Some Democrats stepped up during Wednesday's debate...

...and others were eliminated from contention (with a couple of others treading water)...

All this happened on one question. :))

Warning: sarcasm ahead...

Governor Bill Richardson, former Sen. John Edwards, former Sen. Mike Gravel, and Sen. Chris Dodd showed that they are intelligent, wise, and undeniably classy; any would be fine choice for the Presidency.

Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Joe Biden showed that they are morally, intellectually, and mentally unfit for the Presidency.

Sen. Barack Obama and Rep. Dennis Kucinich showed that the jury is still out - they didn't show the wisdom of Richardson, Edwards, Gravel, and Dodd, but there were extenuating circumstances.

How can we arrive at these conclusions, with months of campaigning ahead before the first primaries and caucuses?

The candidates were asked if they rooted for the Red Sox or the Yankees.

Richardson, Edwards, Gravel, and Dodd expressed support for the beloved Olde Towne Teame. (Whooo hoooo!!)

Clinton and Biden professed fealty to The Evil Empire. (Hiss boooo!!!)

Obama (IL) and Kucinich (OH) proclaimed their loyalty for the respective hometown teams. Not as good as rooting for the Red Sox, but wayyyyy better than being a Yankee fan.

Oh, those poor poor Clinton and Biden supporters - the primaries are months away, and their candidates have already committed a candidacy-killing gaffe.

:))

Events Calendar

Thursday, September 27 – Arizona for Richardson Planning Meeting, 7:00 p.m., Saguaro Branch Library, 46th St. and Thomas in Phoenix.

Thursday, September 27 - Meeting of the Arizona chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council at 7:00 p.m., 6991 E. Camelback Rd. in Scottsdale. Contact njdcphx[at]cox.net for more info.

Friday, September 28 - The LD8 Democrats present the Big Picture Film Festival. This month's film, "Plagues & Pleasures On The Salton Sea", will be shown at the Fountain Hills Community Center, 13001 N. La Montana Drive. Contact the D8 Dems at (480)596-8350 for more details.

Tusday, October 2 - The Obama for President campaign will be holding its Rally For Change, 6:00 p.m. at the State Capitol, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix.

Friday, October 12 - Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector and author of "Target Iran" will speak at the New Vision Spiritual Growth Center, 9659 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Contact number: 480.650.0746.

Saturday, October 20 - Fundraiser for Dennis Kucinich at the Peace Tree House in Tempe. Contact local coordinator Rick Romero at 602.515.9844 (cell) for details.

Tuesday, November 13 - Legislative Workshop discussing the procedures and processes of the legislature. It will be held at the Arizona House of Representatives. Check in at 7:30 a.m.; the program runs from 8:00 a.m. until noon. To register (and pre-registration is required; no walk ups or "day-of" registrations will be allowed) go to http://www.legislativealerts.sirbarratt.com./ The event is free of charge.

The event is run by Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and was publicized by him in the conservative blogosphere; however, the event is open to the general public, not just 'his' people.

Pleasepleaseplease don't let me be the only Democrat there; register today. :)

Later!

Governor Napolitano part of online poll

The political website Campaigns and Elections has one of those unscientific internet polls up on its frontpage, asking readers who they think should be the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President.

The listed choices are Bill Richardson, Ted Strickland, Tom Daschle, Wesley Clark and our own Janet Napolitano.

Governor Napolitano is currently leading all candidates with 2/3 of the votes cast.

Of course, that's 2 votes out of a total of 3 votes, and a certain unnamed blogger accidently voted twice. (BTW - It really *was* an accident.) :))

Now, this isn't a call to 'Pearce-ify' the poll, but stop by and show a little support for the Governor.

Edit to add -

Well, that didn't take too long (less than 2 hours).

The poll now looks like it has been 'Pearce-ified' as Governor Bill Richardson now leads the poll with 91% of the vote and counting.

Thing is, I'm not sure if the person/persons skewing the poll are doing it because they like Richardson, or because they want to insult his candidacy for President.

End edit.

Later!

OK, gradual decline of perceptive MSM political analysis is no more...

because now it's in total free fall...


From TimesOnline (UK):

The US debates Hillary's cleavage

[Shakes head in befuddled wonderment]



Hmmm...a short list of the exciting yet utterly irrelevant topics covered by the MSM, instead of boring things like candidates' positions, background, and ideas, during this presidential campaign season includes (but certainly isn't limited to) -


Hillary Clinton's cleavage (She has some! OMG!)

John Edwards' haircuts ($400! Scandalous!)

Barack Obama's middle name (Hussein! Horrors!)


What's next? Dennis Kucinich's height (or lack thereof) or Bill Richardson's bolo ties?


Maybe we should start a whispering campaign about John McCain, Fred Thompson, and Rudy Giuliani.


What could those three have in common (besides running for President)? Hmmm....let me think about that...







:))


Enough already. With its persistent focus on image over substance, the MSM is only hastening its descent into the dustbin of cultural history.


It shouldn't matter whether a candidate is a woman (with all that entails), has a unique middle name, is short or tall, or is bald or well-coiffed -


These people are candidates for the highest office in the country - image doesn't matter as much as substance*.


* - Except if Salma Hayek runs for office. Then all bets are off.


What can I say? I'm a guy. :))

Upcoming events, Presidential campaign chapter

Monday, June 4, Bill Richardson

From an email -

Governor Bill Richardson will be in Arizona on Monday, June 4, 2007.The public event will take place at the Burton Barr Library, 1221 N.Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ., the fundraiser will take place in ParadiseValley.

Meeting Room B 3:00PM-3:30PM
Press Availability

Lecture Hall 3:30PM-4:30PM

He will have a town hall meeting focused around energy policy and the environment.
This event is open to the public.

Event RSVP # 505.239.4697
General campaign contact # 505.828.2455

There will be other, private, meetings at the library. In addition, there will be a private fundraiser in PV afterward.


Saturday, June 9, Barack Obama

From an email -

Put Saturday, June 9th on your calendar as your personal day of action for the Obama campaign.

Saturday, June 9th - Click link to RSVP:

Phoenix:
9 AM at Cortez Park (35th Ave & Dunlap)

Tempe:
9 AM at Kiwanis Park (Baseline Rd, west of Mill Ave)

Phoenix area event organizer: Ken Chapman, kchapman2@gmail.com
More details: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/walkforchangefeatured/4jlrk

Tucson:
9 AM at Gene Reid Park (Ramada #31)

Prescott:
10 AM at Granite Creek Park (554 N 6th St)


The Kucinich, Dodd, Gravel, Clinton and Edwards campaigns all seem to have light AZ schedules right now; most are focused on Sunday's debate in New Hampshire.

However, former President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at this year's Arizona Democratic Party's Heritage Dinner on Monday, June 25. I would be surprised if his wife's candidacy didn't come up in one or two conversations that night.

Certainly no more than 3 or 4. :))

The dinner will be held at the Phoenician Resort, 6000 East Camelback Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Contact Maritza Lopez at 602-234-6814 for details.

Note: I'll be doing this kind of post regularly; I'll be happy to post verified events. Contact me at cpmaz[at]yahoo.com or visit a D17 meeting.

Later!

Since the campaign season started early, so has the endorsement season...

The hardest working, wisest, smartest and the best-looking members of AZ's legislative and Congressional membership have proven their superior political acumen once again with their incredibly prescient endorsements of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for the Democratic nomination for President.

[OK, I think that covers my 'butt-kissing' quota for the week, lol.]

From the Business Journal of Phoenix -

Phoenix Congressman Ed Pastor and a number of Arizona Democratic state lawmakers are backing New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's 2008 presidential bid.

{snip}

State Reps. Kyrsten Sinema, Steve Gallardo, Theresa Ulmer and David Lujan and state Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill are also backing Richardson's White House run.

In other AZ-related presidential campaign news, John Edwards will be in Tucson on Thursday (probably 'later today' as you read this) for a Community Meeting.

Location - Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall, 2475 Water St. (Off Tucson Blvd. and Grant Road)
Time - 4:30 pm

Expect Tedski to have the scoop on any endorsements.

Later!

I know it's early, and I don't necessarily like it, but Hillary Clinton is the one to beat

While she isn't my favorite candidate of those who have announced thus far, I have to admit that Hillary Clinton will be tough to beat.

Not because of her name recognition; while she has plenty of it, simply being 'well-known' can hurt a candidate as much as it helps one.

Not because of her ability to raise money, though she seems to be the best at that.

Not even because of her intelligence, because while she is *very* smart, so are most of the other candidates.

Nope, it's because she's *Hillary*.

Yes, there are a lot of people who can't stand the idea of her candidacy, many of them Democrats. Kevin Spidel has a good example of that here.

And God knows, the Republicans get absolutely torqued over the thought of having to refer to her as "Madame President."

Much like Governor Napolitano, Hillary Clinton's greatest strength as a candidate is her ability to excite people, many of whom would otherwise be utterly uninterested and uninvolved, to get involved and do so early in the election cycle.

I saw a firsthand example of that this weekend.

The people that I work with know that I am politically active, though most of the time it doesn't come up. That changed this weekend when one the women that I work with asked me if I knew of any local volunteer opportunities with the Clinton campaign. Three or four others also chimed in when they heard the question. After I told her what I know, a stunning realization set in -

We're over a year away from the primaries and 21 months away from the general election, and people who have *never* volunteered for a campaign are already lining up.

For the rest of the Dem contenders, that's going to be tough to beat.

Hillary Clinton's website here; calendar of Valley events here.

In the interests of equal time...

Richardson for President website here;

Edwards for President website here;

Obama for President website here.

If any other candidate becomes viable (i.e. - if Biden or Dodd or any of the others gains some traction) I'll post links to their websites.

Later!

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) adding to his Presidential Candidate resume

From a press release:

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Gets Commitment for 60-Day Cease-Fire in Darfur Region of Sudan


KHARTOUM, SUDAN – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced that he has secured a commitment from Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al Bashir to agree to a 60-day cessation of hostilities in the Darfur region to allow for a new political process under the Darfur Peace Agreement and the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations.

Even if this cease-fire doesn't hold, or holds incompletely, Governor Richardson's work is just adding to the idea that while he may not be the 'money' candidate (Sen. Hillary Clinton) or the 'trendy candidate of the moment' (Sen. Barack Obama), he may be the 'most-qualified' candidate.

Executive experience - check (Governor of New Mexico)

Washington experience - check (Congressman for 15 years, Secretary of Energy)

Foreign Affairs experience - check (Ambassador to the UN, special envoy on many occasions, worked for the State Department and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee prior to seeking elected office)

I'm not the only one who is starting to think this - Jobsanger in TX, and Eli Blake, posting at NightBird's Fountain and Deep Thought, among many other bloggers, think so, too.

I haven't decided who to support in the primary, but he's worthy of serious consideration.

Later!