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The Weekly Wrap Up
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Still Bitterly Gripping My Laptop Over ABC's Debate
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Hello, PB'ers. What a week it's been. I, for one, am glad it's over. You know those awkward moments when you're stuck watching a man and woman rehash all of their trivial complaints with one another in front of you? While NBC chooses to turn such uncomfortable moments into comedy on "The Office," ABC apparently finds it appropriate material for a presidential debate. ABC aired perhaps the most trivial presidential debate ever on Wednesday night: Before the moderators could be bothered with "important" topics like the economy, we got to hear all about who loves America the most, lies about Bosnia and who wears flag pins more (ahem, *not* John McCain, as Political Base points out).

The Republican maverick, meanwhile, addressed the economy this week with a relatively comprehensive plan that included a summer suspension of the federal gas tax.

Be sure to check back with us next week to find out what to make of the Pennsylvania primary.

See you then,

Stephanie Condon



Final Thoughts On the Disastrous Debate Performance...By ABC
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gibson-stephanopoulos
After live blogging a "truly an awful performance by both
Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos" during Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate, Mark Nickolas gives us a roundup of the criticism that followed.

Check out the links below for what could have been, had Clinton stood up for her opponent or had McCain been the target of scrutiny.


Debate in Philadelphia

Clinton's Blown Opportunity 


Where Is McCain's Flag Pin?



The Bitter Desperation of the Clinton Campaign
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clinton happyAfter comments from Barack Obama surfaced about "bitter" Pennsylvanians who "cling to guns and religion," Mark Nickolas had this to say: "What is driving voters this year, particularly those of lesser economic means, is bitterness. I see it and hear it everywhere I go, and I feel it myself. Hillary Clinton's effort to turn this into a major story speaks of a level of desperation coming from a candidate who cannot believe they're going to lose the presidential nomination to someone who was still in the Illinois state legislature when she began plotting her campaign in earnest." More...

Which Ad Is More Effective?

No Effect: Obama Holds Largest Lead Ever Over Clinton

 
Republican Operatives Still Trashing McCain To The Media
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All but officially the Republican presidential candidate, John McCain has yet to win over a number of conservatives. Throughout the week, Mark Nickolas analyzed instances in which McCain's conservative credentials have been called into question. More...

McCain Advocates Higher Medicare Premiums for Wealthy, Blames "Greedy" Wall Street For Recession

When Was the Last Time A GOP Presidential Nominee Received A Grade of C+ By The NRA?



What's Next In The Presidential Race
By Mark Nickolas, Managing Editor
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BallotBox
As has happened so often during this primary season, we head into the final weekend before a crucial primary without a clear understanding of where things stand. While nearly all recent polls show Hillary Clinton with a 2 to 5 point lead, the one pollster that has been very accurate this year (SurveyUSA) continues to show Clinton up 14.
 
Clinton has to hope that SurveyUSA is correct once again since anything less than a strong double-digit victory will be viewed as a loss since Clinton continues to watch Barack Obama widen his overall 140+ delegate lead with just 10 contests to go. Many observers point to Clinton's 10-point victory in Ohio as a minimally acceptable threshold performance in Pennsylvania, a state where she lead by more than 20 points only a month ago.
 
After Tuesday's primary, the next targets will be North Carolina and Indiana on May 6th. So far, Obama has dominated polls in North Carolina (leading by 15-20) and two polls last week (LA Times and SurveyUSA) gave Obama a 5-point lead in Indiana, reversing Clinton's double-digit lead.
 
Meanwhile, national polls are all over the map. Daily tracking polls by Gallup and Rasmussen give Obama a 3 to 7 point lead, while Newsweek shows Obama with a staggering 19-point lead, a poll which was taken late this week.
 
Regardless of the outcome in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Clinton's biggest problems remain her financial situation and the continual drop of superdelegates to Obama. Things remain very bleak for Clinton and she'll probably need a victory on Tuesday that is closer to 20 points to keep hope alive.



Our Most Discussed Headlines
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The Bitter Desperation of the Clinton Campaign

Where Is McCain's Flag Pin?

Debate In Philadelphia

President Obama's Cabinet?



Top Contributions from the Political Base Community
 
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Blogs:
POW TRAUMA FINALLY TAKING TOLL ON McCAIN: from politicalscribe
Of salmon and trout and canaries in a coal mine: from DWSUWF
Obama Would Investigate Bush Admin. Crimes: from HopeNation

Forum
Intelligent Design out of public schools: from Niels
Cheney, Others OK'd Harsh Interrogations: from Corey
are you kidding me?: from elportorichardson

Newest Pages & Edits in the Wikis:
Cornel West: by KYDemocrat
West Virginia Democratic Superdelegates: by daniel.rubenstein 
Apple: by greendinjin


Following the Money: Google
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googleAt a time when even GE is reporting declining profits, the seemingly unstoppable Google announced this week that their first-quarter financial results were even better than expected. Click here to see Google's political donations.

* Top Presidential Candidate
* Top Senator
* Top Representative
 


NEXT WEEK 
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PoliticalFight Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania.
 
That should help clarify where the Democratic race stands.






 
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Contact Information
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Mark Nickolas, Managing Editor Stephanie Condon, Senior Writer
***Email: stephanie@politicalbase.com
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