Impressive insight on Obama/Clinton home stretch

[Ma'ake]

I'm starting to like MSNBC more & more. First, I like Keith Olbermann's deadpan, over-the-top sense of humor (eg, "Bill O'Reilly is the worst person in the world"), secondly they have some pretty bright people giving insightful analysis on the political game.

Lawrence O'Donnell was on tonight - very bright, well connected guy.

Briefly, his analysis:

- the nominee has been decided (nobody disputes this outside the event of a tragedy or Obama coming out of the closet... actually, that might help him with some Dems. )

- while the game has been decided, the race could & should go on. Hillary's & Obama's supporters are very passionate & this has been a tough primary, it will take time for Hillary's supporters to come to grips with the idea of supporting Obama. Hillary, by continuing to campaign, provides the conditions for a "soft landing" for her supporters, who will come to see that the math simply is not there. Obama would be hurt if Hillary just threw in the towel now, too many of her supporters would bail out of the political season altogether.

Evidence of this narrative playing out will be the tone Hillary takes in subsequent campaigning. The Clintons would be out of their minds to stick with the negative attack campaign, and the primary has made Obama a more formidible opponent for the general election, in that he's been able to weather some controversy & gained valuable experience in conquering adversity in the context of a major political campaign.

Well, I like that narrative, but if there's anything this season has taught us, the unexpected is damn near assured of occurring.

[MikeWaters]

thanks for relating the wishful thinking. very entertaining.

[Surfah]

Originally Posted by Ma'ake

I'm starting to like MSNBC more & more. First, I like Keith Olbermann's deadpan, over-the-top sense of humor (eg, "Bill O'Reilly is the worst person in the world"), secondly they have some pretty bright people giving insightful analysis on the political game.

Lawrence O'Donnell was on tonight - very bright, well connected guy.

Briefly, his analysis:

- the nominee has been decided (nobody disputes this outside the event of a tragedy or Obama coming out of the closet... actually, that might help him with some Dems. )

- while the game has been decided, the race could & should go on. Hillary's & Obama's supporters are very passionate & this has been a tough primary, it will take time for Hillary's supporters to come to grips with the idea of supporting Obama. Hillary, by continuing to campaign, provides the conditions for a "soft landing" for her supporters, who will come to see that the math simply is not there. Obama would be hurt if Hillary just threw in the towel now, too many of her supporters would bail out of the political season altogether.

Evidence of this narrative playing out will be the tone Hillary takes in subsequent campaigning. The Clintons would be out of their minds to stick with the negative attack campaign, and the primary has made Obama a more formidible opponent for the general election, in that he's been able to weather some controversy & gained valuable experience in conquering adversity in the context of a major political campaign.

Well, I like that narrative, but if there's anything this season has taught us, the unexpected is damn near assured of occurring.

Um, you lost me when you called Lawrence O'Donell bright.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by surfah33

Um, you lost me when you called Lawrence O'Donell bright.

We should remember that O'Donnell was the one who HATES and DESPISES Mormons. He went off on Mitt Romney.

Another subtle dig, and more passive-aggressive tactics by the OP.

Just say your mind man, come on and say it, we will like you more after you say it.

[SeattleUte]

Thanks for that post, Maake. Very entertaining. Good stuff. The part about the soft landing still has me smiling. I'm thinking too bad McCain didn't have to spend another four months slogging through primaries and spending millions of dollars and fending off Huckaby demagogery appealing to and highlinghting Republicans' worst instincts. I'm thinking not just McCain but all of us would be better having experienced such prolonged misery. And Huckabee supporters would have been happier to switch to McCain.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Thanks for that post, Maake. Very entertaining. Good stuff. The part about the soft landing still has me smiling. I'm thinking too bad McCain didn't have to spend another four months slogging through primaries and spending millions of dollars and fending off Huckaby demagogery appealing to and highlinghting Republicans' worst instincts. I'm thinking not just McCain but all of us would be better having experienced such prolonged misery. And Huckabee supporters would have been happier to switch to McCain.

Obama will come out of this all the stronger. The Dems have now established a formidable election machine in all 50 states that won't easily be replicated by Republicans. Dems are outraising the Republicans by a gigantic amount. McCain hasn't had to suffer through the intense media scrutiny yet either as Obama just has. The time is soon coming when he will wish people would go back to not noticing him.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Ma'ake

I'm starting to like MSNBC more & more. First, I like Keith Olbermann's deadpan, over-the-top sense of humor (eg, "Bill O'Reilly is the worst person in the world"), secondly they have some pretty bright people giving insightful analysis on the political game.

Lawrence O'Donnell was on tonight - very bright, well connected guy.

Lauding Olbermann and O'Donnell? I'm speechless.

[BYU71]

Originally Posted by Ma'ake

I'm starting to like MSNBC more & more. First, I like Keith Olbermann's deadpan, over-the-top sense of humor (eg, "Bill O'Reilly is the worst person in the world"), secondly they have some pretty bright people giving insightful analysis on the political game.

Lawrence O'Donnell was on tonight - very bright, well connected guy.

Briefly, his analysis:

- the nominee has been decided (nobody disputes this outside the event of a tragedy or Obama coming out of the closet... actually, that might help him with some Dems. )

- while the game has been decided, the race could & should go on. Hillary's & Obama's supporters are very passionate & this has been a tough primary, it will take time for Hillary's supporters to come to grips with the idea of supporting Obama. Hillary, by continuing to campaign, provides the conditions for a "soft landing" for her supporters, who will come to see that the math simply is not there. Obama would be hurt if Hillary just threw in the towel now, too many of her supporters would bail out of the political season altogether.

Evidence of this narrative playing out will be the tone Hillary takes in subsequent campaigning. The Clintons would be out of their minds to stick with the negative attack campaign, and the primary has made Obama a more formidible opponent for the general election, in that he's been able to weather some controversy & gained valuable experience in conquering adversity in the context of a major political campaign.

Well, I like that narrative, but if there's anything this season has taught us, the unexpected is damn near assured of occurring.

Well that seals it. You and I are totally on different ends of the political spectrum. Lawrence Odonell is a world class idiot and I came to that conclusion long before he said anything about the "mormons".

I think most Americans have had a gut full of the religious right. Perhaps if Obama gets in and we have a democratic congress Americans will remember why they had a gutfull of liberals. Maybe in four years we can elect some sensible people who aren't extremes of either end.

[RedHeadGal]

I don't really have an opinion on O'Donnell. I do find, though, that people around here tend to stick by/disparage commentators based on their agreement with what they say. Someone lauding the insights of Christopher Hitchens recently comes to mind. . .

As for the subect matter here, I'm not that worried about most Clinton supporters turning the corner to support Obama. It may take some individuals time, but when the alternatives are support McCain or stay home? Those just don't make sense for people invested in the process an in a candidate with policy views like Clinton.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

I don't really have an opinion on O'Donnell. I do find, though, that people around here tend to stick by/disparage commentators based on their agreement with what they say. Someone lauding the insights of Christopher Hitchens recently comes to mind. . .

As for the subect matter here, I'm not that worried about most Clinton supporters turning the corner to support Obama. It may take some individuals time, but when the alternatives are support McCain or stay home? Those just don't make sense for people invested in the process an in a candidate with policy views like Clinton.

I don't listen or read the commentators much any more except some print ones on RealClearPolitics. The rest of them are merely entertainers who aren't very entertaining.