And now for something completely different

Former chess champ Gary Kasparov was speaking in Moscow when a flying penis interrupted his speech. Really must be seen to be fully appreciated. (Hat tip, Markos.)

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Obama wins Oregon says NBC -- and CNN

UPDATE 11:12 PM: CNN now projects Obama will win Oregon.

NBC declares Obama the winner in Oregon. CNN says Obama is leading based on a voter phone poll, but will wait to declare the victor. Oregon voted by mail.

The results are coming in quickly. CNN's Oregon page has both vote totals and the map showing which precincts have reported. Read More......

Obama: "This year's Republican primary was a contest to see which candidate could out-Bush the other, and that is the contest John McCain won."

More from Obama's speech. This is the part where he ties McCain to Bush and let's them have it:

We face an opponent, John McCain, who arrived in Washington nearly three decades ago as a Vietnam War hero, and earned an admirable reputation for straight talk and occasional independence from his party.

But this year's Republican primary was a contest to see which candidate could out-Bush the other, and that is the contest John McCain won. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans that once bothered Senator McCain's conscience are now his only economic policy. The Bush health care plan that only helps those who are already healthy and wealthy is now John McCain's answer to the 47 million Americans without insurance and the millions more who can't pay their medical bills. The Bush Iraq policy that asks everything of our troops and nothing of Iraqi politicians is John McCain's policy too, and so is the fear of tough and aggressive diplomacy that has left this country more isolated and less secure than at any time in recent history. The lobbyists who ruled George Bush's Washington are now running John McCain's campaign, and they actually had the nerve to say that the American people won't care about this. Talk about out of touch!

I will leave it up to Senator McCain to explain to the American people whether his policies and positions represent long-held convictions or Washington calculations, but the one thing they don't represent is change.

Change is a tax code that rewards work instead of wealth by cutting taxes for middle-class families, and senior citizens, and struggling homeowners; a tax code that rewards businesses that create good jobs here in America instead of the corporations that ship them overseas. That's what change is.

Change is a health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants; that brings down premiums for every family who needs it; that stops insurance companies from discriminating and denying coverage to those who need it most.

Change is an energy policy that doesn't rely on buddying up to the Saudi Royal Family and then begging them for oil – an energy policy that puts a price on pollution and makes the oil companies invest their record profits in clean, renewable sources of energy that will create five million new jobs and leave our children a safer planet. That's what change is.

Change is giving every child a world-class education by recruiting an army of new teachers with better pay and more support; by promising four years of tuition to any American willing to serve their community and their country; by realizing that the best education starts with parents who turn off the TV, and take away the video games, and read to our children once in awhile.

Change is ending a war that we never should've started and finishing a war against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan that we never should've ignored. Change is facing the threats of the twenty-first century not with bluster, or fear-mongering, or tough talk, but with tough diplomacy, and strong alliances, and confidence in the ideals that have made this nation the last, best hope of Earth. That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy.

That is what change is.

That is the choice in this election.

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Obama: We have the majority of elected delegates and the nomination is "within reach"

Tonight, history is being made. Barack Obama is on the verge of securing the nomination. In his own words:

And tonight Iowa, in the fullness of spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America.

Jed got the video here. Read More......

CNN, with Kentucky results, "Obama has won a majority of pledged delegates"

It's official by CNN's count:

Despite Hillary Clinton's landslide victory in Kentucky, Barack Obama has won a majority of pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton won Kentucky by more than 30 points, but Obama's share of the state's 51 delegates was enough put him over the threshold, according to CNN estimates.

Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, said this was an "important milestone," but not the end of the trail.

Ironic that a state which gave Clinton such a big win also helped Obama reach a very critical "milestone."

I'm waiting to hear from Chuck Todd. Read More......

"I'm winning the popular vote" is the new "Iraq had WMD"

You know, I really, really don't want to write about Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign anymore. She lost. It's over. I want to focus on McCain and the Republicans.

But, the Clinton campaign spinmeisters just can't help themselves. The latest whopper is her oft-repeated claim that she's won the most popular votes. It's not true -- and it wouldn't matter if it were true. Hillary told us tonight that she's been told that she's received more votes than any other Democrat who has run for the nomination. Not true, unless the votes are counted her exact way and some states aren't counted at all. Will this never end? Just because they keep repeating this new lie over and over and over, doesn't make it true.

Markos explains how the Clinton campaign fudges the numbers to give her the popular vote lead. Team Clinton has to do some contortions that no one else takes seriously:

A reminder -- the Clinton campaign keeps claiming that they lead in the popular vote. Just a reminder that the only reason they can do that, is to claim that Obama got zero votes in Michigan, and that voters in Iowa, Nevada, Maine and Washington don't count.

I don't understand how they and Hillary herself can make that claim with a straight face.

Josh Marshall deconstructs Terry McAuliffe's talking point along the same lines:

Even if you change the rules and fully seat Michaigan and Florida and count them for the popular vote totals and don't count any portion of the Michigan "uncommitted" (which were understood a the to be for Obama) vote for Obama, Hillary is still behind in the popular vote total. The only way she moves ahead in popular vote is if you do all that and don't count four of the caucus states.

Some stuff is just too ridiculous to let pass. You just have to assume this is just Terry's nonsense.

It is ridiculous. And, it is nonsense.

When the only way Hillary can say she won the popular vote is to count an election where no one else was on the ballot while ignoring other states, well, that kinda speaks for the desperation of the Clinton campaign.

Fortunately, Obama can make a valid claim tonight that he's gotten the majority of pledged delegates. While we know that Team Clinton never really understood the delegate math, it is the delegates that ultimately matter. And, there's no way the superdelegates are going to overturn the will of the pledged delegates. Not going to happen.

Obama speaks at 10:30 PM Eastern. Read More......

Obama's April haul was $31.9 million

Jake Tapper broke the news that Obama raised a total of $31.9 million in April. Of that total, $31.3 million is for the primaries while $600,000 is available only for the general election. The numbers behind the total are fascinating:

Obama has an mighty $37.3 million on hand with $9.2 million tucked away for the general election.

Camp Obama proves (again) that big money comes in small packages. It's been a pattern since last year but the numbers are still impressive: 1.475 million total donors overall making 2.93 million contributions. The average contribution is $91.

The clicks come in small waves: 94% of the contributions to Obama's effort were under $200, 93% of contributions were $100 or less, 77% were $50 or less, and 52% were $25 or less.

Wow. April wasn't the best of months for the Obama campaign. Not bad at all.

UPDATE: Here's a concise breakdown from the Obama campaign:

By the numbers....

New donors in April: 200,000

94% of contributions were under $200

93% of contributions were $100 or less

77% of contributions were $50 or less

52% of contributions were $25 or less

Number of donors to the Obama campaign overall at the end of April: 1.475 million

Number of contributions given: 2,929,000 million

Average donation: $91

Amount raised in April: $31.3 million (plus an additional $600,000 for the general election)

Cash on Hand: $37.3 million (plus an additional $9.2 million for the general election)

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Tonight is about the pledged delegates and it will be a good night for Obama

About the only person worth watching on cable news tonight, besides Olbermann and Maddow, is Chuck Todd. I can't watch Lou Dobbs. Ever. So CNN lost me for the night.

Todd estimates that Obama will reach the majority of pledged delegates once Kentucky is counted. The "magic number" is 1627. NBC has Obama at 1612. (Democratic Convention Watch has Obama at 1612.5.) -- Also, after Oregon, Obama could surpass the majority even if Florida and Michigan are included as is. It's fun to watch Todd in action.

Big thanks to Jed for the video. Read More......

As expected, Clinton wins Kentucky

Another anticlimactic victory for Clinton according to MSNBC and CNN.

CNN's Kentucky page, with totals and the map of what votes have reported, is here. The totals from Louisville, an Obama stronghold, came in early so the race is tighter now than it will be as the more rural areas start to report.

One bit of news from Terry McAuliffe who, this afternoon, told his favorite network, FOX, that Obama can win Florida and Ohio, "Sure if Senator Obama is the nominee, can we win these states? Of course." I won't subject you to McAuliffe. The video is here.

And, despite what McAuliffe and his crew say in their frenetic spinning tonight, this race is over.

Now just waiting to see how long it takes for the Clinton campaign email to arrive telling me how she's winning. Probably be 15-20 minutes. The campaign needs the money.

Monthly FEC reports have to be filed by midnight Eastern time tonight. I'm keeping an eye out for them. Read More......

Pressure rises on TN GOP

But what do John McCain and the national GOP plan to do about it? Are they going to cut the TN GOP off? Or are racists tolerated at the upper levels of the Republican party? Read More......

McCain chief of staff still kind-of-sort-of a lobbyist, for foreigners to boot

McCain's top advisers just get creepier and creepier. Read More......

Would some adult at the DNC please weigh in and fix this

This is just dumb. And letting it fester, unresolved (I knew about it days ago, but figured it was going to be fixed quietly), is even dumber. Markos is absolutely right. Read More......

CNN on Kennedy

What kind of tumor is this? From the Boston Globe.

More from the Globe:

One expert, Dr. Joseph Madsen, a neurosurgeon at Children's Hospital Boston, said the diagnosis was "very sad news."

“High-grade glio-malignancies” such as Senator Kennedy has “are unfortunately the most common kind of brain tumor in this age group, and they have a poor prognosis for long-term survival,” he said.

They can also be very debilitating during treatment, Madsen said, and Kennedy’s tumor is in an area where it may well eventually affect his speech.

Part of CNN's coverage of Kennedy's malignant brain tumor diagnosis. Their on-the-air doctor, Sanjay Gupta, takes a look at what all of this means.

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Poll: Key Hillary constituencies are moving to Obama

This is what you'd expect to see now that everyone realizes the race is over. The party comes together in order to take on John McCain:

Obama is now tied with Hillary among whites (47%-47%); leads her among women (49%-46%); edges her among Dems with a high school graduate or less (46%-47%); and leads her among Hispanics (51%-44%).

Those groups, obviously, have been the bedrock of Hillary's candidacy. The only major demographic group that Hillary gets 51% or more of are women aged 50 and older.

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Senator Kennedy has a brain tumor according to NBC

FROM MSNBC: BREAKING NEWS: Tests reveal Sen. Ted Kennedy has malignant brain tumor

More to follow for sure....

1:25 PM -- Here's the initial report from Associated Press:

Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said.

His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.

The 76-year-old senator has been hospitalized in Boston since Saturday, when he was airlifted from Cape Cod after a seizure at his home.

His wife and children have been with him each day but have made no public statements.

His doctors said in a statement released to The Associated Press that he has had no further seizures, is in good spirits and is resting comfortably.

Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year -- and the most common type among adults.

It's a starting diagnosis: How well patients fare depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.

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I get emails

I received the below deranged, hyperventilating email recently; the version I got claimed it was written by a "Canadian housewife," and a quick google search reveals that, as usual with crazy right-wing email insanity, the attribution is inaccurate (it was really written by Doug Patton, an American columnist, nearly three years ago), but it's often attributed to a "New Jersey housewife" or an Atlanta woman, and, sadly for us all, it's still circulating. (Not sure why the attribution gets switched to women so often, and again, while I'm reprinting the original column, in the one I got all the "US" or "America" mentions were changed to "Canada." Very weird.) Anyway, it's a nice glimpse into the mindset of the people who progressives are trying to prevent from ruining the world (continued below the fold):

"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren’t we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001? Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation’s capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning death that day, or didn’t they? And I’m supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was “desecrated” when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? Well, I don’t. I don’t care at all.

I’ll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11. I’ll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia. I’ll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for hacking off Nick Berg’s head while Berg screamed through his gurgling, slashed throat. I’ll care when the cowardly so-called “insurgents” in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I’ll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs. I’ll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights. I’ll care when Clinton-appointed judges stop ordering my government to release photos of the abuses at Abu Ghraib, which are sure to set off the Islamic extremists just as Newsweek’s lies did a few weeks ago.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don’t care. When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college hazing incident, rest assured that I don’t care. When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank that I don’t care. When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being “mishandled,” you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts that I don’t care.

And oh, by the way, I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s spelled “Koran” and other times “Quran.” Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and — you guessed it — I don’t care!

It's people who say (and forward) filth like this that will then turn around and say that there's no reason for oppressed people to be upset, and they'll be shocked when sane observers suggest that advocating violence, humiliation, and death in this way might have something to do with why America is hated by so many. And let's not confuse this with being soft on terror or terrorists -- I'll put my service, meager though it is compared to many, up against a keyboard commando any day of the week. I bow to nobody when it comes to wanting to eliminate the death and destruction caused by terrorism . . . which is why I know the above sentiments are profoundly harmful in that effort. Read More......

Could McCain's "I was a POW" refrain backfire on him?

As this Bloomberg story notes, John McCain is a big fan of talking about his time spent as a POW in Vietnam. He brings it up a lot. Especially when someone attacks him on an unrelated issue, like health care reform. Some would say that John McCain is using his POW status the same way Rudy Giuliani used references to 9/11, as a non-stop catch-all political ploy. The question is, could McCain's calculated use of Vietnam backfire on him?

Consider John McCain's advice to John Kerry four years ago.

McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was among the first to condemn the veterans group for challenging Kerry's combat record and spoke out against the ad throughout his 90-minute luncheon interview. But he also said Kerry had invited scrutiny of his record by putting so much emphasis on Vietnam at the Democratic National Convention in Boston last month.

"His critics are saying, 'Look, you made it fair game,' " McCain said. "I mean, that's very legitimate, and I think there's a risk that he took when he made it such a centerpiece. He may be paying a very heavy price."

McCain said that he urged Kerry sometime ago not to talk about Vietnam during his campaign. "I did advise John. I said, 'Look, you shouldn't talk about Vietnam because everybody else will. Let everybody else do it.' His advisers figured that was probably not enough, that he had to emphasize that in his campaign. In my campaign, as you know, I didn't talk about it because I didn't need to."

That's not true at all. McCain brings it up a lot. And his campaign brings it up a lot. And while McCain did things during his captivity that would make any American proud, he did other things during his captivity that generally are considered traitorous, like making propaganda videos for the enemy. If any of our troops in Iraq made propaganda videos for Al Qaeda, I have a hard time believe that John McCain and the Republicans would be calling that service member a hero. And just imagine had Barack Obama made propaganda videos for the enemy. John Kerry was Swift Boated, and he was a decorated war hero who didn't sell out his country for the enemy (hell, they attacked Kerry BECAUSE he was awarded medals!). By constantly bringing up Vietnam, McCain and his campaign remind Americans of the good John McCain they've heard about and the bad one that's gone mostly unpublicized. Read More......

Did Rupert Murdoch get his lapdog George Bush to blast NBC for him?

Just seems awfully suspicious that a day after I read a big story about how Murdoch is all upset at NBC because Keith Olbermann is mean to O'Reilly, and the story details how Murdoch told NBC he was going to have the NY Post attack NBC if they weren't nicer, suddenly the White House is attacking NBC, and buried at the very bottom of the story we find out that the White House is upset at - who? Why Keith Olbermann!

Gillespie also used the letter to complain about other aspects of NBC News coverage and to lodge a complaint about "blatant partisan talk show hosts like Christopher Matthews and Keith Olbermann at MSNBC," both of whom have come under attack from Republicans.

It's good to be Rupert and have such a patsy in the White House.

PS Note to Washington Post: People didn't ASSUME that Bush's Hitler remarks were about Obama, as you claim in the story. The White House told people it was about Obama. But mentioning that fact would kill the appearance of impartiality that you like to give by never reporting the actual facts, and only reporting the spin. Read More......

House Republicans long for the days of Tom DeLay

That's how bad it's gotten up on the Hill for the Republicans. They miss the totalitarian, corrupt regime of Tom DeLay:

This source also said Boehner “lacks some of the killer instinct” of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). “DeLay had a lot of problems, but he got the job done. Boehner needs a little more DeLay in him. He’s got to knock some heads,” said this source.

Boehner has taken a decidedly anti-DeLay approach since taking over the party in early 2006, preferring consensus over conflict. But the GOP’s recent slump had some members and aides reminiscing fondly about the days when “The Hammer” ruled the Republicans.

Ah, the good old days. I suppose they miss Jack Abramoff, too. Read More......

"McCain's problem is that his campaign is full of Washington-lobbyist types"

John McCain is supposed to be the great reformer. That's just pure bull. He scammed the FEC's public financing system last year -- something for which he's not been held accountable -- yet. And, his campaign is rife with very powerful D.C. lobbyists who work for some very shady characters -- and that's really starting to damage the McCain brand:

"It's the biggest anti-Washington streak in the American electorate in decades, and McCain's problem is that his campaign is full of Washington-lobbyist types," said Chris Kofinis, a former John Edwards aide. "You can't be the guy who is striving for reform when the people who run the campaign are fighting against reform."

Democrats have hammered McCain on that very issue for months, noting that campaign manager Rick Davis and senior adviser Charlie Black have spent decades lobbying in Washington. Both have left their companies.

The criticism exploded this month with the disclosure that two McCain advisers worked for DCI Group, a consulting firm that several years ago worked with a moderate member of Myanmar's military junta.

McCain was furious. The two resigned and the new policy followed.

Then, McCain fired an energy policy adviser who lobbied energy companies and asked another consultant to resign from the campaign's Virginia leadership team given a conflict. Former Texas Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler also resigned as McCain's national finance co-chairman because of lobbying ties that reportedly included Saudi Arabia.

Uh oh. Did I just read the McCain was furious? Watch out. We're told by many who have seen it (and many, many have) that a furious McCain is a very, very scary thing indeed. Problem for McCain is that he should be furious with himself. This is all his fault. He gathered all these lobbyists to run his campaign. Obviously, McCain didn't think it would be an issue -- but it is.

Ask Charlie Black. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Big day today. Obama will basically lock up the nomination today by securing the majority of pledged delegates. We have a nominee. Okay, we've had one for awhile, but today's votes give Obama's nomination even more validity.

It's almost stunning when you think back a year -- who would have thought this could really happen? Not the punditry or most of the Democratic brain trust here in DC, that's for sure. We can get so caught up in the numbers, the polls, the exit polls, the delegate count, that we can miss the big picture. Obama winning the Democratic nomination is really an amazing turn of events.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Polls are open in Kentucky til 6 p.m. local time. (like Indiana, Kentucky has two time zones so all polls won't be closed until 7 p.m. Eastern time. Louisville, for example, is in the Eastern time zone so polls there are open til 6 p.m. Eastern time). Thanks to my pal, DW, in KY for pointing that out.

In Oregon, voters have been voting for weeks -- the whole process is by mail. Voters in Oregon have until 8 P.M. local time (11 P.M.) to return their ballots.

Let's get it started. Read More......

Soros blames central bankers for credit crisis

That would be Mr Bubble himself, Alan Greenspan. The same Alan Greenspan that McCain loves and is going to follow for his economic guidance. Notice how Soros, a trader himself, is not calling for "lower taxes and less regulation" as we hear from McCain? Just the opposite, Soros is calling for better regulation.

Mr Soros believes that central bankers are partly to blame for the credit crunch because of their past behaviour in bailing out the financial sector whenever it got into trouble for over-lending, the so-called moral hazard problem.

He said that the central banks should explicitly target asset bubbles such as housing booms and try to stop them getting out of control, which is something they have resisted doing so far.

And he said that tougher but smarter regulation would be needed in the future in order to reduce the excess supply of credit in the economy.

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US to spend over $1.5 billion per day this weekend

But remember, inflation isn't much of a problem. It's all just a baseless conspiracy without any support, right?

The per diem charges Memorial Day last year saw motorists pay about $1.285-billion. In 2006, the cost was $1.122-billion; and in 2005, it was $832-million. If one goes back to 2002, the daily cost of gasoline was about $534-million. Before prices top out, we could be making $1-billion more per day in gasoline payments than we made six years ago.

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Obama calls out McCain on Social Security

Hell yeah. McCain wants to throw the entire system to the dogs and just let people fend for themselves against the same Wall Street goons that gambled and lost. The same Wall Street crowd that had to be bailed out would love to have America's Social Security money so they can cook up a new scheme to squeeze even more money from regular people so they can continue to live their luxurious lifestyle. McCain, like his mentor Bush, loves the idea of privatizing everything but unlike the McCain family or the Bush family the rest of the country does not have trust fund cash to spend on hiring teams of accountants and tax attorneys and investment directors. Those people are expensive and considered normal to wealthy elitists like McCain and Bush, proving again just how out of touch McCain is with the middle class.

Once again, if Wall Street wants to make money, let them make money the old fashioned way by earning it. Quit sponging corporate welfare from the damned middle class. I see how Wall Street and the GOP would love this plan but what about everyone else? McCain has some explaining to do, especially in light of the recent Wall Street collapse. Read More......