Tag: Wisconsin

Update: I watched the segment, and like Nightline's Cynthia McFadden, thought they seemed free of tension and genuinely enjoying each other's company. Obama was very effusive in his praise for Hillary. At the rally, when they walked out together, he didn't just hug her, but kissed her on the cheek. He acknowledged that Hillary has made a big difference in how he is doing in Florida. She minced no words to her former supporters: "As hard as you worked for me, we need you now to work just as hard for Barack."

Very classy on both their parts. And 50,000 turned out on a Monday in Orlando to hear them. Let's just hope they all go to the polls.

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Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's first joint interview since the end of Hillary's campaign will air tonight on Nightline. The interview followed their joint campaign appearance in Florida today. [More...]

The demise of the Clinton campaign was sewn just after the 2004 election, when pollster Mark Penn sought to explain the Bush victory among so-called "values voters."

He found that uptight parents were less concerned with abortion than the idea of their kids watching "Sex in  the City," "pumped into their homes" which they'd never seen, and was then only on cable, and playing "violent videogames."

The next year, Senator Clinton held a press conference with Joe Lieberman and Republican Senators Santorum and Brownback, threatening the game industry with legal restrictiopns if they didn't "clean up their act."

Clinton allies introduced State Laws, with press releases claiming "86% of 16 year old boys play 'these' games."

Momentum's all Obama. had the set tuned to Fox adult cartoons, good mix of spots for Obama, none for Clinton (or Repubs, Paul should have bought.)

Obama's Iraq spot was an excellent fit for American Dad.

All had a notable flaw. Type only of "Vote Feb. 19". Should scream THIS TUESDAY. For spots on shows targeting the 18-22 demographic, I'd even add "you can register at the polls. bring Photo ID and proof of address."

With no school tomorrow, everyone stuck at home due to weather, these should have been especially high viewership for the youngest eligibles. I'm presuming Obama had tghe monopoly in other Wisconsin markets.

On to the predictions...  

Just back from Bill Clinton's appearance at the historic Stock Pavilion on the University of Wisconsin Campus. When Gary Storck and I approached, we were directed across the street by the most polite pair of Secret Service agents I've ever dealt with, but, as it's a narrow street, not an unreasonable "Free Speech Zone."

Our signs referred to Bill's encounter, as a Candidate, with Jacki Rickert of Mondovi, Wisconsin in 1992. Jacki had been approved for the federal medical marijuana program, but not yet admitted when Bush I closed the program to new admissions in 1989. She caught up with Bill in Osseo on his post-Convention Mississippi River bus tour. After she explained her odyssey through the federal bureaucracy, Bill "I feel your pain" promised "When I'm President, you'll get your medicine."

Come the Inaugural, Jacki sent letters, made calls seeking fulfillment of that commitment, but got back only form letters. "If drugs were legal, my brother Roger would be dead."

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will be in Virginia, Maryland or D.C. tomorrow night after the primaries.

Hillary will be campaigning in El Paso, TX while Obama will be in Madison, WI. (Via Al Giordano at RuralVotes.)

Hillary will be in San Antonio on Weds, although more events may be added.

While Chelsea Clinton has been making the rounds of college campuses in Wisconsin, Hillary won't be there until Saturday night, three days before the primary. Obama hasn't been in Wisconsin since October, but his wife Michelle is already there holding roundtables.

Hillary has agreed to appear at a Wisonsin debate, but Obama has not yet responded.

Clinton also agreed to appear at a debate at Marquette University, but Obama has not responded to the invitation. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton called on him Monday to do so, saying it was the best way for Wisconsin voters to see where the candidates stand on issues.

The youth vote will be big in Wisconsin, which will favor Obama.

If history is any judge, many of those who turn out for the primary will be first-time voters. In the 2004 general election, the state had the second-highest turnout of young voters. Minnesota was No. 1.