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clarke_j

Listed below are comments made by clarke_j between Tuesday, 20th May 2008 and Thursday, 28th August 2008.

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A moment in history 04:02am on 28 Aug 2008 I thought that Kerry was excellent and exorcised a number of demons. Clinton good too; not as good as his wife, though. Chelsea has lovely hair. Biden a bit of a mixture for me. His mum was good value. Obama out now in an *unscripted* preliminary to his speech tomorrow. Quite a nice touch though. Will be interesting how well it goes in Mile High Stadium.
A moment in history 01:43am on 28 Aug 2008 Anyone watching live? This guy Evan Bayh seems to have too much to say in too little time. Apparently the US is borrowing money from China, Japan and "*even* Mexico": Sure that will go down well in Albuquerque. I also miss Charles Wheeler's august commentary RIP.
A moment in history 01:34am on 28 Aug 2008 I had always thought that selecting Hillary as running mate would be a mistake. Not so sure now. Admittedly, I think that HC has done everything that could be expected of her (although I think that she has done damage with the ad hominem attacks of the primaries). To split the Clintons over two nights also a mistake. Ultimately, better to have Hillary on the inside properly rather than coming across as a gracious losing candidate. This race will be very tight.
One thing is for certain: Biden has a big ask ahead of him tonight to draw media attention from the Clintons. You know who will attract the most headlines; and that in itself suggests his selection may have been an error. Get hold of power first; worry about its distribution later.
All this said Obama is more electrifying than all the above at the stump.
British girls pay price for relay mistake - but I'd have made it too 00:53am on 15 Aug 2008 Tarqunit, that's an interesting point but at the same time asking M.P. to coast a heat 200 just to justify another medal seems a little excessive. the British team to our cost have shown that it is not easy to qualify and the US ought not to be penalised for being the best. i would have thought that if qualification were in doubt the US would have thrown in Phelps but it isn't so they didn't. That's not to say it's easy it's just a fact.
British girls pay price for relay mistake - but I'd have made it too 5:21pm on 14 Aug 2008 There's no doubt that the relay selection was a ridiculous decision and it may have cost us a medal. I can sort of understand resting Adlington (although there is equally the fact that her programme has not been all that intensive and she would not have had to have been at her best.) But the decision not to swim McClatchey on the final leg and go with Halsall beggars belief. Halsall had already swum in the session, has a lot of her big races still ahead of her and is not a specialist; McClatchey has swum probably less than Halsall already has no other events left and was pulled from the 100 (where Halsall swam) to concentrate on the relay final that never came. If McClatchey had been on the final leg they would have qualified comfortably.
My only guess is that they were trying to win as many medals for the team as possible. I knew they were in trouble as soon as the team were announced: France go close to the WR in their heat and we have the US, Aussies,
and Pelligrini. We have 3 genuinely world class 200 freestylers and 2-3 okay ones. We put only 1 of our best in on the first leg.
Olympic countdown - 3 days - Triple gold 1:40pm on 06 Aug 2008 I'd cite Rebecca Adlington as an outside bet for 3 medals. She starts as fastest in the 800free, 3rd fastest in the 400free and the womens 4x200 will be in the mix. Agreed, it's a long shot for 3 golds but not impossible.

She 100/1 to win sports personality of the year.
GB swimmers give cause for optimism 1:53pm on 14 Jul 2008 My medal predictions:

Adlington will win 3 medals at 400, 800 and 4x200 free (unsure what colour).
Womens' 4x100 medley will win a bronze.
Suspect Davies will win something somewhere.

Best bets for gold are 800 and 4x200 free (Jackson, McClatchey, Adlington and one of Saxby, Marshall, Miley and Halsall). Americans will probably win this though with the French, Aussies and Dutch in the mix.

Big fan of Halsall but she is way off the pace in the sprint freestyle events. She's a second behind Steffen who herself is only an outsider. Lowe and Simmonds better bets but er, Mongel, Jedryszak, Schipper and Huelzer and Coventry too fast.
Same goes for Miley: Hoff, Rice and Coventry just too good.
Tancock and Goddard are good but they have to beat Phelps, Lochte and Cseh. Can't see that happening.
Beijing set for 15-minute feast 3:44pm on 20 May 2008 What about the Park Tae Hwan? I would make him favourite if he chooses to compete in this event.

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