look back and wonder what possessed them! Didn't Chuck Hagel say W was in Alice's Wonderland? Well, I wish he had added the Obamaniacs to his assessment! I try hard to keep in mind that their senseless rantings most certainly mean that they are frantic that the superdelegates are going to give Hillary the nod. And, in true through-the-looking-glass fashion, they try to blame Hillary for the Democratic earth they themselves are scorching!

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/27/sitroom.02.html

THE SITUATION ROOM

Have Social Security and Medicare Been Forgotten About? FBI Investigates Terror Involving Americans in Iraq

Aired March 27, 2008 - 17:00 ET

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: "Let's talk about this and more with two guests. Our Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor James Carville. He is here in Washington. He's backing Hillary Clinton. And in Los Angeles, Congressman Xavier Becerra. He is an Obama supporter.

Gentlemen, thanks very much for coming in.

I'll start with the congressman. Is this system broken, and can it be fixed?

REP. XAVIER BECERRA, (D) C.A.: We always want to make sure that every vote counts. I think we have a process in place, at least through a delegate process, give us the votes and let them be worth something.

I think most of us believe we should let the process work through. In the end whoever has the most delegates should become the next nominee for president for the Democratic Party.

BLITZER: What do you think, James?

JAMES CARVILLE, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I think first of all you can't say that. Because the Obama campaign did everything they could to stop people from voting in Florida and Michigan. We wanted to have a revote. I was willing to raise the money to pay for it. That's nine percent of the Democrats in the country, and I'm sure the congressman doesn't want to disenfranchise nine percent, however I do think we will have a process.

I think it's flawed but I think in the end we'll end up with a nominee and we will all be behind that nominee. But what we need to do is let the system play out as is. When it finishes we'll see where it is. But the Obama people still have to explain why that want to disenfranchise nine percent of the Democrats. That doesn't seem like a very smart move on my part.

BLITZER: Congressman?

BECERRA: Wolf, I think the -- not only Senator Obama, but all of the Obama campaign supporters say we want to make sure that all of Florida's and Michigan's delegates get seated. But we have rules. And we want them seated under the rules. We have no problem with that. We don't think the next president should be the first one to start to break the rules as he or she becomes president.

CARVILLE: Let me point out that Senator Clinton did not break the rules. What we call for is a revote. We said all right, those were against the rules. Let's have a revote. It was the lawyers and lobbyists in the Obama campaign in the legislature in Michigan that stopped this. In spite of the fact that myself, Governor Rendell, Governor Corzine, other people have said we have raised the money to pay for it. That's just a simple fact. And I understand --

BLITZER: Congressman, Karl Rove, the president's former top political adviser who is no longer in the government. He says he has a gutsy idea for Barack Obama and what he should go. He should let the delegates be seated from Michigan and Florida. Let them be seated as the election turned out, which would give Hillary Clinton maybe a net gain of 50 some pledged delegates.

He says this, "It makes him look like a leader, referring to Barack Obama. It resolves the situation. It helps him in the fall in these two states. And it probably gets a lot of the superdelegates to step forward and say that was a courageous move and I'm going to support him as a result of him doing that."

It would give her -- it would be risky, as Karl Rove says. What do you think about that idea?

BECERRA: It's tough for me to comment on Rove's strategy proposals. I've never been much of a Rove supporter. But I would tell you this. I think Senator Obama has said it many times. He's willing to sit down with Senator Clinton and all of the senator's supporters to try to come up with a process that lets us live by the rules we started with to make sure that all of the delegates get counted and have a voice at our convention. That's the most important thing.

So Florida and Michigan, all those Democratic voters that came out and voted should have a voice. We think there's a process that can be had if the two camps can sit down and make it happen in a way that follows the rules.

CARVILLE: We could have made it happen. All we had to do was have a primary in June. It would have been very exciting. Florida has been devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis. Michigan is so devastated by the policies of this administration. It would have been a wonderful thing to have democracy at work and allowed this to cam. And the fact is that the agents and lobbyists of the Obama campaign stopped it.

BECERRA: James. Stop it. You know that's not the way it happened.

CARVILLE: Of course it happened that way.

BECERRA: You know it's not the way it happened. We teach our kids to follow the rules. We want them to grow up respecting the rules. We want a president for the first time in eight years who respects the rules. There was a process.

There were rules. We could follow those rules and if those were broken we could a figure out a way to get all of the Florida and Michigan delegates counted. This isn't a thing where we need to be in the playground fighting. Let those votes count.

CARVILLE: We're not fighting, congressman. I'm just merely pointing out, sir, with all respect, that agents and lobbyists of the Obama campaign in Lansing did everything that they could to stop ...

BECERRA: Name the agents and lobbyists. Name names.

CARVILLE: People in the campaign were trying to do everything they could --

BLITZER: All right, guys. Hold on a second.

CARVILLE: I was trying to make a point. He doesn't want me to make a point because my point is valid.

BLITZER: James, is Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, a neutral observer in the debate?

CARVILLE: I'm crazy about Speaker Pelosi. I think when this process gets through I think if we're going to have a nominee and we'll all get behind that nominee. But I think the best thing we can do is let the process go through.

The really best thing we could have done is allow the people of Michigan and Florida to have a say in this, but the Obama campaign stopped that. I understand they made a political calculation, but I don't think it was a very wise one.

BLITZER: All right. We've gone over this ground. I don't know if you have anything else to say, congressman. If not --

BECERRA: I do. I do.

Just saying it, James saying it doesn't make it so. There was a process. We could get these delegates seated. But you can't if you're going to have someone accusing agents and lobbyists without naming names. Talking about who is doing something. Let's get to this so that Florida and Michigan can have its delegates counted. There's a way to get there.

BLITZER: Let's see if there is. All right. We have got to leave it right there.

Xavier Becerra from California, James Carville, our CNN strategist. A Democrat. Thanks very much. Both of them Democrats, actually. Appreciate it, guys..."

Who in the world ever put Ed Shultz in charge of making up the primary rules?

Joe Scarborough did ask Shultz some good devils-advocate questions in this video:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23829449#23829449  (04:43)

Nightly News
Time for Clinton to step aside?
March 27: Talk show host Ed Shultz joins the Morning Joe team to explain why he believes the Clinton campaign should throw in the towel.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23829449#23829449  (04:43)

http://www.hillaryhub.com/

Saturday, March 29, 2008

CLINTON WINS INDIANA CROWD'S APPROVAL...

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080329/NEWS01/80328028

In It For The Long Run

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) -- "If Hillary Rodham Clinton is feeling heat from pundits and party elders to quit the race and back Barack Obama, you'd never know it from her crowds, energy level and upbeat demeanor on the campaign trail.

"There are some people who are saying, you know, we really ought to end this primary, we just ought to shut it down," she said in Mishawaka, Ind., drawing cries of "No, no!" inside a packed gymnasium..."

Here is the March 28 Hardball video link to watch this entire dialogue:

March 28: Game changer in Pennsylvania
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23849604#23849604  (07:44)

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2008/03/28/todd-bursts-matthews-balloon-caseys-spiritual-endorsement-obama

Todd Bursts Matthews' Balloon on Casey's 'Spiritual' Endorsement of Obama

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Chuck, I didn’t expect this guy. He’s a very cautious U.S. senator in his first year, his first term, and what did he do? Almost a spiritual announcement he made today: I’ve got to be for Barack.

View video here.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23849604#23849604

Todd tossed Matthews a bone, but the pragmatic political director quickly reverted to form, drawing upon his encyclopedic knowledge of modern political history to demonstrate that not-so-exalted emotions lay behind the endorsement.

CHUCK TODD: He did and in fact Obama emphasized that he actually didn’t work Casey over. If you knew the intricacies of Pennsylvania politics, you knew that Obama would have a shot at it. Wherever Rendell [a Clinton supporter] is, you would assume the Caseys are on the other side.

MATTHEWS: Why? Explain that?
TODD: Well, they had their, they ran against each other for governor in 2002, a very nasty primary fight, one that I think the Caseys as a family haven’t gotten over. Ed Rendell ran against Casey’s father in a race for governor 20 years earlier in a campaign that Casey, Sr. won, so it was a little bit of Rendell payback. But then we forget also the late Bob Casey, the Clintons kept him off of the ’92 convention [because of Casey’s pro-life position], then he protested and didn’t go to the ’96 convention. So there’s certainly enough reason for Casey not to be for Clinton. [Obama] needed something. He hadn’t gotten one major endorsement.

The deflated Chris complained.

MATTHEWS: You are so political. Well anyway, Gene [Robinson of WaPo], the more spiritual aspect of this – and you [Todd] go into the political analysis.

Chuck reminded Matthews of what the show is ostensibly about.

TODD: Aw, geez. Where are we? Are we on Hardball? Or are we on –

MATTHEWS: Like we heard this before like Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri said my kids talked me into it. You know, we heard this from Caroline Kennedy her kids talked her into it [shades of Chris’ old boss Jimmy Carter whose daughter Amy told him nuclear weapons were the most important issue]. Could this be another generational, somewhat of a spiritual arising here, encouraging a guy to do something that's not necessarily in the area of political revenge, as you describe it?

Even the genial Gene Robinson couldn’t help teasing Matthews for going soft.

EUGENE ROBINSON: It could be. And we've seen the phenomenon of young people who have a different experience of race and less baggage about race and who are really energized by Obama's message. But what I want to talk about is Chris Matthews getting spiritual about Pennsylvania politics!

At the end of the video clip I’ve included for your delectation a bit more of Casey’s endorsement remarks. Have a listen and see if it doesn’t sound like one of Rush Limbaugh’s parody Obama commercials. Gauzy fluff about "change," “hope,” “new politics” and “healing” that is certified, guaranteed, 100% substance-free.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.         

Mark Finkelstein's blog
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Topics:
2008 Presidential
Campaigns & Elections
Barack Obama
Bob Casey
Chris Matthews
Chuck Todd
Eugene Robinson
Hardball
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I get lost in all the links and transcripts. Good writing says that you put your point right up front, then fill in the detail. I would like to see your "three moral reasons" in the first paragraph or two, then elaborate.

Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Make America All It Can Be!