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[FiggyCal]

I'm now 100% convinced Biden will run.

When would be the best time for him to announce, if he were to do it?

 

[RastaMentality]

Has Biden suddenly not become the gaffe prone master he was back during the first term? I can't see a hypothetical campaign going that well.

 

[pigeon]

Meanwhile...

When it comes to using a private server for her e-mails when she was secretary of state, Hillary Clinton “didn't really think it through,” according to her communications director.

“I've encountered this a lot in politics where people think that the answer is a lot more complicated than it really is,” Jennifer Palmieri told With All Due Respect co-host John Heilemann in an interview on Wednesday. “She's answered this many times and she did have her own e-mail account. Others had done it before and it was just more convenient and she kept it like that, and she didn't really—that's the thing, she didn't really think it through.”

“She has said, had she, she would have done it differently,” Palmieri added.

The sad truth.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...on-e-mail-she-didn-t-really-think-it-through-

 

[Hopfrog]

A Biden v. Trump debate would be.....something.

 

[speculawyer]

Of course Rich Lowery is in Politico saying Trump doing good by abandoning the "elite" immigration plans that don't seek to throw people out and legalize people who have been in this country for decades.

Listening to him on Left, Right, and Center makes me want to punch my phone. Then the old leftie guy chimes in on how Obama & Hillary are just as bad. Someone put him out to pasture.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kakFDUeoJKM

Jimmy Carter is awesome.

 

[Measley]

AlJazeera America saying FBI now treating Hillary emails as potential criminal investigation

Whelp, Republicans have finally succeeded at taking down Hillary Clinton.

 

[Limited Edition]

Whelp, Republicans have finally succeeded at taking down Hillary Clinton.

If it sticks, maybe. Having that kind of investigation attached to most people while running for an election would kill them, but Hillary isn't most people.

 

[RustyNails]

Their Florida sampling is absolutely nuts. Democrats had a 2% party ID edge in 2012. Here, their sample was 477R-345D. That'd be a 14-point swing in 4 years. I can buy a modest swing towards the R's, but not that much, especially when the GOP's national favorable numbers are in the toilet.

Jebmentum!

 

[PhoenixDark]

Whelp, Republicans have finally succeeded at taking down Hillary Clinton.

She took herself down with her own arrogant behavior.

 

[sc0la]

...why in blazes would Biden be so popular in florida?

They identify with him. It is the state where creepy uncles go to retire, after all.

 

[NeoXChaos]

People think Hillary Clinton is going to be forced out. Give me a break. The media loves fanning the flames of this stuff.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/democrats-2016-biden-his-time/

 

[NYCmetsfan]

There is NOTHING NEW in that AJ report

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Being investigated for much worse things didn't slow down Walker.

This is overblown.

 

[RDreamer]

She took herself down with her own arrogant behavior.

I don't get what's arrogant about what happened, unless something's different from what I've read. She did what her predecessors did, and the law only said you have to keep record of the emails now. Kerry is the first secretary of state where the law says you have to use a government email.

Unless I've got something wrong, that seems to be confirmed how the situation went. If the criminal investigation (if there really is one) finds something else, but we'll see I guess.

Other articles I've read say a lot of the hoopla of what's going on is basically a little turf battle of State department vs intelligence community.

 

[HylianTom]

If it sticks, maybe. Having that kind of investigation attached to most people while running for an election would kill them, but Hillary isn't most people.

Yeah.. the Clintons have the unique ability to muddy the waters on shady behavior to the point where everyone goes to their political corners and voters in the middle shrug. We'll get to see if they can do it again, the rapscallions..

 

[pigeon]

Al-jazeera is usually good, but the NYT is usually good too.

I'm waiting for a second source and statements from the government/campaign.

 

[NeoXChaos]

What is the criminal charge she would be charged with exactly? I don't think she intentionally deleted her emails to hide her committing treason. Hillary is not stupid. I do wonder how long this email story will persist. I thought it would be over after March but here we are 6 months later.

 

[Frank the Great]

Their Florida sampling is absolutely nuts. Democrats had a 2% party ID edge in 2012. Here, their sample was 477R-345D. That'd be a 14-point swing in 4 years. I can buy a modest swing towards the R's, but not that much, especially when the GOP's national favorable numbers are in the toilet.

And here I thought we were above unskewing.

 

[speculawyer]

I have no idea what is going on with the Clinton email stuff. I can't be bothered since it is constantly changing and not interesting. I'm just glad it is happening now so it can either burn out or knock her out while there is still time to replace her.

I hope whoever is investigating it moves fast & hard and comes to some resolution relatively soon.

 

[HylianTom]

And here I thought we were above unskewing.

I'm just extremely skeptical of that kind of a change in the electorate in a mere 4 years. The unskewers we saw in 2012 frequently argued that the electorate would look more like 2010 instead of 2008; the difference we're seeing here is well beyond that, and it's worthy of questioning. If more polls come out showing similar results, my skepticism will wane.

 

[Ecotic]

They were talking about possible criminal charges last night on NBC Nightly News. The tone was very worrying.

 

[Cheebo]

The one thing is Biden's biggest personality flaw in terms of his candidacy was his tendency to be too much of "Uncle Joe".

Trump makes Biden look like a Mr. Rogers by comparison.

 

[Retromelon]

Jimmy Carter is awesome.

 

[ivysaur12]

We also won't know the outcome for the Clinton emails for some time and there's little anyone can do about it. The servers are in the hands of the FBI, so whatever happens, happens, and hopefully whatever comes of it is final and we can either put it to bed or move on.

They were talking about possible criminal charges last night on NBC Nightly News. The tone was very worrying.

To be honest, it's not that surprising when liberal-leaning journalist worry about things. Worrying and anxiety is the American liberal's modus operandi.

 

[Mario]

We also won't know the outcome for the Clinton emails for some time and there's little anyone can do about it. The servers are in the hands of the FBI, so whatever happens, happens, and hopefully whatever comes of it is final and we can either put it to bed or move on.

Normal people will move on. Some Republicans will Benghazi.

 

[ivysaur12]

Normal people will move on. Some Republicans will Benghazi.

And some liberals will run around screaming with like the world is ending. From what I understand and the feelings I have about it, I don't think anything will come of Hillary's emails especially since NYCMet is right -- the AlJ piece doesn't contain any new information. Or maybe I'm wrong and she goes to jail in cuffs! It's not the end of the world. She's not your mother (unless Chelsea posts on GAF, in which case, I hope for the best), nor is she the only Democrat who would compete in the general.

 

[NeoXChaos]

She is not going to jail. At best she gets a plea deal like a fine. I'm confident she will be in the clear though.

 

[Yellowtail]

It's hard to entirely trust the NYT with all this, but about a week ago they said the FBI were potentially looking into the causes of the "spillage" - how classified information that should have been marked classified got into the unclassified State systems in the first place to then end up being forwarded to Clinton. Now that might become a criminal investigation, but no one has so far has suggested Clinton is a target. Mishandling classified information can be an offense - i.e. if someone sent classified material knowingly - but I've never heard of a situation where the recipient is liable. And remember the private server is irrelevant here because the government email accounts are also unclassified systems.

So this could end up like Whitewater where other people get charged, but Clinton is inoculated.

 

[Metaphoreus]

There is NOTHING NEW in that AJ report

Aside from the change from, "This is not a criminal investigation" to, "There's a potential criminal case here."

 

[ivysaur12]

Aside from the change from, "This is not a criminal investigation" to, "There's a potential criminal case here."

We already knew that, though.

 

[Retromelon]

Plea deal doesnt look good for a presidential candidates resume. Its time hill dawgs saw the light
And if you cant make them see the light, make them feel the bern

 

[Yellowtail]

Also remember that the Al Jazeera reporter David Shuster was the guy that was suspended from MSNBC for saying Hillary pimped out Chelsea back in 2008.

Not to say he's lying about all this but there is a history between him and the Clintons (like with the NYT... maybe we should wait for a BBC or NPR report).

 

[ivysaur12]

Also remember that the Al Jazeera reporter David Shuster was the guy that was suspended from MSNBC for saying Hillary pimped out Chelsea back in 2008.

Not to say he's lying about all this but there is a history between him and the Clintons.

There's no sign that even if there's a criminal case that they're targeting Hillary!

From the NYT a week and a half ago (admittedly, things could've changed!):

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/us/hillary-clinton-emails-take-long-path-to-controversy.html?_r=0

Mrs. Clinton, who has said she now regrets her unorthodox decision to keep private control of her official messages, is not a target in the F.B.I.’s investigation, which is focused on assessing security breaches. Against the backdrop of other current government computer security lapses, notably the large-scale theft of files from the Office of Personnel Management, most specialists believe the occasional appearance of classified information in the Clinton account was probably of marginal consequence.

If there is a criminal investigation, there's been no indication that the FBI is targeting Hillary.

 

[NeoXChaos]

There's no sign that even if there's a criminal case that they're targeting Hillary!

From the NYT a week and a half ago (admittedly, things could've changed!):

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/us/hillary-clinton-emails-take-long-path-to-controversy.html?_r=0



If there is a criminal investigation, there's been no indication that the FBI is targeting Hillary.

Is there like a neutral take on this story with NO partisan bias from either side? Why is the FBI allowing the media to leak stuff on this? I would rather people shut up about it and let them finish their work. Too many people reporting on their "sources" and it becomes a muddy mess.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Aside from the change from, "This is not a criminal investigation" to, "There's a potential criminal case here."

The ability of people to turn nothing in to meaningless soundbites and pithy "jokes" is amazing in politics

 

[Metaphoreus]

We already knew that, though.

But what's significant is that they're now saying so, rather than simply denying that this is a criminal investigation. (It's possible that al Jazeera is playing a word game here to make Clinton look bad--they are, after all, the rightest of right-wing news outlets--but, taken at face value, there's definitely something new here.)

 

[ivysaur12]

But what's significant is that they're now saying so, rather than simply denying that this is a criminal investigation. (It's possible that al Jazeera is playing a word game here to make Clinton look bad--they are, after all, the rightest of right-wing news outlets--but, taken at face value, there's definitely something new here.)

I was under the impression that this was always a possibility (and the source says it's a possible criminal investigation, not an actual one), and there's no actual evidence that they're targeting Clinton herself. Unless they're actually implicating Hillary Clinton as part of a criminal investigation (which could happen! Who knows!), I guess I don't really see what the story is or its significance?

 

[pigeon]

I made a thread about the Trump-inspired hate crime today:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1099377

 

[ivysaur12]

In the world's least surprising news:

@MULawPoll
US Senate Race in WI: Democrat Russ Feingold 47%, Republican Ron Johnson 42%. In April, it was Feingold 54%, Johnson 38%. #mulawpoll

bigger lol:

@MULawPoll
In possible head-to-head elections for president (WI voters only), it’s Clinton 47%, Bush 42%. It’s Clinton 52%, Walker 42%. #mulawpoll

biggest lol:

@MULawPoll
Among Wisconsin voters, 39% approve of job Walker is doing as governor, 57% disapprove. #mulawpoll

 

[bodyofanamerican]

In even LESS surprising news, Pelosi comes through again:

Congress does not have votes to block Iran deal, says Nancy Pelosi

 

[ivysaur12]

POLLS

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...-to-struggle-burr-leads-dem-field-by-7-8.html

PPP's new North Carolina poll finds Roy Cooper slightly ahead of Pat McCrory for the third month in a row, 42/39. McCrory's approval numbers continue to be some of the worst he's had during his entire time in office, with only 35% of voters approving of the job he's doing to 48% who disapprove. Even on the off chance that McCrory were to face Democratic under dog Ken Spaulding he still only polls at 40% to 35% for Spaulding.

A big part of why McCrory's approval ratings have gotten so bad this summer is that even many Republican voters have soured on him- he only has a 56% approval within his own party to 28% of voters who disapprove. It's still not likely that McCrory would have much to worry about with a potential primary challenge though- he leads Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest 60/20 in a hypothetical contest. Forest has only 36% name recognition even with GOP primary voters, and he would start out trailing Cooper 42/33 in a head to head. So as weak as McCrory is right now it's not like the Republicans would be better off with someone else.

One reason for McCrory's struggles is the unpopularity of the legislature, which has become more and more unpopular as the summer drags on. Only 15% of voters approve of the job it's doing to 60% who disapprove, the highest level of unhappiness with it in quite a long time. Even though McCrory and the General Assembly are often at odds, the average voter just sees one big unpopular Republican state government without differentiating too much between the legislators and the Governor. The good news for McCrory is that usually when the legislature goes home his numbers get better, so we'll see if that pattern repeats itself again this year.

The overall picture in the US Senate race remains the same as ever- voters are ambivalent toward Richard Burr but he still starts out ahead for reelection against a field of potential Democratic challengers who are pretty much unknown. Only 31% of voters approve of the job Burr's doing to 37% who disapprove, definitely putting him in the vulnerable range. He leads all of the Democrats who have recently been discussed as potential challengers to him by 7-8 points though. His advantage is 42/35 over Heath Shuler, 43/36 over Deborah Ross, 44/37 over Chris Rey, and 44/36 over Duane Hall. Shuler leads the pack in name recognition at 32%, followed by Ross at 26%, Rey at 23%, and Hall at 21%. Burr's approval makes him theoretically in trouble, time will tell if any of his potential opponents can make that trouble a reality.

Also, see you and Joni in 2020:

-Finally Thom Tillis continues to be quite unpopular in his first year in the Senate. Only 26% of voters approve of the job he's doing to 44% who disapprove. Even within his own party he's at just 44% approval and with independents (23% approval) and Democrats (13% approval) he's really bad off.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

But what's significant is that they're now saying so, rather than simply denying that this is a criminal investigation. (It's possible that al Jazeera is playing a word game here to make Clinton look bad--they are, after all, the rightest of right-wing news outlets--but, taken at face value, there's definitely something new here.)

This is a turf war between Justice, State and the FBI. They have FBI sources say there is a possible criminal investigation (are they going to investigate something that has no potential criminality?) This has been known since the audit said that 4 emails contained top-secret info (or what the Intelligence community says is top secret now) and the clintons handed over the server. The originally "no criminal investigation" was that the justice department didn't decide to start an investigation after their state department audit.

This isn't a revelation on new content, new previously unknown behavior, this is different agencies going over the same thing and leaking to different sources so they get their day in the limelight.

This is how investigation progress, but you have a heightened sense of wanting to bring down Clinton (that isn't exclusive to the right, its a news media thing, see the VOX piece a few weeks back) which leads to people using the publics lack of understanding how these things progress to pretend that new events are happening.

There have been a few major "revelations" through this.

1) The times breaks (leaked from the Benghazi commission, theirs and the medias favorite source during this "scandal") that Clinton used a private email and server (even though this was likely widely know and a practice for many governmental officials)
2) She sends mail to state to review and relase, says she deleted non-governmental mail
3) State department starts to review and release emails this will go on for a few months
4) In an audit and during the process of redacting these emails, in coordination with many agency (Kerry's state, CIA, FBI, NSA), they flag emails which "might" contain info that is or was classified. These emails include emails from and to clinton
5) In response to these emails agencies start to investigate this, some say the word criminal, always off the record and always with "potential". Clinton in response to this and public pressure (lead by the publics confusion, and deliberately misleading reporting and leaks by the NYT, Benghazi commission among others) hands over her server.

Clinton knows whats in the emails (she reviewed them before sending them to state!). She's not worried, she's not suing to keep them secret (like Nixon did). Why should we expect some shocking revelation?

If there was anything shocking in the emails then clinton had the ability to delete them and whip them from the server already (and the notion forcing the use of a .gov email would prevent that is farcical as the saying "Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink." proves) . This is a fools errand for the GOP unless Clinton actual did do something nefarious which means she shouldn't be president anyways

 

[NYCmetsfan]

POLLS

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...-to-struggle-burr-leads-dem-field-by-7-8.html



Also, see you and Joni in 2020:

All these GOP senators who got in post 2010 are going to have a hard time rewining in the next 6 years if they can't point to ANYTHING getting done, Dems will have trouble too but their are fewer of them in swing states.

 

[speculawyer]

biggest lol:

@MULawPoll
Among Wisconsin voters, 39% approve of job Walker is doing as governor, 57% disapprove. #mulawpoll

Yeah, it is pretty funny how so many of the GOP Governor's running for president are so hated by their own states. Walker, Christie, and Jindal all get pretty unfavorable ratings in their home states. Too bad Brownback didn't run.

Kasich polls OK though. Bush is liked in Florida but it's been awhile since he was governor.

 

[NeoXChaos]

This is a turf war between Justice, State and the FBI. They have FBI sources say there is a possible criminal investigation (are they going to investigate something that has no potential criminality?) This has been known since the audit said that 4 emails contained top-secret info (or what the Intelligence community says is top secret now) and the clintons handed over the server. The originally "no criminal investigation" was that the justice department didn't decide to start an investigation after their state department audit.

This isn't a revelation on new content, new previously unknown behavior, this is different agencies going over the same thing and leaking to different sources so they get their day in the limelight.

This is how investigation progress, but you have a heightened sense of wanting to bring down Clinton (that isn't exclusive to the right, its a news media thing, see the VOX piece a few weeks back) which leads to people using the publics lack of understanding how these things progress to pretend that new events are happening.

There have been a few major "revelations" through this.

1) The times breaks (leaked from the Benghazi commission, theirs and the medias favorite source during this "scandal") that Clinton used a private email and server (even though this was likely widely know and a practice for many governmental officials)
2) She sends mail to state to review and relase, says she deleted non-governmental mail
3) State department starts to review and release emails this will go on for a few months
4) In an audit and during the process of redacting these emails, in coordination with many agency (Kerry's state, CIA, FBI, NSA), they flag emails which "might" contain info that is or was classified. These emails include emails from and to clinton
5) In response to these emails agencies start to investigate this, some say the word criminal, always off the record and always with "potential". Clinton in response to this and public pressure (lead by the publics confusion, and deliberately misleading reporting and leaks by the NYT, Benghazi commission among others) hands over her server.

Clinton knows whats in the emails (she reviewed them before sending them to state!). She's not worried, she's not suing to keep them secret (like Nixon did). Why should we expect some shocking revelation?

If there was anything shocking in the emails then clinton had the ability to delete them and whip them from the server already (and the notion forcing the use of a .gov email would prevent that is farcical as the saying "Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink." proves) . This is a fools errand for the GOP unless Clinton actual did do something nefarious which means she shouldn't be president anyways

We believe her but media does not. I think it boils down to the "deleted" part. The conspiracy is she knowing did something wrong and she deleted the emails as a cover-up which as you said makes no sense since if he had used a gov email she would be able to still delete emails and the government could still be hacked and their server compromised.

 

[Avon Barksdale]

The more the media keeps attacking Hillary, the easier it will be for the public to sympathize her.

 

[PhoenixDark]

The more the media keeps attacking Hillary, the easier it will be for the public to sympathize her.

That's not happening, hence her imploding numbers across the board.

 

[ErasureAcer]

Bernie down 12% in Wisconsin.

 

[Cheebo]

The more the media keeps attacking Hillary, the easier it will be for the public to sympathize her.

This happened when Bill cheated on her and when Obama was condescending towards her in the NH debate.

The common trait about these was they were both things that other people did to her, not something that she caused herself. The e-mail issue is a self-created issue she brought upon herself. People won't feel bad for her for something she did herself.