Down But Not Out?

Hillary Rodham Clinton's best bet right now is for everyone to conclude that she's a loser.

Stay with me a minute. I haven't totally lost it.

For close to two years, the presidential race has been all about her. She was the front-runner, she was inevitable, she was, above all, a Clinton. Barack Obama was a newcomer, a phenomenon, a rock star, an Oprah-certified inspirational force, but Hillary was the virtual incumbent. The Republicans kept running against her.

When Obama won Iowa, the story was, Hillary loses. When Obama lost New Hampshire, the story was, Hillary's comeback. The plot line has always been whether the Hill and Bill and their unstoppable machine could be denied.

What? Clinton has seen what it takes to be the president of our country. I believe she knows what she is doing and is capable of doing a good job of it. Men have run this world for way too long and it is time for change! This is the year. Clinton will win.

Obama woos autoworkers

After criticizing Big 3 for months, he vows to help industry go green as he unveils economic plan.

JANESVILLE, Wis. -- Sen. Barack Obama took a significant step Wednesday to reassure manufacturing-minded Michigan Democrats, choosing General Motors Corp.'s oldest production plant to outline an economic agenda that includes aid to the auto industry.

The Democratic presidential hopeful's rhetoric Wednesday was a sharp contrast to the months of criticism he has leveled at the domestic automakers. It was delivered directly to a demographic group that has so far eluded his reach: blue-collar workers who, to a large extent, have sided with his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. And while the message resonates in Michigan, it's also directed to voters in Wisconsin and Ohio -- auto manufacturing states with sizable delegate counts, whose primaries are coming up.

I am sure that Obama's actions will for sure help him in the campaign because this problem with autoworkers is serious. I am sure that will get more people on his side.

MCCAIN AND THE GENERAL ELECTION

MCCAIN AND THE GENERAL ELECTION

At a lunch meeting with dozens of Washington reporters today, McCain manager Rick Davis said the campaign isn't looking ahead to the general election just yet. But that didn't stop the reporters from peppering him with questions about how the Arizona senator might match up against Obama and -- to a lesser extent -- Clinton, especially considering the excitement surrounding their candidacies.

Davis noted that the crowds Obama has attracted so far this primary season is a phenomenon he hasn't seen in all of his years in politics, and he argued that it's important for McCain to begin matching that level of enthusiasm. "We've got to get the Republican Party excited about this candidacy," he said. "We have to show them there is a chance to succeed."

Yet Davis also wasn't sure if the excitement surrounding Obama necessarily equals success in November. "How that translates into the general election, I don't know." Davis did tout public polls that have shown McCain -- even during his campaign's darkest days -- as being competitive with Obama and Clinton.

McCain does not seem to be really enthused or looking at his campaign in good light. Even if things were not looking good, why admit to it to the public?

Hillary Clinton to campaign at GM Lordstown Thursday morning

LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to tour the General Motors plant in Lordstown near Youngstown on Thursday morning.

Clinton will meet employees and talk to a group of invited supporters about the economy.

Clinton also plans a rally at Ohio State University Thursday evening and one at a Cleveland-area high school on Friday.

The visit comes as Chelsea Clinton on Thursday continues two days of campaign appearances in Ohio on behalf of her mother.

On Saturday, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts will be in the Youngstown area to campaign for Barack Obama, Clinton's opponent in the primary.

The two events are the first of what is expected to be a parade of candidates and their supporters leading up the March 4th Ohio presidential primary.

From this article it sounds like Hilary continues to better herself in the campaign. I would really like to see her as president of the United States. It is time for a woman touch in this world!

McCain's Donor List

Banks have made loans against some dubious collateral lately, but John McCain's fund-raising list? That was the security the candidate put down when he took out a $3 million loan in November to get his then-struggling campaign through the primaries. There's a lesson here about campaign finance reform.

Mr. McCain's candidacy was by last fall in serious trouble, his campaign coffers having drained away. Desperate for cash, the McCain campaign went to the bank for a loan -- in this case Fidelity & Trust Bank of Maryland, which lent $3 million on the strength of Mr. McCain's willingness to document his fund-raising prowess.

What does this mean for McCain? This does not sound good at all.

The two faces of health care reform

The two faces of health care reform

Sen. Hillary Clinton bears the scars of health care battles past. It's been 14 years since her infamous legislative proposal ended up as political carnage on the floor of the congressional sausage-making factory. Yet even today, she still seems to wince when reminded of her colossal legislative failure at the hands of Harry and Louise — and Congress.

But a decade and a half later, she continues the quest with an Ahab-like obsession, trying to conquer a whale called health care reform. Mrs. Clinton learned a lot from the first fracas. Her new plan, she says, is "not a government takeover" and contains "no new bureaucracy." Moreover, if you like your health insurance the way it is, "you can keep it." All comforting words for those who worry that expanding the federal reach into health care will lead us down the road to a Cuban-style system.

Clinton has claimed that knows a lot from the first fracas. So i say, just let her do her thang! Let's try her new plan.

Huckabee Criticized for Meth Bill

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Mike Huckabee's Republican rivals, fighting back as he surges in the presidential race, are tagging him as soft on crime because of a law he signed as Arkansas governor that gave some methamphetamine offenders more credit for good behavior.

"Mike Huckabee's solution? Early releases for meth dealers," Fred Thompson's campaign proclaims.

[...]

Opponents also point to Huckabee's record of pardons and commutations: He had a hand in twice as many as his three predecessors combined, granting 1,033 pardons and commutations in his 10 1/2 years in office. The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's mansion, a rock star and inmates who received good words from their pastors.

He answered critics of his record on methamphetamine Thursday, singling out former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in particular.