The Mellencamp primary

Posted: Sunday, May 04, 2008 3:42 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Abby Livingston
With the battle for Indiana raging, native son and rock star John Mellencamp has managed what few liberals and Democrats have done: He is campaigning on behalf of both Obama and Clinton.

Mellencamp, a pro-labor and Farm Aid activist, endorsed John Edwards early in the 2008 cycle. But in the last few weeks, he has performed for both Obama and Clinton. The candidates, in return, have made various Mellencamp songs a staple in their event playlists during their Hoosier State barnstorms.

Mellencamp writes on his Web site, "John Mellencamp is a long-time supporter of the Democratic Party which he feels represents the best hope for sorely needed change in this country. He is lending his support to welcome both of the candidates as a Hoosier and a Democrat."

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Comments

Anyone seen Obama on Russert meet the press today? This is the end! Any more questions? Please join us all democratic women and senior who love this country. Let us come together to move this country forward. Ours is a great party. Ours is a great country. With many talents from diverse places. And yes we will have a great, qualified, and honest female president someday and yes we doubtelssly have an older president also but it is time to think of the country not our own interest or preferences based on backgrounds, gender, or any other kind of grouping.

J. Richter (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 3:52 PM)

And this is important Why???????

Republicans for Obama 08 (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 3:54 PM)

Exactly......"I was born in a small town"
That symbolies....America, middle-class, hard working folks....not latte drinking, arugula eating, 4 year
college degree far-left liberals.
God save this nation if Obama becomes our next president----though against McCain---this will not
happen.....and I side with the democratic party.

Fran (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 3:55 PM)

Maybe Mellencamp will pen a song for us to heal by.

He could call it, 'Heal Town'.

donna (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:01 PM)

Mellencamp has his eye on the prize - a Democrat in the White House. Good for him!

Gail, TN (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:04 PM)

Come on John, be braver than that. Who are you voting for?

DAT (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:04 PM)

Unless a candidate decides issues based on merit and principle, that candidate is not worthy of being considered for president. The issues in this election are too important for anything less than a principled stand on issues.

We need a leader who measures up to the issues.

It is time to take the high road.

Gregory Peek, Birmingham, Alabama (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:06 PM)

COOL...Stick together...Hillary needs that lesson

BJ, CA (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:07 PM)

Go John. An honorable tip of the hat to your positive outlook.

Phil, Oak Park (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:22 PM)

It is becoming more and more evident with each "First Read" posting that it must not require much of an education to become a reporter in this country these days. Maybe that is why there is such an obvious slant for Hillary....Hmmmmmmm

Enough Already (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:27 PM)

Good for John Mellencamp...he's an equal opportunity Democrat!!!

Carol, Ca (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:31 PM)

Sanity has been restored to this election process. Thanks for bring this to my attention.

CC, Richland, Washington.

(Please do not reveal my name and address)

Corinne Carter (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:36 PM)

While this was being written up, did anyone happen to see any actual news??? One idea would be to look at the actual news, and then, maybe even give some analysis . . . just a thought. :-).

lizzy,seattle, WA (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:39 PM)

Who cares. Can't you cover something more positive for a change. This is so trivial. How about updating the SD, and keep them current. By the way, why has HRC
lost 90% of the black vote. Is it because their votes don't count anymore and they have abandon them.

Obama 08/12

B Willis,Electra,Tx (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:49 PM)

good for him

nuanced (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:54 PM)

On ABC, Sen. Clinton said "I'm not going to put my lot in with economists"... If she becomes president, who will manage the economy? She thinks she knows better than the economists. She cannot find one single one to support. Does that tell you anything at all?

Does this sound like our current president who would not listen to experts?

Wake up people. Even if you don't have a college degree, you have common sense. When politicians act like you are dumb and will fall for these gimmicks, please vote for the candidate that is treating you as smart individuals.

Becky Smith, California (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:57 PM)

Mellencamp - The career is over for the most part. It was a nice run Seymour, Indiana is proud of you.
Let's not have half your fans despise you because you
lean toward Obama and/or Clinton. But that'a what most celebrities do when it's over for them ... they endorse and endorse. It gives them a final feeling of power.

Full Moon (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:03 PM)

Obviously, John Mellencamp is out for John Mellencamp! Why else would he raise his profile? It serves no purpose for either candidate...only for JM!

Hope you sell alot of records!

Blech.

Arianna (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:07 PM)

Clinton is using a classic Republican gimmick w/ her "gas tax holiday". When are people going to stop falling for this garbage? Remember George Bush Sr.'s "Read my lips, no new taxes"? It didn't take very long for him to flip flop on that once he was elected.

After the Bosnia sniper fire whopper and several other "misstatements", why should we believe Hillary when she tells us that she'll lower our gas prices? It certainly won't get passed this summer since nobody with a brain in Congress will go for it.

Why don't they support it? Because a "gas tax holiday" would do nothing to lower gas prices. At most, people would save about a half tank of gas for the whole summer, but most likely, the oil companies would just raise gas prices to compensate for the windfall profit tax that Clinton would impose on them. By the way, she already said that she'd spend the money from those same windfall profit taxes on developing alternative fuels. Which is it going to be, Hillary?

William, Chicago, IL (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:09 PM)

I think Hillary is mellencamp's long lost sister. Yeah that's it... she was his soul mate.

Tory (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:10 PM)

Economists are elitists per Clinton. I guess so are the doctors, pharmacists, teachers, lawyers, scientists and any professional. So the opposite of elite is stupid. Stupid enough to vote for pandering politicians. So I guess I will be an elitist too.

Elite voter from California (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:16 PM)

John Mellencamp, if you are truly pro-labor, then you should support Senator Obama. Look what Bill Clinton's NAFTA has done to the working class of this country. Yes, I know, Hillary was for it, before she was against it. As usual, she can't take a stand on anything.

carolyn grace (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:17 PM)

Mellencamp is the only one who will WIN by staying neutral... at least with his music. I'd imagine he'd be voting for Obama since he wants to ultimately back a winner.

Tommy, Detroit, Michigan (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:17 PM)

On CNN, I just heard Hillary speaking in South Bend, Indiana. Her speech was a McCain/Obama hybrid. Doesn't she have any original ideas of her own?

I noticed how she's lost her thick NC drawl, and was back to speaking in proper, elitist, English.

Terry, IN (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:18 PM)

http://twocanpete.blogspot.com/
Doesn't sound bitter to me.

twocanpete (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:21 PM)

How much did Clinton and Obama raise during April?

Gerarda, Edmond, OK (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:25 PM)

by all means, let's keep focusing on things that don't matter...like mellencamp or rev wright or an edwards endorsement

at this point, it would be more politically expedient for hillary clinton to just hand out $20 bills in return for votes–it would have the same effect on the primary outcomes and it would do as much good for american families

how about a tax on people who buy gas guzzlers instead of a tax break? how about fixing state and local infrastructure? how about a plan to reduce overall dependence on foreign oil?

god forbid anyone be smart enough to vote for anyone with a real plan for stabilizing our economy rather than a real plan for getting elected

we're slipping through our own fingers (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:28 PM)

FINALLY!!! we have a winner in the Democratic Primary!John is smart enough to play both sides and maxiumize his exposure...He's on the winning side of this little dyfunctional exercise. Simply Brillant-the free publicity playing to his diehard fan base is too good to pass up. And his tunes will play nice marching music as the dumacrats walk in lockstep right over a clift next November.
Any party that can't make a decision in 18 months of campaigning, decides to not count two major states, have the base of each candidate saying they are going to jump ship if their guy or gal loses, even in a year they should have a cakewalk to the Whitehouse doesn't deserve to win. You guys are pathetic-can't run a election-much less a country.
You losers are going to have 4 more years of complianing and whining ahead of you-I think that's really what your after in the first place.

David, TYPICAL WHITE GUY for MCCAIN (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:29 PM)

Spin Cycle
Inside Long Island, state and national politics and Election 2008
.
« Guam: Obama wins, by 7 votes | Main | Paterson signs NY buffer against foreign libel judgments »
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Guam: Hillary issues a "victorious defeat statement"
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The Clinton campaign issues a six paragraph statement following her 7-vote loss in Guam that will result in a 2-2 split in delegates. If it stands, the party chair and vice chair elected in the caucuses may give "Obama a net gain of 2."
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The statement seems a little over the top -- she complains that she was dramatically outspent, she promises help for Filipino veterans, passage of the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act. And when it's all over, you can't tell from it that she lost:
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"Today's results further demonstrate that voters from Philadelphia to Dededo want a leader who will take swift action to get our nation back on track. I will be that President."
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She actually "lost Philadelphia" by more than 100,000 votes. She did win the village of Dededo, but "lost Guam" as a whole. Why does she act like they voted for her? They voted for Obama.
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Very strange.

**************************************************
Actually it is PATHETIC; another PATHOLOGICAL LIE.

Hillary's "victorious defeat statement" .... (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:36 PM)

I appreciate his willingness to support both Dems. but honest to God, he can't actually support Hillary in his mind can he? After all, she and bill went from hillbillies to multimillionaires on the backs of the american people.

LB, VA (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:38 PM)

Check Mellencamp's demographics.

He is NBFD to anyone who is voting in Indiana or elsewhere.

Shallow research folks.

Most people in Indiana do identify with the basketball film classic "Hoosiers" which was partially shot in Indiana and directed by David Anspaugh, a native of Decatur...

Put Anspaugh on the train with Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper and you've got something.

Try Larry Bird if he's not a Republican...

Mark Thieme (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:43 PM)

Amazing to see the differences in both style and substance between Hillary and Obama on the talk shows this morning. Hillary was all over the place. She could not sit still and could not make a compelling case for her her gas tax holiday. All she said was if she was President she would insure that the plan would work( like her helath care initiative in 1993). Well unless the election is over Geroge Bush is President and her gas tax holiday is simply vapors. Obama clearly laid out how the tax holiday was a pander and that this summer it could not be passed. Additionally, he illustrated sound leadership when he admited he supported such a tax in the IL legislature but found out in practice that the retail dealers simply raised the price to increase their profits. Refreshing a politician who learns from a mistake. Unlike the Clintons' or Bush who will never admit a mistake ,blame others or lie about the incident.

Terry, Great Plains (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:46 PM)

Mellencamp must be a superdelegate and he is obviously a democrat because he can't make a choice and take a stand. The whole party is still wishy-washy on issues; they all yell help, help, but expect someone else to take the action to actually HELP.

Pokes11, Cheyenne, OK (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:49 PM)

Thanks for your good will John Mellencamp. We are going to need you to unite the democrats again because the division lines are deep and I truly don't know how we are going to get out of this. Hillary is in to destroy the Democrtaic party as we know it and only good will ambassadors like you will be able to heal the wounds. God Help us.......

Maria Hopgood (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:50 PM)

.
If Democrats, spurred by the emotion of the moment and fury at Wright, bite at the forbidden fruit of a character race instead of focusing on Bush, Cheney, a looming recession, an unpopular war, mortgage insecurity and $4-per-gallon gas, you'll have a good sense of why they have lost seven of the last 10 presidential races.
.

Why Democrats will Lose in November .... (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:53 PM)

We need a leader who measures up to the issues.

Time to take the high road.

Gregory Peek, Birmingham, Alabama (Sent Sunday, May 04, 2008 5:58 PM)

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