Obama picks up more superdelegates

While this is not suprising, it is curious that, according to the AP count, Senator Clinton still leads in superdelegates. What is more curious is that she leads by half a superdelegate. Check out MSNBC.com:

The developments left the former first lady with 271.5 superdelegates, to 271 for Obama, according to an Associated Press count.

This can only mean one of two things: There exisits a superdelegate who is only half-heartedly supporting Hillary. Or, my other theory: Mini Me has been secretly included as an honorary superdelegate.

Hillary loans campaign $6 million

Hillary Clinton just loaned her campaign $6-million. Presumably, to buy up every one of these before they hit the news stands.

“Obama has the nomination”

At least, that is what Tim Russert is saying. Tim, you might want to mention that to Hillary. Winning Indiana probably makes her think otherwise. You think?

Kentucky Derby

The Democratic presidential contest continues to be quite a horse race. Obama is ahead by a nose. Then he is behind in the polls. Hillary wins Texas or Pennsylvania and she starts whinnying for unmoderated debates. The Rev Wright jockeys for position and Obama starts to look like a dark horse all over again. It’s what makes horse races interesting. But the real Kentucky Derby is over now and the filly didn’t win. The good news is she came in a strong second. The bad news is they had to shoot her. I think there’s a moral here somewhere. Maybe Senator Clinton will heed it. But probably not.

Can I get an Amen?

Yes, Rev Wright has been taken out of context. Yes, his sound bites have been unfairly used against Senator Obama. Yes, race-baiting still works in America because racism is endemic to the fallen nature of man. And yes, Jeremiah Wright needs to put a sock in it. And soon.

Sneaky, underhanded liars

As a rule, sneaky underhanded politicians have made very good presidents. Take this one. He ended the war in Vietnam (he had a secret plan, you may recall; the secret was it was no plan at all). He opened the doors to trade with China (you know, China? They’re the ones currently financing our national budget and enjoying the manufacturing jobs that our unemployed factory workers used to do). This guy honed sneaky to an art! Then there was William Jefferson Clinton (AKA , Slick Willy). Very sneaky. But a heck of a President. He signed NAFTA into law. You remember NAFTA? (Those Chinese certainly do). Anyway, despite the sneaky, dishonest shenanigans that these two did in the Oval office (with or without their pants on), they were, all in all, pretty first-rate presidents. So it comes as a bit of a shock that Hillary’s poll numbers are dropping all due to the fact she is perceived as sneaky and dishonest. Why, of course, the old girl is dishonest! Don’t be silly. How else could she be ready for the job day one?

Pin the flag on the donkey

Is it just me? Or am I the only one who noticed that this ongoing flap about Obama is a wee bit lopsided. During Wednesday’s debate the question came up again about the Senator from Illinois not wearing a flag pin on his lapel. Why, may I ask, is it a requirement for Obama for wear a flag pin? Senator Clinton wasn’t wearing a flag on her lapel. George Stephanoupolis wasn’t wearing one on his lapel. Charlie Gibson wasn’t wearing one. In fact, the woman on the videotape who asked Barack to start wearing one, didn’t appear to be wearing one. So why aren’t people calling their patriotism into question? Why is Obama’s lapel the focus in all this pin nonsense? Is it because he is black? Because he went to an Ivy league school? Because his middle name is Hussein? Because he is against the Iraq war? Because he has a wacky pastor? Because his wife keeps reminding us that racism is alive and well in America? Or is it because people who love flag pins, still love to hate people like Barack? Just asking.

Gaffe?

Barack Obama has an international upbringing, a biracial heritage and an ivy league education. He is wicked smart and a powerful speaker. So when he says something you can be assured of two things: He is not misspeaking and he is trying to bring people together. So any attempt by the Obama camp to wiggle out of his comments concerning “bitter” blue-collars workers, we should question. This guy doesn’t misspeak. He says what he means and means what he says. But the other thing we should seriously question is his opponents attempts to cast Obama as out of touch with working-class people. The one thing Obama has in spades is empathy. So when he speaks to a group of San Francisco liberals he articulately and candidly tries to explain why conservative Catholic factory-workers may not embrace the benign programs of the liberal establishment. He challenges his listeners to transcend their cultural and political biases to understand the other end of the spectrum. He challenges middle-class white people to understand the plight of poor blacks. He challenges faith-adverse Democrats to embrace faith-based evangelicals. He challenges us all. Because without being challenged, we remain cosy and comfortable in our individual enclaves. And the other guy, is always the enemy. Sadly, frank, articulate challenges from a frank, articulate leader like Obama are always going to make dodgy-sounding sound bites for FOX News and the GOP. But when truth is spoken it is never a gaffe. It is, at worse, an inconvenient truth.

Off the trail and into the danger zone

This was where I thought John McCain might just win this election. As General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker came before the US Senate, I thought John is going to look good. Very good. After all, he has just spent the last week on the campaign trail reminding Americans that a precipitous drawn-down of troops would be foolhardy. And now we have Dave Petraeus in those hallowed halls recommending a 45-day halt to the modest drawn-down that the Administration had promised us. McCain was golden. And he certainly looked the part: calm, even-tempered, but tough––a warrior. That was, until he tried to get the General and the Ambassador to talk about the imminent threat of al-Qaeda. Well, a threat, sure. But not the biggest bogeyman in the region. But they are a threat? Sure. Sorta… They were really trying to give McCain the answer he wanted. He was “Mr. Surge,” after all. But McCain would not let go. He keeped on blabbing about al-Qaeda, like it was the key to this war. The word that strikes terror in the heart of John Q. Public. And then, he did it. He called them Shi’a again. Doooh! Solider Johnny fumbles the globe, once more. Not good. Then Senator Clinton steps to the plate. She is cool, articulate and forceful. This is when I start thinking: This may not be where McCain shines, this may be the forum where the junior senator from Illinois is going to look very…um…junior, I think is the word. I bite my lip hard. My palms begin to sweat. Finally, it’s Obama’s turn. No speechifying is going to save the boy tonight. This is where we see if he is truly a match for these two seasoned Senators. And this is where we got to see Obama at his best. No flowery prose. No retrofitting stump speech bullet points. Instead, a respectful, but tenacious, line of questioning concerning the metrics of success. The question that no one has answered for the past five years. A question that few have even asked. And a question that betrayed something I had yet to notice. Obama has actually thought this thing through. He actually appears to have a plan. A messy one, no doubt. But a plan, nonetheless. And it was pretty clear that this big-eared rookie had just won the day.

Losing patience

Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy doesn’t take any guff off of Republicans. He holds their feet to the fire, he asks the hard questions and doesn’t suffer fools or foolishness. And today, the soft-spoken Leahy is being just as crusty and hard-nosed with Democrats. Take the question he posed on Vermont radio for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “Isn’t about time you throw in the towel?” A question that probably deserves an answer. Like I said, Leahy doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Even if their last name happens to be Clinton.