Comments on From the Mouth of Ted Kennedy

Geez, Eli. I like Obama too, but you don't need to turn the Slog into his PR office. Besides, you might inadvertently goad ECB into posting a half-baked anti-Obama screed again.

Now I wonder who the Stranger is going to endorse ...

This pretty much summarizes my reasons for supporting Obama. Tired paeans about "the first woman president" aside, she is the candidate of the political machine, and to assume that one is going to get change from that is dangerously naive at best.

Every time we compare JFK to Obama, I think of his assassination.

In Dude Where's My Country?, Moore wrote about how David Palmer, the black president on 24 had prepared the real America to have a real black president. He might be right. Of course, David Palmer assassinated also.

Yeah, I admit, that this was a big blow for the Clinton campaign. But ultimately, I still believe that Clinton will win the nom.

Apparently there's talk that Clinton is getting a lot of pressure to put Obama on the ticket if she gets a nom, so now I also have renewed hope that it will be Clinton/Obama '08.

Every time we compare JFK to Obama, I think of his assassination.

In Dude Where's My Country?, Moore wrote about how David Palmer, the black president on 24 had prepared the real America to have a real black president. He might be right.

Of course, David Palmer was eventually assassinated as well.

Patrick Kennedy's opinion actually does count for something, as he is a super-delegate for Rhode Island. He's for Obama

@3, I thought le Kiefer saved him from imminent assassination?

It's about now that Sen Clinton is realizing that she really needs to buy a leash for her husband.

But it's still too late.

Nay, Palmer was shot several seasons later.

Nevermind. But seriously, how can you argue that a super delegate's vote doesn't matter?

@7 he gets assassinated as an ex-president in a later season, 5 i think

@8, eh. One thing I've learnt this campaign season is that it's never too late for pretty much anything. This race is wide, wide open.

@10 presumably if the rank-and-file dems line up behind Obama and give him a clear majority of regular delegates, the super-delegates will want to do the politically expedient thing and back the actual choice of the people rather then the back room deals that Clinton set up.

still unlikely unless Obama is a clear winner

I can hear the gears turning in Teddy's pickled brain now:

"I feel change in the air. It is time to break away from the political machinations and dynasties of the past. Er-uh... oops, let me start again ...

I feel change in the air. Family dynasties are a good thing. Er-uh ... no that doesn't work either ..."

Should Clinton win the nomination, Obama gains nothing by associating himself with her, especially, as is likely, McCain beats her like a gong.

We Democrats are up to our usual hobby of stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. The Kennedy's are welcome to their own opinions. One doesn't have to be against Obama to support Hillary or vice versa. I can tell you without a doubt that Obama, although popular, will not be able to win in November. Several of the Blue state are light blue at best and the average voter is going to have a difficult time voting for what many of them consider an "uppity, black man" named Barak Hussein Obama. I was once young and naive, and a delegate for Jesse Jackson in '88. I now see that the Democrat's only hope of winning is a moderate like Hillary. That is why the Republican's hate her and Bill so strongly and vocally. They realize that the Clinton's are a much bigger threat than the Obamas and the Kennedys.

@#1: I'm a committed Obamamerican, but really, it's not being a PR person to report the news fully, and it's nice to read more than a few choice "bytes" of a speech by a legend in politics, regardless of what political stripe. If the speech were in support of Hillary or Edwards or Gravel, whatever, I'd like to see it all.

Thanks for the full entry, Eli.

@7 (spoiler) -- there was an assassination plot against David Palmer in Season One, when he was a candidate for the presidency, that was foiled by Jack, which set Bauer up to be the President's favorite lunatic rogue agent. At the end of Season Two, Palmer was infected via handshake with some kind of biotoxin. He recovered, but opted not to run for a second term in Season 3. In Season 4, Palmer stepped in to help his crappy successor. He was shot by a sniper in his apartment at the beginning of Season 5. At the beginning of Season 6 (last season), David Palmer's brother, Wayne Palmer, was President.

Rezko's trial on extortion and fraud charges comes up 2/25. Obama received campaign funds from Rezko from sham finders fees paid to a firm to handle state teachers pension investments. Obama's name comes up in the indictment as an unnamed candidate.

Keep your fingers crossed

@1 - Printing these remarks isn't turning Slog into Obama's PR office. I'm sure if Kennedy had decided to support HRC, Eli would print those remarks too. This is relevant political news no matter who he chose to support.

A Kennedy endorsment is not always a "good" thing.

@17,20 - I'm referring primarily to the quantity of Obama posting today; I don't think we don't need a new post here noting every new high-profile Obama supporter.

I'm sure that if anyone was making newsworthy speeches about Hillary Clinton today, the Stranger would publish those, too. Unfortunately for Clinton, that's not the case. This is devastating, absolutely devastating, for her standing amongst Latino voters and committed Democrats.

Better to be endorsed now by Kennedy than in the general, when you're looking for a swing voter. Ted Kennedy isn't exactly the great unifier.

I like seeing political speeches in their entirety. It's sad that so much of our discussion is constrained to pre-selected sound bites. Many times I've been listening to somebody's half-assed rantings and I could tell they had only heard the bites and the money quotes. Often you can completely turn somebody around if you can just get them to read an entire speech and get themselves a little context.

@18. Oh. I stopped watching after season 2.

who gives a fuck about some stale, tiresome TV show .....

dear hot house children, the drama is in front of you noses

start iving in the action packed , over the top, REAL world

in you 70ies you can stare at the tube all day, cause you will forget it all by the next day

I can tell you without a doubt that Clinton, actively hated by so many, will not be able to win in November. Several of the Blue states are light blue at best and the average voter is going to have a difficult time voting for what many of them consider a "bossy white bitch" named Hillary Rodham Clinton. I was once young and watched Jesse Jackson earn the eternal enmity of mainstream Democrats by getting his delegates seated in the place of the duly elected ones I had voted for, in 1972. I now see that the Democrats' only hope of winning is not an uninspiring moderate like Hillary, Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, or Mondale, but an inspirational leader like Bill, Reagan, or JFK. The Republicans hate her so strongly and vocally because she embodies the nanny state, having once said, "We have to take things from you for your own good." They realize that Hillary is a much bigger threat to freedom than the Obamas and the Kennedys.

On the corruption front, Norman Hsu is Hillary's Rezko

this is the first well-put, substantial statement of why one should support obama that i've heard. it's not enough to sway me, but at least someone finally made some sense as to why people support the guy, beyond "he makes me feel good." i'll be ok with the world if he wins, but i'll still be caucusing for hillary on feb. 9.

oh man, this post has got to burn sven right up.

Well, Sven's still stuck waiting for his bus. It's kind of not quite where it needs to be, kind of like a GOP economy plan.

#28 you do a wonderful job of using every point I made to prove your own. Well done! I would however like to point out that I was able to make my point without personally attacking Obama. I support Hillary 100 % but I can support her and still like Obama. Although remarks such as yours from the Obama camp is starting to make that increasingly more difficult.
Like it or not there is at least a 50/50 chance that HRC will win the nomination and you will be given a choice between her and "support the war, regardless of the lies" McCain. So please remember to make your words sweet as you may have to eat them soon....

Kennedy endorsements are 2 for 1 while we stack them deep and sell them cheap...
Limited time offer not to be confused with something that will actually make a difference....

@18, you're drinking Hillary's Kool-Aid. She may get the nomination, but she has less than ZERO chance of winning in November against John McCain. She has proved repeatedly in the primaries that she cannot win independents. Now her race-baiting and swiftboating has alienated half the left and the black community and depressed the turnout of both for her in November. The last thing the country wants is four more years of Bill Clinton! And the past two weeks have made crystal clear that Hillary cannot control him. He's even more out of control now than when he was in the White House. Hillary supports are so breathtakingly naive in underestimating the degree to which a huge proportion of the American people - Republicans, independents, and even some Dems - just can't stand the Clintons. The choice is to nominate Obama and hope he can win in November, of nominate Hillary and have no doubt that McCain (or whomever) will win in November. @15 is exactly right. What the heck does Obama have to gain from following Billary around like a poodle for a half-year? If she gets the nomination, Obama should immediately focus on unseating McCain in 2012.