Uncommited Culinary Workers?

Hillary Clinton was back on the campaign trail Thursday, after taking most of the day following her come-from-behind New Hampshire victory to do national TV interviews and plot her strategy for the upcoming races.

With Nevada, South Carolina, and February 5th states like California looming, deciding where her time can be best spent is crucial — and the campaign took its time making that determination. Her national press corps wasn’t advised of Thursday’s campaign location until late Wednesday night.

The first stop turned out to be Las Vegas, NV, where Barack Obama has secured the state’s plum endorsement — the Culinary Workers Union. The union represents 60,000 hotel and casino workers in a state where around 10,000 people caucused in 2004, and its support was hotly pursued by all the major candidates.

But canvassing a lower middle class, mostly Hispanic neighborhood with state representative Ruben Kihuen, Clinton played down the union’s importance, saying she’s committed to reaching out and meeting people one-on-one. “It takes a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of outreach and shoe leather and phone calling, and that’s what we are doing, and we’re prepared to just pull out the stops to be just as successful,” she said.

The one-on-one approach, along with her name recognition, seems to be soothing some of the sting of the culinary endorsement. Several union members in the neighborhood told the NY Senator that they would be supporting her despite their union’s pronouncement, and one man at a local restaurant railed against his union’s decision — saying most of the group is with Hillary.


Nobody knows what will happen here or how important it will be in the nominating process; if turnout is as small as it has been in the past, the results here may be discounted by a skeptical national media. But if not, the race could come down to several competing factors: Obama’s union support vs Hillarys big poll advantage and name recognition; his successful Iowa caucus model of turning out Republicans, Independents, and young people vs her appeal with Hispanic voters; and both of their strong organizations here battling it out.

And for good reason. I always get a lot of shit for it (well, conservatives always get a lot of shit, period), but I admire McCain. I'd vote for him in a heartbeat if Obama wasn't in the running.

As a Conservative, what is it about Obama that appeals to you?

He makes me proud to be American, in a way that has not come to pass for a long time. There is patriotism in the belief that our country can be more than just a directionless mob of partisans vehemently supportive of continuing the political catfight. Many voters are inclined to feed the fight as well, for either emotional or intellectual reasons. They make the excuse of standing up for their principles without acknowledging they are unachievable without compromise. Each to their own; I simply believe it is time for our country to unite in preserving its leadership in this world.

I am temperamentally conservative. So is Obama. Those that disagree on that point obviously have not read much about him and his take on progress. Also, I believe character is of greatest importance in a president. A president's strongest potential lies not in wonkery, but in the possibility of leading the spirit of a nation. Churchill, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and many others did. Many more failed. But it is important, at this time in history, to try and possibly fail than not to try at all. Policymaking is safe in the hands of an intelligent president with a stellar team of advisers; that is why policy means little to me in the Democratic race (all three candidates are similar on that count). Being able to get work done is more important, which explains my opposition to the junior Senator with a strong record of making enemies.

I no longer trust the polls. No offense...Hilarys not stupid, but theres now way half 65% of the country thinks she could unite us, She just way too love/hate; theres no way.

I dont trust polls no more.

It is very odd, actually. Nationwide? Probably in the high 40's. Obama is not in the 60's either.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Jan08c-dems.pdf

---94% say they would vote for a black, while just 71% think most people they know would. And just 54% think the country is ready for a black president now. And whites (58%) are more likely than black voters (48%) to think the country is ready for a black president.


--93% say they would vote for a woman, while 66% think most people they know would. And 65% think the country is ready for a woman president now. 69% of men say the country is ready for a woman president, while 62% of women say the country is ready for a woman president. This is a significant increase from the 58% and 48% of white and black voters who think the country is ready for a black president.
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A Nevada poll (Jan 11 - 13):

Barack Obama: 32 percent
Hillary Clinton: 30 percent
John Edwards: 27 percent

John McCain: 22 percent
Rudy Giuliani: 18 percent
Mike Huckabee: 16 percent
Mitt Romney: 15 percent
Fred Thompson: 11 percent
Ron Paul: 6 percent
Duncan Hunter: 1 percent

I have been watching and reading the attacks Clinton and Obama have been making on eachother this past week, this is the most viciouse primary since 2000 when Bush went after mcCain.
Obama's people saying how Clinton thinks Martin Luthur King wasnt jack shit, Clinton's camp saying how Obama is a former crackhead.

I love it.

New SC Poll, REPS

McCain - 28%
Huckabee - 19%
Romney - 17%
Thompson - 16%




New SC Poll, DEMS

Obama - 38%
Clinton - 33%
Edwards - 17%

Primaries close at 9, any last minute predictions?

I think McCain pulls off a minor upset, wins by 4%