It occured to me a bit too late, but now that I think of it, registering as a candidate in the New Hampshire primary might be a damned cheap way of advertising my personal blog. Have to keep that in mind for 2012.

Dave

Hope you're wrong. I'm for Mitt Romney 2008 whom I find to be a great and effective leader, one who is very impressive, intelligent, and a man known for his morals and integrity.

And damned good looking with even better hair than John Edwards.

What part of his morals and integrity is represented by his diametrically opposite changes of position on immigration, abortion, gay marriage and other issues? Is it integrity to have no core beliefs and just say whatever will get you elected?

BTW, I like the old liberal Romney better.

Dave

You mention Wyoming being penalized by the RNC by canceling 50% of their delegates for having moved their caucus earlier.

The same thing will happen here in Florida, and for the same reason, but the DNC went even further than the Reps here, and canceled (disqualified?) ALL of the Democratic delegates, thus effectively disenfranchising their own voters' primary votes.

You mention Wyoming being penalized by the RNC by canceling 50% of their delegates for having moved their caucus earlier.

The same thing will happen here in Florida, and for the same reason, but the DNC went even further than the Reps here, and canceled (disqualified?) ALL of the Democratic delegates, thus effectively disenfranchising their own voters' primary votes.

Wow, that seems extreme, and with Florida being such a populous state that could have some real repercussions. Are they still hiolding the primary anyway? That will notify the candidates who ought to be raising a stink about it.

Dave

You mention Wyoming being penalized by the RNC by canceling 50% of their delegates for having moved their caucus earlier.

The same thing will happen here in Florida, and for the same reason, but the DNC went even further than the Reps here, and canceled (disqualified?) ALL of the Democratic delegates, thus effectively disenfranchising their own voters' primary votes.

GOP is canceling 50% of Florida's delegate? And Giuliani has put all his eggs in Florida's basket? That was a risky move anyway; now, it's simply incomprehensible.

All the Dem candidates pledged not to campaign in Florida under pressure from the DNC. The GOP-controlled Florida legislature pushed through the earlier date knowing there would be consequences.

And Romney was the only GOPer to campaign/advertise in Wyoming, which may explain the results.

I believe Dave is underestimating Huckabee and Giuliani in the NH primary. Of course, those votes will have to come from somewhere.

I'm still not convinced that anyone in their right mind would vote for Edwards

I expect him to win the South Carolina Democratic primary, actually. S.C. won't vote for Hillary, and they'll probably try secession again if Obama is elected.

Yep. And the Dems canceled 100%.

Check it out here.

Michael, SC is where Oprah held her best-attended mega-rally for Obama. At least half the voters in the Democratic primary there will be African-American. And as a Democrat who grew up in the South, I am pretty sure there are more white liberals in SC who will vote for Obama than you may imagine. The general election is a different matter.

I'm a Democrat who grew up in the south too, Handy. And while I'm sure there are more white liberals in SC than I would initially guess (considering that I would initially guess 20), I still expect Edwards to win the primary. But perhaps I'm wrong.

That said, I'm still betting on secession threats during the general election.

It's over a year before it starts....President Obama....vice president Edwards. Don't have to be a political junkie to figure it out!

"The GOP-controlled Florida legislature pushed through the earlier date knowing there would be consequences."

While it's true that the Florida legislature was controlled at the time by the Republicans, it's also true that the Florida Democrats voted unanimously for the change.

Here's what my Congressional Representative, Debbie Wasserman Schultz had to say:

Whether to seat Florida's delegates at the convention would ultimately be up to the presumptive nominee, said Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Broward County. Rather than risk the wrath of Florida voters, Ms. Wasserman Schultz said, the party nominee will undoubtedly seat the delegates.

Hillary Clinton breaks down!

In my opinion, these were calculated crocodile tears. She's trying desperately to appear "human" and score some sympathy votes from naive female New Hampshire voters.

But it may just work. And all that polling might be out the window... :-/

"I still expect Edwards to win the primary. But perhaps I'm wrong."

Don't forget he wasn't able to ensure Kerry carrying SC in '04...

"It occurred to me a bit too late, but now that I think of it, registering as a candidate in the New Hampshire primary might be a damned cheap way of advertising my personal blog."

A grand is a "cheap" way to advertise a blog? Hell, just pay me a thousand dollars and I'll spam your link all over the interwebs. ;-)

It's impossible to prove whether RJ's interpretation is correct, although it is certainly predictable.

If it's a stunt, it's a risky one, and one she can only pull once. Remember what happened when Ed Muskie cried in New Hampshire. And a female candidate, vide Pat Schroeder, faces even more damage from public tears.

Much as you may resist believing it, she actually is human. All the candidates are under pressure, running on adrenaline with little sleep. So cut her a little slack, and resist, for once, your dittohead tendencies.

"I expect him to win the South Carolina Democratic primary, actually. S.C. won't vote for Hillary, and they'll probably try secession again if Obama is elected."

Probably half of the registered Democrats in South Carolina are black themselves...

"While it's true that the Florida legislature was controlled at the time by the Republicans, it's also true that the Florida Democrats voted unanimously for the change."

Yup. And Karen Thurman, head of the Florida Democrat Party, decided against an alternative method of choosing convention delegates that wouldn't have run afoul of DNC rules. So, the blame for this deserves to be spread around.

"So cut her a little slack"

No.

There are only two possibilities here.

1 - she was fake crying in a desperate attempt to garner the sympathy vote from mushy-hearted morons one day before the crucial New Hampshire Primary. If that's the case, it's disgusting, dishonest, and manipulative.

2 - she was legitimately crying because she's losing. She wants power sooo bad, that when it looks like she isn't going to get it, she breaks down like a little girl who had her dolls taken away, pushing back the feminist movement about 50 years in the process. And also proving she is incapable of being President and Commander-In-Chief during a time of war.

Either way, this should be the end of her campaign. But really, it entirely depends on how the MSM spins it for the spoon-fed yokels out there.

*RJ'S NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY PICKS*

Democrats:

Barack Hussein Obama - 41%
Hillary Rodham Clinton - 26%
John Edwards - 23%
Bill Richardson - 5%
Dennis Kucinich - 3%
Assorted Communist Moonbats - 2%

Republicans:

Mitt Romney - 33%
John McCain - 32%
Ron Paul - 11%
Mike Huckabee - 9%
Rudy Giuliani - 8%
Fred Thompson - 3%
Duncan Hunter - 2%
Assorted Fascist Kooks - 2%

"His [Romney's] big score in the debate was on immigration, but it's an issue which polls show ranks lowest in importance among major issues with voters."

Evidence suggests otherwise.

Two months ago, Rasmussen surveyed 628 Likely GOP Primary Voters, and here are the results:

4* If a police officer pulls someone over for a traffic violation, should the officer automatically check to see if that person is in the country legally?

80% Yes

12% No

9% Not sure

5* If an officer finds that a person pulled over for a traffic violation is an illegal alien, should that person be deported?

73% Yes

9% No

18% Not sure

6* If police officers are required to check the immigration status of every person they pull over, does that create the temptation to discriminate against people based on their name, their accent and the color of their skin?

20% Yes

67% No

13% Not sure

7* Should undocumented immigrants be allowed to get a driver's license in New Hampshire?

5% Yes

92% No

3% Not sure

There are only two possibilities here.

All too typical of your ideological "reasoning."

As is your snarky choice to use Sen. Obama's middle name in a context where it serves only your partisan purpose and alleged fratboy yuks.

This brings out the worst in you. Too bad.

Gimme a third possibility, handy.

I'm actually not inclined to engage in 'conversation' with you, since it always deteriorates so far and so quickly, because you're more interested in drawing blood and making insulting [though only rarely humorous] wisecracks than you are in having a real discussion.

I already answered this by pointing out that it's impossible for you or I to know HRC's state of mind; she could have been genuinely exhausted and stressed and really lost it for a few minutes in a sympathetic room.

Public tears by any presidential candidate have more negative than favorable potential. And a female candidate has to be extra-cautious about displaying anything that looks like weakness. HRC is not known for making risky moves. The past examples of Muskie and Schroeder would be very familiar to her.

Yeah, you're right, handy. I bet RJ just lost Barack Hussein at least a billion votes by publishing his middle name on BC.

Hillary is fond of using her middle name.

Is that snarky?

Of course, Hillary is trying to make the voters think she's her own woman; that they won't be giving Slick Willy a third term with the twofer...

RJ won't cost any Democrats any votes at all via any dumb joke or off-target attempt at wit.

But he enjoys lowering the general level of discussion around here, and there's nothing worth praising about that.

Third possibility: She's human, has human emotions, is likely bone tired and believes in what she is trying to do.

Cynics always seem to presume their superiority over anyone who displays emotion unless it involves some kind of hard ass bullshit. In politics cynics carry the presumption that opposition candidates are calculating disingenuous liars, while the candidates they support are pure as new fallen snow.

That Clinton became emotional, given the circumstance, is certainly understandable. All of her and her supporters efforts appear to be crumbling around her. It in no way disqualifies her from being presidential.

B-tone

"It in no way disqualifies her from being presidential."

That's what Ed Muskie thought...

The Clintons must think that the Democrat Party's base is comprised of nothing but fools:

In the middle of a town hall meeting for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Henniker, the former president interrupted his remarks to answer a cell phone call from his wife.

"Is that me?" Clinton asked the crowd, amid laughter, as he tried to answer the call. "Only Hillary has my number. It couldn't have been anybody else."

After he missed the first call, the phone immediately began ringing again. Clinton answered it again.

"I'm at your meeting here," the former president said. "I'll them that. OK -- I love you!"

He then went on with his remarks.

Gee, that certainly strikes me as unplanned and thoroughly sincere!

As a commenter at the link said:

"Only Hillary has my number"? You mean Chelsea doesn't have her dad's number? Bill's best buddy somewhere doesn't have his number? Mark Penn doesn't have his number?

What the Clinton's don't seem to understand is after 7 years of being lied to on a whole host of fronts, the American people are tired of fake, poll-driven BS. Had Hillary just come out in this campaign and done some version of McCain's old "straight talk express", she might have had a chance here. But her and her whole team has been BS'ing us, and we ain't as stupid as we used to be.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, and I must be a Clinton supporter!

I think everyone's tired of the same old Washington insiders like Vermin Supreme.

New Hampshire has its own dynamic, and part of it is a protest against Iowa. They don't like the fake primary that comes before them. They enjoy tanking the occasional frontrunner. So even though I don't think it's going to happen, I predict a Romney victory. He's got the favorite-son thing, the not-Huckabee thing, and strong support among Republicans. (McCain's support is among independents, who may vote for Obama.) I can't imagine Paul and Huckabee combining for 22%, and the Republican votes have to go somewhere.

If McCain wins, so will Obama. If Romney wins, Obama wins so big that it becomes an Obama/Edwards race.

PISSED OFF DIE HARD REPUBLICAN FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTES --- NONE OF THE ABOVE

Remember on the SATs you got a minus for the wrong choice --- so it was better to just leave it blank --- picking any one of these guys is a big fat minus!

I am not predicting anything --- but it is SO apparent that the never-right pundits are correct on one thing --- GOPers really want to choose "None of the above" from the laundry list of 'candidates' in the race. Each one of the GOP candidates has so much dog shit on their shoes, it really does stink around here. We should feel sorry for these poor mis-guided Republicans, the roosters are finally coming home to roost. And after Iowa, the choices look so much worse.

Let's take a look at the assortment of lost baggage:

Fred --- old, boring and completely uninspiring --- even to his own base. The great savior from Law & Order is more like the Creature from the Back Lot. Old bag Kate O'Beirne said Fred had "good conservative credentials" but what she failed to say was that Thompson just phones in his performances and really is just another tired and lazy actor from central casting. Heck, Reagan at least had his legs blown off in Kings Row, all Fred does is lecture ADAs. Is also probably not all that bright, but among these morons he looks somewhat smart. Bad communicator, tends to put people to sleep. Good chance he drops out after South Carolina if he doesn't do well. Main advisor is evil witch Mary Matalin, who will be unemployed and searching for another place to spew her bile when Freddie's dead. We would be better off digging up Ronnie and putting Fred in the casket. Has multiple chins and liver spots.

Rudy --- nasty, arrogant and condescending. The longer the campaigning goes on, the more the Judi and Bernie shit will hit the fan. Final straws seem to be the police escorts of Judi (whether paid for him or not, he paid a big political price), the 'mysterious' hospital visit in St. Louis and the fact he thinks Cheney could make a good choice for the vice-presidency. What the hell is he thinking?! Whole campaign is like an episode of Fear Factor --- and watching him is like the bug eating part. Married/divorced cousin. Own kids hate him. Announced divorce from Donna Hanover (who has been on Law & Order --- like Fred!) at press conference. The wind is out of his sail --- and is obviously resorting to farting a lot to get it going again. Betting the whole wad on Feb 5th --- where he thinks the big 'libural' states like New York, New Jersey and California will come to his rescue. Risky and probably bad strategy. MSM still hasn't figured out that New Yorkers only remember 9/10 Rudy and hate him. Would actually make George Bush seem like a diplomat if he was in office, and most people are beginning to see that.

Mitt --- empty suit, Ken doll and brings out acrimony like no person can. NO one likes this guy - not even his fellow candidates. McCain loathes him (based on the waterboarding answer he gave a few weeks back), as does Rudy. They completely ganged up on him at the final ABC debate. His final nail in the coffin will be if he finishes a weak second, but could stay on due to his deep pockets (deep due to having no genitalia, like all Ken dolls). His flip-flopping all over the place has Moveon.org drooling thinking about the ads they can run. Wears way too much Alberto VO5. The CorporateTM Inc. wing of the GOP wants him since he is one of them, but the Evangelicals, Ltd. wing (those two wings are starting to realize they have virtually nothing in common) hates the fact he is a Mormon. Represents everything that is wrong with America today --- corporatism, entitlement, elitism, fear-mongering, over-coiffing. Has five sons serving the country --- by driving a van around the states with primaries handing out Mitt bumper stickers. Not much respect for the Constitution as he would ask his lawyers about going to war before Congress. Gives good Powerpoint, not much else. Pundits loved his religion speech (which mentioned the world Mormon once), but the country yawned or downright hated it. So much for his Kennedy moment. So much for pundits getting it.

Hucka-bee --- affable, charming, upbeat and just plain batshit insane. Says God is guiding him. Practically says God is endorsing him. Takes the high road every time he opens his mouth so he comes across as the 'nice guy' --- something that is sorely lacking in any wing or member of the Republican party. And it works. Uses his preacher skills quite effectively, but is really Elmer Gantry. Hunts like Elmer Fudd and kills birds that won't vote for him. Son is animal abuser. Has ties to some nasty people on the religious extreme front. Is actually really stupid --- keeps flubbing international facts and events and like Reagan, laughs about it. Calls a press conference to announce he won't air a negative ad and then airs it (even puts it on YouTube). Claims floating cross in Christmas message was not intentional --- fooling absolutely no one. Drives people like Grover Norquist, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh crazy --- they HATE (or rather fear) him. The CorporateTM Inc. wing fears him because he talks the 'populist' talk --- and would raise taxes, but Evangelicals, Ltd. love him --- as one of their own. His nomination can potentially tear the GOP to shreds --- he truly is Damien with the 666 on his pate --- as bad things will happen to people who cross him. The rich Republicans will attempt to stop him dead in the tracks. Good odds he would lose all 50 states.

McCain --- the maverick who ain't, the straight-talker who ain't, the uniter who ain't. Biggest strength is that he looks normal, smart, mature and worldly against the other four. Problem is, take him away from those four and he looks regressive, hawkish and insane. Probably pissed off Brian Wilson as he changed the words of Barbara Ann to Bomb Iran --- on tape! What the hell was he thinking?! Thinks Baghdad is safe to walk around (when you have 80 guards and a vest --- sure), and keeps insisting the surge is working. (Violence is down, but we are no closer to any sort of solution now than we were five years ago). Thinks Americans wouldn't mind staying in Iraq for 1,000 years. (Somewhere we have heard about those 1,000 year Reichs before). Making nice to the Evangelicals, Inc., a group he once loathed --- flip-flop ads getting readied. Die hard Republicans hate him --- for a lot of reasons --- immigration, his vote against tax cuts, campaign finance reform to name a few. Looks really old --- really, really old. If he is up against the youthful image of Obama or Edwards he has a really really big problem. (Think Kennedy-Nixon 1960). Despite all the dog shit on his soles, many would vote for him holding their nose. Could pick Lieberman as VP --- the kiss of death. Did I say he looks old? --- has multiple chins and liver spots.

So there you have it --- NONE OF THE ABOVE. And to piss off Mr. [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor] Dave Nalle, this hard-core Republican may for the first time vote for a Democrat --- of course with clothes pin on nose.

I believe Dave is underestimating Huckabee and Giuliani in the NH primary. Of course, those votes will have to come from somewhere.

I gave Giuliani a significantly higher rating than he has in any current poll and gave Huckabee about the same as he's polling. I bet that on those two I'm pretty damned close to what we see tomorrow.

Dave

If John Mccain does win NH it won't be by eight points and it won't be due to republicans voting for him.

NH republicans such as myself have no love for amnesty loving John mccain. He reminds me of smeagol from lord of the rings. he's a miserable, angry old man and I hope Mitt Romney kicks his ass all the way back to Arizona.

F83K juan Mccain!

I couldn't help but chuckle at Dr. Woo's rant. Good comment!

With the possible exceptions of McCain, Paul, and Kucinich, you could write a long article about any one of the candidates and their disingenuous 'sincere' moments, just like their 'genuine' 180-degree changes of heart on issues that just happen to be front and center in their parties' primaries.

Rudy Giuliani had a famous fake cell phone call from his wife too, remember?

Complaining that a politician is insincere is like complaining that margarine doesn't really taste like butter. It's just part of the game. And it certainly doesn't belong exclusively to the Clintons.

"His [Romney's] big score in the debate was on immigration, but it's an issue which polls show ranks lowest in importance among major issues with voters."

Evidence suggests otherwise.

RJ, your two examples are extremely specific question which really have nothing to do with how people feel about the relative importance of the issues. Here's a compilation of the 5 most recent polls on the subject of the relative importance of issues:

Iraq War: 22%
Economy/Jobs: 20%
Healthcare: 17%
Immigration: 11%
Terrorism: 10%

Here are all the recent polls.

dave

Whether, Hillary's break down was sincere or not won't matter. The perception is she's a faker.

Isn't the NH primary unique in that independents vote? If so, is that reflected in the polls or Dave's calculations.

NH republicans such as myself have no love for amnesty loving John mccain. He reminds me of smeagol from lord of the rings. he's a miserable, angry old man and I hope Mitt Romney kicks his ass all the way back to Arizona.

Good point. I forgot to figure in that McCain was the only candidate with an outspoken reasonable position on immigration. That might give him a bump in New Hampshire.

Dave

Wow, AC, long time.

Your guy's not having such a good month so far, eh?

The fact that Obama and McCain are popular with independent voters is one reason why they might well be the strongest nominees their parties have this year. McCain's worst problems, as Arch conveniently illustrates, come from within the less pleasant caverns of his own party.

And he seems to me just about the poorest example of a "miserable, angry" person one can come up with. His plain speech is usually pretty gently delivered, and with a wry grin. He doesn't smile as much as Smiley Mitt himself, but thank God for that.

And listening to him on Meet the Press yesterday, I was astonished that anyone can with a straight face call him a liberal. I agree with him on very little, but I respect the man enormously. If he were your nominee, I would actually relax a little. Even if he won, the country wouldn't be headed for disaster as it would with Rudy or Mitt.

Dr. Woo speaks with great wisdom.

He doesn't sound like the most typical of Republicans....some of those one-liners could have been penned by Al Franken or Stephen Colbert.

But they are funnier coming from a self-proclaimed GOP-er.

Isn't the NH primary unique in that independents vote? If so, is that reflected in the polls or Dave's calculations.

Yes, it's taken into account in the polls and I considered it. They poll people who declare themselves 'likely to vote republican' or 'likely to vote democrat' as opposed to calling the party registration lists. Same methodology they use in the general election.

Dave

Your guy's not having such a good month so far, eh?

Well, he did win Wyoming, but only because no-one else bothered to campaign there. Wyoming, understandably, was probably not at all pleased about this and proceeded to invite the other candidates to swivel.

If he were your nominee, I would actually relax a little.

I have the same feeling, handy. He's the only one of the Republican front-runners the possibility of whose becoming President does not fill me with dread.

Mind you, considering his age and the very real possibility that he might croak while in office, his selection of running-mate if he wins the nomination seems of paramount importance.

I should clarify my above comment. The first part was responding to handyguy's remark about Romney and the second to his remark about McCain.

About the only thing McCain has going for him among Republicans, is that he was right about the surge. Among Democrats, and many Independents, he's a comfortable consolation. He speaks their language. (Orwellian)

If he wins or does well in NH because of his popularity among independents, it will still be a wide open field for the rest of the primaries.

"But they are funnier coming from a self-proclaimed GOP-er."

Handy, you're obviously an easy mark honorable gentleman. I've got some very nice land south of Pahokee I'd like to sell you...

John Mccain is the second worst thing to happen to the republican party in my lifetime.

The first being George W. Bush.

If Juan Mccain doesn't win a big chunk of the independent vote tomorrow, which it looks like he may not thank to that empty suit Obama, he is done.

Independents vote in NH, but I don't think it's unique that way.

---

Dan, I've got to disagee with you. You say that Clinton is perceived as being a faker. That's certainly the perception among Republicans, but among her likely voters? I'm not sure. They might believe that she's just so darned ready to fix the country (sniff) that it tears her up inside.

Bill often used tearful eyes in his presentation, including famously while laughing on his way out of a funeral. Hillary's a very different politician, but she knows the trick and may well have tried to use it. Even Reagan cried in public.

Dr Woo: "Remember on the SATs you got a minus for the wrong choice --- so it was better to just leave it blank --- picking any one of these guys is a big fat minus!"

Actually you only lose a quarter of a point. If you can narrow the field to 4 answers, you break even in the long run.

To not vote in the general election is a sure loss.

Dr. Woo is likely not a Republican.

Good point Baronius, although some of that possibly misguided faith in Hill's sincerety may be eroding in direct proportion to Obama's rise.

Frankly, if McCain is the worst thing to hit Arch's version of the GOP then it makes me want to vote for him because I like the real GOP not Arch's fundie RINO fantasy.

#39 Dave:

You make a valid point about how the polling data I had cited did not show the relative importance of illegal immigration in voters' minds when compared to other issues. I will cede the point that there are a few issues that the American people are more concerned about (economy, war, etc.).

However, illegal immigration is still an important issue in the minds of voters, even if it's not the most important. From the polling website you linked to:

"Compared to other problems facing the country, how big a problem is illegal immigration? Would you say it is one of the most important problems facing the country, or is it an important problem but not one of the most important, or is it not all that important, or is it not important at all?"

11/30/07 - 12/3/07
one of the most important- 27%
an important problem - 54%
not all that important- 11%
not important at all - 6%
unsure - 2%

So, 81% of registered voters believe it is an important issue, and over one in four believe it is one of the most important. Also, bear in mind that this is a poll of all registered voters, and not a poll of registered Republicans or likely Republican voters, who would presumably be even more concerned about illegal immigration.

"I have the same feeling, handy. He's the only one of the Republican front-runners the possibility of whose becoming President does not fill me with dread."

And "endorsements" from the two of you are just further evidence that the guy is far too liberal on too many issues to satisfy actual Republicans.

If McKennedy wins tomorrow night, it will be because independents voted for him overwhelmingly, not Republicans.

"If McKennedy wins tomorrow night, it will be because independents voted for him overwhelmingly, not Republicans."

That's why New Hamp will just be a pause in the action for the Republican primaries.

To get a true look at the momentum, you could probably just zero out his share and proportionally add to the rest of the field.

That's really not a relative ranking of the issue, because it's still being ranked by itself without comparison with other issues. I didn't see the specific poll you reference, but I found a similar one from July. Here's how it rated various issues. The percentage is the combination of 'very important' and 'important' ratings.

Global Warming: 57%
Health Care: 62%
Deficit Reduction: 61%
Economy/Jobs: 67%
Iraq War: 61%
Terrorism 58%
Immigration 48%

Again, rating FAR lower than other major issues.

Ah, wait, I did find your poll. It's the ABC/Bloomberg poll. They also asked about the issues on a relative basis in that poll, and here are the results:

War in Iraq: 32
Economy: 25
Health care: 19
Terrorism: 18
Illegal immigration: 15

So that would be a weak 5th place, less than half as important as the War in Iraq.

Dave

Just going on what I remember from the facbook poll (and all the stuff they had running during the debate):

Democrats: Obama
Republican: Paul
Both with staggering leads.

Now, I checked the stats on this, to see that the voter support for each candidate was across age and sex demographics, and they were in both cases.

Actually, from what I read about those stats, that seems the most consistent result from state to state. Iowa being the exception rather than the rule.

Also of note, in the Facebook stats most people voted that they wanted to hear more about the economy, and from what I saw, Paul seemed to the only one who was really talked about it.

Paul wins in a landslide then. That'll shake things up.

Yeah Ron Paul will win NH when Bill stops cheating on Hillary.

"So that would be a weak 5th place, less than half as important as the War in Iraq."

Right. So out of the virtually infinite number of possible issues voters could be concerned about, illegal immigration is the fifth most important one, according to that poll.

How exactly is that "weak" ???

How the fuck is global warming more imprtant than illegal immigration?

Here's the link to the facebook stats...

I should also note that one problem with facebook stats is that, according to the BBC a few months ago, there is a class divide between social networking sites. Facebook runs from middle class up, and myspace runs from middle class down.

Shat said, I would be more likely to rely on facebook stants than myspace.

Hilarity.

Manchester, New Hampshire - A wild mob of Ron Paul supporters descends on Sean Hannity, and begin chanting slogans denouncing him and FOX News. If they'd had some rope, there might have been a lynching.

I love politics.

RJ: Manchester, New Hampshire - A wild mob of Ron Paul supporters ... "

Did they have beards, long, greasy grey hair, camouflage pants, pick up trucks, and Vermont plates??

Gotta watch them black helicopters.

Dr. Woo

That was amazing! I concur.

I would have voted for McCain before he sold his soul to the devil a few years back. Now hes all peeling and looking weird and Faustian. Whats up with that?! He is running on the man he used to be. Too bad

Romney is just slimy. He wants it too much and acts as if he deserves it. Whatever Ken!! Enough about the Olympics already. They sucked anyway. Did everyone forget? And the CEO thing... it's not the 80's. No one cares.

Giuliani? Just lacking on all fronts. His career was over when 911 hit. All of a sudden all of the simple minds thought he was heroic because... who knows. What was he supposed to do dance on ground zero. He did nothing heroic or unifying. People just got caught up. We are done grieving. Times up Rudy. Back to regained your jerk status.

Huckabee - I like him. His not perfect, YEAH! He is a bit kooky, YEAH again!! He is goofy and smart. Oh my goodness, he is smart. Go figure. I'd be willing to test him out. Its weired that he's not all dumb and cheesily spun like all Republicans have to be these days. A genuine, not heroic, not weirdly patriotic, none business school drone, who doesn't hate everyone who is not like him, who doesn't invoke prayer or FAMILY into every sentence, person who is a Republican. Whats up with that?

Thompson - whats that all about? Okay I am encouraged by the attempt at his age. But otherwise... alrighty then.

Thompson - whats that all about? Okay I am encouraged by the attempt at his age. But otherwise... alrighty then.

At his age? Despite the wrinkles, he's not all that old. He's only 64. Almost a decade younger than Paul and 6 years younger than McCain. He's only slightly older than Giuliani, and as past presidents go he's not terribly old either.

As for intelligence, he far outshines Huckleberry. I'm not really a Thompson supporter, but his command of the facts is astonishing compared to most of the other candidates.

Dave

Yeah Thompson would be great if he hadn't been half assing it the whole time.

"How the fuck is global warming more imprtant than illegal immigration?"

That was my take as well. 57% to 48%. You know that's whacked. Nalle say's those percentages were a combination of the top two choices of importance.

My estimate would be that about 7% of normal people place importance on global warming. If you're polling just college campuses that Al Gore has visited recently you might get to the 57%.

The two issues are also distinct in another way.

People who aren't freaking out over Global warming, are going to tell the polster "unimportant".

But people who aren't freaking out over illegal aliens are more likely to be enthusiastic about the prospect of amnesty. Amnesty and beyond, even.

So, both the people who are freaking, and the people who can't get enough of it, are motivated to check "important".

Which makes it far more likely that illegal immigration is a higher priority than Global Warming.

It seems impossible for our conservative friends here to imagine that anyone might actually hold a different set of opinions and priorities than their own. If they continue to be exposed to the opinions of others, their heads may explode or something.

And Dan and RJ and Arch continue the preposterous claim that John McCain is a liberal. Beyond his [extremely moderate and sensible] position on immigration reform and his [noble but flawed] attempt to remove the soul-deadening, corrupting importance of money from politics, how on earth is he a liberal? Just because he's not a fire-breather? Giuliani I could see classifying as a social moderate-to-liberal. But John McCain is practically Ronald Reagan on most issues, especially defense-related.

I think it's just the fact that liberals such as Dr. Dreadful and I respect the man. If we respect him, he can't possibly be trusted, right? But we respect him for his no-bullshit integrity, his plain talk, his anti-politics brand of politics. Not because we agree with him on very much of anything. We have dealt with seven years of an administration full of liars and pretenders. That's why he would be refreshing.

[I think he would lose against Obama anyway, and maybe against Clinton too. But an Obama-McCain contest might well be the least depressing one in a long time. Any would-be Swift-boaters would just be shouted down or ignored.]

Almost certainly another Clinton plant here.

Boy, she's really going hard after the female sympathy vote.

Both of 'em are yawners...

This is from Rush Limbaugh:

Iowa is a caucus; it's a weird setup. New Hampshire allows independents to vote in the Republican primary, which is why McCain is doing as well as he is doing, and it's why the media want this to be a bellwether against Romney. I mean, Pat Buchanan came in second. He came in a very strong second in New Hampshire in 1992. Now, I'm not saying that these contests are not to be taken seriously here, and that they're not to be fought and to be won, but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. New Hampshire is no longer the conservative barometer it used to be. The state has changed, it is now quite liberal. A lot of people who used to live in Massachusetts have moved into New Hampshire to escape New Hampshire's high taxation and other problems. New England generally the northern states, states like Iowa, is not where the conservative base resides in large numbers. The Drive-By Media would love to destroy the conservative coalition. They would love to destroy the conservative base to the Republican Party. That's why they are promoting Huckabee; it is why they are promoting McCain.

Tom Brokaw claimed tonight that he was hearing mostly negative reactions from women to Hillary's tears. Not because they thought she was faking, but because they felt let down by her giving in to a sexist cliche - the overemotional, weak sister.

I know my opinion on this subject won't count for much on here, but watching the full clip on TV tonight, I thought, if she's faking, she should give up politics and go into acting. She should win an Oscar. The tears were low-key and spontaneous, and accompanied by words that were really touching:

"I just don't want to see us fall backward as a nation. I mean, this is very personal for me. Not just political. I see what's happening. We have to reverse it. Some people think elections are a game: who's up or who's down. It's about our country. It's about our kids' future. It's about all of us together. Some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some difficult odds. We do it because we care about our country. This is one of the most important elections we'll ever face. I just believe......so strongly in who we are as a nation. I'm going to do everything I can to make my case, and then the voters get to decide."

A sampling of John McCain's positions:

Pro-war - conservative
Anti-abortion - conservative
Pro-amnesty - liberal
Pro-campaign finance "reform" - liberal
Anti-tax cuts - liberal
Pro-spending cuts - conservative
Pro-Kyoto - liberal
Anti-waterboarding - liberal
Pro-stem cell funding - liberal
Anti-gun control - conservative
Pro-nuclear power - conservative
Pro-vouchers - conservative
Anti-Gitmo - liberal
Anti-gay marriage amendment - liberal
Pro-private SS retirement accounts - conservative
Anti-socialized medicine - conservative
Pro-raise minimum wage - liberal
Anti-drilling in ANWR - liberal
Pro-death penalty - conservative
Pro-school prayer - conservative
Anti-medical marijuana - conservative
Pro-International Criminal Court - liberal
Anti-Law of the Sea Treaty - conservative

As you can see, he's a mixed bag. He's not a flaming leftist, but he's hardly a mainstream conservative Republican. He's a moderate. I'd certainly prefer him to Shrillary or Barack Hussein Obama, but I would like to see a more conservative candidate win the GOP nomination.

Thank you, Debrar, for sharing with us Rush's paranoid fantasy interpretation of the Iowa and New Hampshire results. If McCain wins the nomination, it's because the media want to destroy the conservative coalition? Heaven forbid that there are actual voters who are tired of rabid conservative rhetoric and ready for an alternative; no, it must be the fault of the evil media [of which Rush is a part, but never mind].

Another example of a Clinton crying on cue.

And do you fervently disagree with all the positions on that list you label "liberal" [some might say "moderate"], and agree 100% gung ho with all the ones you label conservative?

Is this like a football game, we all have to be on one team or the other? Anyone who actually strives to find common, middle ground is just a loser? The only acceptable position is to belittle and insult those you disagree with? To attempt to destroy them with ferocious rhetoric, a la Limbaugh and Coulter?

If so, kind of pitiful. And there is evidence voters are tired of partisan sniping and hungry for pragmatic, centrist solutions.

"A lot of people who used to live in Massachusetts have moved into New Hampshire to escape New Hampshire's high taxation and other problems."

Huh?

"I'd certainly prefer him to Shrillary or Barack Hussein Obama, but I would like to see a more conservative candidate win the GOP nomination."
- RJ Elliott

Well Barack Obama is going to be our next president Elliott, so it looks like you won't get what you "prefer".

That's just a typo, I bet. But in the next sentence he refers to those people as "liberals." But don't we liberals love taxes? I'm confused.

"Which makes it far more likely that illegal immigration is a higher priority than Global Warming"

Illegal immigration can be reversed anytime by rounding up th illegals and shipping them out. It's only a matter of political will.

Global Warming (if real) cannot be reversed readily. How do you re-freeze the polar caps?

#77 handy:

Well, it is a fact that a large percentage of the voters in the New Hampshire Republican Primary aren't really Republicans, but independents. And the independents are likely to throw their support to McCain, while the Republican voters will likely choose Romney. So if that is the case, and McCain comes in first, it will only be because of non-Republican (and presumably less conservative) voters. So Rush has a point.

Also, McCain has been garnering newspaper endorsements all over the place, which would seem to at least partially confirm Rush's speculation that he is the media's preferred GOP candidate. I mean, it's not exactly a secret that the press and McCain have had a generally positive relationship with each other over the last 8 years or so, and such good media relations are almost unheard of for a conservative Republican.

"How do you re-freeze the polar caps?"

Send Hillary up there...

RJ, not all of us would agree with your classification of those positions as 'liberal' or 'conservative'. Conservationism is certainly a conservative issue as strictly defined, and a lot of us would say that supporting traditional american values by opposing torture is also conservative. Even his campaign finance reform measures aren't really leftist. The left's preference in that area is to have tax money finance campaigns, and that's far from what McCain attempted. He just wanted to limit corrupting influences, which is basically conservative. That he didn't think it through and it ended up a big mess is an entirely different issue. For that matter I think that supporting the importation of inexpensive foreign labor is about as conservative a value as there is.

Dave

And BTW, being 'pro-war' isn't a conservative position. No one is pro-war. McCain is pro-defense. And if he's pro-exportation of capitalism and democracy to other countries then that's a genuinely liberal position. Even ultra liberal.

Dave

#85 Clavos:

If you look closely at the video where she is crying, you can tell that the "tears" are really just a mixture of melting ice and semen from her prostate.

Fair enough, Dave.

But what of his stance on taxes?

Not exctly conservative there, verdad?

"McCain is pro-defense."

Well, he sure wanted to "defend" the hell out of Iraq!

At least one poll had McCain ahead by one point tonight among NH Republicans.

But is it a bad thing to have independent support? A lot of voters in the general election will be independents as well. You do want to win the general election, don't you?

There are more Republican newspapers than Democratic ones in the country. I imagine a fair number of them have endorsed Republican candidates of many degrees of conservatism.

But why are the instances when the media disagree with your opinions so singularly important to Rush and to you? Is it just possible that you also ignore the times they agree with you or are neutral? Why are conservatives so insecure, even after running much of the government [and increasing swaths of the media, too] much of the time since 1980? Why always the paranoid, "the media are out to get us" malarkey?

There are conservative, liberal, and, yes, neutral media voices. It's a good idea to police them and point out overreaching and inaccuracy. But to do it from a conspiracy-mongering, defensive stance doesn't help you convincingly make your case. It seems too obviously at odds with the real world.

"But is it a bad thing to have independent support?"

Thanks for completely missing the point.

Obama, McCain ahead in early voting:

Residents of two tiny towns stayed up late to give Barack Obama and John McCain early victories in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

Voters in two small New Hampshire villages, Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, cast the initial ballots just after midnight Tuesday.

In Hart's Location, Democrat Obama received nine votes, Hillary Rodham Clinton received three and John Edwards received one. On the Republican side, McCain received six, Mike Huckabee received five, Ron Paul received four and Mitt Romney one.

In Dixville Notch, on the Republican side, McCain received four votes, Mitt Romney two and Rudy Giuliani one. On the Democratic side, Obama received seven votes, John Edwards two votes and Bill Richardson one vote.

Long-shot GOP hopeful Rep. Duncan Hunter attended the vote in Dixville Notch, where results were announced before 12:06 a.m.

"It epitomizes people-to-people politicking," Hunter said minutes before the votes were cast.

Hunter received no votes in either town.

Sad.

McCain says he proudly supported Reagan's tax cuts but opposed Bush's because they were not accompanied by spending cuts and he didn't approve of blowing the budget surplus. This may be disingenuous, since Reagan's tax cuts combined with his enormous defense increases are what started the deficit ballooning originally.

RJ, if you use Obama's middle name in that snide way of yours one more time for no good reason, I'm going to use the middle name of EVERY candidate in EVERY comment I make on the subject from here on in to November.

BTW, what does the J stand for? Mwuuah-ha-ha-ha!....

Jesus

So, if you're a Latino, RJ, how come you're anti-immigration?

:>)

Xenophobia, irrational and vitriolic racism, and a strong dislike of the samba.

:-/

Funny!

No joke, I am literally listening to a Cal Tjader samba album as we trade quips...

Go figure.

There are more Republican newspapers than Democratic ones in the country.

Since when? The editorial stances of newspapers nationwide have always been overwhelmingly pro-democrat. I've been hard put when looking to find more than a handful of clearly conservative newspapers.

Dave

CNN Reports that the first votes have been counted in New Hampshire. A couple of tiny little towns held their votes at midnight. In Dixville Notch and Harts Location, the votes are in with Obama in first place with 16 votes to 3 each for Edwards and Clinton, and only 1 for Richardson. For the Republicans McCain has 10, Huckabee has 5, Ron Paul has 4 and Giuliani and Romney have 1 each.

Not sure if this really predicts anything, but it shakes out pretty close to what I predicted. Now th other 99.99% of the state just has to vote.

BTW, late news reports suggest that Paul might do even better than expected and better than I predicted. We'll see if there's more to it than speculation.

Dave

Actually Romney got 3 but the votes in these towns have never served as a valid predictor of the entire state Dave.

Ron Paul will at best finish a distant third in NH, overtaking gomer pyle.

If the independents up here decide to vote for emptty suit obama instead of john mcamnesty, he will be in for a very long and unhapppy night.

Hillary in is full meltdown mode now. This gaffe occurred just hours before voting began in New Hampshire.

She's lucky there are hardly any blacks to offend in NH. Michigan and South Carolina, on the other hand...

0_o

I must be missing something here.

I don't see that video you linked as a gaffe, RJ.

She basically says that while MLK fostered and nurtured the dream, it took a president, an individual with his hands on the actual levers of power, to make the dream a reality.

That's what happened. How does describing it as it happened diss MLK?

I'm no fan of the Iron Maiden, but I think this is spurious.

I just wish Ron Paul would stop talking about Ghandi.

#104 Clavos:

It's not that what she's saying is factually incorrect, it's just that it's politically incorrect. Remember: She's running against a "black" guy for the nomination of a political party in which a large percentage of the registered voters are black, and which holds MLK up as an almost God-like figure. Any statement that is viewed as minimizing His legacy is considered borderline Nazism to many on the Left.

Personally, I think she was just trying to bait Obama into a defensive overreaction that would have turned off some voters, but he was smart enough to largely ignore the comment. I have to admit that the guy has run a pretty smart campaign so far, with the exception of some foreign-policy gaffes early on.

Just for what it is worth, I think Ron Paul will do better in this state than anyone (except the Paulbots) is expecting, and that Obama Barack will do better than anyone (except the Obamabots) is expecting. In my eyes, these are the two best people you could have running on either side. If you Yanks actually do get to choose another idiot-in-chief, something I'm not honestly sure will happen, you'll have the best possible choices to choose from. Possibly a last chance to redeem yourselves before the Big Guy Upstairs decides to Do The Job Himself.

In the mean-time, suggests you all turn your head east a bit where your president is about to come to this land and curse the G-d of Israel, and force the local clown of a leader to do the same.

What the local clown does to curse G-d is his business and out burden - What YOUR leader does to curse G-d is your business and YOUR BURDEN.

Of all the entities involved in this presidential election, God (assuming He's involved) is the one I fear the least.

BREAKING NEWS:

MANCHESTER, N.H. - It's back to the future at Hillary Clinton's campaign as some of the top advisers to former President Clinton are set to join to Hillary's faltering campaign as early as tomorrow. Senior Clinton sources tell Fox that Hillary intends to bring in as top day-to-day advisers James Carville and Paul Begala. The campaign could also add other strategists from Clinton's presidential years, but Carville and Begala are the biggest names and are set to join the campaign after a post-New Hampshire strategy meeting tomorrow. Carville and Begala will serve as top strategists on politics and communication and likely overshadow the current role of Mark Penn, Hillary's senior strategist, and Patty Solis Doyle, Hillary's current campaign manager.

The early Exit Polling from New Hampshire must have been UGLY. Obama might win by 20 points...

this is not surprising, as obama has been attracting HUGE crowds all across the state.

Drudge is reporting (complete with siren):

EPIC TURNOUT FOR DEMS -- We Are Out of Ballots!

If this is true, it likely means MASSIVE turnout by independents, who are choosing to vote in the Democrat primary instead of the GOP primary. That almost certainly means a HUGE landslide for Obama. It also means trouble for John McCain, as he needs as many independent voters as possible to vote in the GOP primary in order for him to beat Romney.

A hoarse (from screaming at Mark Penn?) BJ Clinton goes negative on Obama.

Michael,

Loving G-d, as opposed to fearing Him - or fearing Him less than the mortal fools running around - is a wise policy and an intelligent attitude.

But I suggest that since George Bush is the leader you elected (even if you did not personally vote for the bastard), it is a Biblical principle, one that has operated (against my own people) in the past, that you are responsible for what the pain in the ass says to G-d to publicly break His Laws - as in forcing the Land of Israel into foreign hands from those of His chosen people for that Land, us Jews.

We Jews who live here bear a guilt burden - all of us - for NOT killing Olmert, Sharon, Peres, Netanyahu, Barak and a host of others who have done just this in defiance, not only of Israeli law, but of the Torah, to which ALL Jews are obligated.

Since your own leader alleges that he believes in the G-d of Israel, he is in big trouble for the blasphemy that he has already committed a Sharm al Sheikh in 2003, in Annapolis in 2007, as well as for the blasphemy that he is already committing in coming here now. And you, as his electors, bear the burden of that blasphemy, even if you yourself agree with his goals. He didn't have to open his mouth that he believed in the G-d of Israel. But he did. So he is stuck, and so are you.

Sorry, Mike. That's the way the matza crumbles.

Me:
There are more Republican newspapers than Democratic ones in the country.

Dave:
Since when? The editorial stances of newspapers nationwide have always been overwhelmingly pro-democrat. I've been hard put when looking to find more than a handful of clearly conservative newspapers.

I found a page that lists all the endorsements from the 2000 presidential race:

The totals are

Bush: 178
Gore: 119

Just one of the reasons to repeat: the 'liberal bias' of the media is mythological.

I agree that the liberal bias thing is a myth, Handy - the media are biased solely towards profit - but I'm genuinely surprised to see that the endorsements broke the way you indicate. It suggests that an awful lot of small town papers must lean right, because none of the major dailies do.

Dave

Here's another interesting factor to consider. They're having a heatwave in New Hampshire. It's sunny and int he 50s - a good 20 degrees above normal for this time of year. That's got to boost voter turnout.

Dave

i dunno dave...bad weather rarely keeps voters away up here. on the other hand, it's so freakishly warm that mud season has shown up several months early. that might cut the numbers slightly because some people are bound to get stuck in it!

If the thread is going to be edited up, I am baffled why RJ's juvenile comments about Hillary's tears are allowed to stay.

Methinks the Initialed One is doing everything he humanly can to ensure Hillary loses the Democratic nomination, because he thinks that Obama can't possibly win in November.

Methinks he may be in for a horrible shock...

THERE IS NO MEDIA BIAS:

NBC's Brian Williams took to MSNBC today at noon and had this to say:

"I interviewed Lee Cowan, our reporter who covers Obama, while we were out yesterday and posted the interview on the web. Lee says it's hard to stay objective covering this guy. Courageous for Lee to say, to be honest. The e-mail flood started out we caught you guys, we never did trust you. That kind of thing. I think it is a very interesting dynamic. I saw middle-aged women just throw their arms around Barack Obama, kiss him hard on the cheek and say, you know, I'm with you, good luck. And i think he feels it, too."

MSNBC - Fair and Balanced? :-/

"If the thread is going to be edited up, I am baffled why RJ's juvenile comments about Hillary's tears are allowed to stay."

How was that a personal attack against a fellow poster/commenter? Does Hillary lurk on BlogCritics?

"we reserve the right to edit/delete comments that are some combination of pointlessly vulgar, vile, cruel, without redeeming qualities, and an embarrassment to the site."

Don't you remember that your comments have previously gotten you banned around here?

"Methinks the Initialed One is doing everything he humanly can to ensure Hillary loses the Democratic nomination, because he thinks that Obama can't possibly win in November."

Not at all. I just happen to thoroughly despise Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband and their history of lies and corruption. And I also find John Edwards to be the most disgustingly, shamelessly hypocritical human being I've ever seen.

Barack Hussein Obama, on the other hand, doesn't have a history of lying or corruption, and he's actually semi-likable. I won't vote for the man, of course, but he's by far the least despicable of the main three Democrat candidates.

Oh, and I cede that he could win in November. Much more likely to do so than Hillary, in fact.

"Don't you remember that your comments have previously gotten you banned around here?"

You mean four years ago, before there even was a written comment policy?

If Christopher wants to delete my "tears" comment, he's welcome to do so, and I won't complain.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath, Bicho. It'll be alright. ;-]

Well, aren't you quite the adult. [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]

If you believe your 'tears' post was in any way necessary, useful, witty, clever, or amusing, I would suggest therapy.

[Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]

"The issue at hand"?! This coming from the guy whose thinking is so infantile he thinks he's Oscar Wilde because he refers to the previous President as BJ Clinton. That was, what 10 years ago. It's amazing to witness the hypocrisy of those who expected to be treated better than they treat others.

Last time, we talked about the "issue at hand" was when you claimed that Bill Maher was against the War against Afghanistan. I showed you his statements and, to no great shock, you couldn't prove your point. Of course, you weren't intellectually honest enough to admit you were wrong. You first ignored it, and then wanted to agree to disagree.

When you start acting like a person looking for a serious, honest discussion and debate, let me know.

It suggests that an awful lot of small town papers must lean right

Of course they do. Small towns tend to be conservative. Newspaper publishers know their market.

Next time Dave is looking for conservative newspapers, the page I cited might be a good start. Even if half are small town papers [I didn't really check that closely], there would be 85-90 larger ones.

As Barack Hussein Obama looks set to win the NH Democrat Primary, the stock markets are in free-fall.

Probably not related, but still...

whatever you say, rj "icalledawomanacuntandamapparentlyproudofit" elliott.

Ron Paul supporters drown out Hillary supporters:

CONCORD, N.H. - It was Hillary Clinton supporters vs. Ron Paul supporters at a school/polling site in Concord on Tuesday afternoon, as Mrs. Clinton stepped off her campaign bus to work the rope line - and faced very loud catcalls, six feet away, of "a vote for Hillary is a vote for war!"

Mr. Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, has developed a diehard, if modest-sized, following here. His supporters looked like they had all the money in the world this afternoon: They had more "Ron Paul" placards than the Hillary supporters had placards for her, and they had a couple of huge banners to go toe-to-toe with similarly enormous Hillary signs.

...

Mrs. Clinton looked upbeat as she shook hands and also posed for pictures with a couple dozen schoolchildren. One group of youngsters carried hand-made candidate posters; they gathered around her and held up their signs, which not only read "Hillary Clinton" but also "Barack Obama," "John Edwards," and "Mitt Romney."

LOL

BREAKING NEWS:

Mitt Romney is "predicting victory" in NH, according to FOX News, and is planning to go on to Michigan as the front-runner, with McCain's campaign in shambles.

If true, McCain would look like a fool for guaranteeing a win in New Hampshire recently:

"I can tell you right now I will win New Hampshire."

If McCain can't win in NH, where can he win? I don't think the Arizona Primary is anytime soon...

Jesus, #132:

Don't say I didn't warn you.

BREAKING NEWS:

On CNN, Donna Brazile just expressed outrage "as an African American" at Bill Clinton for calling Barack Obama "a kid" ...

You know you're living in interesting times when Democrats start using the race card against "the first Black President" ...

Mr. Elliott:

Are you possibly capable of communicating anything without wrapping it in vitriol, semi-literate all caps SHOUTING and witless sarcasm? Do you honestly think this makes your posts better? Amazing.

handy:

Are you possibly capable of responding to any of my comments with something other than an expression of your personal distaste for me?

No, actually, I'm not. Apparently, I am not entirely alone in this either.

Too bad, because you're smart enough to be interesting to talk to. You just don't know how to dial down your obnox-o-meter, and in fact apparently don't see any negative quality in the eternal unpleasant chortling, snorting laugh with which you regard the world.

"It's amazing to witness the hypocrisy of those who expected to be treated better than they treat others."

Dittos, El Bicho.

About media bias:

The issue isn't whether editorialists write opinions. It's whether journalists do. A paper might have an editorial staff that leans left or right, but those aren't the editors who edit the paper. They don't review the articles with a red magic marker. They write the stuff on the op-ed page.

Different staff hire and supervise the reporters and copy editors. These people come from journalism schools and got into journalism to "change the world". They're largely liberal Democrats, according to surveys. They often disagree with the editorial page. The Wall Street Journal is known for the war between its editorial and reporting staffs.

I should note that not every conservative makes this distinction. As much as I enjoy the Media Research Center, they fail to distinguish between reporters speaking on their own (as bloggers, commentators, or whatever) and reporters reporting. They're wrong to do so. George Stephanopoulos can give one-sided commentary all he wants, and I don't care. When he starts interviewing people, I want objectivity.

Liberals criticize the media for the stories they fail to report. They see a right-wing bias. I've never understood it, but they do. They assume corporate interference. Conservatives criticize the media for the way they report the stories. I think much of the problem is laziness, but there's a good amount of bias in reporting as well.

BREAKING NEWS:

Mitt Romney is "predicting victory" in NH, according to FOX News...

What RJ fails to mention about this hot piece of 'breaking news' is that Willard Mitt Romney made this prediction this morning, before the polls (except for a couple of shacks out in the boonies somewhere) even opened. He fails to mention that John Sidney McCain III predicted the same for himself. He makes it sound as if Willard Mitt Romney is getting something from exit or entrance polls that the rest of us aren't hearing about.

Be a good boy, RJ, and wait until the counting starts like last time...

Oh, and Fox News is a reliable source of information in much the same way that the Trabant is a reliable car.

"Oh, and Fox News is a reliable source of information in much the same way that the Trabant is a reliable car."

Who is more credible? Jayson Blair of the New York Times, Dan Rather of CBS, or FOX News?

Also, see comment #121...

THERE IS NO MEDIA BIAS:

* More than half of the journalists surveyed (52%) said they voted for Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, while fewer than one-fifth (19%) said they voted for Republican George W. Bush. The public chose Bush, 51 to 48 percent.

* When asked "generally speaking, do you consider yourself a Democrat, Republican, an Independent, or something else?" more than three times as many journalists (33%) said they were Democrats than said they were Republicans (10%).

* While about half of the journalists said they were "moderate," 28 percent said they thought of themselves as liberals, compared to just 10 percent who said they were conservative.

* One out of eight journalists (13%) said they considered themselves "strongly liberal," compared to just three percent who reported being "strongly conservative," a four-to-one disparity.

* When asked about the Bill of Rights, nearly all journalists deemed "essential" the right of a fair trial (97%), a free press (96%), freedom of religion (95%) and free speech (92%), and 80 percent called "essential" the judicially-derived "right to privacy." But only 25 percent of the journalists termed the "right to own firearms" essential, while 42 percent called that right "important but not essential," and 31 percent of journalists rejected the Second Amendment as "not important."

Who is more credible? Jayson Blair of the New York Times, Dan Rather of CBS, or FOX News?

Who said anything about Mr Blair or Mr Rather? We're talking about your source.

8.97% IN:
OBAMA 36; CLINTON 38; EDWARDS 17; RICHARDSON 4; KUCINICH 2

8.97% IN:
MCCAIN 37; ROMNEY 28; HUCKABEE 12; PAUL 8; GIULIANI 9; THOMPSON 1

Wow. That'd be huge if it holds up. McCain and Clinton. So much for change.

According to exit polling data, it looks like Hillary is going to make this thing fairly close.

McCain is looking like a winner. Of course, we will have to wait to see how actual Republicans voted before we dismiss Romney entirely.

Tomorrow's newspaper headline:

"Mac [McCain] Is Back!"

:-/

I bet we see some substantial changes in those numbers before the night is out. So far it looks like the votes have gravitated very heavily towards the frontrunners and away from the lower ranked candidates, which I think is unfortunate.

MSNBC is declaring McCain the winner in New Hampshire with all of 12% of the votes in, but his margin is pretty huge.

Looks like bad, bad news for the Paulites. 5th place is not a good thing for him.

Dave

As a Romney backer tonight truly sucks.

Mitt is down but not out.

I know that when the campaign hits SC Juan Mcamnesty will be told to go f&^k himself again just like he was in 2000. That makes me smile.

Romney had a reasonable second place showing in New Hampshire so don't despair. It's when he gets slam dunked by McCain and Huckabeen in South Carolina that you can kiss his lying, pretty-boy ass goodbye.

Dave

Dave remind me of how well Mccain did in SC in 2008.

Th eonly reason Mccainwon NH was because he got the independt vote. If it was a straight GOp primary he would have gotten trounced.

Mitt may not be the nominee but neither will senator mcamnesty.

Arch - It's not a good night for you, but it's survivable. A close second in NH, with a win in Michigan and a second-place finish in South Carolina. He'd be positioned as the anyone-but-Huckabee candidate, should Huck misstep. And that's assuming that McCain wins in New Hampshire, which isn't 100% certain.

If Mitt doesn't get the nod I'd be happy to see Rudy get it just as long as that amnesty loving piece of shit John Mccain doesn't get anywhere near it.

McCain wins. Romney second. Huckster third (at best).

Interesting thing: Romney's concession speech was extemporaneous. Huckabee ad-libbed his concession. But McCain stammered through a prepared speech he was reading from a script.

Isn't New Hampshire regarded as the big indicator of things to come??