US Election Coverage 2008

[Nyani Ngabu]

Maneno meeeengi vitendo hewa....

 

[YNIM]

Maneno meeeengi vitendo hewa....

vitendo gani!!?......... Jonathan Alter wa Newsweek anaita kwa Hillary kujitoa na ku-endorse Obama kabla ya March 4!!! kimsingi anampa pa kutokea @least gracefully maana otherwise billary watakuwa wameumbuka kupita kiasi! what??

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

vitendo gani!!?......... Jonathan Alter wa Newsweek anaita kwa Hillary kujitoa na ku-endorse Obama kabla ya March 4!!! kimsingi anampa pa kutokea @least gracefully maana otherwise billary watakuwa wameumbuka kupita kiasi! what??

Wewe naona unaangalia Dan Abrams...halafu inaonekana wewe ni mpenzi sana wa MSNBC...na ninajua kwa nini....lol

Halafu mbona unakwepa ku-comment kuhusu ile clip aliyoleta Sam..?

 

[YNIM]

ile mie niliona live kwenye harball....what happened ni kwamba chris mathwes alimkamata jamaa off guard na ile tabia yake ya kuulizwa swali, halafu kabla hujajibu anaku-cut off!!! jamaa sio pro, kwahiyo ndio ikawa vile!!! big deal. Unakumbuka ile words brawl ya Chris na Zell Miller??, Zell Miller akasema "get off my face"!! kuna uwekano haikuwa imepangwa jamaa kuulizwa lile swali, hivyo hakuwa kajiandaa. It was dirty journalism from Chris.

Yes napenda MSNBC, na show yangu kubwa ni "countdown" by Keith Oberman....unaweza ku-guess why!! LOL.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

ile mie niliona live kwenye harball....what happened ni kwamba chris mathwes alimkamata jamaa off guard na ile tabia yake ya kuulizwa swali, halafu kabla hujajibu anaku-cut off!!! jamaa sio pro, kwahiyo ndio ikawa vile!!! big deal. Unakumbuka ile words brawl ya Chris na Zell Miller??, Zell Miller akasema "get off my face"!! kuna uwekano haikuwa imepangwa jamaa kuulizwa lile swali, hivyo hakuwa kajiandaa. It was dirty journalism from Chris.

Yes napenda MSNBC, na show yangu kubwa ni "countdown" by Keith Oberman....unaweza ku-guess why!! LOL.

Hahahahaha....Ican't stand Keith Olberman...

Zell Miller is the man....alimshikisha adabu Chris

Hapa nyumbani kwangu sasa hivi CNN na MSNBC marufuku...

Maombo yote Sean Hannity....halafu umesikia kuhusu pastor wa Obama?

 

[YNIM]

Hahahahaha....Ican't stand Keith Olberman...

Zell Miller is the man....alimshikisha adabu Chris

Hapa nyumbani kwangu sasa hivi CNN na MSNBC marufuku...

Maombo yote Sean Hannity....halafu umesikia kuhusu pastor wa Obama?

yap, lakini hiyo story na ile ya farrakhan ni non issue zitakuwa ignored na voters!! look, na amini ni ninaona "maturity" ya ajabu mwaka huu miongoni mwa voters!! mambo ya kizembe ya ki-swift boat yanakuwa hayapewi nafasi na voters.
kama "fix news" ndio channel unayipendelea basi sio mwenzetu!! hivi uliona yule comedian bwa'mdogo alivyowatoa nishai jamaa zako wa fix news live ktkt ya show?? that was fun!!.
Chris hata mie sipendi kuangalia show yake, yupo dizaini ya Bill O.

 

[zomba]

Obama ni msomali?

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, is dressed as a Somali Elder by Sheikh Mahmed Hassan, left, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya, near the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia in this file photo from Aug. 27, 2006. The garb was presented to Obama by elders in Wajir. Obama's estranged late father was Kenyan and Obama visited the country in 2006, attracting thousands of well-wishers.
(AP Photo)

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Obama ni msomali?

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, is dressed as a Somali Elder by Sheikh Mahmed Hassan, left, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya, near the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia in this file photo from Aug. 27, 2006. The garb was presented to Obama by elders in Wajir. Obama's estranged late father was Kenyan and Obama visited the country in 2006, attracting thousands of well-wishers.
(AP Photo)

Obama looks awfully ridiculous in that picture....eeewwwww...

 

[Susuviri]

Obama looks awfully ridiculous in that picture....eeewwwww...

Nyani, naona leo una hasira kama candidate wako unayempigia debe. Sasa kama Obama kapendeza au la mbona siyo issue? Tukianza kuweka picha za mama hapa side by side na Barack na kuuliza nani kapendeza si utaanza maneno ya kuwa it's not a beauty contest?
On a light note: BTW what's with the canary yellow jacket ya mama? Maana anarudia hiyo nguo na anapoivaa ndiyo anakuwa ile freaky personality ya kugombagomba. Akivaa nguo zingine anakuwa calm kidogo. Naomba mmshauri mama ile koti lake la njano asilivae tena 😀

Kuhusu McCain: Kuhusu kuwa a true patriot and all that - it is just a facade and baadaye in the day I will come back kuweka hapa facts kuhusu McCain, mkewe na campaign yake. But until then naomba nikuulize Nyani: Hillary na GOP wako advised by the same group of corporate lobbyist group, je unajua kuwa Mark Penn strategist wa HIllary na Michael Black wa McCain wametoka kampuni moja?

Kuhusu Drudge Report na Hillary camp hebu soma hii kidogo

Clinton's communications team, led by Howard Wolfson, is not leaving Drudge to the Republicans. Five current and former Democratic officials said Clinton has on her side the closest thing her party has ever had to Rhoades [a GOP leaker to Drudge] in Tracy Sefl, a former Democratic National Committee official. The officials said that Sefl had established a friendly relationship with Drudge and that Clinton's campaign often worked quietly through her to open a line of communication with Drudge.

Tracy Sefl is a Vice President in the Public Affairs practice of The Glover Park Group. At GPG, she advises a range of clients including labor unions, policy groups, and Fortune 500 corporations. She brings particular communications expertise to issue advocacy campaigns and Presidential politics, as well as elite messaging for corporate executives.

Prior to joining GPG, Ms. Sefl launched and directed communications and research for the national advocacy group Wal-Mart Watch. There, she helmed a successful campaign to make emergency contraception available in Wal-Mart's U.S. pharmacies and garnered international media attention for studies on Wal-Mart wage and policy issues. She has advised progressive groups on judicial nominees, served as research director for a national women's rights group, and was a charter member of the American University Young Women Leaders Board. During the 2004 presidential campaign, she served as an advisor to the Chairman Terry McAuliffe of the Democratic National Committee and conducted rapid response in the Kerry-Edwards war room. She remains an advisor to McAuliffe and helped direct the national earned media campaign for his New York Times best-selling memoir.

Asked by ABC News on Monday if she gave the photo to the DrudgeReport, Sefl, who is vice president at the Glover Park Group, said, "no."

Like Wolfson, she could not speak for all Clinton campaign associates.

Asked if she has contacted the DrudgeReport to seek a correction to its claim that the Clinton campaign is the source of the photo, she said, "No comment."

Mimi ninachoona hapa ni kwamba baada ya Mama na Bill kuoona kwamba ushindi unazidi kuwaponyoka wameamua wafanye character assasination ya Obama ili asishinde general elections na ajaribu tena in 2012. Kwani kama angetaka angeweza kujitoa gracefully kama mwenzake Mitt Romney alivyofanya when he saw the maths don't add up.

 

[Rufiji]

Kuna watu wengi especially kwenye hii forum, wamewalabel Obama supporters kwamba ni un-informed na delusional . Nimeiona hii clip moja kwenye you tube ambapo Mwandishi mmmoja mzungu alimfuata huyu kijana kwa lengo la kuprove his theory - kwamba watu wengi wanamshangilia tuu bila sababu , to his amazement the guy was able to articulate his position so eloquently. Hii clip ni classic example ya kuwa Citizens who are supporting Obama are well informed and they are not drinking Kool Aid as it has been potrayed by the media.

Please check these two clips

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kica8hmSdAM&feature=related[/media]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2zO5d-XZWA&feature=related

 

[Mtanganyika]

Nifanya analysis ya haraka haraka ya nini kipo kwenye media na nini maana yake.

Kwanza Mama ameshaanza kuchanganyikiwa, nadhani hii inasababisha na new polls and endorsment anazopata Sen. Obama. I think mama alitakiwa kwanza kuevaluate campain timu yake, from super tuesday. Pili, I think anavyozidi kupanic anawapa media what to said, and wanamchukia wanazidi kumkandamiza.

Sen.Obama concervative wanamuita Masaya, kama Obama atashinda next week jumanne then nadhani its over kwa mama na ataexit. Sema kama Obama atarun campaign hii ya promise and change then asahau kumuangusha War Hero Sen.McCain. Kingine i guess Obama need to come to the middle kwenye baadhi ya issue zake sababu wamerakani most of the time hawavost kwa far left winger.

Nani atakuwa VP wa McCain, hiyo inaweza kubadili hari ya mchezo. Kama McCain atachagua concervetive kama Mitt Rommeny then Democratic inabidi wachague labda gavana wa Virginia au Mama wa Kansas. Replucan base bado imegawanyika sema inategemea McCain atafanya nini.,

Ikitokea Sen.Obama atamchagua mama Clinton kwa kudhani ni golden ticket, then atawasaidia sana kuiunga base ya republican ili wa run hard campaign more.

Sen.Obama kwa wale wanasema hajawa taste, kusema kweli hakuna taste nyingine zaidi ya Clinton Machine iliyofanya. Kumbuka huyu ni Junior senetor hana mambo mengi kwenye closet. I guess ndio maana inabidi waanze kudeal na record zake za 3yrs old.

I think the race is almost over kwa democratic, lakini White house is still far away from democratic

 

[Icadon]

By DAVID BROOKS

You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but political consultants are as faddish as anyone else. And the current vogueish advice among the backroom set is: Go after your opponent’s strengths. So in the first volley of what feels like the general election campaign, Barack Obama has attacked John McCain for being too close to lobbyists. His assault is part of this week’s Democratic chorus: McCain isn’t really the anti-special interest reformer he pretends to be. He’s more tainted than his reputation suggests.

Well, anything is worth trying, I suppose, but there is the little problem of his record. McCain has fought one battle after another against lobbyists and special interests. And while I don’t have space to describe all his tussles, or even the lesser ones like his fight with the agricultural lobby against sugar subsidies, I thought that, amidst all these charges, it might be worth noting some of the McCain highlights from the past dozen years.

In 1996, McCain was one of five senators, and the only Republican, to vote against the Telecommunications Act. He did it because he believed the act gave away too much to the telecommunications companies, and protected them from true competition. He noted that AT&T alone gave $780,000 to Republicans and $456,000 to Democrats in the year leading up to the vote.

In 1998, McCain championed anti-smoking legislation that faced furious opposition from the tobacco lobby. McCain guided the legislation through the Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-1 vote, but then the tobacco companies struck back. They hired 200 lobbyists and spent $40 million in advertising (three times as much as the Harry and Louise health care reform ads). Many of the ads attacked McCain by name, accusing him of becoming a big government liberal. After weeks of bitter debate, the bill died on the Senate floor.

In 2000, McCain ran for president and reiterated his longstanding opposition to ethanol subsidies. Though it crippled his chances in Iowa, he argued that ethanol was a wasteful giveaway. A recent study in the journal Science has shown that when you take all impacts into consideration, ethanol consumption increases greenhouse gas emissions compared with regular gasoline. Unlike, say, Barack Obama, McCain still opposes ethanol subsidies.

In 2002, McCain capped his long push for campaign finance reform by passing the McCain-Feingold Act. People can argue about the effectiveness of the act, but one thing is beyond dispute. It was a direct assault on lobbyist power, and earned McCain undying enmity among many important parts of the Republican coalition, who felt their soft money influence was being diminished.

In 2003, the Senate nearly passed the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act. The act was opposed by the usual mix of energy, auto and mining companies. But moderate environmental groups were thrilled that McCain-Lieberman was able to attract more than 40 votes in the Senate.

In 2004, McCain launched a frontal assault on the leasing contract the Pentagon had signed with Boeing for aerial refueling tankers. McCain’s investigation exposed billions of dollars of waste and layers of contracting irregularity.

In 2005, McCain led the Congressional investigation into the behavior of the lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The investigation was exceedingly unpleasant for Republicans, because it exposed shocking misbehavior by important conservative activists.

Over the past few years, McCain has stepped up his longstanding assault on earmarks. Every year, McCain goes to the Senate floor to ridicule the latest batch of earmarks, and every year his colleagues and the lobbyists fume. For years, McCain has proposed legislative remedies — greater transparency, a 60-vote supermajority requirement — that were brutally unpopular with many colleagues until, suddenly, now.

Over the course of his career, McCain has tried to do the impossible. He has challenged the winds of the money gale. He has sometimes failed and fallen short. And there have always been critics who cherry-pick his compromises, ignore his larger efforts and accuse him of being a hypocrite.

This is, of course, the gospel of the mediocre man: to ridicule somebody who tries something difficult on the grounds that the effort was not a total success. But any decent person who looks at the McCain record sees that while he has certainly faltered at times, he has also battled concentrated power more doggedly than any other legislator. If this is the record of a candidate with lobbyists on his campaign bus, then every candidate should have lobbyists on the bus.

And here’s the larger point: We’re going to have two extraordinary nominees for president this year. This could be one of the great general election campaigns in American history. The only thing that could ruin it is if the candidates become demagogues and hurl accusations at each other that are an insult to reality and common sense.

Maybe Obama can start this campaign over.

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

Nyie naona u-pundit umeshawashinda mnaendekeza ushabiki tu, ngoja niende zangu Real Clear Politics!

 

[Susuviri]

Icadon,
Asante kwa post nzuri hapo juu, nakubali kwamba ni vizuri kujua weakness and strength of opponoent. However hivi sasa issue ya special interst and lobbyists katika political life ya John McCain imeanza kuanikwa na beleive me iti s not as rosy as written by Brooks hapo juu. Kuna kitabu kinatoka hivi karibuni kitakachodiscuss how McCain aliwadanganya watu with a few gestures. Jamaa amefanya research kali!. Nikipata link I will post it here.

 

[Susuviri]

Nyie naona u-pundit umeshawashinda mnaendekeza ushabiki tu, ngoja niende zangu Real Clear Politics!

Huko Real Clear Politics kwenye patakushinda maana naona statistics zinazidi kuongezeka kwa Obama Tehehehe

 

[Susuviri]

Hiyo issue ya McCain na lobbyists wake namba nianze na unafiki wake na this article

On the stump, Sen. John McCain often cites his work tackling the excesses of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as evidence of his sturdy ethical compass.

A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation.
In the 2006 Senate report concerning Abramoff's activities, which McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November 2002, and was reelected in 2006.

In a December 2002 email obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help" he received from Abramoff's tribal clients.

An official with the Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek operation," Abramoff wrote, "including his announcing that anyone caught gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that."

The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions about Riley's victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in Alabama history.

And yet, despite the implications of the information, McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sat on the controversial portion of the email. According to an official familiar with the investigation, McCain also subsequently refused to make the email public after the report was released.
There was a brief footnote in the report that quoted William Worfel, former vice chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, saying that Abramoff told the chief of a Mississippi tribe to spend $13 million "to get the governor of Alabama elected to keep gaming out of Alabama so it wouldn't hurt ... his market in Mississippi."

But Riley's name and the details of what was being asked of him were not mentioned once in the 373-page document.
Indeed, as the Associated Press noted in 2006, McCain stayed deliberately agnostic as to Riley's involvement. "The committee headed by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, used the ellipses and did not give the full quotation," the AP said of Worfel's quote. "It also did not say in its report whether it thought the comment was fact or fiction."

Officials with Riley's office pointed to a statement from the Choctaw tribe alleging that reports of their contributions to Riley were "outlandish and patently false." As for the governor's opposition to gambling, Riley's press secretary said he has "consistently [opposed gambling] before he decided to run for governor and since. Anyone who would suggest his long-standing opposition to gambling is tied to anything other than personal conviction would be mistaken."

McCain's campaign did not return request for comment. For critics, however, the senator's decision not to include the email in his report underscores not only a glaring shortcoming of his investigation, but also a chink in his political veneer. Indeed, they claim, the Arizona Republican often takes overt steps to protect Republican colleagues from his anti-corruption dragnets.

"Although Sen. McCain has long bragged of his role in the Abramoff investigation, he let Tom DeLay and the other members of Congress who were doing Abramoff's bidding completely off the hook. The sole exception was Rep. Bob Ney, who served time in prison," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington told the Huffington Post recently. "Sen. McCain knew what his colleagues were up to, he chose to take the easier path and give them a free pass."

Faced with this criticism in the past, McCain has claimed that it was not his responsibility to "involve ourselves in the ethics process [of senators]." Others have defended McCain by pointing out that the committee approved the report by a bipartisan 13-0 vote.

But it is hard to ignore the political consequences of not exposing the Abramoff-Riley connection.

Just prior to the 2002 election, word leaked that federal prosecutors in Alabama -- appointed by President Bush -- were investigating allegations that then Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman had offered a state-appointed position in exchange for money to help an education program. Siegelman ultimately lost to Riley by less than 3,000 votes.

"It obviously didn't help," said Dr. Sam Fisher, a political science professor at the University of South Alabama, of the leaks. "And there were certain ethical issues about how that was done. It was definitely a close race and giving a close race any negative thing can make a difference."

That Riley had taken a position favored by Abramoff, whether coincidentally or not, wasn't known at the time. While Abramoff's aide, Michael Scanlon (a former aide to Riley), gave $100,000 to Riley's campaign, Riley had previously opposed gambling in the state. In the late 1990s, he signed a fundraising letter lobbying against the building of a casino within Alabama. "We need your help today," the letter, which reflected another Abramoff objective, read, "to prevent the Poarch Creek Indians from building casinos in Alabama."

Siegelman soldiered on after the 2002 loss, running again for governor against Riley in 2006. By then, the extent of Riley's connection to Abramoff was still unknown. Moreover, Siegelman was still under investigation for allegations of bribery. The inquiry, detailed in an extensive 60 Minutes report last night, raised many ethical red flags, mainly over political interference from the Bush administration, specifically Karl Rove. On June 22, McCain issued his Senate report without mentioning Riley's name. And one week later, Siegelman was convicted without the Abramoff email ever being made public.

"If you had a document that showed something that had not been reported about the financial reports and the direct expectations for that money," said a source familiar with the case, "that certainly would have called into attention the government's case against Siegelman."

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Obama ni chaguo la Mungu kama alivyokuwa Kikwete na hamna haja yoyote ya kampeni. Wamwapishe mambo yaishe. Obama Obama Obama Obama....

 

[Susuviri]

Obama ni chaguo la Mungu kama alivyokuwa Kikwete na hamna haja yoyote ya kampeni. Wamwapishe mambo yaishe. Obama Obama Obama Obama....

Hamna haja ya kuwa na kejeli just because your candidateis not doing well. Hajawahi kusema wala kuitwa chaguo la Mungu kama JK (ambaye sikumpigia kura!)
You are using empty words wakati hamjajituma hata kuangalia kazi aliyofanya etc. Mama Clinton's "35 years of experience" is one of the biggest myths in election 08! Mbona alipoletewa NAFTA anaruka - you can't pick and choose - said Obama and he's right. Hiyo 35 years ni including alipomaliza masomo yake ya juu! Duh!
Badala ya sarcasm hebu tuletee arguments Nyani, you are good at that. I would like to hear what you have to say about McCain - seriously.

 

[Susuviri]

Obama ni chaguo la Mungu kama alivyokuwa Kikwete na hamna haja yoyote ya kampeni. Wamwapishe mambo yaishe. Obama Obama Obama Obama....

Hamna haja ya kuwa na kejeli just because your candidateis not doing well. Hajawahi kusema wala kuitwa chaguo la Mungu kama JK (ambaye sikumpigia kura!)
You are using empty words wakati hamjajituma hata kuangalia kazi aliyofanya etc. Mama Clinton's "35 years of experience" is one of the biggest myths in election 08! Mbona alipoletewa NAFTA anaruka - you can't pick and choose - said Obama and he's right. Hiyo 35 years ni including alipomaliza masomo yake ya juu! Duh!
Badala ya sarcasm hebu tuletee arguments Nyani, you are good at that. I would like to hear what you have to say about McCain - seriously.

 

[Susuviri]

Jamani naomba niendelee kumwandama McCain:

John McCain backtracked Monday from his earlier comment that he could lose the presidential race over the Iraq war.

On Monday morning, McCain had told reporters that if he can't convince the American people the United States is succeeding, "then I lose. I lose," according to the Associated Press.

"We quickly retracted that," McCain later said of the comment. "I was not allowed to retract it, obviously. I don't mean that I'll quote ‘lose.' I mean that it's an important issue in the judgment of the American voters.

"I hope that that clarifies, it's not often that I retract a comment. I retracted the finality of that statement. I think the issue of the war in Iraq we all know is important to the American people and will be a major factor in their determining who they are going to support in the election in November," he said.

McCain also told CNN's Dana Bash that "I think that clearly my fortunes have a lot to do with what's happening in Iraq. And I'm proud of that because Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama said we will not succeed militarily and we have."

Sasa huyu ndiyo MAVERICK? Please!