4 Marines dead in Iraq, Iraqi first lady almost blown up

Smells like John McCain's version of victory. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary's baggage

Because remember what Hillary told us, we're actually doing her a favor by vetting a candidate's baggage now rather than during the general election. Read the rest of this post...

Major Arctic sea ice melt is expected this summer

From AP:

The Arctic will remain on thinning ice, and climate warming is expected to begin affecting the Antarctic also, scientists said Friday.

"The long-term prognosis is not very optimistic," atmospheric scientist Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University said at a briefing.

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Wait. So Hillary stayed with her husband because of religion and commitment to family, not for her career aspirations?

I always assumed she did it to further her career, which is fine with me (though other women have told me that "you should put your self-respect before a job"). She helped make him what he is, she deserves a little reciprocity. But now Hillary is saying she stayed with her husband because of her faith and her commitment to family?

In the forum Clinton shared few personal stories, including one about her and her husband trying to break open a coconut. She was also asked about how she endured “through really difficult times” in her marriage.

“I obviously was fortunate to be able to rely on and be grounded in my faith, which has been an anchor for me throughout my entire life,” she said. “I also really believe in family and believe in the importance of family, and believe that family is the core of your relations. … When you are in a difficult situation, oftentimes you feel like you just want to withdraw into yourself, and you want to just shut the world out. Now if you have to do it in front of the world, that’s a little hard to do.”

Okay. But she's entering some dangerous territory trying to somehow get "credit" by subtly invoking Monica and her marital problems. I.e., she's claiming that her scandals make her a better person. That opens the door to not only discussing Monica and the Clinton scandals, but it also opens the door to discussing how she handled those scandals and what her motivations were, why she stayed with her husband, etc. She can't invoke Monica, et. al., to her credit then turn around and say that discussing Monica is off-limits. Of course, that's exactly what she'll do because she'll say anything and do anything to get elected, like endorsing a GOP gas tax plan, saying she opposed NAFTA when she was really for it, and on and on and on. Read the rest of this post...

Watch Stephanopoulos help Hillary lie

I'm watching the video of the "Townhall Meeting" that ABC's George Stephanopoulos held for Hillary this morning and it's astounding how bad Stephanopoulos is. Let me give you two prime examples.

1. Gas tax.

Stephanopoulos' first question is about Hillary's plan to rescind the gas tax this summer. Does he tell the audience, or ask Hillary about, the fact that she opposed rescinding the gas tax - she opposed her own proposal - when running for the Senate in 2000? No. That would be the hardest question of all to answer, the question that goes to the issue of her credibility on this and every other issue, and Stephanopoulos doesn't even mention it. Here is George's really tough question for Hillary:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Good to be here.

Gas tax has become the defining issue in this primary and in North Carolina. You and Senator McCain called for suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax. Senator Obama calls it a gimmick. He says it's pandering. He says it won't really bring any help to consumers, and he also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Same thing that John McCain's offering on the cheap. That means we're not presenting a truthful response to the challenges that we face in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: What's your response? He says you're not being truthful.

He says? How about "YOU SAID during your first campaign?" Jesus, George. Come on.

2. NAFTA.

Hillary totally rolled over Stephanopoulos on this one. She started by saying, oh George, during the 1990s you and I were in meetings where we both opposed NAFTA. Stephanopoulos says nothing. Not only does he tacitly agree with her claim that he was in meetings with her and that she did oppose NAFTA in those meetings - which is a lie - he doesn't respond by telling us what actually happened in those meetings, that Hillary was such a NAFTA booster it wasn't even funny (see the video below), and worse, he doesn't note that Hillary publicly embraced NAFTA during her time in the White House. They have her on film doing it. Stephanopoulos doesn't even note that she's again flip-flopped on the issue. Hillary lied in front of Stephanopoulos on national TV, invoked Stephanopoulos' name to "prove" she was telling the truth, and Stephanopolous said nothing when he knew for a fact that she was lying.

Here's a video showing just how much of a NAFTA booster Hillary was in the 1990s:



And here's the video of Hillary rolling Stephanopoulos, invoking his name to "prove" her point against Obama, and him saying nothing in response, including him not even noting that she publicly came out for NAFTA in the 1990s. Also note how 42 seconds into the video it seems, suddenly, that Stephanopoulos has come to life. He's going to ask her about her flip-flop, about the fact that she's lying, invoking his name to prove her lie, and he isn't going to stand for it! But then he doesn't:



Now here's the transcript of that video:

CLINTON: Now, you remember this, because George did work in that '92 campaign, and George and I actually were against NAFTA. I'm talking about him in his previous life, before he was an objective journalist and didn't have opinions about such matters.

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANOPOULOS: (inaudible) opinion.

CLINTON: Yes, but we were in meetings together where we said, look, we think there's going to be a lot of downsides, and we're not really thinking through that.

But in the 20th century and until relatively late in the 20th century, we dominated the world economy. And we had an...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator, what...

CLINTON: ... opportunity to really see our jobs grow here by being smart about how we traded.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But Senator...

CLINTON: But then we've got to make changes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... you really have it both ways there. You talked about being against NAFTA in 1992, 1993. Yet President Clinton has said time and time again, NAFTA and free trade agreements were part of the economic success in the 1990s. How can you claim credit for the good things but not take blame for the bad?

Now do you understand why we have a problem with you, George? Now do the rest of you in the media understand what we mean when we talk about bias? When we talk about how you people have no spine whatsoever? How you've become court stenographers rather than reporters? You know the truth, you know these people are lying, and you say nothing to stop them, to contradict them, to put them on the spot. And in so doing, you are complicit in these people lying to the public with your stamp of approval. and you wonder why so many Americans have lost faith in the media. Read the rest of this post...

Half the audience at White House Correspondents Association dinner didn't put hand on heart during National Anthem

You're not supposed to put your hand on your heart during the National Anthem, that's for the Pledge, but still, it's interesting that at the opening of last week's White House Correspondents Association dinner, a little birdie tells me that half the audience didn't put their hands on their hearts. I just watched the official C-Span video and the gang on the dais did put their hands on their hearts, though I suspect they were briefed in advance that they'd better (the video doesn't show the audience, though it does show George Bush looking awfully uncomfortable). But friends in the audience tell me that it wasn't quite so patriotic amongst the elite of America's journalism. Does the mainstream media love America as much as we do?

Oh, and extra points for anyone who can confirm which reporters were at the dinner and whether or not they had their hands on their hearts. Maybe someone should contact them all and ask them, one by one, to verify their patriotism. Starting with Stephanopoulos and Russert. Read the rest of this post...

Obama won Guam. Hillary's one contest winning streak is over

Obama won Guam last night.

Clinton's one contest streak is over. Yes, let's repeat that. Because, as I've written before, contrary to the spin and the gullibility of the punditry to be spun, after PA, Clinton was on a one-state winning streak. After the February 5th Super Tuesday contests, Clinton lost 11 in a row (those still count). On March 4th, Clinton won two (Ohio and Rhode Island) while losing two (Vermont and Texas -- yes, she lost Texas, it's about delegates, remember). She then lost two more, Wyoming and Mississippi, before winning Pennsylvania by a smaller margin than expected. That's was a one-state streak that has bestowed magical powers upon her. But, she still can't -- and won't -- win the nomination.

And, if Clinton is as hot as all the pundits think, she should win both North Carolina and Indiana by wide margins. She has to win both. And, big. Or she can't deliver. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Big day on the Sunday shows. Obama on Russert. George has a town hall meeting with his old boss.

Now, you'd think the Obama and Clinton appearances are the big news. the NY Times told us yesterday, the real story is the competition between Russert and George. So, while the candidates are the main draw for most people, apparently people in the know are more interested in the Tim v. George saga. Whatever.

McCain's leading sycophant, Lindsey Graham, gets some air time. But, basically, the shows are dominated by the Democrats -- mostly Obama and Clinton surrogates. Also, Rep. James Clyburn who has had a pretty important message about the irreparable damage facing the Democrats if Hillary steals the nomination.

The full lineup is after the break.

So, this should be interesting:

ABC's "This Week" — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Richmond Mayor and former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Govs. Mike Easley, D-N.C., and Bill Richardson, D-N.M; Robert Reich, former labor secretary; Gene Sperling, adviser for the Clinton campaign; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean; Joe Andrew, former DNC chairman; Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe; Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign.

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Tony Blair is doing well

Not just anyone drops $8 million in the middle of a housing slump but of course, Tony Blair works for JP Morgan, who we propped up with billions in taxpayer money so people like this could be paid to live luxurious lifestyles despite being costly screwups. Our tax dollars at work.

Tony and Cherie Blair have bought the £4m former home of legendary actor Sir John Gielgud, it was reported last night. The Grade I listed stately home near Chequers is the Blairs' sixth property in their growing portfolio.


South Pavilion in Wotton Underwood, Buckinghamshire, has seven bedrooms, a "magnificent" weather-vane tower and sprawling grounds, including ornamental gardens two paddocks and a converted outbuilding.

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