Thursday, June 5, 2008

Indiana Beat Hillary Clinton

Per this Washington Post article:

Hillary and Bill Clinton were optimistic as they approached primary day on May 6. They dipped once again into their personal fortune, lending her campaign $1.4 million more in the week before the Indiana and North Carolina votes. At least three campaign officials described the Clintons as furious when they saw the results in the two states.

Indiana proved to be the bigger disappointment, even though Clinton won there. What irked her advisers was that Clinton got no credit for what they saw as a come-from-behind victory. Even more irritating was that, because ballots were being held back in the Obama stronghold of Lake County, across the state line from his home town, Chicago, the networks declined to call the race for Clinton until after midnight.

The most effective phase of her campaign "came to a screeching halt the night of Indiana and North Carolina," said a senior aide. "The change was discernible almost immediately.

29 comments:

Roscoe said...

You take an inordinate ammount of pride in that, don't you?

like a quiet vindication?

except.. less quiet, and more.. toldja so?

Unknown said...

Woo, Indiana was actually important in a national election. When was the last time that has happened?

Also on a sidenote, the votes being held back in Lake County were not from Gary (the Obama stronghold) but rather the white suburban areas of the county such as Merriville, Schererville, etc which were mostly run by Clinton endorsers. The counts from Gary were released at least a full hour before the rest of the county. So the Clinton staff has only their lackeys to blame for the debacle.

_J_ said...

"You take an inordinate ammount of pride in that, don't you?"

I really do.

It took 197 years but Indiana finally did something worthwhile.

Now we get to look forward to Indiana fucking things up in the general election.

Unknown said...

You have gone from proud and optimistic to downright insane. No possible way Indiana has any effect at all on the general election.

I will put down any and all of my current worth that Indiana's electoral votes go to McCain or any other Republican that may be running at the time, were something to happen to McCain. This is, unfortunately, a given.

_J_ said...

Oh, certainly Indiana will vote for McCain.

By "Fucking things up" I meant "voting for McCain".

Mike Lewis said...

indiana has the 2nd lowest minority turn out in the US (after Mississippi).

Indiana has a low turn out anyways. Why would people vote if it is a bygone concussion that Indiana's electoral votes will go for the republican?

If Obama can turn out blacks and young people he turned out for the primary, Indiana might be in play in November.

Might. This means people have to start knocking on doors, getting people registered and trying to break down the myth of Indiana always equals Republican.

Unknown said...

Is it a myth if it is true?

Roscoe said...

Having taken Banta's Mythology course just this spring, I can fully accurately say :

"Of Course it is True!"

I mean.. Zeus totally turned into a swan and 'visited' women.

But that's a myth.

Also, I totally have a girl in Canada. You don't know her. She's smoking hot.

_J_ said...

My girl in Canada died of SIDS.


I don't know what that means. After I read Roscoe's post it was the first thing I thought of.

Roscoe said...

You know full well what it means, Wrongcock!

_J_ said...

Well if she died of SIDS then she obviously did not die of...

Just going to stop right there.

Mike Lewis said...

I am talking about Myth in the Barthesian sense of the word. One of the things Barthes makes clear is that Myths seem natural and historical; things have always been this way, and always will be this way. Indiana is a republican state, has always been a republican state and will always be a republican state, Oceania has always been at war with East Asia. Maybe Indiana has sent its electoral college votes to the republican nominee for the last 45 years, but that does not mean it will always vote republican.

Keep in mind that half of Indiana's congressional delegation are democrats and we have a democratic senator. Until Mitch the bitch was elected in 2004 indiana had a democratic governor for 8 years. Two of the most popular and powerful congressman in modern political history were also from Indiana: Birch Bayh and Lee H. Hamilton

Obama and McCain are polling with the margin of error in indiana.

Roscoe said...

Neither of those are Odin giving his eye for Wisdom or Zeus revealing himself to Semele.

Let alone the myth of the nothing serious relationship.

Roscoe said...

Certainly, they're no Bachae.

_J_ said...

I hate the Bourgeoisie. Also, I hate Marx.

I may not hate Barthes, though:

"For instance, portrayal of wine in French society as a robust and healthy habit would be a bourgeois ideal perception contradicted by certain realities (i.e. that wine can be unhealthy and inebriating). He found semiotics, the study of signs, useful in these interrogations. Barthes explained that these bourgeois cultural myths were second-order signs, or significations. A picture of a full, dark bottle is a signifier relating to a signified: a fermented, alcoholic beverage - wine. However, the bourgeois take this signified and apply their own emphasis to it, making ‘wine’ a new signifier, this time relating to a new signified: the idea of healthy, robust, relaxing wine. Motivations for such manipulations vary from a desire to sell products to a simple desire to maintain the status quo."

I'm in favor of ripping apart idiotic, baseless social myths. But also I'm anti-french.

So, we'll see how this turns out...

Roscoe said...

Woah, Woah, WOAH. Baseless Social myths are a touchstone of humor!

I will go to WAR to protect these, damn you!

_J_ said...

"Baseless Social myths are a touchstone of humor!"

They're also obviously flawed and moronic.

One of the things I hate about social philosophy is when people write a 500 page treatise which basically says, "You really don't have to wear matching socks."

Which may be what Barthes did but I don't know enough about him to make that assessment yet.

Roscoe said...

moronic

That's where the HUMOR comes in!!!!

_J_ said...

Yeah, but not everyone understands that it's funny.

Which, admitedly, provides more humor for us.

But, still. Probably good for a person to realize that their socks do not have to match.

Roscoe said...

not just that! the moronic brings the juxtaposition that the Funny needs!

Mike Lewis said...

for nearly 20 yeras Barthes, who was as about as far to the left as one can get without being a Marxist, wrote a column for a VERY consecutive french weekly magazine.

These columns were 500 word things about how stupid these touchstones of the right are, like how ridiculous scrubling bubbles are. If you have not read Barthes Mythologies, it is awesome. The columns are quite funny and "myth today" is one of the best tools for media analysis ever.

_J_ said...

He fucked with scrubbing bubbles?

Oh HELLS no!

Roscoe said...

And lo, Jay's new darling quickly falls from grace.

Woe betide the Man who takes on Dow Chemical.

Unknown said...

Dude Scrubbing Bubbles are kick ass.

They cleanzor my tub like no other.

Roscoe said...

Of course they do. Dirt tried to take on Dow Chemical.

Dirt was thrown down.

Unknown said...

Dirt wasn't just "thrown down"

Dirt was stricken to the ground.

Roscoe said...

Nice return on that serve.

_J_ said...

That song hurts my hand.

Unknown said...

It hurts my head, then breaks my skull open as it smites me to the ground.