2008 Primaries Thread 2: THE QUICKENING

blowback = right now unites behind McCain against NYT

Eh, it was bound to happen. If the Times hadn't gone after him, the Dems would have.

well, the NYT-hating far-right arm of the party will unite behind him, sure, but isn't it just as likely that the scandal could shake loose some of his independent and moderate republican supporters?

Limbaugh added: “This is what you get when you walk across the aisle and try to make these people your friends. I'm not surprised in the least that the NYT would try to take out John McCain. Predicted this, in fact, way back in the early 2000s.

and there was the NYT, waiting in the cut for eight long years, waiting for the perfect moment to POUNCE with this mildly embarrassing story

Though see Ned's link upthread going "boo hoo poor McCain his pet liberal paper has turned on him."

I am really tempted to write McCain/HRC fanfic.

Necroslash = Nicole's secret vice.

No, it just sounds like the ultimate horrible romcom.

Other things happening today:

-- Obama's campiagn manager David Plouffe is in NC -- an Edwards endorsement forthcoming?

-- civil suit of Peter Paul v. Bill Clinton et al. starts today in LA Superior Court

http://cache.wonkette.com/assets/resources/2008/02/hucksarmymccain.jpg

In the pocket of Big McCain.

If you're holding public office, what's worse: banging an intern or banging a lobbyist?

please let us not associate the name "McCain" with the word "banging"

xpost Getting fucked by a lobbyist with a strap-on

pols respect you more if you're banging a lobbyist. let no fuck go to waste.

David Freddoso quotes a reporter friend.

The core of the story - that McCain's top advisers were concerned enough about his ties with a lobbyist to confront both the lobbyist and McCain about it - is clearly legit. That in itself is not a really big story — it's no bigger than Obama & Rezko, which is fairly inconsequential but entirely worthy of reporting.

My question: could the NYT have run the story without intimating that McCain COULD have had an affair with this woman? I think so.

It's enough that, according to the story, McCain may have been done a favor for a lobbyist. This obsession with sex is such nonsense, and journalists love it.

yeah it is nonsense (when has sexual shenanigans EVER impaired a politicians' ability to do their job? wtf) and I think it makes the Times look bad. I hate to side with Rush and Co. here but it makes the NYT look really opportunistic and calculating.

This is the affair that Ron Rosenbaum, Larry Flynt, etc. were talking about last fall. If Flynt is involved, I'm guessing there's something pruient news (morally or sexually) on the way.

deej's dismissal of this gives me confidence that it's got legs

-- Tracer Hand, Thursday, February 21, 2008 11:48 AM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

haha what? im sorry dude ive practically been ms cleo on obama so far (cue tracer: "only because the media is 'on his side'")

i think you've confused me w/ jhoshea, i was an ny giants advocate

that said the only thing new about this is the sex angle, which could be untrue??? if it isnt, and more evidence comes out (because so far is there any? an unnamed source thought that MAYBE there was is enough?) then i agree this thing has legs - otherwise this is the 60th in a series of stories about mccain kind of maybe actually being influenced by lobbyists since 'straight talk express' angle appeared in '00, its mccain's personality that carries his maverick personality, his arguments with fellow repubs, etc.

i mean jesus dude, i'd be totally happy if i'm wrong here ... it wouldnt be the first time a sex scandal has seemingly willed obama into office

http://bigheaddc.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/weaver.jpg

This would be a great picture if it were just cropped a little more on the left side.

The core of the story - that McCain's top advisers were concerned enough about his ties with a lobbyist to confront both the lobbyist and McCain about it - is clearly legit. That in itself is not a really big story — it's no bigger than Obama & Rezko, which is fairly inconsequential but entirely worthy of reporting.

^^^basically yeah i agree w/ this

wtf gallup

http://media.gallup.com/poll/graphs/022108DailyUpdateGraph1.gif

quit bouncin around like dat, man

ughhhhh

My question: could the NYT have run the story without intimating that McCain COULD have had an affair with this woman? I think so.

I think you'll find many in the journo world who would say that the NYT would not have run with this with the intimation if it did not have further evidence of same that it was not able to run with at this time.

huh?

EXACTLY

english, man

actually gabb that's getting excelsiored! nice work

I think you'll find many in the journo world who would say that the NYT would not have run with this with the intimation if it did not have further evidence of same that it was not able to run with at this time.

-- gabbneb, Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:43 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

if this is the case, :D

I'm really hoping there's no photographic evidence, because there's not enough eye bleach in all of the world.

The TNR story suggests as much.

xpost- sorry, no photos

"If John McCain has hired Bob Bennett as his lawyer," one commentator said on Fox News, "that's a big--you don't hire Bob Bennett to knock down a press story. You hire Bob Bennett because you have serious legal issues somehow."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633

comparison of obama and hrc's senate records

That's possibly the best thing ever posted on Kos.

shit yeah that is great

From the comments of that dkos post:

Only 10 percent of Clinton contributors did not donate the legal maximum $2,300 for her primary campaign. In contrast, only three percent of Obama donors gave the maximum. The rest of the cash came from small sums from many more people.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/the-democratic-take-from-top-to-bottom/

lol, Obama wants to run the country, Hillary wants to open a day care.

So, how mudslingingly vicious is it going to get over the next couple of days? I hate when they do that :-/

the debate tonight should offer a pretty good preview

yeah def looking forward to it and SO pissed i can't go to any of the watch parties

i'm kind of nervous about the debate, hilz is a good debator. i did read though that obama's been preparing for this one more than any previous debate. but yea there'll be a lot of mudslinging coming up.

I predict Hillary embarasses herself big time tonight.

is this televised?

what would be the point of a non-televised debate?

what's the over / under on how many times we hear "speeches vs. solutions"

lots of reaction shots of Bill eating burritos

to the sound of a muted trumpet wah-wahing

i guess i meant on television that i can watch, and the answer is no apparently:

The debate, to be held on the campus of the University of Texas, will air live on CNN, CNN International and CNN.com from 8 to 9:30 p.m. ET. The debate will also air in Spanish on Univision at 11:30 p.m. ET.

what would be the point of a non-televised debate?

I dunno, ask NPR.