I Can't Go On Reading From The Muckety-Mucks

I can't read or blog about any more Clinton postmortems. And there's a ton of them today. Before I started blogging, if a columnist was a wanker, I just stopped reading their drivel. Now I feel an obligation to ingest the nonsense of the Versailles Villagers just to write about what's wrong about them.

I got as far as Broder's third paragraph before I realized I had been sucked in by the old codger, telling me that he too is weary of the Klinton Kabuki. The Crown Prince of comity and enforcer of decorum among the Village Elders is sporting a woody for 10, no-holds-barred free-for-all Town Hall style debates between McCain and Obama because they will somehow by-pass and undermine the "muckety-mucks" (his words, not mine) who rule the Potomac Courtiers without even a hint that he's aware just how Teh Suck his boy McSame does in traditional debates, and that there's no way, no how John "Ace" doesn't completely melt down in a spittle-flecked rage in at least one of them -- probably more. Moreover, the lack of self-awareness, that Broder himself is one of those despicable "muckety-mucks," enough is enough.

So don't read Broder. Your day will be just that more pleasant for it. And don't even have the stupidity of reading Maureen Dowd taking delight in Hillary's defeat either, reveling in the idea that she lost because she's too good. No really. Hillary is so good at acting, according to the Village's Queen of Mean, that she takes on too many roles, some of which are inconsistent. Thus those of us in "fly-over country" get confused, and really -- everything Hillary did was wrong, especially listening to Mark Penn.

Glutton for punishment that I am, I read Mark Penn's post-postmortem as well. Dumb move. Don't do it. The stupid burns, true. But Hillary's pet buffoon mixes stupid with strawmen scapegoating, failure to take any responsibility whatsoever, and blames (of all things) a lack of funding and not the strategy and resource allocation he himself was so exorbitantly paid to screw up, This microtrend polling expert mentions caucuses, but glosses it over, talking about Hillary winning the high turnout primaries but losing low turnout caucuses without noticing that he could poll the primary states easier than the caucus states and therefor probably gave her more accurate intelligence there but likewise passed on his ignorance about the caucus states, yet packaged it as information.

You get the feeling Penn wasn't writing an honest opinion piece designed to actually explore any real reason Obama won and Hillary lost. When one of the campaign's largest creditors blames her lost on not raising enough money, when she raised more money than anyone ever has before (except Obama), I think he just wants to get paid and is sending the message to any future clients that if you want to win, you better raise an exorbitant amount-- and give it to him. Nice work if you can get it, Mark (until you're exposed as the fraud you are,)

There are a bunch more Villagers weighing in on Hillary's last days as presidential candidate (this cycle), but I can't go on. Each one so far was worse that the one before. That and I'm certain my brain is being eaten alive by all the insipidities on display.

HEY HILLARY

Ya done good, darlin'.

You don't mind me calling you darlin', do you? It's a sincere term of affection. I still love ya. Like a lot of family members that sometime tick me off, we've had our moments. But you're still family. We're still on the same team.

Now let's go kick some GOP ass!

Because It Is Not Just About Winning

Gasping for breath that never comes, Hillary supporters argue for inclusion on the "Unity Ticket" that she is somehow entitled or deserves the VP slot (no sense of irony there). [Via the Usual Suspect, speaking only for himself -- and with comments closed speaking only TO himself as well.]

Have you people not been paying attention? Leaving aside the debatable notion that bringing aboard the Cleingons (both of them) does anything for to make Obama more electable or less vulnerable to the viciousness of the GOP attack squad beyond mollifying some of the inconsolable WATB reacting so spitefully to Obama's win in a pique of passive-aggressive martyrdom that would make Joan of Arc blush -- Bill Clinton is out of control and uncontrollable.

Moreover, and this is especially true for progressives. The Clinton's triangulating centrism, DLP insired Republican-Lite style is a giant step backwards at a time when we need to leap in a whole new direction.

As was true last year, even more so today: nobody unites the fractured GOP machine better than Hillary and Bill Clinton. If one Clinton is presiding over the Senate, and the other is set loose to find his own trouble amongst the Potomac Village courtiers, Obama will be lucky to get his first hundred hours of a honeymoon, let alone 100 days; and the usual 18 month legislative window before the opposition gears up its obstructionist tactics in anticipation of a rollback of the Democratic Party's projected gains this cycled will be virtually eliminated as the conservative movement's perpetual campaign united around the single battle cry of ridding the Nation's Capital of the Clintonian virus.

Obama will be a mere bystander to the tabloid spectacle, spending more time putting out fires instead of igniting the country's imagination for a new future. Hillary Clinton as Obama's Vice Presidential pick will be a clear signal that business-as-usual is still the watchword of the powerful and elite, and that he cares more about political expediency than charting a new course, breaking forever with the dismal past of the last 3 decades where a Bush or a Clinton was on the Presidential ballot one way or another.

Enough of them.

Hillary, We Are Just Not That In To You

The weak Puerto Rico turn-out disappointed Hillary shills, (despite the shrieking) and completely undermined her specious argument that as long as you don't count caucuses and all the people in Michigan who showed up to vote against her she just squeaked out a popular vote "win." Now if she could get 90% of the outstanding superdelegates ... Feh! These people are nutz.

When's the last time you recall a presidential candidate, and her whole family, campaigning in Puerto Rico? Ever? And not just a pit stop but sticking it out with the beach-combers and sun worshipers for over a week. A territory that is the definition of voting for something that doesn't count since they have zero say in the general election.

I seem to remember something Hillary said about Michigan not counting and now her folks are upset that she didn't get all the delegates there. But they are trumpeting a win in Puerto Rico when only about a third of the voters they expected gave a damn. And after all that, Puerto Rico didn't show up.

When Hillary Clinton’s argument to the superdelegates comes down to bragging about a victor in Puerto Rico, you know her campaign is really over.

I know I'm supposed to be a grown-up about all this and make it easy for the Clinton supporters to save face and bring everybody together. But see, I was never really an Obama supporter per se. But long ago I resisted the urge to continue to undermine the probable, and now presumptive Democratic nominee, even when it looked like Hillary had as good a shot as Barack. There are bigger fish to fry, namely: the eradication of conservative domination of -- nay, even participation in American politics.

I really don't give a rats ass about alleged Democrats who would even suggest they would vote for John McCain or would sit out or vote independent come November because they feel slighted or robbed due to Hillary Clinton's failed run for President. If you're that shallow, that much of an ingrate narcissist, I really don't have much to say to you.

If you're still fighting against Obama, you're fighting the wrong guy, you're on the wrong side. If you're still following Hillary, you're not following a leader, but a loser. John Aravosis lays out the reality, and if you can't handle the reality you need medicated.

We started with half the country hating Hillary, and now she's managed to add half the Democratic party to the "hate Hillary club" as well. So, while Hillary definitely knows a thing or two about unpopularity, maybe she should clean up her own house before attacking others and doing John McCain's dirty work.

I feel no need to be magnanimous to the "other side." As far as I'm concerned I'm the other side too. I got over it. My guy didn't have what it took to get the nomination either. Neither Barack Obama nor his supporters made any grand overtures to me. Nobody needed to kiss my ass.

But I know where my loyalties lie, and more importantly where they don't. I never felt the evident sense of entitlement I'm seeing from some in Camp Clinton. Why on earth must special dispensation be made to Hillary's constituency. You're either supporting the nominee, and that means you're for Barack Obama, or you're worse than any Republican. You're a two-faced, traitorous, small-minded, selfish cry-baby with no rationality.

See, I don't think I need to "get" anything. It the Clinton supporters weren't bitching (yeah, I said it) about four meaningless delegates being "hijacked" from a meaningless beauty contest, they'd be whining about something else just as stupid. While it might be worth it to make them shut up, it probably wouldn't be enough to do the trick. It's more a commentary on how ridiculous the Clintonistas act and how pathetic they sound than any desire that justice be done on my part. There was never any way to fairly fix an unfair contest, and that's what Michigan was.

This thing is over. Get in line or get out of the way. From what I've seen in the way the Clinton campaign has comported themselves it's a very good thing she lost, and we may have dodged a bullet by not letting Bill near the White House again.

Glad That Is Over

Not the silly Democratic Primary thingy. I'm talking about the Detroit Piston's season. Now I can devote my time to more important issues, like Cleveland Indian's Baseball.

Even more important, I can take that Piston's logo off my blog. It was starting to stink up the joint.

PLAY BALL!

(Sorry Ara, but it was a stupid bet, really. It ended up that we both lost.)

So, it looks like the last remaining puff of wind has gone out of the Clinton's sails. Barack Obama has taken over control of the Democratic Party. If Hillary and Harold Yechy want to take this to the convention, they still lose. It's just a matter of whether she wants to try and bring the rest of the party down with her.

Can't see that happening. If she doesn't begin the healing process now, right now, she will destroy whatever is left of her reputation. Let's just say that my previous admiration for her has been diminished, but is not beyond repair -- yet.

For the record, I can see their point about losing four delegates in Michigan not being "fair." But nothing was ever going to be "fair" when you try to count votes that weren't supposed to count. You can talk about rules and the importance of counting votes all you want. Rules are rules, you don't change rules, cheating, blah, blah, blah ... it's called compromise folks.

The thing that sticks with me was that Hillary did not behave honorably about this from the start. The day the deadline to remove her name from the Michigan ballot came and went, I knew she was gaming the system. We all did. They have a name for selecting a leader when only one candidate is on the ballot and/or there's no competitive campaigning, but that word is not election. Everything that came after was political theater, and I for one have had enough of that kind of staged point-counterpoint display.

So it's over. She'll be looking up the word graceful to make her departure seem like all is well in Democrat-ville. Unity will be the watchword for the summer.

Unity and bitter. There will be those who will never let go of Obama's church problems, even though he let go of the church. And some alleged progressives and/or Democrats will never, ever let go of the dream of Hillary in the White House and will chant "we was robbed" to the grave.

Is This RBC Thing For Real?

Are we really talking about a net difference in Michigan Delegates for Hillary of about 20 or so warm bodies?

I'm seeing Hillary supporters agreeing to a 73-55 split of the delegation vs a 50%-50% solution. By my abacus this still won't give Hillary enough as long as uncommitted delegates are slated by camp Obama -- which seems to be the way they are doing things.

Give. Me. A. Break.

We end this damn argument the same way I ague with my wife. We give her what she wants so she'll shut up. And Hillary really needs to shut up.

I miss the smoke filled room. Make mine a Romeo y Julieta.

Why Yes, Yes I Will

HuffPosts Seth Colter Walls interviews some of the organizers of the Hillary Clinton supporters planning to demonstrate outside the hotel where the DNC Rules and Bylaws committee is set to meet and address what the hell to do about Michigan and Florida.

"You're not going to write that we're a bunch of hysterical women trying to create havoc, are you?"

CRY HAVOC! And Unleash The Hounds Of Protesters Pressuring Obscure Parliamentary Procedure Committee Meetings!!!

Why I Can't Wait Until Hillary Concedes

Because I'd like to be able to read good stuff from bloggers like Taylor Marsh and the folks at Corrente Wire again without feeling like I'm reading a Terry McAuliff version of pre-epiphany Scott-Bot McClellertron's rantings.

Sadly, although it took a bombshell of a story like Scott McClellan's mea culpa to break through the all-Hillary, all-the-time programing at some of the Clintonista blogs, there still is no sign of intelligent life at the Talk Left Kool-Aide stand. It's a Hillary 527 in everything but the paperwork.

Gender And Race Bias Are Not Created Equal

At least not if you put together all the recent polls regarding race "being a factor" in the Democratic Primary and Loyola Marymount's study of women's underrepresentation in public office reported by Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post revealing an "ambition gap" as opposed to any overt preference by the electorate favoring men over women.

This actually challenges some of my own preconceived notions, and blows much of what Bill Clinton has said lately about why Hillary hasn't dominated the race for the Democratic nomination right out of the water.

"Somewhat surprisingly," write political scientists Jennifer Lawless of Brown University and Richard Fox of Loyola Marymount,
women's underrepresentation "is not because of discrimination against
women candidates. In fact, women perform as well as men when they do
run for office. In terms of fundraising and vote totals, the consensus
among researchers is the complete absence of overt gender bias."

If you're a Hillary supporter, or just a supporter of women's rights in general, this is both good and bad news. Good in that, "You've come a long way, baby." Bad in that pointing the finger at me and claiming I'm sexist for saying it really, loses it's sting.

Hillary's RFK Brain Fart

No doubt Senator Clinton is sorry for invoking the tragic memory of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination as a reason to stay in the race. No doubt she was not thinking like some Wise Guys making a not so subtle threat. That's not what happened.

Senator Clinton said she had been attempting to point out that previous campaigns had also continued into June.

Democrat Robert Kennedy was running for his party's presidential nomination when he was shot dead in June 1968.

A spokesman for rival Democrat hopeful, Barack Obama said Mrs Clinton's comment "has no place in this campaign".

She was not making Obama on offer he can't refuse. Not really.

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June... We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."

Observers say the remarks could be damaging if people were to interpret them as an indication that Mrs Clinton believes the assassination of her rival would benefit her campaign.

Throughout this campaign, the memories of JFK, RFK and MLK have been invoked to describe the inspiration and agendas of Barack Obama and John Edwards, but not Hillary Clinton. Maybe she was feeling left out.

Unfortunately, Hillary did not talk about Robert Kennedy today as an icon of the progressive movement, a man whose leadership stands as a cornerstone of what it means to be a Democrat to a generation. She spoke of him as just another politician doing what it takes to win, and she didn't even get that right.

Here's a hint. Don't use seminal historical figures to justify your hacktakularness. Say that you want to be like them, not that your sorry-ass behavior wasn't anything worse than they did -- unless of course you're a Republican making your own icons look bad by association with you.

Just leave our heroes alone.

Dream Ticket Bandwagon

It looks like MyDD's Todd Beeton has gotten on board the Kum-By-Yah '08 bus tour for the Obama/Clinton Dream Ticket. There's a lot of rethinking going on right now, at least among the saner parts of the reality based community.

Mind you, signals couldn't be more mixed right now with Clinton insisting that that the reports of her asking for, and Obama refusing her the VP slot, are unfounded, but still being reported on as accurate rumors -- because for all we know there might actually be rumors out there (ya think?) which may or may not make some self-important whiny-assed cry babies act more mature? so they stop their incessant Obama bashing, (or Clinton bashing). (HT: S.No!)

You almost have to ask yourself the question: Is it better to have Hillary's supporters out there doing McCain/Lieberman '08's job for them, questioning the very legitimacy of Obama's all but sure nomination from now until 2012? Or, despite going out of her way to just piss everybody off, and as much as it would suck to give in to what amounts to blackmail due to the poisoned atmosphere, should we learn to live with Hillary on the ticket just to avoid fighting this thing on two fronts?

Frankly, even if Hillary whole-heartedly supports and campaigns for Barack, many of her die-hards will never give it up unless they get what they think they deserve. I just can't help thinking that all this would have been just that more easier on my developing ulcer had Hillary's name been Bill and (s)he had been running against some nice Irish guy named Barry O'Banyon.

Wet Panties Department Store ... ies

Pammy Atlas, always good for a laugh to those of us who enjoy making fun of Kool Aide drinking, mentally deranged wingnuts, is so "freaking terrified of Obamanation nomination," she has implored "all decent Democrats to come to their senses," and either overturn the results of all the primaries to date and nominate Hillary Clinton, some how, some way -- or follow Hillary in a third party bid for the Presidency.

If Hillary Clinton loses the Democratic nomination, she should abandon
the Democrats as the party of appeasement and defeat, and make a
third-party run for the White House. She owes it to herself and her
country to seriously consider this option. Her party could be truly
progressive in the best sense of the term--a voice for the middle class
and the working poor, a party rooted in traditional Democratic values,
including a strong stand on defense and security.

Leaving aside the fact that this swooning neocon harpie was not to long ago smearing Senator Clinton as a lesbian with a muslim girlfriend, (and in Pammy's world, there is no greater sin than being a muslim, unless you are a mulim-o-nazi appeaser), I really have to ask: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?

Convinced as she is that Barack Obama is a super-secret Islamic stealth weapon of mass deception, the next 4 to 8 years of President Obama's terms in office should provide endless entertainment as goof-balls like this nut case completely melt down.

Hey Pam, Sweety! Next time the Democrats need some advice, uh ... don't call us, we'll call you.

Don't Sweat It, uh ... Sweetie?

Avendon reminded me of one of the Raisons d'Entre for the continuation of Hillary Clinton's campaign:

"I think she's running all the bases," I said. "She's the first woman in history to win a state primary, and she's won a lot more. She's running pretty close to the front-runner. It's a major historic moment." And the more I think about it, the more I think it has to be part of what's driving her. There's a bit of climbing the mountain because it's there, and wanting to be able to stand up in the end and say something like, "Never let it be said that a woman can't go the distance." It doesn't matter if someone else breaks the tape, just as long as she finishes the race. (And think how she'd feel if something did happen before Denver to tank Obama and she hadn't.) I've been unhappy with a lot of things about Hillary, but there's a part of me that kind of admires that. Because she wouldn't just be doing that for herself - she's doing it for every little girl who was ever told she can't.

Now that reminded me of something awkwardly pointed out by her husband -- Barack Obama wasn't the first black man to win a State's presidential primary; and this historical situation was elaborated upon by an even blunter instrument in the form of Chris Matthews -- black men we granted the vote via the 15th Amendment fully 50 years before women were enfranchised via the 19th Amendment.

From an historical perspective, Hillary has already accomplished more politically than any woman before her. There will be more, a lot more who follow the trail she's blazed. Obama has done more than any black man who came before him, but only marginally unless and until he accepts the nomination at the Democratic Convention. At that point, it can be said that both reached threshholds of truly historic proportions.

And that's saying something folks.

And we're going to do a lot better than that with the assclowns the GOP has put up for the sacrifice.

Sweet Jesus I Hate Bob Novak

If you ever had a doubt that Kool-aide Drinking Hillary Supporter Armando (Big Tent Democrat) has completely sold his soul to the dark side, his jumping all over a bit of the usual unsourced gossip by Novakula should relieve you of such wishful thinking.

"Close-in supporters of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama."

Please explain to me what retard inside Camp Obama is giving Bob Novak the time of day.

One thing we know, it ain't Michelle.

"My wife does not talk to Bob Novak on a regular basis," Obama told the reporters gathered around him, who included The Times' Robin Abcarian.

Does the very idea of how ludicrous is would be for any prominent Democrat to confide in a Wingnut propagandist like the CIA agent-outing Novak even begin to penetrate the walking, typing talking-point Open Left has become?

Uhh, nope:

... petty nonsense ... Obama will lose in November ... [blah, blah ... blah] ... juvenile ... heartily disgusted ...

And of course, [speaking only for him and the horse he rode in on], in the typical method most of right wing Blogistan has adopted, he once again closes his post with the epithet, "Comments closed."

Aren't ya glad this guy's on our side fellow liberals.

Fat Lady Dress Rehearsal Report

Clinton vows to stay in race "until there's a nominee."

Which apparently will be in about two weeks.

"Not long after the polls close in the May 20 Kentucky and Oregon primaries, Barack Obama plans to declare victory in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"And, until at least May 31 and perhaps longer, Hillary Clinton’s campaign plans to dispute it.

"It’s a train wreck waiting to happen, with one candidate claiming to be the nominee while the other vigorously denies it, all predicated on an argument over what exactly constitutes the finish line of the primary race."

Democracy is a great thing, and generally that's that's what we participate in when selecting a nominee for a major political party. However, by now even those who didn't pay attention to your social studies teachers understand that the primaries are only an exercise in representative democracy in a pro forma way.

What with "Super Delegates," rules made and broken behind closed doors, campaign finance laws thwarted, "street money," and the inordinate influence of the corporate media, you can't miss the fact that there's a lot more afoot than simply one-person, one-vote.

And that's okay. It's all good because it all moves towards something more important that which candidate "wins." It builds a consensus.

As in most things in America, it starts and ends with money. It takes millions to even get a foothold in the early primary states, and the first major contest that the media reports on is months before any straw polls are taken. The end of the first quarter financial reporting deadline is examined with a fine tooth comb -- even to the point of documenting just how much a candidate spends on combing his or her hair -- much to John Edwards chagrin.

Until we found out about $400 hair cuts, we also assumed that Hillary Clinton had an enormous if not insurmountable advantage in cash, especially since she was able to transfer millions from her Senate campaign to her presidential run. But when the numbers came out the narrative changed when Obama proved what a formidable fund-raiser he was.

The chattering class chattered, the donors took note, the Clinton machine was vulnerable! At this point many of the super delegates who weren't with Hillary from the start froze and we all watched the back and forth as momentum built for Obama. He won Iowa, Hillary a distant third, and the chattering class chattered about momentum and polls that would crown a new inevitability in New Hampshire.

And they were wrong, and they were burned, and the supers remained frozen, and the battle was on because the people hadn't made up their minds. Burned once, the media discounted Obama's huge South Carolina win. Looking for trends, examining demographics in exit polls for an explanation, not trusting conventional or unconventional wisdom and astonished at how evenly matched the talking heads sounded to each other when they talked to themselves, they froze.

The supers hid, the money flowed, and after Tsunami Tuesday, with only a slight lead in states won and delegates awarded, nobody was ready to come close to declaring an advantage even though half the nation had spoken. By then both Obama and McCain had only won two more states than their second-place rivals. But where Obama only edged Clinton out by 12 delegates that day, McCain claimed 401 more delegates in a Party that only has about half as many at stake as the Democrats select via popular vote. (Oh yeah, they have super delegates too.)

Then as now, with Obama's win-streak prior to their tie in Texas and Hillary's win in Ohio -- a win big enough to freeze the narrative once again about anything being "clear" although even then Obama's lead was formidable enough that we knew she needed a miracle -- there was no consensus among Democrats who we would (or should) get behind.

"Winning" the primaries does not equate to a winning candidate in the fall. A united party is what it takes. If it were simply just about winning and not building a consensus, conventions would still be free-for-alls and not marketing devices. Stage one was the media declaring a victor, giving the supers cover upon coming out even if deciding against the indications of their own constituents.

Now, with more undeclared super delegates than pledged delegates at stake in the coming weeks, the dog and pony shows staged for the benefit of us riff-raff who's only power is our vote, is over. The democratic nomination now lies in the hands of those who always controlled things -- the media (who made up their minds as soon as their Grand Poobah Tim Russert declared Obama a winner), the politicians and the big money folks who are as influential as ever.

The party leaders' new roll, including all of the winning and losing candidates, is to form a narrative that will rally us around the winner and bring the losers back into the fold, to wean the media off the horse-race coverage to a more thematic story before they go back to covering this fall's horse race.

For the rest of us, much as you may hate the process that is so far removed from what they taught you about in grammar school, opting out is not an option.

[You can read more of Mark Adams' work at his blog, Dispassionate Liberal]

TIME Shocks With Hillary Epitaph

Karen Tumulty at TIME documents five mistakes Clinton made, and the blogs are abuzz with the incomprehensible lack of a basic understanding of the system by the campaign's favorite scape-goat, Mark Penn.

Naturally, anyone who is paid millions of dollars as a chief campaign adviser should know a thing or two about how this whole nomination thingy works. For instance, you'd think it would just be expected Mark Penn knew about proportional delegate allocation and that unlike the Republicans, Democrats don't have winner-take-all contests.

You'd think, but you'd be wrong. And Hillary was wrong to ever rely on him, let alone put his ugly puss in front of a TV camera.

Atrios has a hard time believing it. Armando, speaking only for himself, is cheered by the "utter demise" of Mark Penn's political career.

"Astonishing," Obsidian Wings

"Amazing," Tapped

"What a Pennhead," Talking Points Memo

"Anything is possible," TPM Election Central

Ironically, despite the smaryness of the traditional practice of the magnanimous winner paying off the debts of a gracious loser in these things, Mark Penn will probably be paid by the candidate for whom his indispensable advice was most helpful -- Barack Obama.

I Take It Back, She Is Done

The Tea Leaves?

NBC News reported the New York senator had cancelled morning television appearance and all public appearances on Wednesday.

The night before John Edwards called it quits he was still making speeches and rallying the troops, the volunteers were still working hard at assigned tasked and most of the campaign staff didn't have a clue that the sudden unexplained cancellation of the event scheduled for the next day should have told us the jig was up.

Now she's gone back to Washington to meet with Super Delegates and the party leadership where, like well meaning heads of the family will chart out the future for their chosen Golden Child and figure out how to help Barack Obama become the next President of the United States of American and end our long NeoCon nightmare (Thank whatever diety you may or may not honor).

The New York senator was upbeat but conciliatory Tuesday as she addressed supporters in Indianapolis.

"I can assure you, as I have said on many occasions, that no matter what happens, I will work for the nominee of the Democratic Party, because we must win in November," she said, even while vowing to continue the race.

Obama celebrated his North Carolina victory by sounding like an eventual nominee.

"Tonight," Obama said, "many of the pundits have suggested that this party is inalterably divided; that Senator Clinton's supporters will not support me, and that my supporters will not support her. Well, I'm here tonight to tell you that I don't believe it."

She's thrown everything she had at Obama, and he's stronger for it. She doesn't have anything left, and no money to do any more damage. For all that, she ends up the evening losing North Carolina and tying Indiana, a net loser in both delegates and popular votes in two big States that were really her last hope.

After Pennsylvania, the narrative coming from Camp Clinton was why can't he close the deal. Now, the reality is nothing, not even a "nuclear option" can stop him.

Hillary Gracious, But Not Done ... Quite

There's something pathological about someone who will sit through yet another set of post election speeches this season. Just call me loony.

Tonight Hillary Clinton's tone was a tad more humble, a bit more like someone facing the inevitable than a candidate claiming a "game changing" victory. While vowing to go on, knowing she got crushed in North Carolina (one of the "Big Swing States" for those paying attention) and as of the time of this writing her margin of "victory" in a State her buddy Evan Bayh was supposed to deliver in a big way is only 39,000 with over 200,000 votes left to be counted in Obama strongholds, I was left with the idea that this was a bow before the encore which will bring down the final curtain.

[Update 12:45 est, the margin is down to 16,000 votes, Clinton 51%, Obama 49% -- a tie]

She said they would fight for Florida and Michigan's delegations to be seated and fight on in the few States that are left. However, there was an fondness in the way she spoke of Bayh tonight that reminded me of the wistful way you say goodbye to a good friend after a long visit. Her genuine affection for her husband and especially her pride in their daughter, all spoke unconsciously that this long journey was nearing an end.

Most intriguing was her pledge to fight "for the Democratic nominee," an emphatic conciliatory gesture to camp Obama.

Unlike so many GOP tools, when Hillary tips at windmills like gimmicky tax holidays that will never pass and are terrible ideas, or even true Quixotic quests to fight on in a campaign that can't be won -- she really knows better. She's really too smart for some of the political posturing she's been up to lately, way better than that. When John "Ace" McSame says the economy or Iraq are just doing fine, and that all our problems will be solved if the Federal Government gives everyone a free tank of gas, what frightens me is that I really think he, like the current C+ Augustus in the White House, actually buys this crap.

If Hillary really believes some of the junk and pandering we've seen over the last couple of months she just ought to get it over with and run as an independent with Joe Lieberman and quit the Democratic Party. She's also smart enough to know that dumb and underinformed people vote too.

Here's the lowdown at this point:

1. Tonight Obama erased the effects of his defeat in Pennsylvania -- at least mathematically in the popular vote and delegate count.



2. Who's going to give her any more cash at this point? Ridiculous. Hillary's broke, millions in debt, and the chattering class at MSNBC are speculating that part of the wind-down to this will include Obama's campaign assuming some of her bills -- including Mark Penn and the Clintons themselves -- as well as seating Florida and Michigan "her way" now that they really don't matter.
   



3. There are now more Super Delegates up for grabs than pledged delegates to be elected in all the contests that are left, WV, KY, Puerto Rico (bigger than most think) etc. which look to be pick-ups for Hillary (he wins Oregon solidly) that still will not put her over Obama's lead -- the "real" campaign now moves behind closed doors.



4. She really lost Indiana tonight, a State that I picked long ago on Tsunami Tuesday to be delivered in a big way by Senator Bayh as her clincher and his ticket to the Vice Presidency. That's why I stick to post even analysis instead of prognostication. Winning the Bigot Vote in a Democratic primary -- when those folks will never, ever, vote for the Democrat in the fall -- is no victory whatsoever.



5. Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos is in full force with hard-core Republicans voting in the Democratic primary.



6. While saying Indiana is still too close to call even after midnight, MSNBC'S big guns, Russert, Matthews, Todd all joined Olbermann calling the election itself, nationwide, for Obama. Once the chattering class who infect Versailles on the Potomac have made up their minds and line up to fight Johnny McSame, it's really all over. You know it, and so do the Super Delegates.

With all due respect to contrarian voices (Luv ya Rachel Maddow!), Hillary is really a nice, more gracious person than the candidate she plays in front of the cameras. At least I hope so or much like that sad filly on Sunday, she's going to cripple herself by running too hard to finish second in this race.

Boo Is Tired Of Being Sick Of Hillary

Booman Tribune ~ I Don't Want to Talk About the Clintons Anymore

In fact, most people aren't even pissed off by the Clintons' big-picture policies. They're pissed that they are running Nixon's campaign.

This could be one of the most concise anti-Clinton rants you'll read this hour.

Kinda epic. At least for those of us who remember Nixon's campaign.

Ode To Hillary

Grateful Dead | I Need A Miracle (Barlow, Weir)

I need a woman bout twice my age
A lady of nobility, gentility and rage
Splendor in the dark, lightning on the draw
Well go right through the book and break each and every law.

I got a feeling and it wont go away, oh no
Just one thing then Ill be ok
I need a miracle every day.

Is she making you nutz? After years of unpacking the garbage spewed by the Bush Administration, decrypting Hillareese is eerily familiar.

If you caught the Bush-like play for the low-information voters Sunday at the Town Hall she did with her other buddy named George, it should have made your Bush Derangement Syndrome kick into overdrive.

And that is what is most disturbing about how hard Hillary Clinton has latched onto this gas tax holiday that was originally an idea by Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain. It is embodied most perfectly in her quote delivered Sunday, “I’m not going to put my lot in with economists.”

Of course she wouldn’t; just about every economist I’ve known to weigh in on this issue has called it in various different ways a dumb idea. That would be, of course, because it truly is a dumb idea, one that would provide little relief, if any, result in a loss of revenue, and have little or no bearing on actually reducing the cost of gasoline at the pump.

The buzz about her pre-convention "nuclear option" to force a battle in the party's Credentials Committee (which neither candidate controls) by getting the Rules Committee (which is 50% Clinton backers) to seat Florida and Michigan her way (all but guaranteeing a floor fight come August), would bother me a lot if it weren't for the glaring coincidence that this fits in perfectly with the running narrative Hannity and Limbaugh, et al. have spread for years that she is a "say anything, do anything," cold, calculating pol.

The fact that her record on the war, votes for and against flag burning (my personal pet peeve), being on both sides of NAFTA, promising to "obliterate" Iran, and pandering about the gas tax "holiday" with her buddy John McSame against the advice of "elite" economists everywhere confirms her nature better than anything she might do if Obama can't manage to kick her ass in the remaining States that she insists "count" as long as she wins them.

Wingnuttistan is working overtime to present Obama as damaged goods, but it's really just the same old stuff over and over. And over. (Did you know Obama's pastor is a Marxist?) Same slurs they've clinging to for, gosh, about 90 years or so. Be afraid, very afraid of the scary commies! They'll eat your children!

It's sad and almost comical if the stakes weren't so ghastly hight. "Hussein" Obama is an islamo-fascist-crypto-terrorist-commie-Chicago-gansta-big-scary-black-man. RUN!!! Just remember these same folks would do their best to convince everyone that Hillary is a commie-she-devil-murdering-unindicted-co-conspirator-big-scary-black-man. (They're easily confused, fortunately.)

Their game is as old as the Roman Legions: Divide and Conquer. That's what 50%+1 means, and that (or less) is all it takes to get another Republican in the White House. So don't fall for it. Don't get pissed if she does pull off a miracle (she won't, so don't worry).

She's just being Hillary, a woman that's been fighting these bastards since Nixon, tooth and nail. While she keeps the heat off herself by doing the RNC's dirty work for them against Obama, she's also blunting the sharpness of their attacks against him in the fall. She knows she can beat the GOP at their own game. I'm sure she and Bill have figured out that if they don't get a chance to get even with those creeps, they'd better toughen Barack up for the what is bound to be the most vile Republican attacks ever -- or at least since the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that too.