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Election 2008

Fighting to Throw the Race

John Moe

Bill Radke

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Sen. John McCain
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Sen. Hillary Clinton
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Bill Radke: The presidential primaries move on to Guam today, North Carolina and Indiana on Tuesday. It's an unusually protracted battle. Weekend America's John Moe has been following the race closely -- and John, you've come across some interesting information.

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Sen. Barack Obama
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John Moe: Bill, I have obtained some documents from inside the Hillary Clinton. Extremely high level and top secret. Never mind how I got them, you don't really want to know. But this will blow the lid off this whole campaign. And I don't know how to say this but here goes: She's trying to lose. Hillary's taking a dive, Bill.

Radke: What? Are you serious?

Moe: As a heart attack. This is big news.

Radke: But it doesn't make any sense, why would she want to lose?

Moe: According to what I've learned, they took a clear-eyed view of the situation. An unpopular war. An economy in recession, a housing market, gas prices. She realizes being president is a sucker's job.

Radke: Then why run?

Moe: Excellent question. Based on what I've learned, 2008 is a stealth campaign for 2012. The thinking is things can't get any worse, ergo they eventually have to get better later. So let someone else preside over the mess, swoop in as a hero in four years.

Radke: But she's been campaigning so hard. She seems like she wants it so badly.

Moe: She's good, that's what makes the illusion work. Going into this, she was organized, connected, the favorite, the inevitable nominee. Not what she wanted. So she had Bill Clinton call Obama's candidacy a fairy tale, thus blowing the African-American vote. Then she started losing contests, heavily. Finally to seal the deal: a fabricated and easily disproved story about dodging sniper fire.

Radke: I don't know, it sounds far-fetched. I mean, politics is an inexact science. Couldn't those have just been mistakes?

Moe: Well okay. I mean, what's more probable? That Bill and Hillary Clinton, who never lose elections, got really careless all of a sudden -- or that they wanted to lose?

Radke: Well, that clears the way for Obama on the Democratic side then.

Moe: It would. But he's also trying to lose.

Radke: What?

Moe: I did more digging. Met a guy in a parking garage, I got some info. Look, Obama's smart, he wanted to lose but he was up against that powerful Clinton Defeat Machine. Before he knew it, he was rattling off 11 straight victories, drowning in delegates. He knew a win in Pennsylvania would seal his fate. So: He rolls out advisor-operative Jeremiah Wright. Puts on a tie, goes bowling and throws gutter balls. Anything to fail.

Radke: And all the flag pin questions and Rezko and Ayers?

Moe: Obviously planted by the Obama team. Come on, Bill.

Radke: But ever since January we've been seeing this pitched battle in the primaries.

Moe: Which proves my point. A party that wants to win settles on a candidate early. Iowa, New Hampshire. We're at Guam. No one wants this thing.

Radke: I guess John McCain will be president then.

Moe: Whoa. Not if he has anything to do with it.

Radke: You mean?

Moe: McCain's in on it too. The Republicans desperately want to stick the upcoming mess on a Democrat. So out of the entire GOP, they found the one guy who absolutely no constituency was excited about. Better yet, they found one who co-sponsored McCain-Feingold, thus alienating donors and killing their fund-raising. Then they sent him out in favor of a war that 63 percent of Americans say was a bad idea. In this race to lose the White House, do not underestimate the Republicans, Bill.

Radke: So what happens now? How is the race for -- or I guess, the race away from the White House -- shaping up?

Moe: Too close to call. Hillary's camp seems confident she can run out the clock and be gone by June. But Obama is planning a few more surprises. Apparently he read some Karl Marx in college, cut someone off in traffic once, owns a Hootie and the Blowfish album. Small stuff, dumb stuff, but stuff that we know works. As for the Republicans, McCain's "100 years in Iraq" comment is going to be tough to be beat.

Radke: You mean tough to not beat.

Moe: Exactly. These three candidates are so skilled at reverse politics it's just a shame one of them has to win.

Radke: John, you've given us a lot to think about. What does it mean for November?

Moe: President Paul, President Gravel, or President Nader. The voters will decide.

Radke: You heard it here first. Weekend America's John Moe.

  • Music Bridge:
    Deactivate The Motion Sensor
    Artist: Algernon
    CD: Familiar Espionage (ears & eyes)
More stories from our Election 2008 series

Comments

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  • By Frank Rodriguez

    From FL, 06/12/2008

    VOTE!!!!!!!: " RON PAUL "

    By Jan Kirsch

    From Chicago, IL, 05/10/2008

    My friend heard part of "fighting to throw the race" on her way to work and we went nuts trying to find it on WBEZ our location PBS station, and finally, after listening at the same time today, figured out where to go! YAY! Wish WBEZ would have a schedule on their site. Anyhow, story was THAT good, that I don't regret the time we took to find it, and it's got that feeling like there could be a kernal of truth in there somewhere. I actually wouldn't mind a Nader presidency--certainly wouldn't be more of the same, and very interesting. Same with Gravel or Paul, actually. Very creative political analysis--keep up the good work, John Moe!

    By ryan anderson

    From MN, 05/05/2008

    This is funny as hell!!! I agree with frank till the colon. The war was UNNECESSARY. Don't start with those lies there unless and huge fabrications. Just like this radio show. Lol if you can call it that. Second the Econ is far worse. The 90s we had a much stronger middle class that this administration is set on destroying. I'm pretty sure the housing market had some idea of what was going on. Second this has nothing to do with "liberals" This has everything to do with our current administration having no respect towards its citizens. They only showed faith towards their business partners.

    By Frank Salerno

    From Winter Park, FL, 05/04/2008

    He almost makes this sound logical. Think about it this: The war was necessary;economy is as good a Clinton's if not better; housing was expected to 'blow up''cause of the overbuilding; gas is high because the liberals won't let us get our own oil supplies.

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