to be blamed for their "over-zealousness"? -- which I suppose is supposed to reassure me, except that isn't A Whole Presidential Administration a lot bigger than A Campaign Staff?

And if you can't control the smaller entity, by what logic do you assure me that you CAN control the larger ... ?

If the Senator wishes me to believe that she is going to bring Personal Accountability back to the Oval Office, this is (you will forgive the crude locution) a piss-poor way to start.

"First I've heard of it! Not my fault!! Somebody Else is responsible for this undeniable outrage!!! The buck stops There!!!!"

This is what we call "change"?

Rick Lapin, Albuquerque, NM (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:02 AM)

Hey, Honest Abe,
Would you mind at least deleting Van's name off the bottom and eliminating the blank lines. Van uses up enough of our limited space as it is.

msnbc bloggers (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:04 AM)

Jerry-- now you're the best at two things:

sucking at commenting and sucking at comedy.

I don't like Hillary, but in the most pragmatic of views she has every right to get that money back. Otherwise all Republicans should return every check they get from a CEO who earns tens of millions on the backs of low-paid, non-health-insured employees.

Gary, Des Moines, IA (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:07 AM)

jerry.....
Ah yes, the jokes here.
Maybe Fabian will SING about Romney and Giulliani to the feds.

RH....
what about the money that Alan Fabian helped to raise for Romney, and Giulliani?
How 'bout let's see THAT money, and THAT list of contributors?

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:17 AM)

So what J.Merle and the other girls at UNF are saying is that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Anything goes. Honesty has no place in politics. Integrity means nothing. We can vent and rant about the ills of the current administration but look forward to nothing better. The bottom line is the party line. We have no hope of better, so why try.
Nobody is excusing Alan Fabian, except maybe you. If we use your logic then because Hsu did it then Fabian should not be held accountable. As long as someone esle did it first then it's excusable to do it yourself. Time to wipe the spittle off your keyboard. And UNF, why do you set your sights so low? I can understand your desire for a woman president, but Hillary can not be the person you want for a poster child of what can be accomplished by a woman. Please look harder and find someone that my daughters when older will look back on proudly. Hillary ain't it.

RH Oregon (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:18 AM)

Perhaps Obama "spoke" yesterday instead of asking questions....but, if you really "listened", he brought out excellent facts that needed to be said....to call them to the people's attenton. Why waste time asking questions, if you know you are still going to get the same old lame responses. Might as well throw out some factual, relevant material...to help people know what has been going on.

Mazie Purtle, Carmel, California (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:19 AM)

THE BUSH IRAQ STRATEGY 101 : SMOKE AND MIRRORS IT WILL FOOL THE AMERICAN PUBLIC EVERY TIME. WHO IS BUYING THIS WITHDRAW CRAP ? THE IRAQI PARLEMENT WILL PROBABLY GO ON ANOTHER 1 MONTH VACATION SOON, WHY NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE PICKING UP THE TAB, AT A RATE OF 8-10 BILLION A MONTH,PLUS THE BLOOD OF OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE THIS BUSH "FIASCO" WILL COST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OVER A "TRILLION" DOLLARS AND HOW MANY LIVES ? FOR WHAT, TO PROTECT MR. BUSH'S ALLREADY DISASTEROUS LEGACY ? IF EVERONE IS AS FED UP, AS I'AM PLEASE CALL/WRITE/OR E-MAIL EVERY REPUBLICAN SENATOR/CONGRESSMEN DEMANDING AN "IMMEDIATE" PULL OUT FROM IRAQ. ALSO, TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO DO THE SAME. I HAVE ALLREADY DONE SO AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. THANK YOU AND HAVE A NICE DAY.

ANDREW W. JACKSON, DETROIT, MI. (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:23 AM)

"Clinton campaign aides refused yesterday to release the names of the 260 donors whom Mr. Hsu recruited to the campaign, preferring to wait until they finish their own research on the individuals.

Keeping secrets AGAIN....this is different from Cheny how?

Dale, MD (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:26 AM)

I love how the Clinton team is doing the right thing by returning the money. However, they will not make information public that obviously should be. Why not? Because they want this story to die and also, so they can regather their dirty money in peace. Is that so wrong?

Also, under what circumstances did Samantha Wolf leave the campaign?

And how do we know that Hillary was telling her staff to be extra vigilent? Who told the press that line? Let me guess, Howard Wolfson.

Will Gibbs (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:30 AM)

I don't see how Clinton "kept up" with Obama's fundraising since he raised millions more than her for the primary in both Q1 and Q2, so that's a pretty generous assessment for the Clinton campaign.

Additionally, whoever the "rival campaign" spokesperson is that wonders why Obama's speech would be on 9/12 is an idiot. With Petreaus' testimony already taking place on 9/11, obviously Obama isn't going to stay silent on Iraq the next day, because that wouldn't do anything to lessen the implicit connection suggested by the date of the Petraeus hearing; the cat is already out of the bag. Since Obama waiting a week to speak wouldn't have done anything to reduce the impact of the poor timing of the Petraeus report, why on earth would anyone do such a thing? Total lack of common sense by this unidentified "rival campaign", and I can understand why they didn't want themselves identified...

Shadow, Hamden, CT (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:32 AM)

CLinton won't release the names because she has to warn them.....Takes time to get the message across the ocean to china.

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:37 AM)

RH Oregon--It is Congress' job to investigate everything. It's called oversight. There has been no oversight lately up until 2006. It is your right as a citizen to demand of your Congressional representatives that they investigate what you see as questionable activities. They can attempt to to get those investigations started at the committee level. Now if their party happens to be in the majority that can be pretty easy because they will control the committee chairmanships...oops..dang...That won't work for you now will it?
That's a shame because we all know that when the Rubber Stamp...er...the Republicans had control they were always even handed. They never tried to exclude the minority from committee sessions or acted as if the minorities input didn't matter, and they never investigated a real estate scam and came back with a sad desperate flawed married man lying about a blow job.

It's Karma RH...Quit whining and embrace the Horror.

Gary Schear, Bozeman Montana (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:54 AM)

I think it was Tom Cruise not Cuba G.

But as always, follow the money.

Flat-earther, Georgia (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:06 PM)

Maybe Hillary will FINALLY have to explain her shady and illegal dealings....wait, she still has all those files from whitewater for blackmailing purposes. This will manage to "go away" too.

DB, Long Beach, CA (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:25 PM)

RH, The $2300 linit only applies to primary. If she gets nominated she can use another 2300 or so for the general election. You can collect the entire amount at any time but if a person do not wins the nomination they need to return the money that would have been used for General election.

Hello World, Atlanta, GA (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:29 PM)

$200,000.00 a minute to be in Iraq. over a trillion dollars{ $ 1,000,000,000.00} How many more brave lives lost ?

y (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:49 PM)

Hil steps in it again. What's new this time is she is tracking it all over the carpet and when it warms up the smell will be horrendous. But hey, she has 50% of the voters in this country in her court simply besause she is one of THEM. Doesn't matter what she is unqualified. All that matters is that she is a candidate that shakes hands while sitting down.

Taildragrrr, Seattle, Washington (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:06 PM)

http://blogs.dmregister.com/?cat=33

Hillary is a LIAR and a snake! Iowans know it.

Richard, FL (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:10 PM)

J. Merle Stanley: 'Why should Hillary give money back that didn't come from Hsu?'

Because it's tainted money, Merle !!
Apparently, many of the 'donors' got money from a Hsu owned company. Presumably this was to launder Hsu's money !!
According to First Read, yesterday, the Clinton camoaign KNEW THE MONEY WAS DIRTY !!
But, they took it anyway, just to 'keep up' with Obama !!
Does that show honesty, Merle ?
Does that show integrity ? Why do you think these scandals keep swirling around the Clintons ?
It's and indication that they are crooke. Merle.

'Romney's campaign says it will give Alan Fabian's money back. But NOT money that came from donors Fabian arranged for. Laundering, Perjury and Obstruction of Justice.'

Teacher !! Teacher !! They did it too !!
Is that the level the Clinton cult is reduced to ??
The Republicans are crooked, why can't we be crooked too ??
They're REPUBLICANS, Merle !!
They're supposed to be crooked !!
Hillary wants the nomination of the Democratic Party!

'You would never know that because the Republican-BIASED, Conservatively-OWNED media won't tell you.'

Sorry, Merle the media is really in Hillary's court !
If you want to see BIASED coverage.....
Look at the coverage that John Edwards is getting !!
John Edwards is getting nothing but 'gotcha' coverage
You protest too much, Merle Stanley

And you're defending the indefensible !!

Hillary Clinton, years of dishonesty, scandal and divisiveness

PS: according to Republican operative, Mike Murphy on Meet the Press: ... National polls mean NOTHING before IOWA !!
Don't count your chickens before they hatch !!

Sierra, SF (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:15 PM)

First Read: 'One can only imagine the finger-pointing going on inside the Clinton fundraising machine. It's never been a happy team of folks as there was some infighting over control and strategy early on.'

No honor among thieves !!

Quite a Rovian move by Teamn Clinton, 'returning' the dirty money on 9/11 to minimize press coverage !!
Hillary's chief Advisor, (union buster) Mark Penn is a Rove wannabe.

$ 850,000 is A LOT OF MONEY !!
They didn't know who Norman Hsu was ??
He had a Clinton 'aby sitter' stroking him at all times !!
I'd sure get to know anyone who was giving me $ 850,000 !!

THE BIG QUESTION:

Why would Norman Hsu give Hillary Clinton $850,000 ?
Is he THAT BIG A FAN ?
Does he like good government ?
Does he enjoy committing felonies ?
Does he like being a 'special friend' of Hillary ?
Go figure

Sierra, SF (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:22 PM)

You're so desperate to attack Clinton grasping at anything-no mention that Hsu donated to many democrats. Obama is keeping his contributions from Hsu.

James, Los Angeles (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:27 PM)

............ Impeach Bush .........

x (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:36 PM)

James, Los Angeles said

"Obama is keeping his contributions from Hsu."

That's a LIE!

Lynn, Millington (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:36 PM)

###### IMPEACH BUSH #####

Y (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:36 PM)

zzzzzzzzzzzzz IMPEACH BUSH zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Z (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:37 PM)

If the Senator wishes me to believe that she is going to bring Personal Accountability back to the Oval Office, this is (you will forgive the crude locution) a piss-poor way to start.

"First I've heard of it! Not my fault!! Somebody Else is responsible for this undeniable outrage!!! The buck stops There!!!!"

This is what we call "change"?

Rick Lapin, Albuquerque, NM (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:02 AM)

Do you feel the same way about the many times that senators Obama and Edwards have blamed their staffs for their gaffes, or is Clinton the only one who is to be held accountable? Being one-sided in your criticism is not very realistic.

TheRealist nyc (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:55 PM)

Obama had an opportunity to question the senior U.S. military commander in the field about events in Iraq and he choose instead to pontificate and make a long boring speech full of platitudes which we've all heard before. When he finally did getting around to a question--too bad time was almost up-- it was one that someone else had already asked. And this is the person who is suppose to bring us together? I thought that required a listening skill.I'm glad Biden choose to read a newspaper. I would have too. Obama supporters are being fooled by a man who is more interested in promoting himself and his rock star image than he is in others. This "exchange" with Petraeus shows just how shallow he is, GQ photo shoots, Hollywood parties, Broadway shows and all.

Used to Be Obama Supporter, Phliadelphia (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:55 PM)

James...sorry wrong. Obama returned the money 2 weeks ago, that Hsu gave his Senate campaign in 2004. All $7k.. Try again.

BTW Hillary is still deciding whether to return the money given to her Senate campaign by HSU...so she hasn't returned all the money

Lyn, MD (Sent Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:56 PM)

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