Hillary to kickoff final push in Mt Lebanon today

From Schultz:

I just heard that Hillary Rodham Clinton will be kicking off the final two days of GOTV at the Mt Lebanon field office this Monday at 9:30am. If you are coming get there early because it will be a full house. Even if you cannot get in the office be sure to stick around because Hillary will most likely want to speak to those waiting outside the office.

Canvassing will start at 10am sharp. Please come and help us turn the South Hills blue!

Mt Lebanon Field Office
642 Washington Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15228

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No way, no how, no McCain!

I nearly teared up right before Hillary Clinton started to speak when they were showing a group holding Hillary signs for what could have been, but her rousing home run speech left me -- and the crowd -- feeling good.

Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention Part 1


Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention Part 2


Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention Part 3


Text of her speech here.
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Willful Amnesia

Yes, Hillary Clinton's behavior as the runner-up in the Democratic primary is atypical to say the least.

She's actually been far more loyal to the party and much more supportive of the winner than any number of men who came in second with far less votes. And yet the media continues to "whack her around like a piñata one more time, regardless of the facts."

From Media Matters:

Searching the recent news archives, it's hard to find many articles or television segments that reported on Clinton's symbolic nomination and also mentioned that runner-up Jerry Brown had been nominated in '92 or that Jesse Jackson had been nominated in '88 or that Gary Hart had been nominated in '84. (You get the idea.)

When The New York Times reported on Clinton's pending nomination, it made no reference to historical precedents. Neither did The Boston Globe, nor The Wall Street Journal, nor The Washington Post. And on and on and on.

On CNN, Jack Cafferty commented, "The Democratic National Convention is now shaping up to be quite a party for Hillary Clinton. Her name will be placed in nomination. She'll give a prime-time address." He made no mention that that's what previous runners-up had done at conventions.

[snip]

("Overall, between 1972 and 1992, 10 Democratic candidates who lost the nomination in the primaries went on to have their names formally placed in nomination at the convention."), it also pointed out that Clinton represents the only runner-up to speak at the convention who formally endorsed the party's nominee months before the convention; i.e., all the others grudgingly held out on endorsing their rivals.

But not Clinton. Yet she's the one slimed by media venom.

Moreover:

Meanwhile, let's be clear: Clinton isn't the only injured party here. After the press constructed the phony premise about Clinton's convention speech, critics then used it, unfairly, to tag Obama as a softie who can't even stand up to a woman. (Gasp.)

There they go again!


Read the entire article here.

(h/t to Shakesville)
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Democratic Women

Michelle Obama gave a warm, engaging, pitch-perfect speech last night. It built layer by layer to a beautiful close which asked the American people to listen to their hopes instead of their fears and to commit to "building the world as it should be."

Of course as a Democratic woman -- especially as the wife of a Democrat seeking the presidency -- she started out at a deficit.

First, she had to prove that she wasn't a crazy, ball-busting bitch.

We all know that the wives of Republican candidates are God-fearin' women who love their husbands and love their country and have all perfected the Nancy Reagan staring-on-adorably-at-hubby pose along side their spouses (especially if hubby has been caught sharing a bed or bathroom stall with someone other than the little Mrs.).

Whereas, we all know (via Republicans and the MSM) that Democratic wives are CRAZY ASS BITCHES who would soon as castrate you as look at you.

Teresa Heinz Kerry was a CRAZY BITCH who'd say any crazy ol' thing and was a Sugar Mama to her weak husband. Michelle Obama is a CRAZY BITCH and oh-my-god-scary-angry-black-woman who hates her country. And then, there's the ultimate CRAZY BITCH, Hillary Clinton, who killed her lover Vince Foster when she wasn't busy being a crazy lesbian and who just wouldn't go away and die like she was supposed to during the primary (thanks to those on the left who helped promote that wingnut meme).

The corollary to the Democratic Wife CRAZY BITCH Rule is the Democratic Male Presidential Candidate as a WEAK FOREIGN WEIRDO Rule.

Al Gore was so "feminized" according to that leftist rag writer Maureen Dowd, that "he's practically lactating." John Kerry was weak and French for godsakes! Barack is a "anorexic starlet" Paris Hilton celebrity who is even more foreign than Kerry!

They are all too weak and femme to be trusted with this nation's security.

After all, if they were REAL MEN, they wouldn't have such CRAZY BITCH wives. REAL MEN -- like Republican politicians -- know how to treat a woman (you divorce her when she becomes sick/old, call her a cunt and offer her up to a crowd of bikers for their inspection).

Anyhoo, eighty-eight years ago today the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was officially ratified and women achieved the right to vote. On the eve of this anniversary, Michelle Obama made reference to that:

"It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.

I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country..."

Moreover, she graciously remarked on the significance of Hillary Clinton's candidacy:

"People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher."

Here's her speech in case you missed it:


Michelle Obama at The Democratic National Convention
by petulant

Text here.

(And, here's the Obama kids with their Dad if you missed that moment.)
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Mike Doyle on The Election

That's Mike Doyle. He's in Congress representing Pennsylvania's Congressional 14th District, the district I live in. This election cycle, he's got no Republican opponent.

I was lucky enough to get some time with him this week to discuss the other local elections.

Pennsylvania 3rd

Before I got into the discussion Doyle began talking about the English/Dahlkemper race. He was cautiously optimistic. "I think we've got a chance to win that one," he said. Even the DCCC thinks English's seat is vulnerable. According to politickerpa, The Cook Political Report recently changed the district from "likely Republican" to "leans Republican." There's even some polling showing the race "competitive" with only 29% of those polled saying they'd like to see English re-elected.

Pennsylvania 12th

Doyle doesn't see much of a race here. Congressman Murtha's being challenged by Republican William Russell. Initially, Doyle was surprised to read that Russell's fundraising was huge but then after sifting through the FEC documents online, he realized the reality behind the numbers. We've written about it here.

Pennsylvania 18th

This is Tim Murphy's district. While it has the most favorable "blue" demographic of any district not represented by a Democrat (there are 75K more Democrats registered there than Republicans), challenger Steve O'Donnell, Doyle says, "has got some work to do." He's certainly within striking distance though, Doyle added. At this point 2 years ago, Jason Altmire was in much the same situation; not on the radar screen, trying to raise money and so on. The good news is that in that district if Democrats vote solely by party, O'Donnell wins. The trick, I am guessing, would be to raise enough money to get the word out to the district.

Pennsylvania 4th

This is the race I'm really interested in. Doyle seemed optimistic about this race as well (and he admits to being extremely cautious in these matters - he always assumes the possibility of a worse case). Congressman Altmire's got a huge cash advantage (somewhere around 2-1) and Doyle added that he hasn't heard anything bad about him. He added that he wonders why the constituents would want the representative back that they voted out of office.

National Race

Doyle thinks the Democrats are in good shape, but he's not "ready to pop the champagne cork" just yet. He said that the Democrats will clearly pick up some seats in Congress - it's just a question of how many. If there's an Obama landslide we could see a gain of 25-30 seats. If it's a squeaker or if McCain wins, we may only see a gain of 10-15 seats. The Democrats in the Senate could end up with as many as 58 seats.

He thinks Pennsylvania will go to the Democrats, but it won't be as easy as people think and criticized what he saw as some over confidence on the part of some Obama supporters. Like O'Donnell, Obama's got some work to do - especially outside of the city. While it's great for Obama to fill stadium after stadium with tens of thousands of supporters, what won large chunks of Western Pennsylvania in the primary was Senator Clinton going out and mingling with the people, one on one. That's what Western Pennsylvanians like, he said. Senator Obama needs to do both.

He also needs to address economic issues. People are nervous about the economy.

The complication for this state in this Presidential election is this: McCain can with the Presidency without winning Pennsylvania. Obama can't. He has to win Pennsylvania in order to win the White House.

UPDATE: An astute reader graciously informed me of an error of mine. I have just as graciously corrected my posting

Suck It

FISA Vote on CLOTURE:
Obama: Yay
Clinton: Nay
McCain: No show/no vote

FISA FINAL BILL VOTE:
Obama: Yay
Clinton: Nay
McCain: No show/no vote

Sen. Hillary Clinton's Statement:

STATEMENT OF SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON ON THE FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008

July 9, 2008

One of the great challenges before us as a nation is remaining steadfast in our fight against terrorism while preserving our commitment to the rule of law and individual liberty. As a senator from New York on September 11, I understand the importance of taking any and all necessary steps to protect our nation from those who would do us harm. I believe strongly that we must modernize our surveillance laws in order to provide intelligence professionals the tools needed to fight terrorism and make our country more secure. However, any surveillance program must contain safeguards to protect the rights of Americans against abuse, and to preserve clear lines of oversight and accountability over this administration. I applaud the efforts of my colleagues who negotiated this legislation, and I respect my colleagues who reached a different conclusion on today's vote. I do so because this is a difficult issue. Nonetheless, I could not vote for the legislation in its current form.

The legislation would overhaul the law that governs the administration's surveillance activities. Some of the legislation's provisions place guidelines and restrictions on the operational details of the surveillance activities, others increase judicial and legislative oversight of those activities, and still others relate to immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the administration's surveillance activities.

While this legislation does strengthen oversight of the administration's surveillance activities over previous drafts, in many respects, the oversight in the bill continues to come up short. For instance, while the bill nominally calls for increased oversight by the FISA Court, its ability to serve as a meaningful check on the President's power is debatable. The clearest example of this is the limited power given to the FISA Court to review the government's targeting and minimization procedures.

But the legislation has other significant shortcomings. The legislation also makes no meaningful change to the immunity provisions. There is little disagreement that the legislation effectively grants retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies. In my judgment, immunity under these circumstances has the practical effect of shutting down a critical avenue for holding the administration accountable for its conduct. It is precisely why I have supported efforts in the Senate to strip the bill of these provisions, both today and during previous debates on this subject. Unfortunately, these efforts have been unsuccessful.

What is more, even as we considered this legislation, the administration refused to allow the overwhelming majority of Senators to examine the warrantless wiretapping program. This made it exceedingly difficult for those Senators who are not on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees to assess the need for the operational details of the legislation, and whether greater protections are necessary. The same can be said for an assessment of the telecom immunity provisions. On an issue of such tremendous importance to our citizens - and in particular to New Yorkers - all Senators should have been entitled to receive briefings that would have enabled them to make an informed decision about the merits of this legislation. I cannot support this legislation when we know neither the nature of the surveillance activities authorized nor the role played by telecommunications companies granted immunity.

Congress must vigorously check and balance the president even in the face of dangerous enemies and at a time of war. That is what sets us apart. And that is what is vital to ensuring that any tool designed to protect us is used - and used within the law - for that purpose and that purpose alone. I believe my responsibility requires that I vote against this compromise, and I will continue to pursue reforms that will improve our ability to collect intelligence in our efforts to combat terror and to oversee that authority in Congress.

I'm still voting for Obama, but for all the shit I took on this blog during the primaries, to quote Kathy Griffin: Suck it!

Oh yeah, Bob Casey fucking voted Yay on both too. Gee, so glad PA finally got a Dem back in the Senate!

You can see all the votes here.
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Kristol smirks and mugs his way through a "conversation" on misogyny

From Echidne:

The guys are smirking all through it. Smirking, note.

What about the meat in that sexism-is-funny sandwich? The bit about the Republicans not being as misogynist as the Democrats:

Summary: On Fox News Sunday, Bill Kristol, who previously declared that "[w]hite women are a problem ... we all live with that," stated of Sen. Hillary Clinton: "She's put behind her the horrible sexism and misogyny the Democratic primary voters demonstrated, which I'm appalled by, personally. Never would have happened in the Republican Party. You know, we're -- Republicans are much more open to strong women."

Much more open to strong women? Are they indeed? And who is it who has loved to hate Hillary Clinton for the last twenty years or so? It's the wingnut wing of the Republican Party, that's who, and even in the recent primaries the most viciously sexist comments came from right-wing talk show hosts and pundits.*

*Though one would have to add that Chief-Sexist-In-Residence at MSNBC Chris Mathews certainly did his part.
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Statement from Senator Hillary Clinton to her supporters

Statement from Senator Hillary Clinton to her supporters:

Dear _________,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Last Night's Speeches

First the trainwreck. The good folks over at the National Review didn't seem to like it very much, bless their hearts. Here's Mark Levin:

Not to offend those who might be offended, but this speech is a mash and tough to digest. You have to get through the self-congratulatory praise of independence and commander-in-chief pose from the Senate, then you have to try to follow the inconsistency of some of his big-government ideas vs. his anti-big-government rhetoric, and his inconsistency even on his supposed strength — the surge in Iraq vs. closing GITMO and conferring additional rights on the detainees. I am also put off by some of the anti-Bush stuff. Distancing himself from Bush is one thing, but he almost exclusively (as best I can tell) criticizes him, giving Bush little credit (tax cuts, Supreme Court appointments and yes, the surge, which Bush ordered not McCain).

And Jonah Goldberg:

Substance aside, Obama crushed McCain in all other ways that matter. Aesthetically, politically, rhetorically etc, it boiled down to Godzilla versus Bambi. And, amazingly enough, McCain was Bambi.

And Amy Holmes:

McCain's speech was creaky, ungracious, and unnecessary. I never understand why politicians don't take the opportunity, when so easily presented, to simply be gracious and hold their fire. Watching McCain, I couldn't help but think of the astonishing contrast Barack's triumphant speech to a massive and adoring crowd will be. It was not a comparison McCain should have invited.

It would have been more statesmanlike — precisely the profile McCain is attempting to craft — to acknowledge this historic moment in American politics. A major party is on the cusp of selecting an African American to be their nominee for President of the United States. It's a tribute to America that we've come this far. It would have been magnanimous to leave it at that, and wait until tomorrow to declare with enthusiasm and relish, "It's on!"

Watch it (if you can) and decide for yourself:

Next there's Senator Clinton's speech:

The text can be found here. Johnny Mac had this to say about her speech:

That was, quite simply, the rudest most ungracious exit speech that wasn't an exit speech in modern political history.

Go read the rest of it. No punches are pulled, no faces are saved, no ambiguity about what McIntire's thinking.

And finally, Senator Obama's speech:

The text can be found here.

IT'S OVER

From the AP:

Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday after a grueling marathon, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.

Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial and gender divisions within the party.

The tally was based on public declarations from delegates as well as from another 15 who have confirmed their intentions to the AP. It also included 11 delegates Obama was guaranteed as long as he gained 30 percent of the vote in South Dakota and Montana later in the day. It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination.

This is from the Clinton camp:

Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

Obama is 40 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, but he is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana. Once he reaches the magic number of 2,118, Clinton will acknowledge that he has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee.

However (and there always seems to be a "however" these days):

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City.

And later:

The advisers said Clinton has made a strategic decision to not formally end her campaign, giving her leverage to negotiate with Obama on various matters including a possible vice presidential nomination for her. She also wants to press him on issues he should focus on in the fall, such as health care.

Then there's this from Terry McAuliffe. He was on the Today show this morning and TPMCafe is reporting that this exchange occurred:

QUESTION: If Barack Obama reaches that number today or tomorrow do you believe that Sen. Clinton is prepared to concede?

McAULIFFE: Yeah, I think that if Sen. Obama gets the numbers, I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him, and call him the nominee.

If all this is true, the first thing I have to do is to go buy Maria a beer.

UPDATE: Or is it. I just found this at CNN:

Sen. Hillary Clinton's is "absolutely not" prepared to concede the race for the Democratic presidential nomination to Sen. Barack Obama, her campaign chairman said.

Terry McAuliffe rejected as "100 percent" incorrect an Associated Press report that Clinton is preparing to acknowledge that Obama has the delegates to win the nomination Tuesday night as the five-month Democratic primary process comes to a close.

Obama "doesn't have the numbers today, and until someone has the numbers the race goes on," McAuliffe told CNN.

We'll see what happens when he has the numbers.

Follow Up On Yesterday

First, the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting. From New York Times:

To jeers and boos that showcased deep party divisions, Democratic Party officials agreed Saturday to seat delegates from the disputed Florida and Michigan primaries at the party’s convention in August but give them only half a vote each, dealing a setback to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The agreement, reached by the rules committee of the Democratic National Committee behind closed doors and voted on publicly before a raucous audience of supporters of the two candidates, would give Mrs. Clinton a net gain of 24 delegates over Senator Barack Obama. But this fell far short of her hopes of winning the full votes of both delegations and moved the nomination further out of her reach.

She now lags behind Mr. Obama by about 176 delegates, according to The New York Times’s tally, in the final weekend of campaigning before the nominating contests end.

The Clinton folks are definitely not happy.

The deal prompted one of her chief advisers, Harold Ickes, a member of the rules committee himself, to declare that Mrs. Clinton’s fight may not be over, even though Mr. Obama’s advisers say he is only days away from gaining enough delegates to claim the nomination.

“Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee,” Mr. Ickes said before the final vote, raising the specter of a fight until that committee meets. His words drew cheers from Clinton supporters, including many who yelled, “Denver! Denver! Denver!” — implying that the fight could go all the way to the convention in that city.

Mr. Ickes said the outcome for Michigan was a hijacking of voters’ intent because it assigned delegates to Mr. Obama even though he did not win them as his name was not on the ballot.

The Times is also reporting:

Mrs. Clinton has kept her counsel about what she might do to draw her campaign to a close. But when the rules committee of the Democratic Party divided up delegates from Michigan and Florida on Saturday night, Harold Ickes, a committee member and Clinton adviser, said she was reserving the right to contest the decision into the summer.

Still, despite the fireworks, Mrs. Clinton’s associates said she seemed to have come to terms over the last week with the near certainty that she would not win the nomination, even as she continued to assert, with what one associate described as subdued resignation, that the Democrats are making a mistake in sending Mr. Obama up against Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Her associates said the most likely outcome was that she would end her bid with a speech, probably back home in New York, in which she would endorse Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton herself suggested on Friday that the contest would end sometime next week.

But that is not a certainty; Mr. Obama’s announcement on Saturday that he would leave his church was just another reminder of how events continue to unfold in the race. She has signaled her ambivalence about the outcome, continuing to urge superdelegates to keep an open mind and consider, for example, the number of popular votes she has won. Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a superdelegate who has been at the forefront of calling for uncommitted Democrats to make a choice soon after the last vote, said in an interview that Mrs. Clinton called him last week and urged him to “keep an open mind until the convention.”

Outside the Rules And Bylaws Committee meeting, things got ug-ug-ugly. From the New Republic:

Howard Dean may hope that the "healing will begin today," but two blocks away from the northwest Washington Marriott where the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee is meeting right now to try to figure out Florida and Michigan, the Hillary protesters are occupying an utterly alternate (and healing-free) universe: a universe in which one of the big lawn rally's speakers yells that the Democratic Party no longer is in the business of "promoting equality and fairness for all"; in which a Hillary supporter with two poodles shouts, "Howard Dean is a leftist freak!"; in which a man exhibits a sign that reads "At least slaves were counted as 3/5ths a Citizen" and shows Dean whipping handcuffed people; and in which Larry Sinclair, the Minnesota man who took to YouTube to allege that Barack Obama had oral sex with him in the back of a limousine in 1999, is one of the belles of the ball.

Sam Stein reports at the Huffington Post:

With half a dozen flat screen televisions turned to CNN, it was not difficult to ascertain just where the political and emotional center of the crowd stood. A table of three women did not deal in discretion. A sampling of their punditry:

"[Obama] is a cult. His campaign is an anti-woman cult."

"I will actively campaign against him."

"You know who is backing him is George Soros. It'll be George Soros, not Obama, who is running the country."

"South Dakota is totally rigged for Obama because of Tom Daschle. Obama's going to win South Dakota because he's buying it and rigging it."

"[Obama] is a socialist! You know what the Nazi Party was before it was the Nazi Party? It was the Socialist Party."

Then there's this clip that Stein found at firedoglake:

I don't really need to comment on any of this, do I?

Watching the Rules & Bylaws Committee on C-SPAN

Looks like a deal on Florida was made last night. From the Huffington Post:

Two sources, including a high-ranking official with the Florida delegation, have confirmed that the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) reached an agreement last night and will seat the state's entire delegation but give each delegate half a vote. The result would be a net gain of 19 delegates for Sen. Hillary Clinton, though there is no word yet on how the superdelegates from the state will be allocated. It is, the official says, a compromise that Sen. Barack Obama will be willing to make. "There will be theater but not much fight."

Representative Robert Wexler of Florida spoke to the Committee as a representative of the Obama campaign. From Talkingpointsmemo:

It's official: The Obama campaign is supporting a compromise for Florida that would seat all the delegates at half a vote each -- giving Hillary a net gain of 19 delegates.

Obama's representative at the Rules meeting, Florida Rep. Robert Wexler, just endorsed the idea during his presentation.

"Senator Obama should be commended for his willingness to offer this extraordinary concession," Wexler said, adding that he's offering this concession "in order to promote reconciliation with Florida voters."

Now the big issue is Michigan. Looks like there's a deal being made there, too. From The Huffington Post:

Sources with knowledge of the RBC's inner dealings say a compromise is being crafted in which all of the candidates who took their names off of the state's ballot would voluntarily agree that the now-uncommitted delegates would go to Obama, after which the state's entire delegation would be seated.

The proposal, which two sources confirm has been discussed, would stand the greatest chance of passing: it would pacify Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who has demanded that his state's non-sanctioned January primary be fully honored; and it would circumvent the Clinton campaign's insistence that party rules prevent simply assigning all of Michigan's uncommitted delegates to Obama.

As background, Senator Clinton "won" that "primary." Here are the results from CNN. If the above holds, then Senator Clinton would be given 55% of the delegates and Senator Obama 40%.

I don't know exactly how that would translate into delegates, however.

Donald Sutherland Speaks His Mind

I know he's a Ca-NAY-djen (from New Brunswick, doncha know) but he and Jane Fonda did make the beast with two backs during the filming of Klute, just so you know.

By the way, if you don't know what is meant by "beast with two backs" go read Othello, Act I, scene 1 line 126. If you still don't get it, go find a missionary to show you.

Well anyway, the original Benjamin Frankin Pierce chimes in on Senator Clinton:

It is incomprehensible to me that Mrs. Clinton can seriously be touting the notion, with the support of the punditocracy of CNN and Fox, that she is leading in the popular vote and should therefore be seriously considered as the most electable candidate in the November election. She's including those who voted for her in Florida and Michigan's name recognition ballot saying that to exclude them would be to disenfranchise them. What about the Democrats in Alaska, American Samoa, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Washington, Hawaii and Wyoming who did not cast ballots because they were playing by the pledged delegates playbook and voted by caucus. What about them? Certainly if the rules are going to be changed and judgment is based on the 'popular' vote those voters in the eleven caucus states and Samoa will be disenfranchised. What about them?

And what about us? What about the American people? Haven't we had enough of Mrs. Clinton's mad antics in her pursuit of the realization of venal personal ambition; her 'say anything, do anything, no matter what' effort to manipulate our all too willing media to gull this country's populace into believing that her wretched illegitimacy is indeed legitimate. How much mendacity do we have to suffer, how much brazenness do we have to swallow before someone, anyone, has the decency, the common sense, to relieve us of this terrible trifle, this pathetic madness?

YOU wanna argue with Jack Bauer's dad??

I don't.

Reality Check

This post is by way of an answer to some comments here.
____________________________________________________________________

OK, looks like it's time for Maria's Reality Check on FL & MI^TM

You want the Democratic nominee to win in November, right? Then why in the hell would you try to antagonize the voters in two big states? And trust me, voters -- especially in Florida -- are EXTREMELY PISSED. How do I know this? I know this because I've been speaking to hundreds of them weekly (on behalf of the DNC, the DSCC and the DCCC) for nine months now. I talk to the ones who give thousands to these groups, but mostly I talk to the ones who give $15 or $20 a year. And they don't give a rat's ass about how or why -- they just want their votes to be counted.

They feel like it's 2000 all over again. (Anyone else see the brilliant HBO movie Recount this weekend?) It was the Florida Republican legislature who moved up the election, not the voters. The voters themselves feel hurt and abandoned.

Also, go back and look at contemporaneous accounts back in August and you'll see that everyone (pols and media) assumed that the votes would eventually count because everyone knew that you couldn't afford to just piss away a couple of big states.

Moreover, look at the official long-standing DNC rules and you'll see that the punishment for defying the DNC was never taking away all the votes -- it at best suggests taking away half.

You assume -- probably correctly -- that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee in November, no? What possible good comes out of knee-capping his candidacy? Because that's what the Democratic Party will be doing if they give the finger to the VOTERS by disenfranchising them. That's how THEY see it and it doesn't matter if YOU don't see it that way.

It would behoove Obama to make nice to these voters, be the big man -- even if it means that Hillary can make claims to a popular vote win -- by embracing the Florida, and yeah, even the Michigan delegate count. He can then go about making nice to blue collar voters, women and Hillary supports in general.

You want a President Obama? Then look at the bigger picture and goddamn count the goddamn votes of the goddamn voters.
I'll be in DC this Saturday advocating just that -- because no matter what -- I don't want a President McCain.
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Looks like there's going to be a rally on Saturday

From CNN:

Clinton supporters to swarm DC over Florida and Michigan

(CNN) — Supporters of Hillary Clinton are planning to swarm the capital in a little over a week to pressure Democratic Party leaders as they gather to decide the fate of the Florida and Michigan delegations.

The Committee to Count Every Vote – a project of Hillary Responders – said Thursday it was organizing a day-long May 31 rally outside the hotel where members of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee are planning to meet that day.

[snip]

“Our purpose is not to divide the party or attack the DNC or Senator Obama. Michigan and Florida, however, in addition to Hillary's strong support nationwide, cannot and must not be dismissed in DNC efforts to unify the party.”

Rally Info here.


When: May 31st – Meet at 7 am and rally until around 4 pm.
Where: Outside the Marriott-Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Rd, NW in Washington D.C.
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The Clinton Thing - A Local Roundup

First the source material. Here's Senator Clinton stepping right in it:

Let me just say that I can't believe (won't believe) that Senator Clinton meant anything other than what she said she meant:

I made clear that I was - and that I thought the urgency to end the 2008 primary process was unprecedented. I pointed out, as I have before, that both my husband's primary campaign, and Sen. Robert Kennedy's, had continued into June.

Although, as Keith Olbermann pointed out in Friday'sspecial comment, Senator Clinton has previously used the "A-word.

She said, in an off-camera interview with Time on March 6, "Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June, also in California. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual. We will see how it unfolds as we go forward over the next three to four months."

In any case, whether it was calculated or inadvertant or taken out of context, it's simply a huge huge gaffe - probably a campaign-ending gaffe. A week or so after Senator Ted Kennedy is diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor a week or so before the anniversary of Senator Robert Kennedy's assassination why on earth would anyone bring it up?

Anyone with a brain bigger than Mark Madden's (which is most of the human race) of course. Here's what The Mouth said recently about Senator Ted:

"I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated.

"I wonder if he got a card from the Kopechnes."

But I digress.

The Macyapper, while giving Senator Clinton less of the benefit of the doubt than I do nevertheless wrote:

Hillary should get out of the race. Because even if you buy the notion that she meant no harm and was simply drawing awkward but semi-valid historical comparisons of some sort, she's still completely full of shit.

Language, language Johnny-boy. You're writing a blog not scripting Dick Cheney's ad-libbed insults.

The Burgher is just "done forgiving" Senator Clinton.

Kyle E. Moore (over at Comments from Left Field) has "had enough."

DAYS after Senator Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, knowing full well the personal safety implications that her opponent faces being a black man running for president in a country where white supremicist hate groups still assemble, Senator Hillary Clinton references the assassination of Bobby Kennedy as one of the reasons SHE is still in this race.

Fuck it. She’s done. Eject this foul thing from our party, that is the only acceptable measure left for the Democratic establishment.

Again. Language, people, language! What is it with bloggers and foul language?

These days, however, Senator Clinton is actually blaming the controversy on (now wait for it) the Obama campaign:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign accused Sen. Barack Obama's campaign of fanning a controversy over her describing the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy late in the 1968 Democratic primary as one reason she is continuing to run for the presidency.

"The Obama campaign ... tried to take these words out of context," Clinton campaign chairman Terence R. McAuliffe said on "Fox News Sunday." "She was making a point merely about the time line."

The issue is particularly sensitive given longstanding concerns about Obama's safety as a presidential candidate. (He first received Secret Service protection last May.) The Obama campaign called Clinton's words unfortunate and circulated a TV commentary criticizing them, although Obama himself said Saturday that he took Clinton at her word that she meant no harm.

This, by the way, is Terry McCauliffe.

Consider the source.

Numbers

From CNN -

Total number of delegates won

Clinton 1,770
Obama 1,953

Pledged Delegates (from primaries and caucuses)

Clinton 1,493
Obama 1,648

Superdelegates

Clinton 277
Obama 305

Needed to get to 2,026

Clinton 256
Obama 73

Delegates still up for grabs

325 (111 pledged and 215 super)

Numbers

In all the articles and opinion pieces rightfully condemning those in West Virginia who said that race was a factor in their decision to not vote for Sen. Obama, I don't recall this exit poll stat making much (any?) news:

About one in five Clinton voters said gender was an important factor in their vote. Nearly as many Obama voters said that.

Perhaps we'll see a skit this weekend on Saturday Night Live where an actor playing Barack Obama says, "My supporters are misogynists."

(No, I'm not holding my breath.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"At least I'm not racist" Cartoon

"Misogyny I Won't Miss"

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I'm Ba-a-a-a-a-ck!

Anything happen since I blogged last?

Oh yea that's right, Senator Obama is now ahead of Senator Clinton in the superdelegate count 277-273 (numbers from CNN).

And as the Editors of The Nation write:

So is it over? It's fair to say yes.

Can we start talking about Senator McCain now?

More

While Dayvoe is out, I am being hampered by needing to deal with dial-up for the next couple of days. I have something started on the primary race but likely won't get it posted until late tonight (after work).