Washington Hotlist » Bill Clinton

Picture Of The Day

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:58:50 +0000

How Can Hillary Be A Neutral Secretary Of State?

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:40:26 +0000

Former President Bill Clinton’s foundation has raised at least $46 million from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments that his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton may end up negotiating with as the next secretary of state.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit created by the former president to finance his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts to reduce poverty and treat AIDS. Other foreign government givers include Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica. The Dutch national lottery gave $5 million to $10 million.

Hillary To Concede Tomorrow?

Joshua Rosenstock — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:28:27 +0000

Mobile post sent by washingtonhotlist using Utterz. Replies. mp3

Caption This Photo

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:19:21 +0000

When Will Those Democrats Grow Up?

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:16:26 +0000

“Hold on a second. So former President Clinton dismissed my victory in South Carolina as being similar to Jesse Jackson and he is suggesting that somehow I had something to do with it? You better ask him what he meant by that. I have no idea what he meant. These were words that came out of his mouth. Not words that came out of mine.”

Senator Obama read my mind.

Remember when former Presidents remained above the fray and were elder statesmen and role models? Between Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, it’s been a rough week for former Democratic Commanders-in-Chief.

Once Again, Voters Don’t Matter

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Democrats have organized their primary process in such a way that instead of winners taking all of the delegates in a particular state, or even rewarding the individual that won the most votes or the most states, a slew of party insiders and elected officials will act as tiebreakers if there is a close race. Forget the fact that voters have been energized for change, racing to the polls in record numbers across the country. The Clinton campaign is already devising strategies that will replace the will of the voters with what DNC insiders want. True democracy from the Democratic Party. This means that Obama will not only have to win states but run up the score (to borrow a sports analogy).

Even losing in the now all-important battleground states of Ohio and Texas may not be so bad considering the 100+ delegate lead he has compiled by dominating the field the past few weeks. Unfortunately, we may be rewarded with a throwback to a simpler time, when smoke-filled rooms set the scene for behind-closed-doors kingmaking. One can already imagine the scene this summer where Bill Clinton and DNC Chairman Howard Dean smile at each other, throw back some scotch, light up a cigar and remind us why there even are superdelegates and an Electoral College in the first place. Our founding fathers didn’t trust ordinary Joes with such an important function as selecting our President. Unfortunately, two hundred plus years have not seen much progress on that front in supposedly the most advanced progressive nation in the world.

Obama Will Easily Sweep Today’s Potomac Primary

Joshua Rosenstock — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:06:18 +0000

How dirty is this campaign about to get? For the next month, the operative term will be “superdelegates.”

Obama Adopts A Clintonian Tactic

Joshua Rosenstock — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:25:27 +0000

“I’ll just say that I’ve released my tax returns. That’s been a policy I’ve maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I’ll leave it up to you guys to chase it down. I’ve disclosed my income tax returns. I think we set the bar in terms of transparency and disclosure that has been a consistent theme of my campaign and my career in politics. I don’t have enough money to drop $5 million into a campaign.”

Senator Obama responding to reporters when asked whether he would call on the Clintons to release their tax returns, Obama stopped short of saying they should.

I agree on the point about transparency and disclosure but these types of requests should be made to the Clinton campaign directly by the still-asleep-at-the-wheel mainstream media, not passive-aggressively through Obama in a predictable attempt to stir up a little more juice in the coverage of the campaign. Unfortunately, the parent companies of our major media outlets are in bed with both of the major parties, depriving the voters of being able to fairly examine our politicians and hold them accountable for their words and acts beyond election day. Maybe a President McCain will return his focus to campaign finance reform and fundamentally change the relationship between politicians, campaign donors and lobbyists.

It is much more inappropriate for one candidate to make requests about tax returns to another – a tactic similar to those regularly employed by his rival in the Democratic race. The media should do its job instead of asking Obama to do it for them.

Super Tuesday Will Not Settle Democratic Race

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:46:47 +0000

With victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, John McCain is poised to virtually clinch the GOP nomination with wins in next week’s historically delegate rich Super Tuesday. Americans from the Pacific to the Atlantic have a chance to send Governor Romney, Governor Huckabee and Congressman Ron Paul home for good.

Yet, a much different scenario is playing out on the other side of the aisle. With the departure of Senator John Edwards from the race, the Democratic nomination has boiled down to a two way battle between the former First Lady and Senator Obama. The Democrats have a unique chance to decide if they want this country to go in a new direction or revert back to the same tired policies from a much different time in our history. Yes, a vote for Hillary is a vote for the first female President, but after catching Bill in action the past week, does anyone really believe Hillary will be the Alpha Dog in a future Clinton administration?

While it is impossible to know how that mess will play out, one thing that is for certain is that the closest thing we have ever had to a national primary (next week’s twenty-two state free for all) will not produce the required amount of delegates for either of the Democratic front runners. This essentially knocks California, New York and New Jersey down the totem pole in terms of relevance and importance, precisely the opposite effect that was intended when these large states front loaded the process this time around and significantly moved up their primary calendars (in the case of New Jersey, four months earlier).

No matter how many times the leadership in the major parties try to reform the process, we continue to learn the painful lesson that the parties are better at producing commercials and fundraising, and should leave more important matters like elections to the various Departments of State. So much of our tax dollars are mindlessly wasted on proposed bridges to nowhere and museums dedicated to the cotton mill. Why not allocate necessary resources to reforming our election process as well as a nationwide upgrade of voting and counting machines? Americans will support additional federal spending if it is done in a smart way for a worthwhile cause. Nothing should trump the importance of accurate voting. Let’s hope that Congress does the right thing and invests in our electoral infrastructure.

South CarolinaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s African-American Voters Power Obama’s Purple Revolution To Victory

Webster Brooks — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:20:54 +0000

U.S. Iran-Peace Project
2008 Presidential Campaign Analysis
www.usiranpeace.com
January 28, 2008

By Webster Brooks, Former Independent Vice-Presidential Candidate

Hartford, Connecticut — As we predicted last week, Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama not only needed to win the South Carolina primary, but win it big with 80% of the Black vote. Obama did just that; stunning the nation by winning 55% of the total vote compared to Hillary Clinton’s anemic 27%. Obama’s victory has sent shock waves through the Democratic Party establishment controlled by the Clintons, as evidenced by Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama on Sunday; a defection that may open the floodgates in the weeks to come of establishment Democrats jettisoning the Clinton’s divisive and retrograde “Co-Presidency” campaign.

In carrying 80% of the Black vote Obama accomplished a key strategic goal; solidifying Blacks as a reliable voting constituency in his growing Purple Revolution comprised of moderate Democrats, Independents and disaffected Republicans. Obama goes into the February 5 Super Tuesday primaries in 20 states with the winds of momentum in his sails.

The South Carolina primary demonstrated in brilliant fashion that Barak Obama is the only Democratic candidate capable of building a coalition of voters across demographic lines to defeat the Republicans in the November general election. South Carolina was the first contest in which African-American voters played a major role and despite the Clinton’s success in racially polarizing the contest, Obama’s victory far exceeded the boundaries of racial and gender politics. South Carolina’s white voters are the most ideologically and politically conservative voters in America, and made up half of the state’s electorate. Nevertheless, Obama won 25% of the white vote, even with native South Carolinian John Edwards in the contest. Moreover, 61% of South Carolina’s voters were women. Obama won 54% of the women’s vote. The fact that Southern white men did not and will not vote for Hillary does not augur well for the Clinton’s on Super Tuesday. .

The slash and burn campaign against Obama, so typical of the Clinton’s has ignited a fire storm that Democratic Party leaders find deeply troublesome. If Hillary Clinton manages to win the Democratic Party nomination, Black voters will not enthusiastically embrace her campaign. Even the chief firefighters Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will have a difficult time hawking Clinton’s wares. In an election year that Republicans are in serious disfavor with the American public, Democrats feel the White House belongs to them; they do not want another presidential candidate meltdown.

Increasingly, Hillary and Bill Clinton are being exposed for the politically toxic mix that they truly are. Should John McCain win the January 29 Florida Republican primary and emerge as the clear GOP front runner, the Democratic Party establishment will be forced to confront the reality that it must have a candidate with broad appeal to combat McCain’s popularity among Independents, moderates and centrist voters. That candidate is Barak Obama, and the politics of addition and victory in November is Obama’s Purple Revolution!