Clinton Campaign Diverted Resources to Irrelevant States to Ensure Popular Vote Win

They Were So Sure They Had The Electoral College In The Bag

A new report from Politico Wednesday illustrates the stunning extent to which the campaign of Hillary Clinton was blind to Donald Trump’s potential challenge in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

In a decision that is sure to be second-guessed by political observers for all eternity, interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile hatched a plan to spend money to drive up inner-city turnout in places like Chicago and New Orleans, even though neither Illinois nor Louisiana was remotely competitive, because of fear that Clinton would win the Electoral College vote but lose the popular vote. So confident was the Clinton campaign of their Electoral College win that they refused requests to reallocate resources to places like Michigan because they did not want to risk the public relations nightmare that would come along with losing the popular vote.

"Millions were approved for transfer from Clinton’s campaign for use by the DNC — which, under a plan devised by Donna Brazile to drum up urban turnout out of fear that Trump would win the popular vote while losing the electoral vote, got dumped into Chicago and New Orleans, far from anywhere that would have made a difference in the election......."

"It was already November when the campaign finally reached out to the White House to get President Barack Obama into Michigan, a state that he’d worked hard and won by large margins in 2008 and 2012. On the Monday before Election Day, Obama added a stop in Ann Arbor, but that final weekend, the president had played golf on Saturday and made one stop in Orlando on Sunday, not having been asked to do anything else. Michigan senior adviser Steve Neuman had been asking for months to get Obama and the first lady on the ground there. People who asked for Vice President Joe Biden to come in were told that top Clinton aides weren’t clearing those trips......."

In the end, of course, Clinton ended up winning the popular vote by a relatively comfortable margin, almost the exact same margin that President George W. Bush enjoyed in 2004 when he defeated John Kerry.  But  abject failure to understand the strategic situation on the ground led to a crushing Electoral College loss.

* It must be noted that Donna Brazile is from New Orleans, and being a wheel in the Democrat party since the Gore campaign, has deep ties in Chicago.  Maybe someone should check out the ol' gal's bank account......

[Poltico]
[The Blaze]

John Kerry Calls Election ‘downright embarrassing.’ Twitter Promptly Burns Him to a Crisp.....

The Earl of Ketchup / Duke of Heinz, Secretary of State and failed candidate for president John Kerry is upset about the 2016 election cycle.  On NBC Nightly News, Kerry revealed his sadness of perceptions of the election overseas by noting “There are moments when it is downright embarrassing.” (as if we should really care what people who wish they were us think).

NBC tweeted out his comment,  and as soon as the tweet went live , he was trounced for his own actions that made a mockery of America and reminded he himself had a hand in making America look absurd.  Here's just a sample:

[BIZPAC REVIEW]

Thank You MJA for the Linkage!

Petition Begins to Remove AC from State Department

John F'ing Kerry (he fought in Vietnam ya know)

It's High Time Our Leaders Lead By Example

Recently our illustrious Secretary of State John Kerry announced to a gathering of world dignitaries almost as smart as he is that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big of a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State. Kerry was in Vienna to amend the 1987 Montreal Protocol that would phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, from basic household and commercial appliances.

“As we were working together on the challenge of [ISIS] and terrorism.  It’s hard for some people to grasp it, but what we–you–are doing here right now is of equal importance because it has the ability to literally save life on the planet itself.”

After John Kerry announced that Air Conditioners are as big a threat as ISIS,  a petition began to get him to put his money where his big mouth is.

From Change.org: 

WHEREAS, Secretary of State John F. Kerry has suggested that air conditioners are as big a threat as ISIS, and

WHEREAS, it is the duty of our elected and appointed government officials to lead by example,

THEREFORE, we call upon the U.S. Department of State to remove air conditioning from all property that the Department owns, rents, or otherwise employs, including but not limited to embassies, consulates, office buildings, etc., all vehicles owned and/or operated by the Department, and any other property, real or movable, owned, rented, or otherwise employed by the Department.

(Click through to sign Here)

And we thought that Joe Biden held the governmental permit to making incredibly stupid statements....... 

Thank You MJA for the Linkage

John Kerry Cringes at GOP’s Perception Overseas

Our Honorable Doofus of State

Secretary of State John Kerry said on national television the Republican Party is an embarrassment to the United States because of the recent rhetoric that’s hailing from the GOP presidential campaign trail.  He mentioned specifically in an appearance on CBS's “Face the Nation” that the talk among some Republicans about barring Muslim entry into the country, or policing Muslim-dominated neighborhoods in America, or waterboarding those captured by U.S. intelligence officials, are all proving "an embarrassment to our country. It' upsets people's sense of equilibrium about our steadiness, about our reliability."

"Everywhere I go, every leader I meet, they ask about what is happening in America. They cannot believe it. I think it is fair to say that they're shocked. They don't know where it’s taking the United States of America."

Kerry, who also defended President Obama’s stay in Latin America both during and after the Brussels terrorism attack, a decision that sparked criticism from many in the Republican camp and among the media, for the public relations message it sent, then said the optics of the GOP campaign don’t look good on the international stage.

Seeing Mr. Kerry has spent most of his tenure dealing making concessions to our enemies, and his predecessor did much else but sip cocktails with world leaders while the Middle East fell into chaos, rather then projecting the power of the United States, we can only believe the "Leaders" he speaks of believe the U.S. is not as "Enlightened" as them. And our enemies see us as weak.

Yes Mr. Kerry, you and your predecessor over the last 7 years have projected nothing but weakness in negotiations and actions, and set the bar so low that when Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz speak from a position of strength and power in domestic and foreign affairs, it's hard for foreign governments to believe, and it's scares them......as it should. 

Obama Considering Another Possible Opportunity to Apologize for America

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Obama considering visit to Hiroshima: Official

Yahoo News

(AFP) - The White House is considering a possible visit by President Barack Obama to Hiroshima, the Japanese city devastated in history's first atomic bombing at the close of World War II, a US official told AFP.  The official, who asked not to be named, said the details of Obama's visit to Japan for a Group of Seven summit in late May had yet to be finalized, but a trip to Hiroshima had not been ruled out.  Obama is scheduled to participate in the summit of leading democracies in central Japan's Mie prefecture.

In 2008, then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Hiroshima, becoming the highest, sitting US political figure to visit the city.

Japan has long urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the horrors of the atomic bombings and join efforts to eradicate nuclear arms. Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, refrained from directly commenting on the reports, but reiterated Tokyo's position.

"The government has always called on leaders around the world to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see for themselves the reality of atomic bombings.  We believe visits are important to boost international momentum toward achieving a world without nuclear arms." 

Washington will make its final decision after a planned trip to Hiroshima by US Secretary of State John Kerry for a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers on April 10-11.

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing about 140,000 people. Three days later, the US military dropped a plutonium bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing some 74,000 people.

The bombings are controversial in the United States, where opinion remains divided over whether their use in the closing days of World War II was justified.

____________________________________________

Lets just hope Big Ears remembers where and who started the whole episode in history that led to the Hiroshima Memorial, and the complete and final defeat of those who chose to come against you, and he chooses to keeps his mouth shut!
 

U.S. State Dept. Will Award You $1.5 Million to Pen a “TV Drama” Helping Combat Islamic Radicalization

Sec.of State John Kerry, The Earl of Ketchup-Duke of Heinz

Secretary of State John Kerry (he fought was in Vietnam Ya Know) will travel to Belgium this week to extend the American peoples' condolences to the citizens of Brussels, and probably to help counter the problematic public relations the White House is facing after our President was pictured tangoing the night away in Argentina rather than attending to important things, like people getting blown up in Europe.

But, fear not, America and our allies, because the State Department has a plan. Announced yesterday, they are now offering a $1.5 million grant to anyone who can pen a television drama series that can counter radicalization in the Middle East.

"This grant will fund the development and broadcast of a television drama series in which young people grapple with everyday frustrations and lack of opportunity, while growing and learning through new experiences," the offer said.

"The drama will be grounded in reality, but will also contain compelling creative content (i.e. storytelling, resonant narratives, strong characters, sophisticated production, etc.)," it added. "In short, it will strive to be entertaining while challenging viewers to engage in critical thinking by placing characters in situations where they are faced with a choice: support universal values of tolerance and peace or be drawn into the dark world of extremism."

The grant explains that the show needs to be inspiring, and that the characters need to be relatable, so that potential jihadis, hanging around watching television dramas in their spare time between training on the Internet to build bombs, will be able to identify with the young people on screen and see them as "role models" for how to handle the deep and permeating sadness in their soul without strapping on a suicide vest.

Now, honestly, outreach-through-entertainment isn't a horrible idea. After all, after a motorbike, a satellite dish is the most popular "disposable income" purchase even in the third world. And America produces a hell of a lot of television, unfortunately mostly starring people with the last name "Kardashian," that reinforces our status as the world's Great Satan. But it might be too little too late to start drafting Shonda Rhimes into our national security efforts, now that plans are underway to incorporate thousands more refugees into western countries, after they've all been trained in the finer points of C-4 laced apparel-making.

Any question why these people have no fear of us what so ever?

(Grants.gov Link)

John Kerry Still Undecided Whether Islamic State Atrocities are Genocide

Singling out a group to murder, kidnap, rape, sell into slavery and destruction of their places of worship, Genocide?......Guess it takes some deep though, eh John?

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to formally declare that Islamic State group atrocities against religious minorities, including Christians, constitute "genocide." Kerry must weigh whether the Islamic State group's targeting of Christians and other minorities meets the legal definition of "genocide," which is "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group," according to the U.N. Convention. Kerry denied reports that his legal advisers were reluctant to support a determination of genocide but suggested he was not satisfied with their initial opinions.

I guess this is what we get from a government run by lawyers and an administration that refuses to use the term"Radical Islam"as not to upset anyone. Far be it from us to call a bunch of uncivilized murderous Neanderthals the bad guys and purveyors of genocide before getting the OK from the legal department. ISIS might get mad and not like us....

Bulletin: U.S.State Department 01/13/2016

"US. Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned counterparts in Tehran, convinced the Iranians that the ships' movement was an accident and was not an intentional violation of Iran's territorial waters." - @NBCNews

UPDATE: James Taylor in route to Tehran with written apology, the newest porn releases and will serenade Iranian Military Commanders........ Developing.

Hey Iran, you have exactly 300 days left to push a US president around. Enjoy it while you can. After that, there will be hell to pay.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 12, 2016

Obama Will Show Those Terrorists Who’s Boss!

Next week, the world's leaders will converge on Paris to discuss whether humanity is burning up the ozone layer and how best to address the problem (hint: the solution will be more governmental authority by controlling humanity's energy consumption and, probably taxes). And, thankfully, according to our fearless leader who has been completely absent from the world stage following the Paris terror attacks, such a gathering will not only finally end our global reliance on evil fossil fuels, but it will also demonstrate to the crazy homicidal Islamic apocalypse cult that we are a strong, global presence committed to the issues that truly matter.

All we know is that Obama is 100% convinced that our best offense against terrorism is a Climate Change conference. There is some aspect of this that's true: the terrorists hit Paris in such a way as to make them a continued threat, and world leaders are still gathering in the French capital, regardless (though, probably with more firepower protecting them at mealtimes than most third world countries have in their arsenal). That's a real message. And for the US, an improvement over how Obama acted in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, when he and John Kerry skipped out on a peace rally that featured a cadre of world leaders.

If only Barack Obama and other world leaders will stand tall against the natural cycles of heating and cooling inherent in living on a planet that circles a flaming orb of gas, it will no doubt demonstrate to those terrorists that we truly care about where they come from and why they're so irked. We will solve it together, ISIS, if only you would realize that your fanatical ideology is not based on a radical interpretation of a major world religion, but rather is the natural consequence of being hot and angry. I'm absolutely certain that will stop them in their tracks, force them to put down their suicide bombs and pick up a couple of windmills.

We Have A Pure Idiot for Secretary of State

Kerry sees 'rationale' in Charlie Hebdo murders,

unlike Friday's attacks in Paris.....

Secretary of State John Kerry suggested on Tuesday that there was a “rationale” for the assault on satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo, unlike the more recent attacks in Paris.

"There’s something different about what happened from Charlie Hebdo, and I think everybody would feel that. There was a sort of particularized focus and perhaps even a legitimacy in terms of — not a legitimacy, but a rationale that you could attach yourself to somehow and say, OK, they’re really angry because of this and that."

"This Friday was absolutely indiscriminate. It wasn’t to aggrieve one particular sense of wrong. It was to terrorize people." 

The attack on Charlie Hebdo, which took place in January, killed 12 people and was perpetrated by radical Islamic militants with ties to al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen. An al Qaeda statement claiming responsibility for the murders said they were retribution for the magazine's decision to run cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed, and to avenge the drone strike that killed Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

So, would there be a rationale on his part  to "aggrieve one particular sense of wrong"  if a Christian was to murder an artist for a cross in a jar of urine, or a picture of the Virgin Mary and child done in feces?  Does this man hear what he's saying when he says it? How did we fall so far to the point of being governed be narcissists, idiots and Douchebags who would have once been hung for treason?

I Doubt They Really Care What John Kerry Thinks......

Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday told Russia that the U.S. has "concerns" that most of Russia's military actions in Syria are not targeting the Islamic State, and instead are defying U.S. policy by targeting groups that oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad.  Putin is showing just how embarrassingly weak Barack Obama really is on the World Stage in his faculty-lounge fantasy world, and just how pathetic John Kerry can look..... 

Rumors of John Kerry and a Noble Peace Prize

Earl of Ketchup -The Duke of Heinz

WFB - Growing speculation that John Kerry will receive a Nobel Peace Prize for finalizing the Iranian nuclear deal is generating renewed criticism of his close relationship with the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, a key public face for the theocratic regime who is rumored to be a probable co-recipient with Kerry.

Rumors have been circulating for months that Kerry and Zarif will be co-selected for the prize. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a leading Swedish think-tank, recommended in July that the two be selected for the Nobel in 2016.

Lawmakers and Washington insiders who have worked for years on the Iran portfolio have reacted with shock to the rumors, telling the Washington Free Beacon in multiple interviews that both Kerry and Zarif are unfit to receive the prize:

“We have seen Nobel Prizes that appeared to be awarded to people who have acted staunchly to the detriment of Israel’s existence, and if that is their inclination this time, I think Secretary Kerry should be first runner up for the Nobel Prize, right behind the Ayatollah,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R., Texas)....." 

READ MORE

A Noble Prize would be the 'Cream de la cream' of Kerry's tenure in office, who over the  difficult period of negotiations sustained 4 different serious wounds, including a broken leg, and awarded (to himself) a record number of  Purple Heart Medals for wounds sustained in service to his country. 

Meanwhile, The Dems Have Their Crazys to Deal With

Democrats Want Bernie Sanders Out Of The Race!

Down Trend

The Democrats are terrified of Bernie Sanders. They love him, they agree with him and they think he would make a great president. But they’re petrified that he will be their nominee because they know very few people with more than three brain cells will vote for a self proclaimed socialist as President of the United States. 

The latest example of this terrified frenzy is Barney Frank’s 1,000-word rant against Bernie. He implores Democrats not to support Bernie. Even though they love him, adore him … almost worship him.

[Bernie] has consistently, forcefully and cogently made the case for a larger federal government role in improving both the fairness and the quality of life in our country, refusing to soft-pedal in the face of declining support for this view in public opinion.

Sounds great! How about Bernie’s stand against the War in Iraq and Hillary’s support of it?

I agree that her position on the war is a legitimate concern for those of us on the left. The question then becomes whether this was a manifestation of a general tendency to support unwise military intervention, or the case of her joining every other Democratic senator who had serious presidential ambitions in voting for a war that the Bush-Cheney administration had successfully hyped as a necessary defense against terrorism. While I wish that she, Joe Biden and John Kerry had not been spooked into believing that no one who voted no would have the national security merit badge required to win the presidency, I regard liberal senators’ support for the Iraq War as a response to a given fraught political situation rather than an indication of their basic policy stance — like Obama’s off-again, on-again support for same-sex marriage. (Yes, I am saying that in deciding whether or not to support a candidate with whom I have disagreed on a fundamental issue, I am more at ease if it was a one-time political accommodation rather than a genuine conviction.)

So if they love Bernie so bad, why can’t they support him? - READ MORE

Former Congressman Barney Frank Enjoying a Summer Afternoon in Boston

☪ A Foreign Policy Black Comedy ☪

Kerry Seen Leaving Recent  Iranian Negotiations 

Known affectionately here at DMF as the "Earl of Ketchup" and "The Duke of Heinz", John Kerry can now add a  third honor to his  royalist list of titles - "The Prince of Fools" 

Ricochet - You must give John Kerry credit. Who else could play the idiot with a straight face like he can. Again, he knocked me to the floor with a comment so devoid of intelligence, so totally inane as to astound beyond all credence. Truly he is the Prince of Fools.

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday vowing to defy American policies in the region despite a deal with world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program was “very troubling.”

“I don’t know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that’s his policy,” he said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

“But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it’s very disturbing, it’s very troubling.....” 

The man has just concluded a complete major treaty with the Iranians. The administration just ran to the U.N. so they could lift vitally important sanctions from Iran, giving them the green light for further aggression. They did this before Congress, as agreed, could have a say, and as if the Congressional right to ratify treaties, under the Constitution, were something that could be waved. Now, he’s “disturbed” that the hideous tyrannical regime with which he’s been negotiating for years is just what it appears: a lawless monster intent on the destruction of America, Israel, and any rival in the Middle East.

“If it is the policy, it’s very disturbing, it’s very troubling.”

The Supreme Leader of an absolute theocratic dictatorship publicly announced this, to mass rallies, and Kerry says “If it is the policy.” He’s just given away the store at the U.N., and now, a few days later, he is very disturbed and troubled.

Absolutely amazing! This is for the Idiot Olympics. Kerry is in a class by himself.  

Love is NOT an Option

"Our crack team of hard-nosed US negotiators led by Secretary of State John Kerry and some ponce with a bad 70s haircut have cut a deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Now I've been hearing some details on the radio but I really don't need to hear any. The only deal worth having with a criminal regime like this is what's it going to take for them to GIVE UP the idea of nuclear weapons immediately, now and forever? Anything short of that is a waste of time.

Now I've heard the same old BS about how they will like us now and how we have some basis for dialogue and this is just the beginning. You know, the same old painfully twisted logic and deluded thinking we got from liberals back during the days of the Soviet Union. Of course it was crap then and it's crap now." - Conservative Wahoo 

A New Entry in the Devil's Scrapbook. #IranDeal pic.twitter.com/UvF7TBHvpK

— DiogenesMiddleFinger (@DiogenesKnows) July 15, 2015

Diogenes' Middle Finger Turns Five

This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of this little venture called Diogenes Middle Finger.  And I can say again this year, it has been by far the best year yet. It was never an intention, nor a dream to ever receive the recognition or the honors from fellow bloggers that it has. I thank my many blog brothers and sisters.   

And thanks in part to our new found fame being labeled as  "Unamerican / Uncosmopolitan Despicable Hooligans" as we are called by John Kerry, and our ongoing feud with the Hilton Hotel Chain, our growth in readership has increased at an amazing pace. I thank You All who come here and spend time.

This will be the last celebration of it's kind here until year number 10, that's if we last that long, and avoid being scooped up be the Secret Service or interred in Re-education Camp. 

So I must take time to thank my regular commenters for you wit and serious discussions on my topics (and for your corrections of my sometime poor English ;) ) and especially to my sometime collaborator and friend, The Incomparable Earl of Taint. And a Thank You to Cardigan for the generous linkage and all the gang at IOTWR, as well as my many readers from Michelle's Mirror. 

  

I pledged two things at the start (1- give readers something different than the same stuff they see on 20 other blogs they may read before they come here  (2- make them wonder what they will find if they do come back. I feel I've succeeded on both counts.

Thank You All for making what I do here worth the time and effort. - Jan

Iranian News Media Out Alex Joneses Alex Jones

 Noted Wing-Nut Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones 

Iranian media beats Jones to the scoop, refutes  John Kerry 

was hurt in a cycling accident.

The Iranian news media has erupted with rumors that Secretary of State John Kerry was not injured last week in a fall from his bicycle in Switzerland, but rather he was the target of an assassination attempt while meeting with Islamic State terrorists.

The Clownish Iranian media, known for reporting "conspiracy theories" in the past, such as a September report that Israel was spearheading a dangerous global plot to spread the Krav Maga martial arts worldwide and a December report that Israel was building settlements in Iraq.

Jerusalem Post

"The latest Iranian report, first published by the Nasim news agency and subsequently picked up by dozens of Iranian news sites, based its information on "an American news website" which cites a Russian foreign intelligence service report as the source of the information.  

According to the report in Nasim, Kerry secretly met with one of the leaders of Islamic State on Sunday. The meeting eventually led to an armed clash and an attempt to assassinate the US secretary of state.

Kerry's meeting, in which the alleged assassination attempt took place, was with Gulmurod Khalimov, a senior Tajik police commander, trained in the United States, who announced his defection to Islamic State in a video released last week, the report states.

Having received training from the US State Department previously, Khalimov was well aware of State Department security procedures and he used the knowledge to get another member of his entourage into the secret meeting with Kerry, with the intention of assassinating him, the report claims.

The report cited communications intercepted by Russian intelligence from France, the US and Switzerland as confirming that two other people were shot in the incident, one of them fatally.

The story of Kerry breaking his femur in a bicycle accident in Switzerland was then concoted to hide the real source of his "grave injuries," according to the report. "

John Kerry Rotates Back To The States Again

Another Purple Heart for the Duke of Heinz? 

Middle Finger News Service Wire

Earl of Taint Reporting

See Earl's Complete Report and the Gory Details  HERE

If Young Voters Are Up for Grabs, Dems Are in Trouble...

Jonathan S. Tobin

Heading into the 2016 presidential election, Democrats remain convinced that their victory is already baked into the electoral cake. The last two presidential votes have seen them rack up enormous majorities among minorities, women, and young voters. With immigration reform stymied, they think the growing numbers of Hispanic voters are firmly in their pockets. And they are sure that Hillary Clinton’s presence at the top of their ticket will ensure a clear advantage among women.

They’re also sure that young voters will be as liberal next year as they were in 2008 and 2012 when they turned out in record numbers to back Barack Obama. But what if their assumptions about the nation’s youth are wrong? That’s the question Democrats need to ask themselves today after the publication of a new poll from Harvard University’s Institute on Politics. According to the poll, voters aged 18-29 are now far less likely to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 than they were in the last two such elections. That sets up a race that resembles 2004 more than 2008, which is a possible recipe for a Republican victory.
Most pundits assumed that the Republicans’ stronger showing among young voters in the 2014 midterms was a statistical glitch produced by the lower turnout in that election than in a presidential year. But the type of advantage that Democrats enjoyed when Barack Obama was their candidate may vanish when he retires.

The Harvard poll shows that a generic Democratic candidate will still win the 18-29 year old vote in 2016 by a 55-40 percent margin. That’s a clear edge, but it is nowhere near as decisive as President Obama’s 66-32 percent win among young voters in 2008 or his 60-37 victory in that demographic in 2012. In fact that 55-40 result bears a startling resemblance to the 54-45 margin among 18-29 year olds that John Kerry won over President Bush in 2004.
What possible reason could there be for such a swing among voters assumed to be so liberal on social issues that they’d never consider voting for the GOP?

One is obvious. Barack Obama’s historic importance as our first African-American president as well as his personal appeal made him a unique political figure. No other Democrat, not even the person trying to be the first female president, can match his hold on the electorate, especially young people who were particularly vulnerable to Obama’s “hope and change” mantra. As much as many Democrats would prefer to think the gains they made in 2008 and 2012 are now part of the permanent infrastructure of American politics, they may be ephemeral.

The second is that the changing economic environment for young people entering the work force may be leading them to think more about fiscal issues than social ones like gay marriage and abortion that work to the advantage of liberals. Moreover, the anti-Iraq war sentiments that dominated the 2008 election may have gradually moderated to the point where a lot of young people are worrying as much if not more about the threat of terrorism.

The caveat here is that elections are not fought and won by generic candidates. If Republicans nominate someone who turns off young voters or who emphasizes social issues that hurt the GOP then they may slip back. By the same token, one who can run as a representative of a new generation seeking to challenge a tired and possibly corrupt retread such as Hillary Clinton stands a chance of exceeding the 2004 totals. Also troubling for Democrats is the real possibility that Clinton fatigue, accentuated by the Clinton Cash charges that continue to drip, drip, drip out, will further depress the Democrats’ brand.

But the main conclusion to draw from these figures is that no one in either party should make any assumptions about the 2016 electorate from 2008 or 2012. Change is the one constant in politics as well as life and that means things could get better for the Democrats, but also the very real possibility that they could get worse. Either way, the path to an Electoral College majority for Republicans that many on the left have come to see as a fantasy may be far more realistic than they care to think. If, as the Harvard poll illustrates, young voters are up for grabs, anything is possible.

Kerry Sustains Wounds In Switzerland

 Middle Finger News Correspondent Earl of Taint Reporting:

Lausanne, Switzerland - Secretary of State John Kerry was pulled out of the Iranian nuclear negotiations on a stretcher today after he was reportedly “bitch-slapped” severely by the Iranian delegation and then de-pantsed. Additionally, his latest injuries mark his third time to be wounded in-theater*, earning him his (world record) sixth self-awarded Purple Heart and a golden ticket back to the States. - READ EARL'S FULL REPORT HERE