Hofstra Debate Reaction – The David Pakman Show

Obama & Clinton New York City Fundraiser Photos

Food for Thought

Before launching into the trademark conclusion of his campaign speeches?'if we come together, we can do more than win an election, we can change this country, we can change the world'?he said (not an exact quote) "both Hillary Clinton and I will work for you in Washington."

I have never been a supporter of the Hillary Clinton VP option, and I don't like to throw it subtly into whatever I write, but Obama's words seemed a lot different than the usual "Hillary Clinton is a great supporter and I appreciate her hard work."

Food for thought.

An interesting event?and more interesting once I can get my hands on a transcript of this morning's remarks.

Clinton Off, Obama On Stage

Hillary Clinton delivered a MUCH tighter speech than her Unity, NH introduction. Longer, punchier, and, because she is the local Senator here, much more comfortable.

After two weeks campaigning and fundraising together since Unity, Hillary Clinton has not only transitioned very naturally from Obama's competitor to Obama's fellow campaigner. In that new role Clinton seems able to reflect on her own campaign more smoothly; both she had Obama acknowledged the "ugly biases" that sometimes flared up during the primary fight.

Obama just took the stage and, despite the crowd's willingness to give him a long standing ovation, quickly thanked and quieted the audience before diving into his own speech; a typical move to help stick to the day's schedule (his next event is in 3 1/2 hours in Virginia), but a tad unnatural for Obama.

Photos look good, they'll be up later.

Awful

I've taken the bus from Boston to New York City a number of times?the past three times it has poured and stormed, delaying the trip by upwards of 90 minutes.

Today is no different.

Here's to 5+ hours on a (very) cramped Bolt Bus.

(as you can tell, the internet is still working, which makes up a little bit for the shameful lack of armrests)

MSG

As in Madison Square Garden.

R.E.M.

7:00PM

Beyond excited.

Despite the Polls...

The news this week is that Obama is beating John McCain in a number of important swing states in recent polls, but what I've been hearing is a lot less positive for Obama.

I've been in New York City since Monday night and the enthusiasm for Barack Obama among New Yorkers that I expected is, if not gone, greatly reduced. In the past two days I have heard Obama's economic recovery plan mocked by countless businessmen as uninformed and naive. Not every voter is an economic policy expert, but a lot of people read the Wall Street Journal and know enough to detect an economic strategy that won't work. A line I overheard on 58th and Park yesterday:

"McCain doesn't know a thing about the economy, but he admits it and hires good advisors to tell him what to say. Obama knows what's really going on with the economy right now, but he doesn't have the guts to throw some hard reality into his platform."

Is this a signal of a significant problem for the Obama campaign? No, but I spoke with a high-ranking supporter of Bill Clinton and advisor to Jimmy Carter this week who admitted to me that they were not planning on voting for Barack Obama. Why? Because as a New Yorker, John McCain is better prepared to protect America.

Now there's a problem for Obama...

Missing New Hampshire

New York City is a difficult location to experience your first “business trip,” especially as an eighteen-year-old. I’ve flown alone, driven solo all over creation, and held down the house for a few days while my parents were away, but taking the bus down to Manhattan and being plopped down into the heart of a neighborhood that doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with you, even at 10:30 at night, is difficult. I can imagine older business travelers taking a taxi straight from the airport to the front step of their hotel, but having to kill an hour in the city before I can head off to where I’m spending the night threw me into a situation I struggled to handle.

Going into last night I had tremendous confidence. Whenever I traveled with my parents I would walk quickly through the airport ahead of them, noticing how I ended up taking all the right turns and making it to the gate without consulting a directory or trying to locate where I was. In my eyes, whenever I traveled with others I thought I was doing a much better job.

The fact of the matter is that I did do alright; I made it from South Station to the Upper East Side with no help, but I was not confident in the least. As a measure of how turned around I was, once I got off the bus on 34th street it took me almost ten minutes of embarrassing walking and rewalking of the same city blocks (with a fair share of walking in circles) to locate an ATM, one of the easiest tasks I could imagine in New York.

Yesterday may not have been the crowning success of independent travel I had hoped for, but today brought new successes, even with a handful of failures.

Traveling through New York is nothing like the traveling I’ve done in New Hampshire. Ask me turn by turn directions to Daniel Webster College or the Puritan Backroom in Manchester, I can do that. Ask me where the nearest subway stop is from where I’m staying in New York….I’m stuck.

I miss New Hampshire.

New York for Bloomberg...still?

Three days in New York City and I've overheard or been a part of three conversations about a Bloomberg candidacy. The situation New Yorkers see (and I think is within the realm of possibility) is Obama clinching the nomination within the next month or so, not holding up well in the face of continued pressure from McCain and a Republican machine that will play hardly as friendly as Hillary Clinton has, and a Republican base that doesn't completely warm up to McCain. It would be the perfect entrance point for Bloomberg, who, according to one New Yorker I spoke with, said "Bloomberg took on the gun lobbies, he took on the tobacco industry, and he's making this city greener, all without ever holding a fundraising event or asking for my money."

And the rewards of the Bloomberg mayorship can be seen all around the city. Not only did New York lead the way in banning smoking in restraunts and public spaces before most other cities considered taking on that challenge, but Bloomberg made a bold move by passing laws requiring the city's cabs go hybrid and putting aside money for the planting of 250,000 trees in Manhattan.

Will Bloomberg actually jump in the race? Who knows, but New Yorkers LOVE him...and this is "Hillary Country."