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LOVE ANGELINA Exit polls: Clinton strong with many W.Va. groups May 13, 2008 7:54 PM By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 43 minutes ago Robust support from working-class whites and controversies over Barack Obama's former pastor and suspending the federal gas tax fed an unusually strong performance by Hillary Rodham Clinton in West Virginia's presidential primary. Clinton ran away with the contest partly by capitalizing on the state's nearly all-white population and its low number of highly educated residents — two segments of voters that have backed her solidly all year. Whites without college degrees were seven in 10 voters, according to early results from exit polls Tuesday, more than any other state that has voted. Among them, about three-fourths were supporting the New York senator, one of her best performances of the year with that group. Though Obama has denounced the Rev. Jeremiah Wright for saying the U.S. invited the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and other statements, half said they believed the Illinois senator shares Wright's views a lot or somewhat. Eight in 10 of them backed Clinton. Even among those who said Obama did not agree with his former pastor, nearly half still voted for Clinton. That included four in 10 of those who said flatly that Obama does not believe Wright's opinions. The former first lady also has supported suspending the federal gasoline tax this summer to help motorists cope with rising gas prices, a proposal Obama has called an ineffective ploy aimed at winning votes. Six in 10 West Virginia voters liked the idea. Of those favoring the plan, three-fourths backed Clinton. Even those saying it was a bad proposal were about evenly split between the two rivals. Yet at the same time, three-quarters said they made up their minds on a candidate a month or more ago. Two-thirds of them backed Clinton — a proportion of early deciders topped only by those who backed her in her former home state of Arkansas, and by Obama's Illinois supporters. Racial attitudes also came into play, and favorably for Clinton. About one in five whites said race influenced their choice of a candidate, one of the highest proportions who have said so in states that have voted thus far. Of them, about eight in 10 were backing Clinton, roughly matching the high set by several other Southern states. About six in 10 whites who said race did not affect them also voted for Clinton. Six in 10 also said Bill Clinton's campaigning was important in choosing a candidate. Eight in 10 of them voted for his wife. Overall, Clinton was running unusually strong across virtually all types of voters. She even led among many groups that Obama typically wins, including men, whites under age 30, college graduates, independents and the very liberal. She was also dominating, as usual, among whites and women. There were not enough blacks in the early exit poll samples for meaningful figures. Underscoring the divisions the long Democratic campaign has sown, only three in 10 of those surveyed said they would be satisfied if either Clinton or Obama gets the nomination — well below the 46 percent average of all states that have voted so far. More than four in 10 said they only wanted Clinton to win, and nearly one in five said they'd only be happy with Obama. In a further indication of sharp feelings, only half of those voting for Obama said they would vote for Clinton should she be the party's candidate in November. Repeating a familiar pattern from previous states, Clinton's supporters were even more negative: Just over a third said they would vote for Obama over Republican John McCain. The results were from exit polling by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for The Associated Press and television networks conducted in 30 precincts in the state. The early data was based on 1,444 people voting in West Virginia's Democratic contest, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
kiddylnd Mother's Day May 13, 2008 10:52 AM I just have to say - I was really ticked off at the coverage regarding Hil and Mother's Day on Sunday. All I heard all day was how Obama was at home with his family for the day and wasn't that nice and great, yet Clinton was out pounding pavement and why would she do that on Mother's Day?' You know what? In my opinion neither did anything wrong or right. They did what was best for THEM, and not the media. My guess would be that Michelle Obama requested a nice, quiet Mother's Day because she's been so supportive of her husband all this time. Makes sense to me. On the flip side, Hillary IS a mother and DID have her daughter with her and likely that's what SHE wanted for Mother's Day. Why does the media continue to insist on beating up Clinton for every little thing? It's so hard to take sometimes. UGH!
LOVE ANGELINA Hillary Clinton Wins In Indiana!!!!!! May 7, 2008 12:46 AM I don't care what anyone thinks this win means my gurl, Hillary is still in this race. I urge all Hillary supporters to donate to her campaign. I will admit this was a fight for Hillary and no she didn't win smoothly but I know she is the only candidate who is best for President. That's why she keeps coming back. So all my Hillary supporters please donate here: https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com/may6.html
tdsollog Democrats Divided Over Gas Tax Breaks Apr 29, 2008 5:27 AM Found this on the NY Times. I don't know about you all, but I could use a break on gas prices! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/us/politics/29campaign.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1209471400-bdnAPQdnCPRlr+q0xbJTsg&oref=slogin Democrats Divided Over Gas Tax Breaks By JOHN M. BRODER Published: April 29, 2008 WASHINGTON — As angry truckers encircled the Capitol in a horn-blaring caravan and consumers across the country agonized over $60 fill-ups, the issue of high fuel prices flared on the campaign trail on Monday, sharply dividing the two Democratic candidates. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton lined up with Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, in endorsing a plan to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for the summer travel season. But Senator Barack Obama, Mrs. Clinton’s Democratic rival, spoke out firmly against the proposal, saying it would save consumers little and do nothing to curtail oil consumption and imports. While Mr. Obama’s view is shared by environmentalists and many independent energy analysts, his position allowed Mrs. Clinton to draw a contrast with her opponent in appealing to the hard-hit middle-class families and older Americans who have proven to be the bedrock of her support. She has accused Mr. Obama of being out of touch with ordinary Americans who are struggling to meet their mortgages and gas up their cars and trucks. Mrs. Clinton said at a rally on Monday morning in Graham, N.C., that she would introduce legislation to impose a windfall-profits tax on oil companies and use the revenue to suspend the gasoline tax temporarily. “At the heart of my approach is a simple belief,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Middle-class families are paying too much and oil companies aren’t paying their fair share to help us solve the problems at the pump.” The split occurred as Senators Clinton and Obama were competing intensely in primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, where voters go to the polls next Tuesday. Opinion surveys have shown that the faltering economy and high gas prices are the top concerns of voters across the country, edging out the war in Iraq. The Clinton campaign is running television advertising in Indiana contrasting her approach on gas prices with Mr. Obama’s. Mrs. Clinton said the tax on the oil companies, which have been reporting record profits as oil prices soar, would cover all of the lost revenue from the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. She also said no highway projects would suffer. Mr. Obama derided the McCain-Clinton idea of a federal tax holiday as a “short-term, quick-fix” proposal that would do more harm than good, and said the money, which is earmarked for the federal highway trust fund, is badly needed to maintain the nation’s roads and bridges. In 2000, Mr. Obama supported a bill in the Illinois legislature to suspend most of the state’s 6.25 percent gasoline sales tax. But he later opposed making the reduction permanent, arguing that the state needed the revenue and that the measure had saved consumers little. Mrs. Clinton, of New York, has also taken varying stands on the issue of gas taxes. In her 2000 Senate campaign, she spoke against repealing the federal gasoline tax, calling it “one of those few taxes that New York actually gets more money from Washington than we send.” At a meeting with voters in North Carolina on Monday, Mr. Obama said lifting the gas tax for three months would save the average consumer no more than $30, a figure confirmed by Congressional analysts. Mr. Obama has previously dismissed Mr. McCain’s proposal as a “scheme.” “Half a tank of gas,” Mr. Obama told his audience. “That’s his big solution.” President Bush’s spokeswoman essentially sided with Mr. Obama in saying that tax holidays and new levies on oil companies would not address the long-term problems of dependence on foreign oil. Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, said gasoline prices were “entirely too high, but I think it would be disingenuous and unfortunate for American consumers for them to be led to believe that there is a short-term fix.” “There is not going to be one,” Ms. Perino said. It is not clear whether Congress will act quickly on a fuel tax suspension and a new levy on oil companies, particularly given the White House opposition. While Democratic leaders are sympathetic, aides said, similar plans have failed a number of times. The debate erupted as both candidates rounded up more superdelegate endorsements on Monday, with Mr. Obama highlighting the backing of Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, who is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, while Gov. Michael F. Easley of North Carolina was preparing to endorse Mrs. Clinton on Tuesday. The split on the gas tax is a relatively rare one for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, who agree on the broad outlines of policy in most areas. They have both called for the suspension of purchases for the national strategic petroleum stockpile, a supply of oil to protect the country against sudden supply disruptions; new taxes on oil companies; measures to curb global warming; and heavy federal spending on renewable energy sources. They have also called for a federal investigation of possible manipulation in oil markets. Mr. McCain has also called for a halt to purchases for the petroleum reserve and expressed support of climate-change legislation, but opposes the imposition of windfall-profits taxes on oil companies. All three candidates have endorsed tougher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks and diplomatic measures to pressure oil-producing nations to lower prices. The federal tax on motor fuels — the tax on diesel fuel is 24.4 cents a gallon — yielded $28.2 billion in 2006, the last full year for which statistics are available. The last time the federal fuel taxes were raised significantly was in 1993 as part of President Bill Clinton’s budget-balancing package. The highway trust fund that the gas tax finances provides money to states and local governments to pay for road and bridge construction, repair and maintenance. Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton propose to suspend the tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the peak driving season, which would lower tax receipts by roughly $9 billion and potentially cost 300,000 highway construction jobs, according to state highway officials. Mrs. Clinton would replace that money with the new tax on oil company profits, an idea that has been kicking around Congress for several years but has not been enacted into law. Mr. McCain would divert tax revenue from other sources to make the highway trust fund whole. The Senate blocked a $15 billion tax on oil companies last December that was part of a larger energy package. A McCain spokesman sought to use the gas tax issue to drive a wedge between the two Democratic candidates and paint Mr. Obama as a flip-flopper given how he voted as a state lawmaker in 2000. “It’s clear Barack Obama’s not strong enough to provide immediate relief at the pump, and it shows he doesn’t understand our economy or have the ability to deliver for hard-working Americans,” said Tucker Bounds, a McCain aide. “Senator Obama’s arguments against John McCain’s gas tax holiday are complete fiction, and the reality is that he used to support a gas tax holiday before he was running for president.” Jeff Zeleny and Julie Bosman contributed reporting.
Clicious Hillary wants to debate Lincoln-Douglas style with Obama. Apr 27, 2008 1:57 PM From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli and Athena Jones SOUTH BEND, IN -- Clinton yesterday threw a curveball in her latest pitch to get Obama to debate her before the May 6 primary here, calling for a Lincoln-Douglas style meeting that would have the two go head-to-head without a moderator. Standing on a platform above home plate at South Bend’s minor league ballpark, Clinton noted that Obama partisans “complained a little bit about the tough questions” during the April 16 debate in Philadelphia, and also “complained about the moderators.” She also alleged that the Obama camp had “turned down every debate that has been offered.” “I’m offering Sen. Obama a chance to debate me one-on-one, no moderators,” she said. “Just the two of us, going for 90 minutes, asking an answering questions.” She said such a meeting would be a throwback to the debates of Lincoln and Douglas in neighboring Illinois 150 years ago, when the two met seven times. She also said Indiana deserved such a forum, having “wandered in the wilderness of American politics for 40 years,” the last time the state mattered in presidential primary politics. “Who knows we might even carry Indiana in the fall if we start with a good debate right here,” she added. “We’ve had four debates between Sen. Obama and myself -- that’s all we’ve had since this whole campaign has gone on,” she said. “I think that would be good for the Democratic Party, it would be great for democracy, and it would be great for Indiana.” Just before Clinton made that challenge, however, Obama told Fox News Sunday that he would not take part in any further debates before two-state showdown in North Carolina and Indiana on May 6.

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Exit polls: Clinton strong with many W.Va. groups Exit polls: Clinton strong with many W.Va. groups
Mother's Day
Hillary Clinton Wins In Indiana!!!!!! Hillary Clinton Wins In Indiana!!!!!!
Democrats Divided Over Gas Tax Breaks

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