Hillary Accepts no defeat & Cartoon of the Day

First for the Cartoon of the Day:
This Election Cartoon is just a nice representation of where Hillary stands in the current race. The Political Cartoon is a great depiction of her "grasping for straws" strategy that currently is inching her forward in this election.

Reeling from her Democratic rival's 11 straight wins in nominating contests, Senator Clinton rejected the perception that her performance Thursday in a high-stakes debate in Austin, Texas, had a valedictory tone.

"This is going to be a spirited election between now and March 4," Clinton told supporters at a rally in Dallas, Texas.

Hillary Clinton Friday denied she was contemplating defeat for her White House bid, after her wistful tribute to Barack Obama in a debate was seen by some observers as an admission of looming failure.

"I am thrilled at the depth and breadth of support I have across the state," she said, knowing that Texas, along with Ohio, makes up a pair of must-win contests for her.

But in the debate the night before, the generous tribute she paid to her rival was seen by some commentators as an admission that her quest to be the first woman president could fall short.

"You know, no matter what happens in this contest -- and I am honored, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored," she said, and reached out to shake his hand.

While Clinton was making the case that her campaign was not on its last legs, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain was back in Indiana, attempting to shrug off news reports that connected him to corporate lobbyists and one, in the New York Times, that suggested he had had an improper relationship with a female lobbyist.

Besides the pressure of a lagging campaign, the death of a police motorcyclist who crashed while escorting Clinton in Dallas Friday cast a pall of sadness over her team.

"I just learned of the death of a Dallas police officer in a devastating accident that occurred as these motorcycle officers were leading our cars to this site," Clinton said.

"We are just heartsick over this loss of life and I have asked that my condolences be conveyed to the family."

Meanwhile Clinton's camp sought to turn her melancholy remarks in the debate to her favor.

"What we saw in the final moments in that debate is why Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States," her spokesman Howard Wolfson said in a statement.

"Her strength, her life experience, her compassion. She's tested and ready. It was the moment she retook the reins of this race and showed women and men why she is the best choice."

Senator Obama, who leads Clinton 1368 to 1271 in the race to win enough delegates to capture the Democratic nomination, made several appearances in Texas Friday, one of two large states to hold primaries on March 4 expected to either rescue or end Clinton's White House hopes.

Now favored to win the Democratic nomination, Obama -- who seeks to become the country's first African-American president -- spent part of the time jousting with McCain over US foreign policy.

McCain attempted to skewer Obama over his offer in Thursday's debate to speak to leaders of US foes without preconditions, focusing on Cuba after the resignation of Fidel Castro.

"So Raul Castro gets an audience with an American president, and all the prestige such a meeting confers, without having to release political prisoners, allow free media, political parties, and labor unions, or schedule internationally monitored free elections," McCain said.

"Senator Obama says he would meet Cuba's dictator without any such steps in the hope that talk will make things better for Cuba's oppressed people."

Obama hit back in his own statement: "John McCain would give us four more years of the same Bush-McCain policies that have failed US interests and the Cuban people for the last 50 years.

"My policy will be based on the principle of liberty for the Cuban people, and I will seek that goal through strong and direct presidential diplomacy."

McCain Story and Cartoon of Day

Political Cartoon of the Day:
With the great belief of the current administration, that creatopm is science, this cartoon seemed appropriate. That and this "magical" Global Warming, This Cartoon is great.

The Times reported that early in McCain's first run for the White House eight years ago, one of his top advisers -- concerned about the propriety of the relationship -- intervened by privately warning Iseman to stay away from the Arizona senator. When news organizations reported that McCain had written letters to government regulators on behalf of the lobbyist's client, some aides feared for a time that attention would fall on her involvement.

McCain this morning delivered an unequivocal denial of the charges leveled against him in the story. He flatly denied that he and Iseman had had any sort of romantic relationship, or any relationship beyond what he would normally have with someone lobbying him as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. He also said he was entirely unaware of a meeting between John Weaver, at the time a senior McCain political strategist, and Iseman at Union Station. Weaver has acknowledged that he asked Iseman at that meeting to steer clear of McCain.

McCain's account is not entirely inconsistent with what Weaver has said publicly, although it does strain credulity a bit. "I did not inform Senator McCain that I asked for a meeting with Ms. Iseman," Weaver told The Fix today. "Her comments, which had gotten back to some of us, that she had strong ties to the Commerce Committee [chairman] and his staff were wrong and harmful and I so informed her and asked her to stop with these comments and to not be involved in the campaign. Nothing more and nothing less."

So Weaver, one of McCain's closest advisers at the time, met with Iseman, but says now that he never talked to McCain about his meeting with the lobbyist, either before or after the meeting. And McCain says he had no knowledge of the meeting.

McCain was emphatic in saying he was totally in the dark about Weaver's meeting with Iseman, an essential assertion in attempting to knock down the Times story. But his unqualified denial leaves him no wiggle room if more information surfaces in the coming weeks about what McCain knew and when he first knew it.

There is much that the public doesn't know about McCain's dealings with the telecommunications lobbyist and her clients years back, including considerable potentially exculpatory information that McClain complained was ignored by the Times in its lengthy article. So, at the moment, it's tough to draw hard and fast conclusions.

But one immediate political impact of the story has been the rallying of prominent conservatives behind McCain, as detailed by Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin of the Politico. Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio show host, derided the story as "Page Six gossip" on his program today.

Ironically, Limbaugh and many other conservative talk radio hosts have attacked McCain for weeks for being an unacceptable choice to head the GOP ticket this fall. It didn't help matters that the Times editorial page endorsed McCain for the Republican nomination. One Republican observer put it this way to The Fix: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." That is, conservatives may not like or trust McCain but they like and trust the New York Times a lot less.

McCain sought to play up that line of attack during his press conference this morning. "I was not trying to dissuade [New York Times executive editor Bill Keller] from -- in any way from doing the story," he said. "I know the New York Times."

And, in a fundraising email just sent from McCain campaign manager Rick Davis, the anti-Times argument is made even more explicit. "We could expect attacks were coming; as soon as John McCain appeared to be locking up the Republican nomination, the liberal establishment and their allies at the New York Times have gone on the attack," wrote Davis.

It's no secret to anyone watching this Republican race closely that McCain is still struggling to bring conservatives into the fold. Time after time he lost the conservative vote in early primary and caucus states; of the 24 states that have voted to date, McCain received the most support from self-identified conservatives in just five (Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Wisconsin).

Could this be the galvanizing force that unites this key voting bloc behind McCain?

Perhaps.

We've long believed that conservatives would eventually come home to McCain when faced with a choice between someone they largely agree with and someone they don't -- meaning either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton . While it is fashionable at the moment among conservatives to cast a vote against McCain, when November comes it is hard to see these rock-ribbed conservatives choosing a Democrat.

What this incident may do -- again assuming that nothing more damaging emerges over the coming days -- is to energize conservatives behind McCain in a way that they might not have been otherwise. Most conservatives would likely have come home to McCain in the end but there was a segment of voters who would have stayed home. They may not now -- especially if McCain and his camp can cast this controversy as an example of the liberal media trying to destroy a conservative Republican. The story has the potential in the short term to turn McCain into a conservative cause celebre.

Delegates, SuperDelegates & Cartoon of the Day

Todays Political Cartoon is about the SuperDelegates of This years elections. How much of an impact will they play and how pissed could the public be? In a time where nominees are trying to get as much as possible could it come down to who has the SuperDelegate Swagger? What about the regular Delegate, are they just the tossed out packaging used to convince us that our vote does matter?

Obama had 1,303 before all of delegates from Wisconsin and Hawaii were factored in, according to The Associated Press, while Clinton had 1,233.

The figures included some superdelegates — politicians and party officials who aren’t awarded in the primaries and can vote any way they want at the convention.

Clinton’s fear, as the race goes on, is that a continuing surge for Obama will convince more and more superdelegates to move from her side of the fence, leaving her campaign in tatters.

Obama's latest victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii placed intense pressure on Clinton to triumph in Ohio and Texas early next month to salvage her campaign after a bitter, historic battle rolling heavily in Obama’s favour.

In capturing Hawaii, Obama, vying to become the first black U.S. president, captured 20 convention delegates needed to become the party nominee.

However, Wisconsin was the bigger prize, offering 74 delegates and — with its large number of blue collar voters — a preview of what could happen in industrialized states like Ohio on March 4.

Obama was attracting lower-income and unionized voters that usually side with Clinton, and splitting the support of white women who have flocked to her in the past.

Recent polls suggested Clinton was still leading Obama in Ohio but her long-held advantage in Texas had nearly vanished. Pennsylvania votes in April.

“Both Senator Obama and I would make history,” Clinton told a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where she didn’t mention her loss in Wisconsin. “But only one of us is ready on Day 1 to be commander in chief, ready to manage our economy, and ready to defeat the Republicans. Only one of us has spent 35 years being a doer, a fighter and a champion for those who need a voice.”

For the Republicans, presumptive nominee John McCain added to his own delegate count while trying to shake remaining rival Mike Huckabee.

He won the Republican primaries in Wisconsin and Washington state. A

t a rally in Columbus, Ohio, he zeroed in on Obama as his likely opponent in November’s general election, criticizing his inexperience in foreign affairs and saying his soaring oratory lacks substance.

“I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change,” he said. “I will wage a campaign of determination, passion and the right ideas.”

Obama hit back in his own speech, saying McCain “represents the policy of yesterday and we want to be the party of tomorrow.”

Polls in advance of Wisconsin had suggested a closer Democratic race, and it should have been a competitive state for Clinton given that voters are mostly white, with lower incomes and don’t have college degrees.

Seven in 10 voters said U.S. trade with other countries costs jobs.

Clinton’s camp released a plan late Tuesday promising to “dramatically strengthen” the trade deal’s labour and environmental provisions, boost enforcement mechanisms and change rules allowing foreign companies to challenge American laws at tribunals outside the U.S. court system.

The Democratic race has become increasingly testy, with the Clinton camp accusing Obama on the weekend of plagarizing part of a speech from his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Patrick has dismissed the charges as bogus since he has helped the campaign with speechwriting. Obama noted that Clinton has borrowed some of his phrases in her public appearances.

Clinton argues that she’s the only one who can stand up to the Republican attack machine.

Both Obama and Clinton have been emphasizing plans to help struggling families. And they’ve been taking shots at the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Obama has slammed the deal as one reason the country is facing economic turmoil and issued a rebuke to Clinton, whose husband pushed hard for the NAFTA over the objections of many Democrats.

His campaign has already distributed mass mailings critical of Clinton on the issue in Ohio.

Attacks on Obama in 08 By Clinton get more Frequent

First we will get the political cartoon of the day. This cartoon is a great laugh during the current trend of the nominational races.

In the Republican race, John McCain, the presumptive nominee, was looking for convincing wins over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in primaries in Wisconsin and Washington state to show that the party is rallying behind his candidacy. The Arizona senator picked up former President George H. W. Bush's support on Monday, a critical blessing by a pillar of the Republican establishment.

Democrats in Wisconsin and Hawaii were voting Tuesday in a presidential campaign that has gotten increasingly negative with charges of broken promises, plagiarism and petty partisanship. Hillary Rodham Clinton was looking to rebound after eight straight losses to Barack Obama who was looking to increase his lead in the race for nominating delegates.

Recent polls show tight race in Wisconsin, even as Clinton's advisers have publicly downplayed their expectations, giving her a chance to halt Obama's streak of eight straight wins since they battled to a split decision in 22 contests on Feb. 5, Super Tuesday.

At stake in Tuesday's primary are 74 of Wisconsin 92 convention delegates, while Obama's native Hawaii, which also holds its caucuses on Tuesday, offers 20.

Obama recently took over the lead in the chase for nomination delegates 1,281-1,218. It takes 2,025 delegates to secure the presidential nomination at the party's convention this summer in Denver.

Clinton, who a few weeks ago was the front-runner, hopes a strong showing in Wisconsin will give her a boost going into the bigger state contests in Texas and Ohio on March 4 that could decide the fate of her bid to be the first female U.S. president. Obama is trying to become the country's first black president.

The following poll was conducted Feb. 14-17 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In Texas, a must-win state for the New York senator, a poll released Monday showed a tight race, with Clinton at 50 percent, and Obama at 48 percent. About a quarter of state Democrats said they could still change their minds, according to the CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll. McCain was leading preacher-turned-politician Mike Huckabee in the Republican race, 55 percent to 32 percent.

On Monday, Clinton's top advisers tried to raise doubts about Obama's credibility, pointing out that the Illinois senator has hedged on a pledge to limit himself to public financing in the general election and accusing him of plagiarism for using lines first spoken by his friend Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson, during a conference call with reporters, pointed to a speech Obama delivered at a Democratic Party dinner in Wisconsin Saturday that lifted lines from an address by Patrick.

"If your whole candidacy is about words, those words should be your own," Clinton herself told reporters during a late-evening campaign flight. "That's what I think."

The Associated Press reported in January that Obama had borrowed ideas and speech points from Patrick, often without attribution. But with Obama now leading in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton's campaign is using this example in an attempt to chip away at the premise of his candidacy.

The passage in question from Obama's speech addressed the power of oratory, and he used it to rebut Clinton's oft-repeated charge that she is the candidate of substance and he is the candidate of flash.

"Don't tell me words don't matter," Obama told the Wisconsin audience. "'I have a dream' — just words? 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal' — just words? 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself' — just words? Just speeches?"

Patrick, who made history by becoming Massachusetts' first elected black governor, used similar language during his 2006 race to push back on similar charges from his Republican opponent.

Obama blasted the Clinton campaign's accusations, but acknowledged he should have given the Massachusetts governor credit.