"Idol" Shocker

Somehow, someway Michael Johns, one of the more talented contestants on the current season of "American Idol," received the least votes this week and was booted off the show. He wasn't the best of the lot, but to be voted off before Kristy Lee Cook proves just how idiotic Americans can be from time to time.

With any luck (and a really good manager), Johns will do well in the industry.

"Raising Cain, I Spit In Your Eye"

Sir Elton John held a fundraising concert at New York's infamous Radio City Music Hall last night, raising $2.5 million for the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton.

John's show included such classic singles as "Your Song" and "Border Song." Obviously missing from his set? "The Bitch Is Back" (which, you have to admit, would be the ultimate Clinton campaign song should she somehow pull this nomination out of her ass).

During the show, Clinton addressed the audience:

What I want you to know is I'm still standing.

Roll eyes, slap forehead.

Girrrrrl

In international news, it seems Osama bin Shoppin'...

Oh, Bill

Remember that Colombian free trade agreement that forced the resignation of Clinton campaign chief Mark Penn because he supported it and Hillary Clinton didn't? Well, it seems the Senator's husband, former President Bill Clinton, supports the agreement as well.

Yeah, yeah...husbands and wives have had differing political views since the beginning of time. But the Clintons publicly tout themselves as "two for the price of one."

So for all of you anti-free-traders out there (for the record, I am pro)...be very wary of the Clintons on this issue. Like the gays, they'll say they support your position but when it comes time to play the game they'll throw you under a super-heavy bus.

Little Miss Chloe

Dominating her brand new toy...



(Update: Thanks to Beth for giving me the 'heads up' on the picture malfunction. 'tis fixed!)

Beyond Hectic

This is how hectic things are at work this week. My poor Project Lead left the house yesterday without first looking down...

Mid-Week Brain Break

Mexican boys and their footballs...

The War In Iraq

A Crocker/Petraeus Wrap Up from Democracy Arsenal, by way of Kevin Drum:

Ambassador Crocker again refuses to engage in hypotheticals with Senator Biden. Unless we hypothetically talk about leaving Iraq, in which case he is absolutely sure that everything would fall apart and the world would end.

When asked by Senator John Warner whether Iraq was making us safer Petraeus kept hedging and stated that it would ultimately be up to history. Not very comforting.

Obama was able to hit Petraeus and Crocker very hard....He got Petraeus to agree with him that the total elimination of Al Qaeda is an impossible standard for withdrawal. Next he goes after Crocker's points about Iranian influence, pointing out that both Iran and Al Qaeda are in Iraq because we invaded and that we can not expect to eliminate Iranian involvement.

Then came the hammer. Obama pointed out that if the definition of success is put so high - no Al Qaeda, no Iranian influence, a prosperous diverse democracy we will be there forever. He then points out that we still, after 8 hours of testimony, have no definition of success....Crocker's weak response its "hard and complicated."

"Idol" - The Top 8

Michael
"Dream On"
This was an ok performance. The screeching at the end almost made my ears bleed, but overall this was above average.

Syesha
"I Believe"
Jesus...all the jibber-jabber among the judges about camparisons to Fantasia. The truth is this is a really sappy song, but Syesha did a nice job with it. Very strong vocals.

Jason
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
A very interesting take on the quintessential movie classic. I actually really liked this. He really showed off his abilities and his connection with the audience with this performance.

Kristy Lee
"Anyway"
She's just so freekin' boring. If she was trying to keep herself out of the bottom three this week, she missed the mark by a mile. She's the worst singer of the eight and it's time for her to go bu-bye. If she is spared it will be because of the choir's vocals, not hers.

David Cook
"Innocent"
This actually started off a bit odd. I don't know if the vocals were meant to be sung that way, but it didn't sound right. The song picked up later on, but over all this wasn't his best performance.

Carly
"The Show Must Go On"
Another average performance from one of the better singers. Her vocals almost seemed timid in comparison to such a big song.

David Archuletta
"Angels"
I was a bit scared when I heard him say he was going to sing this classic Robbie Williams single. But, in true Archuletta form, he blasted this out of the park. Not his best vocal performance but a wonderful song choice and he did it justice.

Brooke
"You've Got A Friend"
Pretty average and boring, actually. I think it'll be Brooke, Carly, and Kristy Lee in those uncomfortable tin chairs tomorrow night.

Song of the Day

From the summer of 2006, former Morcheeba lead singer Skye Edwards' debut single:

"Love Show"

"Truth Decay"

Keith Olbermann once again takes Hillary Clinton to task over misstatements and really poor campaign strategy:



And - also, once again - Markos Moulitsas asserts "This thing is over":

Hillary Clinton has proved during the past few months that she is a fighter, that she is tenacious, and that she is in the race to win. There's just one problem. She's already lost.

...Her campaign has adopted a bizarre "insult-40-states strategy," which has belittled states small, liberal and Red. Apparently, the only states that matter are the ones she coincidentally happens to win.

...I won't call on Clinton to quit the race because it would be stupid to do so. It's her call to make when she's good and ready to make that call. But aside from that, it is time for the super delegates to put this thing to bed. We're all itching to take on McCain, so let's get the main show started.

Obama Closing the PA Gap

What was a 12-point lead three weeks ago is now a 6-point lead for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania. And there are two weeks yet to go! Plenty of time for Obama to close the gap and take the lead.

Will it happen? Somehow, I doubt it. But if the final result shows him losing by just a few percentage points he wins either way.

Worst. President. Ever.

A poll of 109 leading historians and presidential experts found 61% calling George W. Bush the worst American president in our nation's history. 96% place him in the overall bottom tier of presidents. And 98% label his presidency a complete failure.

I knew from day one that he'd fall into this category. For crying out loud, the guy was an incompetent flake before he became President. What on Earth made Americans (and the Supreme Court) think this guy was fit to lead our great nation with the record he had prior to standing for election!?

President Clinton, President McCain, or President Obama are going to have one hell of a mess to clean up come January 20th.

Clinton Strategist Quits

Following news of his work on a free-trade agreement with Colombia that Sen. Hillary Clinton opposes, Mark Penn has stepped down as chief strategist of her presidential campaign.

One has to wonder whether this would helped Clinton's campaign had it happened early on. Penn is the architect of Clinton's miserable and badly run campaign of personal destruction. It's too little too late to save her now, I'm afraid.

On This Day In 1968

Pierre Trudeau was elected Prime Minister of Canada.

5,000 Federal troops were dispatched to Chicago as riots overwhelmed local police in the days following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The infamous Queen Mary was put in dry dock in Long Beach, California to be refitted as a floating hotel.

The late Otis Redding had the #1 song in America with "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay."

And my sister was born in Detroit, Michigan!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "MEL." Love, "Win."

Eye Candy

Or as my buddy Ben called it last week, "Eye Popping Candy"...

End of the Week Levity

The extended trailer for the upcoming "Sex and the City" movie:



And an absolutely wonderful take on the series from none other than Bea Arthur ("Maude," "The Golden Girls") and Charlotte Rae ("The Facts of Life"), among others. It seems the girls will still be on the prowl come 2035!!

Balls to the Wall

Heads up:

We are at the starting point of a major project at work, so posting here at SFJ will be lighter than usual over the next 4 to 6 weeks.

Song of the Day

Morcheeba is back! After an extremely lackluster post-Skye Edwards album in 2005, the British pop masters are back with "Dive Deep," a wonderful new set that features rotating lead singers.

The first single is called "Enjoy the Ride," and even at this early date it is most definitely a candidate for best single of 2008. Enjoy...

Hillary and Bill (No, Not that one)

Quote of the Day:

He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win.

-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), during the phone conversation in which the Governor (and former cabinet member in Bill Clinton's White House) informed the former first lady of his intent to endorse Sen. Barack Obama.

Ahem...uhhh...Senator...only 37% of Americans hold you in good stead. Obama's chances of winning the presidency are not what you should be worrying your little ol' self over.

Mmm k?

Good Riddance

The untalented Ramiele is out. Now if the teenage boys would just stop voting for Kristy Lee, "Idol" would have a true contest on its hands!

The Santorum Candidate

Former Ambassador Alan Keyes, the Maryland resident who ran against Barack Obama in 2004 for the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois (and lost by a whopping 43 points), has dropped out of the Republican presidential race to become the candidate of the uber-fascist Constitution Party.

Let's see...intolerant, check. Homophobic, check. Misogynistic, check. Racist, check. christianist, check.

Yup...seems like a perfectly logical choice to me.

And now the burning question on minds everywhere: Who should be Keyes' running mate? Hmmm...homophobic, intolerant, and Christianist...GOT IT!

Keyes/Santorum, anyone?

Hamilton Endorses Obama

Former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN) - one of the Democratic Party's elder-statesmen on issues of foreign policy, co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, and co-chair of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group - has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for his party's presidential nomination.

Hamilton:

I read his national security and foreign policy speeches, and he comes across to me as pragmatic, visionary and tough. He impresses me as a person who wants to use all the tools of presidential power.

Heading into the Indiana primaries, this is a major coup for Obama. Hamilton is a beloved figure back home and this endorsement could well close the polling gap with Sen. Clinton.

Should Obama win the White House in November, Hamilton would be a superb cabinet pick.

"Totally Pro-NAFTA"

MSNBC did their homework and...shocker!...Hillary lied to voters in Texas and Ohio about her role in getting NAFTA passed during Bill's presidency:

Mid-Week Brain Break

This one is dedicated to Princess Maggie, Baby Girl Rodriguez, and their mom and pop...

No Idol Wrap-Up This Week

I stayed home again yesterday, battling this nasty bug I've caught. I was in bed before "Idol" aired and thus there will be no wrap-up this week.

As Simon is so fond of saying this season..."SAW-ree!"

Eye Candy

Thad Mills, the hhhot new carpenter on TLC's "Trading Spaces." Hey Thad...I got some wood for ya, right here!

The Voices of Our Children

Take the time to watch this clip and tell me it doesn't make you hopeful for the future...

Can't Be Done

A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows how Americans perceive the three presidential candidates:

Barack Obama: 49% positive
John McCain: 45% positive
Hillary Clinton: 37% positive

Clinton's negative rating was 48%. There is no way...NONE...she can win a general election when so many people don't like her. No matter her policies, no matter the lackluster campaign McCain wages. It just can't be done.

Vs. McCain, Continued...

According to a new Gallup poll 59% of Americans believe Barack Obama has the better chance at beating John McCain this November. Only 30% believe Hillary Clinton can beat him.

So much for her long-lame "electability" argument.

Victory At All Costs?

Quote of the Day:

Clinton personifies the worst of the "with us, or against us"-type thinking that has gotten us in trouble with the rest of the world.

So we have a campaign that is losing by every metric imaginable. And now that campaign says that it doesn't care if she's losing by every metric imaginable. Her campaign will carry on regardless.

No one can say that Clinton doesn't play to win. In some circumstances, that is admirable.

The only problem is that she already lost. At this point, this is just pathetic.

-Markos Moulitsas, commenting on Clinton campaign operative Harold Ickes' assertion that the national popular vote numbers shouldn't count when Democratic super-delegates make their decisions.

Are You F*cking Kidding Me?!

CNN and MSNBC seem to be all over this Obama bowling thing. So, the guy can't bowl? In this day and age - when the Iraq War is heating up, the economy is on the skids, and our Constitution in tatters - do you really think Americans will make their decision for president based on how well someone bow...

Awww, shit.

We're fucked.

Deadbeat Hil

So that her campaign can use on-hand cash to pay for media buys in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton has become delinquent in bills owed to vendors. And the small businesses she screwed over in Ohio are warning their brothers in Pennsylvania not to take her business.

And she wants to take over the crumbling economy?

Only In George Bush's Amerika

Tell me again, who won the Cold War? From New York NewsDay:

An 80-year-old church deacon in a wheelchair was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.

Fascism is alive and well in George Bush's Amerika.

Under the Weather

Sorry for the lack of posts over the weekend. I had been fighting a bug most of last week and on Thursday afternoon it got the best of me. Fever, chills, bodyaches. I think I turned the corner yesterday (well, the fever and chills are gone), but we'll see what this Monday brings.

Light posting for the next day or two.

"Boooo..."

This made my morning...

Food For Thought

The new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows Sen. Barack Obama easily taking California's 55 electoral votes in a general election match up over Sen. John McCain. Sen. Hillary Clinton ties with the Republican candidate.

Bottom line: Obama keeps California blue. Clinton puts in in play. And if you think Clinton can win the White House without those 55 votes, I'd like you to look at the map and tell me where she makes up the difference.

Joining Her Own Conspiracy

The New Republic's Christopher Orr sees a pattern:

Anyone reading this blog is presumably aware that, over the past several weeks, Hillary Clinton has gone out of her way to repeatedly compliment John McCain at Barack Obama's expense.

But consider a few other data points:

1) Matt Drudge hyped a photo of Obama in Somali garb that he claimed (and the Clinton campaign declined to deny) Clinton staffers had been circulating.

2) Bill Clinton went on the Rush Limbaugh show on the day of the Texas primary--after Limbaugh had spent days urging GOP voters in the state to cross over and vote for Clinton in order "rig" the election and ensure that Democrats nominated the weaker of their two candidates.

3) The Clinton campaign has been circulating an article in The American Spectator alleging that an Obama adviser, former Air Force chief Merrill McPeak, is an anti-semite and a drunk.

4) When Clinton attacked Obama on Jeremiah Wright yesterday, she did it at an editorial meeting of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the vanity publication of Richard Mellon Scaife, while sitting next to Scaife himself.

Drudge. Limbaugh. The American Spectator. Richard Mellon Scaife. What exactly is it going to take before Clinton campaign staffers recognize that they are, in essence, now working for the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?

Perhaps once Obama achieves the Democratic nomination Hillary and her right wing buddies can cross over and join the Republican-Fascists.

McCain/Clinton, anyone?

The Patriotism of Rev. Wright

Quote of the Day:

In the early 1960s, at a time when many young people were being radicalized by the Vietnam War, Wright left college and volunteered to join the United States Marine Corps. After three years as a marine, he chose to serve three more as a naval medical technician, during which time he received several White House commendations. He came to Chicago to study not long after Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder in 1968, the U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia in 1969, and the shooting of students at Kent State University in 1970.

...Friendship develops through many gestures and shared delights (in [my] case, stops for sinfully rich barbecue after evening services), and people across the economic spectrum can attest to the generosity of the Wright family...

Those who were part of his ministry for years — school superintendents, nurses, legislators, teachers, laborers, the unemployed, the previously shunned and shamed, the anxious — are not going to turn their backs on their pastor and prophet.

-Martin E. Marty, of the Chronicle of Higher Education's Chronicle Review, stepping up to the plate for Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

(Muchos gracias: Christina)

The Traitor of Her Party

It's official: Hillary Clinton is a traitor to her own political party.

Throughout the 90s there were many of us who defended President and Hillary Clinton against those radicals who made up the very real right wing conspiracy against them. The fascist-conservatives were beside themselves that they no longer held the White House and took up an unprecedented movement to destroy the Democratic President and his wife.

Among the architects of that anti-Clinton movement was Richard Scaife, who bankrolled the Arkansas Project, a series of investigations (that led nowhere) that attempted to make the suicide of Vince Foster look a murder plot by the Clintons, and that put the couple's ill-advised (but not illegal) Whitewater real estate deal on the front pages, among many other "scandals" that never panned out. It can be argued that Scaife's Arkansas Project is what ultimately led, after nothing else would stick, to the Kenneth Starr-led impeachment of a sitting president over a sexual liaison.

As I said, millions of us defended the President against this group of right wing, fascist thugs. So, imagine my surprise, shock, and horror when I see Sen. Hillary Clinton, as a candidate for her party's presidential nomination, sitting down with the architect of the rag tag group that tried derail her husband's presidency, to bash a fellow Democrat...

When asked by Scaife and his editorial board at some Pittsburgh news rag about her comments yesterday that "we don't choose our family, but we can choose the church we attend" (actually, you could have divorced Bill, Hil) and that Rev. Jeremiah Wright would not have been her pastor, she responded:

Well I answered a question in an ed board today that was very specific about what I would have done. And you know I'm just speaking for myself, and I was answering a question that was posed to me.

It's a slap in the face to each and every one of us who passionately defended the Clintons. And it's one more notch in series of them that leads me ever so closer to an absolute denial of my vote in November to Sen. Clinton should she be the nominee.

Shame on her.

Mid-Week Brain Break

This laughing baby clip has received twelve million hits on YouTube. If it doesn't put a smile on your face then you ought to have your head checked...

"Idol" - The Top 10

We're down to the final ten. They sang songs from the year they were born. (GAWD, am I old!) Here is how last night went down...

Ramiele
"Alone"
Damn, this girl sucks. This performance was a screechy mess. Definitely time for her to go home.

Jason
"Fragile"
A very nice job. He's got some talent and I think he very well could make it to the top 4.

Syesha
"If I Were Your Woman"
Like Ramiele, the big-voice songs aren't her strong suit. She was better than Ramiele, but still...not a great performance.

Chikeze
Never mind what the judges said, this was one of best performances of the night...a SUPERB R&B performance. A pleasant surprise.

Brooke
"Every Breath You Take"
I liked her take on this song. Her style is very modern without losing the spirit of the original songs. Very nice.

Michael
"We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions"
Brave choice, but he actually pulled it off. The background singers actually sucked on this! Good job. He's a natural rocker.

Carly
"Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Safe song choice, but a very well done, polished performance.

David Archuletta
"You're the Voice"
Technical foul: This song was released in 1986 in Australia (however, it could have been released in the U.S. in 1990). That said, David was superb as always.

Kristy Lee Cook
"God Bless the USA"
I want her to go home for the simple fact that she sang this schmalzy song.

David Cook
"Billie Jean"
HOLY CRAP! What a knock-em-dead, stupendous take on Michael Jackson's #1 classic. Absolutely, positively the best performance of the last 2 or 3 weeks. David really rocked it tonight!

The best of the week? David Cook - FAR AND AWAY.

Who should go home? Ramiele.

Sally and Hillary

Talking Point Memo's Josh Marshall:

...imagine playing poker around a table with friends. Player A has a Straight Flush; Player B has four of a kind. Then B says, "Well, sure, if you're counting straights, but if we were adding up the numbers rather than going by straights winning, I'd have won."

There's a set of rules everyone agreed on. The wisdom of those rules is irrelevant at this point. The Clinton campaign is entitled to do whatever it wants to get superdelegates to come over to her side to even out the pledged delegate deficit. My take is that whatever the arguments, the superdelegates aren't going to go against a clear pledged delegate leader. And I think they'd be extremely ill-advised to do so. But the superdelegates do have this power under the rules. But these constant efforts to say the rules aren't fair are just silly, and truth be told I think they're more undermining of the Clinton campaign than they realize.

And from Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas:

The Clinton campaign has realized that the rules don't work in their favor, that if we follow the rules as agreed upon before the first caucus vote was cast in Iowa, that they have no chance of winning...

Again, as I noted before, the only way Clinton can win this race is with a coup by superdelegate, which would necessarily create civil war in our party.

And of course, Hillary Clinton doesn't care.

When I was a baby my grandmother was watching me one evening while my mom was in school. As I sat playing on her living room floor, "Gramma Sally" was having a heated discussion on the phone and made reference to someone she didn't care for as "that damn bitch." This little boy walked over, picked up his play phone and, mimicking his beloved grandmother, started saying (sternly) "damn bitch." Bless her heart, it was of my grandmother's favorite memories.

Gramma Sally was the loyalist of loyal Democrats. To vote Republican or third-party on any ballot in any election was just not in her blood. Voting Democratic was ingrained in her DNA.

I've thought about my grandmother a lot during this primary season; and while my heart wishes she could be here to see either the first woman candidate or the first African-American candidate, my head tells me that the current state of the race would break her heart.

Hillary Clinton and her husband are masters at the political game. They know more than anyone that this thing isn't winnable for them. But rather than face the reality of the situation and stand down, they choose to tear the Democratic Party apart by endorsing McCain in hopes of a Republican victory this year so that they can have another crack at the nomination in 2012.

My mother argues that my grandmother would have voted for Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday. Maybe, maybe not. But I am absolutely sure that, at this point in the game, she would be demanding that Hillary either bow out and back Barack Obama, or leave the Democratic Party and campaign for John McCain. True Democrats don't play the game Hillary is playing.

And after she had her say, Gramma Sally would end her argument with that spot-on description...

"Damn bitch!"

"Ooo-whee, Marie!"

Hollywood's huge lack of original ideas continues: Studios are currently making "War of the Worlds 2," "Ace Ventura 3," "Jurassic Park 4" and "Saw 5."

And that's not all. There are plans to remake "Footloose."

On the Gays

The Clintons ("Melissa Etheridge is re-writing history.") vs. Obama ("We've got a war that is bankrupting us. And we're going to argue about gay marriage? I mean, that...doesn't make any sense.")

I'll take Barack each and every time, thank you very much!

The videos below:

Post-Easter "Peep Show"

Tee hee!

Eye Candy

Joe Alexander, West Virginia's hot ball dribbler...

Ladies and Gentlemen...

...your 2008 Hunky Jesus...

Hillary and Tuzla

The woman has absolutely no credibility left. Not one iota.

Day Off

I flew out to Chicago on Friday to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday and returned late last night. I slept in a little this morning and have a full day at the office. So, no blogging today.

Have a great Monday!

End-of-the-Week Levity

A little hot dog named Jerry, playing with his new fetch toy!

ABC News Sucks

ABC News gets Hillary Clinton's White House schedule from the files and THIS is what they report? Give me a fuckin' break! Say it with me: WHO CARES!?

Doh!

The New York Times is running this picture today with the following caption:

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and President Bill Clinton at a prayer breakfast at the White House in September 1998.

Economic Meltdown, Part 2

A sobering clip from a Dutch documentary about what might (will?) happen when the dollar finally hits its ultimate low:

Economic Meltdown

Quote of the Day:

This is like nothing I have ever seen before in 50 years of looking at the economy. We are in a very serious situation.

-Former Federal Bank governor Lyle Gramley, yesterday, on the seriousness of the fiscal crisis.

Brent and I don't own, so the housing and mortgage crisis hasn't hit us directly. However, a friend told us last week that the already inflated rents in San Francisco have moved significantly higher in the last couple of months. Thus, it wouldn't surprise me if we see a big uptick in our rent come summer. I am thisclose to suggesting to Brent that we move into the Alameda area in the East Bay. Rents there are more manageable, and if they take a leap up they would still be much lower than the city's.

I'm no economist, but this downturn has the smell of depression written all over it. The Bush administration's raid of the U.S. Treasury, deregulated banking, collapsing investment firms, gas prices creeping up near $5 a gallon in some places...it's all piling up to the point where we're all really, really fucked.

Just like his father (and to be sure, just like President Hoover), President Bush can't seem to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem. Those $600.00 IRS checks? Please! Those aren't going to help the Americans who have tens of thousands of dollars in overdue mortgage payments!

It's time to get really, really frugal folks! And then hang on for dear life...cuz the coming downturn is going to make the Carter, Reagan, and Bush I downturns look like economic booms.

Feel Better, Timmy

I don't have a picture to go with this post, but I wanted to send healing and positive thoughts down Santa Barbara way to Laurie, Tony, and their wonderful, loveable dog, Timmy.

The boy was rushed to the emergency vet this past weekend and had to have surgery to remove his spleen. He got through surgery ok and should be home soon, but it will be a rough few months.

Brent and I are there in spirit. And Timmy is in our thoughts.

Idol Shocker

Ok...Amanda Overmeyer wasn't the best singer on the show. In fact, she was a one-trick pony. But her talents as they are should have kept her on the show for a few more rounds. Hello! Kristy Lee and Ramiele CAN'T SING! It's time for those teenage boys and Paris Hilton wanna-bes to put their phones down.

Mid-Week Brain Break

From one of my all time faves...

"A More Perfect Union"

Large snippets of Barack Obama's speech, with some commentary from yours truly...

On race:

I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.

This entire section, the last sentence in particular, is one of the most patriotic statements I have ever heard. What most of white America tends to forget is that we're all immigrants; that, despite our "whiteness," we come from other lands in far away places. Italian, Polish, British, and yes, even French..."American" isn't a race in and of itself but rather, by design, a combination of different races. Barack Obama is a picture-perfect example of the true "American."

On Jeremiah Wright:

...Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask?

...But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth...

...As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children...He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Puts a lump in your throat, doesn't it!? Obama refused to throw under a bus the man who has been a father-figure to him for decades. Talk about class. This man has it in spades.

On this election:

We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

An Iraq War that is entering its sixth year, a housing market in ruins, an economy that is about to take a depression-esque downturn, an executive branch that is functioning as if a dictatorship, al-Quaida regrouping in Afghanistan, America's global stature in ruins...

Hillary Clinton's strategy at this point seems to be to sully Barack Obama for the general election. She knows she can't win this nomination, so why not do everything she can to make Obama look as bad as possible, let McCain win the presidency, and then come back in 2012 and make another run at this thing?

I'll tell you why, Sen. Clinton. I don't think America could survive four more years of Republican rule. It's that plain and that simple. And if you were a true patriot, if you were a true American, you would stop making this about you and instead make it about us.

After eight years of it, a greed and hunger for power for power's sake is the last thing this country needs as we head into the second decade of the 21st century. And right now, at this point in the cycle, that hunger for power is the only explanation for your candidacy.

Sen. Clinton: It is well past time for you to do what any other candidate would have done after losing 12 consecutive contests in the month of February, and for whom the remaining math just doesn't add up. It is time for you to step aside. For the sake of the party unity to which you pay lip service, for the sake of our great country, please - stand down.

For, as he proved beyond a reasonable doubt yesterday, the United States of America needs Barack Obama as its next president. We simply cannot afford the alternatives.

Obama's Speech

Here it is, in its entirety. It is the most important speech of the campaign thus far, and one of Obama's best. Without a doubt, this man should be our next president.

"Idol" - The Top 11

An extension, of sorts, of last week's Lennon/McCartney catalog, the contestants this week had a go at the entire Beatles library (that is, songs written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr were on the table). How did it go? Let's see...

Amanda Overmeyer
"Back in the U.S.S.R."
Same ol', same ol'. Amanda continually does a good job, but yeah, yeah...we know her style...and it's starting to get a wee bit boring.

Kristy Lee Cook
"Hide Your Love Away"
After last week's miserable, country-tinged "Eight Days a Week," Kristy Lee got on that stage last night and hacked this classic to hell. This was absolutely shitty...off key...she can't sing. She should most definitely go home, but I have hunch she keeps scraping by on the strength of the infamous (but rarely talked of) "teen boy one-handed vote" (their other hand being "pre-occupied," if ya know what I mean).

David Archuletta
"The Long and Winding Road"
He's baa-aaaack! And damn can he sing!! This guy is nothing short of freekin' phenomenal! Say it with me: Yes. He. Can.

Michael Johns
"A Day In the Life"
I disagree with the judges here. I thought he did a nice job on this song, albeit safe. He made no wrong moves and turned in a decent performance.

Brooke White
"Here Comes the Sun"
Perhaps it was a bit hokey, but this was nowhere near as bad as the judges said. All in all it was a very good performance. Brooke knows - and is comfortable with - her style of music and performing.

David Cook
"Daytrippin'"
Once I again, I couldn't disagree with the judges more. While his use of the voice box was a bit much, this "Beatles-meet-Pearl Jam" take on "Daytrippin'" ROCKED!

Carly Smithson
"Blackbird"
Well done and professional, as always. Not her best, but still...very nice.

Jason Castro
"Michelle"
This seemed like a silly little clown-like performance, and not so good vocally.

Syesha Mercado
"Yesterday"
She looked stunning up there last night. Beautiful dress, great earrings, and she actually turned in a tremendous performance. Loved the guitar arrangement, with the strings coming in later. By a hair, the best of the night.

Chikezie
"I've Just Seen A Face"
Not the worst of the night, but man...what a crappy performance!

Regurgitated CowPie
"I Should Have Known Better"
Yes...but will America know better? With each passing week this girl comes across as amatuerish rather than professional. Flat, off-key, just absolutely horrid. Easily the worst performance of the night.

The Best? By a hair, Syesha.

Who should go home? By a landslide, Ramiele.

A Clinton Coup?

Quote of the Day:

The only path to victory for Clinton is via coup by super delegate. She knows this. That's why there's all the talk about poaching pledged delegates and spinning uncertainty around Michigan and Florida, and laying the case for super delegates to discard the popular will and stage a coup.

Yet a coup by super delegate would sunder the party in civil war. Clinton knows this, it's her only path to victory, and she doesn't care. She is willing - nay, eager to split the party apart in her mad pursuit of power.

...As such, as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't deserve "fairness" on this site. All sexist attacks will be dealt with -- those will never be acceptable. But otherwise, Clinton has set an inevitably divisive course and must be dealt with appropriately.

...People like me have two choices -- look the other way while Clinton attempts to ignite her civil war, or fight back now, before we cross that dangerous line. Honestly, it wasn't a difficult choice. And it's clear, looking at where the super delegates, most bloggers, and people like Olbermann are lining up, that the mainstream of the progressive movement is making the same choice.

And the more super delegates see what is happening, and what Clinton has in store, the more imperative it is that they line up behind Obama and put an end to it before it's too late.

-DailyKos himself, Markos Moulitsos, on the Clinton plans for a Democratic Party civil war.

Personal vindication over party, extreme presidential power over the Constitution: Hillary Clinton's hunger for power isn't any different than Bush and Cheney's, and she needs to be stopped. America can't afford another presidency in that mold.

Little Miss Chloe

Soaking up the late afternoon sun...

Now More Than Ever

Barack Obama will address the issue of his pastor and, more importantly, the issue of race in this presidential campaign today.

I stand by my comments that the junior senator from Illinois transcends the race issue. And I believe in my heart of hearts that America is ready for his brand of leadership.

With gas prices reaching $4.00 a gallon; with the Iraq War reaching the 5-year pinnacle and the Republican nominee suggesting a 100-year stay there; with the American economy on a clear course to ruin...

...we need a "President Obama" now more than ever.

Florida Democrats: No Re-Vote

This does little to defuse the situation. At this point I think the only option is to do what the Republicans did...split the delegates 50/50...in both Florida AND Michigan.

"Sissy" Nominated

Kevin Sessums' brilliant memoir, "Mississippi Sissy," has been nominated for a coveted Lambda Literary Award in the "Men's Memoir/Biography" category.

The book has already been cited by the American Library Association as one of four "Stonewall Books" for 2007 and was named one of the Best Books of 2007 by Amazon.

"Mississippi Sissy" is released in paperback tomorrow. It is one of the best books I have read in years. My original review here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

On Jeremiah

All of this talk about Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's pastor, is a bit ridiculous! I mean, why didn't we look into sermons delivered by the former Republican candidate Mike Huckabee? He was a baptist minister in his previous life and, based on comments he made on the campaign trial, I'm sure some of his speeches from the pulpit would make your skin crawl. And why didn't the press question Mitt Romney about his funny little underwear?

I absolutely abhor the religious bar candidates have to meet in order to have the slightest of chances at the presidency. The private religious views of candidates has no place in the public forum. But if voters and the media are going to hold one candidate up to one standard, then the rest of the field should be held to the same standard.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a non-issue.

Obama Strengthens Delegate Lead

This weekend's county conventions in Iowa handed Barack Obama nine more delegates in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton actually lost one. NBC now estimates the delegate count as follows:

Obama - 1,626
Clinton - 1,503

Worse Than Johnson?

Quote of the Day:

As a Republican, I would never have believed that President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would waste so many opportunities and so much of America’s reputation that they would rival Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara and McGeorge Bundy for the worst wartime national security team in United States history.

-Anthony D. Cordesman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a Sunday New York Times piece where nine experts on military and foreign affairs were asked to comment on the Iraq War five years on.

Obama's Pennsylvania Strategy

He is urging independent voters and disenchanted Republicans to register as Democrats by the March 24th deadline so that they may vote in the Democratic primary on April 22nd.

Eye Candy

This one is dedicated to Larry and his sore legs.

Recently eliminated American Idol, David Hernandez...

Bat-Shit Gone Wild

This NPR interview with Hillary Clinton yesterday came thisclose to making my head explode! I believe a little more with each passing day that this woman is no better than George W. Bush. She makes public statements and then makes contrary public statements later, denying she ever made the first public statement.

She agreed with the party's decision to not seat the delegates in Michigan and Florida after they broke party rules and moved their primaries up a few weeks. Now she says the elections there were fair (even though the other candidates removed their names from the Michigan ballot) and that results in those unofficial elections should stand.

She said two weeks ago that John McCain brought a lifetime of experience to the White House and that Obama only gave a speech, and then in this interview actually has the gall to say she doesn't remember saying it.

Democratic voters in the remaining primaries should think about this long and hard: Replacing the current Fascist socio-path with a Democratic socio-path is not the road we need to take to un-do what George W. Bush has done to our country, to our Constitution, and to our stature around the globe. Swapping one power-hungry, self-absorbed liar with a another will only guarantee a further erosion of homefront support for our government and hostile attitudes from our global neighbors.

To be fair, both Clinton AND McCain fit the socio-path liar description. If we're forced to choose between the two, many voters will drop out of the process, abstain from the presidential line on Election Day, or vote third-party. And that is the worse thing that could happen in an election year where we choose who will be in charge of cleaning up after the worst president in our nation's history.

The math isn't there for Clinton and she knows it. So rather than bow out gracefully she is going to cluster-fuck the process in hopes of a Republican-Fascist victory this fall, so that she can make another run for the prize in 2012.

Americans of every political persuasion need to make sure that doesn't happen. Deny this woman even a glimpse of the presidency. Cast your remaining ballots for Barack Obama to be the Democratic nominee for president.

"Kinda Pitchy"

If YouTube campaign videos were contestants on "American Idol," someone would be sent home tonight...



Just like her campaign speeches, like nails across a chalkboard.

Saving Neverland

Michael Jackson saves his Santa Barbara ranch from being auctioned.

Olbermann Blasts Clinton

Last night's Special Comment segment needs no preface; and I urge you to listen to the entire essay. (Hopefully Sen. Clinton listened.)

35 Years of Experience

What does it get you? A re-defining of the word "fair," apparently:

"The results of [the Michigan and Florida] primaries were fair and should be honored," [Hillary Clinton] told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

That's right..."fair" means agreeing to remove your name from the ballot in Michigan and then, after the other candidates have done so, leaving your name on it an calling it a win.

She does Nellie Olsen proud, doesn't she?

The Standard Issue Government Phone Tree

Check out this hilarious "3a.m." animation parody from Walt Handelsman.

"The Spitzer-Blitzer"

Because all you can do is laugh when things like this go down...uuhhh...when government officials get fucked...whoops!...I mean....well...ya know what I mean...

David Letterman's Top Ten Messages Left On Eliot Spitzer's Answering Machine.

10. “Hey, what’s new?”

9. “It’s Barack Obama. Remember our conversation about being my running mate? Never mind.”

8. “Ralph Nader here. Glad to hear I’m not the only politician who has to pay for it.”

7. “Hi, I’m calling from the ‘New York Post.’ Would you rather be known as ‘Disgraced Governor Perv’ or ‘Humiliated Whore Fiend’?”

6. “This is John McCain. If it makes you feel better, I once got caught having sex with Lincoln’s wife.”

5. “It’s Dr. Phil. Call me if you need any horse**** advice.”

4. “This is Sen. Larry Craig. Do you ever go through the Minneapolis airport?”

3. “It’s Wolf Blitzer. Call me if you ever want a hot Spitzer-Blitzer three-way.”

2. “Paris Hilton here. I would have done it for free.”

1. “It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. Thanks, I’m no longer America’s creepiest governor.”

Perhaps Someday

Mid-Week Brain Break

Reader email:

"Hot Line!" What a piece of shit song! The Sylvers were MUCH better when they wrote and produced their own stuff- before and after the bubble gum pop. Whoever owns the rights to their library should put out on boxed set. That stuff is R&B brilliance!

I don't know who owns the family's musical library currently, but I've put together a playlist that highlights a very small amount of some of their best work.

Leon Sylvers III wrote most of the tracks on this playlist, and produced tracks 7 through 10. That production work led him to the legendary SOLAR label in 1978, where he would go on to produce such top acts as Shalamar ("The Second Time Around"), The Whispers ("And the Beat Goes On"), and Lakeside ("It's All the Way Live"), among others.

But the music he made with his brothers and sisters was pure perfection. These nine siblings could out-harmonize the Jacksons any day of the week!

Enjoy these 10 solid tracks by the Sylvers (to play, click here):

1. Wish That I Could Talk To You
2. Cry of a Dreamer
3. We Can Make It If We Try
4. Ain't No Good In Goodbye
5. Clap Your Hands to the Music
6. Mista Guitar Man
7. Star Fire
8. Don't Stop, Get Off
9. Love Changes
10. Play This One Last Record

Sorry, Larry

As I predicted last night, the lackluster performance from David Hernandez was enough to get him booted off the show.

He wasn't the worst of the evening by any measure, but it doesn't surprise me that Amerika prefers the horrendous Ramiele and the blasphemous Kristy Lee over the gay stripper. We're all about rewarding under-achievers. This is the country, after all, that thought it was a good idea to put George W. Bush back in the Oval Office after one miserable term.

Race Baiter Resigns

Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has resigned as a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee following a series of race-baiting tiraids aimed at the campaign of Barack Obama.

Good riddance!

Escorted Out

Spitzer resigns, effective Monday. Lt. Governor David Paterson will succeed him.

Obama Hands Clinton Her Ass...Again

He beat Sen. Clinton by 26 percentage points in the Magnolia State...an overwhelming blowout:

Obama 61%
Clinton 37%

Add up the national numbers and Sen. Obama now has a 50% to 47% lead over the former First Lady in the popular vote.

'84 VP Nominee Plays the Race Card

Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee, yesterday on fellow Democrat Barack Obama:

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee, today on the backlash caused by her backhanded racist comment:

Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white.

Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee, in 1988 on another Democratic primary candidate:

If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race.

What a bitter, fuckin' race-baiting bitch!

Update: Hillary Clinton refuses to reject or denounce the 1984 vice-presidential nominee's comments and Ferraro remains on Clinton's finance committee.

On Spitzer

Another blog on New York Governor Elliot Spitzer:

1. Why is it illegal to pay a prostitute for sex, but it's NOT illegal for a film director to pay two people to have sex in front of a camera and then make money for his product in the form of a DVD or an online download?

2. As a corollary: Why are a prostitute and her john held in such contempt by the media and the public, but Jenna Jameson and Ron Jeremy are treated as rock stars on both cable and network television? Are they not prostitutes? They were, in actuality, paid for sex. No?

A thought experiment: if you hired a couple to have sex in your bedroom while you watched, it would be prostitution. if someone else hired them, put it on video and you watched them in your bedroom, it would be porn. Why is one illegal and the other isn't?

I agree...prostitution should not be illegal. That said, Spitzer did spend the bulk of his earlier career fighting political corruption and New York crime, including prostitution rings. Probably better that he resign.

Sigh.

"Idol," Week 4

First things first...the new set...as Suzanne Sugarbaker would say on Designing Women..."Oh, big woo!" It's not that much different than the old set and is pretty damn gaudy. The hype was overdone.

And now, the top 12...

Syesha Mercado
"Got To Get You Into My Life"
From the opening horns it was very obvious she did the Earth, Wind, and Fire version of this song, not the Beatles'. Her jazzy, R&B-fused take on the song was above average. Nice, but definitely not a home run.

Chikeze
"She's A Woman"
I'm not familiar with this song and I liked his arrangement up until things went the hard rock route. Those first Color Purple-esque twangy chords were brilliant. The rest of it was rather loud and messy. Hated it.

SoySauce Moombasa
"In My Life"
"The meaning of this song is, like, you know..." Ugh! Flighty little bitch! She dedicated this song to her fellow "Idol" friends who have been eliminated. After this really weak performance, she might just be joining them.

Jason Castro
"If I Fell"
A rather predictable performance. Not bad, but nothing too memorable.

Carly Smithson
"Come Together"
It was Heart meets Lennon/McCartney...and it worked pretty well. Once again a nicely done, professional performance from Carly.

David Cook
"Eleanor Rigby"
I know what he was trying to do here...putting his own grunge twist on the song. Unlike last week's brilliant take on "Hello," this week he fell flat on his face. This was a big ol' mess!

Brooke White
"Let It Be"
She needs to work on her piano-playing/singing-to-the-audience coordination, she seemed to have trouble multi-tasking. HOWEVER... very nice vocal, brilliant job.

David Hernandez
"I Saw Her Standing There"
Poor David looked like he was ready to shit his pants up there. That bigger auditorium must have had him a bit scared. It wasn't his best performance, and my fear is that that may be just enough to eliminate him. The whole gay-stripper thing will keep his vote suppressed I think.

Amanda Overmyer
"You Can't Do That"
I like that she took one of the lesser known Lennon/McCartney songs and belted it out like a Tina Turner classic. Extremely well done!

Michael Johns
"Across the Universe"
LOVED his take on this superb track. Much improved over the last two weeks.

Kristy Lee Cook
"Eight Days A Week"
Three words: What! The! Fuck! Beatles gone country-hick!!? Are you freekin' kidding me!?!?! Horrid!! Blasphemous!! Forget the vote...send this chick home TONIGHT!

David Archuletta
"We Can Work It Out"
Ohhh...damn...he got nervous and forgot the lyrics. Not professional, David! A rather frazzled week for him; he better pick it up next week and get back on track.

Best of the week: Carly and Brooke.

Who should go home: By any measure, without a doubt, Kristy Lee.

Blog Day Off

Flew back from Seattle last night and slept in a little this morning. I need to get into the office, so no blogging until this evening at the earliest.

Happy Tuesday!

Bill and John

Quote of the Day:

Saying that Hillary has Executive Branch experience is like saying Yoko Ono was a Beatle.

-Jsn, a commenter on a DailyKos diary page.

ROFLMAO!!

Come Convention Time

So what happens if we get to the Democratic National Convention this summer and neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama have the delegates needed to secure the presidential nomination? What if the super delegates split down the middle, Obama/Clinton doesn't cut it, Clinton/Obama doesn't cut it, and after several ballots the convention is still deadlocked?

I say we go the route Taegan Goodard suggests. Tell both Hillary and Barack "Thank you for your time, but we're going with someone else now."

And then nominate Al Gore.

Wanna Get High?

According to the Associated Press, all you need to do is pour yourself a glass of tap water.

Lunatic Fringe

Email from Larry:

...this comes from Ezra Klein. Probably sage advice for us lunatics.

"For the Good of the Country"

A TPM diarist asks Clinton and Obama's supporters to think of the party and gracefully exit the race:

I think one thing is clear this far into the Democratic primary race: Both Obama's and Clinton's supporters must now drop out of the race.

Hillary Clinton's supporters have gotten incredibly annoying, with their chants of "Yes She Can," and charges of cultism and their desperate yelps of schadenfreude every time Clinton looks like she might actually be "recapturing the lead" that she never had.

And Obama's supporters, yes, you too are incredibly annoying, with your accusations of Clintonian Republicanism and your whiny little cries about how you're going to take your ball and run home if your candidate doesn't win the primary.

Supporters of both candidates, please listen closely. For the good of the Party -- no, for the good of the Nation! -- the time has come for you to leave this race.

No more late nights in front of MSNBC. No more blogging. No more reading TPM. No more arguing at the watercooler, or at the happy hour after work at TGIF's.

Uhh..we're not lunatics. We're addicts. There's a difference.

Mmm k?

Flowers, Pussy, & Larry

A very cute picture of Thor (Larry and Trevor's boy) relaxing amongst the daffodils in front of their place in the Castro.

Reminder: Larry is training (and training hard) for the upcoming AIDS Lifecycle 7, a seven-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles taking place this June. If you can spare a few bucks, click here and help my good friend support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

(Photo courtesy of Larry's Sore Legs)

The Little Girl In the Ad

I'm in the Seattle area for work and thought this little tid-bit from the local NBC affiliate, KING-TV, was an absolute hoot:

The so-called "red-phone ad" was played all over the country and helped turn the tide for Hillary Clinton leading up to her big win in Ohio. The ad shows a sleeping child and asks voters who they would want to see answering a 3 a.m. emergency phone call to the White House.

But the young girl starring in the ad (it's stock video that was shot a long time ago) will actually be voting age next month and says she's no fan of Hillary Clinton.

And she's been campaigning for Obama here in Seattle. And plans to vote for him in November.

So there!

Oh...and one more thing....her reaction to the Clinton ad:

I think it would be really wonderful if me and Barack Obama could get together and make a nice counter ad.

If I were Obama, I would be all over that offer.

That 3am Call

Quote of the Day:

Suggestion for Obama: The next time Hillary uses the recycled red phone ad, counter with one of your own. When the phone rings in the middle of the night, have a woman's voice, with a flat Midwestern accent, answer it and say, "Hold on" into the receiver. Then she should shout, "Bill! It's for you!"

-Dick Morris (yeah, yeah...I know...but he knows the Clintons quite well, having helped manage Bill's 1996 re-election campaign) in a column published today at RealClearPolitics.com, reiterating the fact that the math just isn't there for Hillary Clinton.

Democrat Picks Up Republican House Seat

Congratulations to Democrat Bill Foster for winning the special election in Illinois congressional district 14 - a seat that, until his resignation, belonged to Dennis Hastert, the former Republican Speaker of the House!

This district is heavily Republican. John McCain came out and campaigned for the Republican candidate, Jim Oberweis. Yet Foster won comfortably, 53% to 47%.

The results are extremely bad news for Republicans heading into the general election season. If they can't hold on to a seat formerly held by the man who was second in line for the presidency (after the V.P.) in a district that tilts heavily to the Republicans, then they have their work cut out for them this November.

For the Democrats this is good news all around, but doubly so if Barack Obama is the presidential nominee. Obama campaigned for Foster, helped raise funds, and taped some TV ads for him. You can't deny his coat tails helped here, and would help congressional candidates elsewhere around the country this November.

Even if we lose the White House in November, the person listed at the top of the ticket still has the ability to increase the margins of the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. And, without question, that presidential candidate is Barack Obama. He proved his coattail might in this special congressional race. Hillary Clinton, in contrast, would more than likely hurt Democratic congressional candidates, and would probably flip the Senate back to Republican rule. And America can't afford that.

But for this Sunday let us celebrate the election of Bill Foster to congress. Congrats on a hard won victory, sir!

Obama Takes Wyoming

Sen. Obama trounced Sen. Clinton in Wyoming's presidential caucus yesterday. The final result:

Obama 61%
Clinton 38%
Uncommitted 1%

Olbermann Lamblasts Clinton

Keith Olbermann is not a right-wing nut job. He is TV's answer to Bill O'Reilly; an intelligent progressive and fervent opponent of George W. Bush; a respected journalist who has delivered many commentaries against the Republican president's glaring incompetencies. And so, when he takes Sen. Hillary Clinton to task over her apparent support of Sen. John McCain, his viewers sit up and take notice.

His opening segment on last night's "Countdown" was absolutely devastating to Sen. Clinton:

Part 1: Et tu Hillary?



Part 2: The Garbage Disposal (Keith's sigh toward the end says at all!)



Hillary needs to stop, take a pill, and think this through. If she continues to tout McCain over Obama there will be huge hell to pay down the line.

Should Obama win the nomination but lose the general election, a Clinton run in 2012 would be D.O.A. If Obama were to win the White House, a Clinton seat on the Supreme Court would never materialize, and a second run for the presidency in 2016 would be a pipe dream.

Part of me thinks that if she wants to throw her support to Sen. McCain then she should "go for it." The Republicans hate this woman so much, they'd abandon McCain in droves if she were to back him over her fellow Democrat. And nothing (NOTHING) would rally Democratic and independent voters to Obama's side more than a Hillary defection.

That said, my heart's desire is for Sen. Clinton - a woman who I admired for a long time, who has been a superb U.S. Senator for the state of New York (indeed for the nation) - be a superb Democrat; to remember that this race isn't about her, and that if she doesn't win the nomination, pulling the rug out from under her fellow Democrats will be viewed in such a negative light that her reputation will be forever tainted.

End-of-the-Week Levity...

...the 70s Edition.

Two videos this week, the first from the brilliant team of the #1 game show of the decade, "Match Game"...



The second is a schmalzy bubble-gum classic from 1976. The dance moves! Those costumes!!. I prefer the solid R&B numbers they wrote and produced themselves to this Freddie Perren-produced confection, but still...what a hoot!

Sylvers . Hotline .1977
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