Obama Campaign: From 'Juggernaut' to 'Meltdown' in 4 Months

Headed for the Exits
Obama in May: "JUGGERNAUT"
Obama in September: "MELTDOWN"




“We’re witnessing nothing less than a full-on meltdown..”
–Rush Limbaugh


Barack Obama's campaign--described as a 'juggernaut' less than four months ago, is now facing renewed questions, scrutiny and fund-raising challenges--and one commentator calls it a "meltdown".

Barack Obama knows it. The election he had in the bag is slipping away…

Democrats know something, and desperation is setting in. They have a novice campaigner who wanders off message. With every advantage in the primaries, Obama couldn’t win the big states — New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania — against Hillary Clinton, even when he got to define the rules for running against him. She could never risk alienating the base she’ll need in 2012; John McCain and Sarah Palin have no such constraints — hence the panic.

Panic Sets In For Obama, Democrats, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Less than four months ago, Joe Trippi, the string-puller for Howard Dean and John Edwards, said, "“Obama has been battered, beaten, screamed at, yelled at, kicked and - nothing, totally unflappable, his staff’s unflappable, no schisms. McCain has imploded twice. So you have to have more confidence in Obama’s ability to put a team together and keep it together.”

Joe Trippi, a Democratic consultant who pioneered some of the successful grassroots and internet techniques when he ran Howard Dean’s campaign in 2004, said that John McCain is already in “deep, deep trouble” because of a poor organisation and an anaemic fundraising total of about a fifth of the $500 million raised by Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton.

“Obama’s got the strongest organisation in history because of what he’s done with the internet and plugging volunteers into the paid organisers operation. McCain’s team is in a shambles. He has no organisation and no grassroots fundraising operation.”

If the election were only held among Democrat strategists and Mainstream Media pundits, they could have turned out the lights in May. However, there's the little matter of an election that involves millions upon millions of voters whom turn off politics until the last eight weeks before the election.

Actually, some people turn off politics and talking heads until the day before the election. Whatever the case, the spirits don't seem to be as high in the Obama organization these days.

Red Planet Cartoons has a generous helping of links to back up the cartoon at the top of the page. Among them are:

FoxNews: McCain Gains 16 Points Among Independent Voters.

HotAir: Obama’s Fundraising Drying Up.

ABC11: McCain leads by 20 in North Carolina.

Rasmussen: Obama’s Lead Down to 2… in Washington.

For the complete listing of the polls that have tightened up or changed in the last week, check out "Heading for the Exits" at RPC.

Why the sudden and swift reassessments?

Readers will make their own judgments.

Obama may or may not be in a 'meltdown', but he's certainly not a 'juggernaut' anymore.

by Mondoreb
image: Red Planet Cartoons

Hsu Indictment: Deparment of Justice Document

The text of the Justice Department indictment of Norman Hsu

United States Attorney
Southern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 4, 2007






CONTACT:




U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER,
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600


MANHATTAN U.S. ATTORNEY INDICTS NORMAN HSU FOR MASSIVE FRAUD SCHEME

Hsu Also Charged With Using Straw Donors to Make Illegal Federal
Campaign Contributions Over A Three-Year Period

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the unsealing of a fifteen-count Indictment against NORMAN HSU, 56, for perpetrating a massive scheme that defrauded investors across the United States. HSU also was charged with violating federal campaign finance laws by making contributions to various political candidates in the names of others.

According to the Indictment unsealed earlier today in Manhattan federal court:

At all times relevant to the charges, HSU operated and was the Managing Director of two companies, Components Ltd. and Next Components Ltd. (the “Companies”), which purported to provide investment programs that extended short-term financing to businesses. HSU recruited victims by guaranteeing them high rates of return on short-term investments. After receiving money from investors, HSU, for a time, repaid both the victims’ interest and principal as promised. Believing HSU to be trustworthy and the Companies to be legitimate and potentially profitable, victims often agreed to roll over their invested funds into new investments with HSU, invest more money with HSU, and recruit friends to invest with HSU. In reality, however, the Companies were merely vehicles for HSU’s scheme, in which money owed as returns to older investors was paid with money received
from newer investors. From 2000 through August 2007, HSU convinced his victims to invest at least $60 million in his fraudulent scheme. In the end, after making some payments
intended to perpetuate the scheme, HSU swindled his victims out of at least $20 million.

In an effort to raise his public profile and thereby convince more victims to invest in his fraudulent scheme, HSU pressured many of his victims to individually contribute thousands of dollars to various candidates for President of the United States, the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives whom HSU supported. HSU allegedly made direct and implied threats to these victims, leading them to believe that their failure to make the required political contributions would adversely impact their ongoing investment
relationships with HSU.

In addition, HSU violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by making contributions to various political campaigns in the names of others. Specifically, in 2005, 2006, and 2007, HSU asked other individuals to make contributions, totaling more than $25,000 for each calendar year, to designated federal candidates. HSU then directly reimbursed the individuals for the political contributions they had made on his behalf.

HSU is charged in the Indictment with six counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and three counts of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. If convicted, HSU faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison on each of the mail and wire fraud charges, and 5 years on each of the federal campaign finance charges. HSU also faces a maximum fine of twice the gross gain or loss resulting from his financial fraud crimes, and an additional maximum fine of $250,000 for the campaign finance crimes.

In addition, the Indictment contains an allegation seeking the forfeiture of all property that constitutes the proceeds traceable to the commission of HSU’s mail and wire fraud offenses, including at least $20 million -- obtained as a result of those offenses.

Mr. GARCIA praised the work of the FBI in the investigation of this case, and added that the investigation is continuing.

If you believe you were a victim of these crimes, including a victim entitled to restitution, and you wish to provide information to law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in the case or additional information, please contact Wendy Olsen-Clancy, the Victim Witness Coordinator at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, at (866)874-8900, or Wendy.Olsen@usdoj.gov. For additional information, go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/victimwitness.html on the Internet.

HSU is in custody in California on unrelated charges and is expected to be produced in New York in the coming weeks. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge VICTOR MARRERO.

This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys KATHERINE A. LEMIRE, ALEXANDER J. WILLSCHER, and RUA M. KELLY are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.





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