yoo hoo

Hi Jane.

I am still hoping Hillary and Barack knock each other out and Edwards walks away with it.

Jerome Armstrong shows why it’ll be a miracle if Hillary doesn’t win, given the resources she’s expended in Iowa. Also puts paid to the lie that Edwards has been living in Iowa this year

From your lips to every Iowa caucus-goer’s ear.

Maybe Fox News is frightened of the avuncular constitutionalist.

Jerome’s post is very good. That’s why I asked the question — if you were her, would you go for the knockout punch once and for all, or try to take out Obama even if it meant advancing Edwards?

Cassie has a post up about Edwards.

Noam missed a scenario, which is my favorite: Edwards wins Iowa handily, with Obama a distant second and Hillary a close third. Then Obama wins in New Hampshire, beating Hillary and ending her claim to inevitability. People start paying attention, and South Carolina becomes a race between the native son Edwards and Obama.

It could happen. I don’t think Democrats want Hillary to be the nominee. If her claim to be a winner is pierced, she’s toast. Edwards is the best-vetted, since there’s no better vetting than being considered for the Vice-Presidency in the Democratic Party. There is nothing more to find out about him.

She has to knock them both out, and soon. Any loss tarnishes her — this is a woman who has never lost an election, remember. Her inevitability will fade quickly among the chatterati should she lose Iowa.

If I were Hillary Clinton- I would strike a deal with Edwards to knock off Obama and then use my cash advantage to overwhelm him. But that presupposes Clinton as the sole center of gravity. Given the amount of money Obama has, he could very easily come to Edwards’ aid in further primaries by running hard only against Clinton. The fact that we have three front runners produces a curious calculus. Even with Edwards getting knocked off in Iowa (God forbid! He’s my man in this haul) who he sides with will produce a huge ripple effect.

This contest is far from settled. It’s just that it’s about to enter a new phase.

Someone get Loo Hoo over here to defend Hillary!

The “new phase” being when votes are actually cast, or in Iowa’s case, corralled.

I hope it’s not all staged because that would make me feel silly.

Edwards won’t make any deals with Hillary to knock out Obama — he needs Obama’s strength in New Hampshire to deliver the one-two punch to end her campaign.

Central bankers make war to create debt

Debt is control

The End

If it’s not all staged I’LL feel silly!

I would take out Obama. He has the most upside.

if you were Hillary Clinton, would you…

… welllll, i’d…

oh. you were asking about the primaries… never mind.

Stopped by and left her a comment. We must encourage these young citizen journalists at every opportunity. I got my start waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy back in the day covering the National Plowing Contest and Goldwater and Humphrey speeches for the school paper. Crikey! I’m old!

The problem is that my best guess is that Edwards is effectively ahead already. He’s the second choice of far too many delegates and that matters a great deal. I think he’s taking Iowa unless the other two cut a deal (which they’re unlikely to do). The problem for him, of course, is going forward.

If Edwards wins Ohio, if I were him, I’d immediately turn to Obama and try and cut a deal with him. Same if I were Obama and I won Iowa, as far as that goes, I’d immediatley try to cut a deal with Edwards (much more doable, Edwards must win Iowa).

Smart money is still on Clinton, but it’s still possible for Obama or Edwards to win.

We’re you a Goldwater Girl like Hil?

I don’t know what Hill and Obama want to do with the presidency. I know what Edwards would do and that would be take the corporations down a few pegs. Great of he could but up all the monopolies and stop the whole M&A business and outlaw all the derivatives and make believe financial “instruments”. But until we downside the military and the MIC we will never get out of the nasty merry go round we are on.

Edwards won’t make any deals with Hillary to knock out Obama — he needs Obama’s strength in New Hampshire to deliver the one-two punch to end her campaign.

Wouldn’t that be sweet. I think that Hillary is far more vulnerable than is generally felt. Republican lite is not what the folks want or need right now.

And then there’s Michigan…

Obama and Edwards are not on the ballot here as Michigan’s blankety-blank Democratic Leadership decided to negotiate with the MIGOP for an earlier primary, in direct contravention to the DNC’s rules. The DNC will yank any delegates from a state that does not adhere to the primary schedule established by a vote of the DNC’s members last summer, along with sanctioning candidates who remain on the ballot. Hillary thumbed her nose at the DNC and remained on the ballot, while Obama and Edwards followed DNC rules and abstained from the ballot and from campaigning here.

And because Michigan is so jacked up, its state laws require that both parties agree to a date for a primary, by way of its legislature; the Republicans agreed to the earlier date, but will only be penalized by their party by losing half their delegates. Their Republican candidates can now run here with far less competition for attention, and are now likely to draw people from across the aisle who are torqued off at not being able to vote for a full complement of Democratic candidates.

I will NOT vote for HRC in the primary. I will likely vote for Dodd, who also remained on the ballot, or cross the aisle and vote for the candidate most likely to piss off the Republican Party (they’d be forced to spend money on that candidate instead of their favorite(s)).

Obviously we still have a LOT of house cleaning to do in the state party; the Governor is now on my sh*t-list, as she threw in her hat publicly far too early for HRC, when she should have remained neutral as long as possible and encouraged a real primary for the benefit of the state (she’s also bungled the budget this past year). The head of the party needs to leave — the sooner, the better — and perhaps if somebody at the DNC started forcing an audit on the party more regularly, the chair would take the hint. Jeebus, even Senator Levin was part of this fiasco, pressing for an earlier convention under the guise of asking for the same attention as Iowa and New Hampshire. He got played like a fiddle, or he’s really in HRC’s camp, I don’t know which.

There are a LOT of angry Dems here now. If “Uncommitted” gets more votes than HRC, I would be absolutely tickled; it would mean that a big chunk of the state’s delegates are still up for grabs and may be that way right up to the convention.

Gawd, no. This body bleeds liberal blue.

I am still hoping Hillary and Barack knock each other out and Edwards walks away with it.

Yep!

Well, Hil changed and then changed back! Something about triangulation.

Another example of Establishment Dems lining up with Hillary. Superdelegates, party power brokers. There’s a strong case to be made for you Michiganders going the “Uncommitted” route rather than crossing over.

anyone watching the real news over the net ???? or just zed (sad)

Aha but Edwards and Obama need each other out in order to coalesce the “anti Hillary” vote. Which means that Edwards and Hillary potentially have a common agenda. Hence, potential for deal.

I am watching the Giants hold their own and then some against the Patriots.

If I’m Hillary, I ain’t makin’ no deals with nobody.

Help me understand what kind of deal ya’ll are talking about. I’m not too swuft.

Yes!!! Yes!!!!

Noonan defines ‘reasonable’
from Crooks and Liars by Steve Benen

The WSJ’s Peggy Noonan argues today that her top characteristic when evaluating presidential candidates is “reasonableness.” The former Reagan speechwriter insists: “We are grown-ups…. We’d like knowledge, judgment, a prudent understanding of the world and of the ways and histories of the men and women in it.”

At face value, there’s nothing especially troubling about this standard. Noonan is setting the bar fairly low, but she’s sketched out a relatively practical model. That is, until Noonan starts applying her standards to specific candidates. Here’s her take on the former senator from North Carolina:

John Edwards is not reasonable. All the Democrats would raise taxes as president, but Mr. Edwards’s populism is the worst of both worlds, both intemperate and insincere. Also we can’t have a president who spent two minutes on YouTube staring in a mirror and poofing his hair. Really, we just can’t.

Noonan had just finished arguing that American voters “are grown-ups,” and then she turns around and takes on John Edwards’ hair? What’s more, Glenn Greenwald notes that “poofing” isn’t actually a word, “but rather, a British epithet for a male homosexual — ‘Slang: Disparaging and Offensive’ — a synonym for ‘faggot.’”

Noonan’s looking for a candidate with a “prudent understanding of the world.” I’m looking for a columnist with the same attribute.

Hmmm…what is the “knock-out punch”??? Is there one?

Someone told me in a restaurant in Austin in 1999…”See that woman over there, she is the next First Lady”….I’m like…Whaaaa???…Sure ’nuff.

Same person, told me two years ago….Edwards is the next President.

I will await to see if it’s a two-fer, but I won’t be surprised if it is Edwards by a landslide. We shall see.

i worry about social security more with senator clinton as president than with either obama (although his rhetoric sucks) or edwards. and that, i think, is where i see the biggest policy difference.

but basically, i have no freaking clue who would make the best president. some days i have sympathy for the folks who stay home on election day.

I’m remembering Elizabeth and John talking about trusting in the democratic process in Iowa with the kind of quiet confidence that had neither bluster nor desperation to it.

I don’t think they feel they need to do Survivor-type alliances with anybody.

OH NO! Sports are the personification of the stranglehold the military industrials complex has over the masses. (Eli looks pretty good, wink)>

I am watching the Giants hold their own and then some against the Patriots.

Just wondering ,,not the bay of piggs uent …..

To defend Hilary you must get rid of Rahm and Penn. I think Hilary is compromising herself to win “Center ” votes. The problem is that there is no more center.
We have 70% Bush has 30% and with every day more and more the antiwar position is taking the lead, I think we can get 80% before the election. Hilary is still fighting the last war of Bill’s presidency where to get things done he had to compromise.
I would support Hilary if she would stop compromising with people who hate her and just be her self.

I go for the KO, but if I don’t get it, I still think I’m OK. I don’t think anybody’s gonna KO anybody on account of Iowa (I’m talkin’ about the top 3).

Yes, agreed, a majority voting for UNCOMMITTED would send a kick in the ass to the machine politics.

I can’t say this loudly enough to the boneheads in the machine who did this: THE UNION PEOPLE ARE PISSED OFF AND ARE GOING TO CROSS THE AISLE.

I know of one in particular with serious clout, on a first name basis with the Governor, who is going to do just that. This person is a long-time Dem activist and they’ve crossed the aisle in primaries before, would be nothing to them to do it again. They’ve already discussed doing so with their leadership.

The senior leadership across the whole of this party, with a few exceptions, needs to be tossed out on its ass. I didn’t bust my keister for the last 4 years on party building and activism to lose my voice; believe me, I will do what I can to encourage every damned senior Democratic incumbent is primaried until they are all gone. It’s time to clean house on both sides of the aisle this coming November.

I’d be amazed. Pleasantly amazed.

Sorry about the over the top snark the other day.

Hey! Stop quoting stuff I didn’t write! :)

In the Iowa caucus top down deals are difficult to pull off. Most deals occur in the school gyms and community centers between neighbors and friends to get the necessary percentages to qualify for delegates.

Making these deals, which are a result of the strange percentage rules, is what takes up all of the time. A lot of the deals have nothing to do with the political positions of the various candidates, but with the relationship between various caucus goers. For instance, if you are a Biden backer and he doesn’t have 15%, but your boss is there with a group that needs one more person, guess what?

I was shocked to hear a soundbite from Edwards on a CNN radio cut-in while driving today. I can’t ever remember hearing him on something like that. And they even picked one that made him sound great (which he is for the most part).

When the news robot came back on after the bite, they even said something complementary toward him, and there was never a mention of Obama or Clinton. Knowing how tightly controlled the Conglomerate Media messaging is, I suspect this didn’t happen by accident. Perhaps they’re hearing from people in the Iowa trenches that Edwards is pulling away, or perhaps there’s something nefarious happening? Strange to have such a shift in coverage all of sudden.

I think Edwards and Obama are running against each other at this moment. Edwards won’t survive if he can’t beat Obama. I think he will deal with Clinton.

I’m still predicting an Edwards/Clinton/Obama in Iowa…

is there a football game on tonight?

YES!

Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, but I do know we all do it. OK, we don’t all do it, but I have. It’s really harmless.

If I were Hilary I would stop compromising and outleft Edwards,Obama and point out that even with MSM media control Bush is still only at 30%. Then I would attack the Media just comparing Tweety’s mancrush on Grandpa Fred to how Tweety covers Hilary done in a series of quick comparision of news clips would prove her point.

(((mary)))

i left you a peace offering when i saw that you were worried.

2, Giants and Pats in the first game shown on 2 networks since the 1967 Super Bowl. Also, Penn State and Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl.17-14 Lions in the 3d. Thank god for picture in picture and FDL so I have something to do between plays!

This Beerfart has been a Giants fan since he was knee high rto a grass hopper. Does the name Tucker Frederickson ring a bell? Alie Sherman? I bleed Giants blue. I’m enjoyin’ what i can while i can but still a long way to go.

I’m also suspecting that Obama’s support is the softest… and that those votes are moving mostly to Edwards.

I want to make it clear that the comments you see from me in this thread are about MICHIGAN’s primary scheduled for 15-JAN, and not about Iowa or New Hampshire.

But I do think that the Democratic leadership across the entire country as well as Michigan needs to be swept out and replaced with grassroots, fighting Dems, save for a few exceptions who’ve well earned our loyalty.

ah, thanks for the summary. especially as i live in ma, i really should know these things.

Hey, who nyceve is?

i may not watch tv, but you don’t read daily kos?

The Pats game is the biggest nothing since Seinfeld. The outcome of the game will not impact either team in terms of the playoffs but the Pats are trying to become the 1st undefeated team in 35 years.

This was my first thought when hearing the positive CNN coverage of Edwards today. My skeptical side thinks Clinton has quite a bit of sway over Conglomerate Media coverage, especially CNN. Clinton isn’t too afraid of an Edwards win since she’s so far ahead of him in many of the other states. Obama’s “electability” (jeezus I hate that word) is still in question to a lot of Democrats, and if he loses to Edwards in Iowa I think that sentiment will increase greatly.

Plus, a Clinton/Edwards ticket would be pretty formidable next Fall. (ugh…)

TexBetsy:
I am still hoping Hillary and Barack knock each other out and Edwards walks away with it.

Amen.

Which means I’d hope Hillary deals with Edwards to knock him out, or that Edwards does surprisingly strongly in Iowa…

Rayne:

But I do think that the Democratic leadership across the entire country as well as Michigan needs to be swept out and replaced with grassroots, fighting Dems, save for a few exceptions who’ve well earned our loyalty.

Absolutely. However, this is the long haul, I think…somethign we will be working on for quite some time, entirely independently of the presidential elections…

nyceve is a diarist at daily kos (at least that is where i’ve been reading her), who has a long time series on fucked up health care in the usa. although being more clever and articulate than me, she calls it murder by spreadsheet.

I do some but I got into a squabble over a statement nyceve made and he or she wrote back that they loved me but I was a dope. Just wondered who it was.

i probably should have read emptywheel’s football trash talk thread. then i’d be at least a bit aware.

Two words: Randy Moss

It was a really great intro to the book on depression with a silly attack on Bob Costas stuck in the middle.

Is there a difference between a diarist and a blogger?

(this is a serious question, not snark)

i just read that thread (i’m sooo behind i’m never gonna catch up)… thought you both had good points. nyceve about the general issue and you about costas (hope i’m not being a dope now *g*)

Perhaps this will help.

I went to the previous thread like I was told (even though I thought it was ON topic) but I was happy that some other pups agreed with me.

My goal is to get rid of the Republicans. To that end I will vote for the Democratic nominee. Many seem to think Clinton will win in Iowa. But I’ll go with Edwards in Iowa. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking. If as they say ‘politics is the art of compromise’, I do think Obama and HRC have it down to a science. I hope Iowa feels the same.

None of the candidates are perfect, obviously. But I am focusing on Dodd in the primary. Things are somewhat volatile. Voters are angry and appear to want change. So perhaps anything is possible.

And I do think that Sen. Clinton is very shrewd.

I have read her. She is great. It has been awhile so I need to go back and read her diary.

This what? You’re killin me over here!

Duh, I couldn’t see the link, my bad.

FWIW, and it hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity, the RNC has vowed to penalize MI, FL, NH and SC for having early primaries as well and take half of their delegates.

But it’s only the DNC that gets beat up for adhereing to the rules

I”ll wait an’ see if NE scores now (nice punt, Feagles), if not, I’m gonna go watch the rest of the game. This political handicapping is fun, though.

Here’s my query—- What about the people who drop out after Iowa? Are tehre enough supporters there to make a difference to Edwards or Obama?

I think Edwards is the power player, not Clinton, not Obama, right now.

I got a bad feelin’…

Her work looks really good.

well, i’m really neither, so i likely have this wrong…. but here’s my take. a blogger is someone who has a blog and writes regularly on it (examples are jane and kos). in a group blog there are additional bloggers who write regularly for the blog, even though it is not theirs (examples are christy and kagro x). then there are blogs that include diaries for participants who want to do more than comment, but usually don’t have their own blog.

then there people like me who just comment on other people’s blogs (and every once in a great while will write a diary if i get pissed off enough). and then there are lurkers.

i think that is the taxonomy.

What does Edwards have to offer Clinton?

*ahem* Randy Moss. Just sayin’.

Shit. NE scored AND a two point conversion. Damnit.

What does Clinton have to offer Edwards?
What does Obama have to offer Edwards?

Edwards / Dodd 2008

thanking you

Looking at the post and the comments,using p0ker lingo,I;d say Edwards has a lot of outs.

Here we go with the moderation, be kind to old Busted please.

i didn’t know about costas, so was glad to get your take.

white maleness

You mean about him at all or the comment?

Good-nite only 68 more reason to love pakistan …. sleep well ………. your potus

please

Good Goddess, now it’s rainin’ finally in the SE…but it’s because it was prayed for, according to FOX CNN, of course…..like Mother Nature doesn’t know what to do when to rain ….unless the “fundies” pray to her….good Lordess….

We need rain…ok.

I thought team sports today that involved putting balls through or past hoops, lines etc were just pale imitations of the days when the losing team would be sacrificed to the gods.

Busted,
What does a lot of outs mean?
(Ah! first turn over of the game….
yeah Moss is good…but those big, tall qb’s are good too.)

Edwards has a lot of outs.

define please.

No, not independently. Do you know when your local party’s convention is, when they will have their annual vote for officers and party platform?

My local party will be having their convention in early February — and I intend to submit a passel of resolutions demanding change to the party’s primary process, along with the process by which local delegates are assigned to the state convention. Those moves shape the party at state level. I’ve got enough contacts across the state that I can ensure that some of the counties with enough power attempt the same changes at their local conventions as well.

This is one of the most important things I learned during the last four years in which I’ve become an activist. Shaping the party you want must be done all the time, 365 days a year, no matter whether a presidential election or mid-term election year. I wrote my first party resolutions only 6 weeks after the November 2004 election, and they became part of the state party’s platform through the same process I described above.

While we’re sitting here yapping about the horse race stuff, the race for control of the party is running concurrently. All of us need to know that. And you also need to know that it doesn’t take much to lose it; our local chair decided to run for public office this coming year requiring him to step down from the party chair, and now the local party has been hijacked by the machine. They sat their own chairman by two votes — I couldn’t make one party meeting, nor could two other activist friends, constituting the margin by which we lost. And now we are going to have to fight to win back the local party in a matter of a month.

Don’t drop your guard, not for a second. This is a marathon and it requires attention to every step for the duration of this generation.

And the point is?

i think i’ve seen him on tv – maybe years ago? but, i meant your comment.

Don’t drop your guard, not for a second. This is a marathon and it requires attention to every step for the duration of this generation.

Try to have a little fun too, this shit will be there when you get back.

Point hmm you got me

Having a lot of outs is having a lot of potential combinations to win.

Back from where? I don’t know about you, but this political stuff has become my bread and butter since I first cut my teeth four years ago as a virgin activist, and it’s the difference between a free society and increasing fascism.

There is no back to be from.

I’m worried.

It’s all in the eye of the beholder. If you don’t like sports then it would follow that someone who has made a very good living from it wouldn’t your favorite. I would remind folks that KO is first and foremost a sports person. Costas is bright and critical not some shill.

in general or is there something specific tonight? spit it out if there is… we’re interested and maybe you’ll feel better if you can share the worry.

I was hoping it was a good thing.

Ah. I get it now.
Totally different from a sports out.
I agree about having a little fun once in a while.
This will be here for a Really Long Time.
And, who cares what CNN says about why it’s raining. A person could have apoplexy if they don’t let some stuff go.

For an Iowa deal: A bunch of votes that would otherwise go to Obama, which would slow or end the momentum Obama’s been building the last couple of months.

For VP: A pink p*enis and a southern accent.

So assuming for the sake of argument that the above analysis is correct — if you were Hillary Clinton, would you go for broke or make a deal with Edwards to knock out Obama, knowing that you had the financial advantage going forward?

I’m not sure that HRC has anything to offer Edwards. Wrt to the VP slot, he’s been there, done that and got the t-shirt.

I’m guessing he’d think that was the proverbial “pitcher of warm spit” notwithstanding Deadeye’s once-in-a-blue-moon overreach.

Perhaps one thing HRC could offer Edwards would be a Supreme Court position. Wouldn’t that be a kick. A Trial Lawyer as a Supreme to royally piss off all the Repugs and their hate for Trial Lawyers.

Matter of fact, she could diss the Repugs even further by putting Edwards in as Chief Justice. Don’t know that this is even constitutionally possible and I suspect current Chiefie Roberts would take umbrage at it. *g*

oh, i like sports – used to even have a nba season ticket. but for various reasons i gave it up, and now that i barely ever turn on the tv, i have have no fracking clue what’s going on.

Yea, well after being in the streets opposing the Vietnam was for 5 years after I came home I got pretty fucking sick of the whole deal. So I tried to do something constructive in my community and said the hell with national politics. I got sucked back in when Kerry got nominated and then watched while his fucking handlers had him ignore the swift boaters until it was too late.

thanks for that image bonkers!

yow

It’s all in the eye of the beholder. If you don’t like sports then it would follow that someone who has made a very good living from it wouldn’t your favorite. I would remind folks that KO is first and foremost a sports person. Costas is bright and critical not some shill.

I take your point, sort of. But it was crystal clear that she was illustrating the disproportion in reality of earnings, income, and it’s links to despair.
She could just as well have used Michael Jordan, or Trump, or Martha Stewart.

in defense of sports news people…. they have to have to have some grounding in reality. would any of them still have jobs if they didn’t get the scores right (or other details) right? probably more than any other kind of news person – i think they had a working relationship with the truth, with the historical and present day context of events in their field of expertise.

I’ve done some work with Bob Costas and he is an absolute joy to work with. Extremely respectful and friendly to anyone he came into contact with, whether it was the janitor or his boss. And I think he is fairly Liberal, so if he can get some of the Conglomerate’s money, more power to him.

Bhutto fallout.

I think Obama’s gonna bail, if he can….Michelle’s sending signals..

HRC is worried….JMHO

I don’t like it….

Sure and the , “what does this guy contribute to society, probably nothing”. And then when I cited an example of something he did I get, “oh so that makes him a hero”. Don’t piss on my shoes and tell me it’s raining. I will admit that it really doesn’t mean shit in the bigger scheme.

i don’t think nyceve was being critical of costas (although it first seemed like it), i think the point she was making is that it’s a fucked up system that so highly rewards his work but not others.

The personal attack was bullshit. I’m glad to hear you experience supports that.

heh…been going through Steve Gilliard’s archives a bit tonight and picked up some of his, shall we say…directness?

And that’s exactly where the local/state party comes in. Donnie Fowler was the f*ckup who handled Kerry’s campaign in my state, and the current state party machine was pretty damned ineffectual at sweeping up. Kerry took MI, but it should have been a blowout, and a couple million dollars in party assets should not have gone walkabout during that race. That kind of money could have made a difference in four congressional races that were within 5%…or could have bought enough TV ads to rebut the SBVT damage, buying both the copy and production, maybe some airtime at the border with Ohio.

The local party actually kicked the Kerry campaign out of its offices — for using the phone too much. Have you ever heard of anything so freaking stupid??

We got rid of that local party chair. And because we turned our backs, didn’t stack our deck like we’d learned the hard way, they’ve reseated a machine chair four years later during a presidential election.

More power to ya, I admire your grit. I just don’t have the same level of commitment.

more please…

why would obama bail now? what does hrc fear?

do you think bad guys are gonna get a nuke and cheney start www3 on us and them?

Thers’ crap is upstairs

“He’s a person that should continue to present to this country what he has to offer.”

“The Obamas don’t seem to see it that way.

“My wife and I were talking the other day, and she said, ‘We’re not doing this again,’ ” Obama said. “Those of you who have met my wife or heard my wife, you know she doesn’t mince words. I mean, she’s a tough cookie.”

Obama said their stance has less to do with the grueling campaign schedule that separates the family for large swaths of time, and more with the couple’s belief that eight years from now, they wouldn’t be the “same people.”

It was a minor bump in a very informative thread. As usual, I should have just let it drop. I only brought it up because I wondered who it was who said they loved me.

wow.

we all love you!

and tenacity is not a bad thing. *g*

see you-all upstairs.

night pups, keep that perimeter safe

garsh

I think HRC’s comments about lack “credibility of the US” for a certain reason, said it all…as far as an investigation of the Bhutto assassination goes…

It’s not about WWIII, or WWIV, etc., it is about who maintains power in Pakistan, now; and who maintains power here, now, and how they maintain that power in the future. They don’t like obstacles to their agenda.

Tell me you didn’t grin when you typed that with a straight face.

usually talk about “credibility” means we’re about to bomb the crap out of someone. here’s chomsky:

Now, what does the “credibility of the United States” mean? Well, you can ask any Mafia don, and he’ll explain it. So, suppose some Mafia don is running some area in Chicago, what does he mean by “credibility”? He means that you have got to show people that they better be obedient or else. That’s credibility.

Shorter: HRC does not trust the credibility of the US DOJ/Administration to conduct a credible investigation in the matter of the assassination of Bhutto.

Her comments on Juan Cole’s “Informed Comment”..(Selise, I know you know that stuff, but others reading may not) :)

(Biden said something similar)

Me shorter: I worry about the vulnerabilities of our candidates.

oh, never i assume i know anything! none of us does, there’s just too much going on, and i’m not ashamed to admit it.

thanks for letting me know what had you worried…

Two words: Randy Moss

Go Herd!

He’s a terrific athlete.

Let’s raise 5k and offer it to the first Youtuber that get Ol’ RatFace Noonan ‘doing’ her hair there is no fucking way she does her hair in two minutes.

None.

That would be hilarious. Can you see JRE taking those thugs Scalia and Thomas down every day! I bet you could sell tickets.

But no, I wouldn’t wish working with those slime on anyone. The Supremes are about, if a read my tea leaves correctly about to go into eclipse and JRE and a revitalized Congress start taking care of business.

It’s a strange thing how the campaign went for months with one audience of voters and then about a month ago a whole new audience walked in, sat down and began to listen to the debates. Now, I think, in this last two weeks there may even be a 3rd audience who have heard a few things here and there, but are just now beginning to watch the contest.

This has to be a bit strange for the candidates who have given a lot of speeches (many of which were their one standard stump speech) in a lot of small towns around Iowa and New Hampshire. Now they have to earn votes from people who mostly know who they are (background and general political position).

Well, there certainly isn’t much time to fight the opponents as happened months ago. Whatever is said and countered might not reverberate across the states. And, in the heat of these last frantic days any craziness or mistake could seem overwhelming.

I’d suggest just sticking to the tried and true: look good, listen closely to the people, speak clearly and tell them from your heart just what you can do for them.

Of course, there are already riffs built into their speeches to highlight differences between themselves and the other candidates. That’s fine, just don’t go crazy over trivial things which may pop up between now and caucus day. It isn’t worth the effort to hit new things and it’s riskier than just sticking to the text.

After the assassination of Mme. Bhutto there were several strange things said and it just shows that reacting in this environment can quickly be seen as over-reacting.

Huckabee’s “apology” to Pakistan was odd.

Richardson’s call for a focus on Afghanistan seemed tangential and contrived.

Hillary’s confession that she had talked with Bhutto seemed like crass name-dropping at the worst moment.

Obama has been sort of off the rails for a week or two already. He’s thrashing about like a drowning man.

Edwards has been pretty steady and his call to Musharraf seemed okay. Maybe it’s this decent ‘pressure’ performance which is earning him a little boost here near the end. I hope it continues.

John Edwards for President — Leadership for America!

Duh, I couldn’t see the link, my bad.

Raven, I usually can’t see them unless they’re at least 3 words long and at least one is mixed case. Glad to hear I’m not alone.

L.S.; I think the “knockout punch” differs with each candidate.

As an Edwards supporter, I think he pretty much has to win in Iowa, although a close 2nd, AHEAD of Clinton might give him a shot at New Hampshire. If he wins in Iowa; LOOK OUT! We could have Howard Dean without the “yearrrghhh!” and that just might take off, as a real populist wave. Which I would be delighted to see. :o)

Clinton has enough beltway support and money that she can survive an Iowa loss to either Edwards or Obama as somewhat damaged goods, but if she then loses in New Hampshire, it will be bye-bye Hillary; no way can she recoup in South Carolina. If she’s lost in Iowa and N.H., S.C. will make it a threefer, and put paid to her campaign hopes, as her money and her support start to dry up. None of these candidate can hang on long after three losses in a row.
Another factor working against Hillary; the longer the primaries go on, the tougher it is for her. Bush’s little deal of paying 70,000 Sunni insurgents $300 each, per month, is nothing but a stopgap, and I don’t think the Shiites will let them into the security forces as formal militiak nor will they tolerate CentCom arming and paying all of their former nemeses for the next year. Sadr and Hakim could make a real truce, and with the brits down to 2500 in Basra, the Shiites could shut off the oil taps to those fields in the south and invite CentCom to come down and try to turn them on again. And wouldn’t that be interesting in the middle of “surge accomplished”?

Who knows what it’s going to be like in two or three months? Pakistan could explode, and if the wheels start coming off again, Clinton’s the one who will suffer the most from being so close to bush’s fuckups.

Obama is tougher to call. He could lose in Iowa, and then win in New Hampshire, and he’ll be in good shape headed into S.C., where there are a ton of black voters waiting for him. If he wins all three, it will be tough for Clinton, or Edwards, whose candidacy right now is perceived as the most fragile, to slow his “mo”.

I don’t even care what happens with the republican dwarves. If we nominate either Edwards or Obama, they will be reduced to sacrificial goats.

L.S. was there a link to Clinton’s comments about Juan Cole’s “informed comments”? That sounds interesting.

One huge wildcard:

A possible endorsement from Al Gore.