Obama overtakes Clinton in superdelegates

Sunday 11th May, 06:14 AM JST

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RomeoRamenII at 10:49 PM JST - 11th May

Barry's problem isn't that he doesn't appeal to white voters, it's that the only people he does appeal to are African-Americans, out of legitimate racial pride, and affluent white liberals and students, for related but less coherent reasons.

If the empty suit was the same guy with the same paper thin resume and the same lofty, empty rhetoric but was white, he would not be getting the votes he does have. In fact, he would not now even be in the race.

RR
Sarge at 11:17 PM JST - 11th May

To the Democrats - You should have gone with Richardson or Kucinich. Now you're stuck with either Obama or Clinton, neither of who can beat McCain.

"A vote for McCain is a vote for the terrorists."

That's nonsense.
nucular at 11:29 PM JST - 11th May

"Obama overtakes Clinton in superdelegates"

She's melting! She's melting!

High-ranking Dems starting to sound like Rush Limbaugh, airing their fears and concerns on CNN -

Paul Begala - The Democratic Party can't win with just 'eggheads and African-Americans.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM6GEx3ai88
adaydream at 01:14 AM JST - 12th May

Don't you just love it?

We're down to the last three of weeks of the primaries and still such respect from the candidates toward each other.

This hasn't been the party splitting event predicted by the republicans and it may prove to be the strongest democratic party in decades.

And we have no one other than george bush to thank for this.
Betzee at 03:09 AM JST - 12th May

America is confronting an economic crisis as larger possibly larger than the Great Depression!

Indeed, but it is not understood through references to the usual suspects, like socialism. The free market run amok is largely responsible for our current economic woes. If you study the pre-1980s business cycle and what was viewed as good versus bad indicators it's very different than the post-industrial model which has prevailed since.

For this reason Democrats have not found much traction in emphasizing wage stagnation. While the phenonenom is real, cheap inports enabled people to buy more. Many Americans have more in their possession, though much of it may have been purchased on credit, than at any time in the past. Trade deficits, viewed with alarm in the past, have been seen in our post-industrial landscape as good for this reason; they keep wages and inflation low.

Trade policy has also played encouraged American corporations to relocate production overseas and shift to global sourcing (the Wal-Mart model), which not incidentally frees them from having to provide health insurance to an aging American workforce. This change was facilitated by the export-led growth policy adopted by China, after witnessing its success first in Japan and then South Korea and Taiwan. In effect, theses countries promoted Asian exports and foreign direct investment (to varying degrees), while bureaucratically obstructing American exports.

The post-1980 business cycle, in short, has relied on financial booms and cheap imports. After a nearly 30-year borrowing binge, many households find themselves up to their eyeballs in debt as credit has tightened. At the same time, asset value (particularly houses) were inflated by a real estate bubble that has now burst, leading to falling and even plummeting home values as we are witnessing.

Given this state of affairs it's unclear how growth can be revived. Consumers, even with those tax rebate checks which many will use to pay down existing debt, won't be able to spend their way out of this recession as they have in the recent past.
mosc1 at 03:53 AM JST - 12th May

Betzee nice read. Economically it took 60 of American imperialism to get itself in the economic mess that its in today. If a economic strategy can be developed, and that's a very very big if, it shall take at least 15 years or more to reestablish the American dollar. Reestablishing the free banking traditions that existed prior unto the American Civil War, that's a good start. Pulling out of any european alliance, Nato for example, with the objective of reasserting the political direction of the Declartion of Independence from europe; rejecting the Wilsonian notions of League of Nation/United Nations to accomplish world peace. America's hurting it really needs to turn its attentions upon herself and just close all the foreign military bases abroad. The cold war ended yet the American governments of the past failed to bring the boys home!

Obviously the socialist democratic party shall never embrace such a political platform. Niether shall the neo conservative republican that have enshrined socialism as American Conservatism! Voting for McCaine, this man has no economic vision what so ever, he shall follow the political currents he lack the ability to innovate a new political course. Herbert Hoover also could not innovate a new political direction, FDR, established the Democratic socialist party in America. The Democrats represent the liberal traditions and still do to this day. The Republicans have lost their way, they have no political compass directing a Conservative vision. Its only fitting that the Democrats who started Big Government and deficit spending should be in office when the economic bottom falls and the American economy crashes - BOOM! Putting the so called Conservative Party into political exile offers the best hope of lynching, so to speak, the NeoCons and reestablishing a real Conservative Party and political vision.
mosc1 at 03:54 AM JST - 12th May

correction: it took 60 years of American imperialism etc
Betzee at 04:16 AM JST - 12th May

While it's true our military is spread too thin, other issues which need to be addressed by the candidates are crumbling (or collapsing!) infrastructure, loss of competitivenss in scientific research as well as a workforce increasingly dominated by people who lack the educational attainment necessary to land anything above poorly paying service sector jobs, along with skyrocketing national debt.

Unfortunately winning has become everything and little attention is paid to governance. If we allow this election to become about Reverend Wright and gay marriage we will have lost the chance to confront these issues before it's too late.
SuperLib at 05:02 AM JST - 12th May

The post-1980 business cycle, in short, has relied on financial booms and cheap imports.

Odd, that sentence appears word-for-word in from the Marxism mailing list archive:

http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2008w14/msg00029.htm

This has happened about a dozen times now, Betzee. Obviously embarrassment isn't much of a deterrent for you. But still, if you're going to copy word-for-word, you should give proper credit.
Betzee at 05:19 AM JST - 12th May

It actually appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, which I read back in April.
Betzee at 06:34 AM JST - 12th May

Economically it took 60 of American imperialism to get itself in the economic mess that its in today. If a economic strategy can be developed, and that's a very very big if, it shall take at least 15 years or more to reestablish the American dollar.

The problem is the candidates will stake out easy positions on the economy such as hammering Beijing to allow its currency to appreciate and take care of our trade deficit. The Chinese may not budge on that, but assuming they do it will not solve our post-1980 business cycle is bust problem. Rather it will simply open the door to Chinese investment in America on a scale which will dwarf Japanese investment in America in the late 1980s. Already 32 state governments have reps in China to hawk investment opportunities. South Carolina is amongst the most agressive, incidentally (can't remember where I read that but it appeared recently in an article).
nucular at 06:58 AM JST - 12th May

Marxism mailing list archive, Chronicle of Higher Education; Same diff.
Betzee at 07:35 AM JST - 12th May

Marxism mailing list archive, Chronicle of Higher Education; Same diff.

Would you also include Kevin Phillips in that category? He helped get Nixon elected and has recently published a book entitled Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism.

The ascendance of the financial services sector has been noted by many. It is not the result of big government but rather of reducing the regulatory framework in the financial services sector, enabling it to expand and multiply its services. In the search for profit, pardon the Marxian phrasing, credit was extended to those who proved unable to repay and this has endangered the entire system (which had become more and more leveraged). By contrast, the dotcom bust did not spread into sectors.

The question is where do we go from here? That's what the candidates need to address.
Sarge at 09:20 AM JST - 12th May

"Where do we go from here?"

Indeed. And where is here? Lessee... no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in over 6 and a half years... despite a slowdown, the biggest and most dynamic economy in the world...
Betzee at 01:35 PM JST - 12th May

no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in over 6 and a half years... despite a slowdown, the biggest and most dynamic economy in the world...

Endless war and permanent tax cuts, what John McCain has committed himself to in order to secure the backing of the Republican Party base, are not a sustainable combination. I know what the Republican talking points against Obama will, namely that he doesn't recognize the threat posed by terrorism.

Yet in this economy that may not find resonance. If you don't have health care or are at risk of losing your home to foreclosure, those problems probably loom larger than terrorism as a threat to your daily existence.

More importantly, if the victor hasn't campaigned on the issues he may find himself unable to move forward on his agenda once in office. Such was the case with GWB's social security privatization plan. He felt he'd "earned a little capital by winning" in 2004. But since he'd never campaigned on his "personal account" plan, the public didn't get behind him and it died in the Republican-controlled Congress.