Election 2008: February 2008 Archives

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton may have the San Fernando Valley's vote for the presidential nomination, but the newest campaign fundraising reports show Illinois Sen. Barack Obama now has its money. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

Last month, Obama outpaced Clinton in donations from Valley residents, raising $730,639 to her $461,513, according to Federal Election Commission reports for the month.

While Clinton still has Obama beat in the overall Southland money race, analysts said the infusion of Obama donations from a region that solidly supported her in the primary is significant.

Los Angeles County's top voting official said Tuesday he's confident he can count the majority of 50,000 "double-bubble" ballots that went uncounted on Super Tuesday before the deadline to certify the election next week. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Based on advice from the County Counsel's Office and the Secretary of State's Office, acting Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said he plans to count most of the ballots cast by 50,000 independent voters who did not fill out a party box at the top of the ballot along with a choice for president.

The "double-bubble" ballot required nonpartisan and decline-to-state voters to fill out a party box at the top of the ballot along with their choice for president in order for their vote to be counted.

It was Obama's turn to offer praise for Clinton, similar to what she did last week.
"We have gone thorugh 20 debates and there is still a lot out there. The one thing I am clear about is that Sen. Clinton has campaigned magnificently. I am very proud to have campaigned with her.
"There is no question that she would be a better president than John McCain. I just think I would be better.. that I can bring this country together.."
Clinton was equally effusive.
"Both of us feel strongly about the country," Clinton said. "We bring enormous energy and commitment to this race and we would bring that to the general election and the White House. It has been an honor. It has been history making."

The two were asked a variety of questions regarding foreign policy challenges facing the nation.
Among them:
-- The successor to Vladimar Putin in Russia.
-- The problems in Serbia and Kosovo.

Tim Russert threw a series of questions at both candidates regarding a wide arrange of issues:
-- Obama's promise to limit spending in the general election.
-- Obama's endorsed by Louis Farrakhan,
-- Clinton's release of her income tax records.
-- Clinton's release of documents during her years as First Lady.

The two offered details of what they had heard on the campaign trail in meeting with average Americans.
"I met with four middle-aged women and none of them were in positions they thought they would be in," Obama said.
Clinton returned to the theme of health care and the need to bring in more controls of special interests to invet in the middle class for heath care and college, among others.
:"People are working harder than ever, bu they're not getting ahead,' Clinton said. "The special interests are not going to give up without a fight. I'm a fighter."

In a series of hypothetical questions about Iraq, Clinton and Obama both said they would pull out all troops if the Iraqi government requested it.
And, Obama said he would "reserve the right" to return if Al Qaeda was using the country as a base to plan more attacks against the United States.
Clinton, interrupted by commercials, was not given time to respond.
However, her joking appearance about Obama's speeches were presented. "I give her points for humor," Obama said.

Obama tried to shift the focus to negative tactics used against his campaign by Clinton.
Clinton would not bite and switched back to discussing the health care issue, with both citing their own experts on why their plan is better.
And, as they did in last week's session, the two candidates overrode the moderators to refuse new questions as they continued the discussion on universal health care.

In the most anticipated debate since, well, last week's confrontation, Sens. HIllary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama began their 20th debate of the presidential election in Cleveland, Ohio.
Most of the pre-debate attention was on Clinton and the strategy she will employ in the debate, being aired on MSNBC.
With her first question, Clinton was asked about the tone of the past week and -- with a smile on her face -- defended herself, but politely.
:As I have said, I have a great deal of respect for Sen. Obama, but ... with some of the tactics of his campaign...have been very disturbing to me," Clinton said. "I think it's important you stand up for yourself."
Clinton complained that Obama had mischaracterized her health care plan.
"We can have a good debate that uses accurate information," she said.
Clinton also denied any knowledge of her campaign releasing a photo of Obama in
Africa where he was dressed in a native costume.
As for her contentions of misstatements on her health care plan, Obama insisted the basic facts were correct.

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama hold their 20th _ and possibly last _ debate tonight heading up to the March 4 primary elections.
Whas has dominated the discussions over the debate is which Hillary Clinton will show up and is Obama prepared to deal with it.
Clinton won high marks for the civil tone of last week's debate and his moving closing statements where she talked of how proud she was to be on the same stage as Obama.
That has changed over the past few days, with Clinton going on the attack and saying Obama should be ashamed of the campaign he was waging.
The Daily News will be watching it tonight -- and blogging on it. Comments are welcome and we will post them as quickly as we can.

In their race for the county Board of Supervisors, Councilman Bernard Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas are both looking to tap into support from the business community. Los Angeles Business Journal.

In their race for the county Board of Supervisors, Councilman Bernard Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas are both looking to tap into support from the business community. Los Angeles Business Journal.

Bob Blumenfield picked up some major endorsement in the race for the 40th Assembly District, with the Democratic primary in June.
Blumenfield's campaign announced he has the backing of Mayor Antonio Vllaraigoa, Councilwwomn Wendy Greuel and state Attorney General Jerry Brown.
The race has taken on a tone of a soap opera with Stuart Waldman, a former aide to Assemblymwn Llloyd Levine, competing with Blumenfield for support in the race. Blumenfield serves as Levine' schief of staff district director.
Also in the race is fomer deputy State Controller Laurette Healy and activist Dan McCrory.

Both were asked to describe a personal moment of crisis.
Obama said he did not have one, but that people had to look at his whole life.
Clinton noted, "I think everyone here knows I have lived through some moments in my life. People ask me how I do it...with all the challenges I have had, they are nothing compared to the average American."

It took nearly 80 minutes before the Iraq war became the issue and it was with a question over preparedness to be commander in chief.
Clinton was asked if she thought Obama was not prepared for the job. She did not answer that, but listed her own accomplishments.
Obama seized the question to point out he had opposed the initial vote on the Iraq war, while Clinton had supported it.

Clinton and Obama took over the debate when it came to health care.
Both refuse to answer or allow other questions to be asked as they detailed their plans on proividng univeral health care and differences between their plans.

Prompted by the panelists, Obama and Clinton had their first real disagreement of the evening over whether Obam had plagiarized the words of one of his supporters.
"This is when we get in the silly season in politics,' Obama said. "I;ve been giving a lot of speeches and some of them are pretty good. We shouldn't be spending time tearing each other down. We should be spending time buildng the country up.'
To which Clinton responded: "If your candidacy is going to be about words, they should be your own words. Lifting whole passages isn;t change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox."

CNN reporter John King tried to get the two to tussle, noting the sometimes strident tones both campaigns use in stump speeches.
Neither bit.
"We do have differences...but we have run positive campaigns,": Clinton said. "I know there are comparisons and contrasts between us. Words are important, but actions speak louder than words."
Clinton did get in a dig over an interview with an Obama supporter who became stumped when asked to cite something Obama had accomplished.
Obama provided the answer, ticking off a number of items he had accomplished and the tenor of his campaigin.

Halfway through the debate and the two continued their polite tone, finding themselves in agreement on a host of proposals involving immigration and a common belief that they didn't like the Bush Administration.

The networks are struggling to come up with a pithy name for the March 4 primaries in Texas and Houston,
Super Tuesday, Super Duper Tuesday, Tsuami Tuesday, Junior Super Tuesday have all been taken, not leaving much for the next critical elections.
Not so for tonight';s debate. MSNC is calling it the "Longshore Showdown," while hoste network CNN has dubbed it "the Texas two step.:

In a remarkable month of political victories, Sen. Barack Obama won his 10th straight pressidential selectin contest on Tuesday with victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii, his native state.

For his part, Sen. Barack Obama _ speaking at the same time as Clinton _ told his supporters in Houston that the Wisconsin results showed that people were supporting his call for change.
"But it is still far away and we will need the good people of Texas," Obama said. "Understand, that what we are trying to do here will not be easy. It is going to require something more because the problems we face in America …is because Washington has become a place where good ideas go to die.
"We are here tonight because we believe change is possible."

In Youngstown, Ohio, Sen HIllary Clinton chose to look ahead to the Ohio and Texas election, without any reference to the Wisconsin results and again returned to her theme that she is ready to take the job on from day one.
"It is about picking a president who doesn't rely just on words, but on hard work,"Clinton said. "When i think about what we're really comparing in this election, we can;t have just speeches. We have to have solutions. And we need those solutions for America. We have to get American back in the solution business. While words matter, the best words don't; matter unless you match them with action."

The networks are projecting that Sen. Barack Obama is the winner in Wisconsin. Still too early to proivde any details on the margin and whether Sen. Hillary Clinton can take anything from the elections looking ahead to the Texas and Ohio primaries.
Obama outspent Clinton by about four times on television, officials said and campaigned extensively through the state.

Sen. John McCain is declared the victor in the Wisconsin primary, apparently splitting the conservative vote. What is unknown is how well Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ran against him in his fight to remain in the race. Huckabee has said he plans to continue his campaign until McCain locks up the nomination.
McCain had an early victory celebration in Ohio, telling supporters:
"Thank you Wisconsin that, I, a superstitious Naval aviator, can say I will be our nominee for president," McCain said. "
And, unlike many who have been critical of Huckabee, McCain said he has come to respect and appreciate his opponent;
"Now, comes the hard part," McCain said.

Going in to Tuesday's elections, here is how the candidates stand with the delegate count:
Democrats
Needed to win: 2,025
Obama 1,263
Clinton 1,212

Republicans
Needed to win: 1,191
McCain 881
Huckabee 217

The hour or two before the polls close in any state is the best time to tune into the news shows.
With no real results available, everyone is right -- or wrong -- at this stage.
For instance, much of the attention on Tuesday was speculating on Sen. Barack Obama pulling out his ninth and 10th victories since Feb. 5.
The only thing that would make it more entertaining is to add Charles Barkley to the debate with Chris Matthews and Pat Buchanan over on MSNBC.

The exit polls from Fox, CNN and MSNBC are offering some early insights into how Wisconsin voters cast their ballots.
But, exactly what, is to be determined.
Among the findings:
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are splitting the lower economic vote.
-- 57 percent of Clinton voters would be happy if Obama is the nominee. 43 percent of Obama supporters feel the same.
-- 27 percent of voters in the Democratic primary identify themselves as independent.

Popular ice cream makers Ben and Jerry have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president and plan to tour with a Barack-mobile on his behalf. Can Barack ice cream be far behind?

As if their spouses did not have enough on their minds, enter the wives.
Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain are in the latest dustup over remarks. Mrs. Obama made saying for "the first time" in her adult life that she was proud of American.
“Hope is making a comeback and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change,” Mrs. Obama said during a Milwaukee rally.
“I have seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues and it has made me proud,” she told supporters.
Enter, Mrs. McCain.
At her own event, she said, "I have always been proud of America."
Needless to say the issue is dominating talk radio.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, long at odds with Councilman (and former Police Chief) Bernard Parks, joined several other law enforcement unions on Tuesday to back state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas in their race for county supervisor.
The Protective League was frequently at odds with Parks during his five years as chief, particularly over his disciplinary policy toward officers.
Ridley-Thomas has the backing of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. Other law enforcement unions supporting him include the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the union representing deputies, as well as the Los Angeles County Probation Officers and the Southern California Alliance of Law Enforcement.

Focusing on Barack Obama’s “inexperience” and “undisciplined messaging” are two ways to ensure that the senator from Illinois doesn’t get to be president, according to honchos at the Republican National Committee. Big RNC contributors got an earful this weekend about methods the GOP will use to battle the Democrats for control of the White House this fall, as well as other initiatives central to the conservative cause. Politico, courtesy of LA Observed.

The RNC’s “winter retreat” for major donors at Los Angeles’ Beverly Wilshire Hotel featured such party stalwarts as Karl Rove, RNC chairman Robert Duncan, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, as well as some Hollywood types, including Dave Berg, a segment producer and “political director” for "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

But chief among the RNC’s concerns were how to keep a tight grip on the White House this fall. Plenty of lowbrow Hillary Rodham Clinton jokes were tossed around at the three-day event, but of highest concern was the notion of Obama seizing the Oval Office in a contest against presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

The California presidential primary may have come and gone. Sacramento Bee.

But Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are still mining for California’s most precious political ore: 66 superdelegates who can vote as they choose at this summer’s Democratic National Convention.

So far, Clinton leads Obama in endorsements among state superdelegates, 26 to 11. She may soon pick up another, as campaign supporter and former state lawmaker Jackie Speier is favored in a special election to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos.

The state’s superdelegate lists includes U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and 33 members of Congress - soon to be 34 once Lanto’s replacement is elected.

There are also 33 state members of the Democratic National Committee, which includes four of the members of Congress. The remaining California superdelegate is former DNC chairman Chuck Manatt.

Here is a breakdown of California superdelegate preferences. Stay tuned for updates.

Superdelegates for Clinton:

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Rep. and DNC member Maxine Waters
Rep. and DNC member Joe Baca
Rep. Doris Matsui
Rep. Mike Thompson
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Rep. Dennis Cardoza
Rep. Jane Harman
Rep. Grace Napolitano
Rep. Laura Richardson
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard
Rep. Brad Sherman
Rep. Hilda Solis
Rep. Ellen Tauscher
Rep. Diane Watson
Rep. Loretta Sanchez
DNC member Alice Huffman
DNC member Alicia Wang
DNC member Rosalind Wyman
DNC member Kamil Hasan
DNC member Mona Pasquil
DNC member Mirian Saez
DNC member Maria Echaveste
DNC member Rachel Binah
DNC member Christopher Stampolis
Former DNC chair Chuck Manatt

Superdelegates for Obama:

Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Xavier Becerra
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Adam Schiff
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. Linda Sanchez
DNC member Eric Garcetti
DNC member Norma Torres
DNC member Jeremy Bernard
DNC member Mary Ellen Early

Undecided Superdelegates:

Sen. Barbara Boxer
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Rep. Jerry McNerney
Rep. Pete Stark
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Sam Farr
Rep. Jim Costa
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. Bob Filner
Rep. Susan Davis (CA)
DNC state chair Art Torres
DNC vice chair Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker
DNC member Steven Alari
DNC member Edward Espinoza
DNC member Inola Henry
DNC member Aleita Huguenin
DNC member Carole Midgen
DNC member Bob Mulholland
DNC member Christine Pelosi
DNC member John Perez
DNC member Robert Rankin
DNC member Garry Shay
DNC member Crystal Strait
DNC member Keith Umemoto
DNC member Vernon Watkins
DNC member Steve Ybarra

Sen. John McCain, taking on proposals from both Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, talked of the need to reduce the size of government.
"They don't send us to Washington to stroke our egos, but to protect this ....country," McCain said after victories in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

In Wisconsin, Sen. Barack Obama exulted in his victories on Tuesday.
:"We won the state of Maryland. We won the commonwealth of Virginia. And, though we won the District of Columbia, we won;t stop until we win in Washington, D.C., " Obama said. "It takes more than one night to overcome the money, the petty bickering...that shut you out. We have now won east and west, north and south and across the heartland.
"We have given young people a reason to believe. We have brought the young at heart back."
Also, Republican Sen. John McCain pulled off his own three-for...winning in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

All the networks are projecting a victory in Maryland for Sen. Barack Obama, giving him his third victory of the night and his eighth in a row dating back to last weekend.
Sen. John McCain, on the Republican side, also was declared the victor in Maryland, giving him two wins on the night over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with no decision in the District of Columbia.

In El Paso, Texas, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared to shrug off the losses as she campaigned for that state's March 4 primary.
"I can't think of any better place to begin our campaign for Texas than El Paso," Clinton said. "We're going to sweep across Texas with our message of what will be needed on day one. I'm tested, I'm ready. Let's make it happen."
Clinton has been working to overcome some problems over the past several days that includes a shakeup among her top campaign staff and disclosures she had to loan her campaign $5 million to match Sen. Barack Obama in spending.

In a closer election than he wanted, it appears Sen. John McCain has held off former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Virginia.

With a combination of bad weather and traffic jams, Maryland state officials announced they are keeping their polls open an extra 90 minutes. They will close at 6:30 PST.

MSNBC commentator Chris Matthews has his own way of defining people and how they vote.
To Matthews, the elites are those who go to Starbucks. Real people go to Dunkin Donuts. Which is confusing for thoese neighborhoods that have both franchises.

A YouTube video of last Sunday's forum among the four Democratic challengers for the seat is available here, courtesy of Linda Sutton at an event sponsored by the Progressive Democrats of America and other local groups.
The four candidates are Laurette Healy, Bob Blumenfeld, Stuart Waldman and Dan McCrory.
The full event is captured in seven different videos at the site. The four are seeking to succeed Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, who is termed out and running for the state Senate.

Some 50,000 votes cast by nonpartisan voters in Los Angeles County for president on Super Tuesday cannot be accurately tallied because of a confusing ballot design known as the "double bubble," officials said Monday.
Troy Anderson in the Daily News.
In a 21-page report issued Monday evening, acting Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said a 1percent manual recount of 189,438 ballots estimated that 26percent may have been cast incorrectly and could not be tallied for Democratic and American Independent candidates for president.

"We are unable to clearly determine what the voter intent was on those ballots without the party selection or without knowing which voter booth they were in," Logan said. "It does not appear we are going to be able to go back and add those votes into the tally."

Now that we've been through Super Tuesday and Potomoc Fever, here is the remaining election schedule for both parties and the number of delegates at stake:

Republicans
Feb. 16; Guam, 9.
Feb. 19: Wisconsin, 40
Feb. 23: American Samoa 9.
March 4: Ohio, 88; Rhode Island, 20; Texas, 140, Vermont, 17
March 11: Mississippi, 39
April 5: Virgin Islands,, 9 delegates
April 22; Pennsylvania, 74.
May 6: Indiana, 57, North Carolina, 69
May 17: Hawaii, 20 delegates
May 20: Kentucky, 45; Oregon, 30.
May 27 Idaho, 32.
June 3: New Mexico, 32, South Dakota, 27
July 12, Nebraska, 33.

Democrats
Feb. 19: Hawaii, 29, Wisconsin, 92.
March 4: Ohio, 161; Rhode Island, 32; Texas, 228,Vermont, 23
March 8: Wyoming, 18.
March 11: Mississippi, 40.
April 22: Pennsylvania, 188.
May 3: Guam, 9.
May 6. Indiana Primary 84; North Carolina, 134 delegates
May 13, West Virginia, 39
May 20: Kentucky, 60; Oregon, 65.
June 3: Montana, 24, South Dakota, 23
June 7 Puerto Rico, 63.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office reported Tuesday that two new measures designed to deal with victims rights _ by tightening probation requirements as well as the right to be released pending trial _ are in circulation for the November election.
Both measures will require more t