Don Melton Tumbles

Backstabbing and conflicting strategies behind Hillary Clinton's epic meltdown

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:05:57 -0700

Backstabbing and conflicting strategies behind Hillary Clinton's epic meltdown: I always suspected Hillary Clinton might be a bad manager. A capital crime to a pointy hair like myself. And my suspicion was one of the reasons I didn’t vote for her in the primary. I had no idea how bad. This piece by Joshua Green from “The Atlantic” lays her broken campaign open via internal emails and memos. Gripping and sad. Very sad.

This is certainly frightening, especially with what’s at...

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:09:38 -0700

This is certainly frightening, especially with what’s at stake in the news in the last few days.

Probably why I'm not posting as much to this tumblelog: Twitter

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:21:40 -0700

Probably why I'm not posting as much to this tumblelog: Twitter: Not only is this an explanation of why Twitter hasn’t failed yet but it gives several reasons why I’m not posting as much to this tumblelog. Not only is the 140 character limit actually liberating but it’s all about the audience.

Dexter Season 3. This looks good. Can’t wait!

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:43:00 -0700

Dexter Season 3. This looks good. Can’t wait!

McCain meltdown

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:10:10 -0700

McCain meltdown: Joe Klein calls Senator McCain “shockingly unpresidential” for his “scurrilous statement” claiming that Senator Obama “would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.” I think he’s right. In frustration McCain has jumped the shark on his campaign.

On McCain's chances to win the election

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:43:11 -0700

On McCain's chances to win the election:

Michael Grunwald thinks that, realistically, McCain doesn’t have much of one. The last paragraph is the key:

“That doesn’t mean that anything’s probable. The media will try to preserve the illusion of a toss-up; you’ll keep seeing ‘Obama Leads, But Voters Have Concerns’ headlines. But when Democrats are winning blood-red congressional districts in Mississippi and Louisiana, when the Republican President is down to 28% approval ratings, when the economy is tanking and world affairs keep breaking Obama’s way, it shouldn’t be heresy to recognize that McCain needs an improbable series of breaks. Analysts get paid to analyze and cable news has airtime to fill, so pundits have an incentive to make politics seem complicated. In the end, though, it’s usually pretty simple. Everyone seems to agree that 2008 is a change election. Which of these guys looks like change?”

Social networking overload

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:53:01 -0700

There’s something wrong with wanting to sign up for every social networking site on the Web. Especially when you may not even really like people.

Why polls sometimes show different results

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:44:05 -0700

Why polls sometimes show different results:

Not sure if this is self-serving by the folks at Rassmussen Reports, but it’s at least interesting. And this part is pretty good advice:

“As a consumer of polling data, it is good to have a wide variety of information to review. It is helpful to have some polls assembled in the manner preferred by most academic and media pollsters. It is also good to have data available based upon more firmly established parameters of partisan identification. In the end, a dose of common sense and critical thinking is required.”

LA Times/Bloomberg poll shows Obama with 12-point lead over McCain

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:06:09 -0700

LA Times/Bloomberg poll shows Obama with 12-point lead over McCain: Or 15 points in a four-way race with Ralph Nader and Bob Barr. Maybe that Newsweek poll last week wasn’t such an outlier?

Newsweek poll shows Obama with 15-point lead over McCain

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:34:19 -0700

Newsweek poll shows Obama with 15-point lead over McCain: OK, now that’s a bounce. But Gallup shows the race is tightening today. Go figure.

Gallup also shows the beginning of an Obama bounce

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:43:28 -0700

Gallup also shows the beginning of an Obama bounce: A modest 48% to 42% over McCain, but it’s a start.

The pep talk from Senator Obama and the reminder about...

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:11:49 -0700

The pep talk from Senator Obama and the reminder about what’s at stake.

Via Andrew Sullivan.

Rasmussen Reports has Obama leading McCain 48% to 40%

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:09:31 -0700

Rasmussen Reports has Obama leading McCain 48% to 40%: Is this the start of a bounce?

Clinton campaign ended January with $7.6 million in debt

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:20:31 -0800

Clinton campaign ended January with $7.6 million in debt:

And that’s not including the $5 million loan Senator Clinton gave her campaign.

Does that mean even if she’s taken in $1 million per day since the beginning of February, she’ll only have about $15 million for the month after these expenses? And will she continue to get donations at that rate after her losses yesterday?

Sadly for the Clinton campaign, the winner of the nomination is usually the winner in contributions. And it looks like the Obama “machine” is on its way this month to exceed its record haul of $36 million in January.

Obama wins Hawaii for tenth straight ... by even wider margin

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:23:44 -0800

Obama wins Hawaii for tenth straight ... by even wider margin:

Not even close. Senator Obama bests Senator Clinton by (roughly) 75% to 25%.

That’s got to leave a mark.

Small donations add up for Obama

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:46:04 -0800

Small donations add up for Obama:

From the article:

“On Wednesday, the Obama campaign will report to the Federal Election Commission that it collected $36 million in January — $4 million more than campaign officials had previously estimated — an unprecedented feat for a single month in American politics that was powered overwhelmingly by small online donations.”

I wonder how much they’re going to haul in during February?

Obama wins Wisconsin for ninth straight ... by wide margin

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:44:55 -0800

Obama wins Wisconsin for ninth straight ... by wide margin:

I actually thought this would be closer. Yowza, what a blowout. By 17% as I write this.

Oh, and this certainly validates the Clinton campaign strategy of going negative and trying to kneecap their opponent. Yeah. Right.

Senator Obama’s “just words” response to...

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:39:55 -0800

Senator Obama’s “just words” response to Senator Clinton, the previous speaker at the Founder’s Day dinner last night in Milwaukee.

Point. Set. Match.

Change for the good

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:43:35 -0800

Change for the good:

Wisconsin’s largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, endorses Senator Obama. Via The Huffington Post.

Maybe that’s another reason why Senator Clinton is leaving Wisconsin a day earlier than planned?

Play to win

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:47:36 -0800

Play to win:

Senator McCain is accusing Senator Obama of backing away from a promise to participate in public financing. I want Obama to win. And I’m willing to give him more money for the general election. So I completely agree with Markos Moulitsas here.

“McCain can’t hope to raise anywhere near what Obama raises online every time he yawns. So why give McCain the option of financial parity?
“Obama should say right now that he’s decided to opt out. …
“Let McCain squawk. If Obama gets out and McCain follows that lead and also opts out, then it’s a moot point. If Obama gets out and McCain doesn’t, and then tries to make an issue out of it, who cares? No one will know what the heck he is talking about while hard core Republicans will be reminded every time how much they hate McCain for his position on campaign finance reform.”

This is a non-issue and certainly one that won’t matter in Obama’s nomination battle with Senator Clinton. And she won’t call him on it in a debate either for fear of bringing scrutiny on her own campaign financing.