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To: Mannie who wrote (101388)3/6/2007 1:11:44 AM
From: stockman_scott  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 361221
 
Poor Hillary - Barack Obama is Going to Beat the Pantsuits Off Her

blogcritics.org

Written by Adam Ash

Published March 06, 2007

Hillary says that if she knew then what she knows now, she wouldn't have voted to give Bush the power to go to war.

It's not really a very good excuse. How come Congressman Barney Frank knew enough to vote against her vote then? He knew the WMD story was plain old BS, and that Bush/Cheney were up to no good. Hillary knew as much as Barney Frank knew back then. She must have known that the WMD stories were all BS. So she's simply lying about her vote then. Plenty people knew they were being spun. Does she want to say she was a complete Administration dupe?

The fact of the matter is, Hillary was afraid of being called soft on national security. She made a political vote — not a vote from the heart, not a vote of sound judgment, and not a vote for the good of the country. She voted for the good of Hillary. She put her political ambitions ahead of the good of her country. Even today, Hillary is so scared of being called a dove, she doesn't even put war with Iran off the table. Like all the Dems, she lags behind the American people, who want out of Iraq now. But do the Dems have the balls to defund the war? No, they're scared they'll be accused of not "supporting our troops" — when the best way to support our troops is to get them the hell home.

Anyway, all this is more or less moot, because here is my prediction: Senator Barack Obama is going to walk the election in 2008 for President of the USA. He was totally prescient about the war, for instance. He was against it from day one. At the time, he said he was not against all wars, just against a dumb war. He called it perfectly, the only Dem candidate who did.

Get used to it, folks, our next president is going to be Barack Obama. Nobody, but nobody, will be able to dim, scar, scour, wither or malign his charisma — not even the Clinton machine.

Under any other circumstances, Hillary would have made it. In fact, she fully deserves to be president. She's worked hard, she's earned the right, she'd be a good president, maybe a great one, and I wanted her to president for the longest time, because she's a woman.

But she won't be able to stop Obama.

Here's why. With Obama, it's not about winning votes. It's much simpler and more basic. Barack is going to make the country FALL IN LOVE with him. We're not talking about winning votes here, people: we're talking about a man who is so charming, he will WOO AND SEDUCE the entire country over to his side.

JFK all over again, except much sexier. The old saw says people vote for the guy they'd prefer to have a beer with; well, Barack takes that notion a whole step further and deeper into the American psyche.

Despite showing up in Selma this past Sunday because Barack had been invited to speak there, Hillary can say goodbye to the black vote. A month ago, black voters preferred her to Barack; now they prefer him. By the time the primaries come, Barack will have 100% of the black vote, which is 100% of the Democratic base. He will not only have 100% of the black Dems, he'll have 100% of the black Republicans, and 100% of the blacks who don't vote but will vote because he's their guy. Black kids of 18 who never thought about politics or voting before, will come out to vote for him. Black voters will get up from their deathbeds to vote for Obama.

And hey, I know there are twice as many female Democrats as there are black Democrats, as the Hillary-ites like to say, but that's EXACTLY the point they're missing. Those women won't be voting for Hillary because she's a woman, they will be voting for Obama because they're women — and he's the sexiest male candidate ever. A dream date. They will be CREAMING for Barack. That's what charisma is. Hillary is a star, sure, but she just doesn't have the mega-charisma of Barack. Here's the difference between Hillary and Obama: Hillary is Olivia de Havilland; Obama is Cary Grant. Who is sexier? In a more modern analogy, Hillary is Meryl Streep, but Obama is George Clooney. Who's sexier? Who will get more votes? The fact of the matter is, America is going to take her panties off for Obama. Hillary can't beat such sex appeal.

That's point one: Barack is the sexiest, charmingest politician since JFK.

But not only is Obama charm personified, he is the ONLY breath of fresh air around. The country will want, desire, CRAVE a breath of fresh air after eight stultifying years of Bush/Cheney. Barack is the new America, and this new America is very different from the old Hillary-McCain-Giuliani America. That old America is the America of the Cold War, of Vietnam, of the 60s, of the culture wars. Obama is way beyond that. That's why he doesn't even think in conventional old-America left/right, liberal/conservative terms. He's a new paradigm. A new generation. Everyone under 40 can see that, and they will ALL vote for him. And anyone over 40 who is sick and tired of Bushes and Clintons and the whole partisan bickering stemming from whether you smoked dope or not in the 60s, will also sigh a heartfelt sigh of relief and vote for a fresh, new face.

Obama's newness goes with something else: his total sensitivity to whichever audience he is addressing. He always knows EXACTLY what to say. When questioned about his lack of experience, his answer was that Bush and Cheney had more experience than him, and look what they did. Can you think of a better answer? Obama is the most pitch-perfect politician there's been in America. He knows how to make young and old, black and white, Christian and Jew, male and female, North and South, EVERYONE, feel comfortable. He always comes off totally authentic, which is about the last thing Hillary can do. That's because he doesn't follow the style of old America.

That's point two.

Here's point three: more than anything, Obama is something else besides disarmingly charming and a totally fresh face. He's also INSPIRATIONAL — JFK and MLK rolled into one. Hillary just isn't that inspirational, let alone that charming or fresh.

Because Barack is sexy, new and inspirational, he's going to crush the old politicians like a steamroller.

And here's the intriguing thing. Who is Barack going to bring to power along with him to govern the country? The problem is, the country is so overloaded with old pols fighting old battles, he may have to reach outside politics for new faces. I hope he does. Like he says, it's time for us to turn a new page.

Obama is the bolt-from-the-blue once-in-a-lifetime anti-Hillary anti-Bush anti-McCain anti-Colin Powell anti-old-pol — the only really modern politician out there. He's going to lay down a modern agenda in modern words. And I believe he will find some fresh, modern people to help him govern.

And it doesn't stop with America. Not only Americans will fall in love with Barack. I predict the whole world will. Obama promises to be the most successful politician of our time, anywhere.

Personally, I like him for a reason that has little do with his charm. I adore him because he is an intellectual, and a wonderful writer. Read his first book, and you'll see. There ain't nobody out there who can out-write, out-speak and out-think this guy. He'll wipe the floor with anyone in any debate.

I'm totally chuffed that our most popular politician is also an intellectual. Black folks especially are in need of such a role model. Americans especially are in need of such a role model. It's time brains were hip again. We've had a series of rather dumb presidents — Reagan, the Bushes, Ford — with the exception of Clinton, who though very bright indeed, is not nearly as intellectual as Obama. Clinton can't write as well as Obama, for one. We haven't had an intellectual like Obama in American politics since Adlai Stevenson and Patrick Moynahan.

It's his charm, though, that is going to make Barack chew up the field. Jeez, he doesn't even have to speak. All he has to do is smile. Barack has the best smile that I've ever seen on anybody in public life. There isn't a film star who has a better smile. Try and think of anyone who can outsmile Barack Obama. Just try.

Barack Obama: he's going to smile his way into the presidency and into our hearts. We're going to have a president we're all actually enamored of. At last. Finally. Mark my words.



To: Mannie who wrote (101388)3/6/2007 1:37:47 AM
From: Cactus Jack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 361221
 
Scott,

I typically fall to the right of center politically (though I find myself leaning more libertarian than anything the last several years), and I've never understood why anyone listens to Ann Coulter. She's a bad caricature of a stereotype that apparently isn't dead. What's more, she's so transparently interested in nothing other than herself and her ability to sell books.

I find it amazing that she's invited anywhere by anyone. If I were sponsoring a political event or fundraiser, she'd be toxic waste. I don't get it.

jpg



To: Mannie who wrote (101388)3/6/2007 1:29:03 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero  Respond to of 361221
 
An old friend of mine once refuted an argument I made with Coulter's accusations...............he was believing it's true cause she said it!!!

It's impossible to argue with someone so dense and ill-informed. It's called pointless.



To: Mannie who wrote (101388)3/29/2007 11:37:50 PM
From: stockman_scott  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 361221
 
Dendreon's Cancer Drug Backed by Advisers to U.S. FDA (Update2)

By Luke Timmerman

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Dendreon Corp.'s prostate cancer drug Provenge was recommended for U.S. approval as the first treatment to stimulate the body's immune system against tumor cells.

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 17-0 today that the medicine is safe and 13-4 that it's ``substantially effective'' based on clinical trials so far.

Provenge would be Dendreon's first approved product and could generate as much as $1 billion a year in U.S. sales, analysts say. The drug, designed to train the body's immune system to fight prostate cancer as if it were a virus, would provide a new treatment for a disease that kills 27,000 men a year in the U.S.

``This is the first demonstration that a vaccine approach can prolong survival,'' said Philip Kantoff, an oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, in a telephone interview March 26. ``It will fuel an incredible amount of enthusiasm for investigation of this approach in prostate cancer and other tumors.''

The FDA generally follows the recommendations of its advisory panels, although it isn't required to do so. The agency has set a May 15 deadline to act on the Provenge application, according to Dendreon.

Trading in shares of Seattle-based Dendreon was halted today because of the FDA meeting. The shares gained 41 percent in the five days leading up to today's vote, on volume more than five times the three-month average.

Investors also have been betting that Provenge would fail. About 26 million shares were held in a short position in March, more than twice the number in December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. People who sell short try to profit by borrowing stock and repurchasing the securities later at a lower price to return to the holder.

Patient Advocates

``What this says to the FDA is that the drug has value to patients,'' said Mitchell Gold, Dendreon's chief executive officer, in an interview after the advisory panel's vote.

Provenge can provide hope for those whose advanced cancer can't be helped by other treatments, representatives of patient advocacy groups told the panel.

``Men are begging for anything else that can save their life, and their quality of life,'' said Jim Kiefert, a 17-year prostate cancer survivor from Olympia, Washington, and chairman an organization called Us Too.

`Doubts Remain'

The FDA's staff said in a report March 27 that ``doubts remain'' about the drug's effectiveness, and much of the panel's discussion today turned on that question.

One of the FDA advisers, Howard Scher of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, asked how Dendreon could be confident Provenge would prolong the lives of the 55,000 men with advanced prostate cancer, based on small studies of 225 men.

``If one or two patients shift, suddenly you can lose significance,'' Scher said.

The panel must make its decision on ``less than perfect data,'' said Brent Blumenstein, Dendreon's statistical consultant. Dendreon's trials were statistically sound, and showed benefits for all groups of patients, unlike many cancer drugs, he said.

Trial Results

The first trial submitted by Dendreon of 127 men showed that patients on Provenge lived a median 25.9 months, compared with 21.4 months for those on a placebo. The second trial, of 98 men, was designed to be identical, the company said. It showed a median survival of 19 months for Provenge patients.

The difference ``might be attributable to chance,'' the FDA staff said in its analysis. ``Doubts remain about the persuasiveness of the efficacy data.''

Provenge appeared to be ``generally well-tolerated'' for prostate cancer patients, the FDA staff said. Of the 147 patients on the drug in two pivotal trials, eight had strokes, which is a ``potential safety concern'' the staff said. The most common side effects were fever and chills that lasted one to two days, according to the company.

How it Works

The drug, called an immunotherapy, doesn't work like a traditional cancer treatment. Blood is drawn from a patient, and some white blood cells vital to the immune system are separated in a lab.

The white blood cells are shipped to the company and incubated with a genetically engineered protein found on prostate cancer cells. The white blood cells are supposed to recognize the protein as an invader and attack the cells that contain it. The revved-up white blood cells are then shipped back and re-infused into the patient.

Dendreon failed to demonstrate in trials that Provenge could slow the cancer's progression, the primary statistical goal of the studies. The company has said that may be because it can take weeks for Provenge to charge up the immune system.

Doctors see a promising combination in Provenge's survival edge and its mild side effects, said Neal Shore, a prostate cancer specialist with Carolina Urologic Research Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Another Treatment

The other treatment recently approved for prostate cancer, Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug, improved median survival by 2.4 months, with more harsh side effects than Provenge, Shore said.

``Nothing out there compares to Provenge,'' he said in a telephone interview March 21. Shore is an investigator on a continuing Dendreon-sponsored study.

Provenge could have U.S. sales of more than $1 billion a year if it's approved by the FDA, said David Miller, president of Biotech Stock Research, an independent equity research firm in Seattle. Miller owns shares.

To contact the reporter on this story: Luke Timmerman in San Francisco ltimmerman@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: March 29, 2007 17:22 EDT



To: Mannie who wrote (101388)4/7/2007 4:10:17 AM
From: stockman_scott  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 361221
 
Report from Obama Event in Marshalltown, Iowa

dailykos.com