SAIGONBOB

Why NBC's Tucker Carlson is Wrong on Michigan and Florida Primaries

    Conservative wag, Tucker Carlson, who has lost his bow-tie, in recent years, and with whom I agree with, some of the time, has blown it on his view how Obama and Clinton should handle a Florida and Michigan re-vote.

    Generally speaking, when it comes to past Democratic Party sins, Carlson usually touts the "play by the rules," axiom.

    This time he is basically saying, "Go through that red light, and break the law, and don't get a ticket for doing so."

    Hillary Clinton broke the rules when she left her name on the Michigan Primary ballot, after the Democratic National Committee said that state could not hold an early primary...screw things up....and then have their vote count.

    The Canadian born Governor of Michigan, could give a hoot, moved up the election, anyhow, and fooled many voters into thinking that their vote actually counted.

    Even though 40% of the electorate voted, "anybody but Clinton," with no other major names on the ballot,
Tucker Carlson says that private money should be raised to have another election in June.

    Florida is another example of this largess.

    They flaunted the DNCC rules, and fooled many people into thinking that their vote would count, after they broke the Democratic Party rules.  Many people stayed home thinking it would not count.

    Since Obama is relatively unknown to the Florida electorate, and Mrs. Clinton has been known for 16 years...it naturally went to the former First Lady, when the illegal vote was counted.

    So, Carlson, in his Plutocratic way, says let them eat votes again, by having some multi-millionaires fund the new election in June.

    Since it was the Clinton campaign strategy to form early primaries to begin with----California wasted 60-90 million dollars by moving their non-event from June to February--while Obama was a lessor known, why not hold the California Primary over again, now that Senator  Obama is well liked and has a national lead over Hillary Clinton?

    It would be nice, if these same private interests, who have loads of money to waste, could take 5,000 people off the streets and hand them 100% health insurance.

    To have a re-vote in Florida and Michigan--is to reward bad behavior--something MSNBC's Tucker Carlson is usually against.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

   

       

Note to Obama Campaign:Penn. Primary: Don't Bowl with Suit and Tie

  It was a good idea for Obama to get into the "people" of Pennsylvania, by bowling.
    The Governor of Oregon, made it to the state capitol, by bowling throughout Oregon.
    But, did Barack Obama have to do it in a suit and tie!?
    This is not as bad as the Dukakis campaign putting him in a tank,looking as out of place as Homer Simpson wearing a tux.

    Pennsylvania is going to be a tough, uphill battle, for the Senator from Illinois, but if he can get it down to a single digit loss, and go on to win most of the remaining primaries (he should do really well in Oregon, for example), he should win the whole enchilada.

    Super-delegates have now begun to trickle over to the Obama side, and I would assume after the Oregon Primary in May, he should get a landslide of super-delegates on his side....assuring him of the Democratic nomination.

    With a McCain-Obama Presidential contest in the fall, we could have one of the most meaningful and intelligent presidential contests since Abe Lincoln ran for President.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos   
   
   

Jerry Brown Rides Again!

    Former California Governor Jerry Brown, and now Attorney General of the Golden State, likes to make a little joke, in his usual charming way, around small crowds:
    Jerry says, "I'm the only person to have lived with Mother Teresa and Linda Ronstadt."

    In todays, (March 29, 2008) "Top of the Ticket," blog in the Los Angeles Times, it is mentioned that Jerry Brown is hinting at running for Governor of California, again in 2010.

    Although there is a two term limit for Governor, the law was passed after Jerry completed his 8 years as chief executive of the state.

    Jerry Brown is smart, can not be bought by anyone, and always acts on behalf of the underdog in our society.

    He will make the occasional political error, and sometimes rub his allies, as well as his competitors, in the wrong way...but on balance he would be the perfect Governor for the needs of the State of California.

    Although, pundits like to make fun of California, as far as California goes, so goes the nation.

    I remember, when no one was helping the workers in the fields of the state, Governor Jerry Brown helped negotiate an end to the grape boycott, and in addition he developed a system to help farm workers to better living conditions.

    Politically, Mr. Brown, has gotten great support from the Latino community, as well as being a strong supporter of Mayor Tom Bradley, and the African-American community.

    He would be tough to beat, especially now, when much of the California Democratic establishment, as well as a few of those who would run against him in the primary, supported Hillary Clinton, while Jerry has stayed neutral.

    If Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President, he probably would come out and campaign for Jerry, whether the Senator from Illinois, won or lost the general election in the fall.

    If Jerry runs...he wins.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

   

   

      

Is the Bill and Hillary Clinton Show Over-OR-Is it Just Their Politics?

    Make no mistake: The Bill and Hillary show, will most likely proceed to the convention in Denver.
    Hillary, because of the demographics, will probably beat Barack Obama in Pennsylvania on April 22nd, by a large margin.

    Judging by my past brush with Philadelphia sports fans, the voters, in that city, at least, like the street combat of politics, where the Clinton political strategy works best.

    But, are we seeing the last legs of last century politics, by the Clinton's, which reminds me of Monte Python and the Holy Grail, where one fights to the death, even in a lost cause?

    Senator Obama could still blow it, and the Clinton's could take up the fallen mantel and limp into the fall campaign against Senator McCain, with her 40% negative rating.

    You have to hand it to the Obama forces.

    They "out strategized" the over-experienced Clinton machine by taking on every caucus and small primary state, and beating her in delegates.  This is a good window into how a President Obama will run the country--Smart and effective.

    The Obama campaign had to take on not only the First Lady, but the President, also.  Up to now, he has outsmarted them.

    Using the Internet, in a different way than Howard Dean, they have out-raised in the money battle, against the Clinton team, which was supposed to have all of the establishment advantages going into this campaign.

    After the Pennsylvania Primary, it may be that Senator Obama, "runs the table" on all of the last primaries, prior to the convention, and the pressure by the super-delegates for her to get out of the race, will be very, very, strong.

    Clinton, could keep going to the August convention, in order to "destroy this party(village) in order to save it,"...but the Vietnam War ended last century and so have the politics of the Clinton's.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

   

   

   

   

Tupac Shakur: LA Times Remains Great Newspaper--Despite Mistake

    Unlike the New York Times, and Dan Rather of CBS,waiting forever to correct a story,  the Los Angeles Times did not hesitate to apologize for an in-depth story about the death of famous rapper, Tupac Shakur.
    They mistakenly used fabricated copies of FBI documents as a background for disclosing false information about his killers, and how he was set up.
    In a story written today, March 27, 2008, (latimes.com) journalist James Rainey discloses the mistakes made by a reporter and deputy editor of the times:
    " A Los Angeles Times story about a brutal 1994 attack on rap superstar Tupac Shakur was partially based on documents that appear to have been fabricated, the reporter and editor responsible for the story said Wednesday."
    I've read the LA Times since the 1950s, and have personally worked with many of the journalists over the years.
    In my experience, and not exaggerating, I've probably worked pretty closely with over 70 reporters, and I would say that 98% of the time, I have found them accurate,highly professional, and easy to work with when they, or I had made mistakes.
    Most of the time I have worked with political editors and journalists.  I hardly knew their politics, with some exceptions.
    I really don't work with the Times any longer, as I am retired, am working through my second bout of Cancer(stem-cell replacement is coming up) but I do still blog, and every once in a while, I get a query from either an LA Times reporter, or their "top of the ticket" political blog.
    In the last couple of years, I have noticed that they have done a top notch job in covering city and state government and politics, with some pretty good expose's, to boot.
    You and I can still have confidence in the maturity of the paper, and the fact that they will correct a mistake in quick time.
    Thanks for reading:
    Bob Kholos

   

Hillary Clinton's SLA Approach to the Democratic Primary Against Barack Obama

    During the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were a lot of little groups like the Symbianese Liberation Army, which espoused  bringing down the nation, to save it.

    Now, that Senator Clinton got caught telling a "non-truth" about her experience as First Lady, in Bosnia, she is trying to focus the media attention back on Pastor Wright, and Barack Obama.

    She, in effect, is tearing down the Democratic Party, in order to save it, for her in 2012.

    Mrs. Clinton, according to almost every political analysis, can't mathematically win the Democratic nomination of elected delegates, at this point.

    Clinton knows that McCain, should he win, will probably serve only one term, thus giving her a chance to reform her damaged image, and run again.

    The best way for her to have this chance is destroy Obama now, and lay the groundwork for John McCain in the general election.

    So, she mentions Barack Obama's, radical Pastor, who  now, has retired from his church.

    This guilt by association approach by the political enemies of Obama, is a sorry state for the Democratic Party.

    It used to be that Richard "tricky dick" Nixon was the expert at guilt by association and destroying various Democratic officials, along the way.

    Perhaps, as Mrs. Clinton said, she would have left Obama's church, but perhaps, many women would have said, the would have "left Bill Clinton, after his affair with Monica Lewinsky, in the Oval Office."

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

   

Why Clinton's Campaign Claim to "Electoral" Lead--Does Not Make Sense.

    This may be the week in which the Clinton campaign finally falls into a major credibility gap with the media and public.

    First, she claims that as First Lady, on a trip to Bosnia, she received sniper fire and the plane had to make a diversion.  This statement was made to enhance her "status" as ready to be President.

    One problem: NBC journalist, Andrea Mitchell, was on that trip, and said that nothing like that happened.

    Now, that her campaign is losing the delegate lead, the popular vote, and super-delegates like Gov. Bill Richardson, have switched to Barack Obama, they now tell the news media, that they have the lead among big states which have the most electoral votes in November.

    One problem:  Blue states such as California and Massachusetts, in which Hillary beat Senator Obama, will remain "Blue" states in the fall, and vote for the Democratic nominee, whether it is Hillary or Obama.

    Perhaps, as some pundits have suggested, after June and before the August convention in Denver, Senator  Clinton drops out of the presidential contest, and becomes the new leader of the Democratic Party, in case Senator Obama loses to John McCain in the fall.

    She has such a high negative rating in the polls, I just don't see how, even if she steals the convention from Obama, she wins the White House, at this stage of her career.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

Is James Carville Flaming the Fans of Anti-Semitism: Compares Gov. Bill Richardson to Judas On Easter

    Now, we are at a point in presidential politics, where we have hit the gutter.
    This is the reason many of us prefer the new and fresh Barack Obama, over the Byzantine politics of the of Clinton years.

    Former top Bill Clinton adviser, James Carville, who is never short of demonic comparisons to his adversaries, has hit a new low on Easter Weekend.

    It brings back bad memories for me, also.

    After I worked for Tom Bradley's losing campaign for Mayor in 1969, I went on the road to work for Jesse Unruh in his campaign against Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970.

    I always intended to work for Bradley for Mayor, again, in 1973.

    To my surprise, Unruh decided to run for Mayor, and I was already Press Secretary for the Bradley campaign which beat Unruh, and Yorty to win the Mayoralty.

    I attended a Democratic fund raiser at the Beverly Hilton, in which Unruh, who was famous for pouring down the alcohol, saw me in the forey..and yelled out "There's Judas Kholos."

    As a Jew, I of course resented the remark...but I didn't say anything for many years (don't ask me why).

    Now, Carvelle, decided to use the same basic remark against Gov. Bill Richardson,who isn't Jewish, on Easter weekend.

    It's not only that millions of Jews have been slaughtered over the last 2-thousand years, for those same misconceptions, but that James Carvelle, would choose to use that language, on a very important and serious day, for millions of Christians around the world, who unlike Carville, have grown up after the holocaust.

    My best friend, a Marine Vietnam Veteran, is an Irish Catholic, and one of the least prejudiced person I have ever met.  I would trust him with my life savings and my back.

    Carville, for a lot of us life-long Democrats, brings up today, the horrible, and twisted Presidency of Bill Clinton, and another reason we need a strong and mature Barack Obama, who is a constitutional attorney, to run the country.

    We have had enough of the Bush-Clinton-Clinton-Bush-Bush years.

    I hope, once again, that Senator Barack Obama wins the nomination.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

       

Obama's Oregon Slam Dunk!

    Although, the Oregon Ducks lost their NCAA playoff game, on Friday....the same day was a slam dunk for Senator Barack Obama's tour of the state.
    His Portland show was sold out in 30 minutes with 11,000 tickets.  That evening he went to Mac Court in Eugene, where the lines started at 10 am for a 9:00 PM speech and an enthusiastic capacity crowd of 9,000 cheered his stump speech, which was telecast live on the ABC affiliate.
    On Saturday morning he appeared at a town hall in Medford, in the southern part of the state.
    Although, he stumbled, slightly on an Old Growth question, instead answering with a Global Warming response, which was telecast live on CNN, he was a smashing success in the state.
    The coffee shops were buzzing with talk about his visit.  I attended two coffee shops this morning.
    In a small state, such as Oregon, Obama can turn on an entire electorate with one visit, while it is harder for him to do the same thing in a big state, like California.

    It takes a long time for the voters of California to get to know him, because it has a population of over 30 million people, so he could see ten thousand people a day, and still not make a major impact.

    This is the very reason why big states should hold off their Presidential Primaries, until later in the season.

    California wasted 60-90 Million dollars by switching their election from June to February.

    They could have saved a lot of tax payer money this time around, and made a big difference in June, as it turns out.

    Also, the Speaker of the California Assembly, is a big Hillary Clinton supporter, and purposely pushed the Golden State election, at a high cost to the tax payers, in order to please the early Clinton campaign strategy, at the time.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos   

Gov. Richardson Endorses Obama--Too Little Too Late?

    This is my guess, and only my guess:
    New Mexico's Governor, and former Presidential candidate, Bill Richardson, were sitting next to each other at the Super-Bowl in January.
    Clinton probably turned to Richardson, and said the following, "Bill, if your are thinking about endorsing Barack Obama, the least you can do, is wait until after Texas."
    Obama lost the popular vote in Texas by only 3%, a margin which would have been wiped out by the Hispanic Governor, had he made speeches and taken out radio commercials in Spanish for the Senator from Illinois.
    Although, I really like Gov. Richardson, and last year was supporting both him and Obama, I don't think his endorsement, later today, March 21st, in Portland, Oregon, will make a big difference.
    Gov. Richardson is a super delegate, and may be able to turn a few more of those privileged established Democrats towards Senator Obama, I don't think it will make a big difference in Montana or Oregon.
    If Obama does, indeed, get the nomination, Richardson may help turn some "Machismo" Latino voters, who went for the GOP eight years ago, to cross over to the Democratic column this year.
    Senator Obama will be in Eugene, tonight, at Mac court at the University of Oregon.  The Oregon Ducks play in the NCAA tournament, earlier in the day.  I hope Obama makes some acknowledgment of that game, when he takes the podium this evening.
    I believe Barack Obama will win the "Beaver" State.  University of Oregon sports fans would rather call it the "Duck" State.
    I'm hoping that Obama can regain his momentum, prior to the Pennsylvania Primary on April 22nd, and only lose by single digits, and then wipe out the Junior Senator from New York, in every primary after that.
    Thanks for reading:
    Bob Kholos