Oh-eight (D): No Gore endorsement?
Posted: Friday, December 28, 2007 9:14 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats, 2008
In case you are wondering, it appears Al Gore may not endorse in the Democratic primary.
Nationally, Clinton leads 47%-25% over Obama in a new AP-Yahoo! poll. Edwards takes third with 13%.
CLINTON: The New Hampshire Union Leader profiles the New York senator. "Clinton is out to convince voters she will be the president who can bring affordable health care coverage to all Americans. At most campaign stops, health care is the first topic to come up. But for some voters, questions still exist about the viability of her plan: providing to everyone in the country the same level of coverage enjoyed by federal employees, including members of Congress like herself."
EDWARDS: The war of words on change continues with Edwards today making what appears to be a direct response to Obama's closing argument from Thursday. From an excerpt: “Nobody who takes their money and defends the broken system is going to bring change. And, unfortunately, nobody who thinks we can just sit down and talk them into compromise is going to bring change either. Why on earth would we expect the corporate powers and their lobbyists -- who make billions by selling out the middle-class -- to just give up their power because we ask them nicely? Compromise and conciliation is the academic theory of change. It just doesn’t work in the real world. Fighting for conviction is the historic reality of change.”
Edwards will also say, according to excerpts: “When America was founded, there were people who wanted to negotiate with King George. Imagine if we had followed that path. There were people who wanted to contain the trusts instead of bust the trusts. Imagine if we had followed that path. But look what happened when Americans of great conviction led America to stand up for its principles and reach for higher ground. We fought for change, and we changed history. During the Great Depression, FDR stood up to powerful, entrenched interests to lead this nation out of our darkest hour.”
And: “When Iowa rises, America will rise. We will defeat greed and fear - and strike a blow for working people, for those with no voice, for those Washington has ignored for too long. I promise you this - if you join us to strike that blow they will not ignore you for one more day. The folks in Washington and on Wall Street will hear you loud and clear, and they will know that their grip on power and money is coming loose. They will know that America is rising. And we're coming to take our country back.”
Some in the press may inquire as to the implications of Edwards not fielding full “official” delegate slates in all congressional districts in the New York primary. We should make it clear that not fielding full slates in each and every CD throughout New York, or in any other state for that matter, is largely irrelevant as to the number of delegates he will actually take to the national convention. Under both the DNC’s delegate selection Rule 13(c), as well Part Three, Section B(10) of the New York State Democratic Party’s own 2008 Delegate Selection Plan, if a presidential candidate wins at least 15% of the statewide vote on primary/caucus night, or at least 15% of the vote within an individual CD, then the State Party MUST afford post-primary delegate selection opportunities to elect both statewide At-Large delegates, and CD district delegates, in accordance with the percentages of the vote won by that Presidential Candidate. This rule operates regardless of whether sufficient (or any) delegate names were actually found under the presidential candidate’s name on the primary/caucus ballot!
OBAMA: Had it not been for the Bhutto news, Obama's new closing argument speech (which included a LOT of indirect shots at Clinton and Edwards) would have dominated the day’s political news. Per the Des Moines Register, which covered his speech, Obama criticized his rivals' votes on the Iraq war and addressed Bill Clinton's assertion that voting for him would be like "rolling the dice." "The real gamble in this election is playing the same Washington game with the same Washington players and expecting a different result," Obama said.
Yet how many other reporters, besides Newsweek's Howard Fineman, are sensing a lack of fire in Obama's stump speech?
