We Need Grown-Ups

Sunday morning, the crack of dawn.

Waiting in the airport in Las Vegas for a flight back to Los Angeles after a Saturday morning spent observing the caucuses for the Obama campaign. The radio on the way to McCarran said that while Clinton won the vote count, Obama grabbed one more delegate, but the optimism among the folks I traveled with was muted.

We were told in preparation for the caucus to watch for efforts by the Clinton team to discourage participation among folks who came to the at-large caucuses at some nine Strip hotels.

I had friends at three hotels and heard from two locations that there were efforts to suppress turnout by caucus goers, particularly unionized hotel employees whose union, the Culinary Workers, had endorsed Obama, but nothing like that happened at the Bellagio, where I was stationed.

In fact, there was a reasonable amount of comity, or at least no outright hostility, among the Clinton, Obama and Edwards volunteers. (There were nearly 500 people participating in the Bellagio caucus, and Obama and Clinton volunteers were outnumbered by voters by 10-1. Poor John, his ratio were inverted, and he really does deserve better.)

But what became abundantly clear was that Hillary's team, eager, young, white -- in all resembling nothing more than the next generation of George Stephanopouloses -- was simply better prepared.

Not that they were more committed. I was backing up Brian, a Latino kid from Chicago who'd been in Vegas since September helping lay the groundwork for the caucus. He was composed, competent, not long out of school. But the Clinton folks had the air of a team that had been doing this forever -- or at least since 1992. (I doubt they would have allowed some senior political officials from Los Angeles, with whom I spent the morning, to be driven to and fro across Las Vegas looking for an assignment.)

I'm still hopeful about the Obama campaign, but it feels like those Internet startups of a decade ago whose genesis was in the creativity of young visionaries. Once those ideas got legs and the stakes got higher it came time to bring in the "grown ups," the seasoned pros to make sure they would remain viable.

The race has narrowed, the stakes are clear. If the Obama campaign is to succeed it's time for the "grown ups" to step in and step up.

Comments

[mommadona]

The Clintons are going to win the battle, but lose the war.

It's a GAME to them.
Wag that Dog.
Me, Me, Me
"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia"

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
(Show me ONE PLACE in foreign or war affairs that Clinton is ANY DIFFERENT from the Shrub)

Man, is it going to be a long, nasty 4 year reign under Ms. Margaret Thatcher.

[not one of the sheep]

Aren't the Clintons and their croonies the same "grown ups" that took all the "W's" from the white house key boards incurring hundreds of thousand of dollars of tax payer money to replace them? Yeah, that's the same maturity I would like to see back in the White House.

[mageduley]

Obama is in a tough spot. On the one hand he truly wants to be above petty bitter partisan attacks. He tried to ignore those comments. Unfortunately people were beginning to believe Bill and Hillary's lies and Obama supporters were screaming at him to address these, to set the record straight. As Obama said himself, he does not want to spend his whole campaign bickering with the clintons, he wants to focus on the countries needs (like a grown up). The Clinton campaign is trying to break Obama's greatest strength - to be above petty bickering politics. So they bait him, they say stuff that is just this side of outrageous and force him to respond. This has the effect of the Clinton Campaign saying "See, he is no different, he is not so pure, he is just a politician like us."
Obama is a ethical, intelligent grown up.

[KathySammons]

Youth sees political campaigns in a narrow light. One or two losses, a competitor who is not a peer but a sworn enemy (even within your own party) and that's it. You are either for us or against us (haha, I really didn't mean the Bush analogy except to point out that he behaves like a child)

[jrterrier]

my experience was exactly the opposite. i was in a high school where about 10 precints caucaused and the Obama team were the ones who were young, white and more knowledgeable and prepared. most of them were veterans of iowa. the clinton volunteers were older and more diverse but less well prepared.

[research]

The race is over, less the one percent of Americans have "caucused". There are a couple of adults running, we Americans do not vote for honest politicians: we do not believe they can govern. So Kucinich and Gravel are excluded from debate.

[Burnsey]

Since I firsted voted in 1984 I have listened to pundits and opinion writers and the press complain that the "Youth" vote never turned out and what a shame it was that young people didn't vote, and now I see a supposed democrat say that we need more older people and less youth. Guess we can add that to the gender and race pot and make us a pot of good ole Republican Stew. I'm ashamed of my party and I am ashamed for my country.

[PTTY]

The Clinton's have pitted Brown vs Black
Women vs Men, etc. Yes its Personal to Hillary a phrase she coped from Edward's. Change from Obama. She is me, I can do it all now she cops Obama.
Again we have division all because Hillary and Bill want to be Presidents. For shame
They will not be able to unite this Country much less get our respect back from the World. They are nothing but Race and Gender Baiters. How sad

[PTTY]

CHEATERS EXPERIENCE. THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL EXPERIENCE.

Please ask Hillary why she was so critical of Obama due to what she has said about Reagan herself.

From Bill Clinton:

"Hillary and I will always remember President Ronald Reagan for the way he personified the indomitable optimism of the American people, and for keeping America at the forefront of the fight for freedom for people everywhere"

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.health/index.html

From John Edwards:

"For 50 years, presidents from Truman and Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton built strong alliances and deepened the world's respect for us."

"Millions of people imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain silently cheered the day

President Reagan declared, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Even if these ordinary men and women did not always agree with our policies, they looked to our president and saw a person -- and a nation -- they could trust."

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070901faessay86502/john-edwards/reengaging-with-the-world.html

Trying to Heal a Rift in New Hampshire
By Alec MacGillis

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thetrail/2008/01/18/trying_to_heal_a_rift_in_new_h_1.html

Even now New Hampshsire regrets how Hillary used them with lies.

These are very important questions. As to how she lied to win in New Hampshire
January 15, 2008

Mayor Michael Bloomberg may not be running for president, but he still has some advice for the candidates.

With the presidential hopefuls focusing on the economy and jobs during their campaigns, voters could wonder if having a business expert in the White House is a plus. But Bloomberg says candidates don't have to be experts to be good leaders, but they should have some around.

"You don't have to have an expertise in business. What you have to do is be able to attract good people would be my first argument," said the mayor. "In the end, the head of any government entity's job is not to do the work themselves it's to attract good people."
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