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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 News Political Reporter



Clinton folks deny reports of veep talks

Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008 12:10 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell and Mark Murray
Clinton campaign officials Howard Wolfson and Terry McAuliffe tell NBC News that reports of talks between the Clinton campaign and the Obama campaign over a possible vice presidential role are totally false.

Clinton campaign officials are eager to shoot down the reports -- even suggesting they could be deliberate leaks from the Obama campaign to signal that Clinton is ready to give up and cut a deal in order to dry up her fundraising and get superdelegates to declare for him.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton tells First Read that suggestions these leaks are coming from Obama Land are "completely and unequivocally not true." He adds, "We are still in a competitive primary."

Wolfson and McAuliffe both insist that she is not quitting and will campaign through the last primaries on June 3rd -- and until decisions are made on Michigan and Florida. They say she feels to do otherwise would be letting down her supporters. Despite the odds against her getting the nomination, Clinton aides say as long as people are still voting, there is always the chance something will happen and she ends up winning.

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Comments

We believe in Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow.

Have the Clintons been so outrageous and ridiculous that the media has believed their Malarky?

Is it me or I'm I seeing the media actually debate their talking points?
Chris Matthews, Dan Abrams and even David Gregory are devoting their time trying to figure out statements from the Clintons which are obviously outrageous !
Why is that?

Please call out the Clintons if they come up with "fuzzy math !" Chuck Todd.
Same with Obama, but I suspect that his math is ok.

The Clintons have made me reach a boiling point!

Another point.
Of all the people whon could do an anaysis of Obamas Appalachian problem, the LAST PERSON WE WANT TO SEE is Pat Buchanan.

He is a right wing racist. Do you people at MSNBC actually read his blog?
He says that African Americans should be glad that they were taken from Africa and brought here because they would be suffering with the Africans had that not happened.
I cringe and change the channel every time he speaks.

Otherwise ... Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow .. you are objective and we love you.
Keith Olberman ... even though you've been very harsh to the Clintons .. you rock !
For his own safety Senator Obama should not pick Hillary for his VP.  She has already demonstrated that she will do anything to gain the Presidency and it is very scary what the prospective dangers for are if she is second in command.
Given their track record with integrity, denying this talk is a pretty good indicator its actually happening.
DNC Members and Howard Dean;

You have GOT to reign in HAROLD ICKES!  He and his support for Hillary at ALL COSTS will ruin your great organization!  The Democratic Party will be laughed at in the annals of history for scuttling itself from within at a time when we should be a 'shoe-in, a no-brainer' for the white house in the eyes of most Americans.  

Please have to fortitude to stand by your principles and the RULES no matter how loud and angry Hillary's band of supporter get . . . because next time around instead of just 2 states you may have to deal with 8, 12, or 20 states who decide that they don't like the date that you set for them and want to do things earlier.  How will you deal with THAT??  You have to punish Florida and Michigan in some MEANINGFULL fashion or other states and their leaders will be emboldened to do the same.  You will have no leg to stand on when meeting out punishment WHEN it happens again.

The Clintons, I know, hold a lot of sway with many of you; you revere them, their service.  Many of you have benefited from their connections and 'words' here and there in the pursuit of your own individual political careers.  To be fair an angry Clinton Machine can possible mean the end of any 'backing' on certain fronts for many of you.  I urge though don't succumb to FEAR.  That is why we're in the mess we are in now; it is why many of our senators and congressmen find themselves regrettably on the wrong side of the worst foreign policy disaster in perhaps EVER!  If The Clintons for all their influence and pressure get everything they want, they way they want it, we have just shown ourselves as a Party to be NO DIFFERENT to our rivals, the Republicans.  Stand up for the RULES, and integrity.  Sure Mrs. Clinton has all but assured there will be some extremely BITTER feelings among her supporters but you MUST hold firm.  Even if we lose because of it.  For "what will a man gain if he gains the world but has lost his soul?" or something to that effect.  The Democratic party will forever be sullied by the lack of ethics, integrity, and honesty that has risen this season IF it is allowed to prevail.  Winning isn't everything.  BUT if we do what is right this season we WILL win.  

We will never recover if we don't do what is right.  And the country will NEVER forgive us.  We would have instead infected and inflicted upon the very constituents the kind of immoral and unethical behavior and practices we SWORE to protect them from.

True Democracy is having the strength to declare in no uncertain terms when one of our own have crossed the line The line is being stretched massively.  If it breaks all manner of hell will swarm through

Yours Truly,
Obama picked up California congressmen Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza today, and Cardoza was backing Clinton... please update First Read. Thank you.
Again, Hillary WILL NOT choose obama as her VP!
they lie about everything, INCLUDING THIS.

of course they are trying to force their way on to the ticket.

they're going to send code message to clinton supporters, who are the democratic ditto-heads, and they will try to convince the superdelegates that obama can't win without HILLARY on the ticket,

which is COMPLETELY ABSURD!


Hillary Clinton, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And if you believe that, I have a Bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
Senator Clinton should remain in the race for the good of the party and the country. Barack Obama has written that he serves as a blank screen upon which others may project their fondest hopes and dreams. Only in this media-driven age, where superficial appeal is valued over seasoned experience and wisdom, would a virtually unknown candidate with questionable influences be on the verge of the presidency.
"...there is always the chance something will happen and she ends up winning."

There's also a chance I'll win powerball this weekend!

Bitter, classless entitlement rocks!  You Go Girl!
A candidate who cannot get elected is being nominated by a party that cannot be defeated, while a candidate who is eminently electable is running as the nominee of a party doomed to defeat.

In this environment, McCain can win by running to the center.
Obama needs to try his very best to get John Edwards.

His popularity has seemed to increase since he dropped out of the race.

Obama / Edwards.

For discounts on Obama T Shirts $8.99 & Up. Use this coupon at this Obama Store - http://MyObamaStore.com
Coupon - Obama-X2Y9-10 (10% OFF)
"Deliberate leaks from the Obama campaign"???  Now I've heard it all.  If anything, you'd think the Obama campaign would love more than anything to keep this out of media so as not to give false hope to the Clinton supporters.
I sure hope, for OBAMA's sake that the rumours are not true. His support will go to hell in a handbasket if he attaches himself to her in any way!

Firstly, she is everything negative that he stands against.
Secondly, she wants the Presidency so badly, if elected as Vice, Obama would have to be guarded so heavily to preclude her from having him done in that he would be ineffective.
Thirdly, she is a horrible person capable of any atrocity imaginable, cannot be trusted to tell the truth, causing any President she serves under to be on 24/7 damage control.
Lastly, we would have to implement a police service to guard the interns with Bill ( the Viagra Poster Boy ) back in the White House.

DO NOT PUT HER ON THE TICKET OBAMA! YOUR SUPPORTERS WILL FEEL THAT YOU HAVE LIED TO THEM ABOUT YOUR VALUES IF YOU DO!
WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THE CLINTONS?

THEY ARE SCARING ME...I CAN'T TELL THEM APPART FROM THE REPUBLICANS, ANYMORE.

MAD AMBITION IS A DANGEROUS THING, REGARDLESS WHAT SIDE OF THE AISLE THEY COME FROM
MSNBC:  more importantly, 4 new Obama delegates today (and -1 for Clinton).  2  supers and 2 Edwards.  57 to go.
Hillary Clinton's self-serving efforts to maximize her own personal gain from Florida and Michigan delegations are in direct contrast to the self sacrificing efforts of voting rights activists such as Viola Luizzo, a white voting rights activist murdered March 25, 1965, for her efforts in Alabama. Senator Clinton's misrepresentation of her activity is an affront to the best in humanity. It is simply unacceptable.
Fine, campaign. Keep fighting. Be gritty, or whatever.

Just stop lying about the revote and the Obama campaign's involvement.

Obama '08
Hillary won't even be considered unless Obama is pressured into it. He, like most of us, doesn't like her and would have to have a food taster at the White House because she's proven she's a "fighter" hasn't she and will stoop to anything to get into that number one spot. Besides, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room (Bill) would have to stop giving oursourcing of American job speeches to Columbia and such...and you KNOW they want to replace all that loaned money to her failed campaign, so she'd have to say no.
"The RNC Pre-Buts Obama on Cuba"
Just foreplay. Getting him ready to be bent-over this fall.
Bobbi, Eau Claire, WI (Sent Friday, May 23, 2008 11:37 AM)

I don't know, Bobbi. It seems to me that Obama gave Hillary the best "bend over" she's had since Chelsea was conceived and she got too old for Billy. We're just waiting for her to finish smoking that bitter cigarette so we can watch Obama do the same to McCain. By the time Obama's finished, McCain will want same-sex marriages legalized too... Obama's THAT good. Don't be jealous.
Superdelegates must act swiftly (i.e. now) to calm this Clintonian cyclone of selfishness.
Good because she is not getting considered anyway.... Just strung along until Obama can get rid of her...

Super's turn him loose....The GE has started....Turn him loose....
Good, let's take her at her word and move on.  Whether our next President has a penis really doesn't matter (unless it's Bill C.)-- a true feminist would understand that. As a professional woman in my 50's, HRC and her supporters have set women back 30 years--they don't want equality, they want special treatment.
Usually when people are so ready and willing to say that the rumors of a VP deal for Hillary is "totally false", makes me remember when Bill said: "I did not have sex with "that woman", Ms. Lewinsky". Interesting how that turned out, didnt it?  I will vote for Obama any day and twice on Sunday (tho that's against the rules, hehehe), but if Hillary even shows up on those bumper stickers, then I'm gonna go back and re-register as a Republican, cause if I want things to stay the same, then I wouldnt have supported Obama.  Hillary go back to nu yawk, please?

Obama '08 (without Hillary though)
I'll take Sebellius better.
That's nice.  Why didn't Bill Clinton refute the leak himself.  Political damage control is really silly.  I'm tired of these people saying things with the assuption that we are all idiots.  

One thing is certain if the Dems win the White House it definitely won't be because of the DNC and the Dem "Leadership."  Clinton should have been asked to step down or the supers should have given the nomination to Obama by now.  This is terrible leadership.  "Oh while the party splintering we'll just sit back and watch because we don't want piss of Hillary Clinton or hurt her feelings."  Gee I wish they would think about the feeling of the families who lost love ones in Iraq - which Hillary voted for.
VP Clinton does NOT equal change.
This struggle is for power for "the Clintons", not the American people. If this were about the American people, it would have ended long ago.

Obama '08/'12

"For the people - By the people - Of the people."
She will not be dropping out until the convention. And if she does not win the nomination there she may never drop out.
could we have updates on numbers... Obama has two more supers and two more from Edwards. he is remaining with 57 to clinch 2025. The question is: what if 57 endorse: the remaining Edwards' and super delegates BEFORE the DNC meeting of 31 May, will Obama claim victory?

Clinton folks deny??!!! what's this then?
Hillary's Top Fundraising Official Says There's "Risk" Of Obama Loss If She Isn't Invited To Be Veep
In a move that could foreshadow a public push from the Hillary forces to get Barack Obama to invite her on the ticket, Hillary's top campaign fundraising official said in an interview that there's a "risk" that Hillary's political and financial supporters won't get behind Obama in time for him to win in November if she's passed over for the veep slot.

The fundraiser, businessman Hassan Nemazee, is Hillary's leading finance chair and one of the most influential money men in the party. He's the first prominent Hillary campaign official to raise the possiblity of an Obama loss should she not be invited on the ticket, and his comments suggests that this argument could emerge as central to any Clinton camp push to make her veep.

TPM

Deny all you want Clinton folks, we've all learned of your inablility and refusal to be truthful.
Why is Hillary allowed to get away with $20 million in debt and she seems to expect someone else to pay it ? Talk about entitlement and irresponsibilty Why dont her supporters put their money where their mouths are?  
"CLINTON FOLKS DENY REPORTS OF VEEP TALKS"

Does anybody still listen the these people when the talk?

As Captain Jack would say, "I fell sullied, and unusual", after every article I read full of Clinton vomit.
Again, Hillary WILL NOT choose obama as her VP!
               Bobbi, Eau Claire, WI
------------------------------------------------------
A typical Clinton supporter.....uneducated. Math isn't their strong subject.
I think bill is the one talking VP thats why they dont know. being VP would be terriable for the clintons bill would have to cut all those lucrative business contacts over seas
Hillary is a NET LOSS to the ticket.  Why would he run as the change candidate and take the war off the table as a issue by adding the ultimate insider who voted for the Iraqi war and has more lobbyist connections than McCain and has no executive and military experience?


McCain's (media igored) Triple Play:  Hagee, Parsley, and Falwell.  Goole and Youtube them!  
Bill Clinton is trying to push Hillary as VP. SD's please end this farce now!
The McAullife/Wolfson tag team of irresponsible division and diversion need to be silenced. Hillary is trying to destroy the Democratic party.  
You cannot have somebody in your cabinet that voted for the war without reading the NIE.  That fact alone is reason enough that this woman will never receive a vote from me...  NEVER EVER.  You cannot play politics with war.  You CANNOT play politics with the lives of the brave men and women who are willing to sacrifice everything for what this country stands for.  War is not a game, and soldiers are not action figures.  This weekend we all should particularly be mindful of Clinton's unapologetic vote to score political points with no regard for the lives she put at stake in doing so.  Which begs the question: who else will she sacrifice to become president?
so there it is the hiollbillys plan to take ther rants all the way to Denver,they have no plans,just kick and scream until they get there way.Wolfsen and Mcauilffe want to keep getting paid.(if they even are?)They still belive that there pocket supers are going to stay with a losing campaign,these people need to feed there kids to ,and I'm sure they would like to "be with a winner".The hillbilly days are over they had there chance,Time to move on without the billys.
They'd better check with Bill.......MSNBC was reporting last night on their lineup that Bill was "secretly" heavily lobbying for Hill to be on the ticket.  Jim Webb or Chuck Hagel, with Joe Biden are my choices.......OBAMA 08
We won't give up even after President Obama is into his second term!  Go Hillary!  And if you are a woman who doesn't support Sen. Clinton, you are a traitor to your womanhood.
"...there is always the chance something will happen and she ends up winning."

There's also a chance you'll exit gracefully and support Barack Obama......oh wait, that won't happen either. Shucks.
Hillarious...Of course I believe everything the Clinton camp has to say because they have proven themselves to be so honest.
The Obama/Clinton NIGHTMARE ticket is the only thing that can keep Obama from winning in November.  
Matthew - Therein lies the problem.  You don't care if the democrats lose the White House as long as your guy gets the nod for the nomination.  That is a reckless position to take given the extreme crisis that our country is in on all fronts.  Your candidate should recognize that getting a democrat back in the White House to reverse the sad tide of the Bush years is more important than Obama and Clinton.  The superdelegates should pick the most electable candidate, and unfortunately your candidate has many weaknesses with many important voting groups that have nothing to do with his race.  Grow up and recognize what the real victory is here.  Obama as VP can gain him familiarity with all Americans so that they will understand he is not a black separatist like Wright.  He will also be able to gain 4 or 8 years of important domestic and foreign policy experience that will cure his weakness with veterans and those of the Jewish faith, so that he will be well-positioned after another Clinton term.  Try to put an objective hat on for just a minute and see all that could be gained by a Clinton-Obama ticket at this particular time of economic upheaval.  After those immediate fires are put out in our country, then Senator Obama can take office in good times and work on the big lofty issues that he is so strong on, such as race relations, social justice, etc. thoseaprticu.  
Bobbi,
When Hillary is nominated for President of fantasyland she will undoubtedly pick you as her running mate.
Even though it's not going to happen, I would LOVE
to be plopped in front of the television watching
Hillary Clinton having to go through the vetting
process for SCOTUS, the formal confirmation hearings.

Now THAT would be something to behold, indeed!
What would be her debate points?  "Well I guess you're right... McCain did pass the cmmander-in-chief test."  Her and her vote for the war should be flushed down the toilet.  There are many more women more qualified than she to consider for VP.  
Hey, get with it guys. www.realclearpolitics.com has already reported that two California superdelegates have switched from Clinton to Obama. That was a while ago... Is this first read in name only?
even suggesting they could be deliberate leaks from the Obama campaign to signal that Clinton is ready to give up and cut a deal in order to dry up her fundraising and get superdelegates to declare for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Yep ... that's the way they think because that's what they would do.  They haven't figured it out yet ... that's not Obama's style.
I think McAuliffe needs to get off tht blow


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