Sen. Clinton is "for the little guy"...

...but doesn't pay her bills to small vendors. It's a lot better for her to let the small vendors carry the financial strain instead of her campaign's books.

This is video from early on in the race, back in Iowa. But it's continued!



3/31/08 UPDATE:

Looks like Sen. Clinton's campaign neglected to make payments on her staffers' health insurance, too...

Barack Bowls!

And feeds calves with big bottles of milk. Sounds like he's getting good advice on how to win most of PA!

Sound Bites vs. Context

Guess which one FixedNews provides?

MSNBC poll: is it time for Sen. Clinton to hang it up?

Please vote in this poll!

MoveOn.Org petition

Stand up for Democracy in the Democratic Party

A group of millionaire Democratic donors are threatening to stop supporting Democrats in Congress because Nancy Pelosi said that the people, not the superdelegates, should decide the Presidential nomination.

They're Clinton supporters and they're trying to use their high-roller status to strong arm the Democratic leaders.

So let's tell Nancy Pelosi that if she keeps standing up for regular Americans, thousands of us will have her back.

A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership.

The tide is turning

A delegate speaks...

Sen. Clinton is now targeting not only Superdelegates, but pledged delegates like myself:

It's going to be 1968 all over again if she manages to overturn the popular vote with this tactic.

I wasn't going to run as a delegate past the District Caucus on April 5th until she started this. Now I'm running as far as I can because I know I can't be bought or swayed. My precinct went 6 to 1 for Obama, and my District (Washington 46th) went overwhelmingly for Obama.


Kevin Boske

Washington 46th district

Please write letters to the editor, contact Nancy Pelosi, contact Howard Dean at the DNC, etc., and protest this situation. It's time for this miscarriage of democracy to end. If Sen. Clinton can't run on her own record, and run on the rules, then she must withdraw.

Not surprisingly, Sen. Clinton's actions with pledged delegates are failing to favorably impress many Superdelegates.

Hillary in Bosnia: The Movie

Much more here at Rural Votes.

UPDATE, 3/26/08:

The New York Post has this to say:

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton's lies about risking her life under sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia as first lady have infuriated the US military brass and troops.

"She has no sense of what a statement like that does to soldiers," fumed retired Maj. Gen. Walter Stewart, the former head of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

"She is insulting the command in its entirety," he said yesterday.

UPDATE #2, 3/26/08:

Sen. Clinton is now saying that she "misspoke".

OK, that's plausible.

But four times?

Here's video of one of those occasions (2/28/08):



Read what an actual veteran of the US's involvement in Bosnia has to say about this "theft of valor".

The foreclosure crisis...and timeliness

Obama was concerned about the possibility of a home foreclosure crisis over a year ago. He was formulating potential thoughts and responses to the potential crisis over a year ago, too.

Here's a link to Obama's current plans to combat the effects of the economic slowdown.

Please pass the word about Obama's farsightedness and insight on economic issues.

New York Post poll

Is Sen. Clinton's credibility shot due to her inaccurate accounts about her visit to Bosnia?

Please vote!

John McCain is a campaign finance criminal...

Please watch this video...



...and sign this petition!

Lou Dobbs quick vote

Scroll down...right hand side of the page. Please vote!

Obama Girl is back...

...and definitely better than ever.

New Larry King Poll

Did Richardson do the right thing in endorsing Obama?

Um...yep. 8^)

Please vote! Center-top of the page.

A different kind of straw poll

DonorsChoose.org has a straw poll which also funds school projects. New and different, and endorsed by Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central!

Clinton's "kamikaze" tactics

Ben Smith wrote in Politico recently:

Democratic leaders, and a lot of left-leaning commentators, really don't like attacks on Barack Obama.

So yesterday, Joe Wilson went at him extremely hard on HuffingtonPost. Headline: "Obama's Shallow Credentials on National Security Are Dangerous for the Country."

Joe Klein, a writer who certainly doesn't peddle a simplistically negative view of Hillary, wasn't alone in his response:

I also have some residual respect for Amb. Joseph Wilson, who told the
truth about Niger and yellowcake uranium. But this is garbage.
Especially this:

Claims of superior intuitive judgment by his campaign and by him are
self-evidently disingenuous, especially in light of disclosures about
his long associations with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Tony Rezko.

Clinton's slim hopes of winning the nomination are not helped by this.
They are hurt. In fact, let me amend what I said in the first
paragraph: If her campaign persists in peddling this sort of kamikaze
stuff -- and make no mistake, this sort of op-ed is usually vetted by
the campaign -- her judgment should be called into question.

Painful Things Hillary Clinton Should Know

HALPERIN’S TAKE: Painful Things Hillary Clinton Knows — Or Should Know

1. She can’t win the nomination without overturning the will of the
elected delegates, which will alienate many Democrats.

2. She can’t win the nomination without a bloody convention battle —
after which, even if she won, history and many Democrats would cast
her as a villain.

3. Catching up in the popular vote is not out of the question — but
without re-votes in Florida and Michigan it will be almost as
impossible as catching up in elected delegates.

4. Nancy Pelosi and other leading members of Congress don’t think she
can win and want her to give up. Same with superdelegate-to-the-stars
Donna Brazile.

5. Obama’s skilled, close-knit staff can do things like silently kill
re-votes in Florida and Michigan and not pay a political price.

6. Many of her supporters — and even some of her staffers — would be
relieved (and even delighted) if she quit the race; none of his
supporters or staff feel that way. Some think she just might throw in
the towel in June if it appears efforts to fight on would hurt Obama’s
general election chances.

7. The Rev. Wright story notwithstanding, the media still wants Obama
to be the nominee — and that has an impact every day.

8. Obama might not be able to talk that well about the new global
economy, but she (and McCain) can’t either.

9. Many of the remaining prominent superdelegates want to be for Obama
and she (and Harold Ickes) are just barely keeping them from making
public commitments to him.

10. She can’t publicly say more than 2% of all the things she would
like to say about race, electability, beating McCain and experience.

11. If she somehow found a way to win the nomination, she would have
to offer Obama the veep slot, and she doesn’t want to do that.

12. This is a change election, and Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton can never
truly be change.

13. Obama is having fun most days, and she isn’t.

14. Even though her campaign staff is having more fun than it has for
a long time, there’s hardly anyone there who, given half a chance,
wouldn’t slit Mark Penn’s throat — and such internal dissension won’t
help her in the home stretch.

"3 a.m." ad's sleeping child "doesn't approve of this message"

Catherine Crier speaks the truth...

...about mainstream 24-hour TV news. An excerpt from her Huffington Post article:

Profound sadness was my dominant emotion as I watched one of the cable news shows this morning. Two attractive young 'political analysts', a handsome African American and a winsome blonde, (guess their politics), 'illuminated' the presidential race. Vacuous and incendiary were the only modifiers that came to my mind. Whatever your politics, whichever news channel you favor, the diet is poisonous.

When I joined CNN in 1989, I was ecstatic. To be part of an organization that could spend 24 hours a day covering important issues around the world was a dream come true. While the vision didn't always comport with reality, it matched up much of the time. As time went by and competition emerged, we all know what happened. Ratings began to drive agendas and heat over light became the norm. In recent years, the lip gloss quotient (it works for both genders) has become more important than IQ. The definition of fair and balanced has nothing to do with truth and is satisfied if voices from the far left and right are encouraged to spew their dogma in angry debate. The anchors are there to simply fuel the fire with no duty to steer guests to substantive conversation, much less to insist on facts over fatuous rhetoric.

Good sense

In response to this Clinton press conference, the Obama campaign's spokesman Bill Burton had this to say:

“Since the Clinton campaign had a news-less conference call, reiterating tired lines of attack with no basis in reality, instead of responding with a call of our own, we are going to give the press corps a break so that we can all enjoy this holiday weekend with our families and maybe even watch a little basketball”

Erie, PA poll

Please vote in this online poll from Erie, PA. It's towards the right-hand side of the page, near the top.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

Please contact Gov. Richardson, thanking him for yesterday's endorsement!

Here's a fun anecdote about Barack and Richardson which shows that the two always had some warmth between them out on the trail. I'm sure it didn't hurt Barack's chances of getting the nod from Bill!

American Men...

Media Contacts

The general "contact us" information doesn't work as well as getting much more specific:

CNN:

Sam Feist, CNN Political Director
editor@AllPolitics.com

AND cc: Viewer Comments

public.information@cnn.com

MSNBC:

Chuck Todd, MSNBC Political Director
chuck.todd@nbcuni.com

cc: Steve Capus, President of NBC News
steve.capus@nbc.com

and Tim Russert
mtp@msnbc.com

If you're really steamed about recurrent bad journalism in broadcast media, contact the FCC as well (and make sure the media outlet in question knows you're doing so, too!)

campaignlaw@fcc.gov
202-418-1440

More Voices

FoxNews coverage

Don't like the tone of Fox's coverage at times?

Write their sponsors and complain. Be very specific about where and when you saw offensive and/or misleading coverage.

Thank Chris Wallace of FoxNews

Mr. Wallace is a voice of relative moderation at FoxNews. Please contact Fox and thank him!

comments@foxnews.com

Quick CNN/Larry King Poll

Please vote now! Scroll down slightly, on the center of the page: "Quick Vote".

Fight back against Fox's yellow journalism

Please sign the Fox Attacks! petition against this kind of nonsense on TV, masquerading as "news"...



Here's a list of Fox's sponsors, too. Write them if you don't like the coverage!

Crest Whitestrips
Delphi
Mercedes Benz
Comcast
Subaru
GMC SUVs
Best Buy - newscenter@bestbuy.com
Travelocity
Capzasin
New Phase
Orbitz - shannon.burns@orbitz.com (Investor Relations)
Ditech.com
eloan.com - pressrelations@eloan.com
Dawn
Toyota
Centrum - shareowners@bankofny.com
Nextel/Sprint - investor.relations@sprint.com
Vehix.com
Gold Bond
Aspercreme
webmd.com via email or webmd.com via other

American Express -
ronald.stovall@aexp.com (VP)
alex.w.hopwood@aexp.com (VP)
malkah.y.buchweitz@aexp.com

Holiday Inn Express - investor.relations@ihg.com
M Professional
Priceline.com
Sheraton
Ditech.com (1-887-51-FIXED)
Greenbags.com (1-800-820-2357)
Slimshots.com (1-800-431-5097)
Bounty (quickerpickerupper.com)
Chevron.com
Jaguar
Bayer
Rosettastone.com/tv (1-800-734-9723)
Gmacbank.com (866-2GM-BANK)
The Jewelry Exchange (1-800-441-0715; jewelryexchange.com
Evergreendirect
Pacific life
Residence Inn
Olay
Michelin
Onetouchcolors.com
Senior Lending Market
Time Warner Cable

John Stewart/The Daily Show covers the important stuff...

New York Times editorial re: Obama's address on race

The New York Times heartily endorses Obama's address on race. Seems they might be having a bit of "buyer's remorse" after their curious endorsement of Sen. Clinton:

Mr. Obama's Profile in Courage (an excerpt):

Inaugural addresses by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt come to mind, as does John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religion, with its enduring vision of the separation between church and state. Senator Barack Obama, who has not faced such tests of character this year, faced one on Tuesday. It is hard to imagine how he could have handled it better.

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

It was not a moment to which Mr. Obama came easily. He hesitated uncomfortably long in dealing with the controversial remarks of his spiritual mentor and former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who denounced the United States as endemically racist, murderous and corrupt.

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama drew a bright line between his religious connection with Mr. Wright, which should be none of the voters’ business, and having a political connection, which would be very much their business. The distinction seems especially urgent after seven years of a president who has worked to blur the line between church and state.

Derrick does it again...

Derrick Ashong, made famous by his extremely articulate off-the-cuff support for Obama a few weeks ago, had plenty to say about Obama's address on race.

An excerpt from a CNN article:

I watched Obama's speech with a measure of disbelief that he had the gumption to come out and say what we all know -- that the problem of race remains one that we as a nation have yet to conquer. To be sure we have made strides towards reconciliation. But the hard conversations continue to be harder than most are willing to deal with.

Black America has yet to come to grips with its responsibility to tackle head on the problems that plague our communities. White America has yet to acknowledge the fact that here in the "home of the free," true liberty has evaded many for far too long.

Too often these conversations are ended before they've truly begun, due to the ignorance, intransigence or simple unwillingness of people to acknowledge the validity of what the other side has to say.

Gov. Huckabee provides some good sense and context...

Support for Sen. Obama from the former Republican presidential candidate, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The material regarding Obama starts around the 3:30 mark.

Pittsburgh online poll

Progress Pittsburgh has an online poll up. Please vote! (Towards the top, in the middle of the screen).

Letters to the Editor: DNC portal

The Democratic National Committee has an excellent tool on its website which helps with writing LTTEs. Please check it out!

Today's address on race

Obama's wife Michelle watched the address from the audience, obviously overcome with emotion.

MSNBC poll: today's address by Barack

Please vote in this poll ASAP --- it won't be up long!

What is Senator Clinton hiding?

An excerpt from the Chicago Tribune:

In politics, honesty is not always the easiest policy. Barack Obama got a reminder of that when he released a list of "earmark" expenditures he has proposed -- including a $1 million request for the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his wife, Michelle, is a vice president. In his meeting Friday with the Tribune editorial board, Obama indicated that he should have left that item to fellow Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, but he's willing to disclose it and be held accountable.

Hillary Clinton, by contrast, often seems to operate by the maxim that silence is golden. When asked whether she would release a list of her earmarks, her spokesman dodged the question, while declaring that she is "proud of the investments in New York that she has secured." But for now, at least, not proud enough to let voters know what they are.

This exercise in secrecy is part of a Clinton pattern that grows more worrisome all the time. The former first lady often says that she, unlike Obama, has been thoroughly vetted, rendering her impervious to Republican attacks. In fact, there are some important things unknown about her -- and her conduct suggests she wants to keep it that way. Which raises a question for voters: What is she hiding, and why?

Delegate Math

Check out this new and very illustrative graphic about the real state of the race.

Click here to access a higher-definition version.

Barack speaks about the retiring pastor of his church

There's also a poll up on the CNN main page right now: "Is Barack doing enough to distance himself from his fellow pastor?" Please visit the page (the poll is on the right hand side; scroll down a bit). Please vote "yes"!

PA radio station poll

Please vote!

Barack: details on Pennsylvania registration

Superdelegate shifts...

Slowly and surely...this is one SLOW "hammer", but --- we'll take it!

MSNBC says:

Since Super Tuesday, Obama is +47, Clinton is -7.
Since March 4, Obama is +6, Clinton is -1 (Spitzer).

BY THE NUMBERS:

Pledged Count: Obama leads 1,400-1,251
Superdelegates: Clinton leads 253-217
OVERALL TOTAL: Obama leads 1,617-1,504

The

Huffington Post

says:

Barack Obama has pulled almost even with Hillary Clinton in endorsements from top elected officials and has cut into her lead among the other superdelegates she's relying on to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

Among the 313 of 796 superdelegates who are members of Congress or governors, Clinton has commitments from 103 and Obama is backed by 96, according to lists supplied by the campaigns. Fifty-three of Obama's endorsements have come since he won the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, compared with 12 who have aligned with Clinton since then.

SATURDAY-
Obama +2
Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker (CA)
DNC Connie Thurman (IN)

SUNDAY-
Obama +1
DNC Mary Jo Neville (MD)

MONDAY-
Obama +3
IL Bill Foster
NC Joyce Brayboy
MS Everett Sanders

WEDNESDAY-
Clinton -2
NY Eliot Spitzer
TX David Hardt

FRIDAY-
Obama +1
DNC Melissa Schroeder (WI)

It was only a matter of time...

Iowa, Vermont, and Wyoming weren't flashes in the pan, people. No matter how many times Sen. Clinton says otherwise...

There's plenty of WHITE FOLKS FOR OBAMA!

After costs, all proceeds go straight to the Obama campaign.

Clinton Spin-Out

"When we won Iowa, the Clinton campaign said it's not the number of states you win, it's "a contest for delegates."

When we won a significant lead in delegates, they said it's really about which states you win.

When we won South Carolina, they discounted the votes of African-Americans.

When we won predominantly white, rural states like Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska, they said those didn't count because they won't be competitive in the general election.

When we won in Washington State, Wisconsin, Virginia and Missouri -- general election battlegrounds where polls show Barack is a stronger candidate against John McCain -- the Clinton campaign attacked those voters as "latte-sipping" elitists.

And now that we've won more than twice as many states, the Clinton spin is that only certain states really count."

New Obama music video

All built on a simple little scale sung by Stevie Wonder!

Keith Olbermann does his job

These would be fitting last words to sum up the Geraldine Ferraro episode...Olbermann seems to pretty much cover it.

HRC's real foreign policy record

Great for letters to the editor...

Greg Craig, former director, Policy Planning Office, U.S. State Department, writes of Sen. Clinton:

When your entire campaign is based upon a claim of experience, it is important that you have evidence to support that claim. Hillary Clinton's argument that she has passed "the Commander- in-Chief test" is simply not supported by her record.

There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton played an important domestic policy role when she was First Lady. It is well known, for example, that she led the failed effort to pass universal health insurance. There is no reason to believe, however, that she was a key player in foreign policy at any time during the Clinton Administration. She did not sit in on National Security Council meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the Situation Room. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy, nor did she have her own national security staff. She did not do any heavy-lifting with foreign governments, whether they were friendly or not. She never managed a foreign policy crisis, and there is no evidence to suggest that she participated in the decision-making that occurred in connection with any such crisis. As far as the record shows, Senator Clinton never answered the phone either to make a decision on any pressing national security issue, not at 3 AM or at any other time of day.

When asked to describe her experience, Senator Clinton has cited a handful of international incidents where she says she played a central role. But any fair-minded and objective judge of these claims, i.e., by someone not affiliated with the Clinton campaign, would conclude that Senator Clinton's claims of foreign policy experience are exaggerated.

Northern Ireland:

Senator Clinton has said, "I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland." It is a gross overstatement of the facts for her to claim even partial credit for bringing peace to Northern Ireland. She did travel to Northern Ireland, it is true. First Ladies often travel to places that are a focus of U.S. foreign policy. But at no time did she play any role in the critical negotiations that ultimately produced the peace. As the Associated Press recently reported, "[S]he was not directly involved in negotiating the Good Friday peace accord." With regard to her main claim that she helped bring women together, she did participate in a meeting with women, but, according to those who know best, she did not play a pivotal role. The person in charge of the negotiations, former Senator George Mitchell, said that "[The First Lady] was one of many people who participated in encouraging women to get involved, not the only one."

News of Senator Clinton's claims has raised eyebrows across the ocean. Her reference to an important meeting at the Belfast town hall was debunked. Her only appearance at the Belfast City Hall was to see Christmas lights turned on. She also attended a 50-minute meeting which, according to the Belfast Daily Telegraph's report at the time, "[was] a little bit stilted, a little prepared at times." Brian Feeney, an Irish author and former politician, sums it up: "The road to peace was carefully documented, and she wasn't on it."

Bosnia:

Senator Clinton has pointed to a March 1996 trip to Bosnia as proof that her foreign travel involved a life-risking mission into a war zone. She has described dodging sniper fire. While she did travel to Bosnia in March 1996, the visit was not a high-stakes mission to a war zone. On March 26, 1996, the New York Times reported that "Hillary Rodham Clinton charmed American troops at a U.S.O. show here, but it didn't hurt that the singer Sheryl Crow and the comedian Sinbad were also on the stage."

Kosovo:

Senator Clinton has said, "I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo." It is true that, as First Lady, she traveled to Macedonia and visited a Kosovar refugee camp. It is also true that she met with government officials while she was there. First Ladies frequently meet with government officials. Her claim to have "negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo," however, is not true. Her trip to Macedonia took place on May 14, 1999. The borders were opened the day before, on May 13, 1999.

The negotiations that led to the opening of the borders were accomplished by the people who ordinarily conduct negotiations with foreign governments, U.S. diplomats. President Clinton's top envoy to the Balkans, former Ambassador Robert Gelbard, said, "I cannot recall any involvement by Senator Clinton in this issue." Ivo Daalder worked on the Clinton Administration's National Security Council and wrote a definitive history of the Kosovo conflict. He recalls that "she had absolutely no role in the dirty work of negotiations."

Rwanda:

Last year, former President Clinton asserted that his wife pressed him to intervene with U.S. troops to stop the Rwandan genocide. When asked about this assertion, Hillary Clinton said it was true. There is no evidence, however, to suggest that this ever happened. Even those individuals who were advocating a much more robust U.S. effort to stop the genocide did not argue for the use of U.S. troops. No one recalls hearing that Hillary Clinton had any interest in this course of action. Based on a fair and thorough review of National Security Council deliberations during those tragic months, there is no evidence to suggest that U.S. military intervention was ever discussed. Prudence Bushnell, the Assistant Secretary of State with responsibility for Africa, has recalled that there was no consideration of U.S. military intervention.

At no time prior to her campaign for the presidency did Senator Clinton ever make the claim that she supported intervening militarily to stop the Rwandan genocide. It is noteworthy that she failed to mention this anecdote, urging President Clinton to intervene militarily in Rwanda, in her memoirs. President Clinton makes no mention of such a conversation with his wife in his memoirs. And Madeline Albright, who was Ambassador to the United Nations at the time, makes no mention of any such event in her memoirs.

Hillary Clinton did visit Rwanda in March 1998 and, during that visit, her husband apologized for America's failure to do more to prevent the genocide.

China:

Senator Clinton also points to a speech that she delivered in Beijing in 1995 as proof of her ability to answer a 3 AM crisis phone call. It is strange that Senator Clinton would base her own foreign policy experience on a speech that she gave over a decade ago, since she so frequently belittles Barack Obama's speeches opposing the Iraq War six years ago. Let there be no doubt: she gave a good speech in Beijing, and she stood up for women's rights. But Senator Obama's opposition to the War in Iraq in 2002 is relevant to the question of whether he, as Commander-in-Chief, will make wise judgments about the use of military force. Senator Clinton's speech in Beijing is not.

Senator Obama's speech opposing the war in Iraq shows independence and courage as well as good judgment. In the speech that Senator Clinton says does not qualify him to be Commander in Chief, Obama criticized what he called "a rash war . . . a war based not on reason, but on passion, not on principle, but on politics." In that speech, he said prophetically: "[E]ven a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences." He predicted that a U.S. invasion of Iraq would "fan the flames of the Middle East," and "strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda." He urged the United States first to "finish the fight with Bin Laden and al Qaeda."

If the U.S. government had followed Barack Obama's advice in 2002, we would have avoided one of the greatest foreign policy catastrophes in our nation's history. Some of the most "experienced" men in national security affairs, Vice President Cheney and Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others, led this nation into that catastrophe. That lesson should teach us something about the value of judgment over experience. Longevity in Washington, D.C. does not guarantee either wisdom of judgment.

Conclusion:

The Clinton campaign's argument is nothing more than mere assertion, dramatized in a scary television commercial with a telephone ringing in the middle of the night. There is no support for or substance in the claim that Senator Clinton has passed "the Commander-in-Chief test." That claim, as the TV ad, consists of nothing more than making the assertion, repeating it frequently to the voters and hoping that they will believe it.

On the most critical foreign policy judgment of our generation, the War in Iraq, Senator Clinton voted in support of a resolution entitled "The Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of U.S. Military Force Against Iraq." As she cast that vote, she said: "This is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make -- any vote that may lead to war should be hard -- but I cast it with conviction." In this campaign, Senator Clinton has argued, remarkably, that she wasn't actually voting for war, she was voting for diplomacy. That claim is no more credible than her other claims of foreign policy experience. The real tragedy is that we are still living with the terrible consequences of her misjudgment. The Bush Administration continues to cite that resolution as its authorization, like a blank check, to fight on with no end in sight.

Barack Obama has a very simple case. On the most important commander in chief test of our generation, he got it right, and Senator Clinton got it wrong. In truth, Senator Obama has much more foreign policy experience than either Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan had when they were elected. Senator Obama has worked to confront 21st century challenges like proliferation and genocide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He possesses the personal attributes of a great leader, an even temperament, an open-minded approach to even the most challenging problems, a willingness to listen to all views, clarity of vision, the ability to inspire, conviction and courage.

And Barack Obama does not use false charges and exaggerated claims to play politics with national security.

rogues' gallery

UPDATE, 3/11/08

Tuesday night (March 4) was a good night for Rush Limbaugh. "I want Hillary to stay in this," he said on Fox News, because "I want the Democrats to lose. They're in the midst of tearing themselves apart right now. It is fascinating to watch, and it's all going to stop if Hillary loses."

Limbaugh was interviewed Feb. 29 by Laura Ingraham, guest-hosting on the Bill O'Reilly show on the Fox News Channel.
"If Obama is the nominee, we are doomed, " Limbaugh said on Feb. 6 to a Republican caller to his radio program.

On Fox News, Limbaugh listed "another reason why we need Hillary to stay in:" the Clinton campaign can attack Obama in ways the Republicans cannot. "Who was it that first used Obama's middle name of Hussein? It was not us. It was [Clinton supporter] Bob Kerrey, over and over again, former Democrat Senator of Nebraska."

"Who was it that talked about Obama not just using drugs, as he admitted in his book, but maybe even selling them and dealing them? It was [Bill] Shaheen, Clinton's co-chair in New Hampshire."

Limbaugh's assumption here is that Obama will be the Democratic nominee. "We want the Clinton campaign to keep pumping out these pictures of Obama dressed up as Bin Laden," he said on Feb. 26. "If Hillary loses this thing, all of that's going to come to a screeching halt. We want all the disruption in that party as possible. . . . We need to keep chaos alive."

~~~~~

Here are a few of the upstanding Republicans (nominal Conservatives) who have advocated that Republicans in open primaries vote for Clinton, rather than McCain, in recent elections: Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter, and Sean Hannity. They all despise Clinton enough that they'd like to have the distinct honor of taking her down themselves, rather than letting the Democrats do it. Other Reagan democrat types who don't like either Clinton or Obama have followed suit, fueled by scores of websites conflating Obama with terrorist Osama bin Laden. Coulter has even said she'd campaign actively for Hillary; somehow, I have a feeling that's one phone call that the Clinton camp won't be returning.

Eleanor Clift, noted news analyst, said on NPR's "On Point" this morning that even Karl Rove doesn't approve of such tactics. But Coulter, Hannity, and Limbaugh (who even refers to himself as an "entertainer", although his listenership seems to be under the impression that he's a dynamic journalist) seem all too happy to persist.

The unspoken sentiment here is that none of these media giants are too happy about McCain, whom they feel isn't conservative enough. But they profoundly failed at influencing their audience to vote for Romney, Huckabee, etc., so now they're projecting their 3rd grade sour grapes mentality onto the Democrats.

Way to go, Team Neocon! You've helped to keep Sen. Clinton's campaign on life support for another couple of weeks, and bought Sen. McCain more time to kick back and host barbecues at his place (for the press corps; isn't that a bit of a conflict of interest?).

The trendlines

This is some wonderful video from Slate V. Watch the independent trendlines when she goes negative, particularly the independent men's! This video also shows a good snapshot of how well Obama stands up regarding healthcare.

Democratic National Committee

Here is the contact information which is tough to find on the DNC site:

(202) 863-8000

Ask to speak with the Chairman and you will be put through to Governor Howard Dean's secretary.

Here is the direct link to Howard Dean through the DNC (not just the generic DNC contact address).

Petition: Sen. Clinton, file your tax information

Please sign this petition. Add, in the comment line, something along these lines: "Not just your 2007 returns. 2000 - 2006, too".

Contacting the media: tips from Media Matters

Media Matters has posted these tips for effective LTTEs and making contact with the media (regarding incomplete or slanted coverage):

As a model, please review these reasonable guidelines from Media Matters, for tips on how to effectively communicate with media outlets...

Many media personalities and outlets make their email addresses available online and encourage audience members to provide feedback. Here are a few suggestions to make your feedback as productive as possible:

Be polite. Don't use profanity or personal attacks. Emails that include profanity or insults are rude and ineffective, hurt your credibility, and only offend the recipient.

Keep it short. Limit your overall email to roughly 250 words, or about three paragraphs. You want to make your point clearly and quickly; lengthy emails are unlikely to be read beyond the first paragraph.

Be specific. As much as possible, reference specific news items, articles, columns, and editorials, and be specific about your complaint. Even when presenting a broad complaint (e.g. "Why hasn't your paper done a better job covering the Downing Street Memo?"), it is best to be specific ("Over the last two weeks, your newspaper has not run a single article on the Downing Street Memo.").

State what you want clearly. The recipient of your email should come away with a clear understanding of your request. Do you think an issue has received too little attention? Is factual information presented on equal footing with false information, with the viewer left to decide what to believe? Has an important viewpoint been excluded from a story?

Make sure the subject line of your message conveys what you are writing about. For example, write "Your October 6 article on taxes uses incorrect information" instead of "tax issues."

Personalize your email -- but don't get personal. Each email should be directed to one individual or media outlet and should reference the coverage (or lack thereof) of that particular individual or outlet. Don't write a generic message and send it to a whole list of reporters. Be polite, and keep your email focused on the substance of your complaint, not on personal criticism of the reporter.

Link to further information. Where appropriate, include a link to a website for further information. If you are sending more information in response to a news report, it's always helpful to the recipient of the message to see the source of your information.

Contact NBC

Please contact Chuck Todd, NBC's Political Director, and request that "split" states (where Clinton won more popular votes, but Obama won more delegates) be depicted in with "stripes", rather than a solid color for either candidate.

Currently, NBC has those states chalked up to...guess who: Sen. Clinton! This despite the fact that the delegate race is what really matters.

Stress that it's important for citizens to be able to understand every nuance in this extremely complex race!

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director:

chuck.todd@nbcuni.com

Also CC: Steve Capus, President of NBC News:

steve.capus@nbc.com

Contact CNN.com

Cnn.com has a bar on the top of its "Politics" page with tabs for Clinton and McCain, as well as "Election Center" and "More Topics"

Routinely over the past weeks, they have had no such tab for "Obama". It's becoming a CHRONIC problem...witness the tiny tortoise next to the raspberry, pictured!

Please contact cnn.com and tell them to stop being the "Clinton News Network".

While you're at it, cc: the top brass at the FCC:

Chairman Kevin J. Martin:
KJMWEB@fcc.gov

Commissioner Michael J. Copps:
Michael.Copps@fcc.gov

Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein:
Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov

Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate:
dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov

Commissioner Robert McDowell:
Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov

Craigslist: Pennsylvania

Craigslist Pennsylvania lists many of the largest metro areas, and some of the much smaller ones, too!

Just pick a city, then look for "discussion forums", then "politic" (sheesh, Craig, we know you're thrifty, but you coulda sprung for the "s"!!!)

Share the good news with the craigslisters of the Keystone State!

New yard signs for Barack

Get yer cool new Obama yard signs here! Something new, something different...something good for your pals in Pennsylvania! (hint, hint)

Inspiration

Minute for minute...

...weighing in at just over a minute long, pound for pound, this is one of the best Obama videos yet!

STAY FIRED UP!

New poll: Daily KOS

Please vote in this new poll!

Scroll down to the bottom of the post.

Middle school party game: lecturing about Islamic law

More middle-school antics from the Clinton camp:

Watch this video of a party guest at one of Clinton's events recently...

Yes...as Mr. HillaryFan says...Islam seems to have a rule that if your father was a Muslim, so are you.*

Which works fine, unless your father was an absentee dad who left your family two years after you were born, and then only saw you one more time, years later, before passing away.

And unless your mother was an agnostic...or, as Obama describes her in one of his books, an atheist.

And unless your caring, involved grandparents (who raised you for part of your childhood) were Christians.

Nothing better than a non-Muslim holding forth on Islam, and how others ought to practice it. Nothing better.

*

Barack's Kenyan grandmother had this to say about Barack's father (her son):

Kenyan Grandmother Warns Against 'Untruths'

Sarah Hussein Obama, in pink at left, dances with villagers to welcome her visiting grandson on Aug. 26, 2006. She said her husband, Obama's grandfather, took the name Hussein when he converted to Islam but his children inherited only the name, not the religion.

The Democratic old guard...

...are having some pretty hard-hitting conversations about this race. Since this conversation was hosted on PBS's NewsHour, though, interruptions and leading questions weren't factors.

Bill Bradley and Jesse Jackson debate Geraldine Ferraro and Leon Panetta on PBS's "NewsHour". There's a transcript and a video here.

CNN gives us details...

...instead of asking political experts "How can she win?"

Wow --- reporting! Cool!

It's about time.

New AOL Poll

AOL actually has two new polls (on the same page with an article about Obama's Kenyan Granny feeling quite unhappy about all of the smears)!

Please vote!!!

Talking Points

Good for Letters to the Editor, phonebanking, you name it!

Obama is the only candidate to have released his tax forms. (neither McCain or Clinton have)

Obama has released his earmarks. (Clinton has not)

Hillary Clinton reigns as the Queen of Federal Pork

Obama was rated #1 in environmental policy by the League of Conservation Voters

Obama was right about Pakistan, back when Hillary was calling him "naive"

Washington Post gave Obama's economic plan an A- and gave Hillary's a C.

Wall Street Journal preferred Obama's healthcare plan over Hillary Clinton's


Judge Obama by his legislative achievments, which are quite impressive, according to the Washington Post

And...

Why Obama should be the DNC Nominee

*Obama is a uniter. He has attracted new voters, young voters (that the Dems will need in future elections), Indep. and Republicans. HRC cannot win against McCain unless she can pull in independents, many of whom left the Dems when the Clintons were in the White House. Obama has a stronger chance to beat McCain in the fall than Hillary.

*There are distinct differences between Obama and McCain. Clinton and McCain both gave Bush the authorization to go to war and backed Bush on Iran.

*Obama made the best judgment call on the war in Iraq. He is tough on security, but knows we cannot make mistakes with such serious decisions. Clinton has admitted she did not read the report about the war. We cannot risk this lack of judgment again.

*Obama has experience in foreign policy. Talk about his trips to Iraq, Chad, Kenya, etc... Discuss his experience on the Senate Arms Services Committee, belief in strong diplomacy, negotiation, Obama-Lugar bill to secure "loose nukes".

*Obama is a Christian, not a Muslim. He has been a Christian for 20 years and goes to the same church. Assertions that he is a Muslim, besides being false, are disrespectful to Islam, Christianity, people of faith in general, and most importantly, the Democratic process.

*Obama has THE broadest base of supporters (race, sex, class, ethnicity, rural, urban, east, west, south, north, across religions and international Americans support). Hillary has a more polarizing base, age group and class of supporters. Obama can unite the party.

*Obama has a stronger vision of the democratic party being a more inclusive party. Clinton has alienated smaller states, caucus states, and states that she just didn't win. Obama is going to each and every state. Obama wants to be president of the UNITED states. Hillary wants to be president of the BLUE states. This paradigm needs to change and only Obama can do it.

*Obama will be able to raise more money for the Democratic party. Clinton is a machine and accepting lobbyists' money; Obama does not take money from registered lobbyists. Americans are giving to this campaign in record numbers because of Obama's message.

*Obama has stronger moral character, integrity, and character. We need a leader with Obama's characteristics and morals.

*Obama is running an upstanding and honorable campaign, bringing in voters who turned away from the Democrats and politics because of dirty tactics. Clinton can only resort to dirty politics because that is all she knows. It hurts the party and is not what the voters want in politics.

*Obama is loyal to the people and the DNC. He is purposefully not tearing down Hillary or bringing up her past scandals because he does not want to damage his party or run that type of campaign. He has not attempted to change the rules in regards to MI and FL's delegates. Obama accepted the rules and followed them. Hillary is disloyal to the DNC when it suits her. She seems willing to jeopardize the democrats chances in the fall in order to win. Obama is dedicated to the American people and his party.

And some more:

In Illinois:

1. Created the Earned Income Tax Credit program that gave over $100 million in tax cuts for families throughout Illinois over 3 years.

2. Expanded support for early childhood education

3. Created a working, affordable health care plan in Illinois, that covers 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults, where all kids qualify for $40 per child. Obama sponsored and passed this legislation, working with Rod R. Blagojevich(IL Gov.) See All Kids http://www.allkids.com/ . It is a model for a workable, affordable national health care.


In the US Senate:

1. Cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children have affordable health care coverage.

2. Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.

3. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Obama helped pass legislation in the recent improvements to the Higher Education Act to increase the maximum Pell Grant award

and a lot more...

Letters to the Editor: Pennsylvania

For LTTEs, please consider these talking points...

...or any topic that particularly captures your reason and passions! Tell them why you support Obama, and what motivates you to keep speaking out on his behalf.

Please write...it helps! You can write the same letter, just address it "to the Editor", and put the addressees in the "BCC" (blind cc:) field. That way, the recipients will think the letter was custom-tailored for their paper.

First:

Here are a few newspaper outlets in particular that the Hillary campaign is officially asking their supporters to target. Please be sure that you include the following newspaper outlets in your media communications for Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania: York

York Daily Record
Susan Martin Metro Editor (717) 771-2039

susan@ydr.com

~~~~~

York Dispatch
Beth Lefebvre City Editor (717) 854-1575 x426

blefebvre@dispatch.com

~~~~~

Pennsylvania: Harrisburg

Patriot-News
Skip Wachter News Editor (717) 255-8100

swachter@pnco.com

~~~~~

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia

Philadelphia Daily News
Kurt Heine City Editor (215) 854-2000

heinek@phillynews.com

~~~~~

Pennsylvania: Phoenixville

Phoenix
Jason Feather Managing Editor
(610) 933-8926 x627

editor@phoenixvillenews.com

~~~~~

Pennsylvania: Sunbury

Daily Item
Leonard Ingrassia Editor (570) 286-5671

lingrassia@dailyitem.com

~~~~~

Pittsburgh Post/Gazette
34 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
letters@postgazette.com

~~~~~

Philadelphia Inquirer - Blog

Philadelphia Inquirer - Letters to the Editor and OpEd

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Letters to the Editor

(guidelines for submission)

Pittsburgh Tribune Review - Letter to the Editor

~~~~~

PA Politics blog

~~~~~

And here's a list of garden-variety possibilities for letters to the editor:

info@pghcitypaper.com
gcurry@montgomerynews.com
cenews@penn.com
pnstaff@pn.microserve.com
jaheilig@aol.com
editor@swarthmorean.com
sentinel@acsworld.net
montcotime@.com
news@readingeagle.com
newsroom@poconorecord.com
mklein@phillynews.com
staff@phillynews.com
republic@pottsville.infi.net
news@gburgtimes.com
altmirror@aol.com
dnews.pdn@phillynews.com
letters@postgazette.com
news@eveningtimes.com
writestar@aol.com
info@thederrick.com
rliberman@brandywine.net
spirit@penn.com
bspice@post-gazette.com
jfetter@prolog.net
ksmith@calkinsnewspapers.com
brennan@newsgleaner.com
editor@dailyitem.com
susqtran@epix.net
nieditor@ptd.net
dgoldsmith@phillynews.com
dmichelmore@post-gazette.com
eagle@isrv.com
vlinn@post-gazette.com
amullig@tribweb.com
mnewman@post-gazette.com
sachetti@enterpe.com
webplus@ghplus.infi.net
sonews@tribweb.com
75530,131@cis.com
dbear@post-gazette.com
jseverson@phillynews.com
mflannery@phillynews.com
newsroom@i21.com
nieditor@prolog.net
sentinel@epix.net
tony.gnoffo@phillynews.com
gamba.pib@phillynews.com
conradl@phillynews.com
tbickert@calkinsnewspapers.com
republic@pottsville.infi.net
paje@epix.net
LGoodlin@EveningSun.com
writeus@newsrecord.com
marmstrong@phillynews.com
mteagle@eagle1.microserve.com
getter@phillynews.com
msokolove@phillynews.com
info@accuwx.com
dbrown@phillynews.com
wto@penn.com
webmaster@titusvilleherald.com
sunnews@lnpnews.com
newsdesk@timesnews.com
dailynews@nchoicemail.com
tnonline@postoffice.ptd.net
williaj@phillynews.com
recherald@innernet.net
tnonline@prolog.net
wendy.warren@mcally.com
dailycourier@tribweb.com
wendy.warren@mcall.com
csnews@ptd.net
real_estate@readingeagle.com
valley@tribweb.com
drive_time@readingeagle.com
ghatza@readingeagle.com
cpaone@readingeagle.com
swglobe@aol.com
mberres@readingeagle.com
review@epix.net
corryjournal@tbscc.com
rocket@epix.net
uds@epix.net
vicoa@vicoa.com
cbarron@patriot-news.com
cmcnamara@patriot-news.com
weeklyedit@aol.com
jmcginley@patriot-news.com
gazedit@indianagazette.net
nwoodward@patriot-news.com
newera@lnpnews.com
berksmont1@aol.com
hsnews@hhs.net
gateway@ghplus.infi.net
somnews@shol.com
info@fultoncountynews.com
McDRE@cobweb.net
news@ydr.com
fcnews@nep.net
paul.willistein@mcall.com
intell@lnpnews.com
diane.stoneback@mcall.com
rkirkwood@patriot-news.com
heimers@phillynews.com
landerp@phillynews.com
brasch@planetx.bloomu.edu
fleiscb@phillynews.com
rocket@peach.epix.net
reneeherb@hotmail.com
tsnwire@aol.com
penews@enterpe.com
allisonw@leader.net
standard@epix.net
sjnews@uplink.net
joeb@leader.net
jeanl@leader.net
edit@mail.microserve.net
bradera@penn.com
HamburgItem@HotmaiL.com
etedit@mail.prolog.net
release@tribune-review.com
marka@citizensvoice.com
tribune@metromead.com
cburger@readingeagle.com
jbastel@calkinsnewspapers.com
lebnews@leba.net
news@dailylocal.com
phambke@theclarionnews.com
news@mcall.com
jweaver@readingeagle.com
mojoe1@aol.com
jsmith@readingeagle.com
editorial@citypaper.net
jsilva@brandywine.net
intellj@lancnews.infi.net
mjones@chestnuthilllocal.com

Cass Sunstein: The Obama I Know

Sunstein was a colleague of Obama's on the law school faculty at the University of Chicago. This superdelegate tells us why he's for Obama.

Pennsylvania Dossier

The Huffington Post has some useful tips for those of us calling or canvassing Pennsylvania...the pronunciations are out there!

More Pennsylvania goodness from:


PBS.ORG

Wikipedia 2008 Primary info

Wikipedia general info on PA

PA Secretary of State's office: election and voting info

And a collection of Pennsylvania political blogs:

The Pennsylvania Progressive

Keystone Politics

Pennsylvania Democratic Party blog

Pennsylvania Delegates

PA Live Politics

Philly Blog

Philly Future

Philly.Com

Drexel College Democrats

Irish Philly blog (…Barack is part Irish! )

Philly List (all the cool stuff philly…Barack is cool!)

Placeblogger: Philly

A Big Fat Slob ( a big fat slob: because freedom’s untidy)

Lehigh Valley Ramblings

Blog Net News PA

Don't forget the overview of talking points, either...