Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Wright Stuff

Everyone has been asking the seminal question, "Why did Rev. Jeremiah Wright do it?"

This morning, Mikka Brzezinski of "Morning Joe" kept expressing disbelief that Wright, a man who is savvy about media news cycles would do such deliberate and irreparable damage to poor Bambi.

As the horror and shock of Wright's words played out in the media, a growing sneaky suspicion germinated in the mind of Howling Latina; this Wright business was a set-up to make the Wright problem go away.

WTF, you may ask, but....

The New York Times wrote an article about blogosphere reaction to Wright with links to Andrew Sullivan, an Obama supporter and quotes from the Daily Disher:
That was a very impressive, clear and constructive re-framing of the core message of his candidacy; and a moment given to him by Wright. No one will ever be able to say that Obama threw his father-figure and pastor under the bus. We all know that the reverse happened. We also know that this clear repudiation of Wright's toxic, indeed "ridiculous" views on AIDS, 9/11 and permanent immiseration of people of color could not have happened unless Wright had made it necessary. Skeptics may wonder whether Wright actually deliberately did Obama a favor. I doubt it. But a favor it unintentionally is.
Indeed! And that might just explain the joy and glee in Rev. Wright's face as he told AmeriKKKa to kiss his ass.

Talk about shooting two birds with one news flash...not that there is anything wrong with it...a person's gotta do what it takes to win, right?

What's the Matter with Obama? Read and Be Enlightened


After the latest Rev. Wright eruption, Obama supporters are wondering how could something so Wright have gone so wrong.

Well, the howler recently read the absolutely best post on the subject at Anglachel's Journal; no small task since she's read thousands.

It would now be presumptious for her to even try to summarize; read and be enlightened -- whether you're an Obama fan or Hillary supporter.

Monday, April 28, 2008

I'll Debate You on the Back of a Flatbed Truck


First Obama raised concerns about debating Hillary because moderators were so mean.

Hillary said no problem; we'll debate, mano-a-mano, Lincoln-Douglas doggie style.

Obama then said nope for if he were to debate Hillary, it would just take him away from the people who adore him since a debate would have to be held in some stuffy studio.

No problem, Hill replied. I'll come to wherever you are. Heck, we can even debate on the back of a flatbed pickup truck for all I care.

Smackdown time; it's the tenth frame and your turn to bowl, senator.

H/T The Confluence

Another Wrongful Conviction


Every time the howler reads a news story about a person wrongfully convicted of murder, she can't understand how people in the United States can still support capital punishment.

The latest story is about a Missouri man who was convicted of murder in 1992 and sentenced to 60 years in prison. The Associated Press reports that "tests on blood samples taken from the murder scene of Angela "Mischelle" Lawless...found they [were] not from Joshua Kezer, the accused.

Trial transcripts show there "were no witnesses to the killing. No physical evidence - DNA, fingerprints or murder weapon." Nada. "In fact, Kezer's friends and family say he wasn't even in the state the night Lawless was killed."

The law officer who found the dead woman's body never felt Kezer was guilty. And when he became the local sheriff, he did something about it; he reopened the case.

Fortunately, The Innocence Project in New York City also became involved, picking up some of the costs for the DNA testing.

Like nearly every wrongful conviction, it's either a snitch who lies or an eye witness who gets it wrong. In this case, a jury convicted Kezer on the the testimony of notoriously unrealiable "jailed informers."

Poor Keser has been sitting in a prison for almost 15 years for a murder he didn't commit. Meanwhile the person who killed the former cheerleader whose dead body was found dead in the car by the highway exit ramp is still running free.

Well thank God Almighty that Kezer didn't live in Virginia; he'd already be dead, for sure.

H/T Southeast Missourian for image.

League of Women Voters Sues

The New York Times reports that "The League of Women Voters of Florida sued state election officials on Monday to challenge a law that fines voter registration groups for losing registration forms or returning them late."
It comes less than two weeks after the league suspended its registration drive, fearing penalties of up to $1,000 per volunteer. And in its complaint, the group said the law “severely burdens efforts by the league and other plaintiffs to encourage civic engagement and strengthen democracy.”
This is just more GOP shenanigans strictly designed to trump democracy. Illegality began when Republicans broke into Democratic headquarters in the 70s; and since virtually everyone got away with nary a slap on the wrist they upped the ante and stole an election in '00. Now GOPers want to legalize their illegality and turpitude with sham laws.

No need to hope and wish the Supreme Court will put a stop to this; they are all in collusion as today's decision clearly shows.

Yeah, it's all about the integrity of the voting process in an upside down batwing world. Read the latest SCOTUS outrage in the Washington Post.

Super-Super Delegate to Endorse Hillary


In breathtaking news, Talk Left reports that Gov. Michael Easley of North Carolina will be endorsing Hillary Clinton.

A local television station initially broke the news:

Hillary Rodham Clinton has won the endorsement of North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, a surprise boost to her candidacy in a state where Barack Obama is heavily favored to win the Democratic primary. Easley was expected to announce the endorsement Tuesday morning in Raleigh, the state capital, one week before North Carolina's primary on May 6, according to people close to the governor and to Clinton. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement was pending.
CQ Politics reminds readers that Obama previously won the "endorsements of three of the seven Democratic House members from North Carolina -- Melvin Watt , David E. Price and G.K. Butterfield -- with the remaining four [members] undeclared. Reps. Heath Shuler , Bob Etheridge , Mike McIntyre and Brad Miller have yet to endorse.

Wow!!! Sure looks like Obama may have to cancel that White House drapery order. Go ahead, Elizabeth, endorse; you know you wanna do it!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Sister Solidarity


The Clyburn Factor

Craig Crawford has a brilliant post that capsulates the "race" problem as mirrored by comments from Democratic House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, a stealth Obama superdelegate.

Once again, a racial dispute over Bill Clinton’s words erupts in advance of a Deep South primary where African-American voters are crucial. And once again, Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., is at the forefront of attacks against his party’s former president.
Clyburn is stirring the pot of emotions one more time; and once again blacks are becoming incensed over something Bill Clinton said. You see, right before the Pennsylvania primary Bill pointed out that Obama Campers had used the race card against Hillary in South Carolina.

What a racially charged observation -- even if true.

You may recall back in January when Hillary remarked that it had been President Lyndon Johnson who had been the crucial ingredient in enacting Martin Luther King's dream into law, Clyburn, the highest ranking black politician took grave offense and opined to The New York Times:

"We have to be very, very careful about how we speak about that era in American politics...It is one thing to run a campaign and be respectful of everyone’s motives and actions, and it is something else to denigrate those.
In the same interview, Clyburn also deliberately conflated Bill Clinton's remark about Obama's opposition to the Iraq War with Hillary's King/Johnson remarks.
"To call that dream a fairy tale, which Bill Clinton seemed to be doing, could very well be insulting to some of us,” said Mr. Clyburn, who said he and others took significant risks more than 40 years ago to produce such opportunities for future black Americans.

Ten days later in an interview with CNN, Clyburn said, "Bill Clinton's attacks on Obama [are] unfair because a former president's viewpoint 'carries with it extra weight.'" And of course as an uncommitted honest broker, the Democratic party whip had to weigh in to neutralize Hillary's unfair advantage.

Well, here is the latest observation from Crawford with quotes and source:

“Black people are incensed,” Clyburn told the New York Times in an article published today. Although Clyburn claims to be neutral, the timing and substance of his comments ever since the South Carolina campaign consistently favor Obama.
After losing the New Hampshire primary and the Nevada caucuses, Obama’s team correctly surmised that Bill Clinton was a huge help to his wife in those campaigns. They set out to marginalize him -- and it worked magnificently in South Carolina, rebooting Obama's campaign.

The danger for Obama is that another racial meltdown in the Democratic Party could add to his already complicated efforts in appealing to some white voters.

Tell it like it is, Brother Craig!

Yes, "[i]nfuriated black voters are what the Obama campaign needs again in North Carolina to run up the score," but it's sure not going to help Obama with white voters in North Carolina, Indiana and the rest of the states moving forward.

At least today during the Sunday talkshows. media pundits correctly characterized Clyburn as an Obama supporter. Too bad no one has yet dared to call Donna Brazille on her Obama partisan slant.


Hillary Clinton: Mad As Hell/Bitch


Saturday, April 26, 2008

The Rules


Obama lives by his own golden set of rules. Everything Hillary, Bill or any surrogate says is divisive or worst. racist. It's only a matter of time before Chelsea is labeled racist too. Of course, everything Obama says is hunky dory and simply "differentiating."

Well, there's a list making the rounds that Howling Latina was too busy to post yesterday but...since she has a little time tonight, she thought it would be a swell time to disabuse false impressions advanced by media elites that Hillary has been a barracuda in her relentless attacks of The Chosen One.

Here are a series of queries and answers from a campaign quiz:

Who said Hillary Clinton is "literally willing to do anything to win"? David Axelrod, Barack Obama's chief strategist.

Who said Hillary Clinton is attempting to "deceive the American people"? The Obama campaign.

Who claimed Hillary Clinton has a secret 20-year plan to become president? Barack Obama.

Who said Hillary Clinton is "making the run for the best actress nomination"? Top Obama surrogate.

Who called Hillary Clinton a calculating, poll-tested, divisive figure? Barack Obama.

Who called Hillary Clinton "one of the most secretive politicians in America"? David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager.

Who said Hillary Clinton's campaign is "playing politics with war"? The Obama Campaign.

Who said John McCain is seen as more honest and trustworthy than Hillary Clinton? Barack Obama's campaign spokesman.

Who called Hillary Clinton dishonest? Barack Obama

Who referred to Hillary Clinton as "a monster"? Top Barack Obama advisor.

Who said Hillary Clinton is "not being straight with the American people"? Barack Obama.

Who said of Hillary, "The American people are not going to elect a president that they do not trust"? David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager.

Who claimed Hillary Clinton "consistently" and "deliberately" misleads the American people? Barack Obama's campaign spokesman during a teleconference.
Still not convinced that Obama is the one doing all of the attacking...? Then go ahead and read the article by Geoff Garin of The Washington Post smacking down Obama for his forked-tongue mischaracterization and more than a little projecting.

In the meantime, the howler has a whole slew of attacks from Obama Camp that she'll try to post tomorrow.

Hillary's Secret Weapon


Talk Left reports that Dr. Alice L. Palmer is campaigning for Hillary in Indiana.

Who in the heck is Dr. Palmer and why should her support for Hillary matter???

Seek and you shall find; she's the lady on the right. Barry is now trying to do to Hillary what he successfully and shamelessly did to Palmer to jump start his political career.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

If...

If last Tuesday, Pennsylvania white voters showed their racist side by overwhelmingly choosing Hillary over Obama, what exactly does that say about blacks who voted for Barack by an even wider margin...?

Just-a-wandering...

It's truly a shame the Democratic primary race has sunk to such lows as measuring race metrics to try to detect racial bias, especially in view of the promising transformative unity of last winter when we were all Democrats.

First Obama fans accused Hillary of using some hidden racist code when she harmlessly compared herself to Johnson and Obama to King; and then they chided New Hampshire voters for lying when cheery poll numbers didn't bear fruit with an Obama win.

Talk Left writes that Rep. Joe Clyburn of South Carolina who was instrumental in ratcheting the racist rhetoric in South Carolina is up to his "old tricks."

I heard something, the first time yesterday (in South Carolina), and I heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can’t win this. But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win.
Big Tent Democrat spanks Clyburn and writes, "He sounds like a crazy conspiracy theorist. He does Obama no good. He does him harm. Rep. Clyburn, you need to step away from the microphone please."

Indeed, it's garbage like this that begat the howler's ire, and for which she never forgot or forgave. One day her grandchildren will be of mixed heritage and God help the child who'll have her own without people like Clyburn jading their life on earth with garbage.

Obama Buyer's Remorse



How very interesting....

Howling Latina's daughter voted for Barack Obama in the Texas primary; and she is the latest person to share her buyer's remorse of the Obama kind.

"Mom, I voted for Hillary in the primary and will vote for Obama in the presidency if he's the nominee," she told me. "But I've recently changed my mind. If I had to vote today, I'd vote for Hillary."
To this anecdote add the story of the howler's cousin and husband, both former Obama supporters from Virginia, and both now solidly in Hillary's corner after the Wright imbroglio. Unfortunately, neither will commit to voting for Obama in the fall.

It seems Obama wins in February may have been rooted in Dems afraid of missing the bandwagon as it traveled across their states. Voters couldn't wait to jump on. Obama, after all, was the golden ray of light that was to bring Dems and Independents from the abyss of politics as usual.

Then spring inevitably arrived with its educating primaries and Obama gaffes -- all front and center in the new light of day -- each shedding ever-increasing light into the core and spirit of the Democratic presidential front runner and anointed One.

Make no mistake about it. If all the February primaries were held today, Hillary would do much, much better. And in that spirit and sentiment, HL predicts Hill will do well in North Carolina and Indiana and get stronger and stronger with each primary. Moreover, open primaries no longer favor Obama.

Dan Kennedy of The Guardian frames buyer's remorse as follows:

It strikes me as at least possible that many Democrats are experiencing buyer's remorse. Obama came out of nowhere and wrapped this up early. The numbers are such that it's still almost certain that he'll be the nominee. Yet it may be that Clinton, for all her flaws and baggage, is better suited to go into battle
this fall against John McCain.

If nothing else, her protracted fight against Obama has reminded Democrats that she will fight like a crazed weasel, a quality that has not always been evident in Obama. Yes, last week's ABC debate was a train wreck; Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos's shameless performance was an insult
to the intelligence of everyone who watched.

But Obama did not acquit himself particularly well. If he had angrily told the moderators that their questions were stupid and had then proceeded to talk about, say, the mortgage crisis for a few minutes, voters might have stood up and cheered. Instead, he sputtered and pandered, and allowed himself to be diminished by the proceedings rather than rising above them.
Geez, wonder if some intrepid and enterprising pollsters will dare test the howler's hypothesis in a place like, oh, Virginia just to check the temperature of buyer's remorse. A little something-something for supers to think about...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Obama's Faculty Lounge Spin


Earlier, Howling Latina wrote about the 20-point lead that Obama spin meisters keep saying was mostly wiped out, which of course is nothing but faculty lounge spin from Obama Central.

Eriposte of The Left Coast sheds more light on the subject with a postscript and helpful links:

I was going to mention this yesterday but never got around to it. The talking point about Sen. Clinton having dropped from a 20-point lead is nonsense - it is based on cherry picking one or two polls to spin the embarrassing loss in favor of Sen. Obama, who blew a huge and unprecedented amount on money on the
PA race and had numerous other things going in his favor. In fact, if you look at the list of PA polls at Pollster.com, the average Clinton lead was roughly ~10% in February, ~12% in March and ~7% in April. I just noticed Jerome Armstrong wrote about the same aspect - using a different poll or polls source - yesterday. At least you can be happy that I didn't pick the PPP poll that had Sen. Obama leading by 3% and use that to claim that he should therefore withdraw from the race after yesterday's result.

Also kudos to Pat Buchanan on "Morning Joe" for helping the howler come up with the headline. In analyzing the Chosen One's problem with blue collar workers, he dubbed Obama as "too much faculty lounge."

Tenn Superdelegate Endorses Hillary


Mark Halperin of The Page writes that Rep. John Tanner, "a prominent Blue Dog Democrat" from Tennessee came out today and endorsed Hillary.

Go Hillary!!!

Is Elizabeth Joining the Hill Team?

Last night on MSNBC, Howard Fineman of Newsweek said that Elizabeth Edwards is likely to show up at Clinton rally in North Carolina.

Howling Latina reported as much in earlier posts; the buzz is simply growing louder. Stay tuned...

Who Got it Right...?


Privately, Howling Latina told her friends and family that Hillary would win Pennsylvania by 11 points.

Not too shabby. Now let's see what polling organization who do this kind of thing for a living had to say on the subject.

CQ Politics yesterday morning posted the following numbers:

Zogby: Clinton +10
SurveyUSA: Clinton +6
Suffolk: Clinton +10
Quinnipiac: Clinton +7
Strategic Vision: Clinton +7
American Research Group: Clinton +13
Mason-Dixon: Clinton +5
Public Policy Polling: Obama +3
Wow! All that $$$ for naught. Looks like Obama has dethroned Mitt "Bronzed Face" Romney as the new kingpin of the Millionare Boys Bust Club.

All that happy talk from Obamatrons about how splendidly their candidate did in closing the 20+ point gap in less than a month is nothing but bullshit. According to ABC News, Hillary led in mid-February by 14 points.

Can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love

I'll buy you a diamond ring, my friend, if it makes you feel alright
I'll get you anything, my friend, if it makes you feel alright
'Cause I don't care too
Much for money
Money can't buy me love

I'll give you all I've got to give, if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give, but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too
Much for money
Money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love, no no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond rings, and I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things, that money just can't buy
I don't care too
Much for money
Money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love, no no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond rings, and I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things, that money just can't buy
I don't care too
Much for money
Money can't buy me love
Can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love


Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Obama Ducking Fast


News of Obama ducking the North Carolina debate with Hillary Clinton should come as no surprise in light of how Obama got his clock cleaned in the televised Pennsylvania debate almost a week ago.

It doesn't look like North Carolina voters are going to have a chance to hear and see Barack answer any of their concerns in unscripted moments up close and personal. Barack supporters in North Carolina claimed of "growing concerns about what another debate would do to party unity" and shut it down.

Hmmm, so you shut down debates, dismiss Florida and Michigan voters, demand the first viable female presidential candidate drop out, all under the sham banner of solidarity. More doublespeak from the new kind of candidate who refuses to play by the same old politics of the past.

But hey, why go to the belly of the beast, as Hill did last night when she appeared on Keith Olbermann's Obama Central??? After all, the media has already decided he is The Chosen One, Hillary just needs to stop creating problems and quit.

Obama is also ducking reporters of late. A quick stroll through the blogosphere reveals that Obama hasn't "given a press conference in 10 days." Reporters have been reduced to asking questions on the run and Obama is getting a little testy.

Call her paranoid, but the howler can't help but hearken back to the horror show that was Bush in avoiding press questions during his campaign and presidency.

Is this the visionary hope that Obama is trying to peddle to voters?!? Makes sense in Obama World...

Monday, April 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton Winner if Election Held Today


Taylor Marsh has a fascinating post with an electoral map breakdown if the presidential election were held today instead of in the fall.

Marsh notes that according to electoral-vote.com, "if the election were held today between Clinton and McCain or Obama and McCain," no ifs ands or buts, Hillary conclusively wins.

Clinton 289
McCain 239
Result: President Hillary Clinton
Obama 260
McCain 254
Result: Inconclusive, and rather troubling.
Of the swing states, Hillary wins Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Maine and Pennsylvania. Obama loses Florida, New Hampshire and Ohio for a total of 51 electoral votes.

Obama ties Colorado and North Carolina for 21 electoral votes; this doesn't exactly make up the loss, but don't worry; keep on believing...until hope slaps you in the face and you are once again crying the blues in November.

Breaking News - Hillary to Go to the Belly of the Beast

In breaking news, Talk Left reports that Hillary Clinton will be appearing on the "Obama News Network's Countdown program with Obama's O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann."

Howling Latina can't wait to see how Olbermann conducts himself; let's hope he combs the interwoven strings in his biased brain and treats Hillary with journalistic integrity, at minimum.

Wah, ha, ha, ha, Chris. No show for your show. Just a little more indignity to piss you off.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Journalists in the Tank


Without even the tinsiest trace of shame, Politico happily reports that Obama has a secret weapon.

Nope, it's not his bong of hope or his audacity to cling. Why it's the talking heads in the media, of course silly.

My, oh my, but weren’t those fellows from ABC News rude to Barack Obama at this week’s presidential debate.

Nothing but petty, process-oriented questions, asked in a prosecutorial tone, about the Democratic front-runner’s personal associations and his electability. Where was the substance? Where was the balance?

Where indeed. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her aides have been complaining for months about imbalance in news coverage. For the most part, the reaction to her from the political-media commentariat has been: Stop whining.

Boy, ain't that the truth! It was all fun and revelry when Hillary was getting pounded every day by Matthews, Shuster, Olbermann and the fun bunch at Kos, Huffington, Talking Points Memo and so on.

But just like Harris and Vandehei write, "The shower of indignation on Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos over the last few days is the clearest evidence yet that the Clintonites are fundamentally correct in their complaint that she has been flying throughout this campaign into a headwind of media favoritism for Obama."

Yep. All it took was a little equalizing power at ABC to show the Chosen One was wearing no clothes and wham, Hill leads national polls, as she should.

Hillary Leads Nationwide


After all the cries for Hillary to drop out of the presidential race because Obama's lead was insurmountable, the latest Gallup daily tracking poll shows that Obama's lead has disappeared qucker than you can say "she-kling."


The Swamp writes that Obama's "10-point advantage...has vanished." Gone. Adios, Au revoir, Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen, настолько длиной, さようなら, 안녕.

Now Howling Latina has reason to be hopeful this latest Gallup poll is not an outlier but accurately reflects the mood of the country. A self-directed poll at AOL confirms the Hillarymentum.

When asked who they would like to see win the Democratic primary, 229,235 weighed in and 133,047 or 58 percent voted for Hillary and only 73,962 or 32 percent voted for Obama.

Jeralyn of Talk Left writes a wonderful analysis of the posted map above that clearly shows the path to victory for Dems is a whole lot easier with Hillary at the top of the ticket.
No spins, folks. Just hard cold facts; the force is with Hillary.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Robinson - ABC Debate One of the Best Ones

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post (a not-so-secret Obama supporter) penned a column today declaring the debate between Hillary and Obama at ABC News was "one of the better debates of the campaign." And "that's saying something," he added, "since it was the 21st such encounter for Clinton and Obama."

Howling Latina can't help but hearken to all the Fred Thompson media hype before he imploded. Equal to Republicans, Dems want a savior to take them to the promised land of victory, yet unlike GOPers, they seem to be shunning the person likeliest to do the hard work it takes to secure a win.

Back when Hillary was getting slapped around by just about everyone, she never once complained. It wasn't until months and months later when "Saturday Night Live" broke the news that media elites took noticed how unfair they'd been to Hillary.

Suck it up, Obamatrons; this is the real world of politics. Just like Bill Clinton told a cheering crowd, politics is a "contact sport. If you don't want to play, keep your uniform off."

Besides, like Robinson noted, Obama may have been "grilled [but] to a lesser extent" so was Hillary. All the gnashing of teeth and hyper bloviating by media pundits (more not-so-secret Obama partisans) is blather meant to conceal just how poorly their hero did on Wednesday night.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Obama Fans Shocked by Dose of Reality


If there is one consistent theme throughout the blogosphere and media today after Obama was handed back his knell of hope in a plastic baggie is that whatever happened last night was unscrupulous. unconscionable and unjust.

Phony outrage against ABC News who moderated the Obama-Clinton debate abounds in the finest coterie of derisive words such as shameful, despicable, shoddy, specious, gossipy, biased, hostile, cringe-worthy, a physical act of violence, completely lacking integrity, wall to wall ugly, the absolute worst debate ever...

How dare ABC News do to the Chosen One what every media outlet has been doing to Hillary since forever? But geez, really, don't hold back, what did you really think of the debate...?

Oh yes, memory is a many splendored thing. Back when Hillary was getting her pile-on from all sides of the dais no one seemed to mind because, well, she was the front-runner after all. It's kind of ironic that the people complaining the loudest today are the very ones who clapped, cheered and jeered when Hillary was getting what was due her because, well, just because she was her. Corrente explains:

Wow, one out of twenty-one debates isn’t slanted their way, and it’s time to break out the hankies. These people are statistically worse than George Harrison’s taxman.

And do they actually think Barry faced a grilling half as bad as HRC did in the Russert-Williams Snuff Debate? Yes, thanks to the miracle of truthiness, they do.

Dear Obamatrons, did you really think your hero was just going to be handed the nomination because of his magic wand of hope "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" that a typical white person clinging to religion, guns and flag could relate to???

Quit your infernal whining; next thing you know, Imus is going to be calling your candidate an "almost a bigger pussy than [Hillary]". Not a good thing.

What's more, if you want St. Obama to win, excluding Michigan and Florida and one half of the Democratic party is not the winning way. And griping about the mean bullies in the media is also not helpful. This is the candidacy for the president of the United States of America; not some little state office that you can game the system and rid yourself of pesky opponents.

Psss, Hillary ain't Alice L. Palmer.

Where Are McCain's Tax Return???

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have released their tax records. Only last month, Brian Ross of ABC reported that Hillary was the only presidential candidate holding out.

What makes the media "ignore McCain's finances after obsessing over Dems', as Media Matters observed last month.
Here's Andrea Mitchell: "I mean, where are the tax returns?" And Dan Abrams: "Not releasing tax returns does beg the question, 'Is there something to hide?' " Chris Matthews: "Will you commit ... to release her tax returns before the election in Pennsylvania which is so pivotal for you? ... So we'll get the results before we vote." And Tucker Carlson: "I'm still baffled as to why Senator Clinton hasn't released her tax returns."
Where are your tax records, Sen. John McSame??? And where is the outrage from Cafferty, Chris, Tucker, Andrea, Wolf, Brian, Brit, Pat,???

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

House Democrat Bill to Safeguard Federal Agency Electronic Mail

The House introduced legislation that is supposed to fix the deficiences in record keeping by the White House and other federal agencies.

The Washington Post writes that "Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and two other Democrats on the panel sponsored the bill after investigations showed that the White House under President Bush may have lost millions of e-mails. "

The bill, H.R. 5811, directs the National Archives and Records Administration to set standards for capturing, managing, retrieving and preserving White House e-mails and other electronic communications, and to certify whether the White House system meets the standards. The proposed legislation also directs the National Archives to issue regulations within 18 months requiring federal agencies to preserve electronic communications in an electronic format. The agencies would have up to four years to comply.
Crew thinks the bill doesn't go far enough.
CREW charged that federal agencies have shown "an appalling lack of progress" in electronic record-keeping.
The Democratic Congress once again disappoints. If anyone thinks the loss of millions of e-mails was just an unfortunate happenstance, think again; this was a concerted effort by the Bush Administration to conceal all the hanky-panky going on at the Pentagon, Justice Department, CIA, VA, HUD, FEMA and heaven only knows where else...

Is It Over??

Has the media once again voted for America??

Is Barack "Barry" Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois without any experience to be the standard bearer for Democrats in a losing campaign against John McSame??

Is 2008 to be a repeat of the promise of 2000 and 2004???

The media script for tonight's debate has already been written. Obama won. He is FDR, JFK and RFK all rolled into one for the 21st century; that is, until he loses in November because he was too inexperienced, too elite, too effete, too compromised, too wishy-washy, too EVErYTHING!

Pundits will later claim they tried to warn Democrats.

When will we learn; when will we ever learn; apparently not soon enough.

While the Pope Fiddles U.S. Supreme Court Ok's Death


There are no coincidences; it has been said many times over that worldly coincidences are God's winks of love on earth.

Indeed!

On the very day Pope Benedict XVI was being welcomed to the White House with much pomp and pageantry, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that lethal injection was not unconstitutional; it was just honky-dory. The Catholic faith opposes capital punishment.

Bloomberg reports that in a 7-2 decision, the Court upheld Kentucky's three-drug cocktail, "saying the state ha[d] adequate safeguards to ensure inmates [wouldn't] endure significant pain."

A little pain, no big deal...how would we find out anyway...?

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and claimed that just "because an execution method [could] result in pain" didn't necessarily "establish the sort of objectively intolerable risk of harm that qualifie[d] as cruel and unusual.''

Hmmm, let's see if Pope Benedict as leader of the Catholic church weighs in on the matter.

Death Penalty Case on Supreme Court Docket

The U.S. State Supreme Court will hear the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana today.

Louisiana would like to execute a man for raping his 8-year old stepdaughter, a horrific crime but one the Court previously banned under the Eighth Amendment due to the"unique...severity and irrevocability" of execution in the case of raping an adult.

In an op-ed this morning, The New York Times notes the Court previously ruled that death was an "excessive penalty for the rapist who, as such, [did] not take human life.” In other words, it would exceed the 'eye for eye' dictum.

Since then, the court has repeatedly interpreted Coker as holding that the death penalty cannot be applied in cases of person-on-person violence other than murder or reckless disregard for life.
It seems Colorado wants to join the hall of shame and add rape to their list of crimes punishable by death. Talk Left has an excellent post with links on the subject. But as the Times observes, "If the court allows the death penalty for child rape, it would be opening the door for the same punishment to be extended to other crimes."
That would be wrong, particularly now, when the growing number of cases of innocent people being freed from death row is turning popular opinion against capital punishment. The court should reverse Mr. Kennedy’s unconstitutional sentence.
Amen! Just today Texas released one more person wrongfully convicted of rape. Thomas Clifford McGowan is the "16th Dallas County inmate...cleared through DNA" and served 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Huffington Jumps the Shark


Huffington Post front-paged the most baleful, misogynist, toxic image on her Web site. Hillary and McCain are morphed into one shameful monster to reflect the old biddy's use of "the very same words" that McCain used to attack St. Obama.

Oh, the impudence of pointing out the obvious!

Howling Latina will not link; if you want, go check for yourself; and then please tell her what Obamatrons would say if a pro-Hillary site posted an image as ghastly as that one.

Obamatrons are hurting their candidate and party; and they need to stop before the movement they built during the last eight painful years is torn to shreds.

Does anyone remember how united we were when Hillary was ahead?? What ever happened to that???

"Music for LIfe"


With the death penalty essentially on hold since last September -- awaiting a Supreme Court ruling as to whether or not lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment -- Louisiana is seeking the ultimate punishment for raping a minor.

Thirty years ago, the Court ruled that executing a person for raping an adult constituted "cruel and unusual punishment." But righteous, god-fearing folks from the Pelican State want another bite at the apple for raping a child this time.

Executions have been on hold nationwide since September, when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a constitutional challenge of execution by lethal injection...No executions have been carried out in the state since.

At issue in the Kentucky case is whether the drugs used can inflict excruciating pain and thus violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

The High Court has agreed to hear the case of a man convicted of raping his 8-year old stepdaughter and sentenced to die. And if the High Court discerns that injecting a lethal cocktail into the veins of a poor sap is not unconstitutional (a practice in animals violating veterinarian standards in most states), then how far will the Supremes go to exact just deserts of the eye for an eye variety...?

Lordy, lordy, lordy. What ever happened to that folksy song and dance about only seeking the death penalty for the most heinous crimes???

In the meantime, a group of musicians from Texas is using this welcome respite from the killing fields to try to bring reason and light to the subject.

The Dallas Star-Telegram reports that "a group of homegrown artists" decided that "it's time to take another look at capital punishment."

Spearheaded by Austin singer-songwriters Sara Hickman and Trish Murphy, the entertainers are staging concerts and town-hall meetings around Texas, taking advantage of an unofficial moratorium on executions to get people talking about the issue.

The concert series has been dubbed "Music for Life," and, as the name suggests, it's an anti-death penalty crowd on stage.

[...]

Former Death Row chaplain Carroll Pickett and Kinky Friedman, the musician-turned-writer-turned-politician, are among the speakers scheduled to participate in some of the forums. Hickman, a folk-rock singer whose albums include Motherlode and Shortstop, said the events sometimes spark heated, heart-wrenching debate.

Howling Latina is sure it'll come to nothing. As a spokesperson for Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has already observed, "executions [will] resume after the Supreme Court's review." No big deal...

Just like Bush before him, Perry insists that executions in Texas have been "applied fairly" and only for the most "heinous crimes." The Big Lie told ad nauseam.

Yearly, state legislators try to outdo one another in adding more and more crimes to the long list of felonies eligible for death to prove their mettle and backbone. No death-row abolition industry on K Street, unfortunately.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Bottoms UP


This is how you campaign in Pennsylvania. Looks like Hill is having a good ol' time at Bronko’s Restaurant downing a shot of Crown Royal.

Poor George; you just know he's green with O'Douls envy at the White House.

Raise the Curtain - Whispers Becoming a Shout

Howling Latina posted earlier about Republican talking points that Obama is a Communist.

In furtherance of this sham and shuck, Judge Andrew Napolitano of "Brian and the Judge" on Fox radio asked Sen. Joe Liberman today whether he thought Obama was a Marxist.

Here's the response from the real 'Judas,' courtesy of Think Progress:

“I must say that’s a good question,” replied Lieberman, before stepping back to say that he would “hesitate to say he’s a Marxist."
But not to be foiled from the truth, Napolitano followed up his line of questioning with this persistant quip:
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?
And so the faithful servant had no recourse but to open up the gates of doublespeak with dramatic poise equal to his station as the Democratic turncoat.
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.
Indeed, the question was exceedingly praiseworthy -- as he said time and again; all that's missing from the dénouement of this epic farce is the traitor's kiss.

Survey USA - Hillary Leads by 16 Points


The latest Survey USA poll in Indiana has Hillary over Obama by 16 points with only 3 percent undecided.

Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released two weeks ago, Clinton is up 3 points, Obama is down 4 points. Clinton had led by 9 at the beginning of April, leads by 16 mid-month. Here's where the movement is occurring: Among men, Obama had trailed by 2, now trails by 12, a 10-point swing to Clinton. In greater Indianapolis, Obama had led by 12, now trails by 1, a 13-point swing to Clinton. Among Democrats, Obama had trailed by 12, now trails by 27, a 15-point swing to Clinton. Among voters focused on health care, Clinton had led by 10, now leads by 30, a 20-point swing to Clinton. Among the youngest voters, Obama had led by 19, now trails by 2, a 21-point swing to Clinton.

Yikes...yes, Hillary should immediately quit the race.

Mudcat Saunders on Obama Blunder


The New York Times recently interviewed Mudcat Saunders and asked him for his take on 'BitterGate,' the Obama gaffe heard around the world.

“It could mean he’s rendered himself unelectable,” Mr. Saunders said. “This is a perfect example of why Democrats lose elections.”
As Bud White of No Quarter writes, "Saunders is an expert on rural politics." He's the political strategist who helped elect Mark Warner and Jim Webb in Virginia.

Mudcat must've had his phone ringing off the wall this past weekend. CNN Politics.com also features the Mudster for a Southern Democratic perspective:

Dave ‘Mudcat’ Saunders, the Virginia-based Democratic strategist credited with helping big-name politicians appeal to rural voters, said Saturday Barack Obama has “got a bunch of explaining to do” over his claims that economically-frustrated Americans “cling to guns or religion” when they get “bitter.”

“I’m a southern boy myself,” Saunders told CNN by phone. “I don’t have a gun because I’m bitter, it’s because I’ve always had one. I don’t pray to God because I’m bitter. I pray to God because it makes my life better.”

[...]

“The one thing that I preached during this whole deal is we can’t be stereotyping anybody,” he said. “Well, Barack Obama just stereotyped my people out in rural America.”

“Here’s a guy who says he shouldn’t be stereotyped, but yet he stereotyped us.”

In a no-brainer, White of No Quarter adds, "Mudcat Saunders...deserves to be listened to closely".

GOP Buzz: Obama Is a Commie

Today, there is a pernicious article by William Kristol in the New York Times spouting some bullshit theme and sentiment. "The Mask Slips," Kristol headlines and then immediately proceeds with the ugly business at hand:

I haven’t read much Karl Marx since the early 1980s, when I taught political philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Still, it didn’t take me long this weekend to find my copy of “The Marx-Engels Reader,” edited by Robert C. Tucker — a book that was assigned in thousands of college courses in the 1970s and 80s, and that now must lie, unopened and un-remarked upon, on an awful lot of rec-room bookshelves.

My occasion for spending a little time once again with the old Communist was Barack Obama’s now-famous comment at an April 6 San Francisco fund-raiser. Obama was explaining his trouble winning over small-town, working-class voters: “It’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Kristol advances that Obama's words mirror Marx, which leaves the question open as to whether Obama shares his economic worldview as well.

“Religious suffering is at the same time an expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of a soulless condition. It is the opium of the people.”
Howling Latina had been hearing gathering whispers about Obama and his Marxist roots. It began with Republican hacks bemoaning the fact that Obama didn't wear a flag lapel; oh, and did you know he was a Muslim as well; something foreign about the man; you just couldn't trust him.

It gathered dust with the wind of Michelle's comment about how for the first time she was really proud of her country. And in the meantime, HL's 84-year old mother insisted that Obama was just like Cuba's Fidel Castro, a raging Communist; her brother-in-law agreed.

As anyone who's read the howler's posts during the last few months knows, HL is a staunch Hillary supporter. Period. But Obama as a Communist...???? Give her a break; this is the new millennium, after all, not the 1950s.

Yesterday during a visit to the howler's sister, sis -- who voted for Obama in February -- said a friend's husband who is president of a very large corporation said he met Obama and was duly impressed with his comity and knowledge but...at the core of his soul, he believed that Obama's political views were not only Marxist but Communist

These attacks are beyond the pale but not beyond what Obama can look forward to should he be the Democratic nominee in the fall. The whisper campaign is getting louder and louder in a crescendo of crap.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Clinton Wins Redo in Nevada


The bitch that won't quit won again in a redo.

CQ Politics reports that Hillary Clinton "won a do-over county convention in Nevada on Saturday, cementing her narrow win in the state over Democratic rival Barack Obama heading into the state convention in May."

More than 6,300 delegates participated Saturday, according to the Nevada Democratic Party. Clinton won 1,330 delegates from Clark County while Obama won 1,133 delegates.

Heading into Saturday, Obama had won the majority of the delegates in the state’s other 15 county conventions, 512 of 900. But Clinton’s win in Clark County, by far the state’s most populous county, gave her the lead statewide 1,718 to 1,645, for delegates to the May 17 state convention in Reno, where Nevada Democrats will select delegates to the national convention in Denver this August.

Indeed, one can certainly see now why Obamatrons wish to let sleeping dogs filled with flees in Florida and Michigan lie instead of taking them to the vet for a flea bath.

Get rid of the blood sucking insects and next thing you know, wham, the dogs rise up and bite you in the ass.

GOP Turns Up Heat on Democrats Over Obama “Bitter” Remark

Howling Latina made the earlier call.

CQ Politics reports this morning that "remarks about 'bitter' small-town Pennsylvanians could make it more difficult for vulnerable House Democrats; and yep, these are very same Democrats who've yet to commit to the Chosen One.

A good portion of House members who have not declared their support are moderates and conservatives who represent swing districts dominated by small towns.

[...]

The targets of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee were a pair of freshman Pennsylvania Democrats - Jason Altmire, who represents small towns outside Pittsburgh in the state's 4th district, and Christopher Carney, whose 10th district covers the sparsely populated expanses of northeastern Pennsylvania.

Neither man has declared for Hillary or Obama.
It’s time for Congressman Chris Carney to step up and denounce Barack Obama's condescending attitude about families who live in small towns and who hold a viewpoint other than Obama’s,” NRCC Spokesman Ken Spain said in a Saturday statement that echoed one aimed at Altmire a day earlier.
Does anyone besides the howler get the impression that Republicans are going to attack Democratic candidates for condenscending, ill-timed remarks by Obama or Michelle in the fall...?

Expect to hear a lot more about "bitter clinging" and about getting more white people up front and about the United States of KKK.

Remember, it's not just the few but all Amerikkkans who'll be voting to elect a president and Congress in the fall; and this includes the all-important swing states of Michigan and Florida and Pennsylvania and Ohio and...

In other words, Obama's audacity of hope, Michelle's color coordinated scheme that she can be really, really proud of and Dean's stupid move to reject Michigan and Florida will hurt the party November.

Update: Here's an image of Obama that you can bet will be front and center in the fall.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Oh, oh, Republican Attack Machine Loose


Breaking news alert via Obama Nation. Republican attack machine in Pennsylvania is using Obama's insensitive comment to sully other Dems running for office.

Ehemmmm, there goes that wonderful theory of Obama being the more palatable candidate at the top of the ticket right down the toilet.

Sewage in, sewage out...

Offensive Response to Initial Obama Bitter Remark


Sen. Barack Obama's response to his original elitist remark about middle America only makes matters worse. And Patrick Hynes of Ankle Biting Pundits hits a bull's eye with this analysis:

By refusing to acknowledge that the lumping of Americans of faith together with racists and xenophobes is empirically insulting, he essentially restates his position and digs in: Religion, racism, xenophobia are just “refuges” (his new word) for people who are not as privileged as he. Really repugnant stuff.
Yesterday we learned that Obama told a crowd of fat cats in San Francisco that he understood the reasons why simple-minded Americans in Pennsylvania had come to "cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who [weren't] like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment" or anything else under the sun.

You see, they were bitter, yes bitter, over the economy; and it was all Bush and Clinton's fault.

Well, like Ben Smith of Politico observes, "That's a pretty broad list of things to explain with job loss." But not if you consider that they're all a bunch of stupid racists who know nothing about the audacity of put downs from the Chosen One.

By the way, in the same post, Hynes contextualizes by walking down memory lane and recounting an earlier Michelle Obama comment and then responding:

“Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.”

Yep, that’s us: Just a bunch of uniformed racists who hate everyone who isn’t just like us and cling to our God and our guns because we didn’t get to go to Princeton or Harvard Law School. They know us so well.


McCain Chimes In On Michigan and Florida

Talkingpointsmemo posted a lovely video of upcoming attractions, should Dems be stupid enough to refuse to seat Michigan and Florida.

The last thing Democrats need in a close race is for some blowheart presidential candidate to start running ads in the fall rebuking them for not counting every vote in Michigan and Florida when it's too late to do anything about it.

Are you listening Howard Dean?? How 'bout Obama Nation??

Friday, April 11, 2008

Shame on Progressives & Media


If you're not sure why, link here and you'll find out.

Chintzy Saint Obama Spins


Saint Obama does not take any money from oil companies. Saint Obama does not take any money from 'Washington lobbyists.' And now we learn that Saint Obama refuses to follow tradition and pay poor folks who are tasked with getting out the vote for little things like gas and lunches.

To high rolling Obama, volunteers should get out the vote just for the sheer bliss of seeing him win the Democratic nomination; and if they're real good, maybe they'll get a kiss to boot.

That's right, Los Angeles Times reports that Obama is refusing to pay up:
Flush with payments from well-funded campaigns, the ward leaders and Democratic Party bosses typically spread out the cash in the days before the election, handing $10, $20 and $50 bills to the foot soldiers and loyalists who make up the party's workforce.It is all legal -- but Obama's people are telling the
local bosses he won't pay.
It's the principle of the matter, don't you know, like the same lofty code of ethics that compelled Camp Obama to stiff a poor myspace guy back in 2007.

Not familiar with the story? Here, let Micah L. Sifry of Personal Democracy Forum tell you the story about Joe Anthony who started a "barackobama homepage."

How all this happened is a complicated tale that is still unfolding, and none of the parties involved--Anthony, the Obama online team, and the MySpace political operation--emerge from this story unscathed. Speaking on background, Obama campaign staffers are spreading word that Anthony just wanted a "big payday."

Anthony in turn has posted a missive on his blog (that was originally sent to me as an email) accusing the Obama team of "bullying...[and] rotten and dishonest" behavior. However one parses those accusations (more below), the Obama campaign's reputation as the most net-savvy of 2008 has taken a big hit.

At the time, Anthony only wanted to be paid for the blood, sweat and tears he invested along with his own $39,000.

But in a gleam of coming attractions by Camp Obama, Jerome Armstrong of MyDD commented on the whole sordid affair back in May 2007:

Yea, $49K to deliver 160,000 supporters; that's .32 cents each for opted in and engaged activsts. A bargain. [The amount was actually up to $44K] $50,000 is what it takes to advertise on the Liberal Ad Network for two weeks. It's a minor expenditure in the grand scheme of things. But instead:

I was accused of using this profile for commercial purposes. I was threatened that I would be responsible if the profile was deleted (they even followed up via email to be sure I knew it was my fault!) The conversation really was about them taking control of the profile. There was no counter offer, or anything to suggest that they had any intention of paying me anything at all.

[...]

Whatever the case, at this point it appears the Obama people simply decided that they would get control of the myspace.com/barackobama url by going around Anthony and getting MySpace to lock down his access to it. In their view, Anthony was violating MySpace's terms of service by falsely representing himself as Obama, and thus they didn't have to pay him anything. The worst that would happen, they reasoned, is that they would have to rebuild the candidate's network of friends.
Here's another thought: Obama has poured millions and millions of dollars into Pennsylvania and you can bet that he knows he's going to get trounced by Hillary. Just like Chris Matthews pointed out on "Morning Joe," with so many undecideds in Pennsylvania, Team Obama is headed for a big loss.

No matter. Obama can now blame his defeat on all those precinct captains who didn't get out the vote because he stood his ground; the majestic ground of knowing when to hold them and knowing when to fold them and knowing when to play the media for the suckers that they are.

Folks, voters in Pennsylvania, with or without any walking money, ain't buying Obama's shtick. And equal to the city precinct captains and poor Anthony, Democrats who vote for Obama will find themselves on the short end of the stick.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Bush Exit Strategy

One of the best quotes that will likely bring a belly laugh for your pleasure, courtesy of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as reported by Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post:
"Based on everything we have heard, we can reach only one conclusion: With 160,000 courageous American troops serving in Iraq, President Bush has an exit strategy for just one man -- himself -- on January 20th, 2009."

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Hillary Picks Up Superdelegate

With the election of former state Sen. Jackie Speier of California, Hillary picks up a coveted superdelegate.

Speier "won election Tuesday in California’s 12th District to fill the seat left vacant by the Feb. 11 death of 14-term Democratic incumbent Tom Lantos," CQ Politics reports. She supports Hillary for president.

Grandma Is Back


Barack has a new ad in Pennsylvania with his sister and grandmother featured.

Yeah, the very same grandma whom he labeled a troubling racist in defending Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Here's a transcript of his 10-second ad.
Sister Maya: "People recognize themselves in Barack; and they feel understood by him. In part, that's because he listens so well."

Grandma: "Well, I think it's given him a lot of depth and a broadness of view."

Michelle: "Barack and I talk all the time about making sure that our girls can imagine any kind of world for themselves with no barriers."

Maya: "He wants to make sure that everybody's children have opportunities that his daughters have."
¡Ay Dios mio! Make what you will of it but...

The ad seems to offer a not-so subliminal plea for voters to support Obama because of sublimal code words for "race."

What to make of his grandma's oblique statement about Obama's unique "depth and a broadness of view."?

And what about Michelle's point that Obama's priority is to ensure their children "can imagine any kind of world for themselves with no barriers"?

Barriers because of gender?? Race??? What the hell are these people talking about...???

Obama's Color Coordinated Crowd

Last night, Howling Latina picked up a link recounting how Michelle Obama asked for more whites to come to the front of the bus.

This morning, Ben Smith of Politico weighs in:

I'm not sure there's any real reason for outrage here; every campaign, at least implicitly, includes race in the staging of events like this -- even a campaign whose supporters chant "race doesn't matter." But they don't usually get caught doing it this explicitly.

And (if you didn't pick it up from the bowling) it does give you a sense of the community Obama's trying to reach in Pennsylvania: whitefolks.

Talk Left asks people to just imagine the outrage if Hillary or Bill had been overheard asking for more black folks...

No media bias here; nope, none at all...

Oprah No Longer 'Queen of Daytime TV'


Equal to pro-Obama bloggers who've been shedding traffic, Politico reports that Oprah has seen her favorability numbers plummet; that's right, she's "no longer the 'Queen of daytime TV.'"

Oh dear...

It seems from the time Oprah announced her support of Obama on "Larry King Live" in May 2007, Americans started to have second thoughts about the daytime television superstar.

A CBS News poll in August 2007, "showed only 61 percent of Americans were favorably disposed to her — a considerable drop of 13 percentage points from a similar survey conducted just seven months prior." It has only gotten worst.

Immediately after she announced she was going on the campaign trail for Obama in December, Oprah's favorability further dropped to 55 percent with an all-time high negative of 33 percent.

On March 26, 2008, AOL conducted a popularity poll. The results were ugly. They "reveal Americans may now embrace Ellen DeGeneres over Oprah by a wide margin."

Forty-six percent of the 1.35 million people who participated in the poll said the daytime talk show host that "made their day” was Ellen, compared with only 19 percent who chose Oprah. Nearly half (47 percent) said they would rather dine with Ellen, compared with 14 percent who preferred Oprah.
Ellen supports Hillary; she's just not obnoxious about it.

There is also buzz that Chris Matthews, another rabid Obama supporter, may be getting the ax from MSNBC when his contract expires next year. Keith Olbermann's ratings have also waned as of late.

The Edwards Endorsement


Back in March, Richard Stengel of Time volunteered on the "Chris Matthews Show" that Edwards would be endorsing Hillary Clinton before the North Carolina primary.

Today, the same Time by way of Swamp reports that Elizabeth Edwards joined that the Center for American Fellow as a "senior fellow."

CAP, which was founded by former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, has been operating for the past two years as a kind of Hillary Clinton Administration-in-waiting.
What a delicious coinkydink.

On "Good Morning America," Elizabeth "defended her surprise support" of Hillary's health care plan over Obama's; and although Elizabeth refused to formally endorse Hillary for president, reading the tea leaves one more time, she argued Hillary's position of "letting the race end at the convention."
"I don't actually think it's a bad idea to have an open convention, where we actually got to hash out what the differences [between the candidates] were and how important they are," she said.
Yep, add Sen. John Edwards by way of Elizabeth to the Jim Webb/leaning Hillary column.

Obama Trying to Break Romney's Record in PA


Remember all that $$$ the Mittster spent during his run for the presidency to no avail...??? In the end, he lost to McCain.

Obama is now bleeding money in Pennsylvania faster than a harpooned whale in the Southern Ocean, spending $2.2 million a week.

Whew! That's a whole lot of wasted money. After all, Obama has the nomination math in the bag.

The Page writes that "Obama's weekly Pennsylvania TV buy breaks all records." And from the Boston Globe we learn the ad tally is more than "twice what Hillary Clinton is spending."

Well, it sure looks like somebody is trying to buy a home in Washington.

"Nobody has ever spent 2.2 million in this state: not Rendell, not Specter, not Casey, not Santorum, not Bush, not Kerry," said Neil Oxman, a Democratic political operative. "That's unbelievable."

Update: A new pic that further expresses the sentiment of this post.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

It's Getting Ugly in Here

Truth be told, the final nail on the coffin for Howling Latina was when Obama's supporters started yapping about the Bradley effect. After Hillary won New Hampshire, she couldn't get the picture of Eugene Robinson out of her mind. Bradley this. Bradley that.

It also didn't help that only days earlier bogus charges of racism had cropped up when Hillary made some lame comment about Martin Luther King and President Johnson in the context of King talking about civil rights and Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act into law.

With each passing day, HL became increasingly convinced that the only person playing the race card was Obama's campaign; she had no absolute proof, just a strong inkling, growing stronger and stronger...UNTIL TODAY.

Jeralyn of Talk Left has these tantalizing passages and link that pretty much settle the issue. Jim Crow, meet your little sisters.

While the crowd was indeed diverse, some students at the event questioned the practices of Mrs. Obama’s event coordinators, who handpicked the crowd sitting behind Mrs. Obama. The Tartan’s correspondents observed one event coordinator say to another, “Get me more white people, we need more white people.” To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, “We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though.”

“I didn’t know they would say, ‘We need a white person here,’ ” said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. “I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright.”

That's right, hide the ethnicity of your supporters; at any cost; and if you still lose, blame those red neck Democrats and racist Clintons to gin up votes in the South.

Still not convinced...? Then read read this.

New Survey USA Poll in PA & NC

Mainstream media often uses Survey USA polls in reporting polling trends and recapping. You may recall SUSA accurately predicted Sen. Hillary Clinton's win by 10 points in California. Rasmusen and others claimed it was a toss-up.

Well read it and weep, Obama fans. Hillary is up by a whopping 18 percent in Pennsylvania!!!! Only 2 percent are undecided.

North Carolina doesn't look too bad, either. Sure, Obama leads 49 percent to 39 percent with 5 percent still undecided but after Pennsylvania, who knows where the numbers will end up.

Remember, this latest poll came at the heels of the Penn fiasco, bogus hospital story, hysteria over tax records and Bosnia visit; in other words, Hillary did not have a good last week.

IRAQ: Hillary Clinton Speaks


Right Wing Operative Brings Penn Down

How does one explain a right-wing operative outing former senior Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn so that he has to step down???

Raw Story reports that Roger Stone last week leaked information to the Wall Street Journal about "Penn's contract...with the Colombian government." Penn was hired to steer the Colombian government through Congress and prevail in winning a free trade agreement; this was in contravention to Hillary's position.
The Washington Post reports that Penn was on a top-level Clinton campaign call Monday morning and will help the candidate prepare for her April 16 debate with Barack Obama.
If he's that good of a strategist, thankyoujeeses. Still...kinna makes you wonder why a "right-wing hit man" would take the trouble to bring Penn down. HL is sure that Obama's inexperience next to McCain had absolutely nothing to do with it. Stone probably just secretly hearts Obama.

For the proverbial cynic, though, try to not keep in mind how Stone predicted former Gov. Eliot Spitzer would not finish his term...and he was right.

Virginia Blogger Tells it Like It Is...

The misguided e-mail that apparently made its round yesterday to Dem party activists and elites landed in the wrong mailbox.

Vivian J. Paige responded by asking superdelegates to not allow herd mentality to take over their senses:

[I]t seems that these so-called “leaders” want to circumvent the system that the party has in place. Let me remind you: the superdelegates are not rubber-stamps for the public vote. To say otherwise is to ignore the reason why they exist. Don’t go trying to change the rules in the middle of the game.

[...]

Finally, a big shout out to Jim Webb for recognizing the purpose of the superdelegates.

Uncommitted superdelegate Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said this morning that superdelegates should be able to overturn the will of the people. “If they didn’t want the superdelegates to have independent judgment, they wouldn’t have created them,” Webb said in an exclusive “This Week” interview.
Wham! Nothing else to add. Vivian tells it like it is.

Hillary Speaks...C-SPAN Turns Mike Off

It was high noon at The Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with General Petraeus and Iraqi Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Viewers breathlessly waited for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to take a turn at questioning the pair.

But oops, so sorry; at that exact moment, C-SPAN decided to turn the mike off, shut the lights out and switch to some lame House hearing.

Thus, if you wanted to hear what Hillary had to say, you had to quickly switch to MSNBC, which fortunately covered the entire exchange.

By 12:55, Cableland was redeemed, though. C-SPAN was back at the switch. The exact timing, ¿quién sabe? The howler had gone to the dark side with Andrea Mitchell; maybe right after Hillary's turn was over.

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