Sixty States and Hillary is Still in the Race
[Guest post by DRJ]
Everyone else has already posted on this story about Barack Obama so I might as well add my 2 cents.
Obama mentioned today that he has already visited 57 states. Various bloggers and news sites speculate he misspoke because he was tired or didn’t have his Tele-Prompter and that’s probably true. It reminded me of when George H.W. Bush identified Pearl Harbor Day as September 7th instead of December 7th. Sometimes we all go brain dead for a moment.
However, the more I think about it, the more it seems like – for a moment – Obama may have believed there are 60 states. Here’s what he said:
“It is wonderful to be back in Oregon,” Obama said. “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it.”
Thus, Obama has been to “57 states.” He hasn’t been to Hawaii and Alaska – they aren’t big or important enough for any of the candidates to visit – so that’s 2 more states. And he has “one left to go” which makes 60.
There you have it – 60 states – and that means Hillary is still in this race. The rest of us need to get busy updating our flags to add 10 more stars.
— DRJ
DRJ – On the subject of states, why are the democrats giving Puero Rico more delegates than Montana?
Why are they having a primary in Puerto Rico at all?
I smell a back room Clinton deal.
daleyrocks (906622) — 5/9/2008 @ 10:03 pmWhat’s worse: saying “57 states”, or admitting that he has not visited — and apparently will not visit — Hawaii, the state where he was born?
Missed It By THAT Much (47686a) — 5/9/2008 @ 10:16 pmWatch it on YouTube. It’s a big nothing.
He said 50, but then he remembered he hadn’t been to Alaska/Hawaii/one state in CONUS, so he walked it back.
But his mind was moving faster than his mouth. In the rush to correct himself, he didn’t walk back “fifty” by saying “forty,” he just jumped right in to “seven.”
This isn’t a gaffe in the sense of a politician letting you in on something they secretly believe. He just misspoke. Like George W. Bush did all the time on the campaign trail.
There’s nothing here. I absolutely despise and distrust Sen. Obama, and what he stands for, and the people he has surrounded himself with, and to some extent the cultists who back him unquestioningly. This misstatement is a big nothing.
And yes, if McCain did it, he would be accused of senile dementia, alzheimers, having a “senior moment,” and all sorts of other ageist bullshit. But the double standard doesn’t mean we should sink to their level.
And even if you want to sink to their level, at least you should admit privately to yourself that this is a big nothing.
Daryl Herbert (452002) — 5/9/2008 @ 10:17 pmdaleyrocks, the Dems like to think of themselves as democratic. PR may not be a state, but like Guam it has citizens in it, so they get to vote.
I think even “Democrats Abroad” (US citizens living overseas) get to vote in the primary. I think in the general, they would have to pick a US state, and vote a ballot from that state. I’m not really sure how voting works for Americans who live overseas.
Sooner or later, Dems will let illegal aliens vote in their primaries. Hell, it’s their primaries, who are we to stop them? If that’s how they want to pick their candidate/party platform, that’s their choice.
Daryl Herbert (452002) — 5/9/2008 @ 10:22 pmDaryl,
I agree it’s a story about nothing but Obama provides so little substance that we have to judge him on style.
DRJ (a431ca) — 5/9/2008 @ 10:56 pmDaeyl – Citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are not allowed to vote in the general election for the president of the United States. Why do the democrats include them in the primary process?
My guess is it was done as a backroom deal to get Hillary more delegates.
daleyrocks (906622) — 5/9/2008 @ 11:19 pmDaleyrocks: probably for the same reason that the Republican Party seats delegates selected at the Puerto Rico caucus (which Sen. McCain won, incidentally).
As far as I know this has been standard procedure for both parties for decades.
aphrael (db0b5a) — 5/9/2008 @ 11:48 pmAs aphrael said, this is hardly an issue with just the Democrats. According to Wikipedia and CNN, 207 Puerto Ricans will send 23 delegates to the Republican National Convention and, by contrast, 24 delegates will represent 442,918 South Carolinians.
Nels (364116) — 5/10/2008 @ 1:33 amIf John McCain had made this mistake the liberal media would be all over it…”has he lost it?”
Dan Quayle couldn’t spell potato…he was smeared. There’s just another standard for Barry..
Increase Mather (c28cbb) — 5/10/2008 @ 4:48 amAphrael – My information was bad concerning prior elections. I show a caucus for Puerto Rico in 2004 for the Dems. I stand corrected and need to berate my source.
Thanks
daleyrocks (906622) — 5/10/2008 @ 5:46 amThink of it as affirmative action at work. And if he can’t keep track of how many states there really are in his sleep, what do you think his response to the 3:00 am wakeup call might be? He better not ask Michelle.
Jack (d9cbc5) — 5/10/2008 @ 6:05 amReporter: “And what do you think of ‘Heinz 57?'”
Obama: “I think they should be freed immediately.”
MarkJ (7fa185) — 5/10/2008 @ 6:32 am“I agree it’s a story about nothing but Obama provides so little substance that we have to judge him on style.”
This is the whole story of the primaries and of Wright, Ayres and the rest.
Mike K (86bddb) — 5/10/2008 @ 7:45 amAll politicians exaggerate, especially when running for office. This is only a 20% embellishment.
Corky Boyd (4ef332) — 5/10/2008 @ 8:06 am“I agree it’s a story about nothing but Obama provides so little substance that we have to judge him on style.”
What ‘style’ do you see here?
stef (8353d2) — 5/10/2008 @ 9:05 amIncrease Mather : I cannot believe that there remains anyone that still believes that Dan Quale cnnot spell potato.
Under the rules for a spelling bee, the contestant must spell the word as it appears on the judge’s cards. The Middlesex Middle School persons who prepared the cards used the English version “potatoe” instead of the American usage “potato.”
Dan Quale, as the examiner, was bound by the rules. His choice was to either call the answer wrong and then appeal his decision to the judges or to give the contestant a legimate hint as to the correct answer.
longwalker (c36902) — 5/10/2008 @ 9:25 amMost reasonable people will assume he simply misspoke.
Paranoid and suspicious folk might assume he has some sort of Balkanization plan on his mind that he was eluding too, just to prepare the masses(perhaps Cali?).
Either way, at least he now has a lapel pin designed especially for him. heh.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGU4OTY5OWQ2YTViODAwYjEyYmM0OTUxNTVkYTk1Nzc=
Dana (8e3918) — 5/10/2008 @ 9:44 am“I agree it’s a story about nothing but Obama provides so little substance that we have to judge him on style.”
This is the whole story of the primaries and of Wright, Ayres and the rest.
And there, we have a prime example, unfortunately, of not connecting the dots.
cfbleachers (4040c7) — 5/10/2008 @ 9:49 amWell, if there are 60 states, then surely Clinton has a damn good chance of winning some of those and closing the delegate gap! On to Denver!!
Karl (1d9da3) — 5/10/2008 @ 11:36 amI’ve been around since there were 48 states. The number has changed twice in my lifetime, and never in my life, no matter how tired or disoriented I was, have I ever been confused as to how many there were!
Proof (4721a6) — 5/10/2008 @ 12:22 pmThe only real significance here is the comparison between how this is handled by the press and how a similar Republican slip-up would be handled. Heck, doofuses all over the country were yapping about the Prez choking on a pretzel for several years.
DRH (099498) — 5/13/2008 @ 4:19 pmI think all the politicians are full of shit. I am non -partisan,but I cannot remember when the country has been as screwed up by an administration and by big bussiness as it currently is. and yes I do vote and no I did not vote for the current admin. Remember,there are always more people running for the top office that don’t have the big businesses in their pockets!
Kent Davis (b90d09) — 5/16/2008 @ 6:30 pm