Obama Scores Under Pressure

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daH0ltD20A0]

Obama is far better at basketball than bowling as the above video shows. After scoring, Obama told a reporter, “That’s how you perform under pressure. I’ve got skills.”

Posted in Barack Obama, Sports and Games. No Comments »

Hillary Clinton Needs Melatonin (And Better Ad People)

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XpaK-cGO9U]

Hillary Clinton is still taking those phone calls at 3:00 a.m. It is rare enough for there to be an international crisis which results in a 3:00 a.m. call to the White House. Why would they call about a mortgage crisis at 3:00 a.m. and why is Hillary Clinton all dressed and waiting for the call? Perhaps she is waiting up for Bill. Maybe some Melatonin will help get her sleep cycles back to normal.

I bet I’ve received far more 3:00 a.m. calls than any president. Some time its a real crisis. Other times its the hospital calling to say, “Mr. Jones can’t sleep. Can he have a sleeping pill?” Then both of us are awake. Hopefully Barack Obama is getting a good night’s sleep so he is ready to handle the crisis when the real work of government is done during the day.

The full text of the ad via The Politico:

Announcer: It’s 3 am, and your children are safe and asleep.

But there’s a phone ringing in the White House and this time the crisis is economic.

Home foreclosures mounting, markets teetering.

John McCain just said the government shouldn’t take any real action on the housing crisis, he’d let the phone keep ringing.

Hillary Clinton has a plan to protect our homes, create jobs.

It’s 3 am, time for a president who’s ready.

Update (via Marc Ambinder):

Steve Schmidt, a McCain adviser, responded with a jab:

“With an ad like that, it’s more likely that the call at 3:00 am is, “Senator, you’ve just lost another superdelegate.”

Posted in Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Politics. Tags: , , . 4 Comments »

Prostitution Sting Demonstrates Midwest Thrift And Police Skills

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

The husband of one my Senators here in Michigan was caught in a prostitution sting:

The co-founder and former CEO of the liberal-progressive Democracy Radio and husband of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow was caught in February by a Troy police sting aimed at catching prostitutes, according to a police report.

Thomas L. Athans was stopped Feb. 26 by undercover officers investigating a possible prostitution ring in a room at the Residence Inn near Big Beaver and Interstate 75. Athans paid a 20-year-old prostitute $150 for sex in a Troy hotel but was not arrested, according to police reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Detroit News.

On the positive side, this shows how thrifty we are here in the midwest. Senator Stabenow’s husband paid $150. Compare that to Elliot Spitzer paying over $4000.

On the negative side, I can’t help but recall that a few years ago I was unable to get the suite I usually stay in at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and found that Senator Stabenow (and presumably her husband) were staying in the room. (I might have to pick up some Retcon from Torchwood before the next time I stay in the suite to get rid of this memory.)

We also learn about how the police are able to crack these prostitution cases. Lt. Gerard Scherlinck provides an example of our police at work:

Troy’s police spotted an advertisement online at www.backpage.com which read “a young blond hottie here for your total enjoyment” in Troy under the name “Kasey.” The posting had rates for 15 minutes ($100) and by the half hour ($160) and hour ($225).

“Those are all red flags for prostitution,” Scherlinck said.

I sure am glad that our police are astute enough to break that tough code and figure out that the ad was about prostitution. A lesser mind might not have recognized those red flags or figure out what the ad was offering.

Update: In response to those who have expressed skepticism, the news account is real. There really is a Big Beaver Road in Troy.

Posted in In The News, Michigan News, Scandals. Tags: , , , , , . 3 Comments »

David Letterman and John McCain Exchange Insults

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_I3Gr-O2Ak]

Posted in Humor and Satire, John McCain, Television. Tags: , . 1 Comment »

Bill Clinton Has Another Meltdown

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

Bill Clinton had a meeting with California’s superdelegates over the weekend and reportedly had yet another meltdown according to the San Francisco Chronicle:

In fact, before his speech Clinton had one of his famous meltdowns Sunday, blasting away at former presidential contender Bill Richardson for having endorsed Obama, the media and the entire nomination process.“It was one of the worst political meetings I have ever attended,” one superdelegate said.

According to those at the meeting, Clinton – who flew in from Chicago with bags under his eyes – was classic old Bill at first, charming and making small talk with the 15 or so delegates who gathered in a room behind the convention stage.

But as the group moved together for the perfunctory photo, Rachel Binah, a former Richardson delegate who now supports Hillary Clinton, told Bill how “sorry” she was to have heard former Clinton campaign manager James Carville call Richardson a “Judas” for backing Obama.

It was as if someone pulled the pin from a grenade.

“Five times to my face (Richardson) said that he would never do that,” a red-faced, finger-pointing Clinton erupted.

The former president then went on a tirade that ran from the media’s unfair treatment of Hillary to questions about the fairness of the votes in state caucuses that voted for Obama. It ended with him asking delegates to imagine what the reaction would be if Obama was trailing by just 1 percent and people were telling him to drop out.

“It was very, very intense,” said one attendee. “Not at all like the Bill of earlier campaigns.”

A Richardson staffer responded that Richardson had never “promised or guaranteed” an endorsement for Clinton. I wonder how many superdelegates are wondering whether they really want Bill and Hillary Clinton returning to the White House.

Posted in Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Politics. Tags: , , , . No Comments »

Obama Takes Lead In One Pennsylvania Poll

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

Yesterday I cited two polls showing that Obama is narrowing the gap in Pennsylvania. Two additional polls today show the same trend. Quinnipiac shows Obama trailing Clinton by nine points, compared to trailing by twelve points on March 18. Even more incredibly, Public Policy Polling shows Obama up by two points, a remarkable change from Clinton’s twenty-six point lead over two weeks ago. The previous poll was taken at the height of the Jeremiah Wright controversy and the day before Obama’s speech on race in Philadelphia.

This Public Policy poll is quite an outlier from the three other polls, but they have had a good track record and there is a chance they are simply the first to get it right. I’ve been assuming that Clinton would win Pennsylvania but not by enough to change the fundamentals of the race considering the number of states where Obama has won by substantial margins. However if Obama should manage to win in Pennsylvania, even if only by two points, that would be the final straw which would lead to even most of Clinton’s supporters abandoning her campaign.

Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Polls. Tags: . 1 Comment »

Lee Hamilton Endorses Obama

April 2, 2008 — Ron Chusid

Barack Obama has picked up another major endorsement. Lee Hamilton has endorsed Obama, adding to his credentials on national security:

Hamilton, a former U.S. House member who co-chaired the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and headed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he was impressed by Obama’s approach to national security and foreign policy.

“I read his national security and foreign policy speeches, and he comes across to me as pragmatic, visionary and tough,” Hamilton said in an interview. “He impresses me as a person who wants to use all the tools of presidential power.”

Hamilton also sided with Obama on two foreign policy stances that have been criticized by Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Obama’s rival for the Democratic nomination, and Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee. Both have dismissed the Illinois senator, saying he doesn’t have enough experience to deal with critical foreign policy matters…

Hamilton said he agreed with Obama’s position on meeting with U.S. adversaries such as the leaders of Iran without conditions. Also, Obama’s consideration of unilateral military action against terrorist hideouts in Pakistan, is already U.S. policy, Hamilton said.

Hamilton was on Bill Clinton’s short list to run as Vice President, joining a long list of foreign policy experts who have been tied to Clinton who have endorsed Obama. I wonder if this endorsement will result in yet another explosion from James Carville as occurred after Bill Richardson endorsed Obama. Hamilton is from Indiana and his endorsement might also be of some help in that state.

Posted in Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Foreign Policy & National Security, Politics. Tags: , , , , , , . No Comments »
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