The "Hillary is a drag on Democrats" story? One of the same sources said the same of Obama!

[wyldwolf]

From the Original WaPo story:

A strategist with close ties to leaders in Congress said Democratic Senate candidates in competitive races would be strongly urged to distance themselves from Clinton.

"The argument with Hillary right now in some of these red states is she's so damn unpopular," said Andy Arnold, chairman of the Greenville, S.C., Democratic Party. "I think Hillary is someone who could drive folks on the other side out to vote who otherwise wouldn't."

Ron Fornier (R - scumbag) leaves out the fact Arnold is part of the John Edwards campaign and recently had this to say about Barack Obama:

Greenville County Democratic Party chairman Andy Arnold hears it frequently among blacks, who are supporting Clinton in greater numbers in recent polls.

"A lot of the African-Americans are with Hillary because I think they don't believe white America is ready for a black president," said Arnold, who is white and uncommitted in the race. "They want to win and so in a way, I think it is a barrier to him. And it may be more so in the South where the remnants of the old South are still in the older folks mind. They just can't believe in their right mind that white folks will elect a black man president, so let's not put ourselves through that agony."

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:Ls7BqPe0TbQJ:apnews.myway.com/article/20070727/D8QL6QOO0.html+%22andy+arnold%22+south+carolina&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

What say you, Mr. Fornier?

But wait, there's more! GQ Magazine quotes Thomas F. Schaller, author of "Whistling Past Dixie," a book the netroots seemed to adore a year or so ago.

Obama’s name on the ticket will almost certainly boost the number of African-Americans at the polls, so Democrats finally have a chance to pick off a state or two in the South, right? Wrong. According to Thomas F. Schaller, author of Whistling Past Dixie, an uptick of black votes in the South is usually offset by retaliatory voting from whites. And while Obama is not positioning himself as a Sharpton or a Jackson, postracial campaign themes won’t matter much in places where GOP voting is still wedded to racial hostility. Schaller doesn’t call it a “blacklash” for nothing.

http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_5365&pageNum=4

So Democrats you should give up. Hillary is a drag, Obama is a drag, and Edwards did not win his own home state in 2004 and is way behind Hillary and Obama in the Carolinas in 2007. So give up Democrats, go home.

(this post was paraphrased from a post at Hillaryis44.com)

[beberocks]

1. Yep, this is the "Katie Couric" way to swiftboat a candidate

Just a whisper campaign, the nebulous "some Democrats say..." leaves the impression that the candidate is doomed to fail. And you pegged it, this same campaign would be used against any Dem front runner. It's a smear campaign that is hard to combat because there is no real basis for it.

[karynnj]

7. This is NOT swiftboating nor is it smearing

It is saying nothing about the record or character of the candidates - it is speaking only of popularity.

[OHdem10]

2. What concerns me is the Chris Matthews Report that

at least 40 congressmen have started a whisper campaign
saying that HRC will hurt members down ballot.

According to Matthews, Hardball, the congressmen believe
it hurts their change to re-elected if HRC is at the
top of the ticket.

This is a whisper campaign and they remain anonymous.

Why did they not speak out before HRC got such a commanding
lead? Get some guts and show who they are. Supposedly
Wester Plain and Western States. We can only guess.

This is the real story--not who says what in a campaign.

Blaming Edwards just campaign inflighting. For the most
part campaign accusations only count if they are picked
up and reported on by TV Nedua,

The TV Media is reporting the WHISPER Campaign.

[Cameron27]

3. Thanks for posting.

Nice political game the Edwards' camp is spinning.

[dionysus]

4. quoting the sleazy hillary propaganda site... swell

[wyldwolf]

6. is anything quoted in the OP in dispute?

[Alamom]

5. Ron Fournier; 6/16/07 - The Unknown: Is Obama Ready?

Mr. Fournier wrote this article about Sen. Obama in June. I believe it was posted then but most likely forgotten now....just a reminder, it's not very complimentary to the Senator and there are named sources in this one.

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/06/16/785425-the-unknown-is-obama-ready

The Unknown: Is Obama Ready?
Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:18 PM
Ron Fournier, AP Political Writer


SPRINGFIELD — Ask those who served with him in the Illinois Senate whether Barack Obama is ready to be president, and they will tell you he is a dogged consensus-builder known for his empathy, intellect and unbounded ambition. They will call him cautious and calculating, a disciple of shady patrons, a liberal lawmaker and conservative poker player.

But they will not quite say he is ready for the presidency.

"Obama has a great intellect and the leadership characteristics of our great American presidents," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican who befriended Obama in Springfield. "But the unknown is the administrative and foreign policy experience."While Dillard expects to support the GOP presidential nominee, "I would not lose a night's sleep worrying about my young children's future if Senator Obama were my president because I know he (Obama) would probably surround himself, like Ronald Reagan, with exceptionally experienced people."

>

One of his earliest patrons, Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, contributed thousands of dollars and raised thousands more as Obama ran for the Illinois Legislature, the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. He was even involved in the purchase of land that Obama and his family now live on.
But now Rezko faces federal charges as the central figure in an Illinois corruption scandal.

Another Obama mentor, state Senate President Emil Jones, serves under an ethical cloud. He has several family members on the state payroll and uses his clout to aid their business interests.
In an interview, the power broker recalled a conversation with Obama shortly after Jones seized control of the Senate.


Obama: "You have a lot of power."

Jones: "What kind of power do you think I have?"

Obama: "To elect a U.S. senator."

Jones: "Do you know anybody I could make a U.S. senator?"

Obama: "Me."

[R_M]

8. Ron Fornier and the Washington Post.

It's self-explanatory.