tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6719252574677567989.post8659011719760197019..comments2024-03-26T05:22:08.256-04:00Comments on Frontloading HQ: On Debates and LobbyistsJosh Putnamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06301836432446874997noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6719252574677567989.post-65790697725829249282008-02-23T21:10:00.000-05:002008-02-23T21:10:00.000-05:00I like that citation just fine. It looks good. I'...I like that citation just fine. It looks good. <BR/><BR/>I've heard speculation on the similarities between one of her closing lines and one Edwards had used in past debates (everyone candidate being fine but worried about America), but the Bill angle I hadn't heard. See, when she's doing it too, it is just "silly season." Well, "there I go again!" Isn't there anything that hasn't been said in politics?<BR/><BR/>This FEC limbo situation is something to keep tabs on. Sure, the consensus is that the campaign finance rules are broken, but most people take that to mean spending being out of control. Now the very commission that monitors these things is teetering on the brink; wedged between a rock and a hard place. I was going to say the Senate and the White House, but I can't decide which is which in that analogy. <BR/><BR/>I'm still going to let this McCain thing play out. It just seems like "politics as usual." He may not be saying anything more on the matter , but he has <A HREF="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/sundays-breakfast-menu-feb-24/" REL="nofollow">surrogates from the campaign on CNN, CBS and FOX in the morning.</A>Josh Putnamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06301836432446874997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6719252574677567989.post-69628040483238190212008-02-23T12:44:00.000-05:002008-02-23T12:44:00.000-05:00I agree with you on all three points. I don't thin...I agree with you on all three points. I don't think she scored in the debate. Her unusual closing comment made it look like she was bowing out. I think it all depended on the definition of "we" was. I believe she meant Barack and her rather than Bill and her. Have you seen the indication that in her debate comments she used <A HREF="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/22/clinton-faces-claims-of-borrowed-language/" REL="nofollow">borrowed language</A> from Bill's 1992 campaign. How do you like my pretty citation?<BR/><BR/>The campaign finance issue is also strange. Apparently McCain is just going to spend and see what happens. Since the FEC is short four members out of six, there is not much they can do to censure him. Besides, what would they do if he wins, fine him. He can hardly condemn Obama for opting out of publicly funded dollars when this cloud is hanging over him.<BR/><BR/>I find it interesting that everybody, except you and me of course, is rushing to judgment on the Iseman case. Like most of these cases, more information will come out to sink him (and throw the Republican nomination into a bigger free-for-all than the Democratic one) or to make it look like another Dan Rather case of overeager journalists going after "conservative" Republicans. If it is overblown, it could actually help McCain rally his base. Time will tell. It took several months to resolve the Monica Lewinsky case. Glenn Richardson's situation is still up in the air.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03379192575044761972noreply@blogger.com