Ficke

This Is Getting Annoying

Via Kos, the Clinton campaign has decided that Texas doesn't count after all now that Obama is looking more and more likely to win the state next week because of their commitment to the democratic process in Michigan and Florida. Clinton:

I’d love to carry Texas, but it’s usually not in the electoral calculation for the Democratic nominee. Florida and Michigan are.

She follows up with some talk about how the agreement signed by the Democratic contenders last year didn't address whether the delegates would be seated, only whether any of the candidates would campaign there. This is, of course, a completely tendentious mischaracterization of the agreement.

Her interpretation doesn't even make any sense: Florida and Michigan ought to be punished for monkeying with the primary calendar, not by having their delegates barred from the convention, but by denying them the ability to see campaign ads? The horror!

For context, here is the Clinton campaign's statement last September in support of the DNC's decision:

"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process.

And we believe the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role.

Thus, we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar."

I know it's the job of a campaign to frame the issues in a way that benefits the candidate, but this is ridiculous. Knock it off.

Borrowed Words

The Obama "plagiarism" scandal is a pretty uninteresting non-story, but Hendrik Hertzberg's post on the subject did introduce me to this bit of trivia about one of JFK's more famous lines:

And when J.F.K. ... was in prep school, his headmaster was fond of exhorting his charges to ask “not what Choate can do for you, but what you can do for Choate.”

I give Kennedy credit for turning a caricature of upper-crust privilege into a legitimately inspirational sentiment. Which is the whole point, I suppose.

Cry, Cry, Campaign, Cry

With uncertainty still remaining in the Democratic primary contest, the stock market continuing to plummet, and Tom Brady having his ass handed to him this past Sunday, it's nice to know some things are still constant and dependable in this crazy, mixed-up world of ours. Here's what was on the front page of the Washington Times this morning:

At least someone is breaking the big story that Democrats are all a bunch of crying sissies.

(the above fuzzy camera phone picture brought to you by me being too cheap to spend one of my hard-earned quarters)