The Clinton Narrative-Ben Smith's Blog

Ben Smith's Blog - Politico.com

Ben Smith writes about the rationale why Hillary continues to be covered as if she still has chance to be nominee, even though mathematically she does not. I would venture to guess their is a dark subconscious reason Hillary will stay in the race (well after all primaries have been decided in Obama's favor) and that reason is we have never had a presidential candidate with such a likelihood of being assassinated as we have in Barack Obama.

If a tragedy does befall Obama, Hillary will likely be this generation's Herbert Humphrey and loose to McCain in the fall. If Barack Obama lives to a ripe old age, then our generation will have what the 60's didn't: a charismatic leader that we are left with faults and all. With the on going adulation the media has been giving Obama, and repeatedly being compared to a Kennedy it is not entirely good for him to fulfill the presidential path of JFK or RFK. Both Kennedys presidential aspirations (achieved and potential) tends to be over hyped through the rose colored glasses of nostalgia in my opinion. Had JFK not been killed, he may very well have lost re-election, though probably not to Goldwater but an ideological middleground candidate. RFK would not have been able to carry all of the hopes, dreams and aspirations that the deaths of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. put on his shoulders, and would have been a tredmoundous let down.

Well, the Republican Presidential Primary doesn't matter in DC

The Associated Press

The secretary of the state of Utah, Ben Ysursa, after realizing he let a prisoner in Texas onto the Utah Democratic Presidential primary opined "The good thing is the Democratic presidential primary has absolutely no legal significance," Ysursa said.

The prisoner, Keith Judd, will be released in 2013. That means he should be ready run for Secretary of State in Utah in 2014 to challenge the bumbling idiot Ben Ysursa. His motto of course would be "I would never let imprisoned felons onto our state's ballots!"

Congestion Pricing- Aftermath

Congestion Pricing (the plan to charge drivers from outside of Manhattan's business district $8 for driving south of 60th Street) died in the both the State Assembly and State Senate. Mayor Bloomberg's delusion that if it were brought to the floor for a vote from the full Assembly and State Senate and would pass, is on the cusp of insanity.

If in reality there was such groundswell of a desire to throw a regressive tax on themselves the constituents of the Assembly Majority and the Senate Majority wouldn't those sitting in the majority want to record the vote even if the congestion pricing plan eventually lost? How much confidence does Bloomberg have in the MTA? These are the same people that contiually announce that they have operating budget surpluses, but cannot seem to make ends meet to get get service improvements, projects done, or avoid a union strike (come on! Peter Kalikow must have an IQ of a cocker spaniel to brag about supluses while trying to give away the West Side Rail Yards to the Jets for a song and all a couple months before TWU's contract was due to be renegotiated in 2005.) The only thing that Bloomberg had a right to complain about is that the State Legislature should have figure out how to keep $330 million of the $340 million from the Federal DOT that were supposed to go towards transit improvements without the congestion pricing (or get by implementing drastically waterdown version of the congestion like charging only livery cabs at 2 in the morning.)

Assemblyman Michael Benjamin

Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (D-Brooklyn Bronx) on the floor of the assembly just made the point that his apartment was robbed. For $80,000 a year, can't he get a apartment in a better neighborhood?