Videos & Transcript: Lou Dobbs and his panel discussed anti-Hillary media bias!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on April 1, 2008 - 5:34am.
Media
Hello Everyone:
I was very proud of Lou Dobbs for his bluntly discussing the important issue of anti-Hillary media bias on his show yesterday!
Right below is the CNN transcript of this entire panel discussion which was excellent in my opinion!
Here is the link where there are two videos which contain most of this interview that you can watch:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/31/lou-dobbs-says-anticlint_n_94358.html
Lou Dobbs Says Anti-Clinton Media Bias "Worsening"
Huffington Post | March 31, 2008 08:42 PM
"Lou Dobbs, speaking with Clinton surrogate Lanny Davis, Obama supporter Jim Zogby, and Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, gave his viewers an earful about media bias tainting the 2008 election. Dobbs told the panel he couldn't remember a race in which we had seen such "transparent favoritism" and tat the media bias against Clinton seems to be worsening.
Watch Dobbs take on the media:"
Here are the opening comments from Lou Dobbs in the first video (1:01):
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: "The media bias against Senator Clinton appears to be worsening tonight. Newspapers and other media across the country are giving an increasing voice to those calling for Senator Clinton to drop out of this race. Many of those pleas are originating with Obama supporters, but some of the calls are coming from columnists whose remarks are picked up by not only other newspapers, but television and the Internet as well.
Those voices in favor of Senator Obama say Senator Clinton should end her campaign for quote "the good of the party." And that a long campaign would quote "tear the party apart and ensure a Republican victory in November", but when it comes to the largest audiences the three nightly broadcast newscasts, the bias is seemingly most pronounced.
The nonpartisan Center for Media and Public Affairs has found that since last December, 83 percent of the reporting on Senator Obama was positive. Only 53 percent of the reporting on Senator Clinton was positive. Joining me now are Lanny Davis, former special counsel to former President Bill Clinton and adviser to the Hillary Clinton campaign, and Howard Kurtz, media critic for "The Washington Post" and host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" and Jim Zogby, a super delegate for none other than Senator Barack Obama. Good to have you with us. Howard, let me turn to you, first. I mean this is straight forward objective quantifiable research saying point blank the national media has blown it on this campaign..."
This specific link contains the second part of the discussion (02:41):
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1480107566/bctid1482436549
"Transparent Favoritism" In The Race
Lou Dobbs On Media Bias
This was an excellent discussion in my opinion that I highly recommend watching or reading in the transcript below!
Please also feel free to forward this important information on, especially to Democratic primary voters in Pennsylvania and in other upcoming primary states!
Mitch Dworkin
http://www.securingamerica.com/
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/10756
StopIranWar.com: "War is not the answer"
Submitted by Wes Clark on February 21, 2007 - 11:40am.
http://www.securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7191
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program: An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight back against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda!
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http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/31/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
White House Proposes Wall Street Overhaul; Interview With Joseph Stiglitz
Aired March 31, 2008 - 19:00 ET
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: "Good evening, everybody.
The media bias against Senator Clinton appears to be worsening tonight. Newspapers and other media across the country are giving an increasing voice to those calling for Senator Clinton to drop out of this race. Many of those pleas are originating with Obama supporters, but some of the calls are coming from columnists whose remarks are picked up by not only other newspapers, but television and the Internet as well.
Those voices in favor of Senator Obama say Senator Clinton should end her campaign for quote "the good of the party." And that a long campaign would quote "tear the party apart and ensure a Republican victory in November", but when it comes to the largest audiences the three nightly broadcast newscasts, the bias is seemingly most pronounced.
The nonpartisan Center for Media and Public Affairs has found that since last December, 83 percent of the reporting on Senator Obama was positive. Only 53 percent of the reporting on Senator Clinton was positive. Joining me now are Lanny Davis, former special counsel to former President Bill Clinton and adviser to the Hillary Clinton campaign, and Howard Kurtz, media critic for "The Washington Post" and host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" and Jim Zogby, a super delegate for none other than Senator Barack Obama. Good to have you with us. Howard, let me turn to you, first. I mean this is straight forward objective quantifiable research saying point blank the national media has blown it on this campaign.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, CNN'S RELIABLE SOURCES: Well those figures are a little dated though, because I think the coverage was starting to be a little more even until the last 10 days when you had this drum beat, as you just described, of columnists, commentators and about 700 cable news segments saying why is Hillary Clinton still in this race. She can't possibly win. I think that should be up to the voters to decide and I think that by making this topic (A) in the race, it means that her message can't get through on the economy or...
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: But, how many of these reports originating in national mainstream media have referred in headlines and subtitles and cut lines to the call for Senator Clinton's withdrawal without noting that those calls for withdrawal are originating exclusively and without exception with supporters of Senator Obama.
KURTZ: Well, some of the stories have made that clear apparently, for example, calling on her to bow out. But look at my newspaper, "The Washington Post", on Saturday front page headline, Clinton resist calls to drop out; Sunday front page headline, Clinton vows to stay in the race until convention, although that was an interview initiated by the senator saying that she is not getting out, but we won't let her talk about anything else.
DOBBS: Well and Howard Kurtz that is one of the reasons you are here is because you are a honest journalist and tough enough to say it straight up about your own news organization and I commend you for that. I know others do as well.
Let's turn to you, if I may, Lanny Davis, what is the Clinton campaign's response to this? You have watched this go on literally for months now, and there was a "Saturday Night Live", and the senator's reference during the debate to may we get you another pillow, Senator Obama, but this has got to be incredibly frustrating and you have got to do incredibly better.
LANNY DAVIS, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL TO BILL CLINTON: Well, let me just make two points, first of all the night before the New Hampshire primary most of the same pundits for saying she was gone because she was going to lose New Hampshire, after the South Carolina caucuses she was going to lose Super Tuesday and then a "Newsweek" columnist actually said she should drop out before Ohio and Texas. She continues to surprise everybody, because she is tough and she fights and she's not going to let them bully her out of this race.
The second point, very quickly, Lou, is the double standard. We had this tremendous media frenzy, because I believe she made an honest mistake where news reporters at the time described and this is from the "Charleston Gazette" at the time in Bosnia that there were snipers protecting the first lady in a combat zone. She made an honest mistake when she said she was fired upon and we had two days or three days of media frenzy.
Now in the last three days we had Barack Obama on the front page of "The Post" yesterday where he misrepresented his father coming over to America through the use of Kennedy money. We have him taking credit for an immigration bill which he actually according to Senator Dodd had very little to do with. We have him saying that he didn't know that Rezko was involved in wrongdoing...
DOBBS: Not to participate...
DAVIS: ... where is the media on...
DOBBS: Not to participate on the bias, Lanny. I think we get the point.
DAVIS: Double standard is my point.
DOBBS: Let me turn to Jim Zogby. At what point -- you certainly are the beneficiary of this imbalanced coverage if I can put it that way, how are you -- how is the campaign going to react to what is almost certainly going to be a I think probably an adjustment?
JAMES ZOGBY, SUPER DELEGATE SUPPORTING OBAMA: I'm not the beneficiary and I'm not going to go through talking points like Lanny did here. Let me make a point though. This game of politics always involves the ability to deal with media and to get your message through and control media and the Clinton people are not doing a good job.
They've tried. Lord knows they have tried. They tried with the Bosnia story. They blew it. They tried with the dream team story to demean and diminish the Obama campaign and they blew it there, too. They have tried to control the message and it has not worked frankly because it has not worked.
The calls for Senator Clinton to leave the race are based on that fact that numerically she simply cannot win and therefore all she can do is do what she is doing, which is try to beat up and draw some blood from...
DOBBS: Whoa, whoa, whoa...
ZOGBY: ... the front-runner...
DOBBS: Whoa, whoa, whoa...
ZOGBY: ... and make his candidacy in November...
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Numerically you say she can't win.
ZOGBY: Right.
DOBBS: That is in point of fact with certain assumptions made true. ZOGBY: Right.
DOBBS: If you don't make those assumptions, it is not true.
ZOGBY: Well I know, but the assumptions...
(CROSSTALK)
ZOGBY: The assumptions they tried to make is she tried to go to Michigan and do a little bit of I think incitement of Michigan voters. It was really not a fair thing to do.
(CROSSTALK)
ZOGBY: The fact is that the party rules have been very clear she keeps trying to change...
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: ... away from those talking points, Jim. Now if I may.
ZOGBY: Yeah.
DOBBS: The point is that neither will Senator Obama have the number of delegates necessary to clinch the nomination.
ZOGBY: But the simple fact here...
DOBBS: But...
ZOGBY: ... is that being about 170 up in pledged delegates and the polling with the super delegates, I think it's pretty clear the direction this is going in and that is all the columnists are saying is that if you cannot win this...
(CROSSTALK)
ZOGBY: ... and the only way you can win it is to have a 1968 moment at the convention, then is it in the good of the Democratic Party that you go forward with this? That is the issue that's out there right now.
(CROSSTALK)
ZOGBY: But I don't think you can make the case...
(CROSSTALK)
ZOGBY: ... that it is not...
DOBBS: Jim, may I say this before I turn...
ZOGBY: Sure.
DOBBS: ... to Lanny Davis that I want to first of all applaud your campaign as Senator Obama for having the best, the best, the best interest of the party at heart in that altruistic motivation is I think persuasive to many. Lanny Davis?
DAVIS: Well, first of all, I went through a series of facts that can't be disputed about misstatements by Senator Obama which I assume were honest mistakes. The media jumped to the word lie when Senator Clinton made an honest mistake. I say there is a double standard and secondly, Jim, with all due respect, you changed what you said. You said she can't win from you are relying on assumptions.
The fact is if she wins the way she surprised in Ohio and Texas, she won Ohio big. We have to win Ohio to win the White House. If she wins Pennsylvania, most of the rest of the primaries and comes in that convention...
(CROSSTALK)
DAVIS: ... ahead of John McCain in the polls, then that convention is going to nominate her over Barack Obama, because we are not a suicide party.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: OK, I'd like to turn now to Howard Kurtz. As we were watching these -- both Lanny and Jim duel a bit around the talking points and the positions of their campaign and understandably so, what is most troubling is, as you point out and acknowledge, the number of national news organizations, electronic as well as print, we should be absolutely clear, that have really taken on this idea that 10 more states should not vote, that it is perfectly rational that neither Michigan nor Florida should be enfranchised with the vote.
I mean, millions of Democratic voters have been disenfranchised as if there is no party preference whatsoever on the parties of the members of the DNC making these judgments. I mean, the national media is really messing this up a bit, don't you think?
KURTZ: Well, I don't have any problem, Lou, with journalists saying that it's an uphill struggle for Senator Clinton...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: ... the delegate math works against her, but when you get into these scenarios, I'm reminding of the fact that many of these same geniuses in the press said last summer that John McCain was dead, he was toast, he was finished and it seems to me he came back and he is the Republican nominee, so there obviously is some chance that Senator Clinton could win this nomination and we ought not in this business say that she ought to get out or suggest that it's hopeless until the voters have spoken.
DOBBS: As an Independent, with no vested interest whatsoever in the Democratic or the Republican side here, I don't recall a race in which we have seen quite the transparent favoritism that we have seen in this campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Lou, I don't think you can't say that. Look, I remember... DOBBS: Well, I was actually asking Howard Kurtz...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Sure.
DOBBS: ... who is something of an expert on this sort of thing...
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: ... he can dismiss me if he wishes.
KURTZ: Well, it is certainly true that most of the liberal columnists are for Senator Obama and against Senator Clinton, but you know they are in the commentary business, that's OK.
DOBBS: Sure.
KURTZ: But when that -- when you marry that to news coverage that seems to make the only operative question right now, not who is going to win Pennsylvania or Indiana, but whether or not Hillary Clinton is hurting the party and being selfish by staying in the race, the effect is one that looks like we are not being entirely fair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could I just -- maybe Jim and I will agree on this. What the news coverage should do is report issues and what Lou you try to do on your program is the candidates debating issues. The personal character attacks by the Obama campaign against Hillary Clinton, the whole stampede to call her a liar rather than an honest mistake is diverting the American people's attention from the issues and that is why she won Ohio, it's why she's going to win Pennsylvania and all of the battleground states that you have to win as a Democrat, because she is right on the issues.
DOBBS: Jim Zogby, you get the last word.
ZOGBY: Well, again, Lanny, I think that that's fine from your point of view. The fact is that you guys have tried to do it all along and it simply hasn't succeeded. The nastiness of this campaign has been one I think that is difficult for all Democrats to deal with, which is why I think there are increasing calls that it just be over.
It is not disenfranchising people. What it is saying to Democrats is do we really need to continue to draw blood and beat up our candidates before November...
DOBBS: So it's a position of the Obama campaign...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... should we not have a different campaign.
DOBBS: It's the position of the Obama campaign that you should simply foreclose...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
DOBBS: Ten primaries...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
DOBBS: ... and the voters in those states...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. Not at all.
DOBBS: ... and disenfranchise the voters...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm saying...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what some Democrats are saying.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
DOBBS: And disenfranchise the voters in Michigan and Florida.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Is that the position?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is not the position of the campaign and Senator Obama himself said she ought to stay in if she wants to stay in. I'm saying this is what others have said, Senator Leahy has said and others have said...
DOBBS: And Senator Dodd and Senator Durbin...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
DOBBS: ... and former Governor Bill Richardson...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I would say...
DOBBS: ... or Governor Bill Richardson...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that the cases of Michigan and Florida need to be dealt with quite separately. They broke party rules. Frankly look I have a huge...
DOBBS: Jim, I've got to break...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... constituency in Michigan. I don't want them disenfranchised, but this was not done right and Michigan unfortunately has to come up with a better way to do it than what they have done so far.
DOBBS: Jim Zogby, thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
DOBBS: Howard Kurtz, thank you very much, sir. Lanny Davis, thank you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: And we want to hear from you on this question. Do you believe there is a media bias against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Barack Obama? We'd love to hear from you. Yes or no. We'll be bringing that -- those results at the end of the broadcast..."
and that Barack Obama has received a free ride from many pundits in the mainstream media as I have very thoroughly and credibly documented:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14665
MEDIA STUDY: Media Boost Obama, Bash “Billary” and "NBC Is Toughest on Hillary"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 9, 2008 - 1:01am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15133
The biased media wants Hillary to drop out; 3 moral reasons for her to stay in!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 28, 2008 - 8:47am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15111
MSNBC contact info to complain about their blatant anti-Hillary media bias!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 25, 2008 - 10:59pm.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15054
Jack Cafferty of CNN, an Obama apologist, did a hit job on Hillary on March 18!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 19, 2008 - 4:13am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15037
VIDEO: Howard Kurtz gave Stephen Colbert a good lesson about serious journalism!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 17, 2008 - 1:35am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15007
Howard Kurtz asks is media scrutiny of Obama helping to fuel Clinton's comeback?
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 13, 2008 - 9:44am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14997
Videos & Transcript: Keith Olbermann used Monday's Countdown to trash Hillary!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 12, 2008 - 9:03am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14942
Bill O'Reilly is right about "NBC News is leading the Obama cheerleading..."
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 6, 2008 - 2:38am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14933
Some much needed media scrutiny of Obama came just before his losses on Tuesday!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 5, 2008 - 4:08am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14911
VIDEO: Dan Abrams debated Jonathan Alter who called on Hillary to drop out now!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 3, 2008 - 5:37am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14910
Howard Kurtz asked the tough questions about pro-Obama & anti-Hillary media bias
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 3, 2008 - 4:43am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14909
Phil Griffin of MSNBC apologized to the Clinton campaign over Tucker Carlson!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on March 3, 2008 - 3:43am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14864
PA Gov. Ed Rendell said Hillary got "a bum rap" compared to Obama from the media
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 28, 2008 - 10:41am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14859
Keith Olbermann, being a biased apologist for Obama, has lost ALL of my respect!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 27, 2008 - 11:22pm.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14850
TRANSCRIPT: Howard Kurtz on the free pass that Obama is getting from the media!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 27, 2008 - 7:22am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14826
TRANSCRIPT: Obama is called "a guy that America is infatuated with & phenomenon"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 25, 2008 - 4:13am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14789
Dan Abrams Videos on Media Bias: Clinton vs. the Media and Clinton vs. the press
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 20, 2008 - 3:52pm.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14759
YouTube: Chris Matthews said Clinton Press Shop Composed of "Kneecappers"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 18, 2008 - 9:39am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14717
VIDEO: Chris Matthews said "I Felt This Thrill Going Up My Leg" As Obama Spoke!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 14, 2008 - 10:23am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14623
VIDEO: Dan Abrams on Super Tuesday media coverage: Media rooting against Hillary
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 5, 2008 - 6:29pm.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14606
Chris Cillizza admitted: "the Obama campaign has gotten very favorable coverage"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 4, 2008 - 10:08am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14569
VIDEOS: Dan Abrams on the media: Media smearing Hillary? & Muzzling Bill Clinton
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 1, 2008 - 6:16am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14472
VIDEO: "Dan Abrams argues the media invented a race war to bait" Obama & Hillary
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on January 21, 2008 - 10:33am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14454
VIDEO & ANALYSIS: What about the seeming apology of Chris Matthews to Hillary?
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on January 19, 2008 - 5:50am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14425
VIDEOS: Dan Abrams of MSNBC did a 3 part series exposing anti-Hillary media bias
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on January 15, 2008 - 9:14am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14414
Lee Cowan of NBC News said about Obama: "it's almost hard to remain objective"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on January 14, 2008 - 9:32am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14336
Howard Kurtz on Obama's "easy ride" & will the press "provide tougher scrutiny?"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on January 7, 2008 - 2:44am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14319
Carl Bernstein said about Barack Obama "he had a kind of free ride up until now"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on January 5, 2008 - 9:40am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14266
Dana Milbank on Hillary: "The press will savage her no matter what, pretty much"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on December 30, 2007 - 10:48pm.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14242
Joe Sestak did a great job of defending Hillary to a very biased Chris Matthews!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on December 28, 2007 - 5:40am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/13814
Why I think Chris Matthews crossed the line showing his own bias against Hillary
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on November 5, 2007 - 3:30am.
Chris Matthews and many other pundits just like him in the mainstream media are being very clearly unprofessional when it comes to the goal of being truly objective journalists and these links show that the current state of the media is definitely a broken system right now in my opinion!
It is nice to see that at least a few of these media pundits are being honest about the role that they are playing in this election as I have documented:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/13942
Media Pundit Admits: "We talk about polls... We're creating the inevitability"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on November 19, 2007 - 11:52pm.
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/
QuickVote
Do you believe there is a media bias against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Barack Obama?
Yes 72% 14385
No 28% 5714
Total Votes: 20099
This is not a scientific poll
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/23/rs.01.html
CNN RELIABLE SOURCES
Obama Challenges Media to Elevate Discussions of Racial Tensions; Market Meltdown
Aired March 23, 2008 - 10:00 ET
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: "Michael Medved, the investigative reporting required to do this story basically involved going to the church gift shop and purchasing some of these sermons on DVD for, you know, $9.95, or whatever. Why in this whole more than a year of Obama's presidential candidacy did journalists not seek to do that until FOX News and ABC broke the story last week?
MICHAEL MEDVED, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I think that's a complicated question. And it also goes to basically the strategy here that it seems to me that Obama decided to follow with his speech.
Yes, I think it was a courageous speech in some ways, and yes -- but it was also an attempt to change the subject. Because the truth is that people responded indignantly to Reverend Wright not because he's black. It's not about race, it's not because of the racial outlook of the church, which very specifically defines itself as an afrocentric church and emphasizes blackness, blackness, blackness.
They didn't respond to it that way. If a white pastor had made the comments that Jeremiah Wright had made, people would have been equally indignant.
So there was a decision that was made here to cover this as a racial issue, and it seems to me that this goes to the bigger point, which is that from the time he's announced his campaign, Barack Obama has had kid gloves treatment. I think people are so eager in this country to welcome a credible, strong, articulate, enormously talented black presidential candidate, that he has gotten much lighter treatment than either McCain or Clinton..."
Some are uncertain about the idea, and some are totally against it. The first black President will have to be someone whom the majority of the people feel will not be too ethnocentric and socialistic (i.e. hand the store over to blacks via increased welfare, affirmative action, or even reparations). BO has shown through his support of an Afrocentric, black-liberation-theologic church that his ideas might be racist and even communistic. Nixon went to China, but Obama isn't going to Pennsylvania Avenue.
If Lou Dobbs & O'Reilly keep hammering on this issue, maybe it will get some traction. I suspect that some kind of big network boycott might get more, but that is hard to carry off. The key issue, I think, is the Obamans support for voter disenfranchisement. That is an issue that resonates with everyone.
So help me, if O gets the nomination at the expense of FL and MI, I will not vote for him. If he gets it as a result of a fair fight, I might vote for him, tho in no case will I work and support.
and I think the D's need to got to an all-primary, winner-take-all systemn with no superdelegates involved. I sure wish WKC would have been the nominee--I still believe he would have had the best (maybe the only) chance against McCain.
The General gets it right.
Competence--What a concept!
If not for them, BO would not be ahead. And, of course, if we had winner-take-all, Hillary would be ahead due to big-state wins. As I've said before, I believe there were illegalities such as out-of-state-voters and immoral tactics such as strong-arming in the caucuses held for this nomination. (Interesting that BO's people accused Hillary's camp of such things in the Nevada caucuses!) In Obama, we have the Chicago machine gone nationwide!
I don't think that having winner-take-all primaries is a good idea. It's just undemocratic. But we do need to get rid of precinct caucuses and open primaries.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Make America All It Can Be!
Coming from a state that has open primaries I have to say that it's not really a big deal. Kind of nice that you don't have to register, it's the best way to include independants as they only have to certify that they won't vote in the other parties primary. I benefited from having republicans cross over and vote for me when I ran for local election against a long serving Democrat in the primary. (Didn't win, but I got a decent share of vots...many from people who never vote Democratic)
We really should move to a regional primary calnder. There is a lot of talk of this happening and I think it would be a good way to re-structure. Though the real 800 pound gorrila in the room is the pressing need for public financing.
Ron Esquerra
Alger County Democratic Party
Upper Peninsula Veterans Coordinator-
www.michigan4clark.com
the most democratic. (My comment about Hillary and winner-take-all was just an observation). As to open primaries (see below)I do not agree with that concept. I believe Dems should choose Dems, Repubs should choose Repubs, etc. If people are indies, I believe they have given up the right to participate in party politics and should vote only in the general. Moreover, the manipulation that has gone on in this election season is so appalling that the democratic system itself has been greatly compromised.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/01/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Clinton Makes Declaration to Fight Until the End; McCain Defends Policies on the Economy
Aired April 1, 2008 - 19:00 ET
LOU DOBBS, HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Good evening everybody.
Senator Clinton today declared she will fight to the very end in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Senator Clinton said she will never give up, despite rising pressure from the Obama campaign and its supporters and the media to quit. House Speaker Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi today said the election must run its course, but she said Democrats must unite around one candidate before the party's convention in August.
We have extensive coverage tonight from our reporters on the campaign trail and we begin with Dan Lothian in Philadelphia.
Dan, strong words from Senator Clinton today. Tell us precisely what she said.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well that's right. You know as you were saying, she has been coming out and saying that she is not getting out of this race, but today she took it to another level, essentially putting in exclamation mark on that statement.
She invoked the name of "Rocky Balboa" and for those of you who are not familiar with that movie "Rocky", the first one was shot here in Philadelphia. In fact, I'm standing in front of the art museum and those steps behind me those are the steps that Rocky ran up during the movie. And so essentially what she was doing is equating her fight to stay in the race and his fight in the ring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten half way up those art museum stairs and said, I guess that's about far enough? That's not the way it works. Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common.
I never quit, I never give up. And I know that we're going make it together, not just up those stairs, but we're going to climb that mountain to a better day for America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: What's interesting is that this entire controversy had somewhat been dying down a bit. There were no loud voices, big name voices like Senator Patrick Leahy coming out today and saying she should step down. In fact, Senator Barack Obama was asked the question whether she should get out of the race this morning on a radio show here in Pennsylvania and he said as long as she wanted to stay in the race that she should stay in the race.
But it was Senator Clinton who actually brought it up today. She was speaking to members at the AFLCIO meeting here in Philadelphia today and she was the one who brought up the comment about Rocky, essentially Lou just digging in her heels, saying that she's not going anywhere.
DOBBS: Dan, thank you very much. Dan Lothian in Philadelphia, Dan, if you would stand by there for us. We're going...
LOTHIAN: OK.
DOBBS: We're likely to come back to you here later in the broadcast.
House Speaker Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi today said she now wants the Democratic race to continue until the last round of primaries. The speaker also said the party's super delegates have a right to vote as they wish in the convention. Bill Schneider has our report from Washington.
Bill, did Speaker Pelosi change her position on the super delegates and when to end this race today?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, she didn't really change it. She was ambivalent. Because you know what, the party rules are ambivalent about this. She says the delegates have a right to vote their conscience, not just the super delegates, but all the delegates under party rules can vote their conscience, but they have to be -- they are supposed to be a fair reflection, the rules say, of what the primary and caucus voters have said.
But at the same time, she said if the votes of the super delegates overturn what happened in the election, it would do great damage to the party, so she was sort of taking both sides of that, which is exactly what the party rules say. That you know they're supposed to fairly reflect the primary voters, at the same time they're supposed to vote their conscience.
DOBBS: Bill, Speaker Pelosi was basically calling for Clinton to shut it down a couple of days ago. And now Barack Obama is saying you know, which by the way I think is amazing, it's very kind of him to say that she may stay in the race.
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
DOBBS: I mean this has reached a silly, silly proportion. And the reason it has reached this silly, silly position right now in my opinion is because we in the national media have played along with this pro Obama nonsense for a very long time.
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think the national media has calculated here and I've done this calculation, is it's difficult to see how Senator Clinton can overtake Obama in either pledged delegates or popular votes. The calculation I did shows that in order to overtake his delegate lead, pledged delegates, he's behind in super delegates.
She would have to win about two-thirds of the remaining pledged delegates. That's very tough for her to do. And in popular votes, she would have to win about 56 percent of the remaining voters. She's done that in only a few primaries, so it just looks a very difficult thing for her to accomplish. Some people in the Obama camp say well if it's so tough, why doesn't she just get out now and spare us all the battle.
DOBBS: If I may say, you have got some broccoli, some onions and some apples in all of that. Bill, let me ask you this. As an Independent and I've got no view one way or the other on the Republican or the Democratic side of this thing. But what you said was she can't win the nomination. Neither can Senator Obama.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: The fact is they're separated by just about 130 delegate votes.
SCHNEIDER: That's exactly right.
DOBBS: And she has the lead in super delegate votes, so why in the world is there this compulsion, this absolute insistence in the national media to talk about the fact she can't win the nomination? Neither can Senator Obama. And I have never seen in my career greater favoritism being applied in the national media broadly speaking than in this campaign in behalf of Senator Obama and against Senator Clinton.
SCHNEIDER: Well you're exactly right that neither one of the two candidates is likely to be able to win a majority of the delegates before the convention. The super delegates is going to make one or the other of them finally the nominee. Closure is going reach -- be reached by the super delegates. (CROSSTALK)
SCHNEIDER: Historical role is what they did with Walter Mondale. He didn't reach a majority either, but he was ahead in pledged delegates, so they made him the nominee.
DOBBS: But Bill, this is going on without challenge in too many quarters in the national media and I'm talking about major broadcasts, news organizations, major cable news organizations, major newspapers and magazines and it's going on unchallenged. And it's absolutely to me obscene. Have you ever seen anything like it?
SCHNEIDER: Not really. This is a little different from anything I've ever seen before. It's a very different race from anything I've ever seen before, very close. We saw something like it with Kennedy and Carter in 1980 where people were saying that Kennedy's cause was hopeless. That he shouldn't take it to the convention. Well he never gave up either. He took it to the convention. He ended up losing the vote there.
DOBBS: Well and the very idea that this should not go to convention, that this should not be decided by the super delegates, could we put forward this headline for everyone in the national media supporting either Obama or Clinton? This race, unless there is something amazing in terms of a development unforeseen here, will be decided by the super delegates. Is that a correct statement?
SCHNEIDER: That is correct.
DOBBS: All right. Perhaps we should headline it, Bill Schneider, if you will stick around just for a minute. I want to go back to Dan Lothian for a moment on this very issue. Dan, Senator Clinton, how is she changing her strategy? How is she adapting to benefit from what is now a clear, a clear demonstration of favoritism in the national media for Senator Obama and against her?
LOTHIAN: Well Lou, she really is taking advantage of this controversy. In essence what she's doing is she's rallying supporters, trying to get the word out to voters, not only when she's out at her events, but also in fund-raising letters. And she's structuring her story this way, saying listen, all of these people who are trying to get me to get out of the race are essentially trying to suppress your vote.
They're trying to keep your vote from counting. So she's using that because she realizes that obviously when voters hear those buzz words, suppression of votes, they can get all riled up. And so she's hoping that that can sort of energize the base to not only for vote for her, but also donate to her campaign.
DOBBS: And I would like to hear from both of you, if I may ask, on this issue. The importance of enfranchising those voters -- Democratic voters in Michigan and Florida, the Democratic Party has literally crushed their right to vote in this presidential campaign, one that is so close, so critical. Bill Schneider, is it at all likely that we're going to see the Democratic national Committee awaken to its responsibilities and do the conscionable thing, that is to give those people in Michigan and Florida their vote?
SCHNEIDER: I think it's very likely and what they're trying to do is work out a formula, Congressman Stupak of Michigan tried to present one just yesterday, work out a formula whereby Michigan delegates and perhaps Florida delegates will be seated at the convention.
I'm reasonably certain that they will be seated, because they don't want to lose those two big states. They'll be seated, but they don't want those two states to determine who wins the nomination because then the loser will say the process was unfair, so they want them to be there...
DOBBS: Well, let me say this...
SCHNEIDER: ... you know...
DOBBS: And I would like to hear this from you as well, Dan Lothian, but first, Bill. There is nothing more unfair than not, not to have those votes counted in Michigan and Florida. And if this is decided by super delegates without recognizing and counting and enfranchising those voters in Michigan and Florida, that's when we'll hear something unfair is it not?
SCHNEIDER: It is exactly right. And that's the big danger to Democrats right now. The danger is not that the contest will go on or that it will become very intense. The danger is that whoever loses will be able to say I was cheated. The process was unfair. That's what happened in 1968 when the party nominated Hubert Humphrey who didn't run in a single primary.
DOBBS: Dan Lothian...
LOTHIAN: Hey, Lou, Lou...
DOBBS: Yes, sir.
LOTHIAN: Yes, if I can just point something out here. You know everything that you've been talking about is right on point there, but also whatever solution anyone comes up with, you have to get both of the candidates to really sign off on this. And for example, in Michigan what we saw is that Senator Clinton really wanted -- sort of was endorsing a revote.
And Senator Obama was looking more sort of a division of the delegates, so I mean that's crucial here. Someone may come up with a good plan as to how to deal with Florida and Michigan, but in the end ultimately both of the candidates have to sign off on this.
DOBBS: Well a division of the delegates is not a vote. And a vote is required to be Democratic with both a small "d" and a large "D" in both in Michigan and in Florida. Can we agree on that, gentlemen?
SCHNEIDER: That is true.
DOBBS: All right. Dan is not going to vote on this, are you?
(LAUGHTER)
DOBBS: Come on, Dan...
LOTHIAN: I'll abstain.
DOBBS: You abstain.
LOTHIAN: I'll vote present on that one.
DOBBS: All right. Well that is rather Obama-like I think is the way we...
(LAUGHTER)
DOBBS: And we'll see whether or not his view prevails or Senator Clinton's.
Dan Lothian, thank you very much. Bill Schneider, thank you both, gentlemen...
prevent the party from nominating an unelectable candidate, not to rubberstamp the votes put forth in primaries and caucuses! And, if Hillary were leading in regular delegates, the Obamaniac MSM would be squalling what I just wrote!
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/11/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Obama Aide Quits; Battle Over Iraq; Unemployment Bill Defeated; Chinese Espionage: New Evidence of Computer Hacking; Abu Dhabi Makes bid for Chrysler Building
Aired June 11, 2008 - 19:00 ET
LOU DOBBS, HOST: "Well as Suzanne reported, the McCain campaign blasted Obama over the resignation of Jim Johnson. The McCain campaign saying Obama only makes what it called the right call when under pressure from the news media. Then Obama's advisers hitting back again accusing McCain of being too close to special interests.
The Obama campaign also targeted McCain adviser Carly Fiorina, saying "she presided over thousands of lay-offs at Hewlett Packard while receiving a $21 million severance package and $650,000 in mortgage assistance." This is of course the same Carly Fiorina who I criticized more than four years ago on the issue of outsourcing of American jobs, off shoring production.
It was Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard, who said famously, or notoriously, "there is no job that is America's God-given right anymore." At the time, she was the CEO of Hewlett Packard. She was defending corporate America's practice of shipping those middle class American jobs to cheap overseas labor markets.
Carly Fiorina now Senator John McCain's economic -- I can't even say it -- I apologize -- economics adviser. We'll have more I'm sure on this subject in the days and weeks ahead.
Well turning now to the sudden resignation from the Obama campaign today of course is not the first controversy over people closely associated with Senator Obama. Obama's former policy adviser, Samantha Power, quit the campaign after she called Hillary Clinton a monster. Senator Obama's economic adviser, Austin Goolsby, faced strong criticism after he met with Canadian officials and reportedly said Senator Obama's tough talk against free trade is simply political posturing. And then of course there was the huge controversy over Obama's former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright who made inflammatory, anti-American comments from the pulpit of Obama's church and at that same church, who could ever forget this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. MICHAEL PFLEGER, MOCKED HILLARY CLINTON: I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show!
(APPLAUSE)
(SOUNDS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Unforgettable. Unforgettable. That's Reverend Michael Pfleger who openly mocked Senator Clinton from the pulpit of Obama's church. Captivating, don't you think? He said Clinton became tearful on the campaign trail because as you heard him say, a black man was stealing her show. He was suspended by the archbishop of Chicago. He of course protested the suspension, thinking it was undeserved..."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0807/10/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
"Nation of Whiners"; Iran Missiles -- Fact or Fiction?; Karl Rove Refuses to Obey House Committee Subpoena; Department of Cheap Labor
Aired July 10, 2008 - 19:00 ET
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: "Another top campaign adviser, Carly Fiorina, also being criticized for her views on so-called free trade and jobs. Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She presided over thousands of lay-offs at Hewlett-Packard before she was ultimately fired herself.
Fiorina defended her outsourcing of middle class jobs to cheap overseas labor market. She said famously, or infamously, "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore."
Lou is on to something here. The joke was that she made HP's core competency, "downsizing". She got a multi-million dollar package during the Compaq/HP merger and another multi-million dollar golden parachutes when they canned her. She was big on buzz words like "synergy" etc.. She is a poster child for what is wrong with corporate America.
It feels so good to hear the topic being discussed..FINALLY.