Category Archives: Obama

Yes we can… win Texas

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Quoth the votemaster:

Texas finally got the votes counted. The net result is that Obama actually won Texas. Clinton got four delegates more than he did in the primary but he beat her by nine delegates in the caucus. Between Texas, Wyoming, and Mississippi, he now has a bigger lead in delegates than he had before March 4.

As an armchair (business) strategist, I have to say that Hillary’s attempt to claim him as her VP was a clever, if hilariously transparent, attempt to draw attention away from the fact that he is winning no matter how you slice it. Let me be sappy and quote the Yes We Can Song (which itself quotes Obama). It seems quite apropos here:

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics… They will only grow louder and more dissonant.

I Told You…

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…Texas has problems.

Apparently, in the counties that got around to holding caucuses and primaries, no one was quite sure what they were doing. People waited hours to cast their ballot (wait, you cast ballots in a caucus? How is that diferent from a primary? Why do they hold them on the same day?), which apparently also confused a lot of people by, for some reason, asking them to select their sexual orientation?

The results (of candidates, not Texans’ sexuality) are still coming in….

Ohio

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The weather in Ohio has apparently turned absolutely miserable, which many predict (for obvious reasons) will hurt the turnout. But, as the photo shows, Obama fans like Arya Kamangar won’t let the weather stop them. I wonder if bad weather is almost in Obama’s favor? Although at this point, Hillary fans are probably pushing really hard for turnout, too.

It’s Tuesday

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Texas and Ohio vote today. Polls show Hillary leading in both, but not by much. Vermont and Rhode Island also vote, but I guess they’re being neglected in most media since they only hold a handful of votes. Obama’s winning in a landslide in Vermont polls, while Rhode Island is another “close, but favoring Hillary” poll.

Someone mentioned a good point, though: imagine if Hillary had won 11 straight states. People would have written Obama off as a lost cause. And if he won Ohio today, people would think, “Woo-hoo, one state on top of 11 straight losses. He’s still done for.” For some reason, Hillary’s not getting that.

Kyle sent me the following image…
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The image, as hilarious as it is, is even funnier when you realize that it’s taken verbatim from a Neil Gaiman comic, which was not about Obama. How well it adapts!

I’ll close with a quote: “Always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.” Texans and Ohioans (?), get out and vote for a better future!

Things are Changing

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It’s no secret that Obama’s been winning even more elections lately than the polls had predicted. I won’t get into theories for why, and instead point out another development in Obama’s string of successes.

Hillary had considerable backing by superdelegates, the almost 800 “free” DNC delegates and high-ranking elected Democratic politicians. But one of Hillary’s superdelegates has just announced that he’s backing Obama.

I’m starting to feel good about this race.

Obama Wins…

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A quick recap of Obama’s wins this weekend:

  • Maine
  • Louisiana
  • Nebraska
  • Washington (State)
  • Virgin Islands
  • The Grammys

What’s interesting isn’t so much that Obama won a Grammy, but that he was competing with Bill Clinton for the award, and that both Clintons and Obama have previously won Grammy Awards.

Another interesting trend, mentioned here (among many others) is that Obama wins in a landslide in every caucus. We saw that he can win plenty of primaries, too, but he really shines in the caucuses, which tend to be poorly-attended. Combine that with him having very enthusiastic supporters, the type of people that will spend hours at a caucus, and it’s not too surprising.

“The Votemaster” (at Electoral-Vote.com) has an interesting cartogram up. The Hillary states (pink) versus the Obama states (purple) almost seem to resemble the general 2004 vote: most Kerry states went for Hillary, and most Bush states went for Obama. We still have Wisconsin and Virginia this month, with 23 delegates up for grabs. Texas is coming up in March, and the latest polls (late January) show that Clinton has a lead. Whether this will remain the case or not is to be seen.

Deciphering the Madness

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A lot of people (myself included, until recently) are really confused by the discussion of delegates and superdelegates and all that. They refer to the complex manner in which the Democratic Party selects its candidate.

Normal delegates are much like people in the Electoral College system, except that the Democratic Party awards them to a proportional vote: if Obama gets 60% of the votes in a state, Obama sort of gets 60% of the delegates. (It’s actually more complicated, and is awarded by precinct, but I digress.)

The other element is superdelegates, which is a bit of a made-up word referring to “PLEOs” — Party Leaders and Elected Officials. The Wikipedia page Superdelegate gives a helpful explanation. They include DNC members and current governors, senators, represenatives, past and present Presidents/VPs, and a few others. (Thus Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama all count as superdelegates, as does Bill Richardson, and probably some others.)

The theory is that these people are more experienced and less subject to whims, although the system has been rightfully criticized as being anything but democratic, giving a small cadre of people enormous sway in the process. There’s a list of all the current superdelegates. It’s on another site in a more organized form, but is split up into multiple pages, and it includes those who haven’t yet endorsed a candidate.  You can also view superdelegates supporting Obama and superdelegates supporting Hillary.

Yes We Can!

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I didn’t think it could be done, but I just got choked up watching a music video on politics, the Yes We Can Song.

Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.