Weak dollar doesn't matter

As long as you don't use oil. Or buy food. Or buy anything that has been produced outside of the US. If you do, then you will be feeling the new record high oil prices courtesy of incompetent Republican economic plans and pro-Wall Street policies by Bernanke at the Fed. Read More......

The latest from Pakistan

Professor Juan Cole has an extraordinarily useful breakdown and analysis of the latest political developments in Pakistan. Parties opposed to President Musharraf won a significant victory in recent Parliamentary elections, and multiple disparate parties are now coalescing to form a legislative coalition that should reach roughly a 2/3 majority, which would be enough to amend Pakistan's constitution, among other things. As Cole explains,

The strong two-thirds majority that the new coalition enjoys in the lower house gives the victors the ability to move steadily and swiftly to accomplish their goal of restoring the rule of law and marginalizing Musharraf or even force him to step down. The military, now led by Ashfaq Kiyani, who had been Benazir Bhutto's military secretary, is an important player here but it has not spoken. If Kiyani stays out of civilian politics, Musharraf is likely in trouble. If the army moves again, there is a question of whether the public will stand for it.

One of the reasons I'll never be a good (or perhaps "good") pundit it because I often predict continuation of the status quo while other people are in hysterics about some possible mayhem in another country's domestic situation. Predicting that something will be the same in six or twelve months as it is now doesn't fill airtime very well, but it's often correct. In Pakistan, however, I think there's a very real possibility of significant confrontation between Parliament and President Musharraf. I think, right now, it's still likely that he'll stay in power, but the situation continues to be fluid and very much worth watching. Read More......

Even counting Hillary's "victory" last Tuesday, Obama has a net gain of 15 to 16 delegates this past week

Markos walks you through the math, but even with Hillary's "it changed everything!" victory in Ohio, Obama still gained a net 15 to 16 delegates this past week. As Markos notes, a few more "good weeks" like this for Hillary, and she'll be out of the race by Easter. Another problem for Hillary:

In the bigger picture, HRC lead in super delegates stood at 97 one month ago today. Today her lead is only 32. HRC has gained 18 Super delegates in the past month while Senator Obama has gained 83. A month ago nearly 2 out of 3 declared super delegates were Clinton supporters now it is just over one half.

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Obama is lucky he's black, says top Hillary surrogate Geraldine Ferraro

I'll let Markos do the commentary:

More classiness, from one of Clinton's top surrogates, Geraldine Ferraro.

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Ferraro isn't some unknown lower-level or obscure advisor, but one of her top fundraisers, member of Clinton's finance committee, and a former Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Update: Comment by slatersan:

She's half right

If he were a white man...

the race would be over...

and he'd be the nominee.

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Obama mocks the Hillary and Bill "double-speak, double-talk"

A major concession from the Clintons this weekend: Obama is ready to be President.

Last week, the Clinton campaign was spewing a lot of nonsense about an imaginary threshold to be Commander in Chief. Whatever that threshold is, both Clintons spent the weekend saying Obama has crossed it and is ready.

This stems from the new, desperate Clinton talking point that Obama could be Hillary's Vice President. Yesterday, Bill Clinton said it again.

There's been a lot of speculation about how Obama would fight back. And, today, he took the only appropriate tone. Obama mocked this latest Clinton strategy today -- and it deserved mocking:

“I do not believe Senator Clinton is about change, because in fact, this kind of gamesmanship — talking about me as vice president, but maybe he’s not ready for commander in chief—that’s exactly the kind of double-speak, double-talk that Washington is very good at.”

Obama noted Bill Clinton’s comments in 1992, when he explained his criteria for a vice president. According to the Obama campaign, Bill Clinton told CBS’s Harry Smith that a vice president must be ready to lead from day one.

“Someone who would be a good president if, God forbid, something happened to me a week after I took office. That's the most important thing,” Bill Clinton said in 1992.

Obama said that this criteria dismisses Clinton’s argument that he does not have the experience to be president.

“I don’t understand if, I’m not ready how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president? Do you understand that?”

We know Bill's standard for choosing his V.P. back in 1992. Obviously, now that we know Hillary was really Bill's co-president, we can safely assume she must have shared that view.

This latest Bill-Hillary "double-speak, double-talk" means Team Clinton is muddling its message again. Not a surprise after you read today's NY Times article on the campaign's continuing dysfunction (which starts at the top):

The divisions in her campaign over strategy and communications — and the dislike many of her advisers had for one another — poured out into public as Mrs. Clinton struggled in February to hold off Mr. Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

But even as Mrs. Clinton revived her fortunes last week with victories in Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas, the questions lingered about how she managed her campaign, with the internal sniping and second-guessing undermining her well-cultivated image as a steady-at-the-wheel chief executive surrounded by a phalanx of loyal and efficient aides.

The full NY Times article is worth a read. You have to wonder if this is how Clinton would manage the government too. Maybe, though, her campaign's dysfunction is another reason she wants Obama on her ticket. He's running a very smooth, sophisticated functioning campaign. And, he's winning. Read More......

Lead pro-war vets group promoting former gay-porn star

Of all the former military guys they could find, this is the best the "Vets for Freedom" could come up with? Former gay-porn star Matt Sanchez? [Insert embed joke here.] Not that there's anything wrong with Vets for Freedom showcasing on their home page the star of the feel-good movie of the year, "Touched by an Anal." But still, kind of pathetic for a "conservative" group that probably isn't so good on Don't Ask Don't Tell. (Sanchez says he's not gay, but I'm guessing anal sex for hire and public distribution counts as "telling" anyway.)


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New York's Governor Spitzer "involved in a prostitution ring"

ANOTHER UPDATE from the NY Times:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.

UPDATE 3:21 PM: Spitzer made a statement apologizing for his behavior. He's working first to restore the trust of his family. The NY Post blares "REPORTS: SPITZER LINKED TO PROSTITUTION RING; WILL RESIGN." But, we didn't hear that from the Governor.

This story is just breaking. Press conference scheduled at 2:15 PM:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.

Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He is set to make an announcement about 2:15 this afternoon at his Manhattan office.

Mr. Spitzer, a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany, is married with three children.

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Terry McAuliffe had a much different standard for DNC rules back in 2003

Rules are rules, unless the rules need to be broken or changed for Hillary Clinton to win. That seems to be the flip flopping message of Clinton's campaign chair, Terry McAuliffe.

McAuliffe in 2003 as DNC Chair:

Move your primary too early, Terry McAuliffe warned, and Michigan will lose half its delegates to the 2004 Democratic convention.

"The closest they'll get to Boston will be watching it on television," McAuliffe vowed. "I will not let you break this entire nominating process for one state. The rules are the rules."

Michigan Democrats backed down. McAuliffe's hard-line stance prevented a free-for-all among competing states that year, and it set the tone for future mutinies.

Quite the hard ass back in 2003. Not so much this year.

McAuliffe in March of 2008 as Clinton's Campaign Chair:

CBSNews.com: And also this week, the governors of Florida and Michigan came out and seemed open to a revote in those states for their delegations to count at the Democratic convention. What is the position of your campaign on a possible revote?

Terry McAuliffe: Well, what we have said is that these folks have already voted. I mean, people talk about a revote. But there is no appetite in Florida or Michigan by the state legislatures. I mean, there's no money. Who is going to pay the tens of millions of dollars to do this?

I've been informed that the Florida legislature, under no circumstances, would pay to have the Democrats redo it. So I agree with what has been said. The governors of both states have kept saying that the state parties in these two states need to work with the national party and come to some resolution of this matter. We just can't leave 2.3 million voters, 1.75 million in Florida, and over 600,000 in Michigan, who went in and voted. They've already voted. And we just need to count the votes.

Not such a stickler for the rules this year. Nope. Doesn't matter if Michigan and Florida broke the rules this year. Nope. Doesn't matter if Hillary was the only candidate on the ballot in Michigan this year. Nope. Whatever it takes.

Hat tip to reader JL. Read More......

Deadly day in Iraq. Another deadly day in Iraq.

Brutal. It's not over -- and, there's still no end in sight:

A suicide bomber killed five American soldiers on a foot patrol Monday after detonating his explosives vest in central Baghdad, the U.S. military said, the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Iraq in more than a month.

Four of the soldiers died at the scene and the fifth died later from wounds, the military said in a statement. The blast also wounded three U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter, the military said.

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McCain steals Hillary's 3am line

Gee, no one could have ever predicted that would have happened. Not so funny any more, eh?

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Hillary's campaign: Obama is "the most liberal Senator"

Better than being the most scandal-prone Senator. It's nice that Hillary's campaign is now using the most vicious of right-wing talking points to not only demonize Obama, but demonize a good portion of the Democratic party as well. For decades the Republicans have used the word "liberal" as a slur in order to hurt Democrats across the board, and now Hillary's doing it too. From Election Geek quoting Hillary's top adviser, Mark Penn:

“Independent and Republican support is diminishing as they find out he’s the most liberal Democratic senator… As they get more of a sense that he’s not ready to be Commander-in-Chief, a lot of Independents who were supporting him are disappearing.”

Funny, because last week, when Penn said this, Hillary floated the idea of Obama being her VP. Talk about speaking out of both sides of your mouth. If Obama is so "liberal" and so unprepared, then why would Hillary want to put him a heartbeat away from the presidency? Why? Because she's lying. Either about Obama's competence, or about picking him as VP. Probably both. Hillary will say anything in order to become president, and if that means demonizing half the states in the country, half the party, and our probable nominee, then so be it.

You'd think the dynasty that brought us "Monica" would be reticent about going bitterly negative. Not so much. If Obama wanted to do, he could destroy Hillary by reminding everyone of the bad side of a Clinton administration - non-stop scandal, and rather prurient scandal at that. (Does anyone really think it's not going to happen all over again if Hillary and Bill get back in the White House?) But Obama has more class than Hillary - a fact she's proving more and more each day. Read More......

John McCain's media pals can't seem to grasp McCain's campaign finance scandal

Today's Washington Post editorial about John McCain and campaign finance rank as one of the paper's worst editorials ever (not counting all the pro-Iraq war cheerleading). Then again, big surprise. Fred Hiatt, who runs the editorial page, never reads his own newspaper, so his editorials always contradict the actual news, and facts, in his own paper. This time is no different. After a series of articles about McCain planning to break the campaign finance law, a crime punishable by 5 years in jail, suddenly the Post's editorial page says it's not a big deal.

You see, poor John McCain has gotten himself in to a campaign finance mess -- and none of it, according to the Post is his fault. The FEC is dysfunctional because of the GOP Senate, but that's not McCain's fault:

Mr. McCain shouldn't be trapped by a standoff over which he has no control -- although, we would note, the logjam could be fixed if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were to allow an up-or-down vote on the pending nominees.

Yeah, because John McCain has no way to influence Mitch McConnell. That gives the flavor for the absurdity of the Post's position.

McCain is trying to scam the campaign finance system. Through that scam, McCain secured a loan (and get his name on the ballot in key states, which the Post fails to mention), but now he wants out of the system and all of its restrictions. The editorials notes:

this is not Mr. McCain's proudest moment as a reformer: He derived some benefit from the matching funds system and then abandoned it when that was to his advantage.

Okay, not his proudest moment? How about: McCain is breaking the law if he exceeds the spending. McCain can't just abandon the system that he entered of his own volition. He tried to pull a fast one - and he's been busted. And "some benefit"? Are they kidding? He got a $4 million loan when his campaign was broke, using the public finance system as collateral. That's "some benefit" according to the Post. Nice.

Best of all, the Post is worried that Democrats have more money this year. Yeah, because that's never the case for the GOP.

And, the NY Times isn't off the hook on this issue. That paper has an article about McCain's fundraising frenzy and never once mentions the major scandal brewing over the campaign finance violations. But, the article does explain why McCain gets special treatment:

And Mr. McCain said he planned to continue to hold forth with reporters on the back of his bus, the Straight Talk Express.

Aides believe that doing so makes Mr. McCain less likely to be the subject of what they call “gotcha” journalism, and not merely because he tries to develop a rapport with journalists, whom he has jokingly called “my base.” They believe that giving journalists access to the candidate, and the chance to hear about his positions at length, will make them less likely to jump on statements taken out of context.

They're all pals on the bus.

John McCain is breaking the campaign finance laws he purports to champion. That should be a very big story. And, it will be. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The first couple mornings after the time changes are always an adjustment.

What's on the agenda this week? I know we've got the Mississippi primary tomorrow night. I guess we won't know if that states really matters until the votes are counted.

Who knows what will evolve on the Democratic side...and who knows when McCain will blow his top. It's a matter of time for McCain.

Start threading...I need coffee. Read More......

Pfizer sues NEJM to stop confidential peer review

As if it's not bad enough that Big Pharma has a compliant FDA that allows anything that fails to kill people, immediately, at least. Big Pharma is supposed to publish test results though they don't unless they are the results they want published. Big Pharma is supposed to stay away from patients but again, they dive right into patient visits to sell their snake oil of the month. Now despite jury rigging the system to their benefit in almost every possible way, that's not enough. Pfizer is now suing the New England Journal of Medicine to reveal their confidential reviewers. Pfizer wants to break the long respected confidential peer review process that has helped raise questions when others were afraid to speak out.

The US courts are due to rule on this case later in the week and despite the obvious blow to confidential peer review, this also once again shows that it's not just consumers who are launching lawsuits, driving up costs. What about the countless lawsuits Big Pharma initiates? How much will this end up costing everyone - including possible lives - if confidential reviews are struck down and a drug kills people? Perhaps Big Pharma ought to move back into the business of helping people instead of only helping their bottom line. Read More......

How serious are mortgage companies with your private data?

They are so serious, they're discarding paper files with all of your details into dumpsters. And the FTC, what are they doing about protecting Americans since there are laws against this? Well, they have been busy with one slap-on-the-wrist case. For the rest, tough luck for you. Go find a public dumpster and hope you get lucky.

Just like the FAA. Just like the FDA. Just like the USDA. Just like the EPA. Just like wildlife preservation. Just like the, fill in the next blank. The Republicans have consistently strangled budgets for any and all regulation and then placed their hacks in a position to cozy up to industry. The next step is of course to then scream "see, the government is a failure at everything so let's shut them group down and let business self regulate." Good business, when you can get it. Read More......