A Spork in the Drawer

In A Nutshell

While I don't think that Barack Obama is an elitist, America-hating negro the fact remains that Barack Obama is an elitist, America-hating negro.

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Solution: Stop The Voting!

Oliver Willis brings da snark:

I’ve crunched the numbers, looked them over again and again, then again with a sprinkling of eye of newt and found the weakness in Barack Obama’s candidacy:

He’s getting too many votes.

Read the whole thing.

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Mittens!

Willard:

Former presidential contender Mitt Romney increased his criticism of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Wednesday taking direct aim at Obama’s experience, telling CNN’s John Roberts that “the presidency of the United States is not an internship.”

“He can read a prompter very well and energize a crowd,” said Romney. “But he has not accomplished anything during his life in terms of legislation, or leading an enterprise, or making a business work, or a city work, or a state work. He really has very little experience.”

And Willard's qualifications for being president are...? [crickets]

(And no, running a corporation isn't the same as running a government. As Republicans have proven time and time again.)

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Stay White, CNN

Time-Warner's "news" network thinks this guy is great:

In the segment, Beck brought on a fictional caller by the name of “Honky Whitesville,” who alleged that he was “working with the Obama campaign.” Beck billed the apparently humorous skit as a way to “make the Obama’s seem a little more relatable to the average person”:

WHITESVILLE: I’m working with the Obama campaign and I’m very white. And I’m white. Ever see toothpaste? You know the tube with toothpaste out? That’s sort of my color. … I was looking in the mirror yesterday after I looked up and I was like, oh, no, I have toothpaste all over my face but actually I just had face all over my face because my face is white, and just so everyone knows, I work at the Obama campaign and I’m white but my first name’s Honky.

It gets worse from there.

"The most trusted name in news," indeed.

Audio at link.

(Just to be clear: This occurred on Beck's radio show but CNN/Time-Warner thinks it's all good.)

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Over?

Hillary has cancelled all her teevee appearances and won't be having any public appearances tomorrow.

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What's At Stake In November

St. John makes a promise:

Republican John McCain castigated Democrat Barack Obama for voting against John Roberts as Supreme Court chief justice in a speech about the kind of judges McCain would nominate.

McCain offered an olive branch to the Christian right in a speech planned for Tuesday at Wake Forest University. The far right has been deeply suspicious of McCain, the expected GOP presidential nominee, because he has clashed with its leaders and worked against them on issues like campaign finance reform.

McCain promised to appoint judges who, in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, are likely to limit the reach of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Let's remember that the Roberts Court ruled that gender discrimination in pay is A-OK, that allowed non-scientific anti-choice boilerplate to determine a reproductive rights case, decided that certain classes of voters can be disenfranchised, and much, much more.

The next president will likely have the opportunity to appoint at least two justices. The country can't afford to have more Robertses, more Alitos, more Scalias, more Thomases.

Neither Hillary nor Obama may be liberals in any real sense but either is a damn sight better than McCain.

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North Carolina And Indiana...

...will finally end our long national nightmare, right?

RIGHT?!

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Maybe This Will Settle It

Guam.

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Pulling My Leg

And thus it begins:

The N.C. Republican Party says it will not back away from a planned TV ad that uses footage of Barack Obama's controversial former minister, despite objections from the expected GOP presidential nominee, John McCain.

The ad, released Wednesday on the Internet, tries to link the minister to two Democratic candidates for governor, both of whom have endorsed Obama.

Republican chairwoman Linda Daves said she would not bow to pressure from the Republican National Committee and others to pull the ad.

Oh yes, I'm sure St. John and the RNC really, really want this ad removed from the airwaves. I'm sure they really, really believe that this sort of guilt-by-association has no place in political campaigns.

Yes, we can expect this all the way to November:

Independent Group: Look at our new smear ad!

McCain: I object! Take the ad down!

Independent Group: No.

McCain: Darn. I tried.

Politics is fun!

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Props For Honesty

Alone among all the polling organizations Public Policy Polling predicted an Obama win in PA yesterday. Whoops. So what's PPP's reaction to the actual results? Shockingly, honesty:

The networks have called it for Hillary and I think after Florida in 2000 they're not going to make that mistake again, so obviously our polls were wrong.

First off, please do not call us or e-mail us and tell us we suck! We are well aware, and it does not feel good.

After an explanation of their methodology:

We will just move on and try to do better in North Carolina.

Would that all organizations - and individuals - show such humility.

[Via Taegan Goddard.]

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Guam Is The New Pennsylvania

The Silly Season rolls on.

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Our Long Statewide Nightmare Is Over

To the candidates: You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!*

*With apologies to Oliver Cromwell.

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Stupider And Stupider

Fingergate.

I'm not usually a fan of Meghan Daum but I think she gets it right today:

What's more, a lot of people who harbor an intolerance for complexity see it not as a character flaw but a cognitive virtue. That's because they've fallen into the trap of believing that complicated ideas ("complicated" now constituting anything that requires reading, watching or listening to in its entirety) are the purview of the "elite."

I've run across people who not only openly admit that they don't know jack about whatever but are proud of their ignorance. It never ceases to boggle.

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Yet More

Tony Norman on ABC/Disney and the media in general:

Barack Obama's problem is that he still has a lingering belief in an orderly universe where rational first principles have more sway over the news cycle than the primitive, reptile-brained instincts of the media establishment.

Alas, very few within that elite circle of hell believe in the rationality of the voters. If they did, they wouldn't harp on questions about flag pins, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, patriotism, Louis Farrakhan, "guns and God" or even Mrs. Clinton's sniper debacle at the expense of more substantive issues mere days before a crucial primary.

It was an infuriating spectacle executed with an unconscionable air of smugness by two media professionals who should have known better.

And ABC/Disney's take? Guess:

For its part, ABC News was proud of its effort.

"We thought the debate was excellent, substantive, probing and interesting and I have no doubt that there are people who have strong opinions on both sides," said Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice president of ABC News. "We see our job to ask probing, tough questions and that's exactly what we did."

The comments thread over at ABCNews.com now has 19764 mostly negative responses.

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Ringer

Any doubt that ABC/Disney has a political agenda is now erased. Josh:

Remember that woman from the debate last night who the moderators showed videotape of asking whether Barack Obama "believes in the flag"? Her name is Nash McCabe.

[...]

Now, it does seem like McCabe is not a fan of Sen. Obama's. And I think we can assume that it's not a coincidence that McCabe managed to show up featured in the Times and also as the sole outside questioner in the ABC debate. Presumably, a researcher for ABC or Gibson saw the piece in the Times, figured, hey, this lady hates Obama and is seriously ginned up about the lapel issue. Let's send a camera crew Obama and film her slamming Obama to his face. It'll be great in the debate.

So this was hardly the voice of a random citizen; ABC/Disney sought out someone with full knowledge that she'd go after Obama. Ethical? Does it matter anymore? (Josh also wonders about another "citizen" questioner who was a "former" supporter of Hillary.)

Turning to the NYT story Josh mentions we find this:

Ask whom she might vote for in the coming presidential primary election and Nash McCabe, 52, seems almost relieved to be able to unpack the dossier she has been collecting in her head.

It is not about whom she likes, but more a bill of particulars about why she cannot vote for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

“How can I vote for a president who won’t wear a flag pin?” Mrs. McCabe, a recently unemployed clerk typist, said in a booth at the Valley Dairy luncheonette in this quiet, small city in western Pennsylvania.

Mr. Obama has said patriotism is about ideas, not flag pins.

“I watch him on TV,” Mrs. McCabe said. “I keep looking for that lapel pin.”

This illustrates quite nicely our descent into collective madness. The election could hinge on a flag pin.

A flag pin.

Let's face it: Too many Americans are as dumb as dirt.

McClatchy has background on McCabe here.

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The Quiet Revolution

The HuffPo's Jason Linkins summarizes just who gives Snuffleupagus his marching orders:

The blogosphere has been up on this from jump street. On Tuesday, Democratic Underground was among the first to note that Stephanopoulos was "Taking Notes From Sean Hannity for Tomorrow Night's Debates":

Hannity asked George what kinds of questions they'll be asking at the debate tomorrow and they discussed a few things. When Hannity asked about the first question below about Ayers and whether George had plans to ask such a question, George replied, "Well, I'm taking notes now Sean." It did actually sound like he was pausing to take notes. And Hannity continued to feed him more:

1) Ask Obama about his relationship with Ayers and WeatherUnderground and Axelrod's comments, "They're friendly"

2) Ask Obama why he attended the Million Man March

Whether or not they had any advance notice of what was to transpire I have little doubt that the bigwigs in Disney's corporate offices were high-fiving each other last night (and probably in the corporate suites of Viacom, General Electric, Time-Warner, and, of course, NewsCorp). While Charlie and Stephy may have aimed most of their fire at Obama the result remains: St. John McCain was the big winner. Glennzilla notes:

National Review's Mark Hemingway excitedly declared that the winner was "McCain by a landslide." Commentary's John Podhoretz said: "Good Lord. Charlie Gibson Turns Into Larry Kudlow." Hemingway quoted one of his readers: "What's up with Charlie Gibson tonight? Especially on capital gains. He sounds downright conservative." Separately, Hemingway celebrated: "Halle-frickin'-lujah. Someone in the mainstream media finally mentions the William Ayers connection," praised Gibson for his questions about Jeremiah Wright, and the praised Gibson again for his questions to Obama about Bosnia sniper fire.

[...]

Notably, Charlie Gibson also hosted a GOP and a Democratic primary debate back in January and received rave reviews then, too . . . from the Right. The Far Right site NewsBusters heaped praised on Gibson back then for what they deemed his fairness and decency in questioning GOP candidates. So, too, did National Review's Mark Hemingway ("The Sober, Intellectual Tone of moderator Charlie Gibson and this whole ABC news production so far is very welcome"). The general consensus among Republicans in January was that Gibson did a superb job of moderating their debate, too.

Denunciations of the "Liberal Media" now ring more hollow than ever.

And a disgusted Michael Grunwald of Time writes:

Obama's memoir dripped with contempt for modern gotcha politics, for a campaign culture obsessed with substantively irrelevant but supposedly symbolic gaffes like John Kerry ordering Swiss cheese or Al Gore sighing or George H.W. Bush checking his watch or Michael Dukakis looking dorky in a tank. "What's troubling is the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics—the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial," he wrote.

The "petty and trivial" is precisely what Disney/ABC wants.

I know I harp on this constantly - and I'll continue to do so - but this is the behavior we'll be seeing from the "news" media straight through to November. The corporations that control the media (and so much else) simply can't allow for the slightest possibility that the government be composed of citizens who don't bow and scrape before them.

It's a truism that the first thing done in any revolution is to seize the means of communications. This thirty-year quiet revolution - abetted by the supposed guarantors of our rights and privileges - by a corporate oligarchy has accomplished that without a shot being fired.

Pathetic.

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"Debate"

Per Atrios:

Light'Em Up

Complain about this atrocity.

Main ABC switchboard: 212-456-7777

As bad as the Republicans are the real enemy is our "news" media.

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Born On The Fourth Of July

I honestly couldn't care less who the Post-Gazette endorses. On the other hand...

Bruuuuuce!

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A Tale Of Two Candidates

On Monday Barack Obama and John McCain appeared before a gathering of the nation's newspaper editors. The WaPo's Dana Milbank reports:

At a luncheon for the editors hosted by the Associated Press, AP Chairman Dean Singleton quizzed Obama about whether he would send more troops to Afghanistan, where "Obama bin Laden is still at large?"

"I think that was Osama bin Laden," the candidate answered.

"If I did that, I'm so sorry!" Singleton said.

"This," Obama told the editors, is "part of the exercise that I've been going through over the last 15 months."

Compare and contrast:

McCain's moderators, the AP's Ron Fournier and Liz Sidoti, greeted McCain with a box of Dunkin' Donuts. "We spend quite a bit of time with you on the back of the Straight Talk Express asking you questions, and what we've decided to do today was invite everyone else along on the ride," Sidoti explained. "We even brought you your favorite treat."

McCain opened the offering. "Oh, yes, with sprinkles!" he said.

Sidoti passed him a cup. "A little coffee with a little cream and a little sugar," she said.

Not to put too fine a point on it but Milbank notes, "McCain got a standing ovation -- an honor Obama did not receive when his turn came two hours later."

This, "my friends", is going to be the pattern all the way to November so get used to it. More importantly, I hope that Obama is ready to fight against it.

The irony, of course, is that we'll also be treated to more than six months of Republican whinging about the Librul Media hating on Republicans in general and St. John in particular. They have even less shame than the reporters and editors and producers of our esteemed Fourth Estate.

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Told Ya

Now Karl Rove implies that Obama is a Marxist. Add "Squeaky Wheels" Krauthammer and Brit "I Love My Dead Gay Son" Hume so this will be pretty standard for FauxNews as well. And maybe CNN.

Another 6+ months of this...

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Marx Is The New Hitler

It seems like just yesterday that Barack Obama was this year's Hitler. But last week The right took a new tack: Obama's a Communist! That's to be expected, I suppose, when it comes to the fever swamps of the right. But then Monday's NYT allowed William "The Bloody" Kristol to insinuate that Obama is, indeed, a Pinko if not an outright Red.

The New. York. Times.

And now, right on schedule, BushCo's™ favorite lapdog, the increasingly foul Holy Joe Lieberman, piles on:

NAPITALIANO: Hey Sen. Lieberman, you know Barack Obama, is he a Marxist as Bill Kristol says might be the case in today’s New York Times? Is he an elitist like your colleague Hillary Clinton says he is?

LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, I must say that’s a good question. I know him now for a little more than three years since he came into the Senate and he’s obviously very smart and he’s a good guy. I will tell ya that during this campaign, I’ve learned some things about him, about the kind of environment from which he came ideologically. And I wouldn’t…I’d hesitate to say he’s a Marxist, but he’s got some positions that are far to the left of me and I think mainstream America. [emphasis added]

And this after Obama aided Lieberman in his 2006 reelection. (And, yes, I consider this a blot on Obama's judgement.)

So perhaps, along with calling Obama "boy", we're starting to see the outlines of the GOP's autumn attacks. It's not going to be fun.

(Oh, and if Hillary picks up on the whole Communist thing I'll support all legal means to have her removed from the Senate.)

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Your Liberal Media

Please make it stop:

But last night's exchange between Matthews and Shuster was far worse. Offered coffee, Barack Obama asked for orange juice instead. And Chris Matthews and David Shuster pounced, aghast that he would dare do such a thing as ask for orange juice. A preference for orange juice was supposed to demonstrate that Obama is out of touch with "regular" people. (For what it's worth, neither Matthews nor Shuster so much as hinted that a single, actual voter who was in that diner was put off by Obama's interest in orange juice. But Matthews and Shuster were upset enough for everyone.)

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Wow

Barack Obama really does have mystical powers.

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Jake Tapper

ABC News' very own bloodhound.

Jackass.

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Scenes From An Obama Fundraiser

Sunday I was dragged to an Obama fundraiser in heavily Republican Sewickley Heights (and I mean heavily - in 2004 the borough voted 71.1% Bush/Cheney, 28.7% Kerry/Edwards in a county that went 57.2% for Kerry). Many of the attendees were traditional Republicans who have switched - and not in a Limbaughesque way. Hosted by Candace, Emily and John Craig (the latter being the former editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) and Nick, Mary and Ted Smyth. Somehow, I became the "official" photographer:

Emily Craig and Nick Smyth



Former Steelers great & Hall of Famer Franco Harris



A gaggle of Obama supporters


(As always, click to enlarge.)

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The State Of Things

By Ward Sutton from The Nation:

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The Mind Of The American Voter

Welcome to Hazleton, Pennsylvania:

Of Obama, Duser said: "I'm not crazy about voting for a colored guy, but that's not why I don't support Obama. I'm not prejudiced. I just like Hillary."

He's not prejudiced!

She scoffs at the idea of voting for Obama: "I don't want to be a Muslim!" She looks dubious when told Obama is Christian. "Then why did he go see what's-his-name over in Iraq, that Lama?"

Well at least she didn't think Obama visited a llama.

Now, I'm not saying these Hazletonites (?) are typical of all Pennsylvanians. But they're not atypical, either.

Another three weeks of this. As digby said, "This election is worse than being stuck in seventh grade for the rest of your life. Jesus H Christ."

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They Really Don't Think About What They're Saying

Tweety & friends react to Obama'a poor bowling skills:

MATTHEWS: You know, Michelle -- and this gets very ethnic, but the fact that he's good at basketball doesn't surprise anybody, but the fact that he's that terrible at bowling does make you wonder --

FINEMAN: That doesn't surprise anybody either.

BERNARD: Well, it certainly doesn't surprise anybody black, I can tell you that.

MATTHEWS: Is black a bowling --

FINEMAN: This is just killing him.

MATTHEWS: I don't know, I guess everybody bowls.

FINEMAN: This is just killing him.

MATTHEWS: I know.

FINEMAN: This is just killing him, Chris. Don't show this over and over again.

MATTHEWS: No, no, we're doing it again. This is a killer. Look at this killer. Because it isn't the most macho form there, I must say, but who knows?

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The Annals Of Dumb Ideas

Obama/Bloomberg '08

Oy.

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Extortion

Hillary's big money donors write Nancy Pelosi:

We have been strong supporters of the DCCC. We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August. We appreciate your activities in support of the Democratic Party and your leadership role in the Party and hope you will be responsive to some of your major enthusiastic supporters.

In other words: Nice political party you have here. Be a shame if something happened to it.

Senator Obama responds:

This letter is inappropriate and we hope the Clinton campaign will reject the insinuation contained in it. Regardless of the outcome of the nomination fight, Senator Obama will continue to urge his supporters to assist Speaker Pelosi in her efforts to maintain and build a working majority in the House of Representatives.

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Democratic Self-Destruction Watch™

Gallup:

A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination. This is particularly true for Hillary Clinton supporters, more than a quarter of whom currently say they would vote for McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.

Unsurprisingly, the Clinton's have the lion's share of petulant little egomaniacs.

But no worries, it's only the future of the country at stake.

[Via John Cole.]

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Democratic Self-Destuction Watch™

I hope everyone will be satisfied with President John McCain:

In a sign of just how divisive and ugly the Democratic fight has gotten, only 53% of Clinton voters say they'll vote for Obama should he become the nominee. Nineteen percent say they'll go for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and 13% say they won't vote.

Sixty percent of Obama voters say they'll go for Clinton should she win the nomination, with 20% opting for McCain, and three percent saying they won't vote.

Good job as usual, Democrats.

[Via Keystone Politics.]

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"I'm Casey Knowles. I approved this message. And not the other one."

It's 3am...

Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark.

[Via Election Central.]

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Chaos At Faux "News"!

First, Chris Wallace spends five minutes with the friendly friends at "Fox and Friends" admonishing them for "two hours of Obama-bashing." Steve Doocy is unamused. Then, if that's not bad enough for the Friends, friendly friend Brian Kilmeade walks off the show for the same reason. Steve Doocy remains unamused.

WWRD?*

(Video at both links.)

*What Would Rupert Do?

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Gonna Party Like It's 1992

For those who don't remember in 1992 George the Elders State Department was did something illegal:

That is why the late-night pre-election search through Bill Clinton's passport file by State Department employees caused such deep embarrassment at the agency, the White House and the National Archives.

An internal State Department review concluded that the search took place in violation of agency regulations and, "more disturbing," for political purposes.

President Clinton chose not to prosecute anyone for this gross violation of the Privacy Act. Big mistake:

Two State Department employees were fired and a third has been disciplined for improperly accessing Sen. Barack Obama's passport file, the State Department announced last night.

Now for an interesting tidbit:

Senior department officials said they learned of the incidents only when a reporter made an inquiry yesterday afternoon. They said an initial investigation indicated that the employees -- all of whom worked on contract -- were motivated by "imprudent curiosity."

How did the reporter, Glenn Kessler, learn about this? Who spilled and why? And does anyone believe that State Department higher-ups had no idea until informed by Kessler?

Josh takes note of the dates:

A few more details about the Obama passport breach. According to a new piece out in the Post from Glenn Kessler, the breaches occurred Jan. 9th, Feb. 21st and March 14th.

That would be the day after the New Hampshire primary, the day of the Democratic debate in Texas and the day the Wright story really hit.

emptywheel wonders who benefits:

I'm rather more interested in two of the dates on the Republican side. The day after the New Hampshire primary (when it became clear McCain's campaign was far from dead), and the day of the Texas primary (when McCain sealed the nomination). After all, New Hampshire was a set-back for Obama. Why would a Democrat waste bribes to do oppo research on Obama when it looked, once again, like Hillary would win the primary? But I can understand why McCain would start doing oppo research at a time when his chances started looking up.

Though, I would still have to explain the February 21 date.

Back to the WaPo story:

Kennedy said the contract employees -- who helped process some of the 18 million passport applications the department handles every year -- had access to personal records as part of their jobs in data entry, customer service and other administrative tasks. He said that contract employees undergo "public integrity checks," such as a review of police records, but that the department does not examine political affiliation. "That would be inappropriate," he said.

Noooo, BushCo would never, ever politicize government departments or agencies.

Perhaps a special counsel is warranted, yes?

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The Mind Of The American Voter

Welcome to Pennsylvania:

Peter Contacos, 42, the fourth generation of his family to own and operate Coney Island Lunch, a downtown Johnstown business that survived two floods and the loss of thousands of regular customers when Bethlehem Steel eliminated 15,000 jobs in the 1970s and ’80s, will not vote for Senator Barack Obama, “because his name is Barack Hussein Obama — case closed.” Mr. Contacos, an avid hunter who proudly displays pictures of himself with a magnificently maned lion he killed in Botswana, said he considered Mr. Obama “a terrorist.”

I suspect Mr. Contacos voted for George because he's the sort of regular guy you can have a beer with.

We live in a very silly country.

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Oh Snap!

NYT:

Mr. Obama had to address race and religion, the two most toxic subjects in politics. He was as powerful and frank as Mitt Romney was weak and calculating earlier this year in his attempt to persuade the religious right that his Mormonism is Christian enough for them.

Mittens!

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KO

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Civility

Rep. Steve King (R-Simpleton) on Obama:

"The radical Islamists, the al-Qaida … would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror," King said in an interview with the Daily Reporter in Spencer.

Now for the punchline:

King said his comments were not meant to demean Obama but to warn how an Obama presidency would look to the world.

Nope, didn't demean Obama at all.

Perhaps King should stick to model-making.

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Scary Monsters

So Barack Obama's foreign policy adviser, Samantha Power, made an intemperate remark...

"We f***** up in Ohio," she admitted. "In Ohio, they are obsessed and Hillary is going to town on it, because she knows Ohio's the only place they can win.

"She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything," Ms Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.

...and Hillary's campaign starts squealing that Power Must. Be. Fired.

So Obama promptly fires Power.

The Republicans are going to roll over this guy. And I say that as a (however tepid) Obama supporter.

Grow some, Barack.

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Debate Debacle

I don't watch these so-called "debates" - they're not debates but simultaneous press conferences - largely because of the so-called "moderators." It looks like my aversion payed off rather well for last night's ridiculousness. digby:

Judging by their silly questions tonight, Russert and Williams obviously know nothing about health care policy, Iraq, Islamic terrorism, economics, global trade or any other subject that requires more than five minutes study to come up with some gotcha question or a stupid Jack Bauer fantasy. It's embarrassing.

These people guide the way citizens perceive politics even if the citizens don't know it. It's hard for me to see how anything can truly change until this is dealt with.

Josh Marshall:

9:24 PM ... Russert: If I don't get a yes or no answer to my clownish question, you're toast, woman!

---

9:31 PM ... Russert: I'm one hardass, Dude. You can't put anything past me.

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9:42 PM ... I love it when Tim goes into character as an Iraqi nationalist.

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10:08 PM ... Russert spews the Farrakhan story. Russert: Let me take a few moments to read into the record some of Farrakhan's most rancid quotes.

10:10 PM ... I guess it's good in some way that this sludge gets thrown around now in advance of the general. But Russert is well beyond the normal bounds of disgusting on this front. As a separate matter, the covert campaign to smear Obama with the Jewish community is a topic of great importance that I've been meaning to hit on and haven't done enough on it yet. At least we know now that Russert's enlisted with the cause.

---

10:33 PM ... TPM Reader MF chimes in: "It seems that Russert is asking the questions in the aspect that the candidates are guilty of something. It is really quite odd. And when did it become okay for a moderator to be an antagonist in a Presidential debate. I thought the job of a moderator was to moderate and not antagonize."

Josh also has video of Russert's most noxious moment here.

Debate (such as they are) moderators are supposed to moderate not display prosecutorial zeal or personal pique. Russert and Williams and Blitzer and King and all the other members of what Atrios calls "The Villiage" are, as Jon Stewart famously put it, "hurting America."

When are we as citizens going to stand up and say, "ENOUGH!"?

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I Get Letters

Dear michael,

We have been through a lot in this past year and your friendship and support have meant so much to me. That is why I wanted to let you know of my decision to endorse a Democratic candidate for President - and that I have decided to support Barack Obama.

We all understand how much is at stake in this election and that it is more important than ever that we put a Democrat in the White House.

And while both of our Party's remaining candidates are extremely talented and would make excellent commanders-in-chief, I am throwing my support to the candidate who I believe will open the most eyes to our shared Democratic vision.

I'm deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama. He is ready to be President. And I am ready to support him - to work with him and for him and help elect him our 44th President.

Put simply, I believe Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to help us face this housing crisis, create good jobs, strengthen America's families in this 21st century global economy, unite the world against terrorism and end the war in Iraq - and perhaps most importantly, call the American people to shared service and sacrifice. In this campaign, he has drawn millions of voters into politics for the first time in their lives and shown us that we are united by so much more than that which divides us.

That is why I believe the time has come for Democrats to come together as a Party and focus on winning the general election. The stakes are too high not to.

The last seven years have been as difficult as any I can remember. More than ever, we need a President who will inspire us to take part in the political process and change our country's path.

Today, when we need it most, we are hearing a new call from Barack Obama. And I hope you, like me, will answer it in the affirmative.

Please get involved in Barack Obama's campaign now: http://action.barackobama.com/doddsupporters

Sincerely,

Chris Dodd

Paid for by Chris Dodd for President, Inc., PO Box 51882, Washington, DC 20091, Info@ChrisDodd.com
To stop receiving email from Dodd for President, Inc., visit http://ChrisDodd.com/de-list

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The Last Refuge Of Scoundrels

Manufactured outrage:

Pretending to be ignorant of a political opponent's position is a proud American tradition. It is convenient for Barack Obama's ideological opponents to pretend that Michelle Obama is the second coming of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Conservatives who argue that waterboarding is a "benign" interrogation technique feel no shame in passing judgment on Michelle Obama's patriotism.

Ideologues who started a war that will accrue trillions in debt and undermine American military readiness for decades have the nerve to call Michelle Obama unpatriotic?

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The Hell?

Rightwing propagandist Frank Luntz:

On the February 21 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, while conducting a focus group analysis of the February 21 Democratic presidential debate, Fox News contributor Frank Luntz asked focus group participants if they "wanted" to see Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton "argue." When several of the participants responded, "Yes," Luntz asked, "You want them to take it on? You all agree with that?" After more participants concurred, Luntz asked: "How many of you want them to really argue? Raise your hands." Luntz then asked: "And how many of you want them to make love to each other?"

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Luntz was trying to plant the idea of miscegenation in people's heads. That sort of thing is effective with some of the lizard-brains out there.

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Dallas, Texas

I'm with Steven D. You just can't be too paranoid these days. To wit:

Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.

Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on.

[...]

Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because, they said, the order was made by federal officials who were in charge of security at the event.

"How can you not be concerned in this day and age," said one policeman.

Deputy Police Chief Lawrence also said that the crowd "looked friendly."

I'm reminded of something that was said in 1963. Nellie Connally, wife of then Texas governor John Connally, turned around in her seat in the presidential limousine and said to President Kennedy, "You can't say Dallas doesn't love you, Mr. President!"

Apparently there was a bit of a to-do a moment later.

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Hitler Or Stalin?

Obama's both!

Our wingnut pals aren't very bright.

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ADDED: Also see attaturk.

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Make That 11 In A Row

Obama wins the Democrats Abroad primaries.

(Annoyingly, the AP doesn't give the vote tally.)

UPDATE: CNN: Obama - 65% Clinton - 32%

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Hitlers! Hitlers Everywhere!

We should have seen this coming. The latest Hitler? Barack Obama.

Honestly, the Republican wingers need to be driven out of this country.

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The Nuclear Option

One of the things that's been worrying me of late is the possibility of Hillary losing the primary vote and refusing to concede thereby taking the party down with her. By way of Josh, it looks like this might be the case:

Hillary Clinton will take the Democratic nomination even if she does not win the popular vote, but persuades enough superdelegates to vote for her at the convention, her campaign advisers say.

[...]

But Clinton will not concede the race to Obama if he wins a greater number of pledged delegates by the end of the primary season, and will count on the 796 elected officials and party bigwigs to put her over the top, if necessary, said Clinton's communications director, Howard Wolfson.

[...]

"We don't make distinctions between delegates chosen by million of voters in a primary and those chosen between tens of thousands in caucuses,'' Wolfson said. "And we don't make distinctions when it comes to elected officials'' who vote as superdelegates at the convention.

"We are interested in acquiring delegates, period,'' he added.

Now, I've never been a big fan of the Clintons (note: I will vote for Hillary in November if she's the nominee) for many reasons but the pertinent one now is their tendency to make everything about them. There's already a lot of bad blood between the Clintons and Obama (and among their supporters) - to, I think, a ridiculous extent - and losing the popular vote, whether measured in ballots cast or pledged delegates, but winning the nomination thanks to party apparatchiks will simply blow the party up. Not surprisingly, the Clintonites dismiss this possibility:

Clinton advisers rejected the notion that the candidate -- and the party -- would be badly wounded in the general election if the nominee were essentially selected by a group of party insiders.

"This is a nomination system that exists of caucuses, primaries, superdelegates and also the issue of voters in Florida and Michigan,'' states whose delegates currently will not be seated at the convention because they broke party rules by moving up their primaries to January, said Mark Penn, senior strategist for the Clinton campaign. But "whoever the nominee is, the party will come together behind that nominee,'' he said.

That's as may be but I don't see Obama supporters - the core supporters - lining up behind Hillary if she wins through these means. We already have an example of how far the Clintons will go to win:

Clinton -- who initially joined other Democrats in opposing Michigan and Florida's decisions to go ahead with early primaries -- now wants the votes of those primaries counted. The Obama camp thinks that idea is unfair, since candidates were not allowed to campaign in those states, and Clinton alone kept her name on the Michigan ballot, meaning Obama did not have a chance at getting even provisional delegates.

In other words, because it might be the difference between winning and losing Hillary is going back on her pledge - changing the rules in the middle of the game. That may be desirable in a general election against a Republican (heaven knows they aren't interested in rules and laws) but will be a disaster in an intra-party contest.

Happily, the indications are that the superdelegates will break for Obama if Hillary fails to win convincingly in Ohio and Texas in 4 March. If it comes to that let's hope that the Clintons have the grace to go quietly.

Relatedly, Clinton supporter and all-around shame of the Democratic party Lanny Davis writes at HuffPo that superdelegates are a bulwark against the stupid voters:

But let's not rewrite history. When the superdelegates were first created by the Democratic National Committee in 1982, they were intended to be independent, able to vote for any candidate, regardless of the outcome of the primaries or caucuses in their own congressional districts or states.

Gotta make sure the party hacks maintain their hold, you know.

And ironically, Davis writes:

There is one principle we learned as kids in schoolyards and on which all should agree, whether supporters of Senator Obama or Senator Clinton:

Don't change the rules in the middle of the game or, more accurately, don't game the rules to change the outcome.

Which, of course, is what Hillary is trying to do with Michigan and Florida.

Finally,