Clinton tries to clean up "Fairy Tale" remark with Sharpton

From The Boston Globe:

NEW YORK - Former president Bill Clinton says his comment about Barack Obama telling a fairy tale about opposing the war in Iraq has been misconstrued as a criticism of the senator's run for the Democratic nomination.

"There's nothing fairy tale about his campaign. It's real, it's strong, and he might win," Clinton said in a phone interview yesterday for the Rev. Al Sharpton's Radio One network talk show.

Clinton said his fairy tale remark on the eve of the New Hampshire primary - won by his wife, Hillary - was only intended to describe Obama's claim to have exercised better judgment about the war, not as a sign of "personal disrespect."

The remark had been criticized by some prominent black politicians, including Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina.

(Full article)

Things that make you go, "Hmmmm"...

Contributed by Paul Collins:

Many of us have thought it. Some of us have spoken it.
"How could the Hew Hampshire polls have gotten it so wrong?"
Obama was ahead by as many as 13 points in the polls going into the New Hampshire primary.
Exit polls showed him to still have similarly strong support. Yet, Hillary squeaked by with a +2 point win.

Polls, of course, are an inexact science at best. And a surprise comeback is certainly possible in an election (there are those who have controversial theories about Hillary's teary moment contributing to that).

Still, though I'm not one for conspiracy theories, all of this does register a big "WTF?!?" in my mind.
Apparently I'm not alone. From Slash Dot:

Multiple indications of vote fraud are beginning to pop up regarding the New Hampshire primary elections. Roughly 80% of New Hampshire precincts use Diebold machines, while the remaining 20% are hand counted. A Black Box Voting contributor has compiled a chart of results from hand counted precincts vs. results from machine counted precincts. In machine counted precincts, Clinton beat Obama by almost 5%. In hand counted precincts, Obama beat Clinton by over 4%, which closely matches the scientific polls that were conducted leading up to the election. Another issue is the Republican results from Sutton precinct. The final results showed Ron Paul with 0 votes in Sutton. The next day a Ron Paul supporter came forward claiming that both she and several of her family members had voted for Ron Paul in Sutton. Black Box Voting reports that after being asked about the discrepancy Sutton officials decided that Ron Paul actually received 31 votes in Sutton, but they were left off of the tally sheet due to 'human error.

Boston Now reports:

In the Democratic race the Diebold voting machines clearly swung the primary in Hillary Clinton's favor at the expense of Barack Obama, who had a commanding lead over the New York Senator going into the contest.

Zogby polling numbers had Obama leading Clinton by a whopping 42/29 per cent, yet Clinton eventually took the primary by three per cent.

"If I was Barack Obama, I'd certainly not have conceded this election this quickly,"writes The Brad Blog. "I'm not quite sure what he was thinking. And as far as offering an indication of whether he understands how these systems work, and the necessity of making sure that votes are counted, and counted accurately, it does not offer a great deal of confidence at this hour."

"While I have no evidence at this time --- let me repeat, no evidence at this time --- of chicanery, what we do know is that chicanery, with this particular voting system, is not particularly difficult. Particularly when one private company --- and a less-than-respectable one at that, as I detailed in the previous post --- runs the entire process."

Clinton would not have beat Obama without the aid of Diebold voting machines. In precincts where electronic voting machines were used, Clinton got a 7% swing over Obama, having gained 5% in comparison to hand-counted ballots and Obama losing 2%.

(Full Article)

Most of this is unsubstantiated buzz in the blogosphere, but it's loud enough that New Hampshire has apparently agreed to a recount.

Other links:
Kucinich to request recount (BlackBoxVoting.com)
Was the New Hampshire vote stolen? (Salon.com)
New Hampshire to Recount Ballots in Light of Controversy (Wired.com)

Experts skeptical of N.H. ballot-count conspiracy theory (Boston Globe)

Experts Question Clinton's New Hampshire Primary Win (alternet.org)
Bloggers form theory that New Hampshire vote was rigged (Dallas Morning News)
Vote Fraud Expert Warns Of New Hampshire Chicanery
WhatReallyHappened.com tracks developments

Endorsement update

Ned Lamont
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin
Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez)
Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot
Senator Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)

In the news:
South Carolina Rep. James E. Clyburn disappointed by Clinton remarks, considers Obama endorsement

Digging in

Contributed by Woodrow Jarvis Hill:

Posted this on a fellow support's blog: 

Fired up! Ready to go!

You have got that so right.

This is when it gets hard, man. And this is when we start to really, truly separate the wheat from the chaff. Our man's gonna need every hand on deck over the next couple of months, and every voice on the 'Net talking up his abilities, skills, and honor.

And when we win, it's won't be because it was a coronation, an easy ride, a glide path to the White House. It'll be because we dug in for the long haul, fought with honor and distinction for every vote, raised up people to believe in themselves, and in hope and greatness in our government, once again.

I said on another site in May of '06 these thoughts when keep coming back to me, when I think of Obama:

I reject that the end game is simply to get a Democrat in the White House in 2008.

I drifted from being an active Democrat because I felt we lack leadership. And, for my money, the way to get back into power is to stand up, and say "I will listen to the people. I am beholden to the American psyche, ideals, and opinions. And this is what I stand for, and what I wish to lead us to do."

I fear I'm not making a lot of sense. But I fear, even more, that simply going for the win will result in Disaster for the Party, yet again.

Little did I know, then, how well, and how honestly, Obama would fit and fill that mold like he was made for it.

Can we change the tone, the substance, and the very nature of politics in America? Yes, we can.

Debunking chain emails, Part 2

In addition to debunking the false claim that Obama belongs to a racist church, factcheck.org (as well as snopes.com) also debunk the false claim that Obama is secretly a muslim.

From factcheck.org:

Readers have also asked us about an oft-forwarded e-mail falsely claiming that Obama is a Muslim and suggesting that he is part of an Islamic plot to take over the U.S. "from the inside out" with "one of their own." This screed reads like the outline of a bad remake of the 1962 movie The Manchurian Candidate, in which Frank Sinatra unravels a Communist plot to make "one of their own" the president.

There is little excuse for those who continue to circulate this one. The most audacious falsehood it contains (of several) is a claim near the top: "We checked this out on 'snopes.com'. It is factual. Check for yourself." Anyone who actually does that would quickly find that Snopes.com, the respected debunker of urban myths, judges the message to be "false." And yet we continue to receive examples sent to our readers by others who either don't take the time to check, or who don't care that they are repeating false and damaging statements."

Links: Factcheck.org debunks false chain emails about Obama, Snopes.com debunks false chain emails about Obama

Debunking chain emails...

Factcheck.org debunks the claim that Obama's church is racist (and other false claims):

"We turn first to the most recent of these Internet whispering campaigns: a widely forwarded e-mail that says Barack Obama’s church, the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is anti-American, will only accept black parishioners and tilts toward Africa at the expense of the United States. The e-mail claims Obama is therefore "certainly a racist" and "desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa."

We've had scores of queries about the accuracy of this one. It's bunk. For one thing, the church welcomes whites, according to a University of Chicago professor of divinity who says he has attended. And while its controversial pastor is a fiery advocate for blacks and liberal causes and a fierce critic of anti-black discrimination, we've seen no evidence that he preaches hatred of or discrimination against whites."

(more)


Ed: Of course we all knew this already, but just for the record.

When and Where do I Enter? A Black Woman for Obama

Contributed by Stacie McCormick

In her 1892 essay “The Status of Woman in America” Anna Julia Cooper writes, “The colored woman of to-day (sic) occupies, one may say, a unique position in this country.
[. . .] She is confronted by both a woman question and a race problem, and is yet an unknown or an unacknowledged factor in both.”1

Today about 100 years later, there is great irony that these words ring true for the 2008 presidential election. They are triggered primarily by the now oft-cited essay by Gloria Steinem in her January 8 op-ed piece in the New York Times. It was key, however, in assuring me that I have made the right choice to support Barack Obama for President of the United States.

I would be disingenuous if I didn’t say that race and gender shaped much of my reasoning behind who I would support for this race. The concerns I had about the exploitation of those categories were very real. And I am pleased to back a candidate who is obviously sensitive to those concerns and respects me and my vote enough not to make me feel excluded from his agenda or forced to support him because of identity politics.

Barack Obama stands up for key issues on education, family, and Iraq that are all very important for me. He has a clear plan to enhance the quality of life for all Americans and I believe in his vision.

Importantly, he does not make me feel like an “unacknowledged factor” but a true participant in forging a new day for this country. I truly feel that where he enters, I will be entering also.

1. Taken from: Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought
Ed. Beverly Guy-Sheftall

Stacie McCormick is a doctoral student in English