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CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Prominent Clinton backer and DNC member to endorse McCain « - Blogs from CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.

The announcement will take place at a news conference on Capitol Hill, just blocks away from the DNC headquarters. Forester will “campaign and help him through the election,” the spokesman said of her plans to help the Republican presidential nominee.

Forester was a major donor for Clinton earning her the title as a Hillraiser for helping to raise at least $100,000 for the New York Democratic senator’s failed presidential bid.

In an interview with CNN this summer, Forester did not hide her distaste for eventual Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

“This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him,” she said of Obama in an interview with CNN’s Joe Johns. “I feel like he is an elitist. I feel like he has not given me reason to trust him.”

Forester is the CEO of EL Rothschild, a holding company with businesses around the world. She is married to international banker Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Forester is a member of the DNC’s Democrats Abroad chapter and splits her time living in London and New York.

Labels: Hillary, McCain, Obama, Obama critics, PUMA

McCain, Palin go PUMA hunting - War Room - Salon.com

The debut of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate didn't have the kind of fire Joe Biden was able to bring to his first event with Barack Obama. Considering how new Palin is to the national scene, that wasn't too surprising. For the moment, too, McCain and Palin don't seem to know each other well, and they don't yet look comfortable standing next to each other. But what the event did make clear is why, despite some negatives on her part, McCain chose Palin.

First off, there's her Everywoman look. Her family -- and her frequent joke about being a "hockey mom" -- only helps that. And there's her economic background as well. John McCain may have seven houses (or eight, or 10, who knows?) but Palin is, as McCain himself noted, a former union member; she's married to one as well. Palin "understands the problems, the hopes and the values of working people, knows what it's like to worry about mortgage payments and healthcare and the cost of gasoline and groceries," McCain said in introducing her.

And then, of course, there's her gender. McCain was working all week to exploit the divisions remaining in the Democratic Party, and to try to capture some of Hillary Clinton's supporters. The selection of Palin is obviously another step in that direction, as Salon's Rebecca Traister notes in her post about in Broadsheet. In her speech today, Palin wasn't subtle about trying to appeal to those who had backed Clinton.

"It's fitting that this trust has been given to me 88 years almost to the day after the women of America first gained the right to vote," Palin said, continuing:

I think as well today of two other women who came before me in national elections. I can't begin this great effort without honoring the achievements of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and of course Sen. Hillary Clinton, who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign. It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.

Labels: Gov. Sarah Palin, PUMA

Just Say No Deal Coalition on Larry King
Video sent by marc1a

Elizabeth Joyce from the Just Say No Deal Coalition and Hireheels.com appeared on Larry King to discuss why she and many Democrats like her, are not supporting Obama, and what Obama can do to gain her support.

Labels: Just Say No Deal, Obama critics, PUMA

Liberals Remain Blind to Obama's Weaknesses—and Dangers - Bonnie Erbe (usnews.com) DENVER—This is another tale of two conventions. I posted earlier from Denver on how Democratfest felt to me just like the 1976 Republican Convention in Kansas City where Gerald Ford narrowly squeaked by Ronald Reagan to win the nomination. No, in Denver there is no contested nomination as there was in Kansas City. But Sen. Hillary Clinton's presence weighed mightily and at times it felt like there were two Democratic candidates at the convention.

Uber-libs and party regulars seem completely blind to this and in fact seem to be trying to bury it down to the earth's core. Witness this post from left-leaning Salon.com's Rebecca Traister on a PUMA (or Party Unity My A**) protest:

But this is how media fantasy gets made, a miniature tableau of political discord, played out in front of a couple of well-placed television cameras and a television host who finds fetishistic, hyperbolic meaning in everything having to do with the defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her still-sore supporters.

I spoke at a panel with Traister, one hosted by the Women's Media Center, and found her to be a thoughtful person (and gifted writer). But her pro-Barack Obama leanings blind her to reality. She portrayed the pro-Hillary, anti-Obama protesters as a hysterical, PMS-ing minority. True, at the convention Obama folks dominate. But a look at the polls and in discussions with honest pro-Obama delegates in Denver, it's clear Democrats are worried and they have plenty to worry about.

A Gallup poll out this morning shows Obama wins more points from voters than McCain on handling of economic issues and in terms of "caring" about voters' problems. But he falls way behind on the question of leadership and on voters' questions about whether he can handle the job of Commander -in-Chief. Meanwhile, as I posted earlier, conservative Democrats are still not behind him, and guess what: There are more conservatives in this country than liberals. Guess what again: Clinton's supporters are more conservative than Obama's.

Labels: Just Say No Deal, Obama supporters, PUMA

A Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the PUMA coalition speaks about her disillusionment with the nominating process and why she plans to vote for Republican John McCain SOUNDBITE: Nancy Kivlen, PUMA

Labels: PUMA

Morgan: Why Should Hillary Clinton Supporters Be Happy, Now? - Bonnie Erbe (usnews.com)

My colleague Morgan Felchner got a torrent of response to her blog posting of last Friday asking, "Hillary Clinton supporters: Are you happy now?"

I also posted on Sen. Barack Obama's decision (yes, the DNC was part of the negotiating team, but the Obama campaign in essence runs the DNC these days) to allow Clinton's delegates to vote for her when her name is placed in nomination at the Democratic convention next week.

But I would like to respectfully report on the perspective of former Hillary supporters who disagree with the tone of the question: "Are you happy now?"

No one can report on how all 18 million Clinton voters reacted to the decision. Clearly, overall they must have been at least somewhat pleased with the decision. But to ask, "Are you happy now?" carries with it an implication that Clinton supporters are a complaining bunch who won't be happy no matter what the DNC or the Obama campaign does to try to please them. I am in close touch with the PUMA folks and other Democratic anti-Obama bloggers as I will be covering their activities in Denver next week. To ask the question, "Are you happy now?" is to dismiss the seriousness of their concerns.

From where many of them sit, the Democratic Party blew a perfectly good opportunity to nominate a moderate (instead of liberal), seasoned (instead of inexperienced) party leader (instead of Senate newcomer) with a long track record in international relations. Clinton's "3 a.m. call" commercial is still resounding in blogs and media reports because when Russia invaded Georgia, Obama at first issued an appeasement statement, then the next day did a 180-degree turn, pressuring Russia to withdraw quickly. Such flip-flops on war policy are unacceptable but typical of what the party should have expected from a newbie. They also help explain why Obama is now tied with McCain in daily presidential tracking polls, rather than winning by double digits.

So instead of asking, "Are you happy now?" I'd ask y'all to respond to the question: "Why should we be?"

Labels: Democratic Convention 2008, DNC, Hillary, PUMA

On tonight's Hardball, David Shuster showed us why MSNBC is quickly earning a reputation for being a left-wing version of the Fox News Channel. MSNBC has been quite hostile to Hillary Clinton and her supporters all throughout the campaign. Even Obama supporters have admitted that there is clearly a bias at the network and an obvious adoration of Sen. Obama.

Tonight Shuster did his best not to disappoint loyal Obama supporters by being completely hostile to Will Bower and PUMA Pac's Darragh Murphy. At different points in the interview, Shuster was either laughing at them or being extremely snarky. He sarcastically shot back at Murphy, "Alright let's vote against him because he was in Hawaii." When Bower pointed out Obama's flip-flopping, Shuster sharply defended him, "but that's the standard Will" and went on to list past McCain flip-flops. He clearly looked like an Obama surrogate and closed with an incredibly presumptuous statement for a reporter; "Well, I think most Democrats would disagree with you, and I think even most Republicans would disagree with you." What a pompous ass-hole.

Shuster continued his unfair attack by pointing out that PUMA has only raised $50k, as if that meant they did not have support. If they had no support, why have them on the show? Why so angry David? He clearly is unaware that PUMA is a grassroots effort and not some San Francisco millionaire's club.

Whether you're for Obama or not, you have to understand that MSNBC invited Bower and Murphy on the show. Since when did Hardball turn into The Bill O'Reilly Show? I think a little more objectivity was called for here. Of course, Shuster has always had an axe to grind against the Clinton's. Especially after getting suspended in February, 2007 for whining about the way Chelsea was being used during the campaign and complained that Hillary was "pimping out" Chelsea (as seen above). Classy, huh? So it's no wonder he seized on the opportunity to be totally hostile to Hillary supporters.

Labels: Hillary-haters, Media bias, PUMA

Here's Diane Mantouvalos from hireheels.com on Fox & Friends promoting Just Say No Deal. I met Diane in Philadelphia while campaigning for Hillary right before the Pennsylvania primary. While we were there, Diane and I and a group of other bloggers and supporters, got a chance to invade Obama territory and crashed some local Philly lounges. What a great time.

Way to go Diane! Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing the caucus-fraud doc. Keep us posted.

Labels: Fox News, Hillary, Just Say No Deal, Obama critics, PUMA