Election Snippets

Fun stuff mostly via The Nation (directly or indirectly).

Clinton One Step Closer to Exit - The Nation - 07 May 08

"As Obama preached hope, the media kept controversy alive, devoting an obscene 42 percent of its political coverage to Jeremiah Wright last week. Perhaps as a result, late deciders broke for Clinton, as they did in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Yet Obama actually increased his numbers among white middle-class voters in North Carolina and white women in Indiana and benefited from a record high turnout of African-American voters. On a conference call today, Clinton strategist Geoff Garin bragged about their victories among the 'white electorate,' as if to prove that Obama is--gasp, black, and thus 'unelectable.'"

Hats off to all the young folks out there! Especially the young women folk.

Gen Dems: The Party's Advantage Among Young Voters Widens - Pew Research Center - 28 Apr 08 [nifty charts and graphs]

"The current generation of young voters, who came of age during the George W. Bush years, is leading the way in giving the Democrats a wide advantage in party identification, just as the previous generation of young people who grew up in the Reagan years -- Generation X -- fueled the Republican surge of the mid-1990's.

In surveys conducted between October 2007 and March 2008, 58% of voters under age 30 identified or leaned toward the Democratic Party, compared with 33% who identified or leaned toward the GOP. The Democratic Party's current lead in party identification among young voters has more than doubled since the 2004 campaign, from 11 points to 25 points."

"Fully 56% of women identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared with 33% who identify or lean toward the GOP. Since 2004, the Democrats' lead in party affiliation among women has doubled (from 11 points to 22 points)."

Election Snippets

Fun stuff mostly via The Nation (directly or indirectly).

Clinton One Step Closer to Exit - The Nation - 07 May 08

"As Obama preached hope, the media kept controversy alive, devoting an obscene 42 percent of its political coverage to Jeremiah Wright last week. Perhaps as a result, late deciders broke for Clinton, as they did in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Yet Obama actually increased his numbers among white middle-class voters in North Carolina and white women in Indiana and benefited from a record high turnout of African-American voters. On a conference call today, Clinton strategist Geoff Garin bragged about their victories among the 'white electorate,' as if to prove that Obama is--gasp, black, and thus 'unelectable.'"

Hats off to all the young folks out there! Especially the young women folk.

Gen Dems: The Party's Advantage Among Young Voters Widens - Pew Research Center - 28 Apr 08 [nifty charts and graphs]

"The current generation of young voters, who came of age during the George W. Bush years, is leading the way in giving the Democrats a wide advantage in party identification, just as the previous generation of young people who grew up in the Reagan years -- Generation X -- fueled the Republican surge of the mid-1990's.

In surveys conducted between October 2007 and March 2008, 58% of voters under age 30 identified or leaned toward the Democratic Party, compared with 33% who identified or leaned toward the GOP. The Democratic Party's current lead in party identification among young voters has more than doubled since the 2004 campaign, from 11 points to 25 points."

"Fully 56% of women identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared with 33% who identify or lean toward the GOP. Since 2004, the Democrats' lead in party affiliation among women has doubled (from 11 points to 22 points)."

First Laugh of the Day

Leno strikes again.

Why Barack Obama Fears a Sudden End to Hillary Clinton's Campaign - LA Times

"'The Democratic race now moves to West Virginia,' Jay Leno noted during his monologue Thursday night on 'The Tonight Show.' 'Today, Hillary Clinton claimed she always wanted to be a coal miner. But those dreams were dashed when she was forced to attend Wellesley and Yale.'"

That was the funny part. As to why this article was titled as it is. . .

"Because with her name still on the ballots, she'd be very likely to go on and win in West Virginia anyway, even as a dropout. And maybe Kentucky too, given the demographics in both places. And possibly Puerto Rico as well. How would that look if at the end of the Democratic race the winning candidate with clearly the most delegates and popular votes went down to defeat against a candidate who isn't even in the contest anymore? Ouch! That would tend to overshadow his expected wins in Oregon and Montana."

First Laugh of the Day

Leno strikes again.

Why Barack Obama Fears a Sudden End to Hillary Clinton's Campaign - LA Times

"'The Democratic race now moves to West Virginia,' Jay Leno noted during his monologue Thursday night on 'The Tonight Show.' 'Today, Hillary Clinton claimed she always wanted to be a coal miner. But those dreams were dashed when she was forced to attend Wellesley and Yale.'"

That was the funny part. As to why this article was titled as it is. . .

"Because with her name still on the ballots, she'd be very likely to go on and win in West Virginia anyway, even as a dropout. And maybe Kentucky too, given the demographics in both places. And possibly Puerto Rico as well. How would that look if at the end of the Democratic race the winning candidate with clearly the most delegates and popular votes went down to defeat against a candidate who isn't even in the contest anymore? Ouch! That would tend to overshadow his expected wins in Oregon and Montana."

Trouble in Chiba City

Some of you may recall an earlier post here where I checked out the Chevron "Eiffel Tower Wind Turbine" television ad (ad videos no longer on-line) as to the veracity of the "facts" they provided. As it turned out, they used some weird data from Japanese wind turbines. Nothing state of the art. They still post those figures on their website [see "wind" selection here].

Wind Drifts Out of Japan's Green Vision - Asia Times - 09 May 08

"In Japan, the country that hosted the Kyoto Protocol and wrote the book on solar policy, the wind-power industry has ground almost to a halt. Among the culprits: policy, cost and technology challenges. Yokohama's wind turbine, one of the tallest in Japan, was meant to symbolize a commitment to wind power, but now seems to represent more of a dream than a reality in a country where growth of the renewable has slowed dramatically."

"According to the last assessment by the Brussels-based Global Wind Energy Council, Japan ranked a dismal 14th in terms of yearly growth in wind capacity, with newly installed wind power totaling only 139 megawatts in 2007. That compares with 5.2 gigawatts - 38 times the capacity - installed the same year in the United States, and lags even further behind other wind-power giants such as Denmark, Germany and Spain. " [GWEC Global Wind 2007 Report - PDF]

"The case of wind in Japan is instructive, as it shows how renewable energy can stumble without proper government intervention. It's especially significant given that the country previously had been a green policy leader. Japan invented the solar incentives used as a model for similar programs in Germany and elsewhere, and its strength in the solar industry often is cited as an example of a key policy success."

"The country's 10 electric companies are regional monopolies. The largest dominate the areas of Tokyo, Chiba and Kansai and they leverage significant political clout. 'They act as regional monopolies, functional monopolies and political monopolies,' Iida said. 'They are the rule makers and they make an effort to exclude wind power from their grid.'"

Trouble in Chiba City

Some of you may recall an earlier post here where I checked out the Chevron "Eiffel Tower Wind Turbine" television ad (ad videos no longer on-line) as to the veracity of the "facts" they provided. As it turned out, they used some weird data from Japanese wind turbines. Nothing state of the art. They still post those figures on their website [see "wind" selection here].

Wind Drifts Out of Japan's Green Vision - Asia Times - 09 May 08

"In Japan, the country that hosted the Kyoto Protocol and wrote the book on solar policy, the wind-power industry has ground almost to a halt. Among the culprits: policy, cost and technology challenges. Yokohama's wind turbine, one of the tallest in Japan, was meant to symbolize a commitment to wind power, but now seems to represent more of a dream than a reality in a country where growth of the renewable has slowed dramatically."

"According to the last assessment by the Brussels-based Global Wind Energy Council, Japan ranked a dismal 14th in terms of yearly growth in wind capacity, with newly installed wind power totaling only 139 megawatts in 2007. That compares with 5.2 gigawatts - 38 times the capacity - installed the same year in the United States, and lags even further behind other wind-power giants such as Denmark, Germany and Spain. " [GWEC Global Wind 2007 Report - PDF]

"The case of wind in Japan is instructive, as it shows how renewable energy can stumble without proper government intervention. It's especially significant given that the country previously had been a green policy leader. Japan invented the solar incentives used as a model for similar programs in Germany and elsewhere, and its strength in the solar industry often is cited as an example of a key policy success."

"The country's 10 electric companies are regional monopolies. The largest dominate the areas of Tokyo, Chiba and Kansai and they leverage significant political clout. 'They act as regional monopolies, functional monopolies and political monopolies,' Iida said. 'They are the rule makers and they make an effort to exclude wind power from their grid.'"

The Real McCain?, or Can We Really Trust Toby and Josh?

Three witnesses say McCain said he didn't vote for Bush in 2000 and otherwise ripped him. McCain flack goes straight to name calling.

And what in the heck was McCain doing at such a party of liberals anyhow? Perhaps this is his unguarded "bitter" moment, eh?

McCain's Vote in 2000 is Revived in a Ruckus - Huffington, Whitford and Schiff Offer Accounts - NY Times - 09 May 08

"On her Huffington Post Web site on Monday, Ms. Huffington, the liberal blogger, said she had heard Mr. McCain say at a Los Angeles dinner party shortly after the 2000 election that he had not voted for the president he has now publicly embraced in his own quest for the White House.

The McCain campaign swiftly quashed the account and said Ms. Huffington had a book to promote and would make anything up. 'She’s a flake and a poser and an attention-seeking diva,' Mark Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest aides, told The Washington Post.

Now two other guests at the same dinner, given by the actress Candice Bergen, at her home in Beverly Hills, say they heard much the same thing as Ms. Huffington. Both of them, the former 'West Wing' actors Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff, were asked by Ms. Huffington to speak to The New York Times.

And Huffington's account on Democracy Now! [video].

Author, Blogger Arianna Huffington on How John McCain Has Changed Since Telling Her He Didn’t Vote for Bush in 2000 - Democracy Now! - 09 May 08

The Real McCain?, or Can We Really Trust Toby and Josh?

Three witnesses say McCain said he didn't vote for Bush in 2000 and otherwise ripped him. McCain flack goes straight to name calling.

And what in the heck was McCain doing at such a party of liberals anyhow? Perhaps this is his unguarded "bitter" moment, eh?

McCain's Vote in 2000 is Revived in a Ruckus - Huffington, Whitford and Schiff Offer Accounts - NY Times - 09 May 08

"On her Huffington Post Web site on Monday, Ms. Huffington, the liberal blogger, said she had heard Mr. McCain say at a Los Angeles dinner party shortly after the 2000 election that he had not voted for the president he has now publicly embraced in his own quest for the White House.

The McCain campaign swiftly quashed the account and said Ms. Huffington had a book to promote and would make anything up. 'She’s a flake and a poser and an attention-seeking diva,' Mark Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest aides, told The Washington Post.

Now two other guests at the same dinner, given by the actress Candice Bergen, at her home in Beverly Hills, say they heard much the same thing as Ms. Huffington. Both of them, the former 'West Wing' actors Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff, were asked by Ms. Huffington to speak to The New York Times.

And Huffington's account on Democracy Now! [video].

Author, Blogger Arianna Huffington on How John McCain Has Changed Since Telling Her He Didn’t Vote for Bush in 2000 - Democracy Now! - 09 May 08