Okay, so i have made no secret of the fact that I was a John Edwards supporter and once he dropped out, I began supporting Barack Obama. I also called for John Edwards to endorse Obama and not Hillary Clinton.
I am overjoyed that Edwards endorsed Obama last night! It's a little late, but doing it the day after the West Virginia primary partially nullifies it in the news cycle and shifts the media's attention to the inevitable nominee Obama.
Now, I need to ask all of you a question. I have never given Hillary's campaign so much as my email address, so they must have bought my mailing address from someone.
Yesterday, I received a mailing from the Hillary Clinton campaign. There was no postmark on the envelope, as it was a mass mailing. They were of course asking for money for their severely underfunded campaign. The envelope contained only two things; a half-page, outdated and ungrammatical appeal for money and a Business Reply Mail envelope.
The outer envelope says in big letters, "We're going all the way".
The letter says: (I typed it exactly as written, so the lack of commas is theirs, not mine)
Dear 30,
After 46 contests and over 28 million votes being cast, we are in a neck-and-neck race with Senator Obama. Following a great victory in Pennsylvania, where we were outspent 5-to-1, we head into the final 6 weeks of the nominating process with great momentum -- a momentum on which we need to keep building.
This month we face critical testes in Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon. I need you to join our campaign today because this race is so close that the decision you make could be the difference between winning and losing. Can I count on you to help by rushing a gift of $100 or even $75 so that our campaign will have the resources needed to succeed?
Thirty, I promise you that as long as I have your support, as long as you are fighting by my side, I will work as hard as I can to win. We will keep fighting because America is worth fighting for.
With your support today, we can show them once again that we're in this to win. Thank you in advance for joining our campaign.
Hillary
I particularly like this sentence, "I need you to join our campaign today because this race is so close that the decision you make could be the difference between winning and losing." Oh really? I can make or break your campaign? Little ole' me? Could it be so easy?
Now that the Democratic Presidential Primary race is effectively over, I'd like to have some fun with Hillary's Business Reply Mail envelope.
So the question is, what should I do? Please leave comments.
(No, "Tape it to a brick" suggestions, as that is 'done.')
My first thought is to fill a big cardboard box with x and tape the envelope on as postage.
The other idea is to make some kind of message stating that if it were up to me, that she would drop out posthaste.
News today is that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is going to appear today with Barack Obama and compare NCAA brackets and, oh yeah, endorse Obama!!!
Hooray! If I'd known that all I had to do was ask, I would have asked weeks ago!
This is very good for two reasons, one of course is that Bill Richardson puts himself in the #1 position to be Obama's Vice Presidential candidate. The other is that Hillary is nearly officially done. Richardson's endorsement is her campaign's death knell. She and Bill recognize how important it is and we can hope they will see it as the writing on the wall.
In related news, John Edwards pussed out and didn't endorse anyone. He's obviously angling for a spot in either administration.
Video of John's appearance on Jay Leno last night where he was still very entertaining:
It's time for John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Al Gore to Endorse
It's time.
Barack Obama has shown he has the judgment to be President of the United States.
He has shown that he is Presidential.
He has shown that he is electable.
He has shown that he can both write and deliver an incredibly detailed, difficult, timely speech on race and family in America.
It is time for John Edwards to stop angling for a cabinet post in either administration and go with his heart and mind.
It is time for Bill Richardson to say to hell with the Clinton's negativity and corporatism and go with his heart and mind.
It is time for Al Gore to heal the Democratic Party and set out a clear endorsement of Senator Obama's qualifications and stand behind him for the bruising race to November.
Hillary Clinton does not have any path to the nomination through primaries, or even a way to have a lead after the primaries. She must rely on undemocratic superdelegates to overturn the will of the people. 700,000 more people have voted in primaries for Obama.
The discussion of re-doing Florida and Michigan primaries is over. The delegates should be split evenly between the 2 candidates and seated.
John Edwards can get the ball rolling tonight with an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Come on Senator Edwards, if you, the Governor and Vice President endorse Obama, this low point can be over because Hillary will have no choice but to drop out as superdelegates see the writing on the wall and endorse Obama in droves.
We have been through a lot in this past year and your friendship and support have meant so much to me. That is why I wanted to let you know of my decision to endorse a Democratic candidate for President - and that I have decided to support Barack Obama.
We all understand how much is at stake in this election and that it is more important than ever that we put a Democrat in the White House.
And while both of our Party's remaining candidates are extremely talented and would make excellent commanders-in-chief, I am throwing my support to the candidate who I believe will open the most eyes to our shared Democratic vision.
I'm deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama. He is ready to be President. And I am ready to support him - to work with him and for him and help elect him our 44th President.
Put simply, I believe Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to help us face this housing crisis, create good jobs, strengthen America's families in this 21st century global economy, unite the world against terrorism and end the war in Iraq - and perhaps most importantly, call the American people to shared service and sacrifice. In this campaign, he has drawn millions of voters into politics for the first time in their lives and shown us that we are united by so much more than that which divides us.
That is why I believe the time has come for Democrats to come together as a Party and focus on winning the general election. The stakes are too high not to.
The last seven years have been as difficult as any I can remember. More than ever, we need a President who will inspire us to take part in the political process and change our country's path.
Today, when we need it most, we are hearing a new call from Barack Obama. And I hope you, like me, will answer it in the affirmative.
I received the following email from my eldest brother, who received it from a good friend of his. My brother is, of course, a good Christian® and is in several groups and committees within his church. He never misses an opportunity to call anyone that doesn't attend church regularly a 'heathen,' regardless of the fact that those people are Christians. This is also despite the fact that for over 20 years he didn't attend church at all. In other words, typical hypocritical, holier-than-thou, infallible Christian. As I understand Christianity, we believe that we are imperfect and must submit to Jesus for salvation from our sins. He and his friend are also typical hypocritical social and economic conservatives.
Subject: I pretty much vote this my favorite email of the year....
Three men - a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and a Texan are all working together one day.
They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it.
"I will give each one of you one wish, which is three wishes in total," says the Genie.
The Canadian says, "I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada."
POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.
Osama was amazed. So he said, "I want a wall around Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadians, can come in our precious land."
POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.
The Texan says, "I am very curious. Please tell me more about this wall."
The Genie explains, "Well, it's about 5,000 feet high, 5oo feet thick and completely surrounds the countries. Nothing can get in or out; it's virtually impenetrable."
The Texan sits down, smiles, and says, "Fill it with water."
(I fixed numerous spelling and grammatical errors, so that it is at least readable.)
Now, of course the first thing I did was to fire back a reply and said, "Jesus wouldn't fill it with water."
I'm sure I will receive a response to this. Boy, I can barely wait.
John Edwards Email on Behalf of the DCCC - No Endorsement evident
Former Senator and suspended Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards put his name to an email from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today, but there were no endorsements of either Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton. I doubt seriously that Senator Edwards personally wrote this email, but he is remaining active in the 2008 election cycle.
The question remains, will he endorse or will he watch? He is likely to be seriously considered for Attorney General if either Obama or Clinton are elected, but not if he burns the bridge by endorsing the loser. I believe that he will not endorse a candidate at least until the winner is clear.
Dear 30,
I believe the 2008 elections can truly transform American politics -- but only if we have the courage to act. We have to think big again, taking on fundamental issues like poverty and challenging injustice at every turn. And we have to seize every opportunity to move beyond politics as usual.
Today, I'm writing to alert you to 29 such opportunities -- that's the stunning number of Republicans in the House of Representatives who have decided not to run for re-election in 2008.
They've stood in our way and now they're standing down. And we've got an incredible chance to replace them with strong Democratic leaders who will help end the war, achieve universal health care, challenge poverty, and reduce global warming.
You and I know that we've got to put the White House in Democratic hands this year. But, we've also got to strengthen our hold on Congress -- breaking the ability that special interests still have to throw obstacles in the path of progress. Thirty, your activism has helped put Democrats in a strong position. And in order to seize this historic opportunity, I'm asking you to step forward and stand together with our strong Democratic candidates so we can celebrate Democratic victories.
That's what the 2008 Open to Change Campaign is all about. The skilled, savvy and committed political organizers at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have developed a detailed plan. With our help, they can turn open seats into big changes.
I've seen it firsthand. I know how eager the American people are to take our government back and lead our country in a new direction. As a DCCC supporter, you've long been in the forefront of this movement for change. And now you can help recruit, train, support and sustain strong Democratic candidates -- people who can win the seats that running for the hills Republicans have left open to change.
These kinds of open seat opportunities don't happen every day. Let's make the most of it.
