Memo: Party rules require that FL and MI lose at least half of their delegates

And let's stop playing games. Florida and Michigan knew what they were getting into. And in Florida, at least, practically every single Democrat voted in favor of the decision that ultimately led to them losing their delegates. And they knew it, but they didn't care. So let's stop pretending like they're children, even though they clearly acted like children, knew the rules, broke the rules, and now are paying for it. In any case, how much you want to bet Hillary is now considering appealing this Saturday's upcoming decision so she can drag this out another 4 weeks, when the appeal would be heard. Bet ya. But I have a feeling that next week the entire party is going to come down on her head like a ton of bricks if she doesn't concede. (Though, watch her postpone her race, or some other cute term, rather than concede, just in case, well, you know.) Read More......

Former Bush spokesman's book criticizes Bush

I never know what to think of these people, like Colin Powell, who keep quiet while they're there, don't quit as a matter of principle, but then later say "ooh, they were such bad people." Yeah, well, you were one of them, and then someone had to pay you to come clean.

President Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political ends, Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, writes in a critical new memoir about his years in the West Wing.

In addition, Mr. McClellan writes, the decision to invade Iraq was a “serious strategic blunder,” and yet, in his view, it was not the biggest mistake the Bush White House made. That, he says, was “a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed."
...

Mr. McClellan writes that top White House officials deceived him about the administration’s involvement in the leaking of the identity of a C.I.A. operative, Valerie Wilson. He says he did not know for almost two years that his statements from the press room that Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby Jr. were not involved in the leak were a lie.

“Neither, I believe, did President Bush,” Mr. McClellan writes. “He too had been deceived, and therefore became unwittingly involved in deceiving me. But the top White House officials who knew the truth — including Rove, Libby, and possibly Vice President Cheney — allowed me, even encouraged me, to repeat a lie.”

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SEC to investigate credit rating agencies

Is this really necessary? John McCain believes we have too much regulation and just because the credit agencies propped up Enron, Worldcom and the subprime debt that has been at the center of hundreds of billions of bad business, doesn't mean it's all bad. Win a few, lose a few, right? Sure, if you want to nitpick one could make a pretty strong argument that propping up ratings leads to record failures, recessions, lost retirement savings, lost jobs, ruined lives and a taxpayer bailout but in proper society one doesn't say such things. Not among friends, anyway. If John McCain is OK with less regulation then why not? Read More......

Obama on McCain's hush-hush romance with GWB

This is good (video here):

"I just had the privilege of visiting with Felicitas Rosel and Francisco Cano at their home here in Las Vegas. Today, John McCain is having a different kind of meeting. He’s holding a fundraiser with George Bush behind closed doors in Arizona. No cameras. No reporters. And we all know why. Sen. McCain doesn’t want to be seen, hat in hand, with the president whose failed policies he promises to continue for another four years."

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Letter to the editor: "7 of my family members died at Dachau"

AMERICAblog reader Kim, from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, weighs in on our story about the Republicans mocking Obama for saying his uncle helped liberate Auschwitz when he really helped liberate Buchenwald:

Want to know how idiotic this is? The difference between Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau and Bergen-Belsen comes down to the fact that Auschwitz was specifically labeled an extermination camp, whereas the latter three are "merely" concentration camps where people were worked to death. One of the biggest myths surrounding the Holocaust is that every concentration camp was an extermination camp with crematoria. In fact, most were work camps where people were either worked to death, starved to death, shot, or murdered in ways so unthinkable that I cannot even imagine.

Anne Frank died at Bergen-Belsen, and 7 of my family members died at Dachau. I personally don't give a damn that Obama confused Buchenwald and Auschwitz, I'm personally glad that Obama's uncle, and his American/European/and yes, Soviet allies got there and put an end to it before the Nazi's (and their "appeasers") were able to kill, by cyanide or bullet to the head, one more innocent person.

Turning this into a political football is reprehensible, and as the daughter and granddaughter of Jews who currently reside in Florida, I can tell you that this jockeying is sickening to watch. And from the limited sample I have, it isn't doing the RNC any favors (I don't know if its hurting them, but it sure as hell isn't helping).

Kim
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

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LA TImes: "What's worse, Obama's apparent gaffe or the RNC pouncing on a Holocaust-related historical mistake for political advantage?"

Blistering coverage of the Republicans using the Holocaust as a political football. I hadn't realized that the Republican National Committee, that would be the Republican party headquarters here in Washington, tried to take political advantage of this Holocaust story. Wow that's craven. Here's what the Los Angeles Times blog had to say:

The RNC seized the opportunity to fire off a news release, saying that “unless his uncle was serving in the Red Army, there’s no way Obama’s statement yesterday can be true. Obama’s frequent exaggerations and outright distortions raise questions about his judgment and his readiness to lead as commander in chief.”

The Obama campaign soon acknowledged that the Democratic candidate made a mistake. It explained that Obama’s great-uncle was in the 89th Infantry Division that helped liberate another notorious death camp, Buchenwald. Obama, the campaign said, “is proud of the service of his grandfather and uncles in World War II -- especially the fact that his great-uncle was part of liberating of one of the concentration camps at Buchenwald.”

All of which raises the question: What's worse, Obama's apparent gaffe or the RNC pouncing on a Holocaust-related historical mistake for political advantage?

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Holocaust Museum confirms, Obama's uncle's Infantry Division liberated Buchenwald

Apparently, the Republicans are trying to make political hay out of Auschwitz. Well, last week was Hitler, so why am I surprised.

Yesterday, Obama mentioned that his uncle, Charlie Payne, helped to liberate the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. The Republicans were hoping that they could catch Obama lying - that maybe Obama never had an uncle who helped liberate the Jews in Europe. Well, in fact, Obama's uncle (his grandmother's brother) helped liberate the Nazi camp at Buchenwald (Obama mixed up Auschwitz and Buchenwald). So the Republicans (and a few Hillary fans emailed me as well) are trying to allege... what exactly? That Obama's family did in fact help save the Jews in Europe, but Obama got the name of the camp he liberated wrong? Okay. I'm not quite sure how that gives us any insight into Obama (other than his uncle is a hero) - I don't really know the difference Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Bergen Belsen and the rest of the camps. I just know that I'd be damn proud if a member of my family helped liberate them. Not to mention, according to the US Holocaust Museum, Obama's uncle's Infantry Division didn't just liberate one of the camps that made up Buchenwald. It was the first Nazi concentration camp liberated by US troops in all of Germany. That's pretty amazing.

I had an uncle who helped the Jews escape in the northern Greece during the German/Italian occupation. I only learned the story this past year from my mom. His name was John (Yiannis) Papatsoris, and he was my grandma's brother (he was also the uncle of my famous uncle in Greece, Yiannis Haralambopoulos, who was the defense minister and foreign minster (among other jobs) under Papandreou). That side of the family has one hell of a history to live up to - it's the same blood line that leads back to our other famous ancestor who fought in the revolution against the Turks. Anyway, this particular Uncle John went to the Greek West Point (Sxoli ton Evelpidon) and was with the Greek xorafilaksi (we think it's the military police) - he was in charge of all of northern Greece during the German occupation. Apparently he helped a few too many Jews escape northern Greece, so the Germans showed up one day and told him he was going to be excecuted. He asked if he could say good-bye to his wife, they said yes, so when he got to his home, rather than going inside, he walked around the side of the house and ran. He eventually caught a boat and escaped.

Anyway, I'm damn proud of my uncle. Sure, I had to call mom to get all the facts straight, but that doesn't lessen what he did (nor does it lessen me). So I imagine Obama is damn proud of his uncle too, and the role he played in helping save the Jews in Europe. So kudos to Obama. I hope the Republicans keep talking about this story every day between now and the elections so every Jew in America learns that Obama's uncle helped liberate the Jews in Europe. Oh, and extra points for reminding Americans that Obama is a "real American" too - he has family who fought in WWII. If that's the best shot the Republicans have, well God bless them and give 'em a bigger microphone.

PS I'm trying to think of an analogy for this story, and I think I have it. It would be like Hillary alleging that in Bosnia she had to duck because of sniper fire and in fact she had to duck because of rocket-propelled grenades being fired at her. Kind of wouldn't have been so big a scandal had that been her only error. Read More......

Clinton Campaign, Surrogates, DNC April 1992: Screw the remaining states, the race is over

And don't forget that back in 1992, they had FAR more states that hadn't voted since the primaries started in March, as compared to January this year. Jed has a lot more quotes, but these are the best:

"It's mathematically impossible for Brown to get the nomination."
-- Clinton spokesman George Stephanopoulos on Clinton's last foe (NYT, 4/8/92)

"It's time to close ranks. We cannot wait until July when we already know who has earned the right to be our nominee and who will be our nominee."
-- West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller (NYT, 4/11/92)

"I cannot imagine a set of circumstances that would keep Bill Clinton from having a majority of the delegates by the end of the primary season."
-- Democratic Party Chairman Ronald H. Brown (NYT, 4/29/92)

"Mr. Brown added that he had long hoped for an early nominee 'so we can focus our time and attention on George Bush.'"
-- NYT, 4/29/92

So when Bill Clinton said the other day that never has a candidate been treated so disrespectfully, he lied. Surprise. Read More......

Some votes are more equal than others

A Floridian Democrat writes:

I am Floridian, and was told from the beginning that "my state would not count." For that reason, I stayed home ... to now "count" the Fl vote would disenfranchise me even more than if Fl were not to count at all. To the DNC & Howard Dean: I played by your rules, decided that you were telling me the truth when you said Fl votes would not count so I stayed home. Now, you're going to count it? Well, screw you.

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Top McCain supporter, Joe Lieberman, to headline Pastor Hagee summit

When will top McCain supporter Joe Lieberman denounce and reject the extremist Pastor Hagee? And when will McCain denounce Lieberman?

Senator Joseph Lieberman is scheduled to headline Pastor John Hagee's 2008 Christians United For Israel Washington-Israel Summit this July 22. In accepting Hagee's invitation, Lieberman became the most senior elected representative confirmed to appear at the annual gala. Last year, when Lieberman spoke at Hagee's summit, he compared the Texas televangelist to the biblical prophet Moses, dubbing him "an Ish Elochim," or "a man of God."
...

Hagee's vitriolic condemnation of Catholicism, his jeremiad declaring Hurricane Katrina divine punishment for New Orleans' hosting of a "homosexual rally," and his generally disturbing apocalyptic theology became national news last February when John McCain accepted his endorsement in a widely publicized ceremony.

While initially resisting pressure to reject Hagee's endorsement, McCain finally ended his relationship with Hagee when a sermon by the preacher describing the Holocaust as the will of God registered on the mainstream media's radar.

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Hamas likes David Archuleta, effects on American Idol voting unclear

Great site.

(Richieville News Service – GAZA) Pundits of the right and left, along with music industry executives and several million teenage girls, clashed today over what appeared to be an endorsement of American Idol contestant David Archuleta by the radical Islamic organization Hamas. The disputed remarks came at the end of a press conference given by Hamas spokesman Ahmed Yousef, when he digressed from his comments about the latest round of violence between Israel and Palestinians to say, "I really like David Archuleta. I hope he wins."
...

Meanwhile, fans of the other finalist, David Cook, suggested that a vote for Archuleta would be a vote for terror. Tiffany Shuler, age 13, of White Plains, New York, issued a statement on behalf of herself, and her best friends forever, Amber Waletsky and Shawnia James. "David Archuleta is an appeaser and as we learned from the example of Neville Chamberlain surrendering the Sudetenland to Hitler in 1938, appeasement does not work."
...

[Hamas spokesman] Yousef concluded the press conference by also indicating Hamas' preferences for Dancing With The Stars and the Tony Awards. "If Kristi doesn't win, we're going to be very upset," he said. "I mean, did you see her tango last week?" In the Tonys, he said Hamas favors Xanadu, adding, "We just like kitsch, what can I say?"

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Do this, now (please)

The religious right is ticked that Schwarzenegger said he won't support a state constitutional amendment in California to ban gay marriage. So they're flooding him with phone calls. The governor's office has an automated system to count such calls. Please add your voice, it's really easy, I just did it (in a whopping 6 seconds):

Call 1-916-445-2841
Then press 1 (then wait a sec), then 5 (then wait a sec), then 1, then 1.
That's it. If the line is busy, call again. I got through on the second try. Thanks, JOHN Read More......

Study: politics impacts stock prices

I'm pretty shocked as well.

Companies with a board member who has ties to a winning political party enjoy a significant bounce in their share price following an election, according to a study released on Monday.

Share prices also rise after an appointment to the board of a politically connected person, according to the study by the Berlin-based European School of Management and Technology.

Funny, cuz i had heard Halliburton did very poorly after Dick Cheney became VP. [/snark] Read More......

Debt-ridden Clinton "I will get us back to fiscal responsibility"

Oh boy. Hillary's new ad talks about fiscal responsibility and the nation's debt. The tag line is "I will get us back to fiscal responsibility."

Not sure which genius on Team Clinton came up with that one, but given her campaign's mounting debt ($20+ million and counting), and her growing reputation as a deadbeat, this might not be the best argument. To even run the ads claiming she'll be fiscally responsible, Clinton is actually creating more debt for her campaign -- and being fiscally irresponsible.

We keep hearing from the Clinton campaign that she's more electable. Right now, no one is exploiting her faults -- and there are many. What do you think the GOP would do to her argument for fiscal responsibility when she's run a campaign that can't even pay its bills? Just remember what happened back in 1992 when members of Congress weren't paying their bills on time. Gingrich jumped on it and said it was one of the reason the voters should take control of the House away from the Democrats. And two years later, the voters did.

UPDATE: Jed provided an updated version of the Clinton ad. Read More......

Chuck Todd, et. al.: Hillary may have overplayed her hand

From First Read:

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Did Hillary stay in too long? Given the thud with which Clinton's RFK flub was received, it's starting to become clear that perhaps she erred in deciding to stay in the race this long. Imagine had she suspended her campaign and still won primaries. Wouldn't that have put her in an even stronger position than now? Obama hasn't run a campaign against her for the last few weeks and, in turn, it's helped Clinton prop up her personal standing. But wouldn't she be winning over the support of some in ObamaNation if she were sort of returning the favor by getting out and suspending the campaign? And that's the rub: At some point for her political future, she has to win back the support of Obama's supporters. And they don't seem to be very forgiving of her right now. The Clinton campaign may believe these folks are being irrational, but it's the state of play right now. It's interesting -- Clinton partisans are mad at a lot of folks, but Obama isn't at the top of the list. For Obama partisans, Clinton (or the Clintons) is at the top of their anger list. As for Clinton, she really hasn't given a good reason for staying in (versus suspending her candidacy while keeping her delegates) for any set of voters other than those folks in Michigan and Florida or for the folks in Puerto Rico. If she were in suspension mode, she could be focusing on legacy restoration. Instead, everything she says is viewed through the prism of angling for a longshot 1% chance at the nomination. Whatever the outcome at this point, Clinton's folks may wish they had suspended their candidacy a few weeks ago. In this case, short-term gain could end up being long-term political pain.

I was thinking about this earlier this morning. It's almost as if the Clintons feel that they have nothing to lose, so they're going for broke. But do they have nothing to lose? Can't Hillary run again in four years if Obama loses in the fall? Hell, can't Hillary run again in 8 years if Obama wins (she'll only be 68, which still makes her viable)? Does Hillary have any aspirations to be Senate Majority leader? Does Bill care about his legacy? Does Hillary care about hers? Does either one of them care about the family name they've now muddied for their daughter (Bill has hinted that he'd like Chelsea to go into politics)? I'm not saying that I care about any of this - let them destroy their name - but they do care about it. Or did. And probably will again. Read More......

Several dozen SuperDs will endorse Obama following June 3 primary

Stephanopoulos says there's zero chance of Hillary taking this to the convention. Oh yeah? Just watch. I'd say there's at least a 50-50 chance she's going to appeal this coming weekend's decision on what to do with Florida and Michigan. And if she does appeal it, that moves this whole ball game until the end of June, when the appeals committee meets. And Hillary will say, "oh come on, what's a few more weeks," as the goal post slowly moves again. It's good that the SuperDs are showing signs of life, but until now they've been saying things like "we'll be coming out for Obama between now and the convention." No, what we need is for the SuperDelegates to make up their minds now - not before the convention, which means they can hold off until August. Read More......

McCain thinks swiftboating political group, led by Lieberman and Graham, is a "wonderful organization"

Saturday, we reported on the blockbuster scoop from the Huffington Post that Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham were already breaking John McCain's policy against campaign advisers working for 527s or any "other independent entity" that engages publicly for or against a presidential candidate. Both of the Senators have a leadership role in a group called "Vets for Freedom" -- that group's PAC began running a negative ad against Obama last week. Here's McCain's policy:

According to the policy: "No person with a McCain Campaign title or position may participate in a 527 or other independent entity that makes public communications that support or oppose any presidential candidate."

Turns out, McCain himself is quite familiar with "Vets for Freedom." In fact, just last month, John McCain proclaimed that the group is a "wonderful organization." No wonder he likes them, "Vets for Freedom" is already doing McCain's dirty work. Because the McCain and his crew have nothing positive going for them, they're already in the slime.

Watch Jed's latest video -- and see the very cozy relationship that exists among McCain, Lieberman and Graham and the "Vets for Freedom." Just how independent is "Veterans for Freedom" from the McCain campaign? Doesn't seem like there is much distance at all. Lieberman and Graham show up on the "Policy Board of Advisors" on the website paid for by the Vets for Freedom PAC. There's another reason why this matters. Under the law, PACs or 527s and election campaigns cannot "coordinate" their activities. Meaning, they can't speak and strategize together. So just what is John McCain's relationships with this political entity that's running ads against Obama?

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Record drop in home prices

Ouch:

Prices of U.S. single-family homes plunged a record 14.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, marking a pace five times faster than the last housing recession, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller national home price index reported on Tuesday.

This is what the Bush economy gave us. Imagine four more years under McCain, who already admitted he doesn't know all that much about economic issues. Read More......

Behind closed doors, McCain will be "snuggling up" to Bush

The road for the third Bush term runs through Phoenix today -- in private. But, we're getting some analysis of the relationship between Bush and his heir apparent, John McCain:

So why is the Arizona senator going to appear with Bush in Phoenix tonight for a closed-door fundraiser? McCain, whose fundraising totals are dwarfed by those of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, needs Bush to bring in money and signal to conservative Republicans that he can be trusted.

``Any sitting president, even one whose approval rating is in the low 30s, can raise money,'' said Jim Pinkerton, a Republican strategist. ``McCain has to distance himself from Bush, but he also has to reassure the Republican base -- and that means snuggling up.''

McCain, who has long been viewed with suspicion by his party's conservative base, ``needs to pay penance'' for setting himself apart from Bush, said Pinkerton, who worked on the first President Bush's strategy to distinguish his record from Reagan's.

The fundraiser marks the first time Bush, 61, has campaigned for McCain, 71, with whom he has a thorny relationship. The two last appeared together March 5, when Bush endorsed McCain at the White House.

And, after some googling, this appears to be the first report that the fundraiser in Phoenix was a financial bust:

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Big night for John McCain: George Bush is on the campaign trail for him tonight in Phoenix. All sorts of controversy swirling around this trip. First, it looks like McCain is trying to hide the visit. Will there be photos? McCain might not know about those new fangled devices like cell phone and digital cameras. Then, NBC's Andrea Mitchell just told me the location was moved because Republicans couldn't sell enough tickets. Think about that one: Bush, the GOP's top financial draw, couldn't bring in enough money for McCain in McCain's hometown.

This all explains why McCain has gone so aggressively negative against Obama already. He and his little lapdog, Lindsey Graham, are in overdrive. But, with Bush draped around their necks, a horrible economy and an endless war, all McCain can do is go negative and try to scare people. Loser.

We really need to get on with the general election fight. Read More......

Bush DHS failing, yet again

Forget about what Bush, Chertoff and the Republicans say, they are failing across the board year after year. Once again the issue of port security is making headlines and today the Times has a major piece on Border Agents and cross-border smuggling. Of course, this is what the GOP will tell us only happens in poor countries but looking at what they have done to the economy, they've done their best to take the US in that direction. Is this what the GOP considers "safe" for the US?

Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. It has grown so worrisome that job applicants will soon be subject to lie detector tests to ensure that they are not already working for smuggling organizations. In addition, homeland security officials have reconstituted an internal affairs unit at Customs and Border Protection, one of the largest federal law enforcement agencies, overseeing both border agents and customs officers.

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UN food programs for children facing massive cutbacks

It's bad enough when adults are left hungry but children have nowhere to turn. In our rich countries we can shop more selectively, changes habits a bit or grudgingly cough up a bit more cash to buy what we need. In poor countries, they are well beyond anything like that. They are already eating basics such as cornmeal, rice or plain bread and two times per day, three when they are fortunate.

The numbers are grim. In Burundi, Kenya and Zambia, hundreds of thousands of people face cuts in food rations after June. In Iraq, 500,000 recipients will likely lose food aid. In Yemen, it's 320,000 households, including children and the sick.

Private aid agencies based in the U.S. also said food price hikes are hurting their projects.

Mercy Corps will likely distribute 20 percent less food to Iraqi refugees in Syria and serve 12 percent fewer Colombian families fleeing violence in the countryside. World Vision may stop helping 1.5 million people — nearly a quarter of the number it serves — because of rising food prices and pledged donations not yet delivered. At least a third are children.

In Cambodia, the free breakfasts that started in 2000 have made children visibly healthier, said Nheng Vorn, the principal of Choumpou Proek School, about 40 miles west of the capital, Phnom Penh.

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"Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling."

Miss Laura over at DKos examines Bill Clinton's latest fairy tale (did you know his wife was winning?). I'm trying to count the lies, and I think I've got 8, but there may be more. It's like superstring theory with these people, there may be additional lies hidden in extra dimensions we can't see. Read More......