Results of HIllary Clinton Survey

MCDAC readers responded to our survey on whether Hillary Clinton should drop out following the results of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. Our readers voted 56.1% to 43% that she should drop out. Less than 1% of those responding didn't vote. Below are some comments by our readers:

If she were considering the best interest of the country she would have already. No chance to win without foul play.

never give up

The delegate math says it is near impossible for her to win the nomination. For the sake of the party, she needs to gracefully step aside.

With as much grace as she can and start supporting Obama.

She fought the good fight, now it's time to exit and stop wasting money on a campaign she can't win.

Hillary Clinton is best qualified to beat John McCain and correct the ills that permeate this nation and lead this country to our former glory.

Keep voting for Clinton

I just cannot vote for Obama

Hillary has almost no chance and has damaged the democratic party with her negative comments and ads. She should drop out the sooner the better.

stay in there till the last dogs dead
i'm foh hillary, shes best for for the job
quit hounding her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is not presidential material and has no experience in global affairs. Only knows old
Washington politics. Not a creative thinker.

Hillary Clinton is the only one who can beat McCain !

Her husband efficiently balanced the budget, she will also. So fear an October surprize: his VP sellection? Gov. Richardson, a loser choice.

This fun to watch, keep the battle going, helps keep money spent now!

It really doesn't matter. Once again the D's have come up with two unelectable candidates. Either will be toast in November.

She made a valiant attempt, but it is time to go. She should go back to the Senate and take over as Majority Leader.

As her campaign grows more futile, she becomes more and more combative and ugly. Time to quit.

The situation is getting ridiculous. I feel pity for her. She seems obsessed.

We need to get this party united behind one great candidate. Let's stop picking on ourselves.

I wouldn't care if Hillary and Obama both dropped out of the race, human or otherwise.

I support Hillary it but appears the numbers are against her. Hillary needs to see the light and Obama to realize Hillary will guarantee his election

She should have dropped out long ago.

No way, Jose.If all votes are counted Hillary will win. We don't want to be short-changed or have a quick-change artist. We need Hillary.

It's time for Democrats to avoid attacks on each other, and to concentrate on exposing what can be expected from a continuation of the Bush policies.

We need to rally around our nominee now and focus on beating John McCain in November.

As much as I want her as our nominee, I don't think she is going to win. I believe our party needs to come together now or we may lose in November.

This is a hard one, but Obama seems destined. I just hope he can beat whiney McCain. An Obama-Hillary ticket might ensure that.

Enough of this we need one candidate

Sadly, she should so that the dems can begin campaigning to win the White House in November.

It's over, and she needs to face it.

I still think she is more trustworthy than Obama. I'll vote for whoever gets the Democratic nomination. A vote for McCain is more of the same.

We have much work to do to unify the party and focus our energy on McCain and the General Election.

don't know what she expects to gain by staying, the contest is over. rush's dittoheads have propped her up lately but won't be there in november.

She's doing too much harm, seeming self-righteous, but injecting nastiness and divisiveness into this campaign.

She should drop out for the good of the party, although I doubt if that concerns her. She's entitled to the presidency, dammit! Bill promised her.


She is too polarizing to win in Nov. Obama has a much better chance in the general election. Waiting until August only benefits the Republican party.


Let them fight it out at the convention.


It's history in the making. A woman president and
a Democrat too boot. WOW


Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, hey hey hey, goodbye


But that would require her to care about someone other than herself.


Both are needed down to the wire. They may yet realize they need to give specifics and the cost of their platforms so Democrats have a real choice.


If she is honest about her desire to serve her party and nation, now is the time for her to say she and her supporters fought the good fight.


I want a woman in the White House. I continue to support her.


It is time to put things back together for the general election.


YES. YES. YES! She's destroying our Party and alienating Independents who are willing to vote for Obama.


I don't think she will, but I would very much appreciate it.


Vice President is not a bad thing. Look at Cheney -- he's been running the country for the past seven years.


She is better than Obama,she has more experiance than him and is better qualified for the job of running this country and she believes in GOD.........


Hell no! Her victories have come in big states we need to win. Obama wins only in small states or caucuses. Hillary is better candidate.


she only divides the party and helps the republicans. that is why russ limbaugh is supporting her.


Unless she can get committed super-delegates to reverse themselves, the result is a mathematical certainty.







Continue until she wins the White House!

I don't like Obama. In fact I can't even imagine us having a black President nor a black family in the White House. It isn't that I am prejudice.

It has been close , it will continue to be close, which can impact policy decisions and choices at the convention. we deserve a complete process.

She is a former Republican and a waffler.

This needs to be done in a manner that facilitates the unification of the Democratic part.

NO, HELL NO!

She should concede but be proud of what she accomplished. Obama should pick her as his running mate; Obama/Clinton ticket would be unstoppable.

Hell, no, she shouldn't go.

This should be a mute questions ~ she should have already dropped out.

I have been a Hilary supporter since day one, but things have not gone her way. We need a Democrat to win this election! Barack is our hope.

She is obviously a poor sport and a non team player. Why is she so hell bent on staying in? What is her hidden agenda? I do not trust her.

But it surely is much more interesting with her in there fighting and keeping McCain off the front page.

please. drp out. the majority of democrats want change.

We need Obama to unite the party. Hillary is polarizing - and mean.

There's a deeper agenda here. A Wellesley/Yale grad can easily read the tea leaves and still she remains. Battle for the party, maybe?

The race is too close to call. Should be more fun for the convention delegates to go beyond the 1st ballot.

ABSOLUTELY STAY IN THE RACE!I am so tired that the media and powers-that-be have been trying to push her out from the get-go.

My concern is that alot of Black people voted
for Obama simply because of his color. I think
Hillary should stay in and fight to the end.

Her own political future has more potential if she steps down gracefully now.

Her words and actions in the past weeks have shown her to be a politician of the old school--do anything to stay in office.

Hillary should immediately drop out UNLESS she can make a credible case, with real numbers, that she still has a chance to be nominated.

I applaud Barack & Hillary for engaging many new voters. Finish all 50 states, let the voter's voices be heard, even if she can't win the nomination.

Beating Republican Incumbents in Medina County

Including 1980, only three Democrats have beaten elected Republican incumbents in the last 28 years. Those three are Greg Happ, who defeated Roger Ingraham for County Prosecutor in 1980, Dean Holman, who defeated Jill Heck for County Prosecutor in 1988, and Ferris Brown, who defeated Charles Hawley for County Commissioner in 1992. All three of these candidates ran aggressive campaigns. All three of these candidates focused on one or two issues and hit those issues repeatedly.

In the case of Greg Happ in 1980 it was the fact that Roger Ingraham's name was reportedly on the list of people known by a Medina County bookmaker who had been murdered in an unsolved case. The murder was widely reported in the local Medina County newspapers.

In the case of Dean Holman, it was the fact that Jill Heck's office had lost more jury trials than it had won as county prosecutor and also the fact that she had taken the Fifth Amendment while testifying in front of the Ohio Elections Commission.

In the case of Ferris Brown, it was the fact that Charles (Chuck) Hawley had backed a unvoted on increase in the sales tax while Ferris Brown had led a petition drive against the tax. The petition drive was successful, the tax was defeated, and Ferris beat Hawley in the next election. (By the way, if you believe that Medina County residents should have the right to vote on increases in the sales tax, thank Ferris Brown. Since his successful petition drive, Republicans have never backed an unvoted sales tax increase again.)

The point of this essay is that defeating elected Republican incumbents in Medina County is not easy. Successful Democratic candidates who have done so have focused in on one or two issues and have hit those issues repeatedly. They have done this even though they were told by other Democrats that it was wrong to go "negative."

Well here is a tip: voters remember so-called "negative" information about four times as long as they remember so-called "positive" information. This is because humans are "hard-wired" to remember negative information longer than positive information. If you think about it, it makes sense. When human society was developing, what was more important, to know which plant smelled nice, or which plant would kill you in you ate it?

So, here is the situation: if you are a Medina County Democrat running for county office against an elected Republican incumbent, and you are told that you shouldn't go "negative" and run ads that point out legitimate differences between you and your opponent, ignore that advice. It isn't good advice and it is probably being given by a person who has never ran or won an county-wide campaign.

Pictures from Mike Todd Fundraiser held in Wadsworth

Below are some scenes from the Mike Todd for Treasurer Fundraiser held in Wadsworth in March. If you have any pictures from a Democratic event, feel free to send them to joycekimbler@medinacountydemocraticactioncommittee.org and we will publish them on this site.

Results from New L.A. Times/Bloomberg Poll

If the November election were held today, Clinton leads McCain by nine points, Obama leads McCain by six points. This is a slight turnaround from the Times/Bloomberg poll in February where McCain led Clinton by six points and Obama by 2 points, within poll’s margin of error, but the direction has changed in favor of the Democrats.

Now 2/08 1/08

Hillary Clinton 47% 40% 46%
John McCain 38 46 42
Other cand/Don’t know 15 14 12

Barack Obama 46% 42% 41%
John McCain 40 44 42
Other cand/Don’t know 14 14 17

McCain is competitive against his Democratic challengers because he is neutralizing some of the groups that are mainstays for each Democratic candidate – older, white voters for Clinton and upscale voters and independents for Obama. Looked at another way, just three in 10 voters said they would vote for either Democrat, one in 10 said they would only vote for Clinton, less than one in ten would only vote for Obama and another three in 10 said they would vote for McCain in either match-up. If you combine all the Democratic options, 85% of Democrats would support either or both Democrats, almost the same share of Republicans that would support the lone Republican running. Among all registered voters, Clinton would beat McCain by 41% to 30% or Obama would beat McCain by 39% to 30%, with a fifth undecided.

MCDAC Newsletter Readers Back Dann Resignation

MCDAC Newsletter readers responded to our question about whether Marc Dann should resign following his admission of a "romantic" relationship with a staff member; the firing of two of his staff members; and the resignation of two others. MCDAC readers voted 75.2% in favor of resignation with only 22.4% voting that he shouldn't resign. Readers not voting amounted to 2.4% of those responding.

Below are some comments from our readers:

It's all out he just need to keep his nose clean from hear on out

If no harassment is involved and both people are doing their job, I don't think would be grounds for dismissal.

As a politician, Mr. Dann should know he is under public scrutiny. He is being either dumb or arrogant. We don't need either.

His operation makes a frat house look respectable. Get him out of there.

He has lost my confidence and blew an opportunity to further his good name and that of the Democratic Party. He apparently was not ready for the job.

His enabling a sexual predator on his staff(because he feared exposure?) put the credibility of his whole office at risk.

who does this guy think he is? for the good of the party and the state of ohio he should resign.

We need every Democrat we have. Do you think the Republicans aren't doing the same thing? They hide it better!!

Marc Dann was elected to clean up and reform the Attorney General's office, not to use it for pajama parties. He should resign -- right now!

If Taft and his "gang" did not have to resign, then Dann should not have. I do not condone his behavior, but he should have another chance.

We need to replace him. That office needs to be clear of all scandals.

He has create an unnecessary problem in 2008. He has not displayed a high degree of ability in his choice of staff or integrity in his own behaviour.

Bill Clinton stayed in office after his "cigar twirling" incident.

Since creditability in public offices is difficult to obtain and easily stained, he should do the party a favor by leaving.
The sooner the better.

And Ted Strickland should appoint Subohd Chandra.

After what Bob Taft did this is nothing.

This has hurt the Democratic Party. He's using a double standard. He should be fired too.

We shouldn't have to put up with that from anyone...I am ashamed that Dann is a Democrat.

No governmental law was broken.

obviously things are out of control, time for new people with some integrity.

He obviously has no control of his office and his staff. He's a distraction.

If Mr Dann was from the other party then he would be yelled at because he only had 1 affair and not more.Everyone makes mistakes.

Shit happens. Take it like a man.

If all men who had an affair with a fellow employee resigned, Ohio's unemployement would skyrocket. It's disgusting, nonetheless, and an embarrassment

Both he and his administration are corrupt. He has violeted the public trust and should resign.

Yes, Just when the party is poised to win back control of the state here comes this clown giving the party the "lack of morals" label yet again.

Had he committed a sexual harassment crime yes. Committed moral against wife thats private. If jurys judged by morals and not laws we'd all be guilty

Marc could have been one of the greatest AG's in Ohio history. But he won't survive this. Better to deal with it now ... less damage.

The employees who were fired should be reinstated. Marital infidelity is commonplace in our society. Better to impeach Bush and Cheney!

He's evidently incapable of good leadership. I don't care about the affair per se.

He is an embarrassment.

obviously not the type of person who should be attorney general

He can weather this. He must stake out a pro consumer agenda and stand for something. Otherwise there is no compelling reason to fight for him.

Am very disappointed in Dann. Our party MUST screen candidates more carefully. His behavior is doing major damage to the entire party.

Eventually, yes.

We still have six months before the Nov election, we cannot afford to have a single candidate lose votes because of Dan. He must resign.

He is a disappointment to all of us. It is time for him to leave before he does more damage!!

It will be hard for dem candidates to run with the AG overhang. Subodh Chandra would make an outstanding replacement. The governor must move quickly.

He actually participated in these teenage activities that were unethical if not illegal while being the figurehead of law in the State.

Once again we have a public official who believes he should give jobs to friends and not people qualified. He seet the example and they followed.

Even Betty Montgomery would be better!!!

We Democrats waited too long and suffered through too much Republican ineptness, immorality, and illegal activities to put up with this. Join Taft.

I regret having contributed to him and having campaigned for him. He is a disgrace to the Democratic Party.

.....an Subodh Chandra should be appointed to the position! He was a better choice all along. We Democrats should demand it!

Is the Democratic party serious about higher standards or not?

How can he not?

Poor judgment and a lack of ethics indicate a very deficient human being unfit to lead.

Absolutely. If the man had any honor he would already have resigned.

Biggest embarassment to Dems since Clinton/Monica. He is done, anyway, put someone in who can hold the seat in 2010.

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The Importance of Working Class White Voters

Here's an interesting statistic from a Associated Press article about Barack Obama's problems with white working class voters: Such voters made up 43% of the electorate in 2004. This means that a Democratic candidate who gets blown out in this demographic group is going to have a hard, if not impossible, time of winning the presidency.

The article notes that such voters have a more negative impression of Obama now than they did in February. This is from the article:

In an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll in April, 53 percent of whites who have not completed college viewed Obama unfavorably, up a dozen percentage points from November. During that period, the numbers viewing Clinton and Republican candidate John McCain negatively have stayed about even.

One obvious reason that Obama has trouble with such voters is race, but its not all about race. As the article makes clear, Clinton's campaign has more specific policy proposals aimed at such voters than Obama's campaign. The recent controversy over the gas tax is a good example.

There are a lot of reasons why the idea of a summer recess for the gas tax is a bad idea, but if you are struggling with higher fuel bills for your car, the prospect of lowering the cost per gallon is attractive. Its not that Clinton's policy is likely to be adopted, its that by coming up with the policy she is showing working class voters that she understands their concerns.

There is always tension in the Democratic Party between candidates backed by the intellectual wing of the Democratic Party and candidates backed by the working class wing of the Democratic Party. Candidates who can bridge that gap can win, but candidates who can't, don't. Kennedy in 1960; Johnson in 1964; Carter in 1976; and Clinton in both 1992 and 1996, were able to bridge the gap, and they won the presidency.

Right now the problem that Obama has is that there is mounting evidence that he will have a lot of problems bridging that gap. If he doesn't, and he is the nominee, Democrats will lose the race to McCain.

Strickland Not Making Taft's Mistakes

Governor Ted Strickland is not making the mistakes that Taft made which were to look as if he didn't care that Republicans were violating the public's trust. Strickland, by saying that there seems to be a double standard at work in the AG's office when four people lose their jobs but Dann doesn't, is trying to make sure that the damage is limited to Dann.

One of the problems that Dann has is that when you win election by talking about the faults of the other team, your margin of error is substantially reduced. You have to keep out of trouble yourself. You can't afford to be involved in a "romantic" relationship with a 28 year old employee.

The Ohio Constitution allows the Governor to appoint someone to the position of Ohio Attorney General if the position becomes vacant. If Dann resigned and such a vacancy occurred, then, depending on when the vacancy occurred, Strickland's appointee would either run this November in the 2008 election, or would run in the 2010 election.

In a state that usually tilts Republican, and with a Republican party that is usually well-funded by business interests, the Ohio Democratic Party can't afford to keep Dann around as Attorney General. Look for more pressure to be put on him to resign in the coming weeks.

Wright, Other Controversies Hurting Obama

This is from a recent poll taken by the AP and Washington Post:

Q: We're interested in how some different things might have influenced your opinion of Barack Obama. Has [item] made your opinion of Obama more favorable, less favorable, or has it not made much difference?

% saying each item has made their
opinion of Barack Obama "less favorable"
All Dem Ind Rep
Remarks on "bitter" small-towners 42 31 41 57
Seen/heard about Jeremiah Wright 41 31 40 57
Answers about flag pin 29 23 27 39
Seen/heard about Michelle Obama 19 14 19 28
How he has conducted his campaign 17 14 11 27
Foreign-sounding name 16 13 14 22
Speech about race in America 14 9 15 23
Time spent in Indonesia 13 10 11 21
Harvard-law education 6 5 4 8

All of this adds up to a substantial increase in his "negatives" over the last several weeks. Obviously independent voters are going to be a very important group of voters in this year's election. The common myth of independent voters is that they are somehow more interested in issues than party identification. That is wrong. They are independents because they don't care as much about politics as partisan voters. They don't follow the news about politics as much as more partisan voters. They are less knowledgeable than partisan voters. Consequently, they are more easily influenced by news coverage over stories like Rev. Wright and flag pins and have less "positive" information to balance out "negative" information.

Every presidential campaign that Republicans have won since 1968 has been won on issues of social populism. They make voters believe that the Democratic candidate is not one of them and that they are one of them. Successful Democratic candidates, Carter in 1976, and Clinton in 1992 and 1996, have been able to raise above this tactic.

Since Republicans really got nothing else to talk about in this campaign, and since our two front runners are different by either gender or race, the 2008 presidential campaign was always going to see another Republican effort to "swift-boat" the Democratic nominee. The problem that Obama has is that his remarks about "bitter" small town voters and Rev. Wright's remarks about America and race make their task much easier.