Quote of the Day

Senator Barack Obama:

In the debate last night, we spent some time talking about the economy. And one of the things I brought up that concerned me was that when Senator Clinton first released her economic stimulus plan, she didn't think that workers or seniors needed immediate tax relief. She thought it could wait until things got worse. Five days later, the economy didn't really change, but the politics apparently did, because she changed her plan to look just like mine.

It’s a good Day to be a Clinton

A really good day.

Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.

On a related note, Ron Burkle raised $1 million hosting a dinner for Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign.

Mr. Clinton initially signed on with Mr. Burkle as a senior adviser to closely held Yucaipa. As part of that arrangement, Mr. Burkle agreed to give Mr. Clinton a share of the profits from two Yucaipa domestic investment funds if their returns reached a certain threshold. Mr. Clinton's adviser arrangement ended in early 2007, five years after it began. But Mr. Clinton still hasn't settled the issue of his payout. [..]

Mr. Clinton's duties and activities as a Yucaipa adviser have never been completely clear to outsiders. He has met at times with people involved in various Yucaipa business deals. And the former president's vast global network of contacts probably has been an asset for Mr. Burkle in dealings with business, labor and political leaders. Over the years, Mr. Burkle has said publicly that Mr. Clinton's prestige and connections have helped Yucaipa get its business proposals in front of top corporate decision makers.

Ron Burkle calls President Clinton invaluable.

He's invaluable," Burkle says of his idol. President Clinton "is unique, he brands us to people who matter. He got us in with the Teamsters, and that's important for deal flow going forward."

Yucaipa arranged for Clinton to make a speech at a Teamsters conference in 2003, and later Clinton urged Teamsters President James Hoffa Jr. to trust Burkle and present him with possible deals. Result: This spring Yucaipa paid $100 million to buy a controlling stake in Allied Holdings, a trucking outfit in bankruptcy proceedings. "Clinton got it to the point where Hoffa actually helped us with that deal, something I couldn't have gotten on my own," Burkle says. [..]

Burkle says. "My best call in corporate America isn't one-hundredth of what President Clinton is just picking up the phone and saying 'Hey, we've got this is idea, want to come talk about it?'"

I guess you can put a price on invaluable, 20 million dollars.

Debate Summary: South Carolina

Steve Benen:

The problem for Obama is getting dragged into the mud when he wants to aim higher.

Indeed, the moment the campaign gets ugly, he’s at a decided disadvantage — if he returns fire, it’s politics as usual, with politicians bickering and getting personal. If he doesn’t return fire, and aims for a “new kind of politics,” the attacks from Clinton start to stick, and questions about general election “toughness” emerge.

It’s not that Obama couldn’t compete in a street fight — he seemed pretty good at it — it’s that he was fighting on Clinton’s terms.

Matthew Yglesias:

But still, if voters are considering being persuaded by the merits of Clinton's arguments about Obama and the war, or about the "present" votes or whatever else they ought to be aware that this is all basically bogus. What's more, I think it's worth pointing out that Clinton seems to have gotten herself firmly into "flip-flop" territory on the war at this point; hawk was bad, substantively and politically, but this may be worse.

David Sirota:

Later in the debate, when John Edwards gave perhaps the most eloquent answer of all on a question about poverty, Clinton tried to one-up everyone by saying "when I graduated from law school, I didn't go to work for a law firm. I went to work for Marian Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense Fund." Yes, folks - forget about her time at Arkansas most powerful corporate law firm. Forget that she ignored potential conflicts-of-interest to serve at that corporate law firm even as her husband was governor of the state. Forget her role helping build Wal-Mart into the monster it is today. Forget even her sitting by and cheering as her husband's administration - which she now overtly asks voters to re-embrace with her candidacy - rammed NAFTA and welfare reform through Congress, throwing millions of people into poverty. Yes, just remember that for a few moments right out of college, she worked at a non-profit.

This is truly the politics of hopelessness - a politics mastered by a Clinton machine deft in all the dark arts of corruption and demagoguery.

The Clinton(s) won the Democratic Debate in SC

The Clinton(s) operate the best in the gutter.

Last night showed why I oppose the candidacy of Bill Clinton Senator Clinton for the Democratic Nomination for President. The Clinton(s) are willing to say and do anything to get themselves elected. Yes, themselves. During the Bill Clinton Presidency the Democratic Party lost the Senate and The House and if the Clinton(s) get back in the White House history might repeat it self again.

I’m all for tough attacks, but the Clinton(s) is taking it a step too far. They want to destroy Senator Obama for the simple fact that he dared to run against them. In their world, the Democratic Party is only their in the service of the Clinton(s).

I fully expect the Clinton(s) to continue their gutter politics, its working.

Top Five

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Washington Monthly: How low can Rudy Giuliani poll numbers go?

- Think Progress: Mitt Romney airs a Spanish language ad in Florida, not included in the ad is his support of English-only policies.

- The Carpetbagger Report: The Democratic Party going into 2008 election cycle will not have money advantage over the GOP.

- Matthew Yglesias: Chuck Norris, a Mike Huckabee supporter, calls Senator McCain old. According to Mr. Norris one of reasons not to support McCain is because he might die in office.

- Foulballs: Why does Emmitt Smith of ESPN still have a job?