Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama's acceptance speech tonight

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Obama's Deputy Campaign manager just asked me to thank all of you guys

I just got a text message from Steve Hildebrand, the Deputy Campaign manager of the Obama campaign, and he asked me to thank all of you guys, our readers, for your support. Here is Hildebrand's message to you guys:

Give a shout-out from all of us in the Obama Campaign to your readers. You were there early.

We need 110 percent from everyone and anyone who cares about who controls the Supreme Court, who will stand up for those who need a little help. 110 percent.

Thanks for everything.

This is a BIG moment.

Classy people. Read More......

Obama wins Montana -- claims the mantle of the Democratic nominee

The last primary is called for Obama.

And, he'll be speaking soon..

Okay, Barack and Michelle have arrived...and they look both very cool and unbothered.

The speech is here.

Contribute here or by clicking on the "Contribute" button to the left. It's safe and 100% of the money goes to Obama. He'll need it to fight McCain. Under federal law, the maximum contribution for the primary is $2300. The Obama campaign runs a very tight ship so every single dollar matters.

And, this update arrived from the Obama campaign:

With polls now closed in the final two contest of this historic race for the Democratic nomination, 26.5 superdelegates pledged their votes for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The superdelegates hail from every region of the country and every level of the Democratic Party leadership.

Obama:

Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

Yes, you can, Barack Obama. Yes, you can. Read More......

Hillary refuses to acknowledge Obama's victory

UPDATE: Joe just posted Obama's speech below.

Obama won tonight and she still can't concede. Take a flying leap. You lost. You nasty woman. She can't decide what she wants to do, whether she concedes or not. So she wants people to email her and help her decide. What a nasty woman. Oh, and don't suggest to her that another woman take the VP position - Hillary's staff already made clear that Obama isn't allowed to offer the position to any other women, even though Hillary doesn't want it. She's just a nasty nasty woman. I'm so glad the Democratic leadership gave her space and her time to grieve. How's that working for you?

Olbermann just noted that she was introduced by her campaign chair who said "Are you ready for the next president of the United States?" Yes, we are. His name is Barack Obama.

UPDATE: Russert says a top Clinton adviser told him that she wants to be VP. That'll be the day. How you Obama people liking her so far? Can you imagine another 8 years with her around your neck?

A great comment from AMERICAblog reader Dula - this definition is for real, I just looked it up:

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

The symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder revolve around a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and sense of entitlement. Often individuals feel overly important and will exaggerate achievements and will accept, and often demand, praise and admiration despite worthy achievements. They may be overwhelmed with fantasies involving unlimited success, power, love, or beauty and feel that they can only be understood by others who are, like them, superior in some aspect of life.

There is a sense of entitlement, of being more deserving than others based solely on their superiority. These symptoms, however, are a result of an underlying sense of inferiority and are often seen as overcompensation. Because of this, they are often envious and even angry of others who have more, receive more respect or attention, or otherwise steal away the spotlight.

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Obama's speech on the occasion of becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for the President of the United States

The remarks, as prepared:

Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.

Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said - because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign - through the good days and the bad; from the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls. And tonight I also want to thank the men and woman who took this journey with me as fellow candidates for President.

At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come.

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We've certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who's shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning - even in the face of tough odds - is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children's Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency - an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African-Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.

All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say - let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.

In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine. My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign.

Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign.

It's not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.

It's not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college - policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt.

And it's not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians - a policy where all we look for are reasons to stay in Iraq, while we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn't making the American people any safer.

So I'll say this - there are many words to describe John McCain's attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush's policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them.

Change is a foreign policy that doesn't begin and end with a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged. I won't stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what's not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years - especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored.

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in - but start leaving we must. It's time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. It's time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home. It's time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda's leadership and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That's what change is.

Change is realizing that meeting today's threats requires not just our firepower, but the power of our diplomacy - tough, direct diplomacy where the President of the United States isn't afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for. We must once again have the courage and conviction to lead the free world. That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy. That's what the American people want. That's what change is.

Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it. It's understanding that the struggles facing working families can't be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, but by giving a the middle-class a tax break, and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, and transforming how we use energy, and improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation. It's understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President.

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy - cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota - he'd understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can't pay the medical bills for a sister who's ill, he'd understand that she can't afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy. She needs us to pass health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it and brings down premiums for every family who needs it. That's the change we need.

Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can't even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he'd understand that we can't afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future - an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. That's the change we need.

And maybe if he spent some time in the schools of South Carolina or St. Paul or where he spoke tonight in New Orleans, he'd understand that we can't afford to leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind; that we owe it to our children to invest in early childhood education; to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support; to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American. That's the change we need in America. That's why I'm running for President.

The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon - that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

Despite what the good Senator from Arizona said tonight, I have seen people of differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life, and I have brought many together myself. I've walked arm-in-arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I've sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I've worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break; to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent; and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington.

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America. Read More......

NBC and CNN declare Obama the presumptive nominee

South Dakota is too early to call called for Clinton. But, whatever the results, Obama will garner enough pledged delegates to secure the Democratic nominee.

Congratulations to Barack Obama, his family, his campaign, his supporters and the Democratic party. Wow.

Help him win. Read More......

Clinton Campaign: "Hillary's not gonna take the [VP] job, don't worry, but don't you dare offer it to another woman"

Newsweek's Howard Fineman just said on MSNBC at 8:35pm Eastern that the Clinton campaign is demanding that Hillary be offered the VP position, which she will then decline, and then Fineman quotes the Clinton campaign as saying "don't you dare offer it to another woman." Isn't that special. Apparently, Hillary was only planning on breaking her own personal glass ceiling. For the rest of you, you can break you own.

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The cranky old man's speech tonight: Stop calling me Bush, you bastards

Excerpts of McCain's speech tonight has been posted over at Time Magazine.

The message is, and I'm not kidding: Stop comparing me to George Bush, goddamn it.

All the cable channels will cover it -- and McCain thinks he can pull a fast one on America. But, McCain has morphed into Bush over the past couple years -- and we all know it.

So, now we also know yet another thing that makes McCain angry: Comparing him to Bush.

Game on. Read More......

18.5 16.5 12 11 10 9 8 to go

8:21 PM Congressman Bob Brady from Pennsylvania

8:04 PM OK Superdelegate Ivan Holmes

6:30 PM MD Superdelegate Bel Leong-Hong

6:21 PM Rep. Dennis Moore (KS).

5:42 PM Maxine Water, 2 FL SuperD and 3 Delaware SuperDs.

5:22 p.m. Two more supers via the Obama campaign, Ben Johnson from DC and Kamil Hasan from CA, lowers the number needed to 16.5.

Major update from the Obama campaign, the number of delegates needed is down to 18.5:

The Obama Campaign today announced that the following delegates pledged to former Senator John Edwards have committed to vote for Senator Obama at the Democratic National Convention. With today's announcement, every delegate pledged to Senator Edwards in Iowa (four delegates), New Hampshire (four delegates) and South Carolina (eight delegates) will be voting for Senator Obama at the National Convention. In addition, 10 of the 13 Edwards delegates from Florida will be voting for Senator Obama at the National Convention.

The updated roster adds ten delegates today to Obama's delegate total, raising it to 2,099.5 and leaving the campaign only 18.5 delegates away from clinching the nomination at 2,118.

Obama will reach the number of delegates needed to secure the nomination tonight.

We are on the verge of having a nominee. The Democratic Party is making history today. Read More......

History will be made tonight and the real battle against McCain begin

In a couple hours, the polls close in South Dakota and Montana. Those two states have a total of 31 delegates available. Because of the surge of superdelegates today, it's clear that Barack Obama will win enough pledged delegates from the two primary states to secure the Democratic nominee. That's both stunning and historic.

We're on our way to the general election against John McCain. And, what a way to start the battle. Obama will speak tonight from the very hall in Minnesota where the GOP is holding its convention in a couple months. That's pretty ballsy -- and you know on some level it freaks out Republicans. They're really not used to that pro-active, aggressive style from Democrats. But, that's the kind of campaign Obama will run against McCain. The GOPers have no idea what they're in for.

After eight years of Bush and Cheney, Democrats will unite -- and are ready to win. We can't have a third Bush term.

So, if you haven't contributed yet -- or want to give again -- here's our Obama ActBlue page, which has been updated to reflect the challenge we're facing now. From here on out, the money can be used to beat McCain.

This is Obama's night. It's a night for history. We're sending a message to the world. We can worry about the V.P. later. Read More......

Chuck Todd: "This is the greatest political upset maybe in the history of American politics"

You can watch the video here (we're trying to save bandwidth, YouTube makes our page load kind of hinky sometimes). Read More......

ABC declares Obama nominee

They leaked the exit polls. That's a no-no. They must REALLY want the scoop. It's not a scoop at all, we knew he was going to win the states and the nomination tonight, but still. This election nobody has been predicting states until the polls close. Not to night.

Based on the preliminary exit polls and our reporting, ABC News projects Sen. Barack Obama will have enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination after the votes from the final primary contests are counted tonight.

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RNC already circulating video of Hillary criticizing Obama

Thanks, Hillary. Good thing we didn't need Roe v. Wade anyway. Hey, maybe you can get a few more jabs in against Obama tonight and help us guarantee that John McCain reinstates the draft too.

Hours before the polls closed Tuesday in the final two Democratic presidential primaries, the Republican National Committee began circulating a video of Hillary Clinton questioning Barack Obama’s qualifications to be commander-in-chief, and acknowledging John McCain has this important presidential credential.

“Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign, I will bring a lifetime of experience and Senator Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002,” Clinton says in the one-minute video of CNN’s coverage of a news conference she held on March 8 – the day Obama won the Wyoming caucuses. “I think that is a significant difference. I think that since we now know Senator McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that.

"And I think it is imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold. And I believe I have done that. Certainly, Senator McCain has done that. And you will have to ask Senator Obama with respect to his candidacy.”

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Michigan Superdelegate endorses Obama - 27.5 to go

From the Obama campaign: "Today, Michigan superdelegate Tina Abbott, Secretary-Treasurer of the Michigan AFL-CIO and Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, endorsed Barack Obama." Read More......

Could Hillary and Bill even survive the Vice Presidential vetting process?

Bumped: I originally wrote this post on May 22, but it's worth taking another look in light of all the rumors that Hillary "would be open to the V.P. slot" according to CNN. Of course, Hillary's crew is pushing that rumor today. They just have to make this day about her, not the actual nominee. And, sure, Obama probably should put Hillary on his list for potential running mates. Then, let the vetting begin -- and the vetting is INTENSE. Just because Hillary's open to being V.P. sure doesn't mean she should get the job.

One thing to keep in mind, the Obama campaign has been drama-free. I think it's fair to say the opposite has not been true about the Clinton campaign. (Today's another great example of that.) Does Obama want that crew in the White House with him?

And, does Obama really want to have to be responsible for Bill Clinton's behavior?

Here's the original post:

Two rumors circulated today. One is that Obama has begun the process of selecting a Vice President. The other, which seems to have gained steam through the day, is that Bill Clinton wants Hillary to be Obama's Vice President.

While I think Hillary as V.P. is a horrible idea, all the buzz got me wondering: could Hillary even survive the Vice Presidential vetting process? Some background, courtesy of Marc Ambinder, about Jim Johnson who is leading the search for Obama -- and the vetting process:

Johnson, a former CEO of Fannie Mae who is currently vice chairman of Perseus LLC, a merchant bank, also vetted vice presidential candidates for Walter Mondale, whose campaign he chaired. On the eve of the convention in 1984, Mr. Mondale was set to choose Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, only to find irreconcilable political problems with the business dealings of Ms. Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum. Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. Ironically, questions about Ferraro's husband, a real estate developer, would dog her throughout the general election campaign. Mr. Johnson said later that the experience if 1984 had taught him to start much earlier and vet much more thoroughly.

The vetting process entails a rigorous schedule of interviews focusing on everything from politics to potential embarrassments -- Did they ever employ a nanny on whose behalf they did not pay Social Security taxes, for example; did they experiment with drugs or people in college? -- and potential candidates are required to give the search team access to their tax returns and other financial records.

This sounds pretty rigorous -- and the potential V.P. nominees have to comply.

Hillary always claims she's fully vetted, but that's not true. And, the vetting process includes the spouse.

Basically, this means Obama's vetting team would have access to all the Clinton's records -- all the stuff that hasn't become public. The Clintons would have to open up the library funders and foundation donors. They'd have to name everyone who has paid Bill Clinton to speak or do any other work. They'd investigate all of Bill's dealings with Ron Burkle, for example. And, for sure, they'd have to investigate a lot of other rumors that swirl about.

The Clintons can keep their own secrets when they run the show. But, this won't be their show. They won't have Howard Wolfson and his team stonewalling reporters who are asking prying questions.

If the Clintons want the V.P. job, they can't say no to any question asked. And, it's pretty clear that Jim Johnson knows what questions to ask. That seems like a risky proposition for the Clintons. Sure would be fun to be a fly on the wall during those interviews. Read More......

First gay marriage performed on Greek island by local mayor

Damn Greeks. Don't they know today is about Hillary?

Defying governmental wrath, the mayor of a remote Greek island performed the country’s first same-sex marriages on Tuesday, wedding two men and two women.

The civil ceremonies, held at sunrise in the nondescript town hall of Tilos, a tiny island in the eastern Aegean Sea, defied statements by a senior Greek prosecutor last week that such unions were illegal.

“It’s done, now,” the mayor, Anastassios Aliferis, said in a telephone interview. “The unions have been registered and the licenses have been issued. It’s a historic moment.”

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Obama vs. McCain in the electoral college

Not to steal the thunder from Hillary's big victory tonight, but Markos did a very interesting analysis of where the electoral votes stand between Obama and McCain (click the image to see a larger version):

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AP: Obama will win the nomination tonight

From AP:

Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House....

The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.

How dare AP pay attention to Obama clinching the nomination when tonight is really about Hillary. Tonight is HER night. How dare Barack Obama actually win this thing on the same night that Hillary is planning to steal the limelight from his victory with her own victory celebration? Everyone knows that when you lose the Superbowl, YOU get all the endorsements. And when you lose the World Series, YOU get all the interviews and all the press attention. It's the loser's night, election night. I mean, don't you all remember when Bill Clinton got the Democratic nomination in 1992 and 1996? Bill was such a gentleman and ceded those evenings to his Democratic colleagues who lost the nomination. This is her last night to celebrate, the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza just said on MSNBC. Uh, no it's not. Her last night to celebrate was the night of her Puerto Rico victory. Or she can can pick a random night later this week to celebrate whatever it is she wants to celebrate. You don't get the right to claim the evening your opponent wins the nomination as the night that YOU want to celebrate, so he should go away. It doesn't work that way. And it's incredibly arrogant of her, and naive of the media (and somewhat pandering and oddly protective as well), to suggest it does.

Simply pathetic. Read More......

Nomination countdown -- 30.5 to go (UPDATED)

2:32 P.M. Another Massachusetts superdelegate. Magic number is 30.5.

1:10 P.M. Updates are coming in fast -- down to 31.5. A Maine super endorsed Obama and he picked up another Edwards delegate from Florida. Two supers from South Carolina were added, too. Plus, the mayor of Detroit is another 1/2 delegate.

Democratic Convention Watch has the magic number down to 35.5 -- that's also the number from the Obama campaign. This total includes several additional Obama delegates from Michigan.

On a conference call to discuss his endorsement of Senator Obama, Rep. James Clyburn (SC) just announced that several more superdelegates will announce their support today -- including Rep. Spratt (SC) who will announce at 1 p.m. (Spratt isn't counted in the Dem. Con. Watch total yet).

Clyburn thinks Obama will garner enough superdelegates during the day so that he'll go over the top when the votes from Montana and South Dakota are tallied. Read More......

Where are Harkin, Carper, Salazar and Wyden?

From today's Washington Post:

On Capitol Hill, three uncommitted senators, Tom Harkin (Iowa), Thomas R. Carper (Del.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.), met Monday to discuss a "quick conclusion" to the Democratic race, but Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) privately urged them to delay any announcement until the final votes have been counted, according to multiple Democratic sources.

And I wrote about that profile in courage, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), last night.

Let me explain something about politics that shouldn't need explaining to guys who are accomplished enough to be elected Senator. It is far better for Barack Obama to hit the magic number tonight as a result of the votes of the people, than for Obama to hit the magic number tomorrow as a result of the votes of the superdelegates. After all we've been through, shouldn't that be clear by this point? Additionally, Obama is going to Minnesota tonight, to the site of the Republican convention this summer. He needs to be able to announce there, with all the cameras watching, that he is now our party's nominee. We are missing a huge opportunity because of people like Harkin, Carper and Salazar who, for whatever reason (I hear that some folks on the Hill don't believe that Reid told them to wait), are delaying their decisions and further the damage to our party. And one thing tonight is certainly NOT about is Hillary Clinton. How in God's name does anyone pervert Obama reaching 2,118 delegates as a moment we should devote to the loser? You people are responsible for letting this mess drag on far too long. Now is your chance to fix it. So fix it. Perhaps they need a nudge. Don't email, call their offices now and tell them this is getting ridiculous. And we're watching.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA): 202-224-3254
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE): (202) 224-2441
Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO): (202) 224-5852
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR): (202) 224-5244 Read More......

BREAKING AP: Hillary won't concede tonight

UPDATE: 11:34AM Good God, Chuck Todd is now saying that this may be about Hillary demanding to be VP. Yeah, that's what Obama needs. The Drama Queen family around his neck for the next 8 years. More from Todd: "This is about her tonight, this is about Senator Clinton tonight, and I think the campaign is making that pretty clear." Uh, no it's not. It's about Obama becoming our nominee. Only in Clinton-world alternate universe, the one where everyone has goatees, is the night one guy wins really the night about the other guy losing. This is ridiculous. After one team wins the Superbowl do the cameras switch to the losing team for the rest of the day because, yo know, it's really their night? What is this "poor Hillary" crap that we're seeing, yet again? She can't handle losing, she's very fragile, you know, so we need to give her more time - AGAIN. Because 3 months hasn't been enough time for her to heal. She needs to steal the night that he seals the nomination. I can't believe the pundits are actually buying this shit? What she's doing is stealing Obama's victory night in an effort to again screw him.

11:23 AM UPDATE: MSNBC just reported that Hillary's campaign manager Terry McAuliffe says the AP story is 100% flat-our wrong, Hillary will not acknowledge Obama's victory tonight. Gee, no one could have predicted that. Clinton just released a statement: "The AP story is incorrect, Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination tonight." That means even if Obama gets 2,118 tonight - that's obnoxious.

There's a breaking AP story out that is claiming that Hillary WILL concede tonight, but then the article notes that she's not conceding at all:

"The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City."

Oh, so she's not only NOT conceding, she's NOT EVEN SUSPENDING HER RACE. Don't believe me, listen to what NBC's political director, Chuck Todd, just said about this:

For the next 48 hours, she is going to sorta control the movements of this campaign a little bit....My guess is we're seeing a two-part strategy here. She will acknowledge Senator Obama's lead. She will acknowledge his likely nomination. But, it looks like, she's not dropping out. The drop-out might actually happen a couple days later

What is the matter with her? And what is the matter with AP and the media? This is exactly what I predicted would happen. She'll pretend to drop out, but she won't concede, and the media and our party leaders will be fooled into thinking "well, you know, for all intents and purposes this is a concession." AP even cites two Clinton officials saying just that:

But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.

No, read your own story AP. Hillary is going to concede that Obama has the delegates he needs. All she's doing is conceding a fact we all know. What she's not saying is that while Obama has those delegates tonight, probably, he can still lose those delegates before the August convention. That's why she's not conceding. She's still lying in wait.

If the race is over, then end it. My God, she's not only NOT ending the race, she's not even SUSPENDING the race. What has the Clinton team done in the past four months to give anyone any reason to trust their private assurances that it really is kind of sort of over you know nudge nudge wink wink over even though Hillary won't even suspend her race? This is going to bite us in the ass. If she doesn't concede once Obama reaches 2,118 then her followers and her funders don't get on the Obama bandwagon. Read More......

Do Hillary supporters care if Roe v. Wade is overturned?

ABC's Jake Tapper writes a post I've been meaning to for a while:

The founder of the DFL Feminist Caucus in swing state Minnesota, Koryne Horbal, tells the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that she is pushing a petition drive to secure the commitment of feminists everywhere to write-in Sen. Hillary Clinton's name in November.

What if that means Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., becomes president?

"I don't care," Horbal said. "Let McCain clean it up for four years, and then we can have Hillary run again."

It's fairly irrefutable that should there be a Supreme Court vacancy in the next four years, which there probably will be, McCain will appoint a Justice who in all likelihood will be the final vote to overturn Roe v Wade.

I'm not making a value judgment here on that -- it's just a fact. It's one of the reasons why many conservatives will vote for McCain, whom they dislike on several other issues.

So how do these feminists reconcile that?

Write in, friends, please explain.

I'm aware of the disappointment by Clinton supporters, the sexist treatment of Clinton by many members of the media. I don't dismiss any of that. But I thought abortion rights were an important part of the feminist movement.

Would Ms. Horbal feel the same way if she were 21 instead of 71?

Jake is right. Hillary decided to take the past couple of months and convince her female supporters that the Democratic party hates women. In the meantime, our party leaders, and the superdelegates, were too afraid to tell Hillary to stop. So now we have a situation where far too many of Hillary's supporters want to vote for John McCain instead of Barack Obama. If McCain wins, Roe is gone. How does Hillary feel about that? How does EMILY's List, whose leader, Ellen Malcolm, helped fan the false flames of misogyny, feel about having a hand in helping the far-right finally overturn Roe? How do Hillary's female supporter feel about people who put the cult of personality of one person before the rights of billions of women and men? Hillary didn't just try to win, she tore down Barack Obama and the party by lying to women, and now women are understandably angry. I hope EMILY's List, Geraldine Ferraro, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and all the rest of the Hillary-or-die feminists are awfully proud of themselves. They're about to do more damage to women's rights, and the rights of all of us, than Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly and the rest of that ilk combined.

So spare me the "we're angry women" crap. If you want to see angry women, just wait until Roe is overturned and everyone realizes it's your fault. Read More......

Five supers tonight for the winner of Montana

Whoever wins the Montana primary today will immediately pick up the votes of five of the state's supers, including the Governor and the two Senators:

The three highest ranking Democrats in Montana plan to wade into the Democratic presidential race as soon as the state's primary is decided tonight, according to a source familiar with the decision.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer as well as Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester have agreed to all endorse the winner of Montana's primary -- almost certain to be Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) -- immediately upon the contest being called. The trio will be joined in the endorsement by state party chairman Dennis McDonald and vice chairman Margaret Campbell.

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Breach exposes personal info. of Walter Reed patients

As if the patients at Walter Reed haven't been through enough:

Sensitive information on about 1,000 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals was exposed in a security breach, sparking identity theft concerns and an investigation by the Army.

Names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other information was released, hospital officials said Monday. The computer file that was breached did not include information such as medical records, or the diagnosis or prognosis for patients, they said.

The disclosure marked the latest in a series of breaches of government computer records.

Walter Reed officials declined to explain exactly how the information was compromised, pending an ongoing investigation by the hospital and the Army. They would only say that the computer file was found on a "non-government, non-secure computer network."

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Lots of news today.

All the polls in South Dakota will be closed by 9 p.m. Eastern (there are two time zones - Central and Mountain -- in the state). In Montana, the polls close at 8:00 p.m. Mountain/10 p.m. Eastern.

Looks like we'll actually have a nominee very soon. Democratic Convention Watch has the magic number for Obama down to 38. We'll monitor that through the day. Rep. Clyburn announced his support on the TODAY Show this morning -- and even Terry McAuliffe seemed to get that it was over -- in that weird overly animated style of his.

Also, very good reports about Senator Kennedy's surgery.

So, with that, get started.... Read More......

Public transport on the rise

It's less expensive than driving and better for the environment. Too bad it's not more widely available.

Soaring gas prices are pushing more Americans to take public transit, with streetcars, trolleys and other light rail experiencing a 10.3 percent increase in ridership for the first quarter of the year, according to a report released yesterday by the American Public Transportation Association.

Americans took 2.6 billion trips on all modes of public transportation, including subways and buses, in the first three months of 2008, a 3.3 percent increase, or almost 85 million more trips than in the same period last year, the report said.

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More than 1 million not receiving basic aid in Myanmar

A staggering number, but it means nothing to the junta. Now if their oil facilities were in trouble, you can be sure the panic button would be pressed.

Humanitarian groups say they continue to face hurdles from Myanmar's military government in sending disaster experts and vital equipment into the country. As a result, only a trickle of aid is reaching the storm's estimated 2.4 million survivors, leaving many without even basic relief.

Aid groups are unable to provide 1.3 million survivors with sufficient food and clean water, while trying to prevent a second wave of deaths from malnutrition and disease, the U.N. said in its latest assessment report.

Read More......