Veracifier

The Uptake at the Inauguration

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:51:13 EST

Our friends and partners at the Uptake are ready to cover the inauguration tomorrow. Here's a quick video preview, and stay tuned for more at TheUptake.org

Obama hits the mark

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:42:34 EDT

Obama clinched the critical delegate count today, and our friends at The Uptake are there, covering live. Watch the speech live or archived in the embedded player below at a slightly different angle than the televised speech, from their live cam at the event. Read the full text of the speech on TPM Election Central.

Meanwhile, our friends at TPM watched McCain's "prerebuttal" to Obama's speech, and say it's a "frighteningly sad" performance. As Josh Marshall writes:

...I'm curious to hear what other people think, but I really feel like he would have served himself much better by just going to ground for the evening.
McCain is often very good when he speaks extemporaneously. Even better in 2000. But still good. He's also good in debates. But giving set piece speeches, let's face it, he's simply awful. He finds it impossible to pretend he's actually thinking what he's saying.

Stay tuned for more thoughts and recaps from Veracifier's partners, and for full video of Obama's and Hillary's speeches from tonight. McCain's prebuttal speech is embedded below.

Sharon Stone Call is Karma, China Calls it "BAN"

Thu, 29 May 2008 11:31:57 EDT

Back in Reality TV Politics, the good people of China won't be watching Basic Instinct anytime soon. China has banned Sharon Stone from the silver screen after making the completely ridiculous comment that the earthquake was karma.

Sharon! How did you go from Left Wing We-Love-You Liberal to Crazy Hawk Talking Nonsense in one election cycle! What happened!

More from Cheras

Thu, 29 May 2008 10:30:40 EDT

In Malaysia, Fracas Leads to Police Violence

Thu, 29 May 2008 09:27:52 EDT

It was a night of chaos in Kuala Lampur last night. The Malay Mail reports:

On a night filled with tension and anger, police detained three men and a woman for allegedly trying to ram a car into a line of riot police. Five people also lodged police reports stating that they had been assaulted and one for damage to a car.

Residents at the scene alleged that as many as 20 people had been injured and several cars smashed by the unknown assailants.

Protests started when residents woke up to a concrete barricade rebuilt at the controversial access road earlier in the morning by Grand Saga. By evening, a crowd of at least 250 residents had gathered.

At 7.20pm, when residents pushed off a slab of concrete from the barricade a group of unidentified men rushed towards them wielding wooden sticks, bike helmets and, some residents claimed, metal rods and parang. The armed men shouted at the residents to stay away from the barricade.

Ean Yong Hian Wah, the State assemblyman for Seri Kembangan, arrived at 9pm and had to calm some riled-up residents, some of whom wanted to take quick revenge by destroying the Batu 11 toll booth.

“This problem should not be solved by violence. This is a legal matter and can only be settled in court,” he told residents, adding that he would be bringing up the issue at the Selangor exco meeting today.

Goodbye, Mike!

Thu, 29 May 2008 07:26:09 EDT

Veracifier favorite Mike Gravel exited the race, stage left this week.

Ex-Press Sec Publishes CV for Left-Wing Bloggers

Wed, 28 May 2008 12:35:04 EDT

... in the form of a book. Scott McClellan has published a tell-all (or tell-most) book where the great truth is revealed, for the very first time ever: GW kinda lied about that Iraq war thing. I'm shocked, shocked that gambling's going on here! Here are your winnings, sir...

Obama's History a Little Fuzzy... or Uncle Was a Soviet

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:54:10 EDT

Apparently Obama's uncle was among those who liberated Auschwitz. Incredible service not to be slighted. Except, um, the Americans didn't liberate Auschwitz. The Soviets did.

Hillary's Biggest Liability Still Has Functioning Mouth

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:49:00 EDT

It's amazing that the campaign hasn't bought a "Vote Hillary!" muzzle for him yet. Is Bill seriously going to keep talking? Doesn't he worry he's committing political suicide too, or is this the "I got away with Presidential Knee-Pads, I'm immortal!" syndrome?

Liz Trotta Says She's Sorry

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:37:46 EDT

High time.

FOX News: Knocking off Osama, Obama, or Both...

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:23:43 EDT

... "if we could."

This is one of those times when you wonder (a) how you can say "f*ck" on the air but you can say this without being fined, (b) how this woman can even chuckle after saying it, and (c) please, dear Lord, let the next Fox News correspondent be reporting from prison!

Tuesday Morning Must-Reads

Tue, 27 May 2008 09:06:30 EDT

Rove Refuses to Deny Contacting DOJ about Siegelman Prosecution [Raw Story] ABC's George Stephanopoulos talked with Karl Rove about his role in the prosecution of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Rove repeated the claim that he learned about the prosecution in the newspaper but refused to deny that he had contacted the Justice Department to discuss the prosecution. Partial Transcript: STEPHANOPOULOS: We're just about out of time. As we know and our viewers probably know you were subpoenaed this week by the house Judiciary Committee to give testimony on any involvement you may have had with the prosecution of the former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. He's claiming there was selective prosecution. He's out on bail now even though he was convicted. He said your fingerprints are all over it. The House report said -- "in Selma 2007 a Republican attorney for northern Alabama named Jill Simpson wrote an affidavit stating that in November 2002 she heard a prominent Alabama Republican operative named Bill Canary say that Karl Rove had contacted the Justice Department about bringing a prosecution of Don Siegelman. The question for Mr. Rove is whether he directly or indirectly discussed the possibility of prosecuting Don Siegelman with either the Justice Department or Alabama Republicans." did you?

McCain's Distortations on the Webb GI Bill [MyDD] This past week John McCain failed to show up for the important vote on a measure that would increase benefits for veterans -- a 21st century update to the G.I. bill -- legislation that he opposed in rhetoric but would not officially do so in the congressional record. Today, McCain went further, taking a swing at the legislation, saying that the increased benefits could lower the number of troops serving in the U.S. military. Sen. John McCain asserted that the G.I. Bill sponsored by Virginia Sen. James Webb will drive soldiers out of the armed services at a time when the country is trying to expand the size of the military. Speaking at a Memorial Day ceremony, McCain praised Webb as "an honorable man who takes his responsibility to veterans very seriously." And he said the bill, which would increase benefits for veterans after serving one tour, is a way of offering the nation's "deep appreciation" for the veterans who have served. But McCain insisted that he takes "a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans." And he predicted that Webb's bill would reduce the military's retention rate by 16 percent.

Time to Take Back the White House [Taylor Marsh] I will never forget election night, November 2000. I was living overseas, hosting a party for a rowdy Democrats Abroad group. I'll never forget the ecstasy of Al Gore being declared winner of Florida after a nail-biting night of state-by-state returns. We cheered and jumped around like kids, dialed up relatives in the US, popped the cork... Well...you know the rest of the story: chads, lawsuits, Supreme Court briefs, outrage, heartbreak, regret. Mostly, though, the injustice of it all. The injustice was wrenching. Our candidate lost the White House over a handful of votes in the swing state of Florida even though he won more votes nationwide. There you have it. Reality sunk in and George Bush moved into Al's house on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Dual about Iraq Moves to NM [Tribune] Sen. John McCain stood before hundreds of flag-waving veterans and their families Monday and vowed not to waver in his support of the Iraq War. "Even," he said, "if I must stand athwart popular opinion." Sen. Barack Obama addressed a separate audience of veterans and received vigorous applause when he declared, "As many of you know, my intention is to bring this war in Iraq to a close and to start bringing home our troops in an orderly fashion." If Labor Day is the traditional opener to the fall presidential race, this Memorial Day offered at least a preview into the summertime duel between McCain and Obama, who for the first time were campaigning in the same swing state on the same day. As McCain spoke about the costs and sacrifices of the Iraq War at the Veterans' Memorial in Albuquerque, Obama praised the patriotism of America's soldiers before taking voters' questions—and hearing their frustrations about Iraq and a host of other concerns—at an outdoor forum here.

Bad News for GOP/Good News for McCain [Real Clear] The recent loss of formerly deep-red congressional districts to Democrats is supposed to be awful news for John McCain. Actually, the opposite could be true. We keep hearing that if Republicans can't hold onto voters in northeastern Mississippi -- or in Baton Rouge, La., or in the Chicago suburbs where former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert held sway -- they're done for. The GOP's rocket is hurtling to earth, and not even a special-case Republican like McCain can stop it.

The Running Mate Choice [NYT] My first thought on the running mate question is that to balance his ticket, Barack Obama should pick a really old white general. Therefore, he should pick Dwight Eisenhower. John McCain, on the other hand, needs to pick someone younger than himself. Therefore, he also should pick Dwight Eisenhower. My second thought is that most of the commentary on vice president picks is completely backward. Most discussion focuses on what state or constituency this or that running mate could help carry in the fall. But, as a rule, recent vice presidential nominees haven’t had any effect on key states or constituencies. They haven’t had much effect on elections at all, except occasionally as hapless distractions.

10 Things Better Left Unsaid

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:26:45 EDT

10. "The growing fear of Obama, who remains something of an unknown, will drag every last white Republican male off the golf course to vote for McCain." - Dick Morris

9. "When required by law to verify that your evidence was accurate you simpy resubmitted it with phrases amounting to "See, I done proved it!" virtually written in the margins in crayon." - Keith Olbermann

8. "I think playing golf during the war just sends the wrong signal." - Our ever-noble president, GW

[as noted in Keith Olbermann's Special Comment]

7. "Hold on one second, sweetie." - Obama to female reporter

6. "There are a large number of voters that are turned off of Obama because of his connections to Rev. Wright, his connections to William Ayers, his possible connections to Louis Farrakhan. It would be as if there were a white candidate who was allied with the Ku Klux Klan and with the Aryan racial leagues." - Dick Morris

5. "I hear there's a last primary on June 3 and we're certainly going to... I'm not even sure which state it's in..." - Ron Paul

4. "How do the liberal-leaning Governor of New York and Mr. Conservative from Arizona wind up holding hands?" - Rowland Evans and Bob Novak in a recent WaPo article on Goldwater and the Rock.

3. You can be green without being gullible! ... making stewardship a priority does not mean that we should surrender our national autonomy and sacrifice family incomes to fight environmental threats that are speculative at best. - Environmental proclamations from the FRC (the sponser of the Values Voters Summit)

2. "McCain: Victory in Iraq by 2013" - CNN headline. [The copyeditor must have thought the extra "1" in "2113" was just a mistake.]

1. "The poor guy's been suffering for years, you know? Unfairly he's been accused of alcoholism, but we see now that it was something much more deep-stead. Andso, to cut this out in some respect for Ted Kennedy, here's a tune coming at you from the Dead Kennedys. Go ahead and play it, please." - Michael Savage "pays respect to" Ted Kennedy

Lanny Goes to FOX!

Thu, 22 May 2008 11:36:00 EDT

Clintonite Lenny Davis has turned to the dark side - or, at least the fair and balanced side - he's gone to FOX. (Meanwhile, let's not forget that January study that suggested FOX actually is the most balanced, and when the liberal media is fawning over Obama, does that not make FOX an ironically appropriate ally for the Clintons?)

Achmed the Terrorist

Thu, 22 May 2008 11:32:12 EDT

Are we so scared of muslim people that we have to put a puppet in a turban and give him a funny accent?

A video challenge from MobLogic.tv.

Downing Street 2.0

Thu, 22 May 2008 11:24:09 EDT

If the value of the dollar hasn't done it for you yet and you aren't wooed by delicious curry 'round every corner, here's just another reason to move to London: Ask the PM. Downing Street has gone online with YouTube in a really incredible new outreach program where the lowly citizenry can ask all their burning questions of the PM in return for a three minute soundbite on how to fix the housing problem or solve global warming. But Downing Street actually has a pretty neat online presence.... meanwhile, YouTube.com/WhiteHouse goes nowhere. God Bless America, where our leaders regulate YouTube instead of using it.

Worst Political Ads

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:49:56 EDT

As soon as you watch this, you'll have "Democrats, apply directly to the problem," stuck in your head to the tune of the ever-grating HeadOn ads. That's because tonight, the economic think tank Growth & Justice will hand out awards for the worst political advertising in America. Our Ground Hound Mike McIntee at the Uptake bring us a preview of the awards with an interview of Growth & Justice President Dane Smith. We’ll bring you the winners of the non-partisan lampooning after they’re announced.

I love you back, Iowa!

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:04:49 EDT

It's just about time for the general, and Obama is still fired up and ready to go. Clinton's still making waves, but at this point, it would look bad if she dropped out. Think of it - if she had dropped out four weeks ago (when it made sense), she would have still been on the ballot in West Virginia and Kentucky, and she still would have won those states. They've long been Clinton Country and it's certainly not changing any time soon (until November, at least). If Obama were the official candidate, and she were winning states though no longer officially in the race, it might not look so hot. And at this point, now that we've let everybody and their mother - even Guam - have a primary say, the only thing that makes sense is to see it all the way through. No alienating the states that are left, no bad-looking wins, just an honest race for America's vote. In the end, the nasty battle seems to have become kind of cool. For once, every Democrat in America will have their say about who they want to run this nation. It may be the most democratic thing we've ever done.

No More LOST for W, The White House Hates NBC

Tue, 20 May 2008 15:02:01 EDT

It seems that the White House hates NBC. And not just because the last episode of LOST left us all on the cliff (although we all hate them for that), but mostly because of the recent interview with GW they aired on Sunday's Nightly News. Dan Froomkin explains the problem in full in "the President v. the Peacock:"

There is more to the White House's unprecedented attack on NBC News yesterday than meets the eye.

The blistering letter to NBC from White House Counselor Ed Gillespie ostensibly focuses on the way President Bush's interview with NBC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel was edited for presentation on Sunday's Nightly News.

But NBC's handling of the interview was not atypical for a tightly-edited broadcast and did not violate any journalistic norms. The White House may believe that news outlets are obliged to reproduce all of Bush's non-answers in their rambling entirety, but that's not the way the news business works.

Here is video of the edited interview as shown on the Nightly News. Here is video of the entire interview, which was 15 minutes long. Here is the full White House transcript.

A major topic was Bush's controversial speech to the Israeli parliament last week. (See Friday's column for background.)

Read the full story - and the unedited interview exchange in full - here.

John McCain's Fake SNL Commercial

Tue, 20 May 2008 11:25:24 EDT

"Jamming gaydar is not a federal responsibility. That's something best left to state and local governments."

John McCain made a star-spangled apperance on SNL this weekend - The Swamp has the full story and more videos - but this is probably the funniest thing I have ever seen John McCain do. And I saw him sign a baby in New Hampshire. With Sharpie.

Campaign Financing: Love it or Fix it

Tue, 20 May 2008 11:19:31 EDT

We've long looked to Good for great reporting and awesome videos, but this one is the best I've seen yet. It takes us into the Wild West of campaign fundraising where I have so far learned two things I didn't know before: Ron Paul was the beneficiary of a profound amount of military support, and I'll never be able to afford living in Manhattan. Hello, New Jersey... and the billion dollar mark.

And they're off...

Mon, 19 May 2008 15:22:06 EDT

Obama v. McCain: Let the fight begin. Trading blows on foreign policy:

McCain: The Problem with Video

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:35:46 EDT

From Brave New Films: The Real McCain, Part 2: proving that most politicians still don't understand the premise of "record" and "play."

There's no question John McCain is getting a free ride from the mainstream press. But with the power of YouTube and the blogosphere, we can provide an accurate portrayal of the so-called Maverick. We can put the brakes on his free ride!

Since we first released The Real McCain a year ago, our REAL McCain series has garnered close to 2 million views, with over 13,000 comments and tens of thousands more in petition signatures! Clearly, John McCain's record is something the public wants to discuss, and yet the corporate media is doing NOTHING to present the truth. We feel obliged to continue countering the mainstream media's love of McCain. And so we thought it was high time for a sequel: The Real McCain 2.

Monday Morning Must-Reads

Mon, 19 May 2008 08:44:51 EDT

Huckabee Tries for #2 Spot [AP] Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday he'd like to be John McCain's running mate. "There's no one I would rather be on a ticket with than John McCain," said Huckabee, who was a stronger than expected challenger against McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. "All during the campaign when I was his rival, not a running mate, there was no one who was more complimentary of him publicly and privately. ... I still wanted to win, but if I couldn't, John McCain was always the guy I would have supported and have now supported. "But whether or not I do the best for him, that's something that only he can decide," Huckabee said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Immigration Raid Jars a Small Town [WaPo] Antonio Escobedo ran to get his wife Monday when he saw a helicopter circling overhead and immigration agents approaching the meatpacking plant where they both work. The couple hid for hours inside the plant before obtaining refuge in the pews and hall at St. Bridget's Catholic Church, where hundreds of other Guatemalan and Mexican families gathered, hoping to avoid arrest. "I like my job. I like my work. I like it here in Iowa," said Escobedo, 38, an illegal immigrant from Yescas, Mexico, who has raised his three children for 11 years in Postville. "Are they mad because I'm working?"

Texas Group Sues to Stop Border Fence [UPI] The Texas Border Coalition, which includes a number of cities along the U.S.-Mexico border has filed a lawsuit against the border fence. In court papers filed Friday in Washington, the group asked a court to block the construction of the fence in the Rio Grande Valley. The coalition, which also includes business groups, charges that the Department of Homeland Security did not consult landowners in the area. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff denied that in a news conference Friday. Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, who chairs the coalition, called the fence "an antiquated solution for a 21st century problem."

Endgame in Oregon [Taylor Marsh] After spending Friday and Saturday doing "visibility" for the Clinton campaign here Portland, Oregon, yesterday I began to switch gears. Still in Portland, but now focused on voter protection efforts. Yesterday, I attended a meeting at Senator Clinton's campaign office. Representatives from the Oregon Democratic Lawyers Council briefed us on Oregon voting laws and regulations, specifically those most relevant to yesterday and today and on Tuesday, Oregon's actual primary day. In Oregon, there is a huge spike in voting starting on the Saturday before election day and going to its highest on election day itself. Even though many Oregonians mail in their ballots long before election day, the real action is starting now and running through Tuesday as people drop off their ballots.

With McCain on Hand, Knives Won't Cut it at NRA Gunfest [Daily News] A small but startling sign welcomed the gun lovers who arrived at the National Rifle Association's annual gathering Friday. "Firearms WILL NOT be allowed in Hall A during the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum." Beyond this sign at the Kentucky Exposition Center was a row of 10 metal detectors. They were manned by uniformed Secret Service officers deployed because the scheduled speakers included presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. The Secret Service sets the rules in such circumstances, and even NRA big shots had to go through the screening. Thousands found themselves standing in a long, slow, feeder line before they even reached one of the lines that stretched in front of each metal detector.

Obama Draws Largest Crowd of Campaign at Portland Rally [KGW] In this famously liberal city, under skies that obligingly turned from habitual gray to clear blue, Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama on Sunday drew the largest crowd of his 15-month marathon campaign for the presidency. Sixty-thousand people packed into a park alongside the banks of the Willamette River to listen to Obama, with another 15,000 left standing outside the gates, according to city fire officials. Hundreds more anchored their motorboats, or floated in kayaks and canoes. That's far more than the 35,000 people who showed up to hear Obama in Philadelphia last month, at his previous biggest rally. Even after months on the trail, Obama seemed slightly stunned by the size of the crowd. "Wow, wow, wow," he said as he surveyed the audience.

Soldier Shot at Qaran for Practice [AP] An American soldier used a Quran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad, prompting an apology from the U.S. military, a spokesman said Sunday. Separately, mortar shells slammed into a residential area north of the Iraqi capital, killing at least four people and wounding 30, most children playing outside, officials said Sunday. The shelling occurred as clashes broke out in Shiite areas late Saturday despite a truce reached last week by Shiite politicians and followers of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Iraqi police found the bullet-riddled Quran with graffiti inside the cover on a small-arms range near a police station in Radwaniyah, a former insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, U.S. military spokesman Col. Bill Buckner said in an e-mailed response to a query.

Edwards still says 'no' to VP slot

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:21:07 EDT

After the big Edwards endorsement, the man himself, John Edwards, flatly denied that he would run with Barack Obama. He didn't speculate on a possible Attorney General position, however. From CNN:

(CNN) — Seeing John Edwards and Barack Obama on the same stage earlier this week left political pundits buzzing: Could these two be an unbeatable presidential ticket?

They appeared to have natural chemistry — something Edwards and then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry seemed to lack in 2004 — and the former North Carolina senator remains popular among a key demographic that has been reluctant to support Obama — working class white voters.

But Edwards flatly said Friday, as he had before he endorsed a candidate, that he's not interested in making a second run for vice president.

"No," Edwards said in no uncertain terms on NBC's the Today show when asked about the possibility. "Won't happen.…It's just not something I am interested in."

As for another position in an Obama administration, specifically Attorney General, Edwards was decidedly more coy.

"I don't really want to get involved in that speculation," he said. "Right now we have to focus on getting Barack Obama elected to President of the United States, then we’ll worry about those things."

Edwards formally endorsed Obama Wednesday evening, the day after Clinton scored a 41 point victory over the Illinois senator in West Virginia. Edwards also said Friday the timing of his announcement was not specifically designed by the Obama campaign to direct the media coverage away from the New York senator's win.

"That's not true," he said. "I know it's not true because I am the one who made the decision about when to do this. I believe this was the right time to do it. I made a decision that the public should know at this point my view."

McCain on Hamas: Sooner or later, we're going to have to deal with them

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:02:07 EDT

That was 2006. James Rubin on the legacy of that conversation:

I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton and believe that she was right to say, about McCain's statement on Hamas, "I don't think that anybody should take that seriously." Unfortunately, the Republicans know that some people will. That's why they say such things.
But given his own position on Hamas, McCain is the last politician who should be attacking Obama. Two years ago, just after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, I interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News's "World News Tonight" program. Here is the crucial part of our exchange:

I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"

McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

For some Europeans in Davos, Switzerland, where the interview took place, that's a perfectly reasonable answer. But it is an unusual if not unique response for an American politician from either party. And it is most certainly not how the newly conservative presumptive Republican nominee would reply today.

Given that exchange, the new John McCain might say that Hamas should be rooting for the old John McCain to win the presidential election. The old John McCain, it appears, was ready to do business with a Hamas-led government, while both Clinton and Obama have said that Hamas must change its policies toward Israel and terrorism before it can have diplomatic relations with the United States.

Even if McCain had not favored doing business with Hamas two years ago, he had no business smearing Barack Obama. But given his stated position then, it is either the height of hypocrisy or a case of political amnesia for McCain to inject Hamas into the American election.

Andrew Sullivan on McCain and Hamas today:

McCain's performance on the Daily Show and his remarks today are, in word, slimy. Here's the gist:
"It's very obvious to everyone that Senator Obama shares nothing of the values or goals of Hamas, which is a terrorist organization," McCain said. "But it's also a fact that a spokesperson from Hamas said that he approves of Obama's candidacy. I think that's of interest to the American people."
The right answer is that nominees for president do not legitimize the attempts of foreign terrorist groups to intervene in American elections. But what's galling here is the Clintonian passive-aggressive pose: I'm not saying it, but the "America people" are "interested". It's a way to peddle slime while pretending that you're not. At some point, McCain will have to choose. But the signs aren't too good.

Obama apologizes to his "Sweetie"

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:33:14 EDT

Obama called a reporter "sweetie" on the trail in Detroit yesterday, and was getting some flak for it. As word spread, Obama decided to call the reporter, and aplogize, saying it was a "bad habit." The reporter told the Detroit Free Press she has been called worse. "I felt more offended that he didn't answer the question," she said. Read more here, or click here to listen to the voice mail and watch the report.

This is ugly

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:25:40 EDT

Chris Matthews schools his guest. It's almost too hard to watch. Note to Hardball guests: Know the context of your talking points before you sputter them out.

Ron Paul on FOX

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:48:13 EDT

Ron Paul may be out of the race at this point, but he's still talking... most recently on FOX Business about the economy. His take on the current crisis: legalized fraud.

Olbermann: You're not driving straight, Sir

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:14:24 EDT

Last night's Special Comment was one for the books: George Bush gives up Golf for the Iraqis, Olbermann says no mulligans. Highlights: "See, I done proved it! Written in the margins in crayon." Part one:

Part two:

Obama to female reporter: Hold on, Sweetie

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:22:09 EDT

This is the second time Obama has called a woman "sweetie" on the trail. The first time, it was a factory worker in Pa. This time, it was a reporter in West Virginia. Earth to Obama, that's not going to score you any points with Hillary voters, a.k.a the ones you will need in the fall. Read more here, and watch the reporter's reaction below.

John Edwards endorses Obama

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:12:29 EDT

Too little, too late? Not too sure this will help with those white-working class voters, but it may. What it does more than anything, is wipe away last night's West Virginia pummeling.

While Edwards isn't a superdelegate, he can ask his 18 pledged delegates to support Obama. Read more here. For what it's worth, Elizabeth Edwards, who has been rumored to favor Clinton, isn't scheduled to appear at tonight's endorsement ceremony with her husband.

Myanmar, Day 2

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:08:18 EDT

This video is from Operation Blessing International -- one of the first NGOs to get clearance from the Burmese government to go bring relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. OBI staff on the ground brought cameras with them and take us to a remote village to deliver much needed rice and water purification tablets.

Clinton's generational movement

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:56:34 EDT

I was browsing the LA Times the other day, and came across this story about Hillary Clinton and the women who support her. We talk all the time about the new voters Barack Obama has brought in, but an underreported story is the new voters Clinton has brought in, many of whom are women. The historic nature of this election and the droves of passionate supporters have electrified the Democratic Party. But as this nomination fight comes to a close, the bittersweet reality that only one candidate can be the nominee, and it will probably be Obama, is beginning to dawn on Clinton voters. Many of Clinton's most loyal female supporters are older, and for some, Clinton represents their last chance to see a female president in their lifetime. MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews calls these women "militant," and balks at their obstinate optimism, sneering that it must be nice to live in "Hillaryland." But his insensitivity just underscores his ignorance. They say Barack Obama represents a movement, and that he speaks for a new generation. But as evinced by the LA Times article, Clinton is leading her own movement, it might not be as new, or as glamorous, but it still exists. She speaks for a generation of women who have been waiting for a leader who can battle with the boys, and rise up, tougher, stronger and all the more resilient.

Obama's tattoo

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:48:10 EDT

No, he doesn't have one, but if he did.....what would Barack Obama's tattoo be, and where would he put it? It's a silly question to ponder, but it was on the mind of one Oregon reporter. From the LA Times:

Barack Obama confronts the all-important tattoo question

From the no-question-gets-unasked department:

While he was blowing off West Virginia (and paying the price for that on Tuesday), Barack Obama spent several recent days campaigning in Oregon (where the May 20 primary now looms as his latest must-win). As part of his foray into the state, he made time for a brief chat with Portland's alternative newspaper, the Willamette Week.

The session wrapped up with this query:

Question: "If you had a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?"

Obama: "Uh, I cannot imagine any circumstances in which I would get a tattoo."

The candidate then allowed that if placed under gunpoint, "then I suppose I’d have to have [my wife] Michelle’s name tattooed somewhere very discreet."

The rest of the interview, which covered more conventional ground, can be read here.

"Dear American Voter..."

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:51:50 EDT

What does the rest of the world think American voters should keep in mind this election cycle? Link TV is asking people on the street around the world just this. This is their highlight reel, but it's an interesting discussion. More at linktv. Join the discussion!

Hillary, the "Al Sharpton of White People"

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:32:27 EDT

A rousing commentary from Chris Matthews yesterday. His runner-up for the night: "We're not sociologists, We're Americans." I guess that's the end of his play for an honorary doctorate from the Foucault University of Sociological Brilliance. And after all his hard work educating America about "white ethnics!"

Hillary gives Obama a 41-point W.Va thumping

Wed, 14 May 2008 01:48:04 EDT

Here's Clinton's speech after she beat Obama in W.Va. Tuesday night.

Clinton wins W.Va. by a landslide, exit polls troubling for Obama

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:59:24 EDT

All networks have called it for Clinton. The margin is yet to be seen, but it seems big and will help her with the popular vote. It looks like the Clinton camp is marching forward. Campaign strategist Howard Wolfson said on CNN that Clinton will not go into the convention without Michigan and Florida being seated. Currently, Chelsea is in Puerto Rico. Michelle Obama is expected to make a visit tomorrow.

In regards to this primary, even if the result doesn't change much, what's troubling for Obama is that exit polls show how big a factor race is in the critical swing state. Read more here.

Yangon Nagris Cyclone: Floods and Famine

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:51:11 EDT

Things in Burma aren't getting any better (although news that the RNC's former convention head - a man reportedly hand-picked by John McCain - was the Junta's K Street lobbyist ought to wake up a few sleepy eyes in the District), and the death toll there, as in China, continues to rice. Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish connects us with a blogger there who logically asks, will famine now follow? Monsoon season is around the corner, so now is the time when this agriculurally-dependent nation should be planting its rice for next year's harvest. With everything under water already, though, no planting can be done. An almost automatic effect was the increase in the already sky-rocketing price of rice around the world. But on the ground, erikoo152 has more footage; the sound is wonky in the beginning (keep watching).

Anti-China Protest in Kathmandu, 562 Women Arrested

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:10:57 EDT

[video: No Comment TV]

Reuters reports that Sunday, 562 women were arrested in the Nepali capital Kathmandu in an otherwise peaceful anti-China rally:

Nepali police detained 562 Tibetan women at an anti-China rally in Kathmandu on Sunday, the first all-women protest against Chinese rule in their homeland, officials said.

Some shouted "We want free Tibet" while others wept as they were dragged along the road to police vans and trucks and driven to detention centres. Many were wearing black armbands and had their mouths gagged with cloths.

Nepal considers Tibet part of China, a key donor and trade partner, and has been cracking down on protests by the exiled Tibetans against Beijing.

Police said the protesters would be freed later.

Exiled Tibetans have been protesting regularly ever since deadly riots broke out in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in March, followed by demonstrations in other Tibetan areas of China. Keep reading.

Hagee Joins Zionist Forces, Threatens Washington with "Judgment"

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:04:57 EDT

Apparently missing the "thou shall not judge others" message in the otherwise Good Book, McCain supporter and Bible Thumping Fanatic, John Hagee proclaimed today that God will unleash terrorists on Washington for their treatment of Israel:

*swat* Man! The locusts are already here!

On the Streets of Beirut

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:32:13 EDT

This one from Al-Jazeera English, it's a taste of what's happening on the streets of Beirut now that Hezbollah has taken control of many parts of the city. Euronews and No Comment tv have more of the fighting:

From Sichuan University

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:29:39 EDT

More out of Sichuan - this from about 100 miles away from the epicenter, recorded by a student at Sichuan University.

Videos out of Sichuan

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:17:43 EDT

This video from giorgiusgam comes from a security camera in Sichuan. Start paying attention at 4:45 and to get a real sense for the strength of the quake, watch the goldfish bowl in the bottom right corner. RheinOnline has more below, all of it frankly terrifying. The NYT also has a photo essay worth checking out. The death toll, now at 12,000, is still climbing; relief workers warn that as more buildings are uncovered (80 percent of those in downtown Chengdu are said to have fallen), bodies will continue to surface. The NYT suggests that as many as 10,000 names could be added to the lists of those gone at the hands of the quake which the LAT reports was felt from "Beijing to Bangkok." Human disaster aside - the NP warns that this might mean financial disaster, too.

Spoof on Obama's "Yes we can" video

Mon, 12 May 2008 16:18:25 EDT

G4TV, a gaming channel, released this spoof of the now famous "Yes we can" video. This one, entitled "Yes we shall," features celebrities, but the candidate they are supporting isn't Obama. It's completely silly, but amusing, nonetheless. Check it out below.

Previewing tomorrow's W.Va primary

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:43:02 EDT

It looks as though Hillary Clinton is well-positioned for a big win in Tuesday's West Virginia primary, according to polls. The latest poll coming out of the state has her up 36 percentage points over Barack Obama. With daunting math in front of her, and the media already crowning Obama, what significance might tomorrow's contest have on the nomination battle? CNN's Bill Schneider writes that a huge win could send a message to superdelegates that a lot Dems are not ready to join team Obama. It also may cause Obama to think twice about putting Clinton on the ticket, he writes. I'm not so sure about that, but a big win will probably be a slight wake-up call for superdelegates-not a game changer, however CNN:

CHARLESTON, West Virginia (CNN) -- West Virginians will head to the polls Tuesday for the state's Democratic primary between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But what will the vote there really mean after new delegate totals show Obama with a sizable lead?

Some say it could send a sobering message to Obama's Democratic supporters.

West Virginia is expected to go for Clinton big time -- and the polls show it.

Clinton has a 43-point advantage over Obama, 66 percent to 23 percent, according to a survey from the American Research Group released Friday.

The poll was conducted after Tuesday's primary results and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

"This state is really Hillary Clinton's wheelhouse. It's an older population, socially conservative, blue-collar workers," said Kennie Bass, a political reporter for WCHS in West Virginia. Watch more on the West Virginia primary �»

Obama acknowledges that West Virginians favor Clinton.

"She is going to do very well in West Virginia and Kentucky. She will win those states, in all likelihood, by significant margins," Obama said this week.

According to CNN's latest estimate, Obama has 1,860 total delegates to Clinton's 1,696.

A big Clinton win will send a powerful message that there are a lot of Democrats not ready to get on the Obama bandwagon. Watch more on the Democratic primary race. �»

"There was just an AP article posted that found how Sen. Obama's support among hardworking Americans, white Americans is weakening again, and how the whites in both states that have not completed college were supporting me," Clinton said in a USA Today interview May 7.

For the last two-thirds of the 20th century, West Virginia was a solidly Democratic state, and it still is in state politics.

West Virginia had not voted for a non-incumbent Republican for president since Herbert Hoover. It even voted for Michael Dukakis in 1988.

Then came 2000, when George W. Bush surprised everyone by winning West Virginia. How did he do it? With social issues, such as abortion, gays and -- most important -- guns, in a state where more than 70 percent of the voters have a gun in their households.

What you get in West Virginia is not so much Reagan Democrats as Bush Democrats.

Republicans believe that they know how to beat Obama here.

"They would likely paint him, if he's the nominee, as a far-left liberal who is pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-civil union. That will not play well in West Virginia. Social issues register very high on the meter here," Bass said.

Democrats can fight back by running hard on the Bush economy. But they could be in for a surprise.

"As coal goes, so goes the economy of West Virginia in many respects. Coal prices right now are about $100 a ton; metallurgical coal is trading at nearly twice that. So these are not difficult times in West Virginia economically, so to speak," Bass said.

If Obama gets the nomination and it looks like the only way he can win is to get those West Virginia Democrats back, you can be sure he will think seriously about asking Clinton to go on the ticket.

Welcome Daniel!

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:46:47 EDT

A huge congratulations to Josh and Millet and welcome (already adorable) Daniel Marshall to the world.

Obama adviser who met with Hamas resigns

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:39:11 EDT

Call me crazy, but I don't think this will help Obama with the Jewish vote. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

May 11, 2008
LYNN SWEET blogs.suntimes.com/sweet

Rob Malley, a Middle East policy adviser to likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, resigned after news surfaced that he had been meeting with Hamas -- something Obama pledged he himself would never do.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said Saturday Malley called the Obama campaign on Friday to sever ties with the candidate after learning the Times of London was publishing a story about his contacts with the terrorist group.

Malley is an analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based International Crisis Group, specializing in the Israeli-Arab conflict. He told NBC News that his job "is to meet with all sorts of savory and unsavory people and report on what they say. I've never denied whom I meet with; that's what I do."

LaBolt said, "Sen. Obama strongly opposes talking to Hamas, a terrorist group committed to Israel's destruction. As president, he will work to isolate Hamas and target its resources, and rejects any dialogue until Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism, and abides by previous agreements."

LaBolt, downplaying Malley's role, said, "Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future."

The issue of whether to have dealings with Hamas is a particularly sensitive matter for Obama, who needs to persuade skeptical Jewish voters that he is a strong supporter of Israel. Last week, presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) highlighted a Hamas leader's statement that he hoped Obama would win the White House. Asked about McCain's suggestion that Obama is "favored by Hamas," Obama said McCain was "losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination."

Last month, as former President Jimmy Carter was set to meet with Hamas leaders, Obama told a group of Jewish activists and clergy in Philadelphia that he would not sit down with Hamas.

For Missouri voters, you better have proof you're American

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:13:06 EDT

The battle of voter identification may get nastier. Now, lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote, according to the New York Times. This would allow even stricter demands than the current voter ID requirements, in which voters have to prove their identity with a government-issued card. NYT:

"Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum — say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting the political process. Critics say the measure could lead to the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of legal residents who would find it difficult to prove their citizenship.Voting experts say the Missouri amendment represents the next logical step for those who have supported stronger voter ID requirements and the next battleground in how elections are conducted."

While similar measures requiring proof of citizenship are under consideration in at least 19 state legislatures, including Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina, its only in Missouri that this requirement has a chance of taking effect before the presidential election.

Such an act could reduce voter fraud, but the more obvious implication is that it could disenfranchise many voters

Monday Morning Must-Reads

Mon, 12 May 2008 05:26:41 EDT

Leader of GOP Convention Resigns after Myanmar Ties Reported [AP] The man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 Republican National Convention resigned Saturday after a report that his lobbying firm used to represent the military regime in Myanmar. Doug Goodyear resigned as convention coordinator and issued a two sentence statement: "Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign." Goodyear, chief executive of lobbying firm DCI Group, resigned a few hours after Newsweek posted a story posted online that the company was paid $348,000 in 2002 and 2003 to represent Myanmar's junta.

Michelle Vetoes Hillary [Real Clear] Close-in supporters of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama. The Democratic front-runner's wife did not comment on other rival candidates for the party's nomination, but she has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility.

Clinton + Obama on Al-Jazeera [Salon] Last Wednesday morning, Al-Jazeera's Arabic service reported from Indianapolis on the split results of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. For analysis, the anchor in Doha, Qatar, interviewed the network's Washington correspondent, Fady Mansour. "A state for each candidate, is that right?" she asked. Mansour replied that it might seem so from the outside, but in fact winning states was less important than winning delegates, and Barack Obama had bettered his lead over Clinton in that regard. He also said that behind the scenes the Clinton camp was seized with anxiety over whether their candidate's showing meant the end of the road. -- Juan Cole

Is It Just "W." or Is It Hot in Here? [TNR] In their long-standing campaign against environmental protections, American conservatives have taken a kitchen sink approach: First they exalted states' rights and attacked the Environmental Protection Agency; later, they reversed course, attacking states' rights and exalting the EPA. The only consistent objective was to thwart regulation, and the only question was which strategy would be most effective in achieving that goal. But their political opportunism may soon come to haunt them. By abandoning their strict states'-rights principles for a broad view of the EPA's authority, conservatives have boxed themselves into a corner. If Congress and the White House are in a more environmental mood after November, conservative anti-environmentalists may find that they have laid the legal groundwork for their ultimate defeat. -- Jeffrey Rosen

Fierce Fighting Erupts in Areas of East Beirut [NYT] Fierce clashes broke out on Sunday in the mountains east of Beirut between supporters of the Western-backed government and followers of Hezbollah, the militant group backed by Iran. The fighting, in the Shouf and Aley districts in the mountains overlooking the capital, Beirut, followed overnight clashes in the northern city of Tripoli that left at least two people dead and five wounded, according to security officials. Beirut, where there had been heavy fighting between Sunnis and Shiites since Wednesday, was calm on Sunday. Hezbollah and its allies began withdrawing their gunmen from the capital on Saturday evening, raising hopes for a truce after four days of street battles there. -- Nada Bakri

Race is All the Clintons Have Left [HuffPo] Sitting there on the set, listening to the endless wrap-ups and explanation of the exit polls, I was on the verge of faking my own death on national TV in order to go talk to myself about the obvious, unspoken equation in the little there is left to this fight between Obama and Clinton. The beast that is nearly always there in American life, the danger that rustles the shrubs at the edge of our daily existence -- race -- was routinely ignored in the recitation of numbers pouring out of North Carolina and Indiana. Now, faced with a mathematical mountain climb that even Stephen Hawking could not ascend, the Clintons -- and it is indeed both of them -- are just about to paste a bumper sticker on the rear of the collapsing vehicle that carries her campaign. It reads: VOTE WHITE. -- Mike Barnicle

Aid Trickles into Burma: But Toll Could Reach 1 Million [Times Online] Relief deliveries into cyclone-hit Burma increased today but aid groups said supplies fell far short of the enormous need and that foreign experts were still barred from the country. A cargo plane chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) carrying 35 tonnes of aid was one of the latest to arrive. The ICRC said the medical supplies on board were sufficient to treat some 250 trauma patients and provide three months of basic health care for 10,000 people. The plane was also carrying sanitation equipment, including a mobile water-treatment plant to provide drinking water for 10,000 people, it said.

Chavez Slams Merkel's Comments [TVNZ] Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez almost told German Chancellor Angela Merkel to go to hell, but stopped short of insulting the woman leader on Mother's Day. Instead he called her a political descendant of Adolf Hitler and German fascism. "Ms Chancellor, you can go to...," he said, pausing for effect and eliciting giggles from the audience, a group of military officers, cabinet ministers and government officials. "Because she's a woman I won't say anything else." The leftist leader, who famously called US President George Bush the devil at a United Nations assembly, slammed Merkel for calling on Latin American leaders to distance themselves from Chavez. "She is from the German right, the same that supported Hitler, that supported fascism, that's the Chancellor of Germany today," he said. Chavez said he could confront her about the statements if he attends an upcoming summit of heads of state from Europe and Latin America in Peru.

Oil Steady Above $126 [Reuters] Oil hovered close to record levels above $126 a barrel on Monday as violence in the Middle East heightened worries of supply disruptions in the world's largest crude producing region. U.S. light crude for June delivery rose 18 cents to $126.14 a barrel by 2359 GMT. It closed $2.27 higher at $125.96 a barrel on Friday, before rising to a record $126.27 in late post-settlement trade. Oil has jumped nearly 14 percent since slipping as low as $110.53 a barrel on May 1, as investors seized on supply disruptions in the North Sea and Nigeria, as well as galloping demand for distillate fuels, a category that includes diesel fuel and heating oil.

Score one for the good guys

Sat, 10 May 2008 19:20:31 EDT

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reports earlier today:

After John McCain nailed down the Republican nomination in March, his campaign began wrestling with a sensitive personnel issue: who would manage this summer's GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.? The campaign recently tapped Doug Goodyear for the job, a veteran operative and Arizonan who was chosen for his "management experience and expertise," according to McCain press secretary Jill Hazelbaker. But some allies worry that Goodyear's selection could fuel perceptions that McCain—who has portrayed himself as a crusader against special interests—is surrounded by lobbyists. Goodyear is CEO of DCI Group, a consulting firm that earned $3 million last year lobbying for ExxonMobil, General Motors and other clients.

Potentially more problematic: the firm was paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Burma's military junta, which had been strongly condemned by the State Department for its human-rights record and remains in power today. Justice Department lobbying records show DCI pushed to "begin a dialogue of political reconciliation" with the regime. It also led a PR campaign to burnish the junta's image, drafting releases praising Burma's efforts to curb the drug trade and denouncing "falsehoods" by the Bush administration that the regime engaged in rape and other abuses. "It was our only foreign representation, it was for a short tenure, and it was six years ago," Goodyear told NEWSWEEK, adding the junta's record in the current cyclone crisis is "reprehensible."

AP reports just now:

The man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 Republican National Convention resigned Saturday after a report that his lobbying firm used to represent the military regime in Myanmar.

Doug Goodyear resigned as convention coordinator and issued a two sentence statement:

"Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign."

Funny what you find when you look under a rock; I suspect there are more stones to look under in the GOP's future. Still, the interesting question this leads to though: will the GOP drive hard against the DNC's picked manager once things get worked out? With the nomination process and who runs the convention likely to get locked up so late, plucking out a convention manager could cause some chaos given how close we are to convention day in the Rockies.

Smoke without fire

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:39:39 EDT

You have to hand it to the nation's press corps. Jenna Bush's wedding is a private as private can be, and they're doing the public job of reporting on something that there's nothing to report about. "There will be absolutely no readout, whatsoever," a White House spokesman told reporters. But they're still trying and trying and trying.

Bloomberg News gives us 708 words on how they can't get into the wedding. The Associated Press cranks it up to 987 words! Wow, almost a thousand words observing things like, "Few if any Crawford residents have been invited, but they say they don't feel snubbed." I bet the AP does! And on CBS, a reporter was actually inane enough to have this exchange in the morning:

CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports that press is not allowed onto the ranch this morning, at least not without an invite to the wedding. "I keep asking and, darn it, can't get an invitation," Cobiella said on CBS' Early Show.

However, CBS also seems to be implying that Bush would have no trouble making political hay out of the event, quoting another correspondent as saying that, "if it was up to President Bush, he'd blab the whole thing. He keeps giving up more and more details while his staffers keep stonewalling."

To boot, they say that some woman's wedding has been preempted by Jenna's nuptials because her husband was called on duty by the sheriff's department for which he works. "Jenna," CBS News says, "you ignorant slut."

Agence France Presse editorializes for, well, I guess, the French, that the wedding is "a welcome break from two wars, terrorism, soaring oil prices and other woes" for the president. And before it gets into some navel-gazing about how much the press hates the Bush family, the Washington Times spins in the other direction, stating that, "Jenna Bush becomes America's quiet sweetheart today — a bride wrapped in delicate organza, bound for a new destiny as wife, honeymooner, teacher, author and occasional first daughter, at least for a few more months."

The Times also notes that there is a 30% chance of thunderstorms in Crawford. Well, let's just say that the President's approval rating is around 30% too, and that doesn't seem to matter too much to him.

People says that some Texans in Salado where a wedding-related party was held Friday night were holding up signs that read, "W '08." A republic, if you can keep it that way.

But don't worry - the New York Times uses the wedding as an occasion to begin the eulogies and soliloquies for the end of Bush's 8 years. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the presidential historian/biographer, is quoted as saying, "“For previous presidents, leaving the White House felt like a terrible loss...This wedding reinforces the feeling that going to Texas will be a welcome relief to him.”

And, finally, if you really want to see how much blood you can squeeze from a stone, here's the Austin American-Statesman's Live from Crawford wedding blog:

“Who’s she marrying?,” the tattooed man asked the woman. “

“Umm…Henry Hager,” she slowly read from a photo in the gift shop’s window.

“It might be Sammy Hagar’s son,” the man replied back.

The woman shrugged her shoulders.

AP makes it a superday for Obama

Sat, 10 May 2008 15:47:42 EDT

Senator Obama has just passed Senator Clinton in the superdelegate race according to a news alert that just went out over the AP wire, with apparently some people in the US Virgin Islands briefly registering their relevance to our national political system. One island, one vote!

Of course, the newswire of record has been tracking the superdelegate count very closely, putting Obama within 1/2 of Senator Clinton earlier today when the "Utah Democratic party named Kristi Cumming," a superdelegate, and she is a supporter of Senator Obama.

I can't wait to see the breathless reporting about the decision-making of Jenny Greenleaf of Oregon, a DNC member and uncommitted superdelegate. "Ms. Greenleaf inquired about the cost of a pound of Kona coffee beans this morning. The beans are from Hawaii, like Senator Obama, and some wondered whether this signaled a move toward Obama's camp. At the same time, a review of Ms. Greenleaf's credit history by the Associated Press found that she has reservations at a Chicago-style pizzeria this coming Friday, possibly putting her on Senator Clinton's side."

Meanwhile, over at the Drudge-style Hillary Hub, they are making the case for Vice President Obama pretty blatantly today with the blaring headline, "Swing State Dems Say Hillary Strongest Top Of Ticket." I'm not sure Illinois' junior senator is going to buy that.

Also, Senator Clinton's campaign is ordering you to wish the former first lady a Mother's Day. Actually, it's a sweet, tear-jerker video from Chelsea about why her Mom is such a great Mom. I'm sure she is, and Chelsea's a great girl, and I hope Michelle Obama has a nice Mother's Day, too.

Still, I just hope it's over soon. Wouldn't it be nice if both Senator Clinton and Mrs. Obama could get breakfast in bed without worrying about campaign videos and fundraisers and other shakedowns?

Jenna to Finally Escape Bush Family Dynasty

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:05:13 EDT

Hey, this is your official preview at Veracifier for when Jenna Bush will put on the white dress, get in that Texas limestone altar, and say I do with the young Mr. Henry Hager.

Mazel Tov, Jenna and Henry.

Be sure to sit still at that front table while Don Rumsfeld comes by and hands you a big envelope full of euros and says how great it is when two young people love each other. Henry might also want to ask Rummy for a copy of Rummy's rules for help in managing your marriage. Try this one from the section, "On Life": "Simply because a problem is shown to exist doesn’t necessarily follow that there is a solution."

And Jenna, when it's your father's turn to lead you on the first dance of the evening, be sure to make it look like he's leading, even though we know in incident after incident that the guy has two left feet (and probably two left hands, given some of the bills he's signed/vetoed).

No, seriously, I do have to commend Jenna for the decision to not inflict this dynastic jump over the broomstick on the nation deliberately. Yes, we know that Inside Edition will be there in Crawford shooting their endless b-roll, but you didn't invite them, and we know that. Really, it's not like you're pretending you're some beautiful young Princess Diana who is going to bewitch our nation and make us feel like we are an empire again (oh wait, ever since your daddy invaded Iraq...). But we're glad your princess fantasies are being kept out of the White House Rose Garden and remain firmly planted in the McClennan County dust. We hope this will be the very final act of the Western White House charade that this president put America through. Whoever gets elected next, I think we're all at least secretly hoping that we can get back to the sort of competent, year-round governance that we've expected from previous presidents, and get away from all this symbolic cleaning of brush and riding around in pick-up trucks in the scrub that W has inflicted on us. Really, that you'd do this big move out of the public eye and not insist that it be broadcast on C-SPAN shows that you dusted yourself off pretty good from the above depicted fall.

Even the lefty websites aren't finding much of a hatchet to unearth over this one - I went looking and I was expecting to see bloggers calling for congressional hearings about how much the extra Secret Service details and yadda yadda would cost taxpayers, and whether the gifts you'll get are all secret hush money to the president, but I didn't find it. A Kossack was annoyed that Mrs. Bush talked about the wedding at the end of her press conference on the Burmese cyclone disaster, but I think when you watch the video, she comes out pretty well, quite a bit more subdued than the diarist would have you believe. A righty blogger gets outraged at a bunch of Huffington Post bloggers writing crazy things, but the provenance of this kind of talk on that website can never be demonstrated - crazy right wing people might want to make liberals look crazier, too. And then we've got the claim that cousin Lauren can't bring her boyfriend to the wedding because he's a Jew. But New York magazine pokes some effective holes in that theory.

So, that's that - it's gonna be a wedding, and it's gonna be over, and we're only going to hear or see as much about it as the White House wants us to see and hear - like with most things, these days - and so far, it appears that's not going to be much.

But hey, if anyone out there wants to claim that they're live blogging the wedding, I will live blog their live blogging of the wedding.

Ted Kennedy puts down Hillary, alienates her voters

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:26:25 EDT

When asked whether an Obama/Clinton ticket was possible, Ted Kennedy said the following to Bloomberg TV:

"Well, the first is always a demand that you're going to have someone that's going to be able to assume the responsibility. I would hope that he would also give consideration to somebody that has –- is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people. And I think if we had real leadership –- as we do with Barack Obama –- in the number-two spot as well, it'd be enormously helpful."

I'm sorry, but there are plenty of Hillary supporters who feel that voting for a the first female president is a noble aspiration. Ted Kennedy is not one to make such a statement. Furthermore, he is making matters worse for Clinton voters who are already reluctant to get on team Obama. Lastly, as pointed out by VoteBoth, Clinton has won about 49% of the vote in the Democratic nomination, which means she is a leader and the top choice for almost half of the party. More statements like this from Obama supporters like Kennedy is most certainly a death wish for Obama. From ABC News:

Kennedy on Obama-Clinton Ticket: Dream On

May 09, 2008 2:20 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: In an interview with Al Hunt on Bloomberg TV, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., an Obama supporter, has a particularly strong negative reaction to the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket:

HUNT: What's your view of an Obama-Clinton ticket?

KENNEDY: I don't think it's possible.

HUNT: You don't? And what type of vice president choice do you think he should make? What type of person?

KENNEDY: Well, the first is always a demand that you're going to have someone that's going to be able to assume the responsibility. I would hope that he would also give consideration to somebody that has –- is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people. And I think if we had real leadership –- as we do with Barack Obama –- in the number-two spot as well, it'd be enormously helpful.

The Democratic group VoteBoth dedicated to an Obama-Clinton or a Clinton-Obama ticket didn't much like Kennedy's thoughts.

"We respect Senator Kennedy's opinions about what is best for the Party, but we think that the millions of Democrats who have voted for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have something to say, too. Why stop at having a nominee who has the support of 51% of Democrats when we could have a 'Dream Team' ticket that has won 100%?" co-founder Sam Arora said in a statement.

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reported on Thursday's "Good Morning America" on Thursday that "intermediaries" in the Obama and Clinton campaigns have resumed discussing the possibility of an Obama-Clinton "dream team" ticket.

"I think it's very much a possibility and there are others around Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., other top Democrats who think the strongest ticket would be a joint ticket," Stephanopoulos said this week.

The dream team ticket was discussed earlier this year, but fell by the wayside as both sides ramped up the rhetoric against each other, intensifying their battle for the Democratic nomination.

The talk has revived as Clinton now looks like an ultra-long shot for the presidential nomination, and her disappointed supporters are threatening to vote for presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., instead of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"There are intermediaries discussing this very scenario," Stephanopoulos said on "GMA".

There is at least one problem with the scenario: Obama, the Democratic frontrunner, might not want Clinton on the ticket.

When asked whether he would take Clinton as his vice presidential running mate during a chaotic visit to Capitol Hill Thursday, Obama told reporters, "I think its premature for us to be thinking in that way, because I don't know who the nominee is going to be yet. It's not yet resolved."

Howard Wolfson, the Clinton campaign's communications director, denied that she is interested in the vice president spot.

"She said that's not something she would accept," Wolfson told "GMA."

Al Hunt's full interview with Sen. Ted Kennedy will air on Friday's Political Capital at 7:30pm ET on Bloomberg Television and will rebroadcast through the weekend.

Perfect Friday Afternoon Story

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:17:49 EDT

Mike Bloomberg sure knows how to get our attentions on a rainy Friday afternoon here in the Big Apple. He went to London to meet with new Tory Mayor Boris Johnson and all he got was this lousy t-shirt:

The two politicians' ritual exchange of gifts became slightly awkward when one ceremonial present turned out to be much pricier than the other. Bloomberg gave Johnson a Big Apple crystal paperweight from Tiffany, one of New York's finest shops, while Johnson gave Bloomberg a plastic-wrapped novelty shirt printed with a map of the London Underground.
"This is not the most handsomely wrapped present," Johnson said. "It's meant to show the frugality of the new regime."

If I were an economic historian, I'd point out that Mayor Johnson also could be factoring in the value of all the British loan money that American debtors have defaulted on over the centuries of our "special relationship." But I'm not an economic historian. I'm also not one to comment on the "special relationship" that Mayor Johnson seems to have with hair conditioner.

But let's face it - that t-shirt might come in handy in the future. At first we were like "Hey British people, we saved your necks from the Nazis and their V-2 rockets in World War Two, and all you gave us were The Beatles," but then we were like, "Oh, hey, thanks for giving us The Beatles."

As a further amusing indication of the continuing differences between the easily-embarassed American culture and the stiff upper lip of the English, it's fun to see how the conservative Daily Telegraph covered this incident:

As the two mayors met at City Hall overlooking the Thames, Mr Johnson gave his American counterpart a novelty shirt featuring the London Underground.
In return, Mayor Bloomberg handed over a crystal Big Apple paperweight in a Tiffany jewellery box.

I do say. Is their inattention to the details here evidence that they were more, or less embrassed by the exchange than was the AP's reporter?

But maybe the English are just more clued in to what a lame gift a paper weight is. I mean, c'mon, a paper weight? Even if it's from Tiffany's that's still kinda like a passive aggressive gift you give to someone you don't like. Look at how the Daily News reports the gift exchange:

"I just wanted to give you a little symbol of New York City to put on your desk," said Bloomberg, pulling out a Tiffany box containing a crystal apple. "You should look at it and want to compete with us. We can help each other."
Johnson thanked him, then pulled out his own gift - a collared shirt printed with a map of London's subway system, garish enough to prompt guffaws throughout the room, still in its store-bought package.
"This is a bit of an impromptu souvenir," Johnson said, as Bloomberg grimaced. "This is not the most handsomely wrapped. This is to convey the frugality of the new regime."

"A little symbol" of New York. Who knew the mayor was such a queen? Mayor Johnson would be smart to put it back in that sweet blue box and re-gift it to his mother this Sunday. "Mum, I've brought youa little symbol of New York" he'll cackle, and ask her for another spot of tea.

10 Things Better Left Unsaid

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:39:49 EDT

10: "She can still win this thing if you vote for her big enough." - Bill Clinton, who may need to take some courses in "fuzzy math" after all.

9: "It's amazing how you can spin almost any story... Anything can be spun to make them look good. I'm no stranger to this spin game myself." - FOX News' Neil Cavuto in a piece on Wednesday aptly entitled "keep expectations low."

8: "[His] Bitter half, Queen of the Grievance Mongers." - Michelle Malkin on Michelle Obama on Fox and Friends

7: "The banner should have been much more specific." - Dana Perino on the five year annivesrary of "Mission Accomplished"

6: "Please run and tell my stuck-on-stupid friends that Arabic is a language; it's not a religion. Barack Hussein Obama. Barack Hussein Obama. Barack Hussein Obama." - the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, at least according to Roger Simon. Media Matters reported this week that the Politico writer cropped Rev. Wright's quote to make "legitimate" use of Obama's middle name. Hussein. Hussein. Hussein. Still not scary, is it?

5: "Republican suck. Dems are spineless. The media's corrupt." - The state of the world to Kevin Drum via Alex Koppelman at Salon.

4: "Kilpatrick now says the evidence shows he's the one in the dress." - AP, reporting the only surprising thing that could come out of the Ben's Chili Bowl love den that the Detroit Mayor's office has become. Also on the list: "Oh, he was not fired! You know who might say something like that? Only a man stupid enough to send 14,000 incriminating text messages in four months to his mistress on a state-owned cell phone." - Jon Stewart, whose love for Kwame, like ours, keeps on flowing. Keep in mind, not only is Kilpatrick the one in the dress, he's also a superdelegate. And his entirely upstanding mama runs the Congressional Black Caucus. Boys will be boys?

3: "There's no way that white people are going to vote for the black guy. Come November, you'll be sorry." - Eugene Robinson in today's WaPo, channeling what he's just sure Hillary Clinton is thinking. But don't worry, I'm sure they've got some sort of fair use policy on the channeling of other people's thoughts. Yes, West Virginia, this is the media!

2: "Ariana Huffington has a huge kharma debt." - Bill O'Reilly, commenting on Mary Katherine Ham's Far Left Blog news round-up. Thanks to the ever-great NewsHounds for this one.

1: "The left-wing blogs are like puppies, toddlers, or Bill Clinton. They can't be left unsupervised for long." - Oh O'Reilly, our 10 Things column is completely indebted to you.

Too little, too late: Bush goes to Mideast to talk peace

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:22:15 EDT

Hoping to score some foreign policy points before his presidency ends, Pres. Bush is off on a five-day romp of the Middle East beginning Tues., in order to strike a deal for the contours of a Palestinian state. The trip, which is centered around the 60th anniversary of Israel’s founding, has many Mideast leaders scratching their heads, asking: "Why now?" From the NYT:

The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, is embroiled in a criminal investigation that threatens to cost him his job. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, left Washington disappointed after a recent meeting with Mr. Bush. Although the peace talks continue, the two sides are far apart on the core issues that divide them, and the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, has said progress is ‘’more halting” than Mr. Bush would like.

The talks are so tenuous that even Stephen J. Hadley, Mr. Bush’s ever-optimistic national security adviser, conceded there is little reason for the three leaders to get together. Mr. Bush will meet Mr. Olmert in Jerusalem, and see Mr. Abbas separately, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

“This did not seem the time for a big high-level three way event with the president and the prime minister and President Abbas,” Mr. Hadley said. “It just doesn’t feel right as the best way to advance the negotiations.”

Middle East expert Anthony Cordesman summed it up eloquently. “In some ways, this is the road show cast of ‘Waiting for Godot,”’ he said. The trip will “basically set a marker while everybody waits for the next president.”

Ouch.

It's sometimes fun & games on the campaign trail

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:03:29 EDT

From MSNBC's First Read, a reporter's first person account of playing Taboo with Obama and his staff. It's pretty amusing, and reveals a more human side behind all media coverage. It also reveals a bit more about Obama. First Read:

From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones
SOMEWHERE-IN-THE-SKY-OVER-AMERICA -- Life on the campaign trail is often grueling. The 20-hour days, the ubiquitous turkey sandwiches, the constant travel, the never knowing where you're going to be the next night -- not to mention hearing the same speech over and over and over again. Exhausted reporters complain, exhausted staffers get snappy and sometimes even a 757 can start to feel too small.

So after a particularly punishing stretch of campaigning, with a five-hour flight to Oregon to look forward to, the traveling press settled down for a few rounds of Taboo yesterday. For those that don’t know, it’s a game by Hasbro that is perhaps best described as verbal charades. Players pull a card showing a key word, phrase or famous person's name that they must get their team to guess. The card includes a list of words that can't be used in trying to elicit an answer. Take the word "Aggravate," in this case, the forbidden words would be "Annoy," "Pester," "Antagonize," "Irk," and "Harass". You get a point for every word you get and your team loses a point if you say one of the taboo words. The other team uses a buzzer to indicate when you've done so, and there's a plastic hourglass as a timer.

Reporters have taken to playing the game during long trips and this time the Obama staffers -- including the senator himself -- joined in for two rounds.

The sometimes-heated match led to quite a few funny exchanges, especially since the secret trick to the game is using common points of reference and shared experiences, of which there are many on the trail. Often reporters use lines from stump speeches, recent events and the names of candidates, their spouses or other political figures to get others to say the right answer.

At one point the key phrase was "White House" and the reporter giving the clue said, "Barack wants to live there." The team shouted the correct answer and Obama laughed.

During another turn, the key word was "California" and a reporter said, "This is where Sen. Obama said his "bitter" comments." The other reporters shouted San Francisco, then the Bay Area and a few other words before eventually guessing correctly, at which point Obama joked that he had come to the back of the plane get away from such issues, not to be reminded of them.

Early on, the senator managed to get his team to guess "Cockatoo" by talking about an animal that flies, can mimic human words and has fancy plumage.

Later, when Obama's word was "Revolution," his clue was that this was something Thomas Jefferson called for from time to time. As if sensing a collective "huh?" from his team, he quickly concluded the clue was "too obscure" and instead said the Beatles sang a song about it, which elicited the correct guess.

It was the first time the often media-weary Obama has played a game on the plane with the traveling press and was, therefore, a noteworthy moment, especially since in recent months, Hillary Clinton has taken to chatting with reporters more and more on her plane, both on and off the record, and John McCain is known for his willingness to engage the press.

The game was not without frustration and even a few four-letter words at times of unforced errors, and there was an odd moment at one point when a staffer attempting to get teammates to say the word "gap" gave a clue to the effect that "gay people shop there." The team guessed a series of stores: Obama said, Abercrombie & Fitch; another person said H&M and eventually someone said The Gap.

The competition was feisty, but light-hearted, with lots of buzzing, some trash talking and lots of laughs. In a stunning turn of events, staffers won both rounds, but reporters vowed to have a rematch.

He's not black

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:47:34 EDT

Can I just say that?

There's a lot of outrage out there - Rod Parsley is a spiritual backer of John McCain and he says all manner of awful, hate-filled, racist things against Islam. And John McCain is happy to have his backing, just like he was happy to get the support of the Rev. John Hagee...and the press and the public don't care because these men aren't black.

That's all there is to it. America is happy to have crazy pastors in the public square, so long as they're not black.

If "G-d Hates Fags" Fred Phelps got up on TV tomorrow and said he was endorsing John McCain, there'd be some mild tut-tutting, but it's not like anyone would observe that all the crazy religious people who think the world can't end soon enough mysteriously drift toward the Republican campaigns. Indeed, crazy almost seems to be a requirement for Republican religious thinking - how else can you explain former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's breathless and straight-faced declarations that the legalization of abortion resulted in the flooding of America with illegal immigrants from Mexico? Not even the least bit of tut-tutting for that declaration. And on NBC's Today Show this morning, the lead, pre-Mother's Day story was a a woman who has given birth to 17 babies, is officially pregnant with the 18th, thinks birth control pills are against G-d's will, and is soon to appear with her family on a....you guessed it, a reality TV show. Crazy white religious people are our historical heritage!

But hey, Barack Obama's pastor doesn't like American foreign policy, and guess what? That means Obama is a secret Muslim anti-christ who will ruin America.

It's pretty simple why there's so much zeit in that zeitgeist: he's black, and angry black religious people titilate use with fright. That's why we can't turn away from the Farrakhans and Sharptons - however marginal they really are, however much they pretend to run for president or stage photo-op arrests or give speeches at the margins of whatever it is America should be caring about, training a camera on a crazy black man excites Americans. Training a camera on crazy white people who pray for the end times just makes msot of want to change the channel.

So, get as outraged as you like about Parsley, Hagee, and McCain, or, for that matter, Bob Jones, Pat Robertson, and Falwell's offspring, ad infinitum, and loop. They're not black, so Americans wont care.

Do you get an extra tax break if you're the head of two households?

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:23:02 EDT

I'm not sure whether to feel bad for Vito Fossella yet, but there is some irony about some of the things he boasts about on his campaign website. For instance, he boasts that he, he helped "Increase the child tax credit by $1000." But given that he's got three children by his wife and 1 by the other woman, you've got to wonder whether he took the child tax credit 3 or 4 times. He also claims to support expanding federal support to state children's health insurance programs, which Republicans have blocked so far. Maybe he wants to make sure his love baby gets medical care no matter what, too.

It's no longer a matter of if, it's moved into when territory. The congressman's hometown newspaper, the Staten Island Advance, lodged and editorial today that says "Resign!" While the paper first argues laughably that, "We thought he could come back from this severe setback as a strong, visible advocate against drinking and driving," it moves on to say that " When you are forced -- by events, not personal integrity -- to make two public statements within a week apologizing for two separate instances of opprobrious behavior, and tell the truth only grudgingly in the second, your viability as a public official is finished."

Ouch.

But if Rep. Fossella wants to hang on, we won't mind. I'm sure there are many more jokes to make about the congressman's drinking, driving, and multi-city child-rearing. And we can look forward to more paparazzi-quality photos like this one pilfered from the Advance's homepage.

I predict a Monday resignation. This guy isn't bright enough to get it over with today - and with the NRCC all but abandoning him, I suspect he won't feel too much remorse about throwing himself into another news cycle.

NYT tastelessly compares Clinton to Eight Belles

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:28:01 EDT

Moments after Eight Belles was euthanized on the track of the Kentucky Derby, I was just waiting for a barrage of tasteless commentary comparing Hillary Clinton to the filly that came in second. Sadly, I wasn't disappointed. See video:

Just days before the Derby, Clinton told her supporters to "bet on the filly," the only female horse in the race. Running the race of her life, Eight Belles came up short, not only losing to a horse called Big Brown, but also breaking both ankles, an irreparable injury. If anyone watched, it was tragic and awful to see the filly stumble after crossing the finish line, only to be put down moments later by Derby veterinarians.

The analogies of Clinton as Eight Belles, Obama as Big Brown, (now how's that for a cheap metaphor), and the veterinarians as the superdelegates seemed so tawdry that I never thought I would see a reputable publication give cadence to such inanity. But then there was this clip I just found on the front page of the New York Times' website, which did exactly what I described above. In the clip, two journalists giggle about the irony of the situation, while providing some pretty base analysis. Not only are some of the facts inaccurate, but if either of them followed the race, they'd know Obama's winning pick was Colonel John, the favorite that didn't even place in the top three. Is that an analogy, too?

What's wrong with a little psy-ops?

Thu, 08 May 2008 17:59:21 EDT

TPM uncovers this fascinating recording of a meeting on April 18th 2006 at the Pentagon.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon released all of the documents that had been turned over to the Times investigation of the Pentagon's use of military analysts. It is a staggering load. But most immediately intriguing is audio of some of the briefings at the Pentagon, including two featuring Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

This recording comes from an emergency meeting called because earlier in the month, several retired generals had hit the airwaves demanding that Rumsfeld resign. 17 analysts attended the briefing, which featured Rumsfeld and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace. It was a remarkable display of servility, with one analyst at one point proclaiming that Rumsfeld need to get out there on the "offense," because "we'd love to be following our leader, as indeed you are. You are the leader. You are our guy." Another analyst chimed in to the effect that, though PsyOps or "brainwashing" are dirty words, it was necessary to get out there on offense. "You know what they call PsyOps today, they call those public relations firms." Here's the audio:

McCain on The Daily Show last night

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:21:21 EDT

Check it out:

Barack on a roll..

Thu, 08 May 2008 14:31:06 EDT

Pretty funny vid for us from Citizen Kate out of Indiana...

Clinton isn't dropping out--and she shouldn't

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:08:39 EDT

As many predicted, yesterday was a split-decision, however, Obama ran up huge margins in N.C. and narrowly lost in Indiana, signaling a change in the race to practically everyone in the media. While the pundits have already called the race, Clinton vows to go on--and she still should. Right now, this is a win-win situation for her.

If she loses, as many suspect, she will have the leverage to bargain with Obama to absorb her campaign debt. Furthermore, longer this goes on, (and there's only a month left), Clinton will have a good case for VP. (Former Clintonites are whispering about it). Of the remaining contests, she's favored to take Kentucky, W. Virgina and Puerto Rico. As long as she's still winning, she is showing the Party that she speaks to a different demographic--one that Obama will need in the fall. Even if she isn't Obama's VP, Clinton will end on a high-note, thanks to those late primary victories, and getting Michigan and Florida to count. This coulde bode well for 2012, if she runs/ has the chance to run again. Also, she's already said she will campaign for Obama, and this gesture is sure to help the Clinton legacy, especially among African American voters.

But for those die-hard Clinton-supporters, the real reason why she should stay in is because there is a glimmer of hope, albeit a tiny one. Clinton did beat Obama in Indiana, a state neighboring Obama's Illinois, and she came from behind to win it. That's was a goal she needed to reach, and she delivered. Most people knew she wasn't going to win N.C.-just look at the polling. What was shocking was how much she lost by. Her argument of winning certain voters and big blue states still holds, even though everyone seems ready to pull the switch on camp Clinton. She's won the blue general election states needed and arguably most of the battleground contests, but math, money and time are running against her. So, what can she do?

Clinton will probably run up big victories in the aforementioned primaries, and if she can poach some of the contests favoring Obama, then she may be able to shift the narrative ever so slightly. With only a month left of voting, she doesn't seem to be doing harm to the party, as long as she keeps the campaign clean. Also, Obama could misstep badly--it's unlikely- but not impossible, and she may find her opening again. Lastly, as previously stated, she's going to get Michigan and Florida to count somehow, and that will make the Democratic nominee stronger.

Calls for her to quit now are plain stupid right now. It creates a backlash because Clinton has a strong following that includes women who adore her. She's become a symbol, just as Obama has for some of his voters, and the mere thought of some Washington bigwig telling Clinton to exit is offensive to many of her supporters. Obama understands that. In the end, whatever anyone says, Clinton has shown a heroic effort and deserves a lot of credit. And despite what all the pundits, bloggers and pols say, it's not over yet.

Please ignore the man behind those fine curtains over there

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:22:28 EDT

Lynne Cheney let Meredith Vieira and an NBC crew into the Vice President's residence today, the first time the inside of the blurred-from-space home has been seen by mortal American eyes.

I hope the Today Show will take the time to look at why Mrs. Cheney is putting a friendly face on the Vice President's life - fly-fishing, grandchildren, and all. While they've been enjoying themselves back at the manor, Vice President Cheney and his main man David Addington have been re-interpreting our Constitution to permit torture and suspend all manner of civil liberties in the name of an endless war.

Addington was subpoenaed yesterday by the House Judiciary Committee, the only circumstance under which he said he would testify before the committee. I can't wait to hear him assert executive privilege on behalf of the boss he once argued was not a part of the executive branch.

"It's just awful what they're doing to David," I'm sure Mrs. Cheney tells VIPs when she has them over to the house. No Mrs. Cheney - it's just awful what your husband has tried to do to our system of government.

Check it out below.

Sharpening the McSame message

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:43:42 EDT

The Democrats are digging deep into the argument that electing John McCain will be another four years of George W. Bush. The DNC pairs images of Senator McCain with President Bush at every turn, and Senator Obama warned last night against giving "John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush’s third term."

The truth of the argument is obviously up for debate, but that doesn't make it any less rhetorically useful. Karl Rove on Fox last night, undeclaredly working with McCain's campaign, rebutted the idea in saying that he and Bush were very different men with very different ideas. If Rove is talking about it, it must be sticking, and the GOP must perceive it as dangerous. And that's a sign that Democrats should turn up the heat.

They can do that by comparing the possibility of a Bush-McCain hand-off to what we're seeing today in Russia with Vladimir Putin.

Today. Dmitri Medvedev was officially swarn in as Russia's president. No one really believes he has any salience - Vladimir Putin is sticking around as Prime Minister/Puppet Master. No one in the west sees this as a good development - the whole idea of ending the Cold War was ending the control of Russia by a tight circle of Communist Party, or ex-Communist Party loyalists. In Russia today, Medvedev's first act as president was to nominate Putin to serve as his prime minister, showing that keeping Putin in place was the real purpose of this whole exercise. It's a dangerous development that serves to undermine Russia's commitment to democracy.

Senator McCain himself sees this as a bad thing. He calls Russia a rising "strategic competitor" on his website, says that Putin blends, "cynicism and Napoleonic delusion," and has dismissed Medvedev as a "puppet" (a great way to introduce yourself to a major power with nuclear weapons).

Democrats should start saying "Candidate, heal thyself." By demonstrating not only the continuity between Bush and McCain's policies but the ties between the campaigns, staffs, and likely senior officials in a McCain administration, the Democrats can paint McCain as a puppet to a Republican establishment. Arguing that there will be continuity, with four years of McCain like four more years of Putin, the Democrats will add a sharp barb to a powerful tool in their quivers.

Sure, it may not be entirely accurate, but again, it's difficult to argue against. The more McCain and his surrogates are forced to distinguish the senator from the sitting president, the more Americans will factor the actual connections and continuities in their decision-making on their votes. The message of change will be much more powerful when Republicans are forced to explain why there will be a difference between what we've had and where they will take us.

Greetings, President McPutin!

Turns out there was no voter fraud; Hillary Wins Indiana

Wed, 07 May 2008 01:14:17 EDT

Despite Clinton supporter Mayor Tom McDermott of Hammond's efforts on CNN just now to hector Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, an Obama supporter, it turns out that there was no voter fraud - Obama's vote lead in Lake County was shrunk down, and Senator Clinton squeaked out a popular vote win in a state that everyone said was her by rights. With about 99% ofthe vote in, it's about 22,000 votes difference.

I think there's going to be racial hell to pay tomorrow when everyone wakes up. And if there's not, there should be. A white mayor of Indiana town implying that a black mayor's neighboring city is engaged in "hanky panky" just before his candidate takes the state leaves you with that taste of race-baiting in your mouth. Nevermind that Gary is a financially beleagured city that probably doesn't have enough resources to adequately staff its elections. Must be fraud, black folks and all.

Race bait early and race bait often. Good night.

Waiting for Godot on Fox

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:48:27 EDT

You know the scenario: two men wait for an acquaintance who never arrives.

In this case it's the Lake County/Gary, Indiana election results. And instead of the two players in Samuel Beckett's play, it's the Fox News team led by Brit Hume and includes kvetching Fred Barnes and Bill Kristol. Barnes at one point literally complains that it's past his bedtime. Hume whines that the Democrats of Lake Country are keeping the people in America who really care about politics from doing their jobs. They get suspicious and bring analysts on the air to hint at the possibility of election fraud by pro-Obama pols. Or just the possibility that it's a bunch of lazy old people, who like Barnes, are up past their bedtimes and might have fallen asleep at their counting table.

And the despair when they declare that 6,000 of the absentee ballots tonight in Lake County may not be counted until tomorrow! Quelle horror! Just like Beckett's play, it's like they're contemplating suicide.

Hume suddenly declares that they're waiting for producers to tell them whether or not they're going off the air and handing off to another team.

Well? Shall we go?

Yes, let's go.

They do not move.

Will Indiana be Nevada all over again?

Tue, 06 May 2008 23:04:07 EDT

Remember when Obama lost the popular votes in Nevada but came out with a lead in delegates?

It might happen again in Indiana. Here's the Wall Street Journal:

Interestingly, Downs said that if Clinton takes the state by just a sliver, it could be another instance of a near-even split of delegates. Because of Democratic delegate allotment rules — which reward loyal democratic strongholds — it’s conceivable that Obama could emerge with a slight edge in delegates. “It’s not outside the realm of possibility. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but it’s a possibility,” Downs said

Quick: Get Clinton's speechwriter an antacid

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:23:51 EDT

Here's the Indiana results at the Secretary of State's office. With much of the state's vote in, Clinton has an approximately 12,000 vote lead statewide. The website says that Lake County, home of Gary, Indiana, just over the border from Chicago's deep Southeast Side, hasn't been counted.

Seriously, I'd have a pretty bad stomach ache right now if I was working in the Clinton camp.

Game changer for Obama

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:43:19 EDT

CBS News may have called Indiana for Clinton--which is still debatable--but she got trounced in North Carolina, and she didn't do what she needed to do, namely keep it close in North Carolina and win convincingly in Indiana. Obama has found his voice again, giving a speech that reached out to Clinton supporters, while also lifting up the Democratic party. We'll see what Clinton says, and what the final totals are, but it's apparent that Obama withstood a few tough weeks, and overperformed expectations.

Obama's gentle Indiana concession - MISTAKE

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:35:48 EDT

Obama just suggested that Senator Clinton probably has won Indiana; at CBS News, they seem to agree. But no one else does.

I don't think he should have said that. In fact, I think he should not have spoken until there was some level of resolution in the state.

She probably will win a majority in the state. But getting up and saying, "Hillary won 50+1 - so much for a decisive win," would have been a lot more persuasive when he says, "We're going to end it," the core, take-away message from his address. Her margin of victory in the state, if she prevails, is getting smaller and smaller.

To boot, consider why CBS is calling this: no one is watching CBS right now. Switch to that network and you get the milquetoast drama Shark. Right now, you're clicking on their website because they stuck their neck out. They might need to take back their calling it for Indy, but that doesn't mean they need to give back all the click-through they're accumulating with their dicey projection.

Moreover, consider that about 5% of the Republicans who voted on the Democratic side voted for Hillary; Rush Limbaugh and Operation Chaos anybody? If you factor those voters out of the total for Clinton, her final margin gets even more eentsy-weentsy.

Hillary will shortly come out and try to make the most of the situation in the state; pushing her back further into the evening as her margin in Indiana shrinks would have taken even more of the steam out of the speech she is about to give. Obama made a tactical mistake by failing to bide his time.

Rough News for McCain on Dems' Big Night?

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:20:00 EDT

If you are a Republican stalwart tonight in Indiana or North Carolina, you turn up to show your support for your presumptive nominee. If you vote for another GOP no-longer-hopeful, you're sending another message: that you're rather displeased that John McCain is leading your party.

There's a long way to go in counting up the N.C. and Indiana ballots, but in both places, it's striking how many Republican voters are expressing their dislike for McCain.

Check out Indiana where at this hour, with about 70% of the vote turned in statewide, about 30,000 voters cast ballots for Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, or Ron Paul. While it's possible to dismiss a portion of the Paul people as not traditional Republican voters, Huckabee and Romney together still account for more than half of that total. When all of these votes are collected, they are about 1/4 of the total Republican vote count right now. A lot of Republicans in a staunchly red state are not yet convinced that John McCain is the candidate for them.

In North Carolina, the picture is different, but similar enough. The state's total count so far is smaller, but about 26% of the Republican voters who cast ballots chose Huckabee, Paul, Alan Keyes, and the worst of all, no preference (almost 4%). Hundreds of thousands turned out for McCain, true. Still, tens of thousands turned out to vote against him.

Indy and North Kackalacka are both reliable red states; that so many are turning out to express their disapproval for McCain is bad news, because in real battleground states, Republican stalwarts may find themselves even less likely to turn out if their feelings are similar.

To be fair, McCain can resolve some of this situation. By picking a VP like Huckabee, he can allay the worries of social conservatives who are probably the base that is voting against the senator. But it's going to take much harder work for the "maverick" Republican to persuade a fair portion of his party's voters that they need to turn out and cast their ballots for him in November. And that's fraught with peril because the more Republican he will look, and the less maverick he will appear to the independents and purported "McCain Democrats" who would be required to push him over the line.

Bottom line: put that pessimism away. John McCain is not going to have an easy time with his own party.

Late registration, but probably no dropping out

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:43:19 EDT

Hmmm....doesn't this:

Kinda make you think of this:

Alright, alright, don't be a hater. Gotta do something while I wait for them to call Indiana....but, you know, Kanye and Barack both came up in what is sort of the same world in Chicago. An interesting convergence of images.

Fox gearing up to call it - Obama they say

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:30:54 EDT

You can always count on Fox News to call the vote before anyone else - it's only blown up once in their face so far this campaign.

North Carolina closes in 4 minutes, and they say, "Fox News to Make Projection in Minutes."

Still, it will be interesting to see how close it ends up being. Did the NC governor burn a bridge for good reason?

Update: And there it is - the clock strikes half past seven, and they say Obama wins. So is CNN, and MSNBC.

An early evening?

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:02:45 EDT

It looks to be an early evening in terms of declaring the winners and the euthanized horses in this race. And I haven't even opened a beer yet!

If you believe the leaked exit polls, it's a decent lead in Indiana for Hillary and a blow out for Obama in North Carolina. HuffPost says a 5% lead for Hillary in Indiana, a 12% lead for Obama in North Carolina. For Drudge, Hillary's "double dream" is "dashed," with Obama holding taking North Kackalacka. Jim Geraghty at the National Review, who usually has good leaks, jokes that he will be "silencing" a compromised source.

However, Huff is showing one poll with Obama ahead in Indiana by a nose. There could be some surprises this evening, and I wonder if it at least means they'll drag out calling Indiana so they can make some more ad money on the TeeVee.

If the Huff leaks are good, it'll be a good night for James Zogby, whose latest poll showed Obama far ahead of Clinton in N.C., running against polls that showed him in margin of error dangers, prompting my earlier Kackalackalype Now post (West Virginia pun still coming, but will probably involve something about "Country Road."). If Obama shocks us in Indiana, it'll be Zogby with the "double dream."

Update: And we've waived the checkered flag in Indy. Megan Kelly at Fox News is wearing eye glasses cuz I'm sure she's tired. Hillary Clinton "has reason to feel good." But, they're not calling it yet - it's a close race, they say, and MSNBC says it's "too close to call," as does CNN.

Are 'old politics' contagious?

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:38:53 EDT

Apparently it is! You know this protracted argument about whether Hillary's gas tax proposal constitutes pandering? While Hillary calls it short-term relief, Obama calls it old politics. Either way, it seems that Obama's campaign has misquoted New York Times columnist and economist, Paul Krugman, in their TV attack ad, implying that Clinton's plan would increase oil industry profits. Oh, the irony- using old politics to attack old politics. ABC News:

As we recently fact-checked, Sen. Barack Obama has been running a TV ad that falsely uses a quote from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about Sen. John McCain's gas tax holiday plan and applies it to Sen. Hillary Clinton's plan. Last night Krugman blogged on the matter."I did not say that the Clinton proposal would increase oil industry profits," Krugman writes. "If the ad implies that I did, it should be retracted. The Clinton proposal is financed by an excess profits tax. At worst, it sends money in a circle. In practice, it would probably reduce oil industry profits at least slightly, since the rise in the pre-tax price of gasoline probably wouldn’t wipe out all of the tax cut. I was very clear when I wrote about the Clinton proposal that while I didn’t think it was good policy, it was not the same as McCain’s, and relatively harmless. If the Obama people are suggesting otherwise, they’re being deliberately dishonest."

What does early reporting on tonight's primaries tell us?

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:00:58 EDT

Something big could happen tonight to change the course of the Democratic nomination, but the feeling that's in the air is most likely just that--a feeling. After a long back-and-forth in the primary battle, I am more inclined to believe that many are feeling anxiety/anticipation rather than an actual game-changing moment. We all want to know when this thing is going to break. Is Hillary going to really shift the momentum in this race? Can Obama close the deal and sew this thing up?

After having read 3 contradicting articles in a row about what early voting in N.C. and Indiana could mean, I'm more resigned to the idea that not too much is going to change after tonight. Margins of victory and parsing each constituency will probably be tonigh's excitement. Why? Well, The New Republic is running an election preview that shows Obama raking in early votes in NC due mainly to African-American voting.They also cite a SurveyUSA poll that breaks down the voting as follows:

This just-released SurveyUSA poll puts early voters at about one-quarter of the total in North Carolina. The early voters prefer Obama by a 57-41 margin. For what it's worth, Indiana also does early voting, but it's a much, much smaller share of the likely electorate. (Only about 3 percent according to SurveyUSA.)

That doesn't seem quite as high as the media was projecting earlier, although it's still very solid. At the same time, TNR has an article on Clinton's NC co-chair, Ace Smith, whose silver bullet is early voting and unearthing the vote in rural communities. From that info., I'd expect Clinton to get a decent chunk of the early vote and/or reap some good margins in those rural counties. Furthermore, that TNR election preview also sites the final Zogby poll that projects a huge 14-point margin of victory in NC for Obama, but the New York Observer reports that a 15-point trouncing in NC probably won't happen. It appears that the big Drudge headline that Obama was going to win by 15 in NC this morning, may have been manufactured by the Clinton camp to lower expectations. NY Observer:

The Obama campaign couldn't have been thrilled with Drudge's expectation-warping headline this morning: "DANGER DAY: HILLARY FACES '15-POINT DEFEAT' IN NC." I asked Obama spokesperson Jen Psaki about the report, which was attributed to a top Clinton campaign staffer. She wouldn't respond directly, but offered this admirable effort at counter-spin:"The Clinton campaign, including their top surrogate Terry McAuliffe and President Clinton, have said that big wins in North Carolina are important for their campaign and we'll take them at their word." Also, this: "If we lived and died by the polls we would have won the nomination and dropped out of the race by now."

So what's this all mean? We'll find out tonight, but one thing is certain: don't buy all the spin. Nobody really knows what will happen, but chances are, not too much is going to change.

Change Rocks in North Carolina

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:41:45 EDT

From the progressive center of North Carolina comes this report from Brian Russell of yesh.com. He explores why music and politics go hand in hand, why young people get "it", and how music can change the world.

On Friday May 2 the Obama campaign held a free get out the vote event called Change Rocks. On this day it was held in Carrboro, NC, a small town just west of Chapel Hill. The outdoor rock concert featured local indie rock band Superchunk and the hotness of the moment Arcade Fire. It was unseasonably warm and several thousand people showed up for this free event to rock out and vote.

Citizen Kate: Out of Indiana

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:26:47 EDT

Thanks to "Citizen Kate" for sending us her video reports out of Indiana. Clinton rally? Comedy? Clearly. Comedian Kate is pretty funny- Seems to be thrown out of a lot of places, nice to see Veracifier columnist Mike Gravel help her out. Keep up the good work Kate!

Magical realism and the Burmese cyclone

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:11:13 EDT

Part of the inspiration for Latin America's concept of magical realism was the screwed up governments that existed in the places where that genre was written. If the president told you life was great, you knew life was terrible; if they told you a handful of people died from a minor disaster, you had to ask how big the hand was, and believe the disaster was beyond comprehension.

In Burma, we're moving in that direction overnight. AP is reporting that according to state media, instead of 10,000 dead overall, 10,000 Burmese citizens died in ONE TOWN. The official Chinese media, ordinarily staid and good at broadcasting its own Confucian form of magical realism, is putting the numbers killed at "at least 15,000." (It's also reporting that, and I quote in magically realistic English, "A minor part of the daily life started to resume in Myanmar's former capital of Yangon Sunday, the first day in the aftermath of the deadly cyclone Nargis strike the country for 10 hours from Saturday night to Saturday noon.")

Estimates seem to be running that "hundreds of thousands" were affected and without clean drinking water and shelter, and it seems we're likely to discover that many, many more than 15,000 have died in one of the most awfully governed countries in the world. Mortality from the after effects of the disaster, and three days of inaction, while the psychotic tyranny of Burma continues to make up its disbelief-suspending mind about what it wants to admit to the world and how much access it wants to grant, will likely be off the charts, too.

It's great that First Lady Laura Bush took time out from planning her daughter's wedding to speak out agains the Burmese tyranny for failing to ease its people's suffering. Mrs. Bush really deserves praise for speaking so forthrightly and seriously in a way we have never seen her husband do in the immediate aftermath of disasters close to home (Katrina) and far away (the Indian Ocean tsunami). Of course, while Mrs. Bush let the press conference devolve at the end into a chummy discussion with the press about Jenna's wedding on Saturday, and failed to bring the oppobrium down on China that is required to get vital American relief into the country.

Mrs. Bush made a limp-wristed strike at Chinese gem buyers for funneling money into Burma, but when asked about what was necessary to get adequate relief into the country, said only that, "Certainly we hope that India, for instance, and other countries in the neighborhood can step up if they won't accept aid from the United States."

The "other countries" in the region who have any influence on Burma are China, China, and China. And China without question is sheltering the awful Burmese dictators as the people whose spirits they've attempted to crush are starving and succumbing to disease. President Hu Jintao blithely declared yesterday, "his belief that Myanmar would soon overcome the difficulties caused by the cyclone and restore normal life for its people under the leadership of the State Peace and Development Council." I.e. the international community should stay out of the awful Burmese government's way as it tries to decide how much wreckage it should acknowledge in the country.

By refusing to name China as part of the problem in alleviating the suffering of the Burmese cyclone victims, Mrs. Bush spoiled her opportunity to flex America's true moral authority. Until we publicly woodshed China and force them to use their authority to open the country's borders to extensive international relief not under the government's thumb, hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of Burmese people will suffer and have their lives shortened.

Racist Dems and the Libertarian Alternative

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:32:18 EDT

Racists and race baiters in the Democratic Party are now the only thing keeping the nomination from Barack Obama. The way Hillary and her minions stoked the Jeremiah Wright controversy will go down as one of the most successful racist appeals in political history---- right up with Willie Horton. I expect racist campaigns from Republicans but seeing race baiting succeed with Democratic voters is disappointing and disgusting.

Hillary’s only effective weapon has been the race card. She and Bill pitted Latinos against African-Americans in California and Texas. Jeremiah Wright’s idiotic but irrelevant comments allowed the Clintons to save their campaign. Hillary has found prominent allies in her race baiting including Bill O’Reilly who invited her on his show so she could win over his angry white audience.

Howard Dean’s refusal to condemn Hillary’s tactics is one of the most cowardly displays I have seen in my long career. (Howard, ever hear the phrase “Silence is Complicity”?) And why don’t the super delegates stop the madness by automatically rallying around the people’s choice? Do they fear a black man leading their ticket? Passive racism and cowardice have always posed the greatest threat to racial progress in America. Rabid racists are easy to spot and confront. The latent racism that now threatens to rip apart the Democratic Party is much more insidious, elusive and powerful.

If the Democratic Party gives into the racists and hands the nomination to Hillary, they will deal a devastating blow to racial harmony in America. For the good of the country, I hope Dean and the super delegates are not that craven and stupid. But if they are, the Libertarian Party and I will warmly welcome Obama supporters, black voters and the anti-war movement. Running against Clinton and McCain, I will be the only anti-war, anti-racist candidate. My record (pro-civil rights, pro-fair tax, pro-gay marriage) will attract millions of Obama supporters, Libertarians, and progressives. And together we will bring real change to the White House.

Senator Mike Gravel

Kackalackalypse now?

Mon, 05 May 2008 10:19:10 EDT

No one thinks that Barack Obama is going to win Indiana, but no one really thought he was going to have a close one in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago.

Now, an Insider Advantage poll, taken with a hefty group of 781 likely voters yesterday, (via Real Clear Politics) shows a 3 point margin between him and Senator Clinton. That's what we call margin of error territory, or a tie.

My handicapping: If Obama wins another Guam-style margin in North Carolina, Clinton will immediately peel off a stampede of superdelegates. If Obama loses NC, he should start thinking about asking to serve as Clinton's vice president.

As Mr./Col. Kurtz might have said, "the horror, the horror."

A perfect storm

Mon, 05 May 2008 10:01:02 EDT

The psychotic government in Burma (known to some as Myanmar) is now acknowledging that the death toll from the cyclone that hit the country over the weekend might be as high as 10,000 people. It's a staggering loss of human life in a country where it's valued so little. Photos like this one at left won't come close to capturing the true impact of the devastation - a few felled trees in a national capital probably compare in no way to what we can't see in the hinterlands where peripatetic photojournalists are not allowed to go.

Now, how to respond to help the survivors and traumatized victims is going to be a tough decision for the international community to make.

In 2004 when a tsunami killed hundreds of thousands in the Aceh region of Indonesia, it was difficult to know at first what the precise death toll was. The military of Indonesia was still fighting a vicious civil war against Acehnese separatists, and there was a cordon sanitaire around the region. For too many dangerous days after the tsunami, the real cost of the disaster wasn't clear. It wasn't until the Indonesia military was forced to come to grips with the scale of the tragedy that it opened Aceh up to the international community and let in a coalition of the willing led by the US Navy to help the survivors. Now there's peace in the country.

In Indonesia, the was a corrupt government, but one that has proven itself capable of implementing complicated development schemes at some level. Burma, by contrast, ranks at the bottom of Transparency International's corruption index, alongside Somalia, which has no coherent governing institutions. TI warned in an October 2007 declaration that, "Corrupt governments do not respond to the basic needs of their citizens, nor do they respect their human rights, including the right to equal treatment before the law."

With such estimations, it's not difficult to conclude that any money flowing into Burma's dictatorship is going to be shred apart by corruption. One wants to give to help the victims, but then one wonders how much of each dollar will actually make it to seeing to the needs of Burmese citizens who were lashed by the cyclone. And with Burma so sensitive about its sovereignty, as most psychosis-style tyrannies are, it's difficult to imagine regional military powers with adequate capability (the United States and India) coming in to make sure the relief effort is ably put together.

For the moment, it's difficult to imagine what to do. Pray for the people of Burma, and that their awful tyrants will move out of the way and let help come from where it is available to those who need it.

Stop boring the press!

Sun, 04 May 2008 14:27:09 EDT

Hey, remember when Barack Obama was the presidential candidate that you most wanted to have a beer with?

Back in February, Hillary Clinton was tossing that critique around, via CBS News' campaign blog:

During a campaign stop Monday night, Hillary Clinton warned a crowd of several thousand supporters that picking a president should be based more on experience than popularity, pointing out that President George W. Bush is a product of voters choosing based a president based on popularity.

“We need to know as specifically as possible what our next president intends to do. We don’t need a leap of faith, we don’t need to have a beer with the next president, we had that president,” she said.

"I’d be happy to have a beer too we can talk about what we’re going to do to solve our problems.”

Now, he's the arugula-gobbling elitist who'd rather have high-end dinner parties than carbs. This annoying Newsweek cover story last week summarized that notion by giving whole column inches over to apparently non-elitist New York Times columnists who explained why Obama, who we once wanted to kick back with, is too shi shi for us:

Obama has had the misfortune to run for the presidency in an age when reporters are watching, it seems, every time the candidate picks up a fork or orders a meal. Here is The New York Times's Maureen Dowd on Obama's efforts to appear to be a regular guy through carbohydrate consumption: "In the final days in Pennsylvania, he dutifully logged time at diners and force-fed himself waffles, pancakes, sausage, and a Philly cheesesteak. He split the pancakes with Michelle, left some of the waffle and sausage behind, and gave away the French fries that came with the cheesesteak. But this is clearly a man who can't wait to get back to his organic scrambled egg whites …"

For real, why report news when you can just re-print something that some columnist imagined up between her three-martini lunch that she expensed with her failing media empire's accountants and her deadline?

How did we get here? Ironically, it is Karl Rove in the same issue of Newsweek who sums up the problem for Obama:

Your stump speech is sounding old and out of touch. You made a mistake by not giving the bored press (and voters) something new last Tuesday when you lost Pennsylvania.

You see, the press is bored. They've expended all of their creative energies on this never-ending campaign, and now there's nothing else to write about. In February they dwelled on how Obama was too cool and fun to hang around with. Now they're going the other way, and making the story into one about how you, the supposed voter, aren't cool enough to hang out with Senator Obama.

The lesson: basically, don't believe anything you read or see on TeeVee ever again.

In Vito, veritas

Sun, 04 May 2008 14:05:04 EDT

Time for a new sign on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island: Beware red-light running, possibly drunken congressmen in the area.

Seriously, ever since Rep. Bill Janklow of South Dakota accidentally killed one of his handful of constituents in his big white Caddie in 2003, you wonder why any congressional chief of staff in his or her right mind would let a Membere of Congress near a steering wheel. But apparently this Staten Island Republican was driving....somewhere, and drunk, in Virginia in the early hours of Thursday morning, and he was fortunately caught after running a red light before he pulled a Janklow of his own.

Another fine, upstanding public servant from the Gingrich Generation (note: not the greatest generation). This one pleads that he's very sorry and he hopes the people of Staten Island will forgive him. You know what, I hope they forgive him, too. That doesn't mean a judge should do so. The law and the public are two different things. Drunk driving is a major killer, and a congressman committing such an act should make the blood boil a little bit. As those federally-sponsored commercials point out, you will get caught, and they got him. We don't know so far if there was any flashing of congressional business cards to police officers, a la Larry Craig. But it doesn't sound like Fossella deserves treatment any different from any other offender caught putting people at risk because he couldn't get a car to come pick him up.

Congressional condemnation via the Ethics Committee cannot come too quickly. And once it does, he's outta there. This partisan posturing whereby "Republican operatives" are speedily declaring anonymously that this issue shouldn't be taken advantage of is callow: what issue more deserves to be taken advantage of than a sitting member of congress showing us his judgment is so good that he got tanked with a bunch of constituents and then decided to play a game of speed racer on his way home?

If whatever judge hears this case in a couple of weeks decides to punt, then we're back in a fun game of justice for the rest of us, and justice for sitting members of congress. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Guam recount is "imminent"

Sat, 03 May 2008 22:32:08 EDT

From the Pacific News Center:

Officials Say Recount Is 'Imminent'

Guam - The Democrat Party Nominating Committee said officials will look over the large amount of "spoiled ballots" in the coming days.

At issue is the small margin of victory of Senator Barack Obama. He beat his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton by 7 votes, but well over 500 ballots were deemed invalid during the tabulation process.

Herbie Perez, chairman of the nominating committee, said she will not certify the results because the Committee needs to ensure that all the uncounted ballots were properly identified as "spoiled."

She said officials from the Party and representatives from both candidates will meet probably Monday or Tuesday to address that issue.

Perez revealed she is also looking into the missing ballots.

More than 8,100 were printed in response to reports of shortages at precinct sites. But when the final tally came in, only a little over 4,500 ballots were used. - Pacific News Center - Guam, Saipan, CNMI, Asia-Pacific

Clinton's ace in the hole

Sat, 03 May 2008 22:02:52 EDT

The LA Times has a great profile of Clinton's North Carolina director Ace Smith. Part Michael Corleone, part Darth Vader, Smith is both feared and respected for his masterful ability to put together votes and deliver big victories. Smith is the man who helped Clinton clinch big wins in California and Texas. If you have any interest in campaign strategy, check out the story below.

Clinton consultant 'Ace' Smith feared and admire

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sitting on the sunny patio of a coffee shop last weekend, Averell "Ace" Smith hardly seemed the kind of guy to strike fear into a politician's heart.

The 49-year-old California political operative -- who helped Hillary Rodham Clinton to victories in the California and Texas Democratic presidential primaries and is now running her North Carolina operation -- was a study in bland: beige polo shirt, beige slacks, bright blue eyes framed by wire-rimmed glasses, a fringe of gray hair around a pink scalp.

Yet people -- many of them fellow Democrats -- frequently use melodramatic imagery to describe him.

"I believe that every life lesson in politics can be extrapolated from 'The Godfather,' " said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist and friend of Smith's who has worked for the Clintons.

"Some people are Fredos; at game time they disappear. There are Sonnys, who yell and scream. . . . The most effective ones are the Michael Corleones. Very quiet, they know under which rib to insert the knife. . . . Ace is a Michael Corleone."

The next round of the seemingly interminable quest for the Democratic nomination takes place Tuesday, when Indiana and North Carolina vote. They are the first contests since April 22, when Clinton beat Barack Obama in Pennsylvania.

The race is close in Indiana. In North Carolina, which has a sizable African American electorate, polls have shown Obama ahead, but Clinton has been gaining support over the last week. The fact that the Clinton campaign stationed Smith here signals how crucial the state is to her; she intends to fight for every vote.

"Everyone knew that Pennsylvania was essentially going to be a walk for Clinton and that the whole thing would come down to Indiana and North Carolina," said Joe Trippi, a top advisor to former presidential candidate John Edwards. "Guess where Ace Smith is? I don't think that's an accident."

If Smith can help Clinton seriously narrow Obama's margin of victory -- or even beat him -- in the Tar Heel State, the New York senator's argument that she is the more electable of the two will gain considerable strength.

A victory would also burnish Smith's reputation as a top-notch strategist and perhaps change his image as a fearsome practitioner of a dark political art: opposition research.

Ben Austin, a Democratic political consultant who worked in the Clinton White House and now supports Obama, put it this way: "He is one of the few balding, bespectacled guys who I wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley."

But not all Democrats are fans. "It's admirable if you can lie and get away with it," said Kam Kuwata, a consultant to former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, who ran against Smith client Antonio Villaraigosa twice -- successfully in 2001, unsuccessfully in 2005.

And Republicans? Attorney Ken Khachigian, a longtime Republican strategist, is a reluctant admirer. He faced off with Smith in 2006 when a client, former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, lost to Smith client and former Gov. Jerry Brown for California attorney general. "He does what he has to do," Khachigian said. "He'll be relentless and tough. He fits right in with the Clinton war machine."

Khachigian figured in Smith's biggest political heartbreak. In 1990, Smith was deeply involved in the campaign of his father, longtime San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith, who ran against Dan Lungren for state attorney general. Smith won on election day but lost two weeks later when absentee ballots barely put Lungren over the top.

Even now, Ace Smith has a hard time discussing it: "I'll tell you something. I have a tremendous amount of empathy for President Clinton. . . . I mean, if you see someone criticizing, attacking your father, in my case, or his wife, in his case, you just want to slug 'em."

Nevertheless, he said, "you cannot run campaigns if you can't remain calm in the face of adversity and bad polls. The best thing is to be as dispassionate as possible."

Up and down the state of California, political reporters have Ace Smith stories. They speak of heavy boxes landing on their desks, ammunition culled from public records that Smith hopes will shape the campaign narrative.

The topic might be voting records, inflated resume claims, long-ago brushes with the law or questionable business dealings. Not infrequently, stories ensue. Reporters say he is charming, helpful, tenacious and not averse to going over their heads to editors in an attempt to shape a story -- or kill one if he senses it is going to make a client look bad.

When The Times reported in 2006 that Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo -- then running for attorney general -- falsely claimed to have played professional football in Canada, Smith -- representing Democratic primary rival Brown -- made sure reporters had copies of the team roster for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 2005, working for Villaraigosa, he figured, correctly, that a minor billing scandal in the DWP would tar then-Mayor Hahn as a do-nothing who allowed corruption to flourish.

"Ace is very mischievous, in a dark way," said real estate developer Steve Soboroff, whose unsuccessful campaign for Los Angeles mayor in 2001 marked Smith's transition from opposition researcher to campaign manager.

Soboroff recalled that Smith was annoyed at a reporter and invited him to a meeting, promising to give him a scoop and telling him he had to be there at a certain time.

"So when the reporter showed up," Soboroff said, "we were holding the elevator, and as soon as he got close enough to see us, Ace said, 'Oh no, it's too late.' " The elevator doors closed, leaving the reporter behind, scoopless.

Smith -- whose company, SCN Public Relations, has earned about $140,000 from the Clinton campaign since 2007 -- works out of his home in the upscale Marin County town of Kentfield, where he lives with his wife, Laura, a fundraiser, and their children, Abram, 17, and Lili, 14.

He specializes in California races, but Smith has worked all over the country. In the late '80s, he traveled nationwide as political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. In 1992, before Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign, he produced "vulnerability studies" (the genteel term for "oppo" on your own guy) for the Arkansas governor.

When Smith heard that the Clintons wanted him in North Carolina, he did what he always does before parachuting into a state: grabbed his copy of "Inside U.S.A.," a 1947 guidebook by journalist John Gunther. "I always start there," he said. Then he picks up a AAA guidebook: "I read that start to finish 'cause it has all these odd little facts and pieces about small towns and you get a real flavor for what's going on."

This year in particular, small towns are a major part of his strategy. With Obama faring better in the big cities and among the affluent and well-educated, hitting the smaller population centers has been crucial to Clinton's success. Smith will often send Bill Clinton, who can pop in and out of small towns with ease. (Getting Hillary Clinton there is a cumbersome operation: big jet, lots of aides, the national press.)

Indeed, on Wednesday the former president held rallies in seven North Carolina towns whose populations ranged from less than 3,000 to 23,000. Smith said his internal polling shows that African Americans still have the highest regard for Bill Clinton, even though he has made remarks about Obama that offended many.

"He is enormously talented at looking at voting patterns and demographics and figuring out where you can actually put votes together," Lehane said. "I remember the day before the California primary, there were polls showing it was a dead heat, and some even had Obama surging ahead. The campaign was hectoring him from the East Coast, and he guaranteed them a 10-point win, which is exactly what he delivered."

How could he make such a guarantee? Easy, Smith said. "The way we put it away well before election day was to get millions and millions of Democratic women to cast their ballots . . . before the election. Everything we had was geared to getting all those votes, absentee."

County registrars had lists of those who'd returned absentee ballots, and Smith, with an army of volunteers on cellphones, polled a couple of million of them. "We got to a point," said Smith, "where it was mathematically impossible for Obama to win on election day."

North Carolina is a different story. "In California, Hillary went in with an institutional and demographic advantage," said consultant Austin, referring to her name recognition and popularity among Latinos.

"In North Carolina, Obama goes in with the demographic advantage, and if Ace can pull that out, he will truly have proved his mettle."

Obama wins the Guam caucuses by just 7 votes

Sat, 03 May 2008 19:31:03 EDT

This seems unreal, but Obama carried Guam by only 7 votes. Obama was looking for a big win to bolster his campaign against his opponent, Hillary Clinton, who has won the last 4 primaries, but such a tiny win ain't gonna do it. Even though it seems as though Obama should have won by more-due in part to Guam's proximity to Indonesia, where Obama lived as a child, and because this was a caucus, a contest that favors Obama- this hardly gives Clinton bragging rights. Looks like we'll have to wait for Tuesday's primaries, but chances are, we won't see a huge shift in the race after that either.

From the New York Times/AP:

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) -- Barack Obama has defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in Saturday's Democratic caucuses on Guam by just seven votes. More than 4,500 island Democrats voted.

Neither candidate campaigned on the island in person.

Results of the all-night count completed Sunday morning Guam time show delegates pledged to Obama with 2,264 votes to 2,257 for Clinton's slate.

The territory sends four pledged delegates and five superdelegates to the National Convention in August in Denver although U.S. citizens on the island have no vote in the November election.

Voters also picked two superdelegates by electing a new party chairman who is uncommitted and a vice chairman who supports Obama.

One other existing superdelegate has favored Clinton and the remaining two are uncommitted.

Hillary tries out island life (by satellite)

Sat, 03 May 2008 12:00:56 EDT

If you started digging a hole in the ground when you were a kid, you used to hope that you'd end up in China. Now when you start digging a hole as a presidential candidate, you end up in Guam.

From Jake Tapper at ABC News:

Guam's four Democratic delegates (not to mention its five superdelegates) are up for grabs in Saturday's primary, and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has told residents of that Pacific territory that as president she will work to give them the right to vote for president.

Residents of U.S. territories do not have the right to vote in presidential elections, nor do they have full representation in the U.S. Congress.

As Ben Smith pointed out, no local issue goes untended. Sigh. I guess I wish I could be trying out some island life too, right now. And I bet so do the Democratic candidates.

There's only one solution here if Senator Obama wants those 9 delegates. He needs to get on a plane immediately and promise Guamanians full statehood. Or maybe just that he'll use American technological ingenuity to pull the island closer to the mainland so that American Idol doesn't broadcast live at 12 noon anymore in their territory.

Also, while the senator is down there, he might want to stage some more photos like this. Because back in January 2007, that was enough to get the pulses of the nation's pollsters racing.

Alas, Hillary's boogie boarding doesn't seem to be making much of a difference. AP's Guam bureau (who knew) is reporting 395 to 320 votes for the sort of native of Hawaii.

Northwestern University keeps one Jerry, boots the other

Fri, 02 May 2008 18:47:16 EDT

Northwestern University rescinded its offer to award an honorary doctoral degree to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at the school's main graduation ceremony next month. The university plans to have alum Jerry Springer give its law school commencement address, however. The yanking of the invite is a first for Northwestern, which issued the following statement. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Commencement at Northwestern is a time of celebration of the accomplishments of Northwestern's graduating students and their families," the statement read. "In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure that the celebratory character of commencement not be affected, the university has withdrawn its invitation to Wright."

In response to the disinivation, Wright was quoted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram saying that NU President Henry Bienen told him he canceled the honorary degree of doctor of sacred theology "because I was not patriotic."

A Northwestern spokesman denies the veracity of Wright's claim.

GOP tossing out journalists?

Fri, 02 May 2008 11:07:20 EDT

Minnesota's Republican Party seems very camera-shy. Over the past several months Republicans have prevented journalists from recording their candidates at events. The latest incident was rather dramatic as Gavin Sullivan was tossed out of the Republican convention for district 42B for shooting video.

The Uptake shows us Gavin Sullivan's video and talks to another journalist who has been tossed out twice from Republican events. Here's Gavin Sullivan, a citizen journalist, trying to cover the Minnesota Republican Convention for District 42 B. Watch what happens. Unfortunately it's not an isolated incident. Over the past several months, Minnesota Republicans have repeated booted video journalists from their events.

Bill O'Reilly's Hillary interview, part II

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:21:27 EDT

Here it is, equally as interesting as the first half. It's heavier on policy, and overall, the interview has been getting very good reviews.

Edwards strategist thinks his candidate could have won

Thu, 01 May 2008 19:56:15 EDT

Joe Trippi believes his candidate, John Edwards could have forced a brokered convention if he stayed in the race, perhaps even winning the nomination. Is there any validity to this? Did Edwards even have the money to continue? It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure if hindsight is even 20-20 in this case.

From the Huffington Post:

Joe Trippi writes about what he wishes he would have told John Edwards:
I didn't tell him what I should have told him: That I had this feeling that if he stayed in the race he would win 300 or so delegates by Super Tuesday and have maybe a one-in-five chance of forcing a brokered convention.That there was a path ahead that would be extremely painful, but could very well put him and his causes at the top of the Democratic agenda. And that in politics anything can happen-even the possibility that in an open convention with multiple ballots an embattled and exhausted party would turn to him as their nominee. I should have closed my eyes to the pain I saw around me on the campaign bus, including my own. I should have told him emphatically that he should stay in. My regret that I did not do so-that I let John Edwards down-grows with every day that the fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continues. ...

I thought we could make a big dent in Ohio by appealing to middle-class working people. The same in places like Kansas, Colorado and the Dakotas. It was possible to make those a dead-heat for all three candidates in terms of delegate wins. And today, as I write this, I realize we might have had as many as 500 delegates heading into Pennsylvania and North Carolina, two states that would probably be strong for Edwards.

That would mean Edwards, Obama and Clinton would go into the convention without any of them close to sealing the nomination. You would have had months of Obama and Clinton banging away at each other, with Edwards able to come across to weary Democrats as a welcome, fresh face.? You'd have the electability argument begin to play to Edwards' advantage, since he always did well against McCain in polling. These possibilities and more played through my mind.

O'Reilly's Hillary interview part 1

Thu, 01 May 2008 19:43:08 EDT

Below find part the first half of Bill O'Reilly's interview with Hillary Clinton. The second part will air tonight at 8 pm EST on Fox, and then it will be replayed at 11 pm EST. For what it's worth, it was a very good interview.

A glimpse into the future: Floridians protest in front of DNC HQ

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:04:30 EDT

Roughly 250 angry Floridians, who were predominately Latino, protested today in front of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters today. Click here for the video. See below for the full article from Media General News Service.

Florida Latinos Protest At Nat’l Democratic Party HQ

By Billy House
Media General News Service
April 30 2008

WASHINGTON -- About 250 Floridians – most of them Latino – who are upset with the stalemate over the state’s presidential delegates demonstrated outside of Democratic National Committee headquarters Wednesday.

Peacefully chanting “Florida Must Count!’ and “Count Our Votes!” while carrying placards and miniature Florida flags, many of the demonstrators acknowledged they were backers of Hillary Clinton.

But organizers depicted the event as aimed at a larger issue, and that it was not intended to boost Clinton.

“This is a civil liberties issue – not a campaign or candidate issue,” said Jose Fernandez, the Florida state coordinator for the League of United Latin American Citizens, speaking to the crowd.

Standing in the crowd, Fred Araque, 66, a truck driver from Spring Hill, Fla., pointed to his wife Adela, 65, and said, “She is for Hillary, and I am for Hillary."

“I think most of the people here are for Hillary,” said Araque.

That should not be surprising. Clinton, who trails Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential delegate tally, has been saying her victory in Florida’s Jan. 29 primary should count for some delegates.

And the Obama campaign says publicly that anything other than completely eliminating Clinton's advantage – in other words, splitting the delegates evenly between the two -- is unfair. He contends the Florida primary wasn't fair because the candidates, even though they were on the ballot, didn't campaign here.

The national party decided last year to strip the state of any of delegates because it violated party rules by moving up its primary date.

At the rally Wednesday, among those selected to speak behind a podium set at the entrance of DNC headquarters included Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, Fla., a national Clinton campaign co-chairwoman, and Kim Gandy, the National Organization for Women president who has endorsed Clinton.

Speaking to the crowd, Wasserman Schultz suggested that disregarding the Jan. 29 primary ballot choices of 1.7 million Florida Democratic primary voters could alienate these voters in a key presidential swing-state.

“We can’t begin this general election with one hand tied behind our back,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Another speaker was Anita de Palma, 66, of Clearwater, Fla. She is a past Florida director of the League of United Latin American Citizens who is now running as a Democratic candidate for the congressional seat now held by Republican Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor.

“This is our heritage!” said de Palma, referring to the right to vote and have that vote count. “Our forefathers fought for it, our father’s fought for it, and I’ll be damned if we are going to let it get away from us now!”

Luis Vera, LULAC's national legal advisor, reminded the Florida demonstrators of the 2000 presidential vote recount controversy.

"They (the DNC) need to understand that this is the second time in your lifetime that they've told you your vote doesn't count," said Vera.

Also attending the event was Jim Hannagan, a marketing strategist who has launched an effort from Palm Harbor to petition the DNC to seat Florida’s delegates at the party’s convention in Denver.

Hannagan’s effort, known as “Florida Demands Representation,” has been holding its own rallies across Florida and he says it is well on its way toward collecting a hoped-for 1.5 million signed petitions to deliver to the DNC in June (www.floridademandsrepresentation.org).

Other organizations helping to organize or participating in the event sponsored by LULAC included the Florida Voters League, University of Central Florida, and the Southern Leadership Coalition.

DNC chairman Howard Dean was in Connecticut, and did not address the crowd.

But spokesman Luis Miranda said Dean has already declared that the national party is committed to seating Florida delegates at its nominating convention in Denver.

“The key thing here is that we are committed to seeing that happens,” said Miranda. But so far, the party has been unable to come up with a compromise the two candidates can agree upon as the August convention draws nearer.

During the rally, DNC officials passed out bottles of water. They also handed out fliers reminding the protestors that Dean had stood alongside Florida members of Congress on the same steps outside DNC headquarters in early April to say he is committed to seating a Florida delegation.

The DNC even sought to make lemonade, at least for a day, out of the sour taste the party’s action has left in the mouth of many Floridians.

Even before the Florida protestors had arrived at DNC headquarters, national party staffers put up a banner over the headquarter entrance, sure to be visible in any TV coverage of the event.

It read: “John McCain = 3rd Bush Term.”

Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhousemediageneral.com