Clinton/Lieberman spinmeister Lanny Davis lays out the next attack on Obama

UDPATE 10:46 PM: The fear factor/electability strategy was confirmed by the Clinton campaign in the New York Times:

Mrs. Clinton’s advisers said they had spent recent days making the case to wavering superdelegates that Mr. Obama’s association with Mr. Wright would doom their party in the general election.

That argument could be Mrs. Clinton’s last hope for winning this contest.

So desperate.

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Yesterday, Barack Obama delivered one of the best speeches in modern political history. When asked about Hillary Clinton's respond, Howard Wolfson told reporters, "She thought it was a good speech." Classy.

We also hear via various reporters, that Team Clinton won't go near the Rev. Wright issue. But, that's not true. Lanny Davis, one of the most loathesome Hillary spinmeisters, has an insidious post up at Huffington challenging the Obama speech.

Davis is a constant presence on cable news for Clinton -- just like he was for Joe Lieberman (and for Bill Clinton back in the late nineties). He knows the Clinton campaign talking points. He knows the impact his words will have because of his long and close relationship with the Clintons. He knows the Republicans will use his arguments. This wasn't some off-the-cuff quote, it was a deliberately written blog post. It is written in the style of the quintessential concern troll. Davis liked the Obama speech, he writes, but, you know, there are "questions."

Apparently, some of Clinton's surrogates are allowed to attack the Obama speech and his relationship with Rev. Wright after all. What a surprise, huh? And, as noted, Davis has questions for Obama, two questions actually. His concern also raises questions for Davis himself: Who put him up to writing this Huffington Post piece? and Who came up with the two questions? There's no way anyone this close to the Clinton campaign would just spontaneously do something like that post.

More importantly, the Davis post is part of the Clinton's last ditch effort to destroy the Obama nomination. They want Democrats (i.e. superdelegates) to think Obama can't be elected in November. Now that Michigan and Florida re-votes aren't happening, "electability" is the final card in the Clinton deck. And, it's a fear factor card. You'll hear it a lot over the next couple days and weeks. But ignore the concern trolls like Davis. And, don't kid yourself: The Republicans want to face Hillary. But, the GOPers are clever enough to play along with the Lanny Davis/Clinton strategy if it means damaging Obama. That's something the Clinton campaign and the Republicans have in common. Read More......

Hillary's Secret Plan

1. Destroy Obama so that the Superdelegates overthrow him and give her the nomination.

2. Destroy Obama so that, even if he wins the nomination, he will be so severely damaged that he loses the election, and the day after the election the Clinton people say "see, we told you that you should have picked us," and four years later, Hillary will be able to run again and get the nomination, if because of nothing else, because the party will feel sorry for "cheating" her out of of it this time.

If we lose the election in the fall, it will be all Hillary's fault. It's time for Howard Dean and the party leaders to step in and stop Hillary before she starts a civil war (and one is coming) and destroys our party. Read More......

Credit Crisis for Dummies

I'll admit I didn't totally get it until now.

This is the best explanation of what the heck's going on with our economy that I've read so far. Read More......

Hillary's schedule shows Egyptian tours and caviar, not daring 3am phone calls

Oops:

The release of 17,000 pages of then-first lady Hillary Clinton's daily schedule in the White House has raised questions about her ability to answer the 3 a.m. phone call she talks about in her commercials.

"Maybe because I have had the great honor and privilege of seeing that really hard job up close that I know that there is a big difference between speeches and solutions and talk and action," Sen. Clinton said in her commercials before the Texas and Ohio primaries.

But the daily schedules released today show many of her overseas trips to be the standard first lady tourist fare, hospital visits and blinis with caviar.

On the day U.S. cruise missiles hit Serbia, the schedules show the former first lady was touring Egyptian ruins.

On the day when her husband announced attacks against al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, the schedules show she stayed in Martha's Vineyard on vacation.

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Obama's speech watched online 1.3 million times and counting...

The Jed Report's keeping track of Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" viewership on Youtube and doing a good job of crunching the numbers and comparing the math.

As of 4pm EST, I counted more than 1.23 million views on just one version of the speech posted by the Obama campaign. There are another 60,000+ views on a second version, and an additional 1100 or so if you add up the views on the speech broken down into 5 separate parts.

Obama's the consummate Youtube candidate. When was the last time a political speech - and a 37 minute speech at that - generated so much traffic online? We take for granted how online video's evolved in the past 5 years, but I remember when watching anything online meant suffering through a choppy slideshow - a virtual buffering bonanza! Now you can expect to catch anything you missed on TV online in absolutely comparable quality. And - if you want - you can watch it on your own time without the context of someone else's punditry.

How refreshing.

I'm not foolish enough to expect or suggest online video's going to put TV out of business, but if Youtube (and its competitors) didn't exist and you weren't in a position to catch Obama's speech live, the best you'd be able to get back in the day would have been clips on the news smothered in analysis or, simply, a written transcript. Obama's words are inspirational, but his delivery makes them powerful.

I'm working on trying to dig up some numbers on how many people tuned in for the speech live yesterday. But in the interim, I'd feel comfortable assuming the online traffic has certainly matched - if not surpassed - that stat.

Some politicians have learned the hard way how Youtube can take down a candidate. This election cycle's going to teach them how integral online video can be in lifting one up.

UPDATE: TVNewser's got the numbers:

Yesterday afternoon, huge numbers turned out to watch Obama's speech on race relations, with the 11amET hour garnering more than four million Total Viewers between FNC, CNN and MSNBC combined. FNC won with 2,061,000 viewers, compared to 1,291,000 for CNN and 978,000 for MSNBC (which took the average from 10:53-11:31amET).

These are the kinds of numbers you see when there's breaking news...not normal dayside cable news numbers. Read More......

For third time in two days, McCain AGAIN gets facts wrong about Al Qaeda in Iraq

We're heading into senility territory here, or at best serial lying. From Huff Post:

For the third time in two days, the Arizona Republican has pushed the definitively false statement that the terrorist group Al-Qaeda was getting assistance from Iran, even though he was publicly ridiculed for the same false assertion on Tuesday.

This time, in a statement from his campaign honoring the fifth year anniversary of the war, McCain wrote:

"Today in Iraq, America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. Al Qaeda and Shia extremists -- with support from external powers such as Iran -- are on the run but not defeated."....

And speaking today, Sen. Barack Obama, used the misstatements as evidence that McCain's claims of foreign policy experience do not give him a superior understanding or judgment of the terrorist threat or Iraq policy.

"Just yesterday, we heard Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shiite, Iran and Al Qaeda," said Obama. "Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no Al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades."

His previous errors here. Read More......

Michigan re-vote isn't happening as Clinton campaigns in the state

Hillary Clinton was in Detroit today pleading for a new vote. The visit smacks of desperation. She needs a game changer and Michigan was her last hope. Now, comes word via Ben Smith that the re-vote in Michigan is dead.

Here's how NBC's First Read described Clinton's predicament this morning:

Her desire to make this case is obvious: Clinton needs these do-over contests in Florida and Michigan -- and needs to win them by big margins -- to convince superdelegates that she should be the nominee. The question is: Will primary voters in other states care about this issue? (Or will they see this as pure politics, given the fact that Clinton never spoke up about Michigan and Florida until right before the South Carolina primary?)

Clinton is not getting the do-over contests. It's over.

Last week, listening to her interview on NPR, I knew Clinton had jumped the shark. That's the interview where she described how fair the January 15th Michigan primary was. I found a YouTube video with the audio -- it's really worth a listen:

The Clinton campaign is running out of tricks. The race is basically over. With yesterday's speech, Obama essentially clinched the Democratic nomination. Clinton can't win the nomination. Sure, she'll win Pennsylvania by 15 - 20 points. She has Governor Rendell, the mayors of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and now, John Murtha, on her side. Let Pennsylvania be her last hurrah. She can go out on a victory. It's time to wrap this up and get into the battle with McCain. Read More......

McCain screws up basic political realities about Iraq . . . again

It's increasingly clear that despite having somehow gained a reputation for foreign policy expertise, Senator McCain doesn't have a grasp on the most basic -- and important! -- details of Iraq or even the greater Middle East. Joe mentioned this yesterday, but it's really impossible to overstate how significant an issue this is.

Of course, regular AMERICAblog readers already know this -- two weeks ago, regarding McCain's ludicrous claim that Iraq is in danger of being taken over by al Qaeda, I wrote, "Considering [McCain's] evident lack of intellectual curiosity on the economy, health care, science, and a whole host of other issues, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that he has an understanding of the *military* but not any sophisticated *Middle East foreign policy* knowledge . . . if McCain says this is what he thinks, I'm sort of inclined to take him at his word. And if [a different candidate] were to demonstrate such a lack of basic knowledge, it would be viewed as a huge gaffe. Because, y'know, it is."

McCain is at it again, this time telegraphing his profound lack of understanding of the regional dynamics. He recently claimed, multiple times, that Iran is training al Qaeda elements from Iraq. Iran, of course, is a Shia theocracy, and al Qaeda a Sunni terrorist group. This is like claiming that the RNC is training Democratic congressional candidates. Seriously -- this is a HUGE error. Not a single other government official or expert has claimed anything like this. It wasn't a momentary gaffe or slip; again, he said it multiple times. It's increasingly clear that he truly doesn't understand the situation . . . five years into the war.

Two final thoughts: If McCain is in a position to decide whether to, say, order a military strike on Iran, it would probably be good if he didn't think (erroneously!) that Iran supports al Qaeda. Secondly, it's nice to see the press picking up on this -- a pretty straightforward piece from AP here, for example. And if people discover that McCain doesn't understand the issue he claims as his greatest strength, he's finished. Read More......

TV News - Danger in the Need for Speed

CNN's Candy Crowley, speaking to an audience of Florida college students on Monday, said that TV news is sacrificing substance for speed. From The St Augustine Record via Shoptalk (a daily TV news industry email):

"There are so many avenues where we put our journalism radio, TV, podcasts and blogs (that) what suffers is reporting," Crowley said to an overflow audience of Flagler students celebrating Communications Week 2008. "You almost don't have time to figure (a story) out before you're on the air with it. What we're actually missing is substance or context."

I could not agree more. A typical "Situation Online" segment on "The Situation Room" was :45. I had to water a story down to the bare basics in order to get it on in the time allotted. Sometimes :45 was the high end of the spectrum. It was not unusual for a producer to get in my ear right before I hit air and say, "Can you do it in :30?" We actually got down to :15 more than a handful of times.

At that point, it becomes a good old-fashioned showdown. Do it in what we've got or don't do it at all. And if you opt for integrity and scrap the story altogether, you catch grief from the noodle-in-charge who swears you should never surrender airtime. It's a lose-lose. For me and for you. Read More......

"With a touch of the swagger," George Bush praises his Iraq war effort with another victory speech

In the post below, AJ explains the Responsible Plan to end the war in Iraq, offered by soon-to-be Congresswoman Darcy Burner and several other Democratic candidates for Congress. They understand their responsibility to end the war.

At the other end of the spectrum, today we heard from, George Bush, the irresponsible mastermind of the Iraq war who had no real plan going in -- and still has no plan to get us out:

President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he had no regrets about the unpopular war in Iraq despite the "high cost in lives and treasure" and declared that the United States was on track for a major victory there.

Marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion with a touch of the swagger he showed early in the war, Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon, "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable."

With less than 11 months left in office and his approval ratings near the lows of his presidency, Bush is trying to shore up support for the Iraq campaign, which has damaged U.S. credibility abroad and is sure to define his legacy.

That swagger and all those victory speeches have worked so well for the United States. Read More......

Responsible Plan, from Democratic candidates

Recognizing that ending the war in Iraq is critical to our nation's security and foreign policy, Darcy Burner and at least a dozen other Democratic congressional candidates have signaled their support for a comprehensive approach to foreign policy that would put us back on the right track.

From a policy standpoint, it is clear, comprehensive, and reality-based. Implementing this platform would do a great deal to improve our nation's security, as well as its military and intelligence structures. It also has plenty of endorsements (and input) from credible military and foreign policy professionals.

The plan, which is impressively detailed, boils down to a handful of major points:

- End US Military Action in Iraq
- Use US diplomatic power
- Address humanitarian concerns
- Restore our Constitution
- Restore our military
- Create a new, US-centered energy policy

All vital, and all elements that are being dangerously overlooked by most Republicans this cycle. Do go check it out in full, it's excellent, and I'd encourage anybody who lives in a competitive district this cycle to ask your candidate(s) to support the plan.

On a more personal note, I had the opportunity to talk with Ms. Burner extensively late last month, and she's one of the more impressive individuals I've ever met. She knows her stuff on a variety of issues, has incredible intellectual curiosity, and she struck me as having a tremendous combination of toughness and warmth. I'm certainly looking forward to having her in Congress, and it's to her great credit that she's been instrumental in getting the Responsible Plan up and running. Read More......

"The Fed is not, was never on top of the situation"

Deutsche Bank chief economist Norbert Walter is correct with the above comment. Bernanke has become part of the problem. The emergency actions by the Fed have only contributed to the widespread panic. If that is what Bernanke is trying to do, Mission Accomplished in a Bush kind of way. Bernanke and the Federal Reserve are failing miserably in their job of leading. Worse still is that much of the US market media seems to think Bernanke is doing OK. From the outside looking in, there is still so much arrogance and self assuredness, facts be damned.

More from the always interesting German market watcher Silvia Wadhwa.

Now ... I don´t know about you. But when I hear the words "central bank" and "emergency rate cut (or HIKE for that matter)" in one sentence, the word "confidence" does not pop into my mind. In fact I´d rather not hear the word "emergency" from or in connection with central banks or central bankers at all.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, this has been a big week for John McCain. He's on the taxpayer funded campaign photo op around the world. While he's been in the volatile Middle East, we learned that the volatile Senator doesn't know the basics -- the very basics -- about Sunnis and Shiites. He made the mistake by linking Al Qaeda and Iran. No doubt, McCain thinks that's a good, scary talking point, but he's wrong. His new adviser, Karl Rove, probably told him to do it anyway.

Also, don't forget, McCain has to release his FEC report by March 20th. We'll be looking at his expenditures. If he exceeded the FEC's spending cap of $54 million, McCain is breaking the law.

Oh, we need all of McCain's tax forms, too.

Okay....get started. Read More......

GOP fake "free market" policies hold back broadband, Europe moves ahead

When Republicans talk about "free market" they hope that those listening believe in the Easter Bunny, because it's completely false. What they really mean is a jury-rigged system where their friends get to avoid competition but in public, they talk about competition and the benefits of competition. (Think ATT and it's re-consolidation in recent years.) More proof that Republicans have trashed our system, driving up costs compared to increased competition in Europe, where costs have gone down. Broadband internet has taken off across Europe, leaving the US in its wake. All the Republicans can offer is snide remarks about "Old Europe" but it's their own policies that are old and stuffy.

“We have four countries that are world leaders — Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland,” said Viviane Reding, the European telecommunications commissioner. “We have eight countries which have higher penetration rates than the U.S. and Japan. We are not doing badly at all.”

In addition to the three Nordic countries and the Netherlands, four others — Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and France — had surpassed the United States by July 2007. By January 2008, Germany had also done so.

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Exxon loses in court against Venezuela

It's amazing what can happen when you don't have a kangaroo court. Oh well, at least they have a US Supreme Court who worries about their welfare in other big cases. Read More......

On Iraq, Bush = McCain

For five years, Bush and McCain have marched in lockstep:
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