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Ohio Primary Live Blog

  • Author: Ben Keeler
  • Filed under: Presidential
  • Date: Mar 4,2008

Ben's Header
Kyle's Header
Finally, we are here. Vermont, Rhode Island, and Texas also report tonight and we will have it all covered here. I will be reporting from my couch, Kyle from the Obama party at the Highland Theater. I have predicted a Clinton win all along, and I have strange feeling she is going to overperform in Texas. We shall see. Keep refreshing the page all night for the latest news - with the latest comments at the top of the page.

1:43 (BK): McCain must have taken speech classes the last few weeks, because he looked and sounded a lot better. The picture NBC is showing him with a checkmark when he wins a state looks like it is from the mid 1980s.

1:21 (BK): Things seems to have died down and we will clearly have more analysis tomorrow. Kyle will be on with Ray Horner in the AM on 1590 to discuss what happened last night. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. I'll be hanging around for a couple of more hours, so if anyone else wants to comment, I will see it tonight.

12:48 (BK): NBC News says Clinton has won Texas. 3 out of 4 tonight. I don't think we have heard the last about Florida and Michigan.

12:42 (BK): Olbermann has been tolerable tonight. That is something I dont say often. Though I really dont like MSNBC, they have had the best coverage this primary season. Except they keep saying "Breaking News: Obama wins Vermont." Not so much anymore.

12:18 (BK): It is pretty astonishing how large Clinton's lead is here. I dont think anyone would have quite predicted a win this big.

12:06: (BK): I got distracted. I lost to Debbie Fink in the precinct captain race. Congrats to her.

11:39 (BK): Also congrats to Strickland I guess. Big win for him.

11:26 (KK): Congrats to Senator Clinton and her supporters. The fight goes on.

11:07 (BK): Anyone still think she is dropping out tomorrow? The focus turns to Texas now.

11:00 (BK): Hillary wins Ohio! My predictions are back!

10:58 (KK): We are still waiting for meaningful numbers in terms of delegates. Tough night for Jenny B.

10:34 (BK): The Clinton strongholds are pretty much in. We'll see if Obama can make up the ground in the cities. It will be tough.

10:29 (BK): Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul have won their primaries.

10:17 (BK): With about all precincts in Franklin County reporting, Obama is up only 55-45. He will need to do much much better in Cuyahoga County and Hamilton County if he has any chance at all.

9:59 (BK): Clinton narrowing the gap in Texas. Will Michelle Obama be ashamed of Texans after tonight? No results yet from any precinct in OH-10. 24% in here in Ohio…still 58-40% Clinton.

9:42 (BK): If anyone cares, and I do, Ohio State beat Purdue tonight to stop their losing streak. 15% in; Clinton leads 58-40%.

9:25 (BK): The streak is over. Clinton has won RI.

9:23 (KK): Obama watch party is packed house. People here are hoping Texas gets called before Ohio because it raises expectations for Hillary.

9:08 (BK): McCain officially wins the GOP nomination - he has enough delegates now. Later Huckabee.

8:59 (BK): Wow. Bill Clinton gave 58 interviews in Texas today. That is a hell of a lot. I am actually impressed by that. Can we get some results from Ohio? I mean seriously…..polls closed 90 minutes ago. And why are results even coming in from texas before the whole state was done voting? Wasnt that not supposed to happen anymore.

8:53 (BK): Paul Begala on CNN called John McCain 'John Sidney McCain." I'll wait for the outrage……..

8:42 (BK): Cuyahoga County won't count ballots until 9 due to "ballot shortage." If you are a judge in Cuyahoga County, you know you are probably going to be issuing an injunction on election day. I hope it really is a ballot shortage, and just not people showing up late to vote. Just because you show up at 7:31, it doesn't mean you can vote. Polls close at 7:30.

8:41 (KK): They called Ohio for McCain. It looks like Huckaboom will end tonight. I respect his campaigns use of Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris doesn't read books.

8:35 (BK): Looks like I wont be having to give Jennifer Brunner credit!!! This state is such an embarassment.

8:31 (KK): We may know the Texas results before Ohio.

8:07 (KK): Still waiting on any real numbers. I'm not seeing anything because of Sandusky County.

7:59 (BK): Late deciders in Texas for Hillary?

7:51 (KK): Projection tv problems at the Highland Theater. We have audio though and I hear Ohio is too close to call.

7:45 (BK): While we wait for results to start coming in, looks like Obama doesn't like to answer tough questions from the media. I am sure someone asking him something that wasn't a softball was new to him.

7:34 (BK): We will also be covering what happens between Cimperman and Kucinich in OH-10. Not worth saying, but McCain has won Ohio.

7:31 (KK): Here we go. I think it is going to be a late night for Ohio results. I'm heading into the Highland Theater and will give updates from there. Good luck to all cheering for a candidate tonight.

7:04 (BK): And obviously Obama won Vermont.

6:59 (BK): Exit polls are showing a close race here…within about 2 points. Thought the Time exit polls show voters think Obama would be the best against McCain.



42 Responses for "Ohio Primary Live Blog"

  1. NixGuy.com » Live Blogging March 4th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

    [...] Keeler is also liveblogging at the point. Filed under: General by — Dave @ 7:29 [...]

  2. Joe M March 4th, 2008 at 7:45 pm

    Keeler hoping for the Romney upset!

  3. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

    HILL-DAWG!!!!

  4. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    so true BK so true, that fool has gotten the best love job in the media since Princess DIana. So glad that Ohio isn't as dumb as other states. I thought they closed the HIghland theatre?

  5. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    HILL-DAWG is killing in the burbs.

  6. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    HILL-DAWG gets better than a 5% spread fo shizzle

  7. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    HILL-DAWG

  8. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    HILL-DAWG takes ohio & texas, its on like donkey kong for the nomination

  9. angry conserv March 4th, 2008 at 8:02 pm

    I see T. Sawyer is running again for public office. I quess some people are just born to be in the public domain in some form. For the rest of us we we can only aspire for a real job.

  10. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 8:03 pm

    WOW love the good word from the lone star state just makes me wanna shout out wooot wooot for HILL-DAWG

  11. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 8:04 pm

    is this a conversation, how come kk & bk don't respond & are you 2 related?

  12. HILL-DAWG March 4th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    you are right angry conserv, That Sawyer learned at a young age to get other people to do his work, with that fence painting stunt, and ever since then has just kind of scammed thru life in public office

  13. JoBoo March 4th, 2008 at 8:26 pm

    Looks like Obama is ahead in Texas…Hillary is winning in the rural areas and Obama is killing in the cities…no results from SOuth Texas yet though and I think Hillary will make a comeback and make it close, but she needs to make up over 100,000 votes
    Go Obama
    If he wins either state it's over!!

  14. JoBoo March 4th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

    To early in Ohio…and Hillary is expected to to well in the area's that have reported in Ohio so far. Come and talk to me after Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo have reported, and then we will have a better picture.
    It will be close, but Hillary should win Ohio.

  15. JoBoo March 4th, 2008 at 8:41 pm

    Just heard that Bush plans to endorse MCcain tomorrow…that's a gift to all dems!!
    I wonder how much Mccain will try to distance himself from Bush, if any.
    As a dem I have to think the more Bush and mccain are on the same stange the better for us.

  16. Ben Keeler March 4th, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    He has to endorse him. It would be a bigger story if he didnt. You know that.

  17. Hollywood March 4th, 2008 at 9:01 pm

    McCain won the nomination shocking.

  18. fred March 4th, 2008 at 9:16 pm

    looks like it is going to be a long night gentlemen

  19. TimJayFitz March 4th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    I have to work at 11 - I hope wksu sticks with the coverage….

  20. TimJayFitz March 4th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

    Is there anything more anti-climatic then a Huckabee concession speech at this point.

  21. TimJayFitz March 4th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    Kyle - describe the kind of people at the party. Highland Square types? Adults? 20somethings?

  22. Dan March 4th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    Ohio State?

    GO ZIPS!

    Ha!

  23. anne March 4th, 2008 at 9:46 pm

    Don't know why Huckabee chose this particular night to withdraw from contention and throw support to McCain. Maybe he was trying to draw a little media attention to the Republicans, as most of the attention will be focused on the Dems. tonight.

  24. jimmy james March 4th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

    Quick, McCain is speaking. How many times will he say "My Friends."

    Drinking game!!!

  25. pb March 4th, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    whats up with the link to summit county results

  26. Dan March 4th, 2008 at 10:02 pm

    pb, check again. For some reason when I put the page together, Summit County still didn't t have a direct link to the results page.

  27. BizzyBlog » Super Tuesday Jr. Live Post March 4th, 2008 at 10:05 pm

    [...] 10:05 p.m. - Northeast Ohioans who want to check in on results up there, including Dennis Kucinich's defense of his 10th District congressional seat, might want to check out Ben Keeler's live coverage at The Point. [...]

  28. TimJayFitz March 4th, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    Cuyahoga won't be into until 4 am.
    Houston is not counted yet in Texas.

  29. Yippee Skippee March 4th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

    good to see Anne Coughlin and Scott Sigel losing. They both should be ashamed of themselves, and their recent actions.

  30. anne March 4th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    In response to TJF the kind of people you see at the Obama watch party have on rose colored glasses and stars in their eyes

  31. Silent Majority March 4th, 2008 at 11:23 pm

    It is embarrassing that Ohio went to Clinton. It is a good indication of how backwards this state is. The 8 years of Bill and the last 8 years of GW have been disasterous for this state. Yet these yahoos keep voting for the political establishment. The idiot Ohioans succumbed to the foolish rumors that Obama is a muslim and that Obama is somehow less ready to be the next commander in chief (he was right on Iraq, not Hillary).

    Even if Hillary had served 50 years in the Senate, she got the most important question of the last 40 years wrong. I do not understand how people can let this "experience" thing get to them. It makes you wonder if there should not be democracy. Now she is talking about NAFTA. Give me a break.

  32. Silent Majority March 4th, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    She is ripping on Bush, but it was she who followed him to Iraq. Ugh, I am not even the biggest Obama supporter, but to let Hillary win. On every point in the debate last Tuesday he out-smarted her. CHRIST, she is not even a graceful winner.

  33. Silent Majority March 4th, 2008 at 11:28 pm

    Yeah, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones has done a lot for East Cleveland. That place needs the national guard. I will quit typing because I am going to vomit.

  34. Dave March 5th, 2008 at 12:52 am

    ahhhhh Ben…. regarding your comment at 12:18, please read my comment from yesterday's blog. Thank you very much.

    I wished I was as on as it relates to the local R races. How disappointing. Get ready for the big ARA gloat fest.

    Sorry about your race. Deb's been on the ballot a lot over the years. It was an uphill battle but you should be commended for putting your name out there.

    Let's hope reasonable minds will prevail in April/May at the big CC organizational meeting. In the meantime, we can just sit back and watch the Dems beat up on each other for the next few months.

  35. Ben Keeler March 5th, 2008 at 12:54 am

    Fink was one of the biggest 2 or 3 names they had. I never really had a chance. I care more that our side wins, not so much my individual race.

    Thanks Dave

  36. Kyle Kutuchief March 5th, 2008 at 1:04 am

    ugh, congrats to Senator Clinton. It looks like this race is going on.

  37. timjayfitz March 5th, 2008 at 2:05 am

    Annie - those glasses are on you. Clinton has no chance of winning the nomination. Its always been about her huge ego. She doesn't give 2 f@$ks about the Dems or you. Clinton cares about Clinton.
    She never would have ran in the first place if she really was a loyal Democrat.
    Now the only thing she can accomplish is the destruction of a party that should be a shoe-in in the fall.

  38. Truth_speaks_volumes March 5th, 2008 at 2:19 am

    http://www.counterpunch.org/gonzalez02292008.html

    February 29, 2008

    Count Me Out
    The Obama Craze
    By MATT GONZALEZ

    Part of me shares the enthusiasm for Barack Obama. After all, how could someone calling themself a progressive not sense the importance of what it means to have an African-American so close to the presidency? But as his campaign has unfolded, and I heard that we are not red states or blue states for the 6th or 7th time, I realized I knew virtually nothing about him.

    Like most, I know he gave a stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. I know he defeated Alan Keyes in the Illinois Senate race; although it wasn't much of a contest (Keyes was living in Maryland when he announced). Recently, I started looking into Obama's voting record, and I'm afraid to say I'm not just uninspired: I'm downright fearful. Here's why:

    This is a candidate who says he's going to usher in change; that he is a different kind of politician who has the skills to get things done. He reminds us again and again that he had the foresight to oppose the war in Iraq. And he seems to have a genuine interest in lifting up the poor.

    But his record suggests that he is incapable of ushering in any kind of change I'd like to see. It is one of accommodation and concession to the very political powers that we need to reign in and oppose if we are to make truly lasting advances.

    THE WAR IN IRAQ

    Let's start with his signature position against the Iraq war. Obama has sent mixed messages at best.

    First, he opposed the war in Iraq while in the Illinois state legislature. Once he was running for US Senate though, when public opinion and support for the war was at its highest, he was quoted in the July 27, 2004 Chicago Tribune as saying, "There's not that much difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage.
    The difference, in my mind, is who's in a position to execute." The Tribune went on to say that Obama, "now believes US forces must remain to stabilize the war-ravaged nation ­ a policy not dissimilar to the current approach of the Bush administration."

    Obama's campaign says he was referring to the ongoing occupation and how best to stabilize the region. But why wouldn't he have taken the opportunity to urge withdrawal if he truly opposed the war? Was he trying to signal to conservative voters that he would subjugate his anti-war position if elected to the US Senate and perhaps support a lengthy occupation? Well as it turns out, he's done just that.

    Since taking office in January 2005 he has voted to approve every war appropriation the Republicans have put forward, totaling over $300 billion. He also voted to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State despite her complicity in the Bush Administration's various false justifications for going to war in Iraq. Why would he vote to make one of the architects of "Operation Iraqi Liberation" the head of US foreign policy? Curiously, he lacked the courage of 13 of his colleagues who voted against her confirmation.

    And though he often cites his background as a civil rights lawyer, Obama voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act in July 2005, easily the worse attack on civil liberties in the last half-century. It allows for wholesale eavesdropping on American citizens under the guise of anti-terrorism efforts.

    And in March 2006, Obama went out of his way to travel to Connecticut to campaign for Senator Joseph Lieberman who faced a tough challenge by anti-war candidate Ned Lamont. At a Democratic Party dinner attended by Lamont, Obama called Lieberman "his mentor" and urged those in attendance to vote and give financial contributions to him. This is the same Lieberman who Alexander Cockburn called "Bush's closest Democratic ally on the Iraq War." Why would Obama have done that if he was truly against the war?

    Recently, with anti-war sentiment on the rise, Obama declared he will get our combat troops out of Iraq in 2009. But Obama isn't actually saying he wants to get all of our troops out of Iraq. At a September 2007 debate before the New Hampshire primary, moderated by Tim Russert, Obama refused to commit to getting our troops out of Iraq by January 2013 and, on the campaign trail, he has repeatedly stated his desire to add 100,000 combat troops to the military.

    At the same event, Obama committed to keeping enough soldiers in Iraq to "carry out our counter-terrorism activities there" which includes "striking at al Qaeda in Iraq." What he didn't say is this continued warfare will require an estimated 60,000 troops to remain in Iraq according to a May 2006 report prepared by the Center for American Progress. Moreover, it appears he intends to "redeploy" the troops he takes out of the unpopular war in Iraq and send them to Afghanistan. So it appears that under Obama's plan the US will remain heavily engaged in war.

    This is hardly a position to get excited about.

    CLASS ACTION REFORM:

    In 2005, Obama joined Republicans in passing a law dubiously called the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) that would shut down state courts as a venue to hear many class action lawsuits. Long a desired objective of large corporations and President George Bush, Obama in effect voted to deny redress in many of the courts where these kinds of cases have the best chance of surviving corporate legal challenges. Instead, it forces them into the backlogged Republican-judge dominated federal courts.

    By contrast, Senators Clinton, Edwards and Kerry joined 23 others to vote against CAFA, noting the "reform" was a thinly-veiled "special interest extravaganza" that favored banking, creditors and other corporate interests. David Sirota, the former spokesman for Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, commented on CAFA in the June 26, 2006 issue of The Nation, "Opposed by most major civil rights and consumer watchdog groups, this Big Business-backed legislation was sold to the public as a way to stop "frivolous" lawsuits. But everyone in Washington knew the bill's real objective was to protect corporate abusers."

    Nation contributor Dan Zegart noted further: "On its face, the class-action bill is mere procedural tinkering, transferring from state to federal court actions involving more than $5 million where any plaintiff is from a different state from the defendant company. But federal courts are much more hostile to class actions than their state counterparts; such cases tend to be rooted in the finer points of state law, in which federal judges are reluctant to dabble. And even if federal judges do take on these suits, with only 678 of them on the bench (compared with 9,200 state judges), already overburdened dockets will grow. Thus, the bill will make class actions ­ most of which involve discrimination, consumer fraud and wage-and-hour violations ­ all but impossible. One example: After forty lawsuits were filed against Wal-Mart for allegedly forcing employees to work "off the clock," four state courts certified these suits as class actions. Not a single federal court did so, although the practice probably involves hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide."

    Why would a civil rights lawyer knowingly make it harder for working-class people ( Or the people of Hunter Point suing Lennar) to have their day in court, in effect shutting off avenues of redress?

    CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATES:

    Obama has a way of ducking hard votes or explaining away his bad votes by trying to blame poorly-written statutes. Case in point: an amendment he voted on as part of a recent bankruptcy bill before the US Senate would have capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent. Inexplicably, Obama voted against it, although it would have been the beginning of setting these predatory lending rates under federal control. Even Senator Hillary Clinton supported it.

    Now Obama explains his vote by saying the amendment was poorly written or set the ceiling too high. His explanation isn't credible as Obama offered no lower number as an alternative, and didn't put forward his own amendment clarifying whatever language he found objectionable.

    Why wouldn't Obama have voted to create the first federal ceiling on predatory credit card interest rates, particularly as he calls himself a champion of the poor and middle classes? Perhaps he was signaling to the corporate establishment that they need not fear him. For all of his dynamic rhetoric about lifting up the masses, it seems Obama has little intention of doing anything concrete to reverse the cycle of poverty many struggle to overcome.

    LIMITING NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES:

    These seemingly unusual votes wherein Obama aligns himself with Republican Party interests aren't new. While in the Illinois Senate, Obama voted to limit the recovery that victims of medical malpractice could obtain through the courts. Capping non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases means a victim cannot fully recover for pain and suffering or for punitive damages. Moreover, it ignored that courts were already empowered to adjust awards when appropriate, and that the Illinois Supreme Court had previously ruled such limits on tort reform violated the state constitution.

    In the US Senate, Obama continued interfering with patients' full recovery for tortious conduct. He was a sponsor of the National Medical Error Disclosure and Compensation Act of 2005. The bill requires hospitals to disclose errors to patients and has a mechanism whereby disclosure, coupled with apologies, is rewarded by limiting patients' economic recovery. Rather than simply mandating disclosure, Obama's solution is to trade what should be mandated for something that should never be given away: namely, full recovery for the injured patient.

    MINING LAW OF 1872:

    In November 2007, Obama came out against a bill that would have reformed the notorious Mining Law of 1872. The current statute, signed into law by Ulysses Grant, allows mining companies to pay a nominal fee, as little as $2.50 an acre, to mine for hardrock minerals like gold, silver, and copper without paying royalties. Yearly profits for mining hardrock on public lands is estimated to be in excess of $1 billion a year according to Earthworks, a group that monitors the industry. Not surprisingly, the industry spends freely when it comes to lobbying: an estimated $60 million between 1998-2004 according to The Center on Public Integrity. And it appears to be paying off, yet again.

    The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 would have finally overhauled the law and allowed American taxpayers to reap part of the royalties (4 percent of gross revenue on existing mining operations and 8 percent on new ones). The bill provided a revenue source to cleanup abandoned hardrock mines, which is likely to cost taxpayers over $50 million, and addressed health and safety concerns in the 11 affected western states.

    Later it came to light that one of Obama's key advisors in Nevada is a Nevada-based lobbyist in the employ of various mining companies (CBS News "Obama's Position On Mining Law Questioned. Democrat Shares Position with Mining Executives Who Employ Lobbyist Advising Him," November 14, 2007).

    REGULATING NUCLEAR INDUSTRY:

    The New York Times reported that, while campaigning in Iowa in December 2007, Obama boasted that he had passed a bill requiring nuclear plants to promptly report radioactive leaks. This came after residents of his home state of Illinois complained they were not told of leaks that occurred at a nuclear plant operated by Exelon Corporation.

    The truth, however, was that Obama allowed the bill to be amended in Committee by Senate Republicans, replacing language mandating reporting with verbiage that merely offered guidance to regulators on how to address unreported leaks. The story noted that even this version of Obama's bill failed to pass the Senate, so it was unclear why Obama was claiming to have passed the legislation. The February 3, 2008 The New York Times article titled "Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate" by Mike McIntire also noted the opinion of one of Obama's constituents, which was hardly enthusiastic about Obama's legislative efforts:

    "Senator Obama's staff was sending us copies of the bill to review, and we could see it weakening with each successive draft," said Joe Cosgrove, a park district director in Will County, Ill., where low-level radioactive runoff had turned up in groundwater. "The teeth were just taken out of it."

    As it turns out, the New York Times story noted: "Since 2003, executives and employees of Exelon, which is based in Illinois, have contributed at least $227,000 to Mr. Obama's campaigns for the United States Senate and for president. Two top Exelon officials, Frank M. Clark, executive vice president, and John W. Rogers Jr., a director, are among his largest fund-raisers."

    ENERGY POLICY:

    On energy policy, it turns out Obama is a big supporter of corn-based ethanol which is well known for being an energy-intensive crop to grow. It is estimated that seven barrels of oil are required to produce eight barrels of corn ethanol, according to research by the Cato Institute. Ethanol's impact on climate change is nominal and isn't "green" according to Alisa Gravitz, Co-op America executive director. "It simply isn't a major improvement over gasoline when it comes to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions." A 2006 University of Minnesota study by Jason Hill and David Tilman, and an earlier study published in BioScience in 2005, concur. (There's even concern that a reliance on corn-based ethanol would lead to higher food prices.)

    So why would Obama be touting this as a solution to our oil dependency? Could it have something to do with the fact that the first presidential primary is located in Iowa, corn capital of the country? In legislative terms this means Obama voted in favor of $8 billion worth of corn subsidies in 2006 alone, when most of that money should have been committed to alternative energy sources such as solar, tidal and wind.

    SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE:

    Obama opposed single-payer bill HR676, sponsored by Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers in 2006, although at least 75 members of Congress supported it. Single-payer works by trying to diminish the administrative costs that comprise somewhere around one-third of every health care dollar spent, by eliminating the duplicative nature of these services. The expected $300 billion in annual savings such a system would produce would go directly to cover the uninsured and expand coverage to those who already have insurance, according to Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program.

    Obama's own plan has been widely criticized for leaving health care industry administrative costs in place and for allowing millions of people to remain uninsured. "Sicko" filmmaker Michael Moore ridiculed it saying, "Obama wants the insurance companies to help us develop a new health care plan-the same companies who have created the mess in the first place."

    NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT:

    Regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement, Obama recently boasted, "I don't think NAFTA has been good for Americans, and I never have." Yet, Calvin Woodward reviewed Obama's record on NAFTA in a February 26, 2008 Associated Press article and found that comment to be misleading: "In his 2004 Senate campaign, Obama said the US should pursue more deals such as NAFTA, and argued more broadly that his opponent's call for tariffs would spark a trade war. AP reported then that the Illinois senator had spoken of enormous benefits having accrued to his state from NAFTA, while adding that he also called for more aggressive trade protections for US workers."

    Putting aside campaign rhetoric, when actually given an opportunity to protect workers from unfair trade agreements, Obama cast the deciding vote against an amendment to a September 2005 Commerce Appropriations Bill, proposed by North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, that would have prohibited US trade negotiators from weakening US laws that provide safeguards from unfair foreign trade practices. The bill would have been a vital tool to combat the outsourcing of jobs to foreign workers and would have ended a common corporate practice known as "pole-vaulting" over regulations, which allows companies doing foreign business to avoid "right to organize," "minimum wage," and other worker protections.

    SOME FINAL EXAMPLES:

    On March 2, 2007 Obama gave a speech at AIPAC, America's pro-Israeli government lobby, wherein he disavowed his previous support for the plight of the Palestinians. In what appears to be a troubling pattern, Obama told his audience what they wanted to hear. He recounted a one-sided history of the region and called for continued military support for Israel, rather than taking the opportunity to promote the various peace movements in and outside of Israel.

    Why should we believe Obama has courage to bring about change? He wouldn't have his picture taken with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom when visiting San Francisco for a fundraiser in his honor because Obama was scared voters might think he supports gay marriage (Newsom acknowledged this to Reuters on January 26, 2007 and former Mayor Willie Brown admitted to the San Francisco Chronicle on February 5, 2008 that Obama told him he wanted to avoid Newsom for that reason.)

    Obama acknowledges the disproportionate impact the death penalty has on blacks, but still supports it, while other politicians are fighting to stop it. (On December 17, 2007 New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill banning the death penalty after it was passed by the New Jersey Assembly.)

    On September 29, 2006, Obama joined Republicans in voting to build 700 miles of double fencing on the Mexican border (The Secure Fence Act of 2006), abandoning 19 of his colleagues who had the courage to oppose it. But now that he's campaigning in Texas and eager to win over Mexican-American voters, he says he'd employ a different border solution.

    It is shocking how frequently and consistently Obama is willing to subjugate good decision making for his personal and political benefit.

    Obama aggressively opposed initiating impeachment proceedings against the president ("Obama: Impeachment is not acceptable," USA Today, June 28, 2007) and he wouldn't even support Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold's effort to censure the Bush administration for illegally wiretapping American citizens in violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. In Feingold's words "I'm amazed at Democrats cowering with this president's number's so low." Once again, it's troubling that Obama would take these positions and miss the opportunity to document the abuses of the Bush regime.

    CONCLUSION:

    Once I started looking at the votes Obama actually cast, I began to hear his rhetoric differently. The principal conclusion I draw about "change" and Barack Obama is that Obama needs to change his voting habits and stop pandering to win votes. If he does this he might someday make a decent candidate who could earn my support. For now Obama has fallen into a dangerous pattern of capitulation that he cannot reconcile with his growing popularity as an agent of change.

    I remain impressed by the enthusiasm generated by Obama's style and skill as an orator. But I remain more loyal to my values, and I'm glad to say that I want no part in the Obama craze sweeping our country.

  39. Ben Keeler March 5th, 2008 at 2:22 am

    Thank you. I am sure you just wrote that yourself. Though a lot of it is interesting.

  40. Alaskan Independent March 5th, 2008 at 2:54 am

    Anne Coughlin the former RHS librarian?

  41. Ben Keeler March 6th, 2008 at 12:16 am

    no….someone different. Anne Coughlin in this instance is the wife of Kevin Coughlin.

  42. Joe M March 6th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    Obama is going to answer for Rezko now. he will pay the price for dealing with him. The trial started this week and the BHO campaign was so worried they have sent a staffer there to watch.


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