Translations

Chuck Todd helps us:

If someone says, "the process isn't hurting the party, let everyone have a say" you know that is code for "I'm still holding out hope for Clinton."

But if a supposed uncommitted superdelegate says, "we need to start thinking about what this is doing to our long term chances of defeating John McCain" that is code for, "I am leaning toward Obama but I hope Clinton will simply drop out so I can always claim to her and Bill that I was never against them."

Kafka Lives!

In the U.S of A.

At the age of 19, Murat Kurnaz vanished into America's shadow prison system in the war on terror. He was from Germany, traveling in Pakistan, and was picked up three months after 9/11. But there seemed to be ample evidence that Kurnaz was an innocent man with no connection to terrorism. The FBI thought so, U.S. intelligence thought so, and German intelligence agreed. But once he was picked up, Kurnaz found himself in a prison system that required no evidence and answered to no one.

Finally Getting Some Daylight?

People That We Forget ...

TPM remembers:

Crony's Reign Comes to Early End
By Paul Kiel - March 31, 2008, 10:00AM

So it looks like HUD chief Alphonso "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president" Jackson is looking to bow out early, with his announcement expected within minutes.

As both The Wall Street Journal and AP report, it's unclear why Jackson is resigning.

Or, rather, it's unclear what reason he'll give for resigning. We hotly anticipate his statement this morning, but chances are you won't hear any mention of the grand jury investigation that's probing the depths of his cronyism. Both pieces make mention of the fact that with the country facing a mortgage crisis, Jackson might not be the best man for the job. He's certainly not the best man to be working with Congress, since he's stonewalled Congress' questions about the investigation and allegations that he retaliated against Philadelphia's public housing director when he didn't agree to dish a property to one of Jackson's buddies. Oh, and the senators who chair the two oversight committees think Bush ought to fire him.

So has he been struck by a sudden desire for more QT with the family? We'll see

Housing Crisis

Report: Nation's Gentrified Neighborhoods Threatened By Aristocratization

WASHINGTON—The report claims that affordable upper-income condominiums and charming faux dive bars are being replaced with the manor houses and private salons.

Jaw Dropper of the Month

Not so much because of the sentiment (which is not new from this commentator) but the fact that only Stephanie Miller, a comedienne, and Bill Maher have reacted to it in the media. Imus should feel enraged by the double standard.

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans.

Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid,

Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

Pat Buchannon, A Brief For Whitey, March 21, 2008

Wot U Gonna Do?

Tax Time and all I hear is "What about that 'rebate'' (which will be credited toward your refund next year) ...

In theory it will help our economy 'cause like, everyone will take their windfall and march off to the Hummer Dealer for a new car.

What doesn't help our econ is if you use it to pay off debt.

What will we do? Look at the chart.

Ballsy Wins!

Who knew that you could get away with talking to Americans as if they were adults?

Can we get true leader? Yes We Can.

From Salon:

Polls: Obama weathers Wright controversy

Contrary to a Fox News poll, which War Room covered last Thursday, the Rev. Wright controversy does not appear to have undermined support for Barack Obama. The new evidence comes from a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll and a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press survey.

The Journal/NBC poll shows Hillary Clinton and Obama tied, with each having the support of 45 percent of registered Democratic voters. That's an uptick for Obama from the last Journal/NBC poll, taken two weeks ago, which had Clinton leading among Democratic voters, 47 percent to 43 percent. But the Journal notes that the change is statistically insignificant.

Clinton still leads among white Democrats, according to the Journal/NBC poll, but surprisingly her edge shrank to 8 points from 12 points in early March. As the Journal point outs: "That seems to refute widespread speculation -- and fears among Sen. Obama's backers -- that he would lose white support for his bid to be the nation's first African-American president over the controversy surrounding his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. of Chicago."

The Pew poll found that Wright's controversial sermons and Obama's speech about race and politics attracted more public attention than any other events so far in the 2008 presidential campaign. Yet, while most voters surveyed said that they were offended by Wright's comments, the controversy does not appear to have undermined support for Obama: "Obama maintains a 49 percent to 39 percent advantage over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, which is virtually unchanged from the 49 percent to 40 percent lead he held among Democrats in late February," according to Pew. "Obama and Clinton continue to enjoy slight advantages over John McCain in general election match ups among all registered voters."

Snowballin'?

A week after Richardson, Casey goes to bat (maybe Clinton should've let his dad speak at the convention in '92):

Pennsylvania senator to endorse Obama

NEW YORK - Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Democrat Barack Obama Friday, a move that could help the presidential candidate make inroads with white working-class voters dubbed "Casey Democrats" in the Keystone State.

...Casey is a first-term senator and the son of a popular former governor of the state. Casey is Catholic and, like his father, is known for his opposition to abortion and support of gun rights. His support could help Obama make inroads among Catholic voters.

Pennsylvania has an estimated 3.8 million Catholics, or just over 30 percent of the state's population, and the percentage among Democrats is estimated to be slightly higher.

Obama's team hopes that Casey will help narrow Clinton's huge lead among white working-class voters — men in particular. Clinton routed Obama among that demographic in Ohio and Texas on March 4, raising questions about his electability in November. In recent weeks, Obama has stressed economic issues important to the middle class, and he is outspending Clinton on television advertising that features blue-collar imagery.

"Hillary Clinton has many admirable qualities, but candor and openness and transparency and a commitment to well-established fact have not been notable among them," - Carl Bernstein, on Anderson's blog.

Having A Good Day

Wonkette is must reading ... personally responding strongly to the fat Kitty phots

Back On His Feet

From Political Wire:

PPP Poll: Obama Opens Wide Lead in North Carolina

A new Public Policy Polling survey in North Carolina shows Sen. Barack Obama dramatically expanding his lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton, 55% to 34%.

"This 21 point lead is the largest he has shown in any NC polling to date, and an indication that the Wright controversy isn't causing him any long term harm at least in this state.

"Key finding: "The poll also showed that a possible John Edwards endorsement wouldn't do much for Hillary Clinton's prospects in the state. 31% of voters who are either undecided or support Obama said an Edwards endorsement would make them less likely to vote for Clinton, compared to just 12% who said it would make them more likely to support her. A majority of voters, 57%, said an Edwards endorsement would have no impact on them one way or the other."

Death March

The fearful-of-offence David Brooks evaluates the Clinton Slog:

"Hillary Clinton's presidential prospects continue to dim. The door is closing. Night is coming. The end, however, is not near.

...Let’s take a look at what she’s going to put her party through for the sake of that 5 percent chance: The Democratic Party is probably going to have to endure another three months of daily sniping. For another three months, we’ll have the Carvilles likening the Obamaites to Judas and former generals accusing Clintonites of McCarthyism. For three months, we’ll have the daily round of résumé padding and sulfurous conference calls. We’ll have campaign aides blurting “blue dress” and only-because-he’s-black references as they let slip their private contempt.

I'm Not Against All Mortgages, Just Dumb Mortgages

Barry O was ahead of the curve on the sub-prime mess , just like he was on Iraq and Pakistan (remember the controversy over his willingness to go into Pakistan to go after Al Queda? Which we did less than two months later ... )

March 22, 2007

Dear Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson,

There is grave concern in low-income communities about a potential coming wave of foreclosures. Because regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market, I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.

We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.

continue reading

Me Too ...

I Know that if I hear one more call for outrage over James Carville or 'typical white person' that I will go crazy....

Cruel and Usual Punishment
One man with more courage than brains sacrifices himself on the altar of punditry, and, in so doing, fails to redeem us all

THE CRUDDIEST MOMENT OF THE CRAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE ON EARTH happened as I found myself watching five televisions simultaneously, each containing a different political pundit opining on the same subject. When I looked down toward my computer screen to see what the bloggers were saying about it, I noticed that a button on my shirt had come undone.

There I was, literally contemplating my own navel. But I didn't even crack a smile because, in the relentless drone of insipid opinion, irony no longer held any meaning.
I knew then that this whole thing had been a very poor idea, one from which I would not return undamaged. Because the clock on the wall said I still had 14 hours to go.

Read The Rest Here.

Just So It's Noted ...

Sullivan's daily HRC note sums her up so succinctly I have to post it:

The Bosnia lie is a microcosm of the experience exaggeration on which the entire rationale of her candidacy lies.

Clinton does have one solid substantive executive experience and the result of it was that she effectively killed universal healthcare for well over a decade.

And she has one transcendent legislative judgment call, Iraq, and it was catastrophically wrong.

This is her record on the kind of big issues that define a presidency.

Everything else is her husband, and her familiarity. And her life has been one very long series of networking and diligent study and good intentions and excellent constituency work. She could not inspire a rugby team to a piss-up.

In ordinary times, she'd make a B - Angela Merkel with some serious credibility issues. And these are not ordinary times.

This Stings

Sullivan provides argument and video to deflate positive feelings Gays have toward St Bill.

A 3% Victory

Think Progress Helps Us See ...

97% of U.S. deaths in Iraq came after ‘Mission Accomplished.’

As the U.S. death toll in Iraq reached 4,000 over the weekend, AFP notes a statistic just as sobering:

At least 97 percent of the deaths occurred after US President George W. Bush announced the end of “major combat” in Iraq on May 1, 2003, as the military became caught between a raging anti-American insurgency and brutal sectarian strife unleashed since the toppling of Saddam.

Despite the losses, Bush on the eve of the war’s fifth anniversary defended his decision to invade Iraq, vowing no retreat as he promised American soldiers would triumph despite the “high cost in lives and treasure.”

4000

Pictures of The 4000 US Service People to Die For W's Oedipal problems, gathered together to identify their killers. Clicking on it will give you a bigger picture.

The Locals Catch On

Have you noticed that Joe Lieberman appears in every camera shot of John McCain these days?

Well, I have. And so have his homies

In an editorial Sunday, the New London Day walked back its endorsement of Lieberman, who has been very publicly backing Republican John McCain for the presidency. In the editorial, the paper said:

When The Day endorsed Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman for re-election in November 2006 it was supporting a candidate who demonstrated a history of pragmatic leadership and a willingness to seek bipartisan solutions.

We wonder what happened to that senator ...

While Sen. Lieberman remains experienced, he is no longer even-handedly principled ...

Rather than building the bridges The Day expected when it endorsed Sen. Lieberman, he appears busy burning bridges with the party of which he is allegedly still a member. Perhaps the senator is positioning himself for a top cabinet post in a McCain presidency. But if the Democrats prevail, and enlarge their control of the Senate, it is hard to imagine this Connecticut senator being welcomed back with open arms.

I Knew It!

Study: 93% Of People Talked About Once They Leave Room

LOGAN, UT—From body odor to personal-life details, the groundbreaking study revealed a laundry list of things discussed once most people leave the room.

Senator Experience

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

You Want Experience?

GW Bush has more experience than anybody living (except HRC's hubby) ... so how about more of that?

Bill Maher says it best (as always) ... MUST SEE TV (lest anybody think I'm going soft ... or hard ... for John (Gollum) McCain

Gay Pride

OK Mr. G Baker, I would vote for him for President ....

Rep. Frank says he'll file bill to legalize marijuana

"I'm going to call it the "Make Room for Serious Criminals" bill"

March 22, 2008
BOSTON—Rep. Barney Frank said he plans to file a bill to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana.

Frank announced his plans late Friday on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by Bill Maher.

"I'm going to file a bill as soon as we go back to remove all federal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Maher.

Frank didn't define "small amounts." Efforts to reach Frank on Saturday were not immediately successful.

Frank said he'd filed a similar bill in the Massachusetts Legislature in the 1970s, but hasn't tried since he was elected to Congress.

"I finally got to the point where I think I can get away with it," he said.

Frank said he thinks "its time for the politicians in this one to catch up to the public. The notion that you lock people up for smoking marijuana is pretty silly."

Fox Disgusts Fox

Enough About You, Let's Talk About Me

Over at TPM, they've been talking about those of us who are threatening to not vote Democrat in November if our Horse loses the Primary.

"I was one of the pure in heart who in 1968 could not bring myself to vote for Humphrey and voted for Cleaver instead. Politically it was the dumbest thing I've ever done. However, I did learn something: elections are about deciding who will be the next president, senator, governor or whatever, but they should not be psycho-dramas conducted to allow people to demonstrate their high-mindedness.
Those supporters of HRC who cannot bring themselves to vote for Obama or vice versa will a few weeks into the McCain administration wake up and realize that they've been jackasses. Or, at least I hope they will realize it."

******

So I see most of these promises as the emotional equivalent of things friends or lovers can say in the midst of heated fights -- the vast number of which they recant later and wish they'd never said.

Clearly though there are some people who really do mean it. A very small fraction I think, but there nonetheless. And there's really no better example of emotional infantilism that some people bring to the political process . One can see it in a case like 1968 perhaps or other years where real and important differences separated the candidates -- or in cases where the differences between the parties on key issues were not so great. But that simply is not the case this year. As much as the two campaign have sought to highlight the differences, the two candidates' positions on almost every issue is extremely close. And the differences that do exist pale into insignificance when compared to Sen. McCain's.

That's not to say that these small differences are reasons to choose one of the candidates over the other. But to threaten either to sit the election or vote for McCain or vote for Nader if your candidate doesn't win the nomination shows as clearly as anything that one's ego-investment in one's candidate far outstrips one's interest in public policy and governance. If this really is one's position after calm second-thought, I see no other way to describe it.

Of course, I live in Illinois. Dennis Kucinich could carry this state. I think my vote is less influential tan say, in Ohio.

And at leastMcCain isn't related to one of the last 28 years of presidential administrations....

Daddy Put In Bye-Bye Box

ITHACA, NY—"I'm going to be the big boy of the house until he gets back," said 5-year-old Ryan Lewis, whose daddy now resides in a cool underground fort.

Survivor

Gallup: Obama Retakes Lead Over Hillary
By Eric Kleefeld - March 22, 2008, 5:12PM

Today's Gallup tracking poll shows Barack Obama retaking the national lead over Hillary Clinton, after the Jeremiah Wright scandal had badly damaged his numbers and put him behind for nearly a week. Here are today's numbers, compared to yesterday:

Obama 48% (+3)Clinton 45% (-2)

It would appear that Obama's big speech on Tuesday, combined with the Bill Richardson endorsement, have gone a long way in fixing his poll numbers for now. But he still has yet to fully recover the six-point lead he had in Gallup a little over a week ago

Just Go!

Just go right now to Jesus' General ... it's been a great week for the General and he needs to be appreciated.

Dirty America Hater

From Sullivan:

"God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war. . . . And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it. And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place...[God will say:] And if you don't stop your reckless course, I'll rise up and break the backbone of your power."

Martin Luther King Jr, someone whom the Sean Hannitys and Bill O'Reillys of the time called a communist, and an associate of moral degenerates (a gay man, Bayard Rustin, with a criminal record for public sex and one of the great heroes of twentieth century American history). E.J. [Dionne]'s column today is one of the best he has ever written.

G212?

Beloved friend and Bass Player Mr JK mentioned the other day that 'GT12' does not trip off the tongue when spoken. I have always liked the look of the acronym and of course almost never have tried to 'say it'. But, trying not to be a typical white person, I have given his comment some thought ...

Perhaps, sonically speaking, G212 ( Gee Two Twelve) would work better. Either works from a shorthand/keyboard perspective. I don't think it looks as nice on the page though.

Your Thoughts?

Future Material For GT12's Musical Endeavors

Whitey Loves Barry

Know Hope

Pulling us back from the Precipice of Despair (and an HRC Presidency) ... Fox News!

A Fox News Poll shows:

The internals show only 17% of Democrats saying Obama shares Wright's ideas, along with 20% of independents and 36% of Republicans.

Fox also asked respondents whether they had doubts about Obama because of his association with Wright. The results: 35% Yes, 54% No, with the numbers standing at 26%-66% for Democrats, 27%-61% among independents, and 56%-33% with Republicans.

GT12 Starts It's Christmas List

I could use this in the morning when I'm not feeling so playful

Sweet Buddha, He's Not Just Old And Wrong, He's Stupid

5 years into it, the make-up and dynamics of our enemies in Iraq continues to elude The Republican Party and, worst of all, of the man the want to take over from the current morons.

Only a disgraceful ex-Democrat can help him ....

Black Guy Asks Nation For Change

CHICAGO—Some residents reported seeing the black guy waving wildly and quoting from the Bible, while others said they spotted him shouting about global warming.

Talk About Your Unintended Consequences

Draw me a Redface

A German fighter ace has just learned that one of his 28 wartime 'kills' was his favourite author.
Messerschmidt pilot Horst Rippert, 88, said he would have held his fire if he had known the man flying the Lightning fighter was renowned French novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
The fliers clashed in the skies over southern France in July 1944.

The Lighter Side

So True ....

The Dream Lives On (now with Video!)

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part -- through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk -- to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign -- to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. 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. I 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.

Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.

And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.

On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country -- a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, 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? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way.

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 -- by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In my first book, "Dreams From My Father," I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:

"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters ... And in that single note -- hope! -- I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories -- of survival, and freedom, and hope -- became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about ... memories that all people might study and
cherish -- and with which we could start to rebuild."

That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety -- the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. 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.

Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America -- to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through -- a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.
Legalized discrimination -- where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments -- meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families -- a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods -- parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement -- all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it -- those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations -- those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience -- as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor.

They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze -- a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns -- this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy -- particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction -- a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people -- that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances -- for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs -- to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives -- by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

Ironically, this quintessentially American -- and yes, conservative -- notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country -- a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen -- is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope -- the audacity to hope -- for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination -- and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past -- are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds -- by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle -- as we did in the OJ trial -- or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina -- or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. 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.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation -- the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today -- a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.

Kos Has Had Enough

I'm not a regular reader of 'The Daily Kos' for any of a number of reasons. Apparently the HRC set has 'gone on strike' complaining that her royal clintoness is being unfairly disparaged by the Reality-Based Community ...

The Kos of Daily Kos' response.

'I'm willing to stipulate that on the consultant front, there's likely not much difference between the Obama and Clinton campaigns (I don't know if it's true, but I assume it is). But on everything else, Clinton fails the test of the guiding principles of this site, and of my first book, "Crashing the Gate" ...

'It is Clinton, with no reasonable chance of victory, who is fomenting civil war in order to overturn the will of the Democratic electorate. 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.
'

'To reiterate, she cannot win without overturning the will of the national Democratic electorate and fomenting civil war, and she doesn't care.

'That's why she has earned my enmity and that of so many others. That's why she is bleeding super delegates. That's why she's even bleeding her own caucus delegates ... That's why Keith Olbermann finally broke his neutrality. That's why Nancy Pelosi essentially cast her lot with Obama. That's why Democrats outside of the Beltway are hoping for the unifying Obama at the top of the ticket, and not a Clinton so divisive, she is actually working to split her own party.

'Meanwhile, Clinton and her shrinking band of paranoid holdouts wail and scream about all those evil people who have "turned" on Clinton and are no longer "honest power brokers" or "respectable voices" or whatnot, wearing blinders to reality, talking about silly little "strikes" when in reality, Clinton is planning a far more drastic, destructive and dehabilitating civil war.

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.

HRC is not simply committed to divisiness, it is her raison detre'.

Sure She's A Fighter. Like the person who only has a Hammer and therefore sees everything as a nail, she has only her her Republican Bred Sense of Entitlement and sees everything and everyone as an enemy combatant.

Not Better Than Bush.

It's Not Where You Got It, It's What You Do With It

Re: Jeremiah Wright:

"If there's a single theme to Obama's intellectual achievements, it's been his ability to sieze upon powerful words and themes, lifting them out of their original context and reframing them to be inclusive and uplifting. Thus, Rev. Wright's fiery sermon on "The Audacity to Hope" in a racialized world becomes the title of Obama's serene meditation on the possibilities of transcending political and racial polarization. That seems to hold true more broadly. It's how Obama is able to credit the honorable motives of his opponents even as he disagrees with them. It's how Obama took the best of what Reverend Wright had to offer - community, inspiration, rebukes for his congregation's shortcomings - and set aside the anger and divisiveness that seemed to him relics of an earlier time," - TPM blogger, Fly.

The "Audacity of Hope" Sermon is here. It ends with certainly the best that Christianity has to offer:

There's a true-life illustration that demonstrates the principles portrayed so powerfully in this periscope. And I close with it. My mom and my dad used to sing a song that I've not been able to find in any of the published hymnals. It's an old song out of the black religious tradition called "Thank you, Jesus." It's a very simple song. Some of you have heard it. It's simply goes, "Thank you Jesus. I thank you Jesus. I thank you Jesus. I thank you Lord." To me they always sang that song at the strangest times—when the money got low, or when the food was running out. When I was getting in trouble, they would start singing that song. And I never understood it, because as a child it seemed to me they were thanking God that we didn't have any money, or thanking God that we had no food, or thanking God that I was making a fool out of myself as a kid.Conclusion: Hope is What Saves Us

But I was only looking at the horizontal level. I did not understand nor could I see back then the vertical hookup that my mother and my father had. I did not know then that they were thanking him in advance for all they dared to hope he would do one day to their son, in their son, and through their son. That's why they prayed. That's why they hoped. That's why they kept on praying with no visible sign on the horizon. And I thank God I had praying parents, because now some thirty-five years later, when I look at what God has done in my life, I understand clearly why Hannah had the audacity to hope. Why my parents had the audacity to hope.

And that's why I say to you, hope is what saves us. Keep on hoping; keep on praying. God does hear and answer prayer.

"I will not allow us to lose this moment"

Obama in Indiana yesterday

I just want to say to everybody here that as somebody who was born into a diverse family, as somebody who has little pieces of America all in me, I will not allow us to lose this moment, where we cannot forget about our past and not ignore the very real forces of racial inequality and gender inequality and the other things that divide us. I don’t want us to forget them. We have to acknowledge them and lift them up and when people say things like my former pastor said, you know, you have to speak out forcefully against them.

But what you also have to do is remember what Bobby Kennedy said. That it is within our power to join together to truly make a United States of America. And that we have to do not just so that our children live in a more peaceful country and a more peaceful world, but that is the only way that we are going to deliver on the big issues that we’re facing in this country. We can’t solve health care divided. We cannot create an economy that works for everybody divided. We can’t fight terrorism divided. We can’t care for our veterans divided. We have to come together. That’s what this campaign is about. That’s why you are here. That’s why we’re going to win this election. That’s how we’re going to change the country.

Catching Up - Hope Edition

Tax Time is taxing ... and so I am behind in my correspondence in all spheres. Sorry.

The whole Ferraro and Wright Broohaha's have come and gone (maybe) and in the end we know that irrational white resentment has finally made it to the headlines. Better now than later if we can put it to rest.

How do things look?

Obama just got 9 more delegates out of Iowa than we thought he got:

Chuck Todd:

"The Clinton and Obama campaigns just got done fighting over Iowa... again! The state's 99 county Democratic parties held conventions today and the two campaigns were actively fighting to gain even more pledged delegates. At stake: the 14 pledged delegates John Edwards earned during the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses."

"Tonight, the Obama campaign claimed a gain of 7 pledged delegates, added to the 16 they earned on Jan. 3. Obama's manager, David Plouffe, also said their math had Clinton actually losing one of her 15 delegates that she garnered on Jan. 3. BTW, if the 7 number is accurate, it would be two short of what Clinton netted out of Ohio."

The Clinton campaign disputes losing any delegates but admits Obama gained.

Update: Todd notes revised numbers today: Obama +9, Clinton -1

Obama leads in states won, delegates won and votes cast. Bloomberg reports this week:

Sen. Barack Obama has pulled "almost even" with Sen. 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," Bloomberg notes."

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."

If Obama maintains his current 150 lead in pledged delegates through the end of the primary season, Clinton "would have to snag more than 70 percent of the remaining 334 or so superdelegates."

A few days ago we read this:

"Having mastered the art of town-hall meetings on the campaign trail," Sen. Hillary Clinton "is now holding them in a more comfortable setting: her living room," according to the Washington Post.

"The real mission of the evening was to court lawmakers -- who are also superdelegates in the party's nominating process -- especially those from some of the biggest states."

But then today the New York Times reports:

“If we get to the end and Senator Obama has won more states, has more delegates and more popular vote,” said Representative Jason Altmire, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who is undecided, “I would need some sort of rationale for why at that point any superdelegate would go the other way, seeing that the people have spoken.”

Mr. Altmire said he was repeating an argument that he made to Mrs. Clinton during a session at her house in Washington on Thursday night with uncommitted superdelegates.

Bill Clinton's Impeachment Lawyer said this about HRC's Ready-On-Day-One-ness:

"She did not sit in on national security meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the situation room. She conducted no negotiations. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy."

-- Former Clinton White House aide Greg Craig, in an interview with
the National Journal, adding that Sen Hillary Clinton has "in serious ways overstated, if not grossly exaggerated, the nature of her experience."

Nancy Pelosi said this:

"If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what's happened in the elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic party."-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quoted by the Associated Press, in a "declaration that gives a boost to Sen. Barack Obama."

Larry David said this.

"A few weeks ago, I started to feel sorry for her. Oh Christ, let her win already...Who cares...It's not worth it. There's not that much difference between them. She can have it. Anything to avoid watching her descend into madness. So I switched. I started rooting for her. It wasn't that hard. Compromise comes easy to me. I was on board.

And then I saw the ad.

I watched, transfixed, as she took the 3 a.m. call...and I was afraid...very afraid. Suddenly, I realized the last thing this country needs is that woman anywhere near a phone. I don't care if it's 3 a.m. or 10 p.m. or any other time. I don't want her talking to Putin, I don't want her talking to Kim Jong Il, I don't want her talking to my nephew. She needs a long rest. She needs to put on a sarong and some sun block and get away from things for a while, a nice beach somewhere -- somewhere far away, where there are...no phones,"

- Larry David, HuffPuff. His audio is great.

I learned about the Clinton's undeserved loyalty from Gays (Alex! Lissen-Up!) Via Sullivan. I am sickened and ashamed ...

Many readers expressed disbelief at my claim that the Clintons ran anti-gay ads on Christian radio stations in 1996. Did I have proof? Actually, John Aravosis recently provided a very extensive round-up of what happened back then. It's all true. Here's an excerpt from a Log Cabin briefing at the time:

In an article in today's Washington Times, entitled "For Christian Radio, Clinton Changes Tune on Gays, Abortion," it was reported that the Clinton-Gore campaign "shrugged off" angry calls to shelve the radio ad. The article cited reports from gay and lesbian groups that the campaign might delete the portion of the ad which boasts of Clinton signing the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but "Clinton campaign spokesman Joe Lockhart said there are no plans to alter the radio ads, which will run for 'a few more days.'"

After boasting about Clinton signing the anti-gay DOMA, the ad concludes with the line: "President Clinton has fought for our values and America is better for it."

John also notes that Bill Clinton advised John Kerry to triangulate against gays in 2004. Kerry refused.

But the Clintons have used gays in two ways since their careers began:Continue
reading "The Clintons And The Gays, Ctd." »

About Farrakhan and HRC's current demand for Renouncing, Denouncing, Rejecting and Ejecting :

In a May 2005 interview with the black weekly newspaper the New York Amsterdam News, the former president said that he supported the efforts of Louis Farrakhan and the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to organize a Million More March in the nation's capital that fall...

"Jesse [Jackson], and Mr. [Louis] Farrakhan and Rev. [Al] Sharpton probably have internal domestic political differences," Clinton is quoted as saying, "but they've agreed on this, and I think it's a good thing." ...

Post-White House Clinton found no fault with Farrakhan's leadership. There was no mention of Farrakhan's "malice and division" during the interview.

HRC: CEOh No!

“She hasn’t managed anything as complex as this before; that’s the problem with senators,” said James A. Thurber, a professor of government at American University who is an expert on presidential management. “She wasn’t as decisive as she should have been. And it’s a legitimate question to ask: Under great pressure from two different factions, can she make some hard decisions and move ahead? It seems to just fester. She doesn’t seem to know how to stop it or want to stop it.”

More Clintons and The Gays (via Sullivan)

At a cocktail party this weekend I was talking to a friend and his boyfriend - both are rabid Clintonites - and I'm asking questions like Why did she attack Rick Lazio for not releasing his taxes, yet now she is doing the same? Why did Bill refuse to release his medical records when he ran even though Dole did, is this a pattern with them? If she takes credit for Bill's presidency then shouldn't she be tarred with DOMA?

And listening to his defense I realized what it reminded me of. It wasn't the defense of a politician whom he admired, he sounded like somebody 40 years older defending Judy Garland or Liza Minelli: "Oh, life has been so cruel to them, but didn't they come through it with fire and glamour?!".

Why Jeremiah Wright now Matters:

"Everyone's been looking for a way in. It's just been thin gruel beyond a certain point," - a news editor on the desperate attempt to find some newsworthy dirt on Obama.

And How Wright might help:

Given that some public opinion polls say that as much as 13 percent of the electorate still thinks Barack Obama is a Muslim, the more focus on his Christian pastor the more that smear gets permanently erased.

And, Finally, The limitless disregard for rationality in the Clinton Campaign:

Tim, you run against uncommitted, that's the toughest election to win. I'd rather run against an opponent anytime than against uncommitted, and Hillary Clinton got 55 percent of the vote against uncommitted. - PA Gov and HRC supporter Ed Rendell

Blow Hole Blow Out

Tucker Carlson And John Gibson both cancelled in the same Week

Let's remember the Tucker this way:


And here's the type of fine Humanity that Gibson brought to his show:


Keith Reacts (GT12 makes no claims toward being fair and balanced)


It is a good week for America

HRC Joins Bush Administration

As Keith BringsThe Dems Into A Special Comment

"This, Senator Clinton, is your campaign, and it is your name. Grab the reins back from whoever has led you to this precipice, before it is too late. Voluntarily or inadvertently, you are still awash in this filth. Your only reaction has been to disagree, reject, and to call it regrettable. Her only reaction has been to brand herself as the victim, resign from your committee, and insist she will continue to speak. Unless you say something definitive, Senator, the former Congresswoman is speaking with your approval. You must remedy this. And you must… reject… and denounce… Geraldine Ferraro," - Keith Olbermann