Obama's providential mama
Stunning. Unbelievable. In a campaign full of extraordinary twists and turns, this was a moment nobody could have predicted: the wife of California's Republican governor showing up at a Barack Obama rally and offering her endorsement. Or something very close to an endorsement.
Maria Shriver (pictured), a member of the Kennedy clan who has never given up her Democratic Party registration despite being Arnold Schwarzenegger's First Lady, sent an already ecstatic crowd at the UCLA basketball arena into paroxysms of delight as she showed up as an unannounced final speaker - following on from her cousin Caroline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder and the candidate's wife, Michelle Obama.
"When I woke up this morning, I thought, there's no place I should be but right here today," she said. She didn't say if she consulted her husband - in fact, she didn't mention his name. Rather, her decision dovetailed perfectly with a line of Oprah's from earlier about being a free woman who has the power to make up her own mind.
Her words were carefully crafted. She never explicitly said she was endorsing Obama. In fact, she hardly mentioned him by name either. But her sentiments were unmistakable. "If Barack Obama was a state," she said, "he’d be California. Think about it: diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition, innovative, inspiring, dreamer, leader."
Obama
couldn't ask for a bigger coup just two days before the most populous,
most important US state holds its presidential primary. It's
extraordinary that a First Lady would go against her husband like this.
(Schwarzenegger has endorsed John McCain.) You can bet on Shriver's
decision hitting the front page of every California newspaper today and
dominating the airwaves from now until the polls open. It's the kind of
media attention that tips elections - even ones where the candidate is
catching up from a double-digit deficit in the polls.
Yesterday's
event was all about inspiring women to vote for the Democratic
candidate who doesn't happen to be a woman. "Mamas 4 Obama" read one
prominent banner at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Barack just snagged the
most important mama of all.
I live in California and we've never expected Maria to fall in line politically with Arnold, at least not nationally. I would be surprised if she ever endorsed a republican candidate for President, that is unless her husband can get the rules changed and run for president one day.
Posted by: Isabella | 06 February 2008 at 01:04 AM
please, when wednesday come, could you forward your re-message? im hopeful...
Posted by: BrokenWolfs | 05 February 2008 at 07:21 AM
I went to a bar last night, & saw a pinball game entitled 'Presidential Election: The Democratic nominations'. Odd theme for a pinball game, I thought, but I decided to sate my curiosity by giving it a go.
At the start there was 'multiball' – 3 balls on the table, each marked with tiny initials – JE, HC & BO. JE got lost down the side fairly quickly, & so only two were left – HC & BO.
Occasionally the remaining balls clashed into one another, doing neither any good, but they both kept going.I watched as the balls zipped around the table in seemingly random yet somehow calculated directions, gaining varying degrees of bounce from pillars marked 'New Hampshire', 'Nevada' & 'Iowa'.
Meanwhile, the scores at the top of the machine showed a constantly shrinking lead for HC – and BO was in touching distance of the jackpot after charging up a ramp named 'The Big Mo', but then Bill Clinton came up beside me & began cheekily tilting the table, thus keeping HC just ahead.
Finally both balls got locked behind a door marked 'Super Tuesday', and, if you want to know which came back out in the lead, well, you'll just have to wait until Wednesday.
Posted by: Will Graham | 04 February 2008 at 04:31 PM