Obama: Popular vote from FL meaningless

Does the popular vote in Florida count for anything, we asked Sen. Barack Obama on the ride from Tampa to Orlando: "Look, I think it's fair to say that in all these races if I didnt campaign at all and this had just been a referendum on name recognition, Sen. Clinton would be the nominee. That's true in Iowa, that's true in practically every state we've won. It's pretty hard to make an argument that somehow you winning what is essentially a name recognition contest in Florida was a good measure of electoral strength there. It"s even tougher to make that argument in Michigan where my name wasn't even on the ballot.

Obama also said splitting Florida's delegation in half based on the Jan. 29 result - which was the GOP penalty what many see as the most likely outcome of the DNC rules committee on 5/31 - would be "a very reasonable solution."

He made no apologies for signing a pledge to boycott Florida: "Everybody signed that. It was voluntary in name only. Had we not agreed to that we would be in a position where on the one hand the DNC was telling you this won't count, on the other hand you've gone out of your way to offend the first two states where you know that it will count. I would hardly call that voluntary."

Comments

[Mabel]

That's right, Senator Obama. Look how well that tactic worked for George Bush in 2000!!! Those 1.7 million voters in the Dem primary on January 29 were airheads. You know what is right for them. You go, Mr. O! We don't need no democracy. All we need is you, you, you. You are the One.

[RAD]

Hmmm Curious....George! :)

[08Obama08]

In an interview on New Hampshire Public Radio last fall, Clinton explained why she was the only candidate who did not agree to New Hampshire's request that she take her name off the ballot in Michigan.

"It's clear: This election they're having is not going to count for anything. I personally did not think it made any difference whether or not my name was on the ballot," she said.

But with New Hampshire in her rear view mirror, Clinton decided Michigan's election should count and so should Florida's.

Go to this link and listen as Clinton thumbs her nose at FL and MI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxxBz-PAjg

[Former Florida Democrat]

I watched the rally. He seemed embarrassed by the enthusiasm and people yelling, "We love you." He did say, "I love you, too.", but poor Tampa is in the Friend Zone when it comes to romance in this election :)

[Becca]

I watched the rally, too. It's called humility.

Something we could use in a leader. This is a person who will pick a cabinet based on intelligence, expertise, and a willingness to SERVE THE PEOPLE.

We can all look forward to working together to rebuild this great nation that has been betrayed and horribly abused.

hahaha Obama humble!??!? Becca quit drinking the Kool Aid. That man is as arrogant as they come. Please let it be Clinton or McCain as our next President.

Bang - O - RANG, Senator Obama!!!

Of all the arguments I've seen on the delegate issue, that was the most concise and to the point. We need this kind of honest and cut through the crap attitude in our leadership.

Now I understand why DEMs are looking forward to the Obama-McCain debates.

[Rush]

If free health care is so great why do Canadians flock to Cleveland and Minneapolis for surgery?

Will Bill Gates and Warren Buffet be eligible for this free health care?

Is a "free lunch" really free?

Did Obama attend a Muslim school as a child?

Why do they leave out his middle name "Hussein"?

Is Hussein a muslim name?

What are Hussein's credentials on foreign affairs?

Does serving 2 years in the Senate really qualify you to become the CIC?

Why does his wife hate white people?

If you went to a church for 20 years could you figure out your preacher is a racist? If no, then how are you qualified to be president?

[Joe from Philly]

Democracy w/o all votes counting is a joke.
Why is Obama reluctant to count the popular vote? Where I come from we fought to have our votes count. Obama, please don't wimp out on democracy. If Obama wins fair and square, fine. If he fails to support counting all votes then he doesn't deserve the nomination. Hillary Clinton supports democracy. That's what we need--true democracy.

[Tallytowngal]

His name was on the FL ballot along with Hillary and 4 other candidates. We had a RECORD TURNOUT! Obama finised 2nd, and Edwards 3rd... but Hillary who did not campaign here or run TV ADs like Obama DID! Hillary took 50% of the popular vote here (I think Obama took a little over 20% and Edwards took in the Teens. The rest took in less than 4% combined!

This was a legal Election run by our State. And to Disenfranchize 1.8 Million Democratic Voters in FL alone, is NOT DEMOCRATIC!

I cannot and will not vote for anyone to be MY President, that does not think that Myself, My Family and My Neighbors don't matter.

Tally, you're not a Democrat. Mind your own business; we know you sold your precious vote to Grover long ago.

I'm going to vote for Obama. I don't see anything wrong with socialism or communism. I think all people who make over $100,000 a year should be paying at least 50% in income tax and anyone under $50,000 should be at 15%. Those between $50,000 and $100,000 at 25%. We have way too many rich people living better than they should compared to the lower income folks. I see nothing wrong with correcting this as other socialist and communist countries have done. Many of them are in just as good a shape as the U.S. If Obama wants to have policies that are more socialist, I see no problem for anyone other than the rich.

08:35 PM

Go to Purple Florida and see if I am a democrat or not.

Your the one that is not a Democrat... Democrats beleive in counting all the votes!

"Everybody signed that."

Bottom Line...

For God's sake Adam, just change your freaking name already.

Adam Clinton... kind of has a ring to it.

I'm going to vote for McSame. I don't see anything wrong with fascism or communism. I think all people should send their kids to die in Iraq to avenge Dubya's daddy and build corporate profit. Those who disagree with me, we'll simply label as enemy combatants and have them waterboarded until the change their Party affiliation to Republicon. We have way too many people living better than our corporation, Dubya, and Dickey intended. I see nothing wrong with correcting this as other fascist and communist countries have done. Many of them are in just as good a shape as the U.S. If McSame wants to have policies that are more fascist, I see no problem for anyone other than... say… the Americans.

[Just Say Nobama]

Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun

It's an amazing time to be alive in America . We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first front-running freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.

We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender. Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.

The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him. Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.

Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton. Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.

Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.. Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America . But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial 'beauty.'

Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.

Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on 'the rich.' How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.

Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, 'All praise and glory to God!' but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have 'hijacked' - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois , he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood , and San Francis co values, not Middle America values.

The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of 'bringing America together' means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandoning any conflicting beliefs.

But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.

It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.

The only thing meaningless is racist Barack Obama & his pastor Jeremiah Wright.

[Ben]

The Florida primary should not count. You cannot change the pretext of an election after the votes have been cast. The pretext of the Florida primary was that it would not count. This pretext: hold down voter turnout, and allows people who are voting to vote for candidates they may like more such as Ron Paul without worrying that their vote will actually change anything. To change the pretext of an election after it takes place is wrong and is not a solution.

New poll has McCain up near 16 points over Obama in Florida, but in dead heat with Hillary.

Obama will not come close in FL with a Republican governor, a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage + a property tax amendtment on the ballot.

Ben, the rules says that the ban of FL & MI delegates can be appealed to the DNC rules committee.
The DNC knows disenfranchising 2 important swing states like MI & FL would automatically mean McCain wins them outright. Let's see how they rule on the 31st.

If the DNC disenfranchise FL voters, my vote & my families will be going to McCain. It serves the democrats right if they don't want democracy.

Hillary is the only hope we have in defeating McBush. Obama is a weak, weak candidate.

great leadership...We didn't have a choice...more appeasement from Obama.

Hillary was -- and is -- a terrible candidate. No plan beyond New Hampshire? Hiring only loyal insiders? Millions in debt? She can't even run a campaign. How can she run the country?

[BJK]

Come on, TallyTownGal:

"This was a legal Election run by our State."

Legal, maybe, but it defied the rules agreed upon by the people that set them -- the Democratic Party, as well as the candidates, including Hillary Clinton.

Quoting Clinton Campaign Chair Terry McAulliffe: "If I allow you to do that [move the primary], the whole system collapses. We will have chaos. I let you make your case to the DNC, and we voted unanimously and you lost."

Quoting you: "I cannot and will not vote for anyone to be MY President, that does not think that Myself, My Family and My Neighbors don't matter."

Does this mean you won't vote for Hillary Clinton if she somehow miraculously wins the nomination?

Get over it, TallyTownGal. Obama is going to be our nominee. He's ahead in every metric. Let's band together and whip these revolting Rethuglicans in November, TallyTownGal.

[Maria]

I want to be able to pay the bills and not go into debt, but with our income of $60,000/year for a family of four, which ends up being $36,000 after taxes and health insurance are paid...
(and oil is supposed to get to over $200/barrel soon).

Lets stop McSame=Bush - McCain does not know much about the economy and is constantly caught confusing facts. Lets unite.
GO OBAMA!!!

Obama is not electable. Just look at any electoral map & it's obvious.

That is why the GOP is smiling so much that Obama is winning.

[anton]

who lets these racist and bigotry filled posts be allowed. St pete times is a sham

[jaymzz]

If free health care is so great why do Canadians flock to Cleveland and Minneapolis for surgery? there's no such thing as free health care. canadians as well as europeans have about 13% of their gross income deducted every month to pay for universal health care. for a fee, they can also use services of private medical facilities, mainly 2 shorten waiting times 4 certain procedures, which is what some canadians do when they come 2 usa.

Will Bill Gates and Warren Buffet be eligible for this free health care? yes. have a problem with that?

Did Obama attend a Muslim school as a child? even if he did, what does it matter? if u have a problem with muslims, then u r racist.

Why do they leave out his middle name "Hussein"? cause americans r scared shitless of anything middle-eastern.

Is Hussein a muslim name? as much as jim crow is an american name.

What are Hussein's credentials on foreign affairs? his judgment. he opposed the illegal invasion of iraq. just like kennedy, nixon, reagan, baker, he prefers diplomacy 2 pre-emptive stupid strikes.

Does serving 2 years in the Senate really qualify you to become the CIC? does status of desperate whitehousewife? or 130 years in senate?

Why does his wife hate white people? 4 the same reason mcshame hates blacks.

If you went to a church for 20 years could you figure out your preacher is a racist? If no, then how are you qualified to be president? assuming u r white, if ur kind was butchered n discriminated by the blacks 4 350 years, how much love would u have 4 em? critisizing that era is not racism, it's social commentary, which makes rev wright a harsh critic but not a racist n hereby obama qualified 4 presidency...

11:31 the only ones here that are racist is Barack Obama & Jeremiah Wright.

jaymzz

I am sorry, but Jeremiah Wright & the new pastor are as racist as they get.
Take a poll, and America will agree with me. That is a big reason Obama is having huge problems with the white blue collar votes. Again, check the polling if you disagree. I'm just stating the facts.
No matter what, Barack Obama will be forever linked with the racist Jeremiah Wright. Even Oprah left that church. Why didn't Barack Obama. He had 20 years. What is worst, is that the Obamas subjected their innocent children to Wright's rants.

[Falstaff]

All this hand wringing on the right about J Wright is entertaining, especially since you guys have John Hagee, Pat Robertson, Sun Myung Moon, Ted Haggard and a bunch of others you are so tight with. Let's face it, the GOP brand has been destroyed. You are losing in Mississippi and Louisiana, and you are going to start losing in Florida too. If you think for one moment a bunch of racist crap is going to help you, well you are in sadder shape than I thought.

Bush Republicans have ruined Florida and the nation.

Clinton is Bush-lite. Same sleazy tactics, including her phony "concern" for our votes. Her campaign team and supporters are the ones who made the rules.

Ask yourself why the rich plutocrats are so terrified of Obama. A campaign that out organized the old partry regulars. A campaign that PAYS its bills and raises more money than EVER BEFORE -- and mostly from little ordinary citizens --- WE THE PEOPLE.

He won't be OWNED by them. That's why the paid spammers have the LONG propaganda lists posted above.

that's right. But those first two states have as many voters as Disney world has employees. Get real. This guy is just like Crist, all talk no substance.

You all just can't wait to put Jimmy Carter back in office can you?

I can live with 4 years of Nobama. It'll make it all the easier to put a new Reagan in 2012.

How can this man still be a viable candidate for the highest office in a democracy?

What does he got to do to get people mad--he's voided their votes and defended it with the same rationales that the Jim Crow segregationist used fifty years ago?

Maybe if he started pitch forking babies we'd wake up and realize that it really does matter if we do or do not vote for him.

[the un-cletus]

How did he "void their votes"? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard -- aside from the gramatically incorrect sentence which preceded it.

Look, you slack-jawed mouth breathing Kool-Aid drinkers: Obama and Clinton agreed to party rules which clearly stated that if a state were to break the AGREED UPON rules by, say moving the AGREED UPON date of their AGREED UPON primary, then sanctions would ensue.

The GOP-led Florida Legislature snakily crafted a bill which moved the date of the primary -- but also included much-need election reforms. Democrats were in a bind, and decided that the reforms were more important and that even though their voters would be faced with party sanctions for having the date moved, the delegates would ultimately be seated.

Hillary Clinton agreed to these rules.

Barack Obama -- the Democratic nominee and next president -- agreed to these rules.

Florida Democrats will be seated at the convention in Denver, so calm down. And when they are, that won't change the outcome of the primary, which will be in Obama's favor. Which is also good for Democrats, because as polling shows, he can beat McBush in November.

Clinton loyalists need to realize the last dog in their fight has died. Clinton lost. Obama won.

Let's take the fight to McCain in November and turn this country around.

[Former GOP until they started Swiftboating]

un-cletus - they don't actually believe it, they're just echoing anything they hear from the GOP spin machine.

It's too bad McCain didn't stick to his principles instead of accepting the Bush endorsement. And if he was any kind of honest man, he'd immediately refute these win-at-all-cost swiftboaters who are spewing lies about Barack Obama. I guess he just couldn't resist, though. Now he's one of them.

I really wonder if the GOP has made a big mistake. I for one used to be a Republican, but even more, I have always considered myself an honest person. If there are a lot more voters out there like me, the GOP strategy will backfire, and they will continue to lose supporters, not because of the issues alone, but also becasue so many are getting fed up with their dirty political tactics.

[the un-cletus]

Amen, Former GOP -- the time of dirty politics will soon be at an end.

Yep, And the Democrats will be the ones throwing the dirt. Look at what Larking said today about McCain. Disgusting from a man who falsified his own military record.

jaymzz -

You are in America...please speak English.

How many times have you heard: "we have a process here" in tallahassee

Out of those billion and a half times, how often is such a bill good when the sponsor starts saying that?

same with voting.

We have a process = go take a hike

If the democrats are stupid enough to nominate someone like Obama over a proven fighter for the poor like Hillary, they should lose in November to McCain.

Heck, I would never vote for Obama and it has nothing to do w/ race. McCain & Hillary are just better candidates.

PS i'm asian but does that matter?

12:43

Larkin couldn't carry John McCain's brief case when it comes to military experience. Larkin is a hater of our military, just like most Democrats.