Barack Obama Elected President!

[Roman]

The soap opera actually starts tomorrow morning. The Sunday news shows come on, and we'll se what is said on MTP.

We already know what ass-kissing will take place on This Week.

I'll also say this......HI did NOT come off well this day. Especially after he walked out when he got checked early today.

Hillary Clinton will be offered a dignified exit from the presidential race and the prospect of a place in Barack Obama's cabinet under plans for a "negotiated surrender" of her White House ambitions being drawn up by Senator Obama's aides.

AP

Hillary, with husband Bill and daughter Chelsea, once looked a winner. Now with defeat looming, there are talks over a dignified endgame

The former First Lady would get the chance to pilot Mr Obama's reforms of the American healthcare system if she agrees to clear the path to his nomination as Democratic presidential candidate.

Senior figures in the Obama camp have told Democrat colleagues that the offer to Mrs Clinton of a cabinet post as health secretary or to steer new legislation through the Senate will be a central element of their peace overtures to the New York senator.

Mr Obama said on Thursday that he believed he would have secured the support of enough delegates to make him the standard bearer of his party in November's presidential election by the end of this week.

After today's primary election in Puerto Rico and Tuesday's final contests in Montana and South Dakota, the remaining super-delegates will come under huge pressure from fellow party grandees to declare their hands.

The Obama camp, however, remains nervous about Mrs Clinton's intentions and ambitions, and is preparing a face-saving package that will allow her to continue to play a role in health care reform, which has been her signature issue for more than a decade. Despite pressure from some Clinton allies, Mr Obama and his advisers do not wish to ask her to be his vice-presidential running mate. "They will talk to her," one Democrat strategist close to senior figures in the Obama camp told The Sunday Telegraph. "They will give her the respect she deserves. She will get something to do with health care, a cabinet post or the chance to lead the legislation through the Senate."

Another Democrat who has discussed strategy with friends in the Obama inner circle said that Mr Obama was openly considering asking Mrs Clinton to join his cabinet, alongside two other former presidential rivals: John Edwards, who is seen as a likely attorney general; and Joe Biden, who is a leading contender to become Secretary of State.

Mr Obama hinted at the plan last week. "One of my heroes is Abraham Lincoln," he said. "Lincoln basically pulled in all the people who had been running against him into his cabinet because whatever personal feelings there were, the issue was 'how can we get this country through this time of crisis?' And I think that has to be the approach that one takes."

Informal talks have already begun between Obama and Clinton fundraisers to discuss a merger, enabling Mr Obama to pay off Mrs Clinton's campaign debts of $11 million (£5.6 million). The third element of a peace deal was being worked out last night as Mr Obama's allies tried to arrange a compromise over the delegates from Florida and Michigan – states which Mrs Clinton won but which were stripped of their voting rights after moving election dates in breach of party rules.

Hundreds of Clinton supporters, mostly women, gathered in Washington yesterday to protest at what they saw as an injustice, as the Democratic Party's "rules and bylaws committee" worked on a way of ending the controversy.

Delegates are likely to be awarded in proportion with the votes cast, but in only half the numbers originally intended, a move that would help Mrs Clinton save face but would not challenge Mr Obama's delegate lead. "Hillary will get a win, but a small win," said the first Democrat strategist.

Tentative contacts have already taken place between Obama and Clinton aides over the endgame, but there have been no formal talks. Mrs Clinton's aides, while acknowledging that she will have to abandon her White House dream, do not feel they are in a position to negotiate on her behalf. "She has not surrendered in her own mind yet and until she does it's very difficult to have these conversations," the second strategist said.

Dee Dee Myers, the former press secretary to President Clinton, said: "It seems clear to me from watching her, and talking to people, that she doesn't really know what she wants." But after 17 months of campaigning, and $150 million (£76 million) spent, the question that haunts the Clinton camp is: how did someone who a year ago had unrivalled name recognition, a legendary campaign organisation and more money than her opponent contrive to throw it all away?

The answers come down to wrong message, wrong tactics, complacency, character – and, ultimately, the opponent. Even Clinton aides agree that she wrongly sold herself as a candidate of experience, when voters yearned for Barack Obama's message of change. Her campaign machine then failed to win January's crucial opening Iowa caucuses, handing lethal momentum to Mr Obama.

Her staff mistakenly believed they could knock her rival out by "Super Tuesday" on February 5, when 22 states voted. When that did not happen, she had neither the resources nor the organisation to compete in the succession of caucuses that followed, allowing Mr Obama to build the delegate lead he maintains to this day.

Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster not affiliated to either camp, told The Sunday Telegraph: "We have known for two years that Democrats and voters in general are much more interested in change. Yet for reasons that are inexplicable, the Clinton campaign chose to be on the short end of that message stick."

Backed into a corner, Mrs Clinton responded with increasingly outlandish claims about her qualifications, including a ludicrous statement that she had braved sniper fire on a trip to Bosnia.

That, plus her subsequent insistence that she had merely "mis-spoken" rather than admitting she had got her facts wrong, raised new issues about her character.

In any case, Mr Mellman believes the decisive factor in her defeat was the one she couldn't control. "The most important thing was that she was up against Barack Obama. He is enormously talented."

[Southofnowhere]

Man Obama is planning on having the best Cabinet like ever!

I would offer Hillary a spot on the High Court , she would drive the Repub's CRAZY!

[DevotedToAMC]

LOL well first, south, we would have to get one of those bozos to retire

About the MI and FL decision...I am glad that some are being counted but I am not sure how this will impact us possibly getting MI and FL in November. Something tells me a lot of people in both states are not pleased that only half of the popular and pledged vote are counting and that might get them to vote Republican and have both states go red. I sincerely hope that does not happen.

[EricaKane70]

Well from reading the article above, obama sure as hell doesn't want hillary as his vp. He wants to stick her in a healthcare cabinet to try to get her health care plan or some type of health care that benefits everyone. Its a good idea and actually that may be the best place for her. That just makes her look better in 4 years. If she does join the cabinet, is it possible for her to run for president in 4 years or is it against some kind of rule because she's working for obama?

[DevotedToAMC]

She can run in four years, EK70, but it is looked down upon. Gerald Ford was up for re election in 1976 and Ronald Reagan ran in 1976 to be the nominee and many people did not like it.

She definitely has the power as VP to push for her healthcare plan so I don't understand why he wants her as Secretary of Health and Human Services when a VP is just as great to implement a progressive health care initiative

[Shawn]

SNL has a hilarious skit going on now with Hillary.

[DevotedToAMC]

Shawn, even as a Hillary supporter, I saw this funny video of her on You Tube as "Young Hillary Clinton"...type it in their search engine and it should give you a chuckle

[Roman]

I hope people saw HI this morning on MTP. He came off like a truly arrogant fool.

She could run, but it is a unwritten rule that you don't run against a incumbent president. But........since we all now know what she and her people think of rules........

[Jess]

They aren't big on the written ones, much less the unwritten ones. :lol:

You know, I still believe her decision to appoint so many of Bill's lackies to top campaign positions contributed to her problems. They liked being in the White House as much as he enjoyed being president. There were too many people around Hillary more interested in returning to their glory days than representing her best interests IMO.

[Roman]

The people and philosophy did kill it. HI is paramont to this argument. Seeing him this morning, and then hearing Donna Brazille on This Week say that the Committee was looking for some, or ANY, give from the Clinton camp to make a deal on Michigan.......and the Clinton people wanting every single PD for her really tells you the arrogance which this campaign was run.

That and the fact that each one of them in that campaign thought everything would be over by Feb. 5th.....and never planned for anything past that.

It's just about a done deal.

[Soapsuds]

Clinton wins Puerto Rico by a big margin.

[Southofnowhere]

Too bad PR can't vote in November!

[Wales2004]

HC needed more tranquil supporters on tv. McAuliffe is always hyped up and comes across as disingenuous. He was busy running down the list of all the polls that HC is winning but it was too much for him to admit that Obama has a poll edge in Montana. Instead he said they won PR by 2 to 1 and are close in Montana and SD. Then there was some rep from Ohio who supports her that went nuts because CM, TR and KO see Obama as picking up the 20 super delegates that they said he will need to get to 2118. Contrast that with Sebellius who exuded calm.

I don't know that shouting about the popular vote total captivates those who don't care.

I still want to know what happened with that huge rally that was supposed to happen in D.C.? And I really want to know if women are so pro HC why she isn't getting more than 70% of women's vote......why is that?

Are you sure that there won't be some new mission to give PR statehood before November?

[Roman]

No, but you know that PV count has been added in (even though they are not including half the country ).

All of Clinton's people do that. They feel they have to shout to be heard, like saying ti louder will make it truer for some reason. I hope KO is calling out some of this BS from yesterday, and I really wished some of you had seen HI this morning. What an arrogant tool.

[Wales2004]

I kind of wish that woman had been talking to KO instead of CM because CM should have handled her better but maybe he cut her slack for some reason. It made me wish I was the one in the studio because I would have told her to put the crack pipe down and walk to the light.

MSNBC has been hijacked by Obama. He's giving a speech in SD where someone passed out a few minutes ago. Since I have ADD, I'll be getting a drink in a minute. He's patting his campaign on the back......awwwww

Here's Pat Buchanan's analysis of Obama any time he's asked: "Obama is in trouble. Hard working white people won't vote for him. Hispanics won't vote for him." He says this all the time and instead of asking him they should just say and Pat is going to say...........