Planet Abell

The talk-show host approach to "introducing" Sen. Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate doesn't seem entirely odd, given the tough political calculations the presumptive Democratic nominee must make. But it does reveal some clues about what trail she must forge to win. This early in a campaign a candidate is usually hoping to win undecideds while holding the base. But with 97% name recognition Mrs. Clinton has the difficult task of winning over voters who already don't like her. It wasn't just a Webcast -- nobody is talking anymore about how cool Sen. Barack Obama was to two-camera his exploratoriousness online. And in the spirit of keeping every aspect of a candidate's appearance under control, what is better than a closed set with no live audience? Put her at a desk in an office that isn't Oval and it fails. Put her in her living room and it just ... may ... work. But still, there had to have been some talk within the campaign about the symbolism o...

Kerry's post "botched joke" news conference “ Give me five more John Kerry’s,” says Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.). “He’s a fighter, and he puts his money where his mouth is. ” – Roll Call, 5.1.06, as quoted on johnkerry.com ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** IMUS : Did you say you were going back to Washington? KERRY : I’m going to go back to Washington. And I’m going to go back to tackle this, you bet. IMUS : OK. You’re not going to Tennessee for Harold Ford, are you? KERRY : No. IMUS : Good. KERRY : I was not going down there. IMUS : Thank you... (LAUGHTER) -- Imus in the Morning, Nov 1, 2006, as transcribed by MSNBC Say what you will about whether Republicans are making fair hay of Sen. John Kerry's remarks in California last Sunday (no, they are not, and yes, it is good politics), but even the most liberal of liberal die-hard Democrats have to admit this was an avoidable gaffe by a criminally inept campaigner. This...