NBC’s Russert: Obama has the nomination

From MSNBC.com

“We now know who the democratic nominee is”

Video: In the wake of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Tim Russert, moderator of “Meet the Press,” tells TODAY’s Matt Lauer that “we now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be and nobody is going to dispute it.”

Why can’t we ever find a singing lady when we need one?

25 Comments

  1. Well Russert is hardley svelt, so unless he has an operatio planned, would this be the Fat Lady singing.

    Let the battle rage; its doing wonders for Democratic voter registration

  2. The fat ladies I know won’t be singing anytime soon.

    I guess we will see how low Hill will go.

  3. Official campaign sources is saying that she will drop out no later than June 15 (ie, enough time to raise enough money to cover her loans)

  4. Dan-

    Thank you. I’m appalled that so many “progressives” are getting their queues from the same stupid media pundits that have always carried water for Republicans. I’m just so sick and tired of the media trying to declare this race “over” when it’s not.

    The delegate count is close, and the popular vote is much closer. Hillary may very well end up with a popular vote lead once all the states have finished voting and all the voters in all the states are counted. She won a state last night (Indiana) that Obama said himself he’d win… He even called Indiana “the tiebreaker”! So now what? Because he couldn’t win IN, Hillary must drop out?

    I’m so sick & tired of this media bias… That’s why I pay no attention to these pundits who don’t know crap.

  5. Andrew,

    Tim Russert is many things, but stupid is not one of them — unless you define stupid as anyone who disagrees with you. To say that Tim Russert doesn’t know crap simply because he said something your disagree with is puerile.

    And no, Sen. Clinton shouldn’t pull out because Obama lost Indiana. This would be a good time for her to quit because she’s behind in the one metric that matters: delegate count and catching up is difficult at best. To match Obama’s tally, she needs 80+% of the remaining elected delegates. This would be a good time for her to pull out because apparently she values her candidacy more than her supporters do — to the tune of the $11.4 million dollars that she provided her campaign because her supporters didn’t.

    Are you suggesting the rules for selecting a nominee based on delegate count be scrapped in favor of doing it by popular vote, now that the contest is nearly over and it’s the only way your candidate might possibly win? That would be like changing the rules during the final 5 minutes of the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl when one team is behind in the score but has had more first downs.

    And how do you characterize former Senator and candidate George McGovern? He endorsed Sen’ Clinton in October of 2007. Certainly he’s not a media pundit. So maybe he’s a poopypants?

    This isn’t media bias (or projection or speculation), Andrew, it’s reality.

  6. Bill-

    Yes, “Timmeh” Russert is STUPID. He’s kissed Bush’s **s repeatedly ever since he & his big media friends put him in the White House. He’s always bought Bush’s arguments for Iraq or the economy or anything else hook-line-and-sinker when he should have known better. He’s another media pundit who thinks he knows more than the voters.

    But you know what? He doesn’t! I agree with Taylor here…

    http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=27623

    The rules account for pledged delegates AND superdelegates, and the fact is that neither candidate has enough pledged delegates to win at this point. Oh yes, and you don’t know yet how much Hillary has raised from all of her grassroots supporters. If she were really losing so badly, why would she personally invest her own money to stay in and encourage her supporters to make an investment in the campaign as well?

    Sorry, but just because the stupid media elite says Hillary should quit doesn’t mean she should quit. I, for one, will stand with her until she wins or she says she’s done. And yes, I know many more people who feel the same way.

    No matter what the media elite say, we won’t let them tell us that we have to quit!

  7. LOL Andrew. This is the phenomenon of “even such-and-such a moron can see the truth here!” Us Obama supporters are saying that about Russert right now, but it always leaves people open to “How can you quote THEM as an authority?”

    One example was Bush & Cheney citing Amnesty International on Saddam’s atrocities, when 99% of the time they would probably say “Amnesty Who?”

  8. Tim’s a fat head, misogynist who obviously has a very high opinion of himself. He’d not the chief Democrat, it’s not his decision to make. This will go on and on and on until there is a real winner, somone who wins. No bullying girls out of the contest, thank you. If Obama wants to win Hillary’s supporters he’l have to win it fair and square.

  9. Andrew. Russert is not your average political pundit compared to George or Chris. He is very well respected and knows the numbers. He called Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. I am sorry you are disappointed, but the numbers don’t lie. I personally don’t care who gets in as long as its a Dem. Bottom-line, Hill’s campaign was not well run and the “experience” vs. “change” did not resonate with voters.

    Over the last month McCain has made several verbal mistakes that the media has neglected to report on because they were too busy salivating over this race. We need a nominee as soon as possible to avoid another four years of W. At this point, Obama has mostly weathered his faux pas, has a new momentum and now must unite the party. McCain said today how much he admires Justice Roberts. With Ginsberg and Stevens holding on by a thread, I will not stand for anything but a Dem being elected on November 4.

  10. Clinton lost George McGovern today to Obama as a superdelegate. She did loan her campaign another six million. This win will not bring in the kind of money she needs in order to even come close to paying off her debts. West Virginia will be a cakewalk for her, but it won’t change a damn thing, she will still be behind.

    I think the only reason she is staying in now is to pay of the money she loaned herself. Sorry.

  11. Heather, your comment is pretty well spot on. I would disagree with one thing, though. I don’t think Sen. Clinton will be able to raise enough money to pay off her loans. If it were possible for her to raise lots of money, her Pennsylvania win would have been the opportunity and it fizzled after a day or two. I think ultimately, it may well be the Obama campaign who ultimately will pay off those debts after she quits.

    Andrew, After Kentucky and Oregon it is entirely likely that Obama will have the majority of elected delegates. Combine them with the supers and he might hit the magic 2025. And don’t forget the other supers who continue to defect from Clinton to Obama. Ah, but for Sen. Clinton to survive another 2 weeks, she might have to cough up another $6.4 million to compete in the next three, not two, states. And who the hell is Taylor? Oh, right. Some hack with whom you agree so this person must be a freakin’ genius. By your logic, I also am stupid since you and I disagree. Thanks to you, Andrew, I now have two things I share in common with Tim Russert: we’re both born in Buffalo and by your definition we’re both stupid. That puts me in good company, and I wear your label with honor.

  12. Chairman Howard Dean–and barack Obama–say that the presidential primary contest should finish. That the process has helped the Party. But while Obama says one thing his comrades sing another tune.The Obama folks are like a broken record since Iowa–Hillary is done, she should drop out. Party unity. Focus on the GOP. Right. If Obama was in Clinton’s shoes right now all you anti-Clintonistas would be screaming like stuck pigs if this kind of pressure was being excerted to force him out. Somehow though, I suspect the press would not be piling on an African American to quit as they are a Clinton.

    I know you Kossacks are dying to prevent even more states from having their votes count(Florida and Michigan not enough apparently)but there are a few more weeks to go. And 2025 is not a meaningful number since it does not count Florida and Michigan. So kentucky and Oregon won’t do it Bill. And untill the rules and credentials committee and the convention decide this, or if Clinton decides to withdraw, bring it on. West Virginia is a swing state. If Obama is such a strong candidate he should win this. No Democrat is going to win North Carolina or Indiana this year. They’ve got to win Florida, Ohio., Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri, New Mexico and Iowa plus the deep blue states like California, illinois, new York, etc. . Obama has won a few of these but where has he won big with an African-American percentage of the population closer to the national 12% average AFTER the Rev. Wright and the San Francisco little-angry-people-with their God and guns and anti-immigration blankets incidents? Those may not be deal breakers in a primary but if he’s the nominee he is going to need some serious help on the ticket and with the people who supported Clinton. And this constant pushing to get her out and the outrageous but typical attacks on Clinton–this time that she’s staying in only to get her debts paid off–is not exactly the best way to make friends.

    Thanks Heather for bringing up George McGovern. Its been since 1972 that there have been so many Moonie-like followers of a Democratic Presidentiall candidate. Pavlovian to a fault, the only difference is the hair on the guys is a little shorter and people now have computers and cell phones. Like a crusade. And despite being in the middle of an unpopular war, McGovern led the Party to a disastorous defeat. I would have thought the Obama people would have kept McGoverns switch quiet. But in the Land of Koz, self-inflicted wounds aren’t recognizable.

  13. NCS – Regardless if McGovern matters, it says something about the Clinton Campaign.

    You aren’t saying anything new, I know, we want to disenfranchise voters, on and on the same old song and dance. I still haven’t changed my mind though. And even if Florida and Michigan counted now, Obama still has the popular vote lead. So it’s moot.

  14. From The Hill:

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) most prominent Senate supporters, said Wednesday that she will ask the former first lady to detail her plans for the rest of the Democratic primary.

    “I, as you know, have great fondness and great respect for Sen. Clinton and I’m very loyal to her,” Feinstein said. “Having said that, I’d like to talk with her and [get] her view on the rest of the race and what the strategy is.” …

    “I think the race is reaching the point now where there are negative dividends from it, in terms of strife within the party,” Feinstein said. “I think we need to prevent that as much as we can.”

    (drip, drip, drip…)

  15. NCS – “comrades” is a pejorative term once held in favor by Republicans to describe Americans who sat on the left side of center, including Democrats. This is not the first time you’ve used it. How do you distinguish your use of this term as distinct from its typical use by Republicans. “Kossacks” hearkens similar imagery. One could rationally infer that you intend to insult by the use of such words. Insulting those with whom you disagree is more Andrew’s style than yours. Sincerely, I thought you were better than that. Or are you actually a closet Republican?

    Also, Don’t pick on Heather for bringing up McGovern, your invectives are misplaced. Re-read the chain of comments and correct your aim.

  16. Andrew, you are coming off as very harsh and catty. So if the situation was reversed and Obama was the one losing, you would still be calling Tim Russert stupid?

  17. First off, NCS, all of us who support Obama are not Kossacks. But if I were supporting a candidate who is down in the delegate count, losing ground, and with precious few delegates still up for grabs, I might think it time for my candidate to drop out.
    Strange that Senator Clinton canceled her morning show appearances after her slight win in Indiana. And used her air time last night once again to ask viewers to visit her web site and make contributions. But no announcement today of overnight fundraising totals. I’d guess they weren’t remarkable this time.
    I see a campaign that is fizzling out slowly. It appears painful. Looks like it might be easier to rip off the bandage all at once rather than slowly pull it off the wound. But that’s just my opinion.
    I’ll appreciate not being attacked for having the audacity to have an opinion, as I believe I respect yours.

  18. LC– My intent was not to lump all Obama supporters as Kossacks. I know many bright folks who support Obama who don’t rely upon the Daily Kos for their blogging and thinking points, invective, etc. I didn’t post my comment well and I can see how you came away with that. Apologies to you and to all free thinkers who support Obama. As for the substance of your remarks it sounds like you’ve had some personal experience in a campaign that fizzled out slowly. I’ve been there and it is painful. As is ripping off the bandage.

    Bill: I use” comrade” in a variety of contexts and do not at all consider it pejorative. I have close political friends whom I refer to as comrades. I use it interchangebly with supporters, follwers, etc. I’m sorry if you took it personally but I’m not sorry I used it. No intent to insult anyone with that term. Unless you have some issues I wouldn’t get so worked up about it. It’s so 1970’s to think that the GOP has sole ownership of use of the word
    .
    As for Kossacks see my explanation and apology expressed above. For those who self-identify as Kossacks, if you don’t like my characterization, tough. If you are an independent thinker, just ignore it or brush the comment off your shoulder as if it didn’t apply to you.
    And Bill, spare me the drama about being insulting when you have unclean hands. . You insult Andrew in the same thread. Is an insult ok if you do it by using a fancy word? I suspect you might have thought you were being insulting asking if I was a closet Republican. Well, I’m not. After reading your comments and that question though I have to ask, are you a closet Squealer?

  19. Let me try this again: for those Obama folks and anyone else trying to shove Clinton out of the race, or who are posting or commenting insulting, rude and disrespectful comments about Clinton, I would say this: if y’all are so convinced that Obama has won or will win the nomination, try being less catty and more magnaminous. It will help the process of Clinton supporters rallying around your guy if you are correct in your asessment that he will win the nomination.

    Or, don’t take my word for it. Take Obama’s. The New York Times today reports that ” Mr. Obama issued a directive, aides said, to maintain a tone respectful of Mrs. Clinton and her supporters in the days ahead.”

    Or take one of Obama’s most important supporters, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill who said ” It would be inappropriate, awkward and wrong for us to tell Senator Clinton when the race should be over. This is her decision. This is only her decision.”

  20. NCS: I agree with you whole-heartedly. However, I believe it was your fellow Clinton supporter, Andrew Davey, that opened the door by calling Tim Russert “stupid” just because he disagreed with his assessment. Very catty and childish…

    Yes, it is her decision to stay in or go. But prolonging the agony is not helping the party.

  21. And again, on Russert. He has far too often been a mindless regurgitator of Bush administration talking points these last seven years. Like Chris Matthews, his encyclopedic recall of political minutiae causes him to be way overrated and way overpaid. He loves to spring juvenile, irrelevant, little “gotchas” on our candidates, while treating Republicans with kid gloves. Just because he says something once that makes us Obama supporters happy, doesn’t mean we should suddenly pretend he’s … well, Olbermann or something. Andrew was right about Pumpkinhead.

  22. Vern-

    Thank you! I’m glad that at least you’re getting what I’m saying about the media elites. These are the same b******s that helped put Bush in office in 2000. They spread outright lies about Al Gore, and I specifically remember “Timmeh” Russert holding his whiteboard & marker that November, proclaiming that “Bush won”.

    Ever since then, he & his Beltway media elite buddies have taken Bush’s side on Iraq, (no need for) civil liberties, the economy… You name it, they’ve defended Bush on it. See why I don’t think they deserve our “respect”?

    “Disappointed”-

    Whatever. I stand by my comments here. Russert’s not getting any respect from me. He’s always kissed GOP ass before, so I doubt he’ll change if he gets his way and forces Hillary to quit. And no, just because something’s in “Time” doesn’t mean it’s worth my time. When did Andrew Sullivan and Bill Kristol become great truthtellers?

    NCS-

    Thanks! I’m quite “far left” myself, but I also understand that our party needs to be a big tent that leaves room for everyone… Blue-collar workers, Latinos, women, Asian-Americans, LGBT people, African-Americans, progressive activists, and many more. I think some of the Obama backers here forget that our party can’t win with a smaller tent that leaves many of us out. Thanks for reminding us all of that. 🙂

Comments are closed.