McCain came to visit Dell today and rolled on in on the Straighttalk Express. He was joined by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sen. Phil Graham and Gov. Rick Perry (who has said repeatedly he likes Texas and not Washington when questioned about the possibility of a Vice-presidency). When a woman asked him about vaccine-related autism, he said he would investigate the possible cause of the disease. He also said, and I quote “If it takes me to the gates of hell, I will find and capture Osama Bin Ladin and bring him to justice.”
Eh, that might not be too far off; he’s not exactly a spring chicken. He also said, absolutely, no matter what, he will continue the “war on terror” and the war against radical Islam if president. When asked how he would convince the public to support the war he said he would not lose a war in order to win a political campaign.
We’ve already had more than double the amount of people early voting in Travis County this presidential election than we had in 2004, when an incumbent Texan was running for prez. And, we still have three days more to go… those days usually have the largest turnouts.
Here are some quick stats:
2008 Early Voting Totals Feb 19-Feb 26th: 63,588
2004 Early Voting Totals Feb 23rd-March 5th: 30,717
2008 Breakdown of Republicans and Democrats:
Republican Primary Early Voting Totals (so far) : 10,444
Democratic Primary Early Voting Totals (so far): 53,144
Top Three Locations for Early Voting in Travis County:
1. Randall’s Research and Braker: 5,818
2. Randall’s South Mopac and William Cannon: 4,490
Alright, took a little while to get my internet functioning at home, but here we are.
First 20 minutes- Claws came out immediately. Clinton laying down her plan on Universal Healthcare…essentially accusing Obama of being a Republican.
8:18-Did Clinton just reference SNL? She doesn’t like getting the first question all the time and feels she is being unfairly targeted while Obama sits all cush next to her.
8:24-Clinton put between a rock and a hard place. Tim Russert wants to know if she’ll get out of NAFTA in 6 months. She says yes, no, not really…depends on which state is listening.
8:27-What? What? Someone is asking Obama a semi-tough question on his slight apathy in the past regarding NAFTA? Was this approved by the producers?
8:30-His solutions to building the economy sound eerily similary to Clinton’s. Oh, wait, there was an extra comma in there between the green building projects and hiring Americans to rebuild the country.
8:33-Russert asks if she’s overzealous in her job building aspirations. She says “heck no. I would have been successful has Al Gore been president.”
8:34-I wonder what they are writing on those little pads of paper?
8:35-Will Obama be able to go up against McCain in foreign policy with his lack of experience? He says he knows what he is talking about. “We have to go up against those terrorists in Pakistan,” said Obama. Wait, now we’re going to war with Pakistan???
8:38-Sorry, fell into a coma for a second. She’s going on and on about her foreign policy experience. Ok, we got it.
8:40-Obama says he was against the war but is for bombing terrorists in Pakistan. “I’m not saying we should bomb Pakistan. But, if there is intelligence that there is terrorist activity and they refuse to take action, we should.” (not verbatim, sorry)
8:42-Russert getting a little fired up! He just acted out an angry Iraqi leader saying, if you are not going to stay and protect us then get out now! “Would you?”
8:43-”It is important for us not to be held hostage by the Iraqi government.” They’re holding us hostage?
8:44-If Al Qaeda takes over Iraq again, as president would you invade again? Clinton says, “You’re asking a lot of hypotheticals.”
8:48-Brian cuts Clinton off saying he has to get to one the limited commercial breaks “as the snow swirls outside in Ohio, we’re having a warm night inside at the debate.” (laughter)
8:52-He didn’t allow her to finish when they returned! Instead, Brian is showing Clinton mocking Obama by talking about the “celestial angels singing.”
8:55-Obama says she did a nice job. Then, he says if he was all talk wounded soldiers at Walter Reed would still be paying for their own food.
8:56-Clinton says “I was having a little fun. Its hard to get time for fun on the campaign trail.” Give me a break! Fun is NOT being in freezing Ohio, screaming at the top of your lungs about angels.
8:58-Obama is left-handed, very convenient for his place on the political spectrum.
9:01-”We need to mobilize the American people so they know what their government is doing. Its not romantic. Its what needs to be done.” - Barack Obama
9:03-Wow, Russert hitting hard. “Will you keep your promise about taking contributions?” Obama says I am not the nominee yet.
9:04-Clinton has loned her campaign 5 million dollars and she refuses to file her and her husband’s tax return. “Why won’t you release the return so the public knows who is bankrolling your campaign?”
9:06-”The public is financing my campaign.” He asks to file the return before March 4th. She’s too busy.
9:07-Will you release your agenda as First Lady since you claim all of your experience?
9:10-If Jewish people found out about Obama’s view on Farrakan “you’re Jewish support would dry up like a snowball in hell.”
9:10-Obama tells Tim he wants to restore the relationship between the African American community and the Jewish community (from civil rights era).
9:12-Clinton says, wait a minute-I represent New York! And, I turned down the support of the Independents who were anti-semitic, even if it could have cost me big time.
9:14-Brian is a little punchy tonight. Just pointed out the semi-dead audience finally clapped for Obama’s joke about denounce being the same as reject.
9:20-Obama says “why does everyone-dems, Independents, Repubs support me? Because they’re sick of the rest of y’all!”
9:22-Russert questions Clinton on foreign affairs. “What can you tell me about Putin’s successor?” She responds that he is handpicked a Putin puppet. She couldn’t pronounce his name. Its Medvedev-what’s so hard about that?
9:23-Unfair! Tim then asks Obama what he knows about the successor. He says Hillary pretty much summed it up. Now, he’s talking about Putin, not the successor (I’m taking it he doesn’t know anything about the guy).
9:24-Tim schools them both on the guy’s stats.
9:26-Clinton admits she would vote against the war if she could do it again, but then points out: “My experience and my unique qualifications on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, equip me with the resources to deal with these problems.”
9:28-Obama does not have anything he actually did wrong, but admits he would have taken action on the Schiavo vote, but didn’t actually do anything wrong.
9:29-Obama is now trying to get the last word in as “friends” like she did in Austin.
9:30-”I’m very pleased to run alongside Senator Cilnton.”
9:30-Brian’s not ready for the nicey nicey. He asks Obama what she needs to answer to the people to win the nomination. Obama says she is qualified but he is better.
9:31-He doesn’t have a question for her to answer. But, he says “listen, I’m still better because I can bring the peeps together.”
9:32-Now, she is praising him….and reminds us she told us last week it was an a honor to run alongside Obama.
9:34-She reminded us of her gender. He reminded us of his race. Thanks, guys-we weren’t quite sure by now what was what and who was who.
9:34-Boy these two megalomaniacs can’t even come up with a question for eachother because they only want to talk about themselves!
“He doesn’t understand the legislative process,” said Rep. Dawnna Dukes this afternoon when I asked why her opponent, Brian Thompson, was accusing her of not supporting CHIP. “I was a major co-sponsor of House Bill 109, which was the children’s health insurance bill and expanded the program to bring on an additional 133 thousand children,” she said.
Earnest 27 year old Brian Thompson says Dukes has compromised her Democratic policies to earn favor with House Speaker Tom Craddick. He put out a t.v. ad showing Craddick holding a white envelope while talking to her on the house floor. When I questioned Dukes about the mysterious contents of the mysterious envelope, she told me it was a rosary she had put in an envelope for friends of Craddick who were converting to Catholicism and didn’t know where to get a rosary. Uhm, they could try a church, a Christian store or Marshalls. But, that’s just my opinion.
Despite the relative impossibility (unless something big goes down before the national convention) of being the Republican nominee for president, Congressman Ron Paul still managed to draw thousands to his rally in Austin yesterday. It was a mixture of hippies, doctors, anarchists, students and average Joes. On one part of the lawn, I saw girls with braids, hoola hooping while holding up Ron Paul placards. On another part of the lawn, there were two huge stones with the 10 commandments written on them. Needless to say, an eclectic gathering of Ron Paul supporters.
Before the rally, I met Paul at his hotel and had a one on one sit down interview with him. He will not drop out of the race, he says, nor will he consider a third party candidacy because he says it would just marginilize him more. He is still bringing in money and support, so he says as long as that happens he will continue the good fight. He is also collecting money to keep his seat in Congress in case the presidency thing doesn’t pan out.
The man has honest eyes; that much I can definitely say. Even if you don’t agree with his stance, you have to hand it to him for not pandering to his audience and sticking to his guns no matter how the tide turns against him. If you want to watch, the interview will air on Austin News Today at 9:40am this morning.
Our intrepid web leader Charlie Ray has called in his reflections on tonight’s debate, noting the high energy of the crowd and the general goodwill toward the candidates.
This crowd clearly was united in its opposition to Bush. But the audience also revealed the split we’ve seen in local polls: Those who are convinced the problem with Washington DC is “business as usual” were on their feet for Barack Obama’s comments. And those who supported Hillary Rodham Clinton keyed off her health care plan and her outrage over the nation’s economy. (Who could miss that comment about the surplus left by her husband that Bush blew through while he was in office?) Policy issues and leadership style were her strength.
(You can see the same split in our forum comments on our main page story.)
The CNN commentators talked about this debate being the “same ole same ole” business that they had heard 19 times in the past. I don’t know about Charlie, but I was struck by how often the two candidates returned to the Valley: veterans; poverty; language; the fence. I don’t know if this is the Dems courting Hispanics. I think it was refreshing to see the candidates acknowledge a part of the state often ignored by the media.
As for the flotsam and jetsam of the event, Charlie says the better seats were reserved for the elected officials, with the best seats reserved by seniority. The venue was packed. The crowd was young. The spirits were high. The crowd didn’t hesitate to jump to its feet when it heard an answer that it liked, and they found plenty to cheer. (Once more, it was Anyone Other Than Bush.)
As Democratic strategist Kelly Fero said, the two candidates are well polished at this point in the campaign. As far as manner and style and presentation, the pundits agreed both Obama and Clinton carried themselves well, even presidential.
And Charlie reports it was a bit of a rock star concert atmosphere. It had that air of a “this is a historic” occasion. After the debate, the two candidates shook hands and signed autographs. Elected officials headed to the Spin Room immediately.
As an aside…The crowd was united in its support of Sen. Kirk Watson, a bit of vindication for our local Senator and “the moment of silence heard ‘round the world.” But Clinton’s cheap shot on Watson’s MSNBC debacle drew hisses… and was balanced by HRC’s final comment, in which she insisted she was honored to stand alongside Obama and that the nation was well served by either candidate that might claim the Democratic nomination.
Earlier, we talked about the fact teachers would be with former Pres. Bill Clinton tonight at a debate watch and rally in San Antonio.
We just got a call from Zeph Capo. Zeph is one of 50 Texas AFT members who traveled to San Antonio to watch the debate with Bill at Sunset Station. I say “Bill” because I’m sure everyone who made it out is on a first-name basis with him.
Zeph estimates the crowd at about 7,000. The AFT national president, and some of the higher muckety mucks were backstage with Clinton. Most will get about as close as a gate that’s about a dozen feet from the stage where Clinton is talking.
Clinton actually was talking when we were on the phone. Zeph says he’s hitting the theme of “Hillary is experienced” fairly hard. He’s urging everyone at the rally to turn out their friends and neighbors at the polls.
And what did Zeph think of the whole experience? Well, he taught middle school social studies before he joined the union’s staff.
“This is what you live for as a teacher,” Capo said. “This kind of exciting event is really a springboard for great discussions in the classroom.”
Post-debate, I asked Democratic strategist Kelly Fero some questions…
Final analysis?
I think this debate has been a toss-up, with a slight lean toward HRC. Her close just now was emotional and may have won her some points. In general, she was more energetic and dynamic, while he was more low-key and quiet. It was close, just like their poll numbers in Texas.
What about that Xerox for change line HRC used?
It was too contrived, especially in the context of criticizing her opponent for lifting language from others.I’ve helped more candidate than I care to count prepare for debates, and there is always a desire for one-liners that can stop the opponent in his tracks, like Lloyd Bentsen’s “You’re not JFK” line against Dan Quayle 20 years ago. These lines are rarely effective, and the one tonight seemed to bomb rather dramatically. In fact, she delivered it without much conviction, almost as if she knew it wouldn’t be well-received.
She more than recovered, though, with her close. It was her best moment in any of the 19 debates. Not enough to alter the landscape that much, but an authentic moment nonetheless.
Candy Crowley is saying Cuba was the most substantive new info out of this debate. It’s big with the Univision viewers but of less consequence to Austinites.
I have to say a number of us wanted to hear more on health care… It was big in talk with students on the UT campus and a defining issue for many Austinites. Some observers, though, considered the lengthy answers a dodge. It’s interesting that six months into this campaign, we care a lot less about the war in Iraq.
Lots of pundit comments on the “change by Xerox.” Didn’t go over well. David Gergen, in particular, is panning Hillary’s performance tonight.
Commentators are calling Clinton’s closing statement — the one that got a standing ovation — her most effective moment since she cried in New Hampshire. Was it a valedictory speech… or a gracious admission that she’s way behind?
