The Hollywood Liberal

Obama at Low Point in Polls, Yet Still Ahead

Josh Orton at MyDD looks at the Pew Poll — which has Obama up 47-44 over McCain — and sees Bush being a major albatross for McCain.

Matt Stoller at Open Left says Orton is “missing the picture,” because Obama’s numbers came down three points thanks to “women, specifically, white women, who are unhappy and switching over to, mostly, undecided .. white women between the ages of 30-64, with a specific heavy loss among women between the ages of 50-64. In other words, this is Clinton’s bread and butter.”

But that’s 1) an understandable development of the protracted primary and 2) most likely a temporary development that won’t leave lasting damage to Obama’s prospects.

McCain has nothing to offer on women’s issues. Nothing to offer on reproductive freedom, equal pay, child care, or Social Security (very much a women’s issue as longer living women are more reliant on the benefits.)

Further, Marc Ambinder reports: “It’s an open secret in Republican and Democratic circles that less ideological Republican women and independent women are openly disdainful of John McCain in focus groups; they find him angry; they don’t believe that he’s equipped with the proper temperament to do the job.”

These voters shouldn’t be taken for granted and presumed to be eventual Obama voters. But after a little time for healing, and with more prominent women leading the charge, it’s likely that these women will return to the fold.

This is more evidence that Obama is at his low-point in the polls, yet he remains ahead.

19,000 GM workers take buyout
General Motors Corp said on Thursday about 19,000 U.S. factory workers — just over a quarter of its American blue-collar work force — had taken buyout offers to leave the automaker. GM is under increasing pressure to cut costs in the face of weak U.S. sales and high gas prices, and analysts said the struggling automaker would have to quickly move beyond sweeping hourly job cuts by slashing production, eliminating white-collar jobs and trimming other costs.

Allen: McClellan sounds like ?the left-wing haters.?
On Tuesday night, former Bush adviser Karl Rove responded to former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s explosive memoir by saying he “sounds like a left-wing blogger.” During an interview on right-wing talker Mike Gallagher’s radio show today, Politico’s Mike Allen echoed Rove’s dismissive response, claiming that McClellan had adopted “the vocabulary, rhetoric of the […]

On Tuesday night, former Bush adviser Karl Rove responded to former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s explosive memoir by saying he “sounds like a left-wing blogger.” During an interview on right-wing talker Mike Gallagher’s radio show today, Politico’s Mike Allen echoed Rove’s dismissive response, claiming that McClellan had adopted “the vocabulary, rhetoric of the left wing haters.”

Listen here:

Transcript: (more…)

Reid, Pelosi See End to Party Race
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both predicted a swift end to the Democratic presidential campaign once South Dakotans and Montanans cast the last ballots of the marathon primary season on Tuesday, saying there is little support among party leaders for a drawn-out…

N.Y. to Recognize Other Jurisdictions’ Gay Marriages
NEW YORK — Same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere will be recognized in New York state, according to the office of Gov. David A. Paterson.

McClellan: I Knew It All Along - New York Times

McCain Calls Out Obama on Iraq - Investor’s Business Daily

So Scott McClellan has come forward to denounce the Bush administration about just about everything they did the entire time he stood out in front of the press and spouted the most bald face lies with a straight face that anyone has ever told and apparently gotten away with. I beleive everything Scott is saying this time because I reported them all here. That Bush had used “propaganda” to decieve everyone into backing him on The Iraq War, which McClellan now says was a huge blunder. McClellan also implicates Rove, Libby, Rumsfeld, and possibly even the big guy, Dick Cheney.

The one thing that I don’t believe about Scottys assertions is that he did not know anything about any of this. He knew he was lying, but I’m still glad he wrote the book. Scotty explains

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, speaking out for the first time since publication of his searing memoir, told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he erroneously believed what President Bush was saying about the war but now is answering to a higher loyalty: “a loyalty to the truth.”

“The White House would prefer that I not talk openly about my experiences,” he said in a lengthy, at times combative interview with anchor Meredith Vieira. “These words didn’t come to me easy. … I’m disappointed that things didn’t turn out the way we all hoped they would.”

He added: “I have a higher loyalty than my loyalty necessary to my past work. That’s a loyalty to the truth.”

H.L.’s Take
Yeah Scotty now you have a loyalty to the truth, now that you have this book for sale that you can make a bunch of cash on. Sure you’re pissed off at them for throwing you out but don’t tell me that you didn’t know what was going on, because when you do that you insult my (our) intelligence, and that makes me very angry. Anyway it worked because I will pay, and am going on to Amazon and plunking down my $15.37 to find out all the details from the most mendacious of the all time liars. Now here an old classic of Scotty from back in the old days. It’s from July 12, 2005 and it’s called “Scott Mc Clellen Holds A Press Conference”

Another Team of Rivals?
NBC News notes that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell thinks Sen. Barack Obama might pick Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate — and that she should accept.

He also suggested the Illinois senator’s recent mention of Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin might have been a hint into his thinking.

Said Rendell: “I’ve said it before. I think when Sen. Obama was asked the question, he went out of his way to mention Team of Rivals, and if you read that book, Lincoln did a great thing by bringing his strongest rivals, who were the most competent people in America, into the government. I don’t think he said it — I know Sen. Obama — He doesn’t say anything by accident.”

Clinton Holds Big Lead in Puerto Rico
A new El Vocero/Univision poll in Puerto Rico shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama by 13 points, 51% to 38%, in advance of Sunday’s primary.

Wingnuts Run Their Standard Attack-The-Messenger Playbook On McClellan
It’s routine now. A BushCo insider (see O’Neal, Paul; Clarke, Richard; Adelman, Kenneth; Kuo, David; Wilkerson, Lawrence, etc., etc., etc.) exposes rampant BushCo malfeasance/corruption/incompetence, and instead of directly addressing or rebutting the issues raised, wingnuts break out literally the same four ad hominems in defense of the Great Leader: He’s just trying to sell books! Scott McClellan learns that the way to get good press as a Republican is to write a book burning a Republican president. He’s a liar! The question:

It’s all so predictable now. A BushCo insider (see O’Neill, Paul; Clarke, Richard; Adelman, Kenneth; Kuo, David; Wilkerson, Lawrence etc. etc. etc.) exposes rampant BushCo malfeasance/corruption/incompetence, and rather than directly addressing or rebutting the charges, the wingnuts break out the literally exactly the same four ad hominems in defense of the Great Leader: (updated)

1) He’s just trying to sell books!

Scott McClellan learns that the way to get good press as a Republican is to write a book burning a Republican president.

2) He’s a liar!

There’s always a demand for a professional liar.

3) He’s disgruntled!

“When you suck at your job, quit and write a book ripping your old boss.”

And my personal favorite — 4) He’s a liberal!!!

Bush’s legacy has been badly damaged by his staffing decisions, which included too many “loyal” Texans, too many liberals, and too many light-weights.

In this case, McClellan fits all three categories.

Hilarious.

You’d think by now the wingtards would be weary of these endless auto-da-fes. It’s not like they’re doing any good — the guy they’re trying to protect is sitting at 28%. It’s just that they love nothing more than to spew venom and point and shriek and attack, especially when one of their own turns heretic and tells the truth.

RedState sums up the entire right-wing blogosphere’s response to Scotty nicely:

What a scumbag.

Reow!

TP has more here. And the White House goes with #3 and calls McLellan “disgruntled.”

UPDATE

And now, according to the Cornerites, McClellan loves abortion and is pro-terrorist. Really.

And there’s this hilarious post from Kathleen Parker beginning,

I’m confused about Scott McClellan’s book. Without having read it…

So much fun.

Ricky Martin and Others Call on Puerto Ricans to Vote for Hillary

Hillary Clinton got more support in Puerto Rico today.(in Spanish, my translation skills are minimal but here is what I get):

The president of the Office of Dominican Subjects in Puerto Rico, Luis Aguasvivas, today exhorted to his compatriots in the Island to vote for Hillary Clinton.

….“The triumph in Puerto Rico of the senator Hillary Clinton will contribute to the development of social projects in favor of our community, in the fields of migratory reform… federal aid to programs of improvement of health, education, allocation of resources for the development of micro-enterprises, as well as of technical-vocational programs of education”, it maintained in an official notice.

Singer Ricky Martin issued this press release in Puerto Rico today, urging voters to mobilize and vote for Hillary. [More…]

“Senator Clinton has always been consistent with her commitment to the needs of our community for education, health and social welfare”, boricua in an official notice expressed the star.

….“As all we know these elections have historical repercussions for the United States as well as for the world. In the case of the presidential primary, … we must take this opportunity to exert our force”,

The article lists as other Hillary supporters:

Madonna, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Longoria, Jack Nicholson, America Ferrera, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Michael Douglas, Robert Kennedy Jr, Quincy Jones and Magic Jonson they had announced his support

We Still Here?
Stupid googleblogger.

‘Sharp Teeth’: A Ferociously Good Read
Author Toby Barlow’s epic poem about werewolves in Los Angeles is a page-turner with insights and imagery that will resonate long after you read it.

Yet Another GOP Senator Hits Airwaves Early, Suggesting Worry About Re-Election
This new ad from Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) is worth a watch — the fact that she’s on the air five months before the election suggests that yet another red-state Senator is worried about her re-election. Furthermore, the ad is…

Disgruntled?
Here’s the statement released by White House spokesperson Dana Perino on her predecessor’s new book: Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after…

Kirk Douglas funds 400 L.A. playgrounds
LOS ANGELES ? Kirk Douglas and his wife have dedicated their 400th school playground ? completing a decade-long effort to give Los Angeles kids a place to frolic…

McCain Adviser Phil Gramm Shaped McCain?s Economic Policy While Lobbying For Foreign Bank
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly said he relies on his economic advisers, including former senator Phil Gramm — “McCain’s econ brain” — to make up for his lack of experience on economic issues. “I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like…Phil Gramm,” he said in February. But […]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly said he relies on his economic advisers, including former senator Phil Gramm — “McCain’s econ brain” — to make up for his lack of experience on economic issues. “I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like…Phil Gramm,” he said in February.

But yesterday evening, MSNBC revealed that Gramm worked for the bank UBS “to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain” about economic policies. The revelations come as McCain banned several advisers from advising him on subjects covered by their lobbying work.

While Gramm was advising McCain, he was paid by UBS to lobby the Senate about the mortgage crisis, strongly opposing increased government regulation and several consumer protection bills, which, as Keith Olbermann noted, “might have mitigated the current crisis”:

As recently as December 31 of last year, still working for Swiss bankers, specifically to help kill the Emergency Home Ownership And Mortgage Equity Protection Act and the Helping Families Save Their Homes and Bankruptcy Act, a bill that would have let bankruptcy judges adjust mortgages terms so American families facing foreclosure could repay their loans and keep their homes. […]

Gramm’s deregulation [as a senator] help set the stage for an explosion of banks slicing up subprime mortgages, bundling them with other mortgage slices, to hide the credit risks, and stelling mortgage stew to other investment firms. That gave lenders powerful incentive to make as many loans as possible, regardless of risk.

Watch it:

Graham registered as a UBS lobbyist in 2004. But as early as October 2006, Gramm was reportedly advising McCain on economic issues. McCain advisers also said Gramm had input on McCain’s March 26 speech on the economy. UBS, however, only deregistered Gramm last month.

Other McCain advisers have direct ties to the mortgage industry. John Green, McCain’s chief congressional liaison, and Wayne Berman, his national finance co-chairman, “billed more than $720,000 in lobbying fees from 2005 through last year to Ameriquest Mortgage through their lobbying firm.” “They would be defined as the most blatant and aggressive predatory lenders out of everybody,” said Bruce Marks of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

On Policy, Obama Breaks Little New Ground
Already famous for his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the Senate with more than the usual aspirations about the impact he could have.

In Rebuking Minister, McCain May Have Alienated Evangelicals
The Rev. Rod Parsley paces the stage, wiping his forehead and shouting to his congregation in a taped sermon that marriage is under attack by “tortured and angry homosexuals.”

Neither Democracy Nor Feminism
Harold Meyerson, Washington Post

No Clear Path for Clinton’s Political Future
The Washington Post looks at Sen. Hillary Clinton’s future and notes many Democrats “are now pointing to the Sen. Edward M. Kennedy model as a path for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to reshape her own political career, assuming she is unable to wrest the nomination from Sen. Barack Obama.”

“When Kennedy returned to Capitol Hill before the 1980 election, the Massachusetts Democrat was in a similar fix. Like Clinton, he was the heir to a powerful political legacy. But the climate was volatile, and voters were in the mood for change. Kennedy was rejected by many of his Senate colleagues, despite Carter’s sagging popularity, and he won just 10 primary states. But like Clinton, he hung on until the bitter end.”

The New York Times also examines Clinton’s likely return to the Senate.  “At a minimum, Mrs. Clinton would face an adjustment in exiting the high-energy, applause-filled, rapid-fire atmosphere of a presidential race and re-entering the meandering Senate, where power, status and legislative accomplishments take years or even decades to attain.”

First Read argues that by staying in the presidential race so long, Clinton is hurting her political future. “Given the thud with which Clinton’s RFK flub was received, it’s starting to become clear that perhaps she erred in deciding to stay in the race this long. Imagine had she suspended her campaign and still won primaries. Wouldn’t that have put her in an even stronger position than now? Obama hasn’t run a campaign against her for the last few weeks and, in turn, it’s helped Clinton prop up her personal standing. But wouldn’t she be winning over the support of some in ObamaNation if she were sort of returning the favor by getting out and suspending the campaign? And that’s the rub: At some point for her political future, she has to win back the support of Obama’s supporters. And they don’t seem to be very forgiving of her right now.”

Will Pro-Choice Women Vote For McCain?
Abortion, I’m sad to say — as someone who will never pull the lever for an anti-choice candidate of any stripe — is just not going to be that meaningful a metric in 2008. Good on Arianna for getting the message out about McCain, because the Planned Parenthood poll indicates that when people are aware of what a pig he is on choice, it starts to chip away at their willingness to support him But for those looking to a position on choice to keep women in the Democratic tent, there just isn’t a compelling argument that this issue alone will keep women from defecting to McCain.

Blue America candidate Martin Heinrich is over at Crooks & Liars chatting.  Stop by and say “hi” — jh

Following up on my post from yesterday on John McCain’s bid for Hillary Clinton’s female voters, I see my good friend Arianna Huffington has finally joined the ranks of pro-choice bloggers and writes about a promising poll by Planned Parenthood. The poll concludes that many of McCain’s supporters in swing states are pro-choice, and don’t realize what a reactionary barbarian he is when it comes to a woman’s right to control her own body.

People in our comments thread were also quick to note that no woman who really cares about choice could vote for a President who might put another Alito on the bench. Well, people such as myself who are die-hard pro-choice voters might wish that were true, but there really isn’t any statistical proof to back up the conclusion that John McCain’s Neanderthal position on choice is going to hurt him significantly in November.

A recent nation wide Gallup poll indicates that only 13% of those polled say that a candidate “must share your views” with regard to abortion; 49% said it was “just one of many important factors,” while 37% said it was “not a major issue” and 2% had “no opinion.”

Here’s Newsweek:

McCain aides say his hard line on abortion isn’t necessarily a disadvantage among many women. Though about 60 percent agree in general with Roe, that doesn’t mean they vote based on a candidate’s position on abortion. The McCain camp believes Hillary backers—working-class white women and independents, in particular—could migrate to McCain rather than to Obama. A Planned Parenthood poll of women voters in 16 battleground states earlier this year showed 49 percent of McCain’s supporters called themselves pro-choice and said they support Roe.

What do women care about? Well, that is the eternal question, isn’t it. From a May 14 Quinnipiac poll:

Which of the following will be the single most important issue in your vote in the election for President this year?

Issue	Women
Terrorism	5%
War in Iraq	22%
The economy	46%
Illegal immigration	6%
Health care	14%
Something else (Vol)	4%
DK/NA	2%

“A woman’s right to choose” doesn’t even chart.

McCain’s big vulnerability among women is the economy. The Quinipiac poll also states that 77% of women disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy, and Progressive Media demonstrates that in 2008 John McCain voted with Bush 100% of the time. In 2007, he voted with him 95% of the time. If Obama can articulate a meaningful vision of how he’ll handle the economy, it’s going to be a lot more persuasive to female voters at this point in time.

Choice is — or should be — a core Democratic value. It’s critical for party leaders to be vocal in their support of it, because the people who really care about it really care about it and they’re the activists who get stuff done. And good on Arianna for getting the message out about McCain, because the Planned Parenthood poll indicates that when people are aware of what a pig he is on choice, it starts to chip away at their willingness to support him. But for those looking to a position on choice to keep women in the Democratic tent, there just isn’t a compelling argument that this issue alone will prevent women from defecting to McCain.

All this is by way of reinforcing my central thesis, which I still stick by — Hillary Clinton’s exit from the stage needs to be carefully managed, and a bum’s rush may have undesirable consequences. Those looking to see her burned at the stake may be firmly convinced of their righteousness, but it’s questionable whether this is in the best interest of a November victory for Obama.