Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic candidates have been pushing the theme that Barack Obama doesn’t have the chops to conduct American foreign policy. Not so, says Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor.
Sound Bite: “I think there is a need for a fundamental rethinking of how we conduct world affairs and Obama seems to me to have both the guts and the intelligence to address that issue and to change the nature of America’s relationship with the world.”
Is an endorsement that’s associated with Jimmy Carter’s presidency a good thing?
Governor Romney unveiled his healthcare plan on August 24 at a physicians meeting in Florida.
Sound Bite: “Conservative principles of personal responsibiility and free market dynamics and choice and personal care — these kinds of elements allow us to reform healthcare in such a way that we can solve the problems that America faces in healthcare without having a government takeover, without having socialized medicine. . .”
From the Romney campaign site:
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all, government-run system, Governor Romney’s plan recognizes the importance of the role of the states in leading reform and the need for innovation in dealing with rising health care costs and the problem of the uninsured. More here.
For the most part, Rudy Giuliani hasn’t been running against his fellow Republicans; he’s already running against the Democrats. And if Rudy is the Republican candidate, here are the messages you’ll be hearing a lot:
Daylife.com (where, full disclosure, I am a partner) gathers and analyzes the world’s news and that allows it to learn some fascinating things about the media’s coverage of the presidential race. Their latest looks at the quotes that were picked up most often by press. In short, these are the sound bites that resonated in media this week, the spin that sticks. For each candidate:
Barack Obama:“All of our top military commanders recognize that there is no military solution in Iraq” Hillary Rodham Clinton: “I do not think that a president should give away the bargaining chip of a personal meeting with any leader unless you know what you are going to get out of that” Christopher Dodd: “You’re not going to have time in January of ‘09 to get ready for this job” John Edwards: “Elizabeth is a strong woman who speaks her mind and I applaud her for that” Mitt Romney: “We must not weaken our policy on Cuba until the Castro regime is dismantled, all political prisoners are freed and Cuba transitions to free and fair elections” Sam Brownback: “It’s much more akin to the conversation that happens around the dining-room table in Nashua (N.H.) or at the state fair in Iowa rather than on a stage with a dozen candidates all trying to squeeze in their consultant-crafted sound bites” Joe Biden: “This war must end, but there’s much more at stake as to how it ends” John McCain: “We’re starting to succeed, and I think we’re seeing some shift in public opinion” Bill Richardson: “I believe that if you leave any residual forces, then none of the peace that we are trying to bring can happen” Mike Gravel: “I’m going to vote for myself” Rudy Giuliani: “I took a city that had just about the highest illegality rates in the country and took it down to one of the lowest.” Dennis Kucinich: “George, I’ve been standing here for the last 45 minutes, praying to God you were going to call on me” Tom Tancredo: “I am encouraging the families of the victims to pursue the option of a lawsuit in light of this culpability”
President Bush drew some parallels between Iraq and Vietnam in his speech on August 22 to the VFW. Mike Gravel also sees some similarities. He says the government is lying to the American people about the War Iraq just like the they did about Vietnam.
Sound Bite: “We have one party that supports the war. We have another party that won’t take decisive steps to end it. And young men and women are dying every day.”
Here are excerpts from Bush’s speech, compiled by Veracifier:
Senator Obama was at a South Carolina school to talk about education but he found time to stop by the gym, roll up his sleeves and drain a three-pointer. He’s got a smooth outside shot but we all know the game is usually won in the paint. And if you’re posting up Hillary, you better have some sharp elbows.
Governor Bill Richardson continues to answer voter questions on YouTube. Here’s one about Native American issues:
Sound Bites:
- “We will have a cabinet-level department to deal with Native American issues.”
- “I will treat Native American governments as a separate government.”
- “There will be a Native American in my cabinet. Maybe even more”
Jackie Broyles and Dunlap — the Red State Update boys — review the candidates’ appearances at the VFW convention. (They weren’t too impressed with fellow Tennessean Fred Thompson.)
And here’s a clip from Senator Obama’s VFW speech.
Sound Bite: “Whatever disagreements we have on policy, there will be no daylight between us when it comes to honoring the men and women who serve and keeping faith with our veterans.”
James Carville and the Democratic Senate campaign (oh, yeah, there are other people running for office) send out spam mail asking for suggestions for the perfect bumper sticker.
In 1992, it was “It’s the Economy, Stupid.” In 2006, Democrats simply said “Had Enough?” It was the only question America needed to ask.
Think of something Barack Obama can put on one of those bumper cars he talked about.
Carville et al brag that they record their brainstorming session — which actually might be entertaining, but instead, it’s only staged. And the video they post is not embeddable. So 2006 of them.
James Kotecki points out that most of the presidential campaigns are violating copyright when they put clips of their interviews from cable and network shows up on YouTube — and he hopes that this forces them to reexamine copyright laws. He also likes that the networks are setting a precedent in not going after the campaigns’ useage. I’m not so sure it’s a violation but a defensible use of fair comment but I agree with James in any case.
After getting the endorsement of Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, Hillary Clinton references the weekend’s debate and its war of the buzzwords: “There seemed to be a little bit of a debate: Do we need change or do we need experience? Well, we need both.” In every debate, I tire at the use of both empty buzzwords. We need no more of either.
Which reminds me of my favorite moment in the debate, which I’ve not see snipped on YouTube: when Barack Obama came up with a novel new defense of inexperience, arguing that Cheney and Rove are plenty experienced and see the mess they got us into. What a campaign slogan: ‘Vote for me. I’m inexperienced.’ Lemonade if I’ve ever seen it.
Mitt Romney is running a radio ad in Iowa and New Hampshire that takes aim at illegal immigration and “sanctuary cities” — and by extension that America’s Mayor guy who seems to be so popular.
James Carville and the Democratic Senate campaign (oh, yeah, there are other people running for office) send out spam mail asking for suggestions for the 