Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
(With apologies for politicizing Mr. Frost.)
Which road one views as which in this primary season is, of course, a personal matter. But, just for the fun of it, here are the most recent letters sent out by each of the Dem candidates.
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Dear Celeste,
All through this hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination, you and I have met challenge after challenge head-on
Every time they start to count us out, we prove them wrong. And we’re going to keep proving them wrong as many times as we need to until we win the White House.You and I know that only the people, not the pundits, get to decide where this race for the Democratic nomination will end up. And, before very long, the people who depend on us the most — working families who have been hard-hit by the failed policies of the Bush administration — will have their say in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Pennsylvania and others.
Let’s show them what we’re made of. Contribute now.
Don’t forget who we’re fighting for: families who need universal health care, people struggling to survive the Bush economy, folks desperately trying to hold onto their homes, students grasping for the American dream. They’re the reason we need to work hard, and we need to win. And winning means having the passion, energy and resources to aggressively compete in crucial upcoming primaries.
Make a contribution to win.
When we embarked on this journey, you and I promised each other we’d stick together through every point and every moment of opportunity. That’s what we’ve got to do — right here, right now.
Are you with me?
Let’s get it done,
Hillary
Hillary Rodham ClintonP.S. Remember, no matter how many times they try to count us out, you and I will keep counting on each other to help drive our campaign to victory in the weeks ahead.
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Celeste,
Thanks to you, Barack won all three of today’s contests decisively.
Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC join a sweep of eight straight victories since Barack won the most states and the most delegates on Super Tuesday.
But the race for the Democratic nomination remains close. It’s going to be a fight for every vote and every delegate in the remaining 18 contests.
Each of us needs to take responsibility for getting as many people involved in this campaign as possible.
More than 400,000 people have donated to this campaign in 2008, and we are on course to reach half-a-million donors before the crucial March 4th primaries and caucuses.
Now is the time to step up and own a piece of this campaign.
If you make a donation of $25 now, your gift will be matched by another donor like you, doubling your impact.
Make a matching donation now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
The upcoming contests in Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania will demand energy and resources on an unprecedented scale.
It’s going to take all of us to keep these victories going. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s this movement.
Thanks for your support,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
Obama ends another campaign slogan with a preposition. That should really bother everyone.
Note the differences in the messages. Hillary points out what you can do for her, but Obama points out the change that he can do for America.
Hillary points out the specific policy objectives of her campaign, while Obama just emphasizes his momentum and urges people to jump onto his bandwagon. Obama says nothing at all about what HE can do for America — in fact, he just asks for more “energy and resources.”
You decide….
Rodham: “You can make the difference for Hillary.”
Obama: “We are the change we have been waiting for.”
“Don’t forget who we’re fighting for… (specific policy objectives take up the rest of the para)…They’re the reason we need to work hard, and we need to win.” While Obama has, in your paraphrase, been waiting for himself… I’ve decided.
WBC, on a basic level I agree with you that I like Hillary’s use of specifics, but I think it’s unwise to follow the narrative that suggests Obama is without policy objectives or tactics to acheive them.
Obama’s email just isn’t making the pitch for his candidacy anymore. It’s make a pitch for why you, ostensibly already a supporter, should give money and energy to the campaign. One probably shouldn’t read too much into this.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
Mavis, of course you’re right, and I have evaluated their respective positions, but we were asked to consider these two letters within a narrow confine. An interesting exercise, how Woody and I saw totally different things/contrasts in them. I think it shows how much people are unwittingly reading their own views & opinions into any campaign statements, precisely because their own views are so made up by this point.
Hillary does seem to be making a shift toward more specifics and less of “my experience” etc. than she has in the past, to try to get new voters on board as well. The backlash against her experience tack hasn’t been so much aimed at her and Bill per se, but against the last 7 years of a Bush Admin. which has made experience synonymous with business as usual… and a decline in our standing in the world. When I traveled during the Clinton era, whether in Europe or the Middle East, even Arabs gave me the thumbs up as an American, grinning “Bill Clinton,” a name they associated with a more balanced view towards making peace there.
Funny how Woody and reg and all the other pro-Obama people are on a temp honeymoon on this blog — but it will be shortlived, since Woody prefers Obama for the reason all conservatives do: that he’s more liberal than Hillary and will be easier to defeat by McCain. IF t’s the two of them against each other in the nationals, fireworks will fly again.
That should really bother everyone. Something up with which I cannot put.
See. The grammatical error even bothers Randy. That could become Obama’s undoing.
WBC, I don’t disagree with your statements, I was just comparing the messages of the slogans.
Hey, if you really feel like puking (and who doesn’t!), then watch this video: Hillary’s response to the Obama “Yes I Can” music video
Hillary is very, very cool and awesome. That’s the best inspirational music I’ve heard since the demise of “Up With People!”
Except for John McCain’s video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gwqEneBKUs
The most telling thing about Hillary’s email is that I’ve been getting about 3 of them a day in the past week. Even after I plead not to send me anymore because they won’t be getting a penny from me. She’s pretty desperate. One I got yesterday was titled “You touched my heart” and continued “I will never, ever forget how you were there for me when I needed you the most.” It was accompanied with a cheesy “Hillary’s Photo Album” that was full of excerpts of letters from poor and working class people who had sent their last few dollars to Hillary. I forwarded the “You touched my heart…I’ll never, ever forget how you were there for me” email to my wife under the subject line “There’s something I’ve got to tell you” and the message “I’m f…ing Hillary Clinton!” (Apologies to Sarah Silverman.)
For anyone with a strong stomach, here’s the email with the “Hillary’s album” URL.
Dear “Reg”,
I will never, ever forget how you were there for me when I needed you the most. When you learned that my campaign needed your help, you didn’t hesitate. And the overwhelming generosity that you showed in the past week is like nothing I have ever seen.
As the race for the nomination continues, I hope you’ll remember that you have made this campaign your campaign. Our victories are your victories. I know that you are standing with me and that I can rely on you for help. And with your support, I know we’ll win.
I wanted to share some of the kind words and stories you’ve shared with me over the past week, along with some of my favorite recent moments from the campaign trail. Take a look at the album on my website here:
http:/www.hillaryclinton.com/thankyou
Again, thank you so much for all you have done. My heart is truly full.
Sincerely,
Hillary Cliinton
Sorry – here’s a working URL (I hope)
http://tinyurl.com/39zc2f
Note to Woody – if you click that URL you’ll end up in Hillary’s master database and it will be very, very easy for her to track you down with the predictable consequences. Fair warniing.
“Note the differences in the messages. Hillary points out what you can do for her, but Obama points out the change that he can do for America.”
I seem to remember a president saying something about “ask not what your country can for you but …….”
Well being the resident revolutionist, I better post some of my favorite Hugo Chavez videos.
Hugo Chavez Reggaeton Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjTMGd-RNTc
Hugo Chavez sings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySFq-iqQXik
Of course, I had to go look at Hillary’s site, but, first, I wisely logged onto my neighbor’s unsecured wireless server. Wait. I think I see some black sedans with dark tinted windows pulling into his driveway and some guys running to his door. Before he goes, I hope I get my ladder back.
At Rodham’s site, the first entry was from a guy whose wife told him to take the money that he was going to use for their Valentine’s dinner and send it to Hillary. Boy! What a romantic! My wife told me to take the money for the shotgun that I bought her and to send that money to someone else who could screw me, so she must mean Hillary, too.
I know a guy who donated $5 to Obama and got an email thanking him by saying, “Thanks to you, Barack won all three of today’s contests decisively.” Then they wanted some more money. My friend said that he had done his part by winning all three primaries, so that was it.
Well, you can brag about your letters, but I’ve received numerous phone calls from John McCain. They go straight down the reject line of the privacy detector.
All this is interesting but I’m still thinking of something that Bill McInterf said in the Wall Street JOURNAL the other day. McInterf, a GOP pollster who along with Peter Hart – the Democrat – surveys public opiniion for the journal – opined that in his years of covering political races he’s never seen anything like the Obama penomenon and his “Wave” (I’d call it a “Tsunami”) would have long ago innudated any conventional candidate. The fact that Hillary has withstood it and is still close – if fact still plausible – is a testiment to her strengths as a candidate.
Folks what we’ve got here are two superb candidates so far above the other side that its not funny anymore. While Obama was getting more than 200,000 more votes in VA than the ENTIRE GOP FIELD, Hillary – left in the dust by Barack – was beating McCain by over a 100,000 votes. The numbers in the Commonwealth are scary – its no longer a GOP lock.
And may I concur with Keith Olberman at MSNBC? New Rule (sorry Mr Maher): NEVER follow Obama when making a speech.
See Senator McCain.
Don’t be stupid rlc. The Republican race is over. Therefore, many aren’t voting and others are crossing primaries to defeat Clinton. You’ll see that in Texas, too.
Obama’s strength cannot be measured for the general election until there are ads by the Republicans to expose his issues as too liberal for America, which can’t be done in the primaries with Hillary. I’m pretty sure that Obama’s life in SE Asia will be an issue. I think he threw rocks at other kids.
Meanwhile…Ethics Panel Says Craig Acted Improperly I’m glad that this was settled. So many were wondering.
Why don’t we ever discuss Natale Holloway on this site? Do I have to get all of my news from FOX?
The Karl Rovian onslaught against Obama had begun:
http://tinyurl.com/yuvjax
Uh, professor of English stepping in here to let ya’ll know that the old rule about prepositions, is, well, an OLD RULE. Usage has changed. Yes, it’ true. English is like that.
Meanwhile, here’s a link to a video by Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig on Obama and Clinton:
http://lumpenprofessoriat.blogspot.com/2008/02/lecturers-for-obama.html
It’s 20 minutes (!) but worthwhile – Lessig focuses on three isuses: character, integrity and as he puts it, what each candidate can DO.
Google Lessig if you like to see more about him.
Yes, I am using Google as a verb.
Rebel Girl, I know what the liberal left-wingers are saying about the acceptance of prepositions at the end of sentences, but they just want to drag down the English language so that everyone using it improperly can maintain his self-esteem and so that no sentences are considered better than others. Refined people know better.
Nouns as verbs…?! Oh, the horror. (Yes, just as examples, sentence fragments are bad, too.)
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reg, get ready for a swarm of junk mail.
The funny thing is that, insofar as Clinton is concerned, I’m not part of a “good mailing list.” I think I was sucked into her internet vortex because of a single generic matching donation I made to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in ’06. In fact, with that single exception, I only make (modest) donations directly to candidates – even if they’re in far-off Congressional districts – who I respect and identify with on some level, like Donna Edwards who just won the Dem primary over old-school black pol Al Wynn in Maryland. Obama’s the only candidate who’s ever met my thumbnail test of real committment: “Have I donated more money to this cause in a given chronological cycle than I have spent on eating out ?” If the answer is no, it means you don’t really give a shit.
Woody, your reasoning is taking the easy way out. Check out Fowler’s English Usage (published by Oxford) or Garner’s Modern English Usage. They aren’t quite the leftists you believe them to be.
The langauge, especially the English langauge, changes. Always has. Check out Shakespeare and measure the distance.
The preposition rule is a leftover from Latin, boosted by Dryden — perhaps its continued proud embrace by some “refined” Americans is a kind of resiudal colonialism.
I might also add that my comment about prepositions at the end of a sentence being something up with which I cannot put came from that noted leftie Winston Churchill (scroll down).