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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC Political Researcher



Indicted PR gov, an Obama super

Posted: Thursday, March 27, 2008 12:09 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: ,

From NBC's Pete Williams
NBC's Chris Donovan points out that Puerto Rico's governor, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, who was indicted today and charged with election law violations, is a Democratic party superdelegate who has endorsed Obama.

Gov. Acevedo Vilá and 12 of his supporters are accused of getting Puerto Rico businessmen to make illegal, unreported contributions to pay off debts from previous campaigns -- debts he never reported, another potential violation.

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Jeremiah Wright’s full 9/11 sermon (let the educated get e full story then decide):

“Every public service of worship I have heard about so far in the wake of the American tragedy has had in its prayers and in its preachments, sympathy and compassion for those who were killed and for their families, and God’s guidance upon the selected Presidents and upon our war machine, as they do what they do and what they gotta do — paybacks.

There’s a move in Psalm 137 from thoughts of paying tithes to thoughts of paying back, A move, if you will from worship to war, a move in other words from the worship of th God of creation to war against those whom God Created. And I want you to notice very carefully this next move. One of the reasons this Psalm is rarely read, in its entirety, because it is a move that spotlights the insanity of the cycle of violence and the cycle of hatred.

Look at the verse; Look at the verse; Look at verse nine: [rising voice] “Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rocks.”[lower voice] The people of faith are the rivers of Babylon. How shall we sing the Lord’s song? If I forget the order … The people of faith, have moved from the hatred of armed enemies [rising voice]–these soldiers who captured the king; those soldiers who slaughtered his son, that put his eyes out; those soldiers who sacked the city, burned, burned the towns, the burned the temple, burned the towers, they have moved from the hatred of [loudest voice] armed enemies to the hatred of unarmed innocents — [low voice] the babies, the babies.

Blessed are they who dash your baby’s brains against a rock. And that, my beloved, is a dangerous place to be, yet that is where the people of faith are in the 551BC, and that is where far too many people of faith are in 2001 AD. We have moved from the hatred of armed enemies to the hatred of unarmed innocents. We want revenge, we want paybacks, and we don’t care who gets hurt in the process.

Now I asked the Lord, what should our response be in light of such an unthinkable act, but before I share with you what the Lord shared with me I want to give you one of my little faith footnotes.
Visitors, I often give little faith footnotes, so that our members don’t lose sight of the big picture, let me give you a faith footnote. Turn to your neighbor and say, “Faith footnote.” [Voices: “Faith footnote”]

[Begin faith footnote]
I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday. Did anybody else see him or hear him, he was on Fox News. This is a white man, and he was upsetting the Fox News commentators to no end. He pointed out, (Did you see him, John?) –a white man– he pointed out– an ambassador– that what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Mohammad was in fact true, America’s chickens are coming home to roost.

We took this country, by terror, away from the Sioux, the Apache, the Arrowak (phonetic) the Comanche, the Arapajo, the Navajo. Terrorism–we took Africans from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism. We bombed Grenada and killed innocent civilians — babies, non-military personnel. We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with Stealth Bombers and killed unarmed teenagers, and toddlers, pregnant mothers and hard working father. [fullest voice] We bombed Khadafi, his home and killed his child. Blessed be they who bash your children’s head agains the rocks.

[fullest voice] We bombed Iraq, we killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed the plant in Sudan to payback for the attack on our embassy — killed hundreds of hard working people –mothers and fathers, who left home to go that day, not knowing they’d never get back home. [Even fuller voice] We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New
York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye. Kids playing in the playground, mothers picking up children after school — civilians not soldiers. People just trying to make it day by day. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and South Africa and now we are indignant? Because the stuff we have done overseas is brought back into our own front yard.

America’s chickens are coming home, to roost. Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred, and terrorism begets terrorism.

[lower voice] A White ambassador said that, y’all, not a black militant. Not a Reverend who preaches about racism, an ambassador whose eyes are wide open, and whose trying to get us to wake up, and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised. The ambassador said that the people we have wounded don’t have the military capability we have, but they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them, and we need to come to grips with that.

Let me stop my faith footnote right there, and ask you to think about that over the next few weeks if God grants us that many days. Turn back to your neighbor, and say, “Footnote is over.” [Voices: “Footnote is over.”]

[End Faith Footnote]

[Gentle voice] Now, now. C’mon back to my question to the Lord, “What should our response be right now. In light of such an unthinkable act. I asked the Lord that question Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I was stuck in Newark, New Jersey. No flights were leaving La Guardia, JFK, or Newark Airport. On the day tht the FAA opened up the airports to bring into the desinations of cities those flights that had been diverted because of the hijacking, a scare in New York close all three regional airports and I couldn’t even get her for Mr. Radford’s father’s funeral. And I asked God, “What should our response be?

I saw pictures of the incredible. People jumping from the 110th floor; people jumping from the roof because the stair wells and elevators above the 89th floor were gone– no more. Black people, jumping to a certain death; people holding hands jumping; people on fire jumping. [plaintiff high voice] And I asked the Lord, “What should our response be?” I read what the people of faith felt in 551BC. But this is a different time, this is a different enemy, a different world, a different terror. This is a different reality. What should our response be, and the Lord showed me three things. Let me share them with you quickly and I’m gonna leave you alone to think about the faith footnote.

Number one: The Lord showed me that this is a time for self-examination. [cheers] As I sat 900 miles away from my family and my community of faith, two months after my own father’s death, God showed me that this was a time for me to examine my relationship with God. MY own relationship with God– personalrelationship with God.

I submit to you that it is the same for you. Folk flocked to the church in New Jersey last week, you know that foxhole-religion syndrome kicked in, that emergency chord religion, you know that little red box you pull in emergency? It showed up in full force. Folk who aint thought about coming to church in years, were in church last week. I heard that mid-week prayer services all over this country which are poorly attended fifty-one week a year were jam packed all over the nation the week of the hijacking the 52nd week. [inaudible]

But the Lord said, this aint the time for you to be examining other folks relationship this is a time of self examination. But the Lord said, “How is “our” relationship doing Jeremiah? How often do you talked to me personally, how often do you let me talk to you privately? How much time do you spend trying to get right with me, or do you spend all your time trying to get other folk right?

This is a time for me to examine my own relationship with God. Is it real or is it fake? Is it forever or is it for show? Is is something that you do for the sake of the public or is it something that you do for the sake of eternity? [voice rising] This is a time for me to examine my own, and a time for you to examine your own relationship with God — self examination.

[end of video tape.]
I'd also like pointed out that a number of the donors from Pennsylvania also indicted with the PR Governor are supporters of Governor Rendell and Senator Casey, who are both HRC supporters.
Can't wait to see how the media jumps on this one.  Are people gonna say Obama has poor judgment again.  Get over it people. It's an endorsement.  Lets see the Clintons tax releases. Im not even an Obama supporter, but I want this to be fair.
Hillay,            how is your fraud suit
               with Peter Paul going?
I hear your subpoena is         coming soon!
Boy he should of has sex with a call girl.

 This dude is going to jail.

SO sorry BO you lost one!

Puerto Rico is corrupt!
To Steve, San Diego,

I don't get how you and the rest of the Obama supporters figure that Obama is in a much better position than Clinton when every national poll that has been conducted for the past month shows Obama and Clinton dead even in numbers of people who would vote for either candidate or who would not vote for either candidate but instead vote for John McCain.

The Democratic Party has a system and that system involves caucuses and primaries being held in EVERY state starting in January and continuing into June to decide who the nominee will be.  That system also requires that a candidate acquire 50 + 1 % of the total delegates in order to secure the Party’s nomination, which neither candidate has done so far.

If you and the rest of the Obama supporters don't like the fact that Clinton is exercising her right to stay in this contest because Obama has not yet acquired the required number of delegates to secure the Party’s nomination, well that’s just too bad for you and the rest of the Obama supporters.  That’s life and that’s politics according to DNC rules.

Moreover, If you and the rest of the Obama supporters or so bothered by Hillary
Clinton, the Clinton’s, or the Clinton’s supporters (which by the way is half of the voters that have voted thus far in the various Democratic caucuses and primaries), then quit or leave the Democratic Party.  Go OFFICIALLY join the Republican Party or start your own party, but whatever you and the rest of the Obama supporters do, either accept the system that your party has or go some where else and STOP ALL OF YOUR WHINNING AND CRYING.

Despite what you and the rest of the Obama supporters (like Chris Mathews) think Hillary Clinton and the Clinton’s are NOT the rote of all evil.  98% of all of the comments that MSNBC post on this section of their website are from Obama supporters who whine and cry all day long.  It’s very pathetic and it just shows the kind of people that are supporting Obama.  Serious people in this country, and more importantly, serious people in politics don’t take Obama supporters very seriously.  Because the rant and rave and run their mouths and whine and cry and stomp their feet when things don’t go their way.

Obama supporters should all have paramedics standing by on November 4th because they will all have a meltdown and need medical attention when Obama loses the general election.

Here’s why.

Obama will lose at least 10% of the Democratic vote to Ralph Nader.

Obama will lose at least 28-32% of Hillary Clinton’s supporter’s votes to John McCain.

Obama will lose some percentage of Democratic votes from Florida and Michigan (they will either stay home or vote for McCain) which has yet to be determined, but experts are saying it could be somewhere between 2-5% at a minimum.

Given the fact that the latest Gallup poll showed that 90% of Republicans will vote for John McCain and then you add to his national number the number of Clinton supporters that will vote for him, plus the number of Florida and Michigan voters that will vote for him and not Obama, there is NO WAY OBAMA CAN WIN THE GENERAL ELECTION.

According to Gallup the last time so many Democrats were willing to vote for a Republican was for Reagan in 1980 and again in 1984.  In 1980 26% of Democrats voted for Ronald Regan, and in 1984 25% of Democrats votes for Reagan.

In 1980 and 1984, the Democratic nominees received 41% of the total popular vote each year.

However, in 1980, Reagan received 51% of the total popular vote, and in 1984 Regan received a whopping 59% of the total popular vote.

If you want to see what the Electoral College/Popular Vote will look like on November 4, 2008 just take a look at the 1980 & 84 maps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ElectoralCollege1980-Large.png

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:ElectoralCollege1984-Large.png



 


So Chuck have you quickly subtracted that superdelegate from Obama's side like you did with Spitzer and Clinton?
What does this have to do with Obama? To be objective, Obama has received consistant critism from the media regarding his pastor whose comments he has rejected and denounced in many occasions. However, the media has not discussed the inflammatory comments of Rev. Hagee and Rev. Palsly who are supporters of McCain. McCain sought the endorsement of these two pastors knowing their reputation of making inflammatory comments about disenfranchised groups. If the candidates represent the company they keep, then McCain should also be scrutinized and his character should be called to question. In addition, Hilliary Clinton has had relationships with fundraisers who have been convicted or facing criminal chargers for wrongdoing such as Norman Hsu and Peter Paul. Her character should also be called to question as well. In addition, she indicates she has foreign policy experience, but her claims have been rebuked my those in the Clinton administration and reporters who traveled with her when she was first lady. The media has not covered this completely. She pads her resume and it is accepted by the media and some of the voters still believe she has experience even though the evidence is not there. This also calls to question her character. If the media and the voters are going to critize candidates' character at least scrutinize all of the candidates fairly and stop with the double standards. If lies are wrong for one candidate, then it should be wrong for all. If having crazy friends is wrong for one candidate (Obama), then it should be wrong for all of the candidates.  lets stop the bickering and double standards and move on to  more important issues such as the economy and the war in Iraq..
Well well how interesting. Another shady person in Obama's circle.
Just look at the crowd Senator Obama hangs around with" Rev.Wright who is way out there, indicted PR. Gov. Vila,the list keeps getting bigger and bigger. Senator obama is a "flawed" candidate. He will never be elected President. Never !
Oh, I forgot Randazo,the crook from Chicago,another of Obamas friends, who's wife bought him the lot next door to his house.
Good timing! However, I am sure that "Todd's math" can save this one for Obama. Certainly he would not dare subtract from Obama's count, that only happens with Clinton
Hey, FR, enough with the guilt by association. Surely, if you dig a little, you can find some real issues. How about an honest count of the number of dead in Iraq? Not just US soldiers, but contractors, diplomats, and dead Iraqi civilians? Or maybe they don't count because they don't look like you? I hear there's news in Palestine, too, but you'd never hear it on MSNBC or any other mainstream station. Why not look into the environmental destruction of Gaza? Talk about their water supply...anything but this never-ending guilt by association.
'Indicted' superdelegate! There are two of them running around campaigning for THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!!!!!! Why does'nt the 'indited' adjective appear every time you release news about Hillary, and Bill. How about, 'Convicted Perjurer Bill':"Saddle-up"!! Then there's 'Bold-faced Liar Hillary': "...Ducked sniper fire".

Geez.

Pulling for Obama '08
JEWS, WHITES, ITALIANS

VOTE HILLARY CLINTON

SHE LOVES HER COUNTRY.

Come join others who love their country and are proud to be Americans!!
Let's see how the MSM and Clinton campaign spin this as an attack on Obama's character.  Wait for it.....


Man, I'm getting dizzy!
Who cares? I am pretty sure Hillary Clinton will be indicted soon
HOW CONVENIENT that one of Obama's supers has been indicted today. This is more of the Bush/Clintons trying to trash Obama and make it look like he has "dirty" supporters. If this gets more play than Spitzer, you will know that this is the truth!
Oh boy!  Watch out for all the Clinton supporters to start slingin' mud from this.

Less they forget Spitzer was a Clinton SD.
Questions for BO:

1) If you have transcended race and moved on, why are you a member of an Afro-Centric church?
2) If you are against dumb wars, and consider Iraq a dumb war, why do you vote to fund it?
3) How will you raise the money to pay for the $850B proposed on your website?
4) Do you still propose to expand the military?
5) How long will the US stay in Afganistan?
So it's Barack Obama's fault right? PLEASE.
So does he lose the super delegate?
UN-ELECTABLE = OBAMA .
oops are Obama or Renko his supporters too??Now dont anyone dare say anything you be racist or mongering. I am impressed it got put on here -thanks.I also have to do as Hillary and apolagize for mis speaking.You did air Hillary and some of Econ. speech in NC. I stand corrected she did get some time and Thank You.
Typical Obama supporter.

Sincerely,

Typical White Person
Wow!  Obama sure knows how to pick his corrupt donor supporters.
First Rezko - now Gov. Acevedo Vilá.

Obama's "new politics" is really just Chicago-style politics.

Obama/Wright08



Now this will clear a sure win for Hillary to take Puerto Rico. "ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIER MARCHING ONTO  WAR"
Detroit mayor said he was only leaning for Obama so he didnt support him yet so he bit the bullet on that one.Any news on that trial in Chicago Renko is it?Obama said he talked to him very day for a bit and I heard there was a wire tap. I believe that was when he gave that gratuitous talk to reporters.When he realized he got 100,000 nore than disclosed  before so bury this behind Wright.Man when it rains it pours huh?Obama will be off on another vacation this keeps up. So he lost another delegate.well what goes around comes around.He will have to strong arm a little more to make it up is all. NO prob.
http://twocanpete.blogspot.com/
Sounds like hardworking 'undocumented' donors who are just trying to follow their dream. What's the problem?
Another scummy Democrat, akin to Elliott Spitzer, who endorsed Billary.
So. So now we hold Obama responsible for Vila's behavior because Vila supports Obama? Just like people are trying to hold Obama responsible for Rev. Wright's behavior. Get a grip!!!
Another scummy Democrat, akin to Elliott Spitzer, who endorsed Billary.
Hahahahahaah I just noticed boy these 3 Todd,Montanaro and Murry they arent getting there names anywhere around this one. No prob. just hit me funny. At least they give credit where it is due. Look at Obamas going to run speech next to Edwards first going to run speech. I saw it on split speech found it amuseing. Might say a misspoke moment.
An Obama superdelegate indicted? Ouch!!!

First big Obama contributor was indicted, and now an Obama superdelegate.

nObama!!!

Clinton = Economy

HILLARY, FRAUD?         Who is Peter Paul?
Is    he the guy   who bought your SENATE seat?
I can hear the wheels turning in Hillary's brain.  How can she spin this to her advantage?
so is the Clinton camp going to try and use this as saying that because he's an Obama supporter, Obama shouldn't be the nominee?
Let’s not forget about Obama’s foreign policy adviser and Harvard professor, Samantha Power who resigned after her “Monster” comment.

Or what about Obama’s Senior Economic Policy Advisor Austan Goolsbee who had the meeting with the Canadians and the Obama campaign insisted that no conversations had ever taken place with any of its senior ranks and representatives of the Canadian government, only to turn around and acknowledge the meeting after the Associated Press obtained a Canadian government memo showing that the meeting did in fact take place.

Then there is the President and CEO of Analysis Corp, John O.Brennan who is an Obama contributor and Advisor whose company employed two of the employees who are accused of improperly looking at the passport files of Barack Obama and the other two presidential candidates.

This story broke this pat Saturday, March 22 and the media TOTALLY buried the story.

From the moment the story broke about Obama’s passport file being breached on Thursday March 20, 2007, MSNBC covered extensively and at length the breach of Obama’s passport file day and night until about 2 PM on Saturday March 22.  

That happened to be the same time that CNN started reporting about the employees who had breached Obama’s passport file and the fact that the CEO of the company that they worked for is an advisor to Barack Obama.

John O. Brennan who is the President and CEO of Analysis Corp is also a former senior CIA official and former interim director of the National Counterterrorism Center and advises Barack Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues.   He has also personally contributed $2,300 to the Obama campaign.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/22/passport.files/

On Friday March 21, 2007, Sen. Obama called for an investigation into how his security of the passport file was breached.  “One of the things that the American people count on in their interactions with any level of government is that if they have to disclose personal information, that it stay personal and stay private," Obama said in Portland, Oregon on Friday March 21, 2007.

"And when you have not just one but a series of attempts to tap into people's personal records, that's a problem not just for me but for how our government is functioning," he said.

Obama said he expected "a full and thorough investigation" by the administration in conjunction with congressional oversight committees.

From the moment that the passport file breach story broke until the story about O.Brennan broke, Barack Obama, his campaign and his supporters demanded that heads roll and that investigations that would lead to the prosecution of anyone involved be conducted immediately.

We now know (not as a result of NBC, MSNBC, CBS, or ABC), but thanks to CNN and FOX that Obama and his campaign are directly linked to the CEO of the very company that employed the individuals that breached Obama’s passport file.

Barack Obama and his entire campaign owe the American people, Senator Clinton, Senator McCain, the Bush administration, and the State Department an immediate explanation and more importantly an apology concerning his relationship with John O. Brennan.

But I guess we won't see or hear NBC/MSNBC giving this story the attention it deserves and giving it the amount of attention that was given to Barack Obama’s file being breached given their sickening affection for Obama.  

If Senator Clinton had a Sr. Advisor that was the CEO of the very company that employed the contractors that had breached Obama’s passport file, Obama, his supporters, and the media would be screaming bloody murder and demanding that Senator Clinton drop out of the race, not to mention the fact that the Obama Campaign would certainly look to have someone prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for such a breach.

No wonder MSNBC's ratings are in 3rd place behind FOX and CNN.  It serves MSNBC right.  

Obama has always argued that experience is not, and should not be the most primary qualification for a Presidential candidate.  Obama has always maintained that if he surrounds himself with the right ADVISORS, then his personal experience should be at best, a secondary qualification.  He maintains that the advice he receives from others and his judgment alone should be the Primary Qualification for any Presidential candidate.

Well it’s obvious that Obama doesn’t have the necessary experience and little by little we are seeing that he is being advised by very questionable people.

The very people that are advising Obama should cause people in this country to call into question his judgment, and his judgment should be called into question at this point considering he claims that judgment is really the only necessary requirement for anyone to be President of the United States of America.

Obama is not fit to be the 44th President of the United States of America.

Well this is no big surprise, it goes right along with Tony Rezco and Jeremiah Wright.  It seems that many of Obama supporters are all crooks or "racist"
Imagine that!!! Americans don't be fooled by this
snake oil salesman Obama.  He is no leader, he is
unqualified to be our president. One more thing that never got reported is his huge "endorsement" by the New Black Panthers.  It was posted on Obama's official website but taken down by Obama after a day or 2.  Do any of you know what the New Black Panthers stand for?  If not you should and I don't think you want that for our country.
Puerto Rico needs to be a state. It has a population of over 4 million people and it recieves over 14 Billion dollars in Taxpayer money each year. They pay no Federal taxes. True they do not vote for the president, but they do help choose their president with their delegates. Why dosen't congress and the president push the island to make a choice between being independent and being a state. Remove the third option...
Crooks ! Just a bunch of low life crooks.
Speaking of Puerto Rico, when is MSNBC going to add it to the msnbc political calendar up in the right corner of this page.  Both Chris Matthews and Pat Buchanan "mispoke" on Hardball last night saying Puerto was last in line.  Wrong.  They have been moved to June 1....which should benefit Clinton. Maybe Matthews doesn't want anybody to notice???
Nothing to worry about here. The superdelegates will do what's best for the party in the coming weeks and all heavily favor Obama.

If they want to have a party to come home to.

The silence from the OBAMA CAMP is down WRIGHT deafening!!!!!!!!!
Obama will whine about the racist attitude of the arrest---does this mean he loses a superdelegate?Obamanoids must rush out and blackmail some other black delegate to replace this guy.Wonder if they could threaten Maxine Waters---LOL
AM I WRONG THAT AN ILLOIS SUPERDELEGATE CAME OUT FOR OBAMA YESTERDAY?
Too bad they waited eight years to endict Gov. Acevedo Vila'.  Especially since Acevedo Vila' is an Obama superdelegate.  Looks like somebody is trying to heal after the Richardson endorsement.
HILLARY, COMING SOON.
YOUR SUBPOENA        TO THE PETER PAUL FRAUD CASE.
I guess this means it's Barack Obama's fault again, just like Elliott Spitzer should be Hillary Clinton's fault.  What difference did it make to your news story that he was an "Obama supporter".
This for all of you out in the states who don't know much about this case. I am a current resident of Puerto Rico, so I have decided to shine a little light on this case, for those who don't know much about it OR Puerto Rico.

There have been ongoing investigations against the governor for the past 3 or 4 years. So those of you saying its a Hillary strategy, sorry but no, you are wrong.

I am a supporter of Obama (and will be voting in the primaries here in Puerto Rico) and I think that to involve Obama in this situation is ridiculous, since he doesn't pick his supporters. And Acevedo Vila hasn't even been arrested yet. I personally can't wait to see him arrested, since he has been the worst governor Puerto Rico has ever had.

Also I think that the racist remarks here are pretty childish and you should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking them.


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