Mayor bans Moldovan gay pride parade

Moldova wants to join the EU? Good luck with that. Read the rest of this post...

Maureen Dowd: "Obama will never be at his best around Hillary"

Sometimes Maureen Dowd's columns are more snark than substance. Today isn't one of them. She discusses the possibility of Hillary as vice president and raises a number of interesting points.

1) Is America ready for that much change - i.e., a black man and a woman on the same ticket?

2) Bill. He's going to eclipse Obama every time he shows his face. Do we really need the press ignoring the president and running over to the vice president's spouse? Not to mention, how many Bill outbursts are we willing to put up with? And finally, rhymes with Hannukah. Just how many "Hannukahs" are we welcoming back into the White House?

3) Hillary makes Obama less Obama. I'm going to quote Dowd on this one:

Hillary has a strange, unnerving effect on Obama, and whenever he is around her, he’s unable to do his best....

In the last few days, as Hillary has deflated and Obama and the Democrats have dashed for daylight, he has been more like his old self, flashing his all-is-right-with-the-world smile on the cover of Time, joshing and charming Democrats and Republicans as he wooed superdelegates on the House floor, taking on James Carville for insulting his manhood....

Obama will never be at his best around Hillary; she drains him of his magical powers....

She's right. Hillary is like that lover your friends always hate because they bring out the worst in you.

4) There's a fourth reason to dump Hillary, one that Dowd doesn't mention. How can you be for "change" and then put the name "Clinton" on your ticket. We've had a Bush or a Clinton on the ticket since 1981. Thirty years is enough.

5) And finally, one more point Dodd doesn't raise. Do Obama really want to take another four years of this woman? Do we? Read the rest of this post...

A House GOP leader says McCain will be a third Bush term

Good luck with that.

BLITZER: When it comes to domestic economic issues, what is the major difference between President Bush's policies, what he wants to do, and what John McCain would do if he were president?

BLUNT: Well, I think what John McCain wants to do is continue these pro-growth tax policies that our friends on the other side have been talking...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But that's what President Bush wants to do too.

BLUNT: And there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with that.

BLITZER: So it would be in effect a third Bush term when it came to pro-growth tax policies?

BLUNT: It would be. I think it would be. And I think that's a good thing.

Read the rest of this post...

Edwards: Hillary Clinton “has to be really careful that she’s not damaging our prospects”

John Edwards said it's over and sent a signal to the Clinton campaign:

John Edwards, a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, cautioned Sunday that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton “has to be really careful that she’s not damaging our prospects” by staying in the contest against Senator Barack Obama.

Jed has the video.

That's really wise advice. But, Clinton's spokesman, Howard Wolfson, is still in a fighting mood, apparently. Puffing his chest out on FOX today, Wolfson delivered some classic fifth grade school yard taunts:

But Howard Wolfson, a senior Clinton adviser, struck a feisty note on Fox, saying that if Mr. Obama wanted Mrs. Clinton out of the race, there was a simple way to ensure that: "Beat her. Beat her in West Virginia, beat her in Puerto Rico, beat her in Kentucky." Mrs. Clinton, of New York, is favored in those coming contests; Mr. Obama holds an edge in the others, in Oregon, Montana and South Dakota.

That would almost be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

The Clinton campaign is rife with bullies who threw their weight around, yelling at people, screaming at people. I experienced that twice myself early on, before I supported anyone and just wanted a Democrat who could win. (And, trust me, I had very few interactions with Clinton staffers.)

There's nothing better than seeing the bullies get their butts kicked. And, that's exactly what's happening now.

So, Clinton and her entire staff should heed the words of John Edwards. The Clintons and their vaunted brain trust screwed up their own campaign. They don't need to inflict their ruinous behavior on Obama and the rest of the Democrats anymore.

And while we're on the subject of Clinton campaign people, the best line of the day, didn't come from anyone on the Sunday shows. It came from Al Giordano:

I personally don’t believe a word McAuliffe says about anything, and look forward to the moment, once Obama’s the nominee, that McAuliffe won’t be sent out, not even once, to be a surrogate on TV anymore.

Read the rest of this post...

Another great SNL skit

Jake Tapper points us to a second great SNL skit last night. Not political, and you may not get it if you're much under 40. Watch the video here. Read the rest of this post...

Why are our injured soldiers still suffering?

Why have the Republicans continued to ignore the problems of our injured troops? Read the rest of this post...

Two of McCain's lobbyists bounced over ties to Myanmar

McCain's campaign staff is rife with lobbyists. But, apparently, McCain finally found lobbyists who crossed the line. That line is pretty far out there -- representing a brutal military regime that is now letting hundreds of thousands of its citizens die. Over the weekend, he lost two key staffers because they represented the Myanmar regime:

Doug Davenport, the regional campaign manager for the mid-Atlantic states, founded the DCI Group's lobbying practice and oversaw the contract with Myanmar in 2002.

"Doug has tendered his resignation and we have accepted it," Jill Hazelbaker, McCain's communications director, wrote in a e-mail.

He joins former DCI Group CEO Doug Goodyear, who resigned yesterday from the post of convention CEO after Newsweek reported that DCI was paid more than $300,000 to represent Myanmar's ruling junta.

Absent the typhoon, these guys would still be working for McCain. Read the rest of this post...

"I will never support Emily's List again."

From Obsidian Wings blog:

I honestly do not see how someone like Ellen Malcolm, who founded Emily's List, is still its President, and knows how politics works, could have written that "the game is too close to call" in good faith. It is not too close to call. Barring catastrophe, or a Rapture in which Obama is called to be with his maker while Hillary Clinton is left behind, Obama will win the race....

I supported Emily's List for sixteen years. (Maybe seventeen: I can't recall whether I signed up in 1991 or 1992.) Over the years, I have sent their candidates thousands of dollars. That ended this campaign season, when it became clear to me that the leaders of Emily's List, and Ellen Malcolm in particular, had lost their intellectual integrity. This column is a perfect illustration of why I reached that conclusion. Luckily, Emily's List isn't so necessary anymore. It's a lot easier to find out about great progressive women candidates nationwide, and to give money to them. And there are a lot of other good political organizations whose presidents don't find it necessary either to lie to me or to invoke sexism, which I take very seriously, in a purely cynical fashion.

That makes it a lot easier to say that I will never support Emily's List again.

(Angry? Yeah. I expected much better.)

Read the rest of this post...

Air Cindy

McCain is basically haggling over the definition of "is," when it comes to campaign finance law. Not exactly the position Mr. Campaign Finance should be taking. Though it's consistent with the way he went into the public finance system in order to secure a multi-million dollar loan, then pulled out so he could raise even more money, and now is talking about going back in since no one is donating to his campaign. McCain cutting the corners on ethics, yeah, no one could have predicted that. Keating Five anyone? More from the NYT:

Cindy McCain said Thursday that she would never release her personal income tax filing even if her husband, Senator John McCain, was elected president. But Federal Aviation Administration records indicate that she appears to be using her personal wealth to help his campaign, through the continued use of her corporate jet.

The New York Times reported last month that during a crucial five-month period Mr. McCain’s campaign regularly used a corporate jet owned by the Phoenix-based beer distributor that Mrs. McCain heads, saving the campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. His campaign pays rates well below market ones for the plane’s use because of an unresolved exemption in a recent campaign finance law that Mr. McCain backed.

According to public records, the campaign has continued to use the plane, even as Mr. McCain, of Arizona, became the presumed Republican nominee and his campaign’s finances have improved. In late April, for instance, the plane landed in Selma and Birmingham, Ala., at the same time he was there as part of his tour of impoverished areas. It also landed last month in New Orleans just before Mr. McCain’s appearances there....

Mr. McCain has said his campaign’s method of reimbursing his wife’s company for the plane is legal, and no one disputes that. But critics have argued that Mrs. McCain is effectively subsidizing her husband’s campaign because either she or her company has to make up for the difference between what his campaign pays for the jet’s use and what it really costs to operate it.

Read the rest of this post...

Reuters: Situation for Burmese people "grows worse"

It's hard to comprehend the devastation that occurred from the typhoon that hit Myanmar last week. But, the response has been beyond appalling. The brutal regime that governs the country actually held elections this weekend -- against the backdrop of unbelievable horrors affecting the Burmese people. And, Reuters reports the situation is deteriorating:

Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis headed out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta in search of food, water and medicine, but aid workers said on Sunday that thousands will die if emergency supplies don't get through soon.

Buddhist temples and schools on the outskirts of the storm's trail of destruction are now makeshift refugee centers.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said in a new assessment that between 1.2 million and 1.9 million were struggling to survive in the aftermath of the storm that struck eight days ago.

"Given the gravity of the situation including the lack of food and water, some partners have reported fears for security, and violent behavior in the most severely afflicted areas," the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

It said "the number of deaths could range from 63,290 to 101,682, and 220,000 people are reported to be missing". It said "acute environmental issues" posed a threat to life and health.

Read the rest of this post...

The Clintons are still searching for smut to bring down Obama

Bill and Hillary both just earned four Monicas for this revelation. Yes, for all of you who think Hillary is going to go away after a few weeks of electoral therapy (you know, she's very sensitive and needs a few weeks to process her loss), think again. These people are out to destroy Obama, and now we find out via the media that - surprise - that's exactly what they're doing. CNN is reporting that:

"[T]he Clinton campaign's search for damaging information and its hope that such information exists continues, according to knowledgeable sources."

Wow, so what kind of damaging information are we talking about? Like if Obama were getting oral sex from a kid his daughter's age, at work, while talking on the phone with foreign leaders, with his wife down the hall? Like Obama lying under oath, obstructing justice, and dragging the entire country through the mud for two years? Like hiding files relevant to an investigation until after the statute of limitations ran out? Hey, maybe they mean like Obama flying around the country with his rich friend boinking every bimbo he can find in Vegas and everywhere else?

I'm just trying to understand what kind of "damaging information" the Clintons are trying to get on Obama? Hey, maybe they simply think Obama is a closet racist, and is only out to help "white Americans"? Yeah that must be it. Anyway, congratulations to the Clintons for earning four out of five Monicas for the audacity to continue trying to destroy Obama even after the nomination race is over. Read the rest of this post...

Grandma, what big diamonds you have

Blogger Interrupted noticed that John McCain's surrogate on THIS WEEK is wearing more jewels than, well, let's just say that she could probably sell her quarter-sized diamond earrings and her diamond-studded cross and bail out half the mortgages in America. Read the rest of this post...

SNL destroys Hillary

Oh my God. Watch it before it gets pulled.

Read the rest of this post...

Bill Clinton earns a "Monica"

Hillary and her husband are now out to destroy our nominee. Your could argue that it kind of made sense when Hillary still had a chance (her kitchen-sink tactics were nasty, to be sure, they appeared to have crossed a line, but at least there was a logic to it when Hillary had a chance). Now that the race is over and Hillary has lost, her ongoing attempts to hurt Obama, to smear him, to make rural voters hate him, to convince America that a black man can't and shouldn't be president, make her little better than the Republicans she hated during the 1990s - people who were out to hurt her simply for the joy of inflicting pain.

Hillary won't stop, and the Superdelegates won't lift a finger. The powers that be in Washington have made clear that they're okay with Hillary launching Rovian attacks on Obama for another month or more. Why? Because, you see, Hillary's a frail thing. She really wanted to be president, and in her own mind, it was owed to her, and now she's sad. So let's just let her beat the crap out of our nominee with incredibly sleazy right-wing attacks for a good month, or maybe three, as a kind of electoral therapy.

Yeah, I don't think so.

This election is too important. We have to stop John McCain. We have to restore civil liberties and respect for the rule of law. We have to restore our credibility on the world stage. We have to restore a balance in the Supreme Court. Hillary is jeopardizing all of that. And if our leaders right-wing sleaze game, then we'll play the sleaze game along with her. If she wants to talk scandal, then we'll talk scandal. The only way our leaders in Washington will intervene and put a stop to this mess is for it to become as big a mess as possible. Then so be it. No more pulling punches for Hillary on AMERICAblog.

So, we're going to start a new metric here at AMERICAblog. Every time a Team Clinton player throws the kitchen sink at Obama - i.e., acts like a sleazy member of the vast right-wing conspiracy, rather than acting like a Democrat-first - we're going to award them a "Monica." For each outrage, we'll award between one to five Monicas, depending on the severity of the Clinton sleaze.

(And if any of our more creative readers want to help us out, take a really good picture of Monica and turn it into a kind of award, maybe a seal of approval, a face with gold star points around it or something - you get the idea, just make it look fun - then email it to me.)

We start off today by awarding Bill Clinton three Monicas for saying on Friday that Obama mocks rural voters, knowing full well that, now that Hillary has lost the nomination, all he's doing is hurting Obama in his battle against John McCain. Now that's pretty obnoxious, trying to hurt the Democrats' chances in the fall. And so, for being a petty jerk, for jeopardizing the fall elections even after his wife has lost the nomination, Bill Clinton earns himself 3 Monicas (we're pretty sure they won't be his last). Congrats, Bill! Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

First, Happy Mothers Day to all the mother and stepmothers and grandmothers and godmothers and aunts and anyone else who views themself or is viewed by someone as a mother -- and that includes my mother, Rita, up in Portland.

We actually may have at least one show, This Week, starting the debate about the general election. Finally. That's the fight we all want -- and that battle can't start soon enough.

The other shows are, unfortunately, still mired in the Democratic nomination process, which has already been decided. Even more unfortunate, we're subject to two appearances from the Clinton's biggest blustering cheerleader, Terry McAuliffe.

The full lineup is after the break.

Once again, provide the spin:

ABC's "This Week" — Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.; Terry McAuliffe, campaign chairman for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; McAuliffe.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" — Reps. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq; Samir Sumaidaie, Iraqi ambassador to U.S.

"Fox News Sunday" _ David Axelrod, campaign adviser for Barack Obama; Howard Wolfson, campaign adviser for Clinton; actor Ben Stein.

Ben Stein? Read the rest of this post...