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Friday Orchid Blogging

Phrag. Elizabeth Castle

I got this guy as a freebie baby plant from someone after another plant they sent me didn't do so well. I looked it up online and kind of yawned. Little did I know that I either looked up the wrong plant, or this plant has a lot of variation in it. The red is pretty striking, it's actually almost a purple-red, and it has a very very very slight scent, almost a bit citrusy (like many orchids, at least I've found). The flowers tend to bloom sequentially, one comes out for a few weeks, then drops off in perfect shape and another blooms, and on and on for 4 or more flowers over a few months. Seems to be a hardy grower, for me at least, so it's a keeper. Enjoy. Read More......

Obama gets a 3 a.m. phone call too

Fast response from the Obama team:

Matt Yglesias has the Clinton campaign's attempt to answer a reporter's question "What foreign policy moment would you point to in Hillary's career where she's been tested by crisis?" That was the point of the Clinton campaign's 3 a.m. phone call ad, after all. Let's just say, Matt was less than impressed with the answer and notes "an uncomfortably long moment during which neither Mark Penn, Howard Wolfson and Lee Feinstein have anything to say."

There's now a video about the audio.

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Ellen: ‘We must change’ our country’s attitudes towards gays.

From ThinkProgress:

In a segment that airs today, talk show host Ellen DeGeneras speaks about the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King, who was killed by a classmate for being gay. Saying that “we must change our country,” Ellen urges her audience to “check on who you’re voting for” to see if they stand for gay rights:

A boy has been killed and a number of lives have been ruined. And, somewhere along the line the killer, Brandon, got the message that it’s so threatening, so awful, and so horrific that Larry would want to be his Valentine — that killing Larry seemed to be the right thing to do. And when the message out there is so horrible that to be gay, you can get killed for it, we need to change the message. Larry was not a second-class citizen. I am not a second-class citizen. It’s ok if you’re gay.

Ellen's show has posted the video on YouTube. Read More......

USDA shuts down congressional civil rights audit

From AP:

The Agriculture Department abruptly ordered congressional auditors to leave its Washington offices this week and told employees not to cooperate with them.

"You are hereby instructed not to meet with any member of the (Government Accountability Office) today, or until this matter is resolved," Michael Watts, head of the department's office of adjudication, wrote to employees Wednesday in an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press.

The auditors were seeking information for an ongoing review of Agriculture's civil rights office, including whether the department had provided false information about the office's progress in handling discrimination complaints.

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Hillary's threatened lawsuit in Texas may be a PR stunt to con the media into thinking she won the state

Texas blog Burnt Orange reports:

There is method to the Clinton campaign's mad preemptive sword rattling over the Texas primary/caucus. They want to delay and disrupt the reporting of the delegate count. They hope that if they win the popular vote, they can avoid, at least for one news cycle, news reports that even if they do so they will very likely lose the delegate fight in Texas and fall further behind Obama in the national delegate contest.

This is not speculation. This has been the subject under discussion. While I have not been part of that discussion, plenty of sources last night and this morning confirmed this as the core of the dispute....

Throw the Texas delegate results in dispute, and win or lose the popular vote, they will have advanced their case that the contest remains close and should go all the way to the convention if necessary....

The Clinton campaign strategy is to justify taking the fight beyond Texas even if they fall further behind Obama in the national delegate count. To do that, they must cast doubt over the fate of the 67 delegates that will be chosen at the caucus level. Hence, their tough positioning in phone calls with Texas Democratic Party officials and others involved in the primary here.

The Texas rules have been in effect for decades. Bill Clinton ran twice under these rules. They are no surprise to anyone, and both campaigns know they have to play by the same rules. There is little point to raising concerns before the election -- except one campaign finds itself running a very unique kind of effort. To remain viable, the results of the caucus in Texas must be thrown into doubt. Almost any legal challenge will do. The Clinton narrative can be maintained-- but only if their falling further behind in delegates is not reported or is at the least cast into doubt for a news cycle, or two or three news cycles.

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Paulson blasts homeowner bailout, overlooks Wall Street bailout

Of course more bailouts of homeowners will reward speculators and I don't like it, but c'mon, what does he think Wall Street has been doing? Just as there is no reason to bail out John Q. Public who speculated on a $500,000+ house, Wall Street speculated with billions, more likely trillions so to listen to this pompous ass howl about bailouts for individuals is laughable. When the Federal Reserve started auctioning off tens of billions to Wall Street banks and discount rates (that have not been transferred to customers) I somehow did not hear Paulson making a fuss. Fed policy today is all about bailing out Wall Street and as discussed, Wall Street is sending hordes of lobbyists to DC to get even more bailout money.

The trashing of the US economy by GOP policy makes my blood boil and listening to Paulson slam other bailouts is just too much. This situation is so far beyond what a taxpayer bailout can even afford but let's not kid ourselves into thinking we haven't already been bailing out Wall Street because we have and Bernanke will continue to do so. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking there is only one bailout plan or for one particular group. Read More......

Media finally cluing in on McCain's major campaign finance controversy

It's taken awhile for the media to grasp the severity of the McCain campaign finance scandal. But, it's slowly starting to permeate according to MSNBC's First Read:

*** Money trouble: We’ve noticed today the McCain/FEC stories -- that McCain very well might have to abide by spending limits before the GOP convention -- are starting to roll in. But why is this only now starting to get more traction, compared with all the stories about Obama waffling on his pledge to accept public funds in the general? For one thing, the McCain story is much more complicated; certainly the Obama pledge hedge was an easier one to tell. But is this starting to become a problem for McCain? At the very least, it makes it MUCH more difficult to criticize Obama for waffling on public funds…

Two things:

1) Okay, it is a bit complicated, but not that complicated. The bloggers figured it out pretty quickly -- bottom line: McCain is breaking the laws that he purports to champion. You can read a quick, easy-to-understand, short description of the entire issue here;

2) I actually think it takes the media awhile to get their heads around something that defies their pre-conceived notions. They know John McCain. He talks to them on his bus. He's a nice guy. And, they believe he is the leader on campaign finance reform. So, reporters have to actually think about this, think about the fact that Mr. Nice Guy might actually be breaking the law on his signature issue, and get beyond the herd mentality.

Reporters should be pressuring McCain to release his FEC report for February ASAP. If his total expenditures in this campaign to date exceed the $54 million cap for the primaries, McCain has broken the campaign finance law and committed a crime punishable by five years in prison. McCain and his campaign have no cred on campaign finance. None. Read More......

Hillary campaign threatening imminent lawsuit over Texas primary/caucus

Democratic enthusiasm in Texas is unparalleled this year. But, the Clinton campaign may be ready to quash it with a lawsuit questioning the entire primary/caucus process in Texas (which was agreed to by everyone long ago). The Clintons and their advisers are under the misconception that momentum and public sentiment are on their side. It's not. More on the lawsuit from Markos.

Most everyone I talk to acknowledges that it's very close to being over for Hillary. It saddens a lot of my friends who are big Hillary supporters, but the talk all over DC this week isn't whether Hillary can win on Tuesday, it's how she lost the race. When we all wanted Al Gore to keep fighting in 2000, at least he had the entire party and half the country behind him. Not only have even Hillary's supporters acknowledged that it's pretty much over, but if Obama does as well as expected on Tuesday - stopping Hillary from getting the 65% of delegates in both Texas and Ohio that she needs to catch up to Obama - then the superdelegates will start to leave her in droves and party elders will quietly, and perhaps publicly if necessary, start telling her to call it off. She's not going to win. The only remaining question is whether her more strident advisers are going to guarantee that we all lose. Threatening a lawsuit against the Texas Democratic Party isn't the way to win more friends and build a legacy. It's also not the way to win in the fall.

Phillip Martin at Burnt Orange Report put it like this:

A lawsuit about the caucuses would be the most damaging way to proceed with this -- to date -- incredible presidential campaign in Texas.

Hillary has to decide how much damage she wants to do to herself and to all of us. Read More......

Clinton's new ad plays the politics of fear: You better be afraid

Saw the new Clinton ad played on the Today Show this morning. Looks like she took the advice of leading neocon Bill Kristol who just this weekend suggested Clinton play the "politics of fear."

Here's the ad-- and you better be afraid:
That "be afraid" strategy is so 2002. It's the mindset that got us into the Iraq war in the first place -- and you recall Senator Clinton voted for Bush's war in Iraq. She also voted last September for the Iran resolution. If Clinton wants to play the fear card and bring up national security, her votes on Iraq and Iran have to be part of the discussion.

The ad actually reminded of those public service announcements back in the 70s and 80s "It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?"

UPDATE: The ad actually has its origins in the 80s. 1984 to be exact according to Ben Smith. Clinton's ad guy, Roy Spence, did a similar ad for Mondale that year. A lot of these very high paid media consultants really do know only one trick. 1984? Come on. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

It's Leap Day. Happy birthday to all those who only get to celebrate every four years.

Should be a wild weekend of campaigning in Ohio and Texas.

Can't wait to see John McCain's FEC report. Right now, he's in the public financing system. The cap for the primaries is $54 million. If McCain exceeds the cap (and he probably has), he's broken the law -- and that is a criminal offense. Maybe, McCain could just plead guilty and get a pardon from Bush.

What are you thinking? Read More......

British Army to evacuate Prince Harry after outing by Drudge

Why does Drudge hate the war on terror? Why does he want to put the life of Harry and his Army mates at extra risk? Drudge is an absolute disgrace.

Army commanders were making frantic arrangements last night to bring Prince Harry back from Afghanistan after an American website disclosed that he had been serving with other British troops fighting the Taliban.

The prince, who is 10 weeks into a 14-week tour, was believed to still be in the country last night among British soldiers in the southern Helmand province.

The lid was blown on Harry's deployment yesterday afternoon by the Drudge Report, a US political blog, ending a voluntary agreement by the British media to keep it secret until he had returned. His job in Afghanistan was to monitor Taliban fighters' movements transmitted on to screens nicknamed 'Kill TV'.

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Oil crosses $103 courtesy of Bernanke comments

The weak dollar policy is just crushing consumers and careless comments by Bernanke just don't help. In all likelihood they probably thought they could control the dollar and keep it in a range to help promote exports. It's a misguided policy but certainly one that many subscribe to in politics. Unfortunately for everyone else, the Administration failed in so many other areas and the rug has been pulled from under their feet. They lost any control they had over this situation long ago and the collapsing banking industry is compounding the problem.

When oil tested and broke through the $100 mark, this opened up an entirely new situation. The psychological barrier of crossing $100 is not there any more so it can just as easily push upward to $110 as it can to drop back down to the low $90s. Making matters worse is that the dollar has again become the 98 pound weakling at the beach. It crossed the $1.50 - €1 support level so again, now that it's been crossed it can get worse easier and faster. The end result for Americans: inflation and probably stagflation. Without a fast drop in oil prices (which is of course, possible) along with a jump in income (much less likely) Bernanke and the Fed are implementing policies that are disastrous for most Americans. Read More......

Drudge violates news black out meant to protect Brit troops in Afghanistan, including Prince Harry

Imagine if a liberal Web site had outed details of our war in Afghanistan, putting at risk the lives of US coalition soldiers? That's what just happened, except it was the conservative Matt Drudge who did it. Read More......

Rep. Jack Kingston is leading the sleazy GOP attacks. And, he's an idiot.

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Open Thread

Just left a book signing for Alex's new book. There was a good crowd, including congressional candidate Darcy Burner, who is great. More after dinner. Read More......

Obama pens an open letter to the gay community. Where is John McCain's letter?

And before anyone says that these are just words, I doubt you'll be seeing John McCain's open letter to the gay community any time soon, and if you do it will talk a lot about non-discrimination but wont promise much of anything concrete. Though, the good thing about a McCain presidency is that when he institutes a draft so that he can declare war on Iran and Syria and North Korea, the gays will be staying home. Here are excerpts of Obama's letter:

Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
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As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

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Obama: "This was not an inevitable part of the business cycle"

Exactly.

"We are not standing on the brink of recession because of forces beyond our control," Obama told a town hall forum in Austin. "This was not an inevitable part of the business cycle. It was a failure of leadership in Washington — a Washington where George Bush hands out billions of tax cuts to the wealthiest few for eight long years, and John McCain promises to make those same tax cuts permanent, embracing the central principle of the Bush economic program."

In remarks Obama aides suggested were a rebuke to McCain as well as Bush, Obama said more is needed than just "to change faces in the White House," but that the country "needs a change of leadership."

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Last month we were going to be in Iraq another 100 or 10,000 years, now McCain says the war will be over soon

In all fairness, McCain clearly no longer remembers what he says day to day. He can't remember sworn depositions, meeting key supporters who then launch racist attacks, etc. So why expect him to remember his positions on the war, on immigration, on the religious right, or any other issue that might affect his election chances. Read More......

Pentagon gives new contract to company alleged to be producing substandard kevlar helmets for our troops

More proof of how much Republicans love the troops and of how well Republican limited government works. John McCain is a leader on the Senate Armed Service Committee - how did this happen under his watch? Hell, how did the entire fiasco of a war happen under McCain's watch? From CREW:

On February 6th, The New York Times reported that Sioux Manufacturing, which makes the Kevlar for helmets, has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company had shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including helmets used by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense, aware of both the problem with Sioux's helmets and the company's efforts to cover it up, awarded another contract to Sioux a mere 12 days before the lawsuit was settled. That same day, CREW sent a letter to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees requesting an investigation into a Department of Defense $74 million contract awarded to Sioux Manufacturing.

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Iraq's provincial elections

Part of the recent three-part compromise bill that managed to make its way through Iraq's parliament was provincial elections, an important political element that's long overdue. Eric Martin writes, though, that the Iraqi government is already thinking about postponing them, nearly eight months out. It looks like the delay -- if it occurs at all -- won't be lengthy, but it's still a worrying sign.

And of course scheduling is the least of the issues when it comes to these elections. I think provincial elections are a vital element of any political progress (and I've occasionally named them as an answer to the "what's the one thing you'd do to improve the situation . . ." question), but they're not without concern. As Eric comments, regarding competing Iraqi Shia parties,

While Fadhila and the Sadrist current have clashed in the past, the two groups make natural allies at this juncture - due to their mutual enemy (ISCI), the nationalistic outlook of each, their resistance to partition (a favored agenda of ISCI) as well as other common religious and ideological leanings. The two combined could greatly weaken ISCI's position via elections - which has led many to wonder whether ISCI will attempt some level of fraud.

I'll discuss this much more as the elections draw near, but any benefit from them is likely to be preceded by violent jostling for position. Yikes. Read More......

"I hate the gooks" - John McCain

From the SF Chronicle during the 2000 campaign:

"I hate the gooks," McCain said yesterday in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. "I will hate them as long as I live."

Yeah, I get it, John McCain was held captive and tortured by the Vietnamese for five years. Well, you know what, a lot of people have personal trauma in their lives doled out to them by bad guys of every stripe, be they white or black or gay or Jewish or female. But we don't give those people the right to use racist and bigoted terms to describe an entire class of human beings, or even the specific people who hurt us. This goes a long way towards showing just how messed up Vietnam left John McCain, and why John McCain seems so willing to use racist attacks to take down Barack Obama. To McCain and the Republicans, Obama is just another "gook."

Oh, and just to be clear, the Somalians who dragged the lifeless bodies of US service members behind their trucks in 1993 after their Black Hawk helicopter was shot down, does McCain think it would be okay to call them "n-ggers" or "sand n-ggers"? (Or didn't those US service members suffer as much as John McCain?) Or how about the Israelis troops who blew up the USS Liberty, killing 34 American service members in 1967, does Senator McCain think it's appropriate to call them "k-kes"? Is attempted presidential assassin Squeaky Fromm a "c-nt"? I'm quite serious. Now, I'll bet John McCain would refuse to even answer the question because he'd say it's absurd, of course he wouldn't condone any of those words (at least that's what he'd say for public consumption). But when the victim of the slur is Asian, and the victim of the crime is John McCain, suddenly it's okay for John McCain to spout racism because John McCain would have you believe that he's the only American, the only soldier, to ever have suffered. He was tortured, you know. And he doesn't plan on ever letting you forget it. Read More......

Bush press conference at 10:05 a.m.

Your President will be holding a press conference shortly. He's going to be all jazzed up about getting back to the politics of fearmongering:

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush would ask lawmakers in the House of Representatives to pass legislation that would retroactively shield phone companies for participating in a warrantless wiretap program.

Every other word will be "terrorists" or some variation, no doubt.

10:05 AM: In a classic move, on MSNBC, Chris Matthews was blathering on even as Bush began to speak. In the world of Chris Matthews, he's more important.

And, Bush goes right into a riff on telecom immunity -- and invokes 9/11. That didn't take long. Throws Al Qaeda in, too. Apparently, the telecoms are the first line of defense in protecting America. Who knew?

"Old FISA" didn't work. "Old FISA" is one of today's talking points.

10:13 AM: Despite Bush's best efforts at fearmongering, the first question is about the economy. Bush says we're not in a recession, just a slowdown. He's concerned...and he's acted "robustly."

10:16 AM: Asked about Iraq, but in the context of Turkey's incursion into Iraq. According to Bush, the Turks need to get out as quickly as possible.

10:18 AM: David Gregory slams the Democrats when asking about the new President of Russia saying candidates didn't seem to know too much about him. But, Bush replied "I don't know much about Medvedev either."

10:22 AM: In an attempted swipe at Obama, Bush confirms that Al Qaeda has been trying to establish a base in Iraq for the past four years. We invaded Iraq five years ago. This is a very important point because it confirms that Al Qaeda did not have a base in Al Qaeda before the U.S. invasion.

10:24 AM: Ha. He thinks your civil liberties are "well-respected" -- but, he really needs to protect the telecoms who are violating your civil liberties.

10:32 AM: Bush loves free trade in case you didn't know. Our national security depends on free trade with Colombia.

10:38 AM: It's very hard to hear Bush give advice on foreign policy. He's a disaster on foreign policy. But he just blathers on and on. How can anyone take him seriously given his track record? Read More......

McCain is scamming and breaking campaign finance laws. Not breaking the law should be the test of commitment.

This is really unbelievable. Today's NY Times tells us the McCain campaign "stepped up its criticism of Mr. Obama" on the issue of campaign finance.

Seriously, how can the NY Times or any publication even listen to the McCain campaign when it is in the midst of breaking the campaign finance laws? McCain is scamming the system but has the audacity to attack Obama. Even worse, the so-called brain trust of campaign finance advocates are focused on Obama's "commitment" to campaign finance. So McCain is breaking the law. Obama is not only adhering to the law, he won't take PAC money or contributions from lobbyists. But the concern is Obama of Joan Claybrook and Fred Wertheimer. It's bizarro world.:

“You ought to be able to run a campaign for two months on $85 million,” said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, which lobbies for stricter campaign finance laws. She called Mr. Obama’s recent remarks “a very bad signal.”

“This whole idea started with Senator Obama, and we think he and whoever the Republican nominee is ought to follow through,” said Fred Wertheimer, founder of the advocacy group Democracy 21.

Um, Joan, "a very bad signal" is breaking the campaign finance law. That's what your champion, John McCain, is doing. He is making a mockery of the system.

Obama's campaign shouldn't listen for a second to any of these campaign finance types now. By ignoring the McCain scandal, they've lost any credibility.

Noam Scheiber at The Plank explains the situation pretty succinctly in his post, "McCain May Be Screwed":

Bottom line: Either McCain used the promise of public campaign funds as collateral for his loan, in which case he's locked himself into the public campaign finance system (and its strict spending limits) and is massively screwed until September. Or he didn't use potential public funds as collateral, which means he didn't have anything to offer as collateral, which means he received an improper loan. Neither one of those scenarios is very good for the Straight Talk Express.

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Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

I know we have a couple primaries left, but it seems like the campaign has pivoted to general election mode. And, the Republicans are already getting really dirty. What else have they got going for them? It's so desperate that John McCain, who the punditry thinks is the champion of campaign finance reform, is breaking the campaign finance laws.

The whole Republican campaign strategy is basically described by Josh Marshall in last night's post titled "Road Map":

The core is to drill a handful of key adjectives into the public mind about Barack Obama: Muslim, anti-American,BLACK, terrorist, Arab

McCain can't distance himself from that strategy. It is his strategy. And, Mark Halperin from Time Magazine already gave tacit approval to a race baiting strategy (despite his claim it was analysis, not advice)

And for anyone who thinks the GOP won't bash groups of people in the 21st century, think gays and immigrants. It's what Republicans do.

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

Supreme Court worried for Exxon

Wouldn't it be nice if the Supreme Court cared a little more about corporate responsibility and average Americans instead of the stress of corporate execs who are making a few hundred million dollars? Sheesh. The best democracy money can buy.

Exxon Mobil, the giant oil corporation appearing before the Supreme Court yesterday, had earned a profit of nearly $40 billion in 2006, the largest ever reported by a U.S. company -- but that's not what bothered Roberts. What bothered the chief justice was that Exxon was being ordered to pay $2.5 billion -- roughly three weeks' worth of profits -- for destroying a long swath of the Alaska coastline in the largest oil spill in American history.

"So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?" Roberts asked in court.

The lawyer arguing for the Alaska fishermen affected by the spill, Jeffrey Fisher, had an idea. "Well," he said, "it can hire fit and competent people."

The rare sound of laughter rippled through the august chamber. The chief justice did not look amused.

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UK government laptop with confidential information on eBay

Just a guess, but there might be a security issue at the British Home Office. Just maybe. Fortunately it was encrypted.

The disc was found by technicians when the computer was taken into a small IT repair company for service.

The laptop had been bought on eBay and taken to Leapfrog Computer repairs in Westhoughton, near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on Tuesday morning.

An engineer took the notebook apart and found a disc marked "Home Office Confidential" hidden beneath the keyboard. Lee Bevan, the managing director of LeapFrog Computers, said: "This seemed like just another IT repair ... the customer said he had bought it on eBay and seemed quite innocent. It was just an ordinary laptop and it was only when we opened up the keyboard that we found the disc - it had the words Home Office and Confidential written on it.

"The disc appeared to be hidden deliberately underneath the keyboard. We put the disc in the drive to see what it was, but it was encrypted.

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Cabinet post for volunteer management in California

What a really great idea.

Mr. Schwarzenegger is creating a cabinet-level office for volunteer management, which his administration says is the first such state cabinet position in the country. He is scheduled to announce the move on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Under the change, the governor’s commission for volunteerism, California Volunteers, will maintain its staffing and budget. But its executive director will gain expanded duties as a cabinet secretary, playing a role in disaster-related planning and response efforts and coordinating volunteers at disaster sites.

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Josh Marshall: McCain wants to define Obama as a Muslim, anti-American, BLACK, terrorist, Arab

An intense, and pointed, commentary from Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall. Josh is a very good writer and thinker, but he's not prone to the amount of emotion that I and some others in the blogosphere sometimes like to show (cough, Matt Stoller :-) So when Josh writes something like this, the media takes notice. We take notice.

Hopefully, everyone can now see the McCain strategy for running against Barack Obama. Yes, we have some general points on taxes, culture wars and McCain as war hero who can protect us in ways that flash-in-the-pan pretty boy Barack Obama can't.

But that's not the core. The core is to drill a handful of key adjectives into the public mind about Barack Obama: Muslim, anti-American,BLACK, terrorist, Arab....

Now, a good deal has been made out of John McCain's repudiation of talk radio yakmeister Bill Cunningham, who led off for McCain at one of his rallies with the full run of Obama sludge. But don't be distracted or fooled....

Don't insult your intelligence or mine by pretending that John McCain's plan for this race doesn't rely on hundreds of Cunninghams -- large and small -- across the country, and the RNC and all the GOP third party groups, to be peddling this stuff nonstop for the next eight months because it's the only way John McCain have a real shot at contesting this race.

If McCain really wants to repudiate this stuff, he can start with the Tennessee Republican party which dished all the slurs and smears about Obama being a Nation of Islam-loving anti-Semite, just today. And once he's done talking to the people who will be running his Tennessee campaign, we'll have a number of others he can talk to, like the head of his Ohio campaign, former Sen. Mike DeWine, who gave that Cunningham guy his marching orders.

Let's just not fool ourselves, not lie to ourselves about what's happening here and who's in charge.

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In the small world department...

I was just out having dinner with friends, including a Democratic candidate for a Republican House seat this fall, when who do we spot at the next table, Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. You remember her, she's the Clinton campaign surrogate one who said on Monday that Obama's "native country" and "nation" was Somalia, and whose office you subsequently called to give her a piece of your minds. I resisted the urge to walk over and tell her that Senator Obama's native country is America, what's hers? Read More......

Bernanke ready to sacrifice average Americans to save Wall Street

Gosh, thanks. While I appreciate the public arguing between Federal Reserve governors on the subject of whether to focus on inflation or Wall Street, it's discouraging to hear Bernanke so willingly point towards another Wall Street gift. During the Bush years, the middle class has been shafted and has not enjoyed the economic benefits that mostly helped the wealthiest Americans. There was no trickle down and they didn't even try to hide behind such false stories as they did during the Reagan years. They simply didn't give a damn.

Now all of the excesses of the Wall Street wet dream, where they were given full authority by Republicans do to pretty much any damned thing they liked, are crashing down. Suddenly, we're all supposed to jump and give Wall Street more free money so we can help them bounce back. Money isn't falling from the sky, it's leaving your wallet to bail these bums out. The same middle class who has footed the bill for Iraq, footed the tax cuts for the rich, more expensive health care, fewer benefits and payed the price for lack of traditional regulation, is being asked to sacrifice - again - so that Bernanke can help Wall Street dig out of the hole they put us in. We're in for a bumpy ride one way or another so let Wall Street fend for themselves and think about the middle class. Inflation and sagging wages are taking their toll, but don't tell that to Bernanke. He doesn't give a damn unless you are Wall Street. Read More......

Just how many times has McCain met the guy he never met?

More on Bill Cunningham, the guy who was introducing McCain and called Obama "Hussein" and then said Madeleine Albright was ugly. The guy who McCain says he never even met before. Well, a reliable source tells me that Bill Cunningham has had several invitations to McCain events at which he has met with McCain for relatively brief periods, and that McCain has been on Cunningham's radio show twice - once from the Capitol itself in 1995. Doesn't sound like John McCain has never even heard of this guy before. But then again, dementia isn't pretty. Read More......

Obama Makes Gay Ad Buys in Ohio, Texas

Obama's campaign is reaching out to gays in Ohio and Texas. Both Hillary and Obama have had their ups and downs with the gays, but overall, they're both excellent on the issue, and far better than McCain and the far-right bureaucrats and Supreme Court justices he'd appoint. I'll never forget watching McCain in 2000 talk angrily, in response to a question about gay rights, how being gay had nothing to do with other civil rights, like being discriminated against because you're black, etc. Nice man, Mr. McCain.

Andy over at TowleRoad got his hands a copy of the print ad. Read More......

Making Common Cause with criminals

Remember when good government groups were about stopping Washington insiders from helping their friends thwart the public good? Not so much anymore.

You'll recall we've been talking a lot over the past week about how John McCain is on the verge of committing a criminal act by pulling out of the public finance system, and violating its spending limits, after having used that system to get a $4m loan and to get on the ballot in numerous states? And remember how we told you that McCain's crime is punishable by a 5 year jail term? This isn't some esoteric campaign finance pledge McCain is breaking - it's the law.

Well, you might be surprised to hear that good government, pro campaign finance reform groups like Democracy 21, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Public Citizen, the League of Women Voters and U.S. PIRG have all been silent on John McCain's impending campaign finance crime.

Now why is that? I mean, sure, Public Citizen is just waking up from its 4 year nap after the last time Ralph Nader came out of his hole, ran for president, and tried to throw the election to the Republicans, so we can forgive their inaction - I mean, they did just wake up. (And in any case, Nader seems hell-bent on throwing elections to Republicans, so should we expect the group he founded to endanger yet another 8 years of rampant Republican corporate welfare over a simple thing like our potential future president being a criminal?) But what about the other groups? What possible reason could Democracy 21, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and U.S. PIRG have for suddenly not caring so much about campaign finance reform rules and presidential candidates breaking the law?

Matt Stoller over at OpenLeft got a very angry email from Common Cause after he dared ask this question. Interestingly, Common cause responded to everything Matt wrote about except the main point of Matt's post, why Common Cause was remaining silent over McCain's impending criminal campaign finance offense. Funny that.

Then again, it is understandable. I mean, these groups have been around for a while, and they've worked for years with John McCain, they've laughed with John McCain, shared the good times and the bad with him - they like John McCain, and John McCain has become their friend. They have influence with John McCain, they lobby John McCain, and they may fear losing that influence if they hold McCain as responsible for his crime as they hold other politicians for their crimes.

You see, in Washington, sometimes you have to do what's wrong to do what's right. Read More......

9/11 Redux: 'Thousands of Aliens' in U.S. Flight Schools Illegally

Republican "limited government" at its worst. From ABC:

Former FAA Inspector: TSA's Enforcement of Post-9/11 Laws 'Basically Nonexistent'

Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.

"Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today," wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration.

"Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes," wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.

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McCain lied (again). This time about never having met surrogate who called Obama "Hussein" and said Albright was ugly.

It was just last week that McCain lied to the media about never having met a lobbyist involved in last week's scandal (he had met with the lobbyist, and admitted it under oath in 2002). Now he's lying about this controversy as well. Or he's telling the truth, he actually thinks he didn't meet all these different people because the 71 year old McCain no longer has all his faculties.

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Obama: McCain and Bush "took their eye off the people who really were responsible for 9/11"

McCain enabled Bush's failed strategy in Iraq. McCain enabled Bush's failed strategy against Al Qaeda. The Bush failure is the McCain failure and Obama is going to remind the American people of that at every single opportunity.

The latest smackdown of McCain from Obama via Ben Smith:

"John McCain may like to say he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but so far all he’s done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq," he said.

Obama was responding, incredulously, to McCain's suggestion that he's unaware of the presence of Al Qaeda in Iraq, which the Arizona Senator said earlier today was apparently "news" to Obama at last night's debate.

"McCain thought that he could make a clever point by saying, 'Well let me give you some news, Barack, Al Qaeda is in Iraq,' like I wasn’t reading the papers, like didn’t know what was going on." Obama said, leaning into his developing McCain impression.

He then described the context -- a hypothetical question from Tim Russert -- and said, "First of all, I do know Al Qaeda is in Iraq, and that’s why I said we should continue to strike Al Qaeda targets."

"I have some news for John McCain," Obama continued, "That’s there was no Al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain" began the Iraq war, he said.

"They took their eye off the people who really were responsible for 9/11," he said.

Thanks to Bush and McCain, Al Qaeda isn't vanquished, they're stronger. Read More......

Bush EPA at it again - corporate farms exempted from laws

The corporate world is going to look back at the Bush years as a dream period. Whatever they want, no matter how crazy or dangerous to others, gets the official Bush seal of approval. If only there was another branch of government that had some power to provide balance and call them out. If only...

Under pressure from agriculture industry lobbyists and lawmakers from agricultural states, the Environmental Protection Agency wants to drop requirements that factory farms report their emissions of toxic gases, despite findings by the agency's scientists that the gases pose a health threat.

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What counts as a "win" for Hillary next Tuesday

From Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post:

What's clear from our conversations is that the expectation among party poobahs is that Clinton needs -- at a minimum -- popular vote victories in Ohio and Texas to continue her campaign until the next big showdown in Pennsylvania in late April.

We couldn't find a single person who thought Clinton could/should go on if she split the raw vote with Obama in Ohio and Texas. "Right now it feels like air going out of a tire very slowly and you'd have to believe that they could not hold the superdelegates with a loss in either [state]," said one Democratic consultant granted anonymity to speak openly.

Others have estimated, more precisely, that Hillary needs to get at least 65% of the delegates in both Texas and Ohio. See Chuck Todd's analysis, below:

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Both Obama and Hillary have a 100% rating from NARAL and Planned Parenthood

I just wanted to bring that up since I keep getting these emails telling me how just awful Obama is on choice issues. In fact, he's fine. And so is Hillary, she's at 100% for both NARAL and PPFA as well. Still, I've gotten enough of these abortion-urban-myth emails about Obama, and they do seem orchestrated by someone, so it seemed necessary to finally weigh in about both candidates. They're both fine on abortion and choice issues, so please, whoever is throwing the kitchen sink at Obama - stop it, we're not idiots. You can check PPFA's and NARAL's scorecards for all your candidates. Read More......

McCain facing serious legal question about his campaign finance "deal"

So one of John McCain's claims to fame is that he's the champion of campaign finance reform. But, we're seeing the dark side of McCain. He's actually the champion of scamming the campaign finance system:

Still, questions about the legality of the deal have turned the fine print of McCain's borrowing into a source of intense scrutiny among leading campaign lawyers. Several suggested McCain has landed in a legal bind: If McCain used the promise of public financing to secure the loan -- as Democrats suggest -- he faces strict spending limits. If public funds were not involved -- as Potter argues -- that poses other problems.

And, McCain, who is on the verge of breaking the law, wants to make public financing an issue with Obama. As if. I'll repeat what we wrote during our debate open thread when Russert asked Obama about public campaign financing for the general election:

Campaign finance. Here's the answer -- listen, Tim -- McCain is on the verge of breaking the campaign finance laws. He could go to jail for 5 years as a result. Why do I care what McCain thinks about this issue, he's lost all credibility. As for Obama, Russert got it wrong. Obama didn't promise to take public funding, he said he'd sit down with the GOP nominee and try to work out a deal. Big difference.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Just watched Russert give his debate review. He not only reports the news. He is the News. Looks like NBC cleaned him up over night, too.

Twenty debates is a lot. I know how exhausting it is too watch them all. Can't even imagine the stress and pressure on the candidates to perform. But, our candidates have been tested and they've had to answer some tough -- some amazingly inane -- questions.

What's going to set off McCain's legendary temper? You know he's going to lose it at some point during the general election. It's in his nature. I've said before he's like the nasty, crazy old man in your neighborhood who was always screaming at the kids over nothing. But your parents didn't believe you. They just thought he was a nice old man because they never saw him yelling and acting erratic. Then, one day, he explodes in front of them and they see it for themselves. That's John McCain. He's trying to keep his temper in check -- but he's going to blow. It's a matter of time. That would actually be a good question for CNN: Do you think John McCain will lose his temper over some perceived slight and start screaming and yelling during the campaign? ___Yes ___No

Okay, start. Read More......

Democrats calling for change in food safety

It's refreshing to hear a voice of reason on such a critical issue Congresswoman DeGette may finally be helping Congress turn the corner on food safety. The current system has been cracking for a long time courtesy of the GOP "let industry self regulate" programs. Even the USDA and FDA are unable to make food recalls and instead, rely on the violators themselves to do this. Amazing, isn't it? To compound the problem, the Bush administration has equipped those federal agencies with industry people who are more interested in letting business do as they please rather than think of consumers. Budgets have been slashed, regulation has disappeared and the problem gets worse every year despite big talk by industry and their friends in the GOP.

DeGette's call for federal mandatory recall authority is the right thing to do for painfully obvious reasons. While I don't see the current administration showing any interest in taking action even if they did have the authority, we are only months away from a new administration that hopefully will care about consumers. The Big Food execs will continue to tell everyone that they are in control but history tells us something different. Providing regulation authority is a great first step. Read More......

Dollar falls through support level, oil hits new high

From bad to worse in the GOP economy. The dollar has fallen through a very important support level $1.50 - €1 so if the greenback fails to bounce back quickly this could hit the free fall that many have been predicting. So what does this mean in America? Exactly what happened yesterday, which was a nasty inflation (stagflation) report courtesy of high energy costs.

Oil hit yet another new high, breaking through the $101 figure. Looking at the trends in oil, while it could drop back into the $80s though realistically, there is little preventing another climb. Just about anything can make the prices go back up (Turkey invading Iraq, hurricane, rumors, you name it) and now that the $100 support level has been tested and kicked aside it will be much easier for it to go up again. The Democrats really need call out the GOP and McCain in particular on this. These results are directly linked to years of bad policy by the Republicans. If we fail to drive this point home early and often, shame on us. Read More......

Big win in NY State Senate

It's been decades since the Democrats have controlled the New York State Senate. Decades. But, tonight, they moved within one vote of control. With a Democratic Governor, a Democratic Assembly, the State is on the verge of becoming the blue bastion it should be:

Democrat Darrel Aubertine has upset Republican Will Barclay in the special election for New York State's 48th Senate District – slicing the Republican majority in the State Senate to just one.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, the Associated Press projected the victory. Aubertine has 27,532 votes, or 52 percent, to 25,001 votes for Barclay, 48 percent.

A New York politico tells me this win is HUGE: "it is a bellwether race - in a district that has nearly twice as many republicans as dems."

State legislatures matter. A lot. Control of state legislatures matters. A lot. Read More......

Democratic Debate Wrap-Up

Okay, the last debate is over. There was no knock-out punch. And, Hillary Clinton needed one, badly.

For the most part, Obama was steady on a broad range of issues. Clinton was good...had a few rough moments. The Saturday Night Live line was pathetic.

I thought the question about Farrakhan was weird. And, Russert just kept pushing it.

Overall, great substance from both candidates. And, watching this debate, what Obama and Clinton said about each other at the end is true. Both are worthy, both will be so much better than John McCain. No doubt about that.

In my view, the win goes to Obama. A clean win. And a win that sets him on the road to the nomination. We'll know next week at this time.

One last thing: Watching the post-debate analysis, it's hard to understand how Olbermann can sit on the same panel with that buffoon Chris Matthews. Read More......

Democratic Debate Open Thread

10:34 PM: Williams asks a stupid final question trying to get Obama and Clinton to diss each other. Obama won't take the bait...she is worthy..and turns to bashing McCain. She doesn't have to answer the question of whether she can be the standard bearer. I just think I'm better. Clinton says they both feel strongly about the country. It's an honor to campaign -- and she intends to do everything she can to win. Either one of us will make history. The question is who can change the country and she thinks she can.

10:29 PM: Clinton would take back her vote on Iraq. Obama upset he didn't stop the Schiavo fiasco. It was his inaction that bothered him. Obama does a nice wrap up. He's right. Both of them want to deliver for the American people. We do have two terrific candidates and either of them will kick McCain's ass.

10:22 PM: Russia question. Long answers, both good answers.

10:14 PM: Okay, reject and denounce. Are we happy now? That was a weird and uncomfortable exchange.

10:10 PM: Russert is doing a damn good job. I wish he'd be this tough on his Sunday show, where I think he talks tough but doesn't always really dog the people he has on the show. He's hitting Hillary and Obama both with the really tough stuff, good for him.

10:07 PM: Not sure I care whether Hillary releases her tax returns, but in general, I've always found it rather voyeuristic, the tax return thing. Maybe I don't get it.

10:04 PM: Campaign finance. Here's the answer -- listen, Tim -- McCain is on the verge of breaking the campaign finance laws. He could go to jail for 5 years as a result. Why do I care what McCain thinks about this issue, he's lost all credibility. As for Obama, Russert got it wrong. Obama didn't promise to take public funding, he said he'd sit down the GOP nominee and try to work out a deal. Big difference.

10:01 PM: Two film clips...both Clinton and Obama say she was having fun with her clip about the sky opening up. Then a clip of Barack talking about Clinton being co-President. He did have a good line about her vote on a credit card bill...said if you oppose bills, you vote against them.

9:48 PM: A break. Brian Williams had to work had to get it, but he did.

9:41 PM: Hillary: I won't get bin Laden. Not a real winning argument. Basically, she criticized Obama for saying that if we had Osama in our sights in Pakistan and the Pakistanis refused to take him out, we would. Hillary just criticized him for saying that. So, she wouldn't go after Osama if the Pakistanis refused to?

9:39 PM: Hillary uses a John McCain talking point on Pakistan. Obama goes back to Iraq -- a huge strategic blunder. She was ready to give into George Bush on Day One. She facilitated and enabled George Bush. He corrects her on Pakistan.

9:34 PM: Barack gets asked about Hillary's foreign policy criticism of him. He doesn't equate experience with longevity in Washington, but Hillary does. Then he pivots into Iraq, Pakistan and other issues where he thinks he's been right -- and she's been wrong.

9:23 Russert just called Hillary on NAFTA. Said she supported it repeatedly. "Your record is pretty clear."

9:18 Holy shit. Hillary just asked if Barack needed another pillow. Jesus Christ. The audience just went "oohhhhh" on that one. My God. We've invoked Matt Drudge and Saturday Night Live tonight. That was just pathetic.

9:16 PM: Good God, shut up already. I'm sorry, but Hillary won't shut up. It's like debating one of those Republicans on TV who just won't stop. Come on, already. She's been doing this the past several debates.

9:11 PM: Still on health care. Clinton gives good arguments. Obama comes right back.

9:07 PM: Brian Williams actually cited Matt Drudge in a question to Hillary Clinton about the now infamous phote. Barack brings it back to health care. NBC showed the photo on the air, not sure that's appropriate.

9:04 PM: Wow, they started by showing videos of Hillary being conciliatory at the end of the last debate, and then the video of Hillary kind of losing it over Obama's recent mailings. She's giving a pretty good answer - sane, level-headed, not angry. I still think "angry" is only minutes away.

Game on. This could be the final debate of the primary season. We've watched and liveblogged almost all of them. John and I are both writing the live blog in this thread.

As in the past, we'll look for the high and low points. Hopefully, more high points. Read More......

Democratic Debate minutes away

It starts in ten minutes. Hillary has two choices. Well, three actually.

1. Stick to the issues.
2. Go massively negative.
3. Start nice, go negative about halfway through, then get nice again for the last half.

I suspect Hillary will take option 3, which she's done before (including the last debate). Hillary has to rattle Obama, or the nomination is over - he's won. It is unlikely that she'll get 65% of the vote in Ohio and Texas, which she needs to get the nomination, so she has to get Obama to screw up. And the best way to do that is to rattle him, by going negative. But, if Hillary goes negative, then she looks bad - she doesn't do negative well. So, she may choose to start positive, go negative halfway through, to see if she can provoke a reaction, then go positive again for the last part so people lose any ill-will that may have been generated by her turning negative.

The thing is, Obama knows this. I'm sure his people have told him that under no circumstances is he to take the bait. If he doesn't take the bait, he wins. What option will Hillary choose? We'll find out in a few minutes. Read More......

SEIU is on the air for Obama

The big dog weighs in. SEIU's Committee On Political Education started running three ads today for Obama in Ohio and Texas -- including this one in Spanish:
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GOP Senator: Democrats want to put "a bullet right in the hearts of our troops"

The more the Democrats let the Republicans say things like this, the more they deserve what they get. And the more they make it okay for Republicans to launch such attacks against our presidential candidate this fall, calling the Dem nominee unpatriotic, etc. The Democrats ought to introduce a censure resolution condemning GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). It's what the Republicans would do to ensure that this never happens again. But we're too nice. And that's why our patriotism keeps being attacked, because we never want to defend ourselves, and only feed the notion that we aren't willing to defend anything, even our country. Read More......