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Tag(s): California; Chicago; Clinton Bill; Clinton-Hillary; Florida; Massachusetts; Media; Media Newspapers; Media-News; New York; (more...) Obama-Barack; Party Politics Democratic; Progressive Problems; Race; Seattle; Sonoma; Sonoma County; Washington D-C- (less...)
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January 28, 2008 at 14:48:25

IT'S ALMOST OVER FOR THE CLINTONS / OBAMA SURGING

by Allen L Roland

www.opednews.com

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Supporters reach over a fence to embrace Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) after a speech Saturday in Columbia, S.C. Obama said his campaign faces challenges in the upcoming flurry of primaries on

Supporters reach over a fence to embrace Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) after a speech Saturday in Columbia, (By Linda Davidson -- The Washington Post)

Bill Clinton has, once again, sabotaged not only himself but his wife Hillary with his false accusations and innuendoes regarding Barack Obama in South Carolina. Clinton is a legend only in his own mind and has polarized the progressive wing of the party to not only rise from the dead but also to renounce the Clintons and heartily endorse Obama. It's almost over for the Clintons and Obama is surging: Allen L Roland

It will be a slow but sure death for the Clinton candidacy with the endorsement of Obama by Ted Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy. The once proud progressive wing of the Democratic party which Bill Clinton undermined in the 1990's under the guise of Triangulation has come back to renounce the Clintons in 2008.

But the truth is Hillary's support was always paper thin and Bill's emergence as her attack dog was the final straw which eventually awoke the sleeping progressives. Gail Collins, New York Times said it best ~ " Bill's role as chief attack dog undermines Hillary's viability. If he's all over her campaign, he's going to be all over her administration. Instead of the original promise of the thoroughly educated Hillary, we've been offered the worst-case scenario ~ that the two of them are going to recreate the old Clinton chaos."

The Clinton's will play any card, including the race card, to win in November ~ witness Bill Clinton comparing Obama's South Carolina win to Jesse Jackson's in 1984 and 1988 last Saturday implying that Obama's success was simply a black candidate drawing support from a predominately black electorate. Don't think for a moment that Hillary did not agree ~ but to no avail ~ Obama is connecting solidly across all racial, gender and age groups .

And believe me, the Clinton years were far from glorious for the Democratic party ~ as Sam Smith writes in yesterday's Progressive Review.

Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2008/01/28.html

PROGRESSIVE REVIEW

Sam Smith 1/27/08

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-chait26jan26,0,7890763.column

JONATHAN CHAIT noted in the LA Times, "Something strange happened the other day. All these different people ~ friends, co-workers, relatives, people on a liberal e-mail list I read ~ kept saying the same thing: They've suddenly developed a disdain for Bill and Hillary Clinton. Maybe this is just a coincidence, but I think we've reached an irrevocable turning point in liberal opinion of the Clintons."

I've noticed the same thing, with one twist. Even before the Clintons started playing the race game, I hadn't run into a single person who was enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton the way others were about Obama, Edwards or Kucinich.

But certainly the past couple of weeks have been unusual. As one of the first journalists outside of Arkansas to take on the Clinton myth ~ including listing in the spring of 1992 two dozen individuals and institutions almost all later part of the Whitewater scandal . I have been just this side of stunned by the current implosion of the Clinton campaign.

From the start, the story the media created about the Clintons was a badly misleading myth. Liberals kept applauding as Clinton undid the work of Democratic administrations from Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson and sent jobs abroad.

And the Democratic Party paid for it. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Democrats held a 1,542 seat lead in the state bodies in 1990. As of 1998 that lead had shrunk to 288. That's a loss of over 1,200 state legislative seats, nearly all of them under Clinton. Across the US, the Democrats controlled only 65 more state senate seats than the Republicans.

Further, in 1992, the Democrats controlled 17 more state legislatures than the Republicans. After 1998, the Republicans controlled one more than the Democrats. Not only was this a loss of 9 legislatures under Clinton, but it was the first time since 1954 that the GOP had controlled more state legislatures than the Democrats (they tied in 1968).

In addition, according our count near the end of the Clinton administration:

- GOP seats gained in House after Clinton became president: 48

- GOP seats gained in Senate after Clinton became president: 8

- GOP governorships gained after Clinton became president: 11

- Democrat officeholders who have become Republicans after Clinton became president: 439 as of 1998

- Republican officeholders who have become Democrats after Clinton became president: 3

Clinton, the allegedly wondrous politician, was actually only good at holding his own office, not at helping others win theirs.

Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2008/01/28.html

Freelance Online columnist Allen L Roland is available for comments , interviews and speaking engagements ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

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6 comments

My name it means nothing, my age it means less. My deeds of activism are mine to enjoy and share as I feel necesary, not as some clown in a small forum's administration thinks I must..This place gets worse each and every visit.
Member banned on June 3, 2008 for repeated abuse of editors.
ardee D.My name it means nothing, my age it means less. My deeds of activism are mine to enjoy and share as I feel necesary, not as some clown in a small forum's administration thinks I must..This place gets worse each and every visit.
Member banned on June 3, 2008 for repeated abuse of editors.

Partisan much? and in Boldface as well

There is nothing wrong with supporting your candidate, however a hit piece about a hit piece is a bit strange, dontcha think? Ignoring Obama's negative comments on Senator Clinton while castigating President Clinton for what amounts to a rather innocuous bit of campaign rhetoric actually makes the Clinton campaign more attractive to me. Is that what you intended?

I am not aware, nor do I feel the need to check, the statistics on a changing House or Senate majority in relation to a seated President's party. Nor do I see any relevence whatsoever here. What a silly campaign we have in the offing......I will stick with my opinion of the term of William Jefferson Clinton, the good and the bad, and will decide for whom to vote trying very hard not to be swayed away from someone because a supporter ( that would be you) puts loyalty ahead of intellect.

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments) on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 5:20:26 PM

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio www.conscioustalk.net
Allen L RolandAllen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio www.conscioustalk.net

COMMENT

The Clintons are history ~ why go backward when we can go forward with Obama ? A rhetorical question with an obvious answer.

Allen L Roland

by Allen L Roland (907 articles, 7 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 355 comments) on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 6:23:47 PM

American against War and Violence. Writer, English Teacher, Inventor, Creator of the First Manmade Floating Farm On The Ocean.... My companies name is ACET: Algae Charcoal Ethanol Technicorp. We grow Algae for Oil.
Dom JermanoAmerican against War and Violence. Writer, English Teacher, Inventor, Creator of the First Manmade Floating Farm On The Ocean.... My companies name is ACET: Algae Charcoal Ethanol Technicorp. We grow Algae for Oil.

Wrong

That's why Hillary just won Florida right?

by Dom Jermano (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 40 diaries, 930 comments) on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:06:07 AM

Wrong

The Democratic candidates pledged to not campaign in Florida because Florida switched its primary date and the party penalized them by not counting their delegates. The Clintons ignored that ban and claimed a hollow victory when, like in Michigan, there was no opposition . It's typical Clinton strategy ( sneaky and self serving ). It's most interesting, in a contest that had no meanng, that close to 50% of Democrats voted against the Clintons.

Allen L Roland

by Allen L Roland (907 articles, 7 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 355 comments) on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 10:04:35 AM

Dense much?

Perhaps you might dwell upon the reasons you support Obama, or are there none? Perhaps you were frightened by a Clinton as a youth and it has carried over to your politics.

One article and two ripostes and still you have not mentioned one single positive about Senator Obama and only engaged in silly rhetoric with no substance regarding the Clintons.

Heck, Im not going to vote for either but your tactics are really abysmal and ,sad to note, far to common these days.

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments) on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 5:01:27 PM

COMMENT

Here is today's LA Times endorsement which summarizes most of my obvious reasons for supporting Obama ~ O truly dense one ;-)

It calls Obama "an inspiring leader who cuts through typical internecine campaign bickering and appeals to Americans long weary of divisive and destructive politics."
It notes that Hillary Clinton is "an accomplished public servant" whose election would provide familiarity but that she failed a test of judgment and leadership by voting for the iraq war and then accusing President Bush of abusing the authority she helped give him.

Obama, the editorial says, "demonstrates as well that he is open-eyed about the terrorist threat posed to the nation, and would not shrink from military action where it is warranted. He does not oppose all wars, he has famously stated, but rather "dumb wars."
He also has the edge in economic policy, less because of particular planks in his platform than in his understanding that some liberal orthodoxies developed over the last 40 years have been overtaken by history.
He offers leadership on education, technology policy and environmental protection unfettered by positions taken by previous administrations."
The editorial concludes: "Obama's candidacy offers the Democrats the best hope of leading America into the future, and gives Californians the opportunity to cast their most exciting and consequential ballot in a generation."

Allen L Roland

by Allen L Roland (907 articles, 7 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 355 comments) on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 7:18:15 PM