The Colbert Report: Claire McCaskill

Senator Claire McCaskill explains why Barack Obama is the best man or woman to be the next president of the United States.



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Technorati tags: Claire McCaskill, Steven Colbert, The Colbert Report, Comedy Centray, humor, comedy, video, Barack Obama

Weekend Funnies: "Young Hillary Clinton"

Enjoy!



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Technorati tags: Humor, YouTube, Hillary Clinton, Election, Barack Obama, 2008, Election, President

Obama: Let's Challenge the Murdochization of Our Media

The Nation reports:

"In a speech Sunday, Barack Obama said he would pursue a vigorous antitrust policy if he becomes U.S. president and singled out the media industry as one area where government regulators would need to be watchful as consolidation increases.

His statement signals a key opening for media and democracy reformers and the movement they have spawned in this last decade--a movement The Nation has been centrally involved in ever since we launched our National-Entertainment series (complete with glossy centerfolds) in 1996. Working with this movement, an Obama Administration could effectively challenge the destructive and concentrated attack by corporate media consolidation on the integrity of our democracy...."

Cartoon Credit: THE iPINIONS JOURNAL

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Technorati tags: Barack Obama, Media, Consolidation, Murdoch, 2008, Presidential Election

Expert: Obama in good shape with white working-class voters

John Harwood (NYT) writes:

"Ruy Teixeira, a Democratic analyst of voting trends, wrote the book on the core issue in the endgame of the party’s nomination fight. Its title is “America’s Forgotten Majority: Why the White Working Class Still Matters.”

One might conclude that Mr. Teixeira is troubled by Senator Barack Obama’s performance in recent primaries against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton among the voters known by nicknames like Joe Sixpack or Nascar Dad or Waitress Mom.

Actually, he is not...."

Illustration: Kevin Kallaugher (via The Atlantic Community)

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Technorati tags: Barack Obama, 2008 Election, President, White voters, white, working class, Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama at Wesleyan Commencement Ceremony

Barack fills in for Teddy Kennedy as the commencement speaker at the Wesleyan University graduation ceremony on Memorial weekend.



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Technorati tags: Barack Obama, Wesleyan Commencement, Teddy Kennedy, Speeches

McCain Shows His Bad Temper with an Anti-Obama Rant

The Republican reveals his inner hot head with an audacious shot across the bow to Obama in the Senate.

If John McCain goes ballistic every time he's mildly criticized by Barack Obama, this is going to be a much more interesting campaign than I thought.

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Technorati tags: John McCain, Obama, Election, President, 2008, Bad Temper

Hillary: "All About Eve"

Maureen Dowd (NYT) writes:

"...In politics, there are many unpredictable and unsavory twists and turns. That’s why she’s hanging around.

[...]

Maybe a tired, stressed Hillary was giving an unfiltered version of a blunt conversation that she’s had with her husband and advisers about staying in the race, using R.F.K. as an anything-can-happen example, in the same way she fantasizes about Sean Hannity breaking a story that would demolish Obama.

[...]

Obama now has the perfect excuse not to pick Hillary as his running mate. She has been too unseemly in her desire to be on the scene if he trips, or gets hit with a devastating story. She may want to take a cue from the Miss America contest: make a graceful, magnanimous exit and wait in the wings.

That’s where the runners-up can be found, prettily lurking, in case it turns out the girl with the crown has some naked pictures in her past."

Cartoon credit: Warrentoons.com

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Technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, RFK, Barack Obama, Kennedy, Vice President, Bill Clinton, Maureen Dowd, New York Times

Fox News Jokes About Killing Obama

Brace yourself! And if your bothered by this, voice your displeasure to: FNS@foxnews.com

While commenting on Hillary's RFK gaffe, Liz Trotta on Fox News Channel first referred to Barack Obama as "Osama" and then laughed that they should both be killed...



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Technorati tags: Fox News, YouTube, Liz Trotta, Barack Obama, video, News, Media

Roger Cohen: It's the networks, stupid

Roger Cohen (The International Herald Tribune) writes:

"More than any other factor, it has been Barack Obama's grasp of the central place of Internet-driven social networking that has propelled his campaign for the Democratic nomination into a seemingly unassailable lead over Hillary Clinton. Her campaign has been so 20th-century. His has been of the century we're in...."

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Technorati tags: Roger Cohen, International Herald Tribune, Politics, Fund Raising, Political Donations, Internet

Smokey says Yes, We Can!

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Technorati tags: Humor, YouTube, Parrot, Obama, Yes we can, politics, video, 2008 Presidential Election

Take Action: Stop Bush from Bombing Iran

This, today, from TrueMajority.com:

"The Jerusalem Post broke the news this morning: George Bush intends to attack Iran in his final months in office.

'The official claimed that a senior member of the president's entourage, which concluded a trip to Israel last week, said during a closed meeting that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action was called for.'1

Congress has the power to stop him. There is a resolution already in the Senate called S. Res. 356. It's a straightforward and simple resolution that says, 'A resolution affirming that any offensive military action taken against Iran must be explicitly approved by Congress before such action may be initiated.'

Tell your Senator to support and fight for S. Res 356:
http://www.TrueMajority.org/dontbombiran

Today's story is just the latest to discuss the increasingly belligerent rhetoric of the Bush administration towards Iran. Just last week, President Bush compared anyone who seeks to negotiate with Iran to those who appeased the Nazis prior to World War II.

We only have a few months until our long national nightmare of the Bush Administration comes to an end. But, it is abundantly clear that they intend on going out with a bang. It's time for the Congress to embrace its role as a co-equal branch of government and stop them before it is too late.

Send a message to your Senator right now: http://www.TrueMajority.org/dontbombiran

Thanks for taking action to stop another war."

-- Ilya Sheyman, Online Organizer, TrueMajority.com

Also See:

• Scott Ritter Warns of Bush Attack on Iran | The Progressive


• Ominous Signs That White House Advisers Want More Wars | AlterNet:

  "Is there a resurgence by the remaining hawks in the Bush administration?"

Technorati tags: Activism, Activists, True Majority, Iran, Bomb, Bush, Foreign Policy

The Candidates & The Military Industrial Complex

Kathy Kelly: The Dem candidates do not take on the defense industry

Kathy Kelly says that Democratic candidates talk tough on the war but are not ready to take on the defense industry. She says all candidates, including Obama, are developing plans to keep US troops in Iraq for several more years.

Watch the video; then follow her recommendation to lobby Obama on this crucial issue:

For more: The Real News Network - Story

Don't Underestimate the Power of your Voice and Action for Change:

• Here Come the Millennials | New York Times:

  "...Whether young Americans can shift the balance of the presidential election is an open question. But there is very little doubt that over the next several years they are capable of loosening the tremendous grip that conservatives have had on the levers of American power."

Technorati tags: Military Industrial Complex, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Kathy Kelly, Democrats, Election, President, Primaries, Foreign Policy, video, Real News

Superdelegates Turned Down $1 Million Offer from Clinton Donor

If this isn't bribery, tell me what to call it. If it isn't illegal, why not? Hillary Clinton proves once again that she will use any means at her disposal to win the Presidency -- ethics are not even an afterthought. Those of you still supporting her, ask yourselves is this is the kind of "leadership" you are looking for? Is this the kind of woman you want representing you as the first woman President?

The Huffington Post reports:

"One of Sen. Hillary Clinton's top financial supporters offered $1 million to the Young Democrats of America during a phone conversation in which he also pressed for the organization's two uncommitted superdelegates to endorse the New York Democrat, a high-ranking official with YDA told The Huffington Post.

Haim Saban, the billionaire entertainment magnate and longtime Clinton supporter, denied the allegation. But four independent sources said that just before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Saban called YDA President David Hardt and offered what was perceived as a lucrative proposal: $1 million would be made available for the group if Hardt and the organization's other uncommitted superdelegate backed Clinton...."

Also See:

• Clinton Camp Privately Assures Superdels: We Won't Embarrass You | The Huffington Post


• Daniel Nichanian: Early Returns: Add A Potential Staff Crossover To Today's Votes | The Huffington Post


• Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos (for Hillary)
• Seeds of Destruction | Bob Herbert | New York Times:

  "...[C]lass is not a Clinton forte.
  
  But it’s one thing to lack class and a sense of grace, quite another to deliberately try and wreck the presidential prospects of your party’s likely nominee — and to do it in a way that has the potential to undermine the substantial racial progress that has been made in this country over many years.
  
  The Clintons should be ashamed of themselves. But they long ago proved to the world that they have no shame."

• Carl Bernstein: The Question of Hillary Clinton's Guilt-By-Association Tactics | The Huffington Post


• Gas Tax Holiday: Hillary Places Economists Beneath Large Transportation Unit

Technorati tags: superdelegates, 2008 Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton, Haim Saban, Bribery, Young Democrats of America, Bob Herbert

Barack Obama in Roseburg Oregon

Joe Leonardi | "The Man"
Directed by Tim Cash
www.ffefilms.com

ENJOY....



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Technorati tags: Joe Leonardi, "The Man", Barack Obama, Tim Cash, video, music, YouTube, 2008 Presidential Campaign, Oregon, Primaries, Politics

The REAL John McCain: Less Jobs, More Wars.

Turn John McCain's YouTube Problem into a Nightmare!

Click Here to forward this video to all your friends

"Brave New Films has been working hard to expose some of the most glaring hypocrisies and doublespeak that John McCain has been wrapped up in over the past couple months.

While many in the traditional media have yet to pick up on this storyline, it's important that we, the dedicated activists, send this video to as many of our friends as possible.

The wheels on the 'Straight Talk Express' are slowly coming loose and it's time to hold McCain's feet to the fire to ensure that he's telling the real story about his record to the American people.

Thanks for all you do. Enjoy this video."

--Mike Lux, American Family Voices

Also See:

• The Real McCain That the Corporate Media Won't Show You | Election 2008 | AlterNet

Technorati tags: John McCain, President, 2008 Campaign, YouTube, video

Gore Vidal on Obama

I knew JFK, says Gore Vidal, and believe me Obama’s the better leader | Times Online:

Gore Vidal, the writer and long-time Clinton supporter, tells why Hillary is insane to keep on fighting....

Photo credit: Gore Vidal. CommonDreams.org

Why McCain is Wrong for America

This world cannot survive four more years of McBush....

• McCain Action Helped Arizona Developer: Report | New York Times:

"Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain secured millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that provided a windfall for an Arizona developer whose executives were major campaign donors, according to a USA Today report...."

• McCain Can Run, but Bush Won’t Hide | Frank Rich | New York Times:

  "...[A]re independents suckers? They’d have to be to fall for the pitch that Mr. McCain is an apostate in his own party in 2008. He has been an outspoken Bush defender since helping him sell the Iraq war in 2002 and barnstorming for him in 2004. Despite Mr. McCain’s campaign claims to the contrary, he never publicly called for the firing of Donald Rumsfeld. He is still one of the president’s most stalwart supporters in Congress, even signing on to the president’s wildly unpopular veto of an expansion of children’s health insurance...."

• Dire Consequences with a McCain Supreme Court? | AlterNet:

  "Imagine the dire consequences if McCain appoints a fifth radical Supreme Court justice who believes in an all-powerful Executive Branch...."

• McCain's Lobbyists Continue to Cause Him Headaches | AlterNet:

  "Lobbyists turned campaign staffers resign over connections to military dictatorships...."

• Free Ride- John McCain and the Media | Justin Cole (MediaMatters):

  Today, Paul Waldman and David Brock are releasing a new chapter to their book, "Free Ride: John McCain and the Media." The new chapter is an update to the media coverage of McCain since the book was published and is available at www.mccainsfreeride.com/addendum.
  
  Here is a sample from the new chapter:

  As Free Ride was nearing its release, we began to hear an interesting argument from those skeptical of the case we make. "Look at that story in the New York Times suggesting that McCain might have had an affair with a lobbyist," some said. "Doesn't that prove the press isn't in the tank for McCain?" The truth, however, is that the Times story proves just the opposite.
  
  The speculation about a possible McCain affair did not exactly set off a feeding frenzy among the press corps. Though one could argue ignoring such salacious rumors is exactly what the press should do, it is hard to imagine they would have been as restrained had it been a different candidate. Indeed, within hours, that aspect of the story simply disappeared from public discussion; instead, McCain and his press team managed to transform the controversy about him to a controversy about the New York Times.

Technorati tags: John McCain, Frank Rich, New York Times, Bush, Politics, Presidential Election, 2008

Congressman Wexler: Inherent Contempt for Rove

Congressman Robert Wexler: "

Last night, I appeared on MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams to discuss Karl Rove's outrageous refusal to appear before Congress regarding serious allegations that he used the US Justice Department to take down a prominent Democratic politician. It is alleged that Mr. Rove personally instigated the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman. The case has been criticized by legal experts, and 52 former state attorney generals – both Republicans and Democrats – have criticized the case and called for an investigation. (You may view the clip here.)



If Rove refuses to testify voluntarily and ignores the subpoenas that will certainly be issued, he should be held in Inherent Contempt of the House of Representatives.

No American is above the law. None of us should be able to ignore Congress without consequence. If Mr. Rove ignores a subpoena from the Judiciary Committee, then the House of Representatives should pass an Inherent Contempt citation and exercise our right to send the House Sergeant-of-Arms to gather Mr. Rove and bring him before Congress to testify.

I do not advocate this option lightly, but the reality is that Congress has few options left against an Administration that totally refuses to submit to any type of reasonable Congressional oversight. Congress has both the right and obligation to investigate these matters. Never before has an Executive so upset the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution. If we back off or delay, we effectively forfeit the power of Congress to investigate the Executive branch.

Rove is not the first White House official to ignore Congress. We have seen a pattern of refusals based on laughable claims of executive privilege. First, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers ignored subpoenas on the investigation into the firing of US Attorney Generals for partisan political motives.

Their refusal to testify was unprecedented: never before have executive officials totally refused to even show up before Congress. Bolten and Miers are the highest officials ever held in contempt of Congress. Unfortunately, Attorney General Mukasey – in a dereliction of duty – has refused to enforce the contempt decree and now Congress is suing them in District Court to demand compliance. Then, the Vice President's Chief of Staff, David Addington, refused to testify on the investigation into the Bush Administration's ordering of torture. Now, Rove continues this executive arrogance by also refusing to testify.

Enough is enough. We have a Constitutional obligation to provide accountability to a White House that is trying usurp the constitutional powers of Congress.

These are the very reasons why I have been pushing for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney. The Bush Administration has been running roughshod over the Constitution for eight long years. We should not allow the promise of a positive election be used as an excuse to ignore our duty to investigate crimes that weaken the very fabric of our Democracy.

I thank you again for your commitment to the causes that we hold so dear."

Also See:

• Conyers On Rove: "Someone's Got To Kick His A**" | The Huffington Post

Technorati tags: Robert Wexler, Congress, Karl Rove, Justice Department, Don Siegleman

Olbermann: Mr. President, the War Isn't About You

MSNBC:

"Olbermann reacts to President Bush's recent interview with Politico.com and online users of Yahoo. Olbermann takes issue with Bush's claim he gave up golf to honor dead GIs ...."

As usual, Olbermann shows how well the title "Idiot in Chief" describes the current occupant of the Whitehouse:



For complete transcript and video: Click Here.

Also See:

• Will Bunch | President Bush Committed Political Treason Today

  "I've seen a lot of sad things in American politics in my lifetime -- the resignation of a president who became a national disgrace after he oversaw a campaign of break-ins and cover-ups, another who circumvented the Constitution to trade arms for hostages, and yet is now hailed as national hero. And those paled to what we have seen in the last seven years -- flagrant disregard for the Constitution, the launching of a "pre-emptive" war on false pretenses, and discussions about torture and other shocking abuses inside the White House inner sanctum.
  
  But now it's come to this: A new low that I never imagined was even possible...."

Technorati tags: Keith Olbermann, Countdown, Special Comment, Bush, Iraq War

Why Tom Hanks Endorses Barack Obama

Beware: Celebrity Endorsement



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Hat tip to Huffington Post.

Technorati tags: Endorsement, Barack Obama, video, Politics, Election, Primaries, Indiana, North Carolina, Tom Hanks

Pushing the Single-Payer Solution

Pushing the Single-Payer Solution | Amy Goodman:

"It's time for the candidates to stop dancing around real health-care reform and get behind a single-payer system.

As the media coverage of the Democratic presidential race continues to focus on lapel pins and pastors, America is ailing. As I travel around the country, I find people are angry and motivated. Like Dr. Rocky White, a physician from a conservative, evangelical background who practices in rural Alamosa, Colo. A tall, gray-haired Westerner in black jeans, a crisp white shirt and a bolo tie, Dr. White is a leading advocate for single-payer health care. He wasn't always...."

Technorati tags: Amy Goodman, Health Care, Universal Health Care, Single Payer Health Care, Democrats, President, Election

Gas Tax Gotcha

Hillary Clinton continues her dishonest campaign to say anything that might benefit her politically--no matter what the truth happens to be. The current debate over her and John McCain's proposed federal gas tax holiday is a case in point:

washingtonpost.com:

"...We have to agree with Sen. Barack Obama, the only candidate who has refused to play this game. 'It's not an idea to get you through the summer,' he said. 'It's an idea to get them through an election.' His opponents no doubt hope that Mr. Obama's stand will prove to be political suicide. We think it qualifies as political courage."

Also See:

• Gas Tax Holiday Is A Bad Idea | The Progress Report:

  SUMMARY: Rising gas prices are hitting Americans hard, while oil companies rake in record profits . As the economy falters, calls to deal with the price of gasoline have reached the halls of Washington, D.C. "[L]awmakers are considering ideas they might have nixed months ago, including temporarily lifting the federal gas tax and halting deposits of oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve." Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have called for a summer moratorium on the federal gas tax. McCain has not specified how to make up the $11 billion; Clinton has proposed a tax on windfall profits from oil companies to recoup losses to the federal highway fund. Economic analysts of all stripes have responded with horror, pointing out that " the benefits will flow to oil companies, not consumers." Even if a suspension of the gas tax led to lower prices, the rich would benefit the most, since "the more a family earns, the more they drive," notes Sam Davis of the Center for American Progress. Len Burman of the non partisan Urban Institute calls the proposal "a huge windfall for refiners." New York Times columnist Tom Friedman argues, " This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks." Newsweek's Jonathan Alter agrees, stating, "Suspending the federal gas tax is a crass ploy for votes." The Atlantic Monthly's James Fallows calls cutting the gas tax "destructive nuttiness" and "embarrassing."  Economist Gilbert Metcalf called it "very short-sighted," noting, "If we want people to invest in energy-saving cars, we need some assurance that the higher price paid for these cars is going to pay off through fuel savings."

• Dumb as We Wanna Be | New York Times | Thomas L. Friedman:

  "The McCain-Clinton gas holiday proposal is a perfect example of what energy expert Peter Schwartz of Global Business Network describes as the true American energy policy today: “Maximize demand, minimize supply and buy the rest from the people who hate us the most.”
  
  Good for Barack Obama for resisting this shameful pandering."

Technorati tags: Gas tax, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Pandering, Politics, Washington Post

Bill O'Reilly's Foxy Lady

AlterNet:

"...Clinton may never be the Democratic nominee for president.

But she's got the makings of a Fox New analyst: corrupt, partisan and ready to play ball with Bill O'Reilly."

Cartoon Credit: FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog |� Michael Ramirez on Hillary Clinton and Norman Hsu

Also See:

• Think Progress | SURVEY: Daily Show/Colbert Viewers Most Knowledgable, Fox News Viewers Rank Lowest:

  "A new study by the Pew Research Study shows that viewers of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report have the highest knowledge of national and international affairs, while Fox News viewers rank nearly dead last...."

• Think Progress | Who Do You Trust?:

  "A new Harris Interactive poll finds that over half of Americans — 54 percent — say they tend not to trust the press, “with only 30 percent tending to trust the press.” More Americans (41 percent) trust “Internet news and information sites” than they do the mainstream media. Radio tends to do best among Americans as 44 percent say they tend to trust it."

Technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, Norman Hsu, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Politics, Corruption

Cutting Through The Politics

"For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of 'brainwashing under freedom' to which we are subjected and in which all too often we serve as unwilling instruments." -- Noam Chomsky

• Ignore the Youth Vote at Your Own Peril | Election 2008 | AlterNet:

  "Mike Connery on why progressive leaders should stop lamenting 'youth apathy' and start engaging the most diverse, tolerant, generation in history."

• Hillary Struggles Against Sexism But Regularly Plays Race Card | AlterNet:

  "In the face of raw, media-driven misogyny, Clinton resorts to playing the race card and loses some women's support in the process."

• Why John McCain Wants You To Give Up Your Health Insurance | The American Prospect:

  "The McCain Agenda: McCain believes that Americans use too much health care, and he has created a plan that will make care less affordable so millions of Americans will use less."

• Bloggingheads: The Obama Promise | New York Times Video


• "We Can't have Acquittals" | AlterNet:

  "A former Defense Department prosecutor tells us what we already know - terrorism cases were juked for political gain."

• McCain's Elitism and the New GI Bill | AlterNet:

  "John McCain is supporting a watered-down version of the new GI Bill that will primarily benefit career officers."

• Things Americans Don't Want To Talk About | AlterNet:

  "Dave Neiwert digs in to the deeper meaning of the Reverend Wright 'scandal.'"

• Americans Selling Possessions to Stay Afloat | AlterNet: "

  In the wake of the housing crash and rising food and energy prices, Americans are pawning their clothes, furniture and more."

• Is Senator Clinton Beholden to an Anti-Gay Demographic? | AlterNet:

  "Looks like Clinton is courting supporters on the wrong side of the culture war."

• Dyncorp Used Armored Car To Transport Prostitutes in Iraq | AlterNet:

  "Whistleblowers report on the outrageous misuse of resources by contractors in Iraq."

• No Country for Old Men | Election 2008 | AlterNet:

  "McCain's age matters; especially if he picks his running mate from the crazy wing of the Republican Party."

• Why You Shouldn't Spend that 'Stimulus' Check | AlterNet:

  "If we refused to cash our checks, the value of the dollars in our pockets would go up by more than the face value of the stimulus refund."

• The McCain Health Plan: Millions Lose Coverage, Health Costs Worsen, and Insurance and Drug Industries Win | OurFuture.org:

  ...McCain’s plan is a dangerous fraud.
  
  He wants voters to think he is going after health care cost inflation. In reality, he wants to dismantle the employer-provided system that now covers over 60 percent (or about 158 million) of non-elderly Americans, forcing millions of us who now get fairly decent health insurance on the job to instead buy whatever they can find on the individual market controlled by unregulated and predatory insurance companies. And he would drive health care costs upward, not downward....

• Which Is Worse: the Pentagon or the Media? | AlterNet:

  "The Pentagon says it's halting its propaganda program, but the news media is still quite about its role in leading us to war."

• Bush Made Permanent | New York Times | Paul Krugman

  "...if truth be told, the McCain tax plan doesn't seem to embody any coherent policy agenda. Instead, it looks like a giant exercise in pandering - an attempt to mollify the GOP's right wing, and never mind if it makes any sense. The impression that Mr. McCain's tax talk is all about pandering is reinforced by his proposal for a summer gas tax holiday - a measure that would, in fact, do little to help consumers, although it would boost oil industry profits.
  
  More and more, Mr. McCain sounds like a man who will say anything to become president."

• As Election Nears, Supreme Court Upholds Repressive Voter ID Law | AlterNet:

  "It is more important now than ever for lawmakers across the country to pass laws protecting the right to vote."

• The News Media: Watchdog or Lap Dog? | AlterNet

  "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that we're being psyoped by our own government...."

• Media Matters | CNN's Bash, Roberts, and Phillips ignored Hagee's comments linking Hurricane Katrina to gay pride parade:

  "Reporting on a New Orleans campaign event at which Sen. John McCain's 'carefully scripted imagery was interrupted by a voter's question about Pastor John Hagee,' CNN's Dana Bash aired a clip of Hagee -- who has endorsed McCain -- saying of Hurricane Katrina, 'What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God.' But Bash did not air the portion of Hagee's comments in which he reaffirmed his previous assertion that Hurricane Katrina was at least in part the result of 'sin' that Hagee identified as 'a massive homosexual rally.' CNN's John Roberts and Kyra Phillips similarly noted that Hagee said that 'Katrina was God's punishment for sinful behavior in New Orleans' without mentioning that among the 'sinful behavior' Hagee referenced was the gay pride parade."

• Media Matters | MSNBC hosted Obama smear-purveyor to discuss the impact of Obama's connections to Wright in North Carolina:

  "MSNBC's Tamron Hall held a discussion with North Carolina radio host Jeff Katz about the effect Sen. Barack Obama former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is having on North Carolina voters without disclosing that Katz's website prominently encourages visitors to 'Help the N.C. GOP keep their ad on the air,' referring to an ad that attacks Obama for his connections to Wright, and contains the false claim that Obama 'won't pledge to the flag.'"

• How McCain Lost in Pennsylvania | New York Times | Frank Rich:

  "IT’S a nightmare. It’s the Bataan Death March. It’s mutually assured Armageddon. 'Both of them are already losing the general to John McCain,' declared a Newsweek columnist last month, predicting that the election 'may already be over' by the time the Democrats anoint a nominee.
  
  Not so fast. If we’ve learned any new rule in the 2008 campaign, it’s this: Once our news culture sets a story in stone, chances are it will crumble. But first it must be recycled louder and louder 24/7, as if sheer repetition will transmute conventional wisdom into reality...."

• American Thinker: The Oil Connection:

  "A recent piece of news has shed new light on what could be another storm for both the Clintons...."

Much Ado

Stanley Fish | Think Again | New York Times Blog:

In 1952, when McCarthyism was at its height, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas labeled the investigative techniques of the junior senator from Wisconsin “guilt by association” (Adler v. Board of Education). Douglas added that McCarthyite tactics were “repugnant to our society” because, despite the absence of any overt wrongdoing, the pasts of those attacked were “combed for signs of disloyalty” and for utterances that might be read as “clues to dangerous thoughts.”

More than a half century later, “McCarthyism” was joined in the lexicon by “Swiftboating,” the art of the smear campaign mounted with the intention not of documenting a wrong, but of covering the victim with slime enough to cast doubt on his or her integrity. Now, in 2008, after a primary season increasingly marked by dirty pool and low blows, “McCarthyism” and “Swiftboating” have come together in a particularly lethal and despicable form. I refer to the startling revelation — proclaimed from the housetops by both the Clinton and McCain campaigns — that Barack Obama ate dinner at William Ayers’s house, served with him on a board and was the honored guest at a reception he organized.

Confession time. I too have eaten dinner at Bill Ayers’s house (more than once), and have served with him on a committee, and he was one of those who recruited my wife and me at a reception when we were considering positions at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Moreover, I have had Bill and his wife Bernardine Dohrn to my apartment, was a guest lecturer in a course he taught and joined in a (successful) effort to persuade him to stay at UIC and say no to an offer from Harvard. Of course, I’m not running for anything, but I do write for The New York Times and, who knows, this association with former fugitive members of the Weathermen might be enough in the eyes of some to get me canned.

Did I conspire with Bill Ayers? Did I help him build bombs? Did I aid and abet his evasion (for a time) of justice? Not likely, given that at the time of the events that brought Ayers and Dohrn to public attention, I was a supporter of the Vietnam War. I haven’t asked him to absolve me of that sin (of which I have since repented), and he hasn’t asked me to forgive him for his (if he has any).

Indeed in all the time I spent with Ayers and Dohrn, politics — present or past — never came up.

What did come up? To answer that question I have to introduce a word and concept that is somewhat out of fashion: the salon. A salon is a gathering in a private home where men and women from various walks of life engage in conversation about any number of things, including literature, business, fashion, films, education and philosophy. Ayers and Dohrn did not call their gatherings salons, but that’s what they were; large dinner parties (maybe 12-15), with guests coming and going, one conversation leading to another, no rules or obligations, except the obligation to be interesting and interested. The only thing I don’t remember was ideology, although since this was all going on in Hyde Park, there was the general and diffused ideology, vaguely liberal, that usually hangs over a university town.

Many of those attending these occasions no doubt knew something about their hosts’ past, but the matter was never discussed and why should it have been? We were there not because of what Ayers and Dohrn had done 40 years ago, but because of what they were doing at the moment.

Ayers is a longtime professor of education at UIC, nationally known for his prominence in the “small school” movement. Dohrn teaches at Northwestern Law School, where she directs a center for child and family justice. Both lend their skills and energies to community causes; both advise various agencies; together they have raised exemplary children and they have been devoted caretakers to aged parents. “Respectable” is too mild a word to describe the couple; rock-solid establishment would be more like it. There was and is absolutely no reason for anyone who knows them to plead the fifth or declare, “I am not now nor have I ever been a friend of Bill’s and Bernardine’s.”

Least of all Barack Obama, who by his own account didn’t know them that well and is now being taken to task for having known them at all. Of course it would have required preternatural caution to avoid associating with anyone whose past deeds might prove embarrassing on the chance you decided to run for president someday. In an earlier column, I spoke of the illogic of holding a candidate accountable for things said or done by a supporter or an acquaintance. Now a candidate is being held accountable for things said and done four decades ago by people who happen to live in his upper middle class neighborhood.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain should know better. In fact, they do know better....

Continue Reading.

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, Stanley Fish, New York Times, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Swiftboat, McCarthyism, Bill Ayers, Politics, Election, Primaries, President

US Truckers Stage Nation-Wide Shutdown

The Real News:

Truckers' protest urges Congress to stop subsidizing oil industry and build new refineries

Wednesday April 30th, 2008

A convoy of trucks rolled through Washington, DC, on Monday, as part of a protest to pressure Congress into acting on high gas prices. As gas around the US hit an average of $3.66 per gallon--a full 66 cents above the price this time last year--truckers called on the US government to take action.

For more information, see: The Unknown Candidate: Force Congress to Impeach Bush/Cheney: Step One

Technorati tags: Truckers Union, Protest, Strike, Energy Policy, Iraq War, Impeachment

And We're Supposed to Believe this WHY?

Pentagon Halts Feeding of Information to Retired Officer Pundits While Issue is Reviewed | Stars and Stripes | Jeff Schogol

"The Defense Department has temporarily stopped feeding information to retired military officers pending a review of the issue, said Robert Hastings, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs. The New York Times first reported on Sunday that the Defense Department was giving information to retired officers serving as pundits for various media organizations in order to garner favorable media coverage.

The New York Times first reported on Sunday that the Defense Department was giving information to retired officers serving as pundits for various media organizations in order to garner favorable media coverage...."

This is pro-war propaganda at its most insidious. Make sure you take action: sign Free Press's petition and call on Congress to demand better media.

Also See:

• Pentagon Pundits | FAIR


• Military Pundits Videos | Brave New Films

Technorati tags: Propaganda, news, media, Pentagon, Military, Pundits

'Boston Legal' Takes On the Supreme Court

If you missed this, it's a "Must-See."

Thanks to Crooks and Liars

Technorati tags: Boston Legal, Supreme Court, YouTube, video

Election Reader

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

• Wilting Over Waffles | New York Times | Maureen Dowd:

  "...Before they devour themselves once more, perhaps the Democrats will take a cue from Dr. Seuss’s 'Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!' (The writer once mischievously redid it for his friend Art Buchwald as 'Richard M. Nixon Will You Please Go Now!') They could sing:
  
  'The time has come. The time has come. The time is now. Just go. ... I don’t care how. You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Hillary R. Clinton, will you please go now! You can go on skates. You can go on skis. ... You can go in an old blue shoe.
  
  Just go, go, GO!'”

• Obama's Sweeping Foreign Policy Critique | AlterNet:

  "Democrats should not have to act like Republicans to pass some test on national security. It's time to end the politics of fear...."

• The Real McCain on Race and Immigration | AlterNet:

  "It's not a pretty picture...."

• Let's Party Like It’s 1932 | Election 2008 | AlterNet:

  "Obama has the potential to become as great a president as FDR, while activists have the potential to prompt change comparable to the New Deal...."

• Robert Creamer | The Huffington Post:

  "Last Night Clinton Won the Pennsylvania Primary, but Lost the War for the Nomination..."

• Hillary's New Inevitability | The Huffington Post | Dylan Loewe:

  "Hillary Clinton scored a decisive victory against Barack Obama in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary. But underlying the numbers, there is a new kind of inevitability on the horizon. Certainly her campaign will use the night's victory to propel the race forward into Indiana and North Carolina, hoping against hope that few noticed what actually transpired. But with her luck running as perilously low as her campaign war chest, it would seem improbable that the media would provide her cover yet again.
  
  After tonight, despite an apparent ten point victory in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton is no longer electable in a general election...."

• Hillary Turns Up Heat, Threatens to "Obliterate" Iran | AlterNet:

  "Is the campaign trail the best place to ratchet up the rhetoric against Iran? Clinton thinks so.
  
  How proud the Clintonistas must be. They have learned how to rival what Hillary once termed the "vast right-wing conspiracy" in the effort to destroy a viable Democratic leader who dares to stand in the way of their ambitions. The tactics used to kneecap Barack Obama are the same as had been turned on Bill Clinton in earlier times, from radical-baiting associates to challenging his resolve in protecting the nation from foreign enemies. Sen. Clinton's eminently sensible and centrist -- to a fault -- opponent is now viewed as weak and even vaguely unpatriotic because he is thoughtful. Neither Karl Rove nor Dick Morris could have done a better job.
  
  On primary election day in Pennsylvania, even with polls showing her well ahead in that state, Hillary went lower in her grab for votes. Seizing upon a question as to how she would respond to a nuclear attack by Iran, which doesn't have nuclear weapons, on Israel, which does, Hillary mocked reasoned discourse by promising to "totally obliterate them," in an apparent reference to the population of Iran. That is not a word gaffe; it is an assertion of the right of our nation to commit genocide on an unprecedented scale...."

• Clueless in America | New York Times | Bob Herbert:

  "We don’t hear a great deal about education in the presidential campaign. It’s much too serious a topic to compete with such fun stuff as Hillary tossing back a shot of whiskey, or Barack rolling a gutter ball...."

• CQ Politics | Reid to Press Democratic Superdelegates to Endorse:

  "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he plans to turn up the heat on undecided Democratic superdelegates if the party’s presidential nominating contest is not resolved after the last primaries June 3...."

• Racism In The Ranks | AlterNet:

  "The results of the Pennsylvania primary show that racism is a problem that still plagues the Democrats...."

• Obama, Clinton and the War | Truthdig | Robert Scheer:

  "It should mean a great deal to progressives that in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination Sen. Ted Kennedy favors Sen. Barack Obama over two other colleagues he has worked with in the Senate. No one in the history of that institution has been a more consistent and effective fighter than Kennedy for an enlightened agenda, be it civil rights and liberty, gender equality, labor and immigrant justice, environmental protection, educational opportunity or opposing military adventures...."

• Election Madness | The Progressive:

  "Historically, government, whether in the hands of Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals, has failed its responsibilities, until forced to by direct action: sit-ins and Freedom Rides for the rights of black people, strikes and boycotts for the rights of workers, mutinies and desertions of soldiers in order to stop a war. Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens...."

• What Can He Change? | Agence Global | Immanuel Wallerstein:

  "...So, now that Obama seems so near to becoming president, there has begun to be considerable discussion in the press, on the internet, and in public debate about what kinds of changes Obama actually intends to undertake. This seems to me the wrong question. The real question is what kind of changes Obama can make, a quite different question....
  
  [...]
  
  Change is indeed possible, and potentially a very positive change. It all depends far less on Obama than on the rest of us. But Obama might, only might, give us the space in which the "we" of "yes, we can" can push him and the United States."

• Obama's Go-To Guy | Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality | Sam Pizzigati:

  "A self-described 'centrist' is minding Barack Obama's economic policy store. Will this centrist prove a pitchman for plutocrats? Or should the wealthy start to worry? We sift the evidence...."

• Hope in the Time of NAFTA | Truthdig | David Sirota:

  "Reading articles about Hillary Clinton attacking NAFTA can lead you to believe The Onion has taken over America’s news bureaus.
  
  Clinton spent the last 10 years repeatedly praising the trade deal in speeches, most recently calling the job-killing accord 'good for New York and America.' Yet, journalists barely mention that record as they transcribe her assertions that 'I have been a critic of NAFTA from the very beginning....'"

• McCain Says, Retracts 'Could Lose Over Iraq' Comment:

  " John McCain said Monday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can't, "then I lose. I lose," the Republican said.
  
  He quickly backed off that remark...."

• List of McCain Fund-Raisers Includes Prominent Lobbyists | New York Times:

  Michael Luo and Sarah Wheaton report, "Senator John McCain has campaigned on curbing the influence of money in politics. But an examination by The New York Times of a list of 106 elite fund-raisers who have brought in more than $100,000 each for Mr. McCain found that about a sixth of them were lobbyists...."

• Hillary's Terrorist Ties | Newsmax.com | Dick Morris & Eileen McGann :

  "In this week's debate, Hillary Clinton said all of her 'baggage' has been 'rummaged through' for years. But important features of her close relationship with known terrorist sympathizers and Hamas supporters are still opaque to the public view...."

• Steve Weissman | Truthout | Baiting Obama:

  "... using 'bittergate,' Wright and Ayres to drag down Barack Obama has nothing to do with fair-minded debate and discussion. Nor is all this a needed vetting of Obama, as Hillary persists in saying. The current noise is nothing less than the predictable rebirth of an American political tradition. Call it redbaiting, witch-hunting or McCarthyism, the old slime is back and the reasons go far beyond the demands of Gotcha journalism and electoral combat."

• Anti-McCain Ad Surfaces in Battlegrounds | Truthdig:

  "Something called the Campaign to Defend America has purchased a reported $1 million worth of air time in Ohio and Pennsylvania to run this ad, which connects John McCain to George W. Bush.
  
  Update: Check out this investigation to learn who is behind the ad...."
  
  

• Truth Vs. 'Trash Journalism': McCain's Weak Rebuttal to Damaging Allegations | AlterNet:

  "John McCain is not a very nice man. I have made that abundantly clear in my new book The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him And Why Independents Shouldn't. When I wrote it, I endeavored to write about the actual man, not the myth or the media legend. Perhaps that was where I crossed the line...."

• Shoddy! Tawdry! A Televised Train Wreck! | New York Times | Frank Rich:

  "...I can’t remember a debate in which the only memorable moment was the audience’s heckling of a moderator. Then again, I can’t remember a debate that became such an instant national gag, earning reviews more appropriate to a slasher movie like “Prom Night” than a civic event held in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center:
  
  “Shoddy, despicable!” — The Washington Post
  
  “A tawdry affair!” — The Boston Globe
  
  “A televised train wreck!” — The Philadelphia Daily News
  
  And those were the polite ones. Let’s not even go to the blogosphere....
  
  [...]
  
  The unequivocally good news is that ABC’s debacle had the largest audience of any debate in this campaign. That’s a lot of viewers who are now mad as hell and won’t take it anymore."

• Gary Hart: Breaking the Final Rule | The Huffington Post:

  "It will come as a surprise to many people that there are rules in politics. Most of those rules are unwritten and are based on common understandings, acceptable practices, and the best interest of the political party a candidate seeks to lead. One of those rules is this: Do not provide ammunition to the opposition party that can be used to destroy your party's nominee. This is a hyper-truth where the presidential contest is concerned...."

• Raw Dawg Buffalo: Eighter from Decatur:

  "...Now days, Hillary Clinton sound like she shoot dice. She is always taunting her 35 years experience. So I have been doing some thinking, If she is 60 now, that means she been in public service since age 25, which I find hard to believe. Sure a large amount of that time was as first lady of Arkansas and the First Lady of the United States, but really, outside of that, what experience does she have? ..."

• McCain Is Now Officially a Campaign Finance Criminal | AlterNet:

  "But as Media Matters points out, you'd never know it from reading AP writer Jim Kuhnhenn."

Technorati tags: Election, President, Primaries, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, politics, campaign

Force Congress to Impeach Bush/Cheney: Step One

From PledgeToImpeach.org comes news of a strike:

Dear Pledges,

When you signed your pledge to participate in a strike to force Congress to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney, we promised you that your pledge would only be called in if we knew we had enough people on board to effectively shut down the nation, leaving Congress no alternative but to impeach Bush/Cheney. Though we have made substantial progress toward that end, we have not yet gained that certainty. What we do have is a growing solidarity between PTI, other impeachment groups, and now several labor unions, all working to close down our nations largest sea ports on April 30 and May 1. (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Newark, and Houston). Though this is not a calling of your pledge to stay home from work and shopping, it is a request that you find every way to support this action. Why? Because this action can give large numbers of determined Americans confidence in our cause and our ability to organize an effective national strike for justice through
impeachment/peace/fair labor practices.

In our effort to help the International Longshoremen's Union and IWW Union(Port Truckers) in their strike, we are asking that you hand out the attached flyer at every truck stop, or sea port near you, and inform every suffering truck driver, harbor worker, or otherwise outraged American that the day to warn Congress that American National Solidarity is near at hand and that we will soon be capable of calling an effective national strike that will force and end to the reign of corruption in Washington.

The Pledge To Impeach "Plan for Victory" to front-load enough people before delivering the ultimatum - "Impeach or We Strike!" to Congress remains the most viable among all stated plans. By joining with the truckers and longshoremen we are forming a real partnership with labor; one that we will continue to cultivate until we have a movement large enough to
force Congress to act.

We urge you to go to the pledgetoimpeach.org website to get up to speed on what we and the truckers and dock workers are doing on May 1, and why they are doing it, Between now and April 30, distribute the attached flyer, carry the Impeach or We Strike! sign. Then, at your own discretion, take sick/vacation leave, and refrain from any unnecessary purchases on April 30 and May 1.

This is not the strike that will bring us our goal of impeachment, but we feel it can be a major step toward it. Time is running short and it should be clear that the November election will not bring the change we need, regardless of who wins. Tell your co-workers to join you in staying home.

After three years of organizing it is time to act with determination and inform Congress that the people will not be ignored, or exploited any longer. If they won't defend the Constitution of the United States, then we will.

Over the last three years Pledge to Impeach has refused to participate in many actions we considered doomed to fail. We believe this action can lead to our day of victory, and we believe in the people taking it. We told you that demonstrations alone, that petitions alone, that vigils alone would not be effective. We told you that Kucinich and Wexler were not for real, and they have proven it. We now ask that you not fail to act when your action will bring results. Take part in defending America by helping expand an action that can lead to our first act of National Solidarity,

Spread the word. Our future depends on us.
PledgetoImpeach.org

SIGN THE PLEDGE HERE.

Technorati tags: Impeach, Impeachment, Bush, Cheney, strike, pledgetoimpeach.org, activism

Pennsylvania Primary Votes: Unrecountable, Unverifiable, Unauditable

This depressing news from VerifiedVoting.org:

Pennsylvania's Presidential primary on April 22 will be essentially unrecountable, unverifiable, and unauditable - an irony, because state law requires manual audits of a statistical sample of ballots cast in elections.

Over 85% of Pennsylvania's voters live in counties in which paperless electronic voting is the only method of voting at the polling place. Absentee voting requires an excuse in Pennsylvania, and there is no early voting period, so the polling-place equipment will tabulate the vast majority of the votes in the primary. Pennsylvania's Secretary of State has judged that reel-to-reel paper trail printers compromise voter privacy, and none of Pennsylvania's direct-recording electronic (DRE) systems offer voter-verifiable paper records.

The availabilty of emergency paper ballots is also a cause of serious concern. Current election law does not specify a given amount of emergency paper ballots. The Secretary of State's office has suggested that enough emergency ballots for 20% of registered voters be available. We hope that all counties print sufficient ballots, given the expectation of high turnout.

Here is a summary of the voting systems used in Pennsylvania:

• According to the Secretary of State's most current voter registration statistics, Pennsylvania has 8,326,564 registered voters. 7,064,129 voters are registered in the 51 counties in which paperless electronic voting is the only method of voting at the polling places.


• Of the 51 counties which use paperless machines, 25 use the paperless ES&S iVotronic touch screen machine as the principal voting system. These counties have over 2.6 million registered voters, comprising 32% of the registered voters in the state. After the state of Ohio's EVEREST voting system review was published, Edward Felten, head of the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, wrote that the iVotronic is "too risky to use in elections."


• 16 counties, with over 900,000 registered voters, use the Diebold/Premier TSx touch screen as the voting system. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen disallowed the TSx for use as a primary voting system for multiple and grave security vulnerabilities, as well as threats to voter privacy. See Secretary Bowen's withdrawal of approval here (pdf file), and the full reports of the review teams.


• 6 counties, with over 2.3 million voters, use the push-button Shouptronic voting machine.


• 750,000 voters will use the Sequoia Advantage, which apparently miscounted party turnout in New Jersey's February 5 primary. New Jersey county election officials called for an independent investigation of the machine discrepancy. 104,000 voters in York County use the Sequoia AVC Edge, also disallowed for use as a primary system in California (pdf link to report).


• 82,000 voters in Blair County will use the Hart Intercivic eSlate as the primary system. The eSlate was also found vulnerable in the EVEREST (p. 228-230) and the California top-to-bottom review (pdf links).


• Just under 1.2 million voters live in counties in which optically scanned paper ballots are the primary voting system. 740,000 voters live in four counties which use blended systems, with DREs used for accessible voting systems. 420,000 voters live in the 12 counties that use optical scan systems with a ballot-marking device for accessibility.

As a complete reading of the California and Ohio reviews will reveal, all of the optical systems used in Pennsylvania have serious security vulnerabilities. But optical scan systems offer a record of the votes that is independent of the software in the machine. And Pennsylvania law, 25 P.S. 3031.17 (pdf link), offers the best defense against these vulnerabilities: a random manual audit of ballots cast in an election. Only the counties with paper ballots can implement this law in a meaningful way.

Although November is looming nearer, Lackawanna County decided in March 2008 to switch to an optical scan/ballot-marker solution in time for the April 22 primary.

Help VerifiedVoting complete the legislative push toward reliable, secure, verifiable, and transparent elections!

Please visit their action center (click here) to turn the whole country green with voter-verified paper records and mandatory manual audits of those records.

Technorati tags: Voting, Paperless, Unverifiable, Pennsylvania, Primaries, President, Election, VerifiedVoting Foundation

My Vote's For Obama (If I Could Vote)

From Michael Moore comes this:

April 21st, 2008

Friends,

I don't get to vote for President this primary season. I live in Michigan. The party leaders (both here and in D.C.) couldn't get their act together, and thus our votes will not be counted.

So, if you live in Pennsylvania, can you do me a favor? Will you please cast my vote -- and yours -- on Tuesday for Senator Barack Obama?

I haven't spoken publicly 'til now as to who I would vote for, primarily for two reasons: 1) Who cares?; and 2) I (and most people I know) don't give a rat's ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there's a picture of JFK and FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word "Democratic" next to the candidate's name.

Seriously, I know so many people who don't care if the name under the Big "D" is Dancer, Prancer, Clinton or Blitzen. It can be Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Barry Obama or the Dalai Lama.

Well, that sounded good last year, but over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting. I guess the debate last week was the final straw. I've watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name "Farrakhan" out of nowhere, well that's when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the "F" word to scare white people, pure and simple. Of course, Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. But, according to Senator Clinton, Obama's pastor does -- AND the "church bulletin" once included a Los Angeles Times op-ed from some guy with Hamas! No, not the church bulletin!

This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!

Yes, Senator Clinton, that's how you sounded. Like you were nuts. Like you were a bigot stoking the fires of stupidity. How sad that I would ever have to write those words about you. You have devoted your life to good causes and good deeds. And now to throw it all away for an office you can't win unless you smear the black man so much that the superdelegates cry "Uncle (Tom)" and give it all to you.

But that can't happen. You cast your die when you voted to start this bloody war. When you did that you were like Moses who lost it for a moment and, because of that, was prohibited from entering the Promised Land.

How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come -- but it won't be you. We'll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).

There are those who say Obama isn't ready, or he's voted wrong on this or that. But that's looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.

That is not to take anything away from this exceptional man. But what's going on is bigger than him at this point, and that's a good thing for the country. Because, when he wins in November, that Obama Movement is going to have to stay alert and active. Corporate America is not going to give up their hold on our government just because we say so. President Obama is going to need a nation of millions to stand behind him.

I know some of you will say, 'Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve our vote?' That's a damn good question. In November of '06, the country loudly sent a message that we wanted the war to end. Yet the Democrats have done nothing. So why should we be so eager to line up happily behind them?

I'll tell you why. Because I can't stand one more friggin' minute of this administration and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world. I'm almost at the point where I don't care if the Democrats don't have a backbone or a kneebone or a thought in their dizzy little heads. Just as long as their name ain't "Bush" and the word "Republican" is not beside theirs on the ballot, then that's good enough for me.

I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for 8 long years. That's why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters -- that big "D" on the ballot.

Don't get me wrong. I lost my rose-colored glasses a long time ago.

It's foolish to see the Democrats as anything but a nicer version of a party that exists to do the bidding of the corporate elite in this country. Any endorsement of a Democrat must be done with this acknowledgement and a hope that one day we will have a party that'll represent the people first, and laws that allow that party an equal voice.

Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for 'spiritual counseling?' THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"

But no, Obama won't throw that at her. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be decent. She's been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.

That's why the crowds who come to see him are so large. That's why he'll take us down a more decent path. That's why I would vote for him if Michigan were allowed to have an election.

But the question I keep hearing is... 'can he win? Can he win in November?' In the distance we hear the siren of the death train called the Straight Talk Express. We know it's possible to hear the words "President McCain" on January 20th. We know there are still many Americans who will never vote for a black man. Hillary knows it, too. She's counting on it.

Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there. In that Constitution, they wrote that a black man or woman was only "three fifths" human. On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com

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

Technorati tags: Michael Moore, Election, President, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Reverand Jeremiah Wright, Politics