T Minus 311/310 Days

"I repeat: personal accounts do not permanently fix the solution."

-Washington, DC, March 16, 2005, at a press conference discussing Social Security

Bill Bradley Nails It

Bill Bradley: "[Hillary's] symtomatic of what I call the old politics... There have been conscious misrepresentations of [Obama's] positions and it's very clear in the areas and it's been fully reported. And it doesn't go remarked, so I thought I'd call it what it is...

...[Obama] represents a new kind of politics and he has a whole new generation of Americans that are involved in this. His whole effort is to tell people the truth and put country ahead of party. He appeals to Independents, to Republicans. He's won more delegates and more popular vote than any other candidate in the race. And he sees that the American people want someone to be positive, they want them to lay out where the direction is that the country should go, and to convey to them that we can get there...

When most politicians speak and the spotlight shines on them, they swell. But when Barack speaks and the light shines on him, he reflects the light back on the people and empowers them, because he knows that if he's going to defeat the special interests in Washington, he's going to need the people, not simply for their vote but for the long term.

That is a new kind of politics and that's been the narrative of this campaign from the very beginning."

Bush Speaks, Market Tanks

The correlation is astounding. Every time Curious George speaks on the economy, the stock market goes into a frenzy... and not in a good way.

In a wide-ranging speech on the economy today, President George Bush
acknowledged that the US economy is going through a 'tough time,' but was
optimistic that government-led attempts to help struggling homeowners and the
prospect of a pending income tax rebate will help improve the situation
shortly.
'Our economy is obviously going through a tough time,' Bush said in remarks
to the Economic Club of New York today.

The Dow is currently down 244 points. And he still refuses to use the "R" word.

Surprise! Surprise!

Petraeus: Iraqis Not Making "Sufficient Progress"

Well slap my ass and call me Sally! More proof that the surge "worked."

Petraeus, who is preparing to testify to Congress next month on the Iraq war, said in an interview that "no one" in the U.S. and Iraqi governments "feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation," or in the provision of basic public services.

The general's comments appeared to be his sternest to date on Iraqis' failure to achieve political reconciliation...

And before you go making up excuses about reduced violence, blah, blah, blah, let us not forget why we started the surge in the first place.

George W. Bush, January 10th, 2007:

I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."

...A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.

To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution.

Our purpose for the surge was to give the Iraqi government more time to get its shit together. That hasn't even begun to happen. In fact, while our troops were dying over the summer, the Iraqi Parliament took a vacation. A fucking vacation! The surge has not worked. No benchmarks met equals failure.

T Minus 312 Days

"[I'm] occasionally reading, I want you to know, in the second term."

-Washington , DC, March 2005

When Will Mark Penn Shut The Fuck Up?

Total pandemonium! Dogs and cats sleeping together! Why does the Clinton campaign seem to be in constant shambles?

USA Today:

Though the campaign later argued that he hadn't said it, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief campaign strategist told reporters this morning that Sen. Barack Obama "can't win the general election.

...in the last 20 seconds or so [of his opening remarks, Mark Penn] says Obama "really can't win the general election." As you'll hear, he also says that "if Barack Obama can't win" in Pennsylvania, "how could he win the general election?" [You can listen to the audio here.]

Later, a reporter asks what he meant. Clinton campaign communications chief Howard Wolfson jumps in to say that "Mark did not say that." Then Penn says that if Obama doesn't win the Pennsylvania primary, it "raises serious questions" about whether he can win the general election.

All this on the basis of a memo on the Obama site by David Plouffe, apparently trying to be spun by the Clinton camp as derogatory or dismissive of Pennsylvania and its voters. The irony is the fact that it's the Clinton campaign that has a history of being dismissive of states or voters that they've lost, as the Plouffe memo sums up:

When we won Iowa, the Clinton campaign said it's not the number of states you win, it's "a contest for delegates." When we won a significant lead in delegates, they said it's really about which states you win. When we won South Carolina, they discounted the votes of African-Americans. When we won predominantly white, rural states like Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska, they said those didn't count because they won't be competitive in the general election. When we won in Washington State, Wisconsin, and Missouri -- general election battlegrounds where polls show Barack is a stronger candidate against John McCain -- the Clinton campaign attacked those voters as "latte-sipping" elitists.

And now that we've won more than twice as many states, the Clinton spin is that only certain states really count.

...We're ready to take on John McCain. But we also need to build operations in places like Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, and Oregon that will hold their primaries in April and May.

And from this they are claiming the Obama camp is tossing Pennsylvania to the side? Mark Penn and the Clinton campaign seems to be winning the same state over and over again: the state of Disarray.

New US $5 Bill Released Today

According to the article, "Fittingly, the new bill will be spent for the first time on Thursday at the gift shop of President Lincoln's Cottage located on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in northwest Washington."

Maybe they should have used the first new bill to buy a ticket at Ford's Theatre?

Of course the new bill is currently only worth about €3.00, but hey, now I can look forward to having the new challenge of trying to convince New York City cab drivers and bodega owners that it's real currency.

The Ferraro Insanity Continues

It's time for the Clinton campaign to tell this nutball to shut up whether she has any connection to Clinton or not.

Ferraro's very first statement in a Wednesday night interview, when asked why she resigned from Clinton's finance committee, was because she wanted to get this story out of the headlines... yet she's being interviewed on national television! Get off the screen, Geraldine! Your time was 25 year ago. It's over. Go away.

Then she says the Obama campaign should apologize to her for calling her a racist!
Some family member should make sure this woman is taking her medication and check her mouth afterwards to make sure she swallowed.




I wonder who asked her to be on the show? Was she there to clear her sullied name or could it be that since now she has "nothing" to do with the Clinton campaign and can "speak for herself", she can trash Obama all she wants with no accountability?

Music Break! Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie

Eliot Spitz the Bit

T Minus 313 Days

"There's nothing more deep than recognizing Israel's right to exist That the most deep thought of all. [ ... ] I can't think of anything more deep than that right."

-Washington, DC, March 13, 2002

Keith Olbermann: Special Comment on Ferraro Uproar

No comment necessary.




Update: From Andrew Sullivan -

Ferraro's original gaffe was an accident. The compounding of it is a strategy. A reader comments:

...Throwing the kitchen sink apparently means turning the Democratic Party into an all out race versus gender war, ultimately allowing Bill and Hillary to either emerge on top or for Obama to be so badly damaged that the Superdelegates will fear he's lost the white vote in the general election. That's exactly the game the Clinton's have set in motion here.

Ferraro Quits - But Still Doesn't Get It

What a completely unhinged person.

CNN - Geraldine Ferraro has stepped down from her role as a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee.

In a letter to Clinton obtained by CNN's Suzanne Malveaux — who spoke with the former vice presidential candidate shortly after she sent it to Clinton — Ferraro said she is stepping down so, "I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign."

In a phone conversation with Malveaux, Ferraro said she was not asked to step down by Senator Clinton or her campaign...

"I am who I am and I will continue to speak up." She added that she thought it was a shame that the Obama campaign was trying to block her First Amendment rights...

Full letter:

Dear Hillary –

I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.

The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you. I won't let that happen. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren.

You have my deep admiration and respect.

Gerry

Unacceptable comments followed by a resignation with no apology. If it sounds like a racist, and it smells like a racist, chances are, it's a racist. There is no spinning this any other way. And to top it off, Clinton did absolutely nothing to squelch the comments other than to disagree with them. For a person who believes there's a difference between "reject" and "denounce", Clinton did neither. No "rejection", no "denunciation", no "repudiation", nothing. Just "disagreement."

Now Ferraro can freely "speak for herself" and continue her attacks with no repercussion on the Clinton campaign. Brilliant!

One begs the ironic question: was Geraldine Ferraro the VP nominee in 1984 because she was female? She just doesn't get it.

(H/T Bob Cesca for the awesome video!)

Ferraro Attacked Jesse Jackson in 1988 With Same Comment

Ben Smith:

"If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race," she said.

Really. The cite is an April 15, 1988 Washington Post story (byline: Howard Kurtz), available only on Nexis.

Here's the full context:

Placid of demeanor but pointed in his rhetoric, Jackson struck out repeatedly today against those who suggest his race has been an asset in the campaign. President Reagan suggested Tuesday that people don't ask Jackson tough questions because of his race. And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Asked about this at a campaign stop in Buffalo, Jackson at first seemed ready to pounce fiercely on his critics. But then he stopped, took a breath, and said quietly, "Millions of Americans have a point of view different from" Ferraro's.

Discussing the same point in Washington, Jackson said, "We campaigned across the South . . . without a single catcall or boo. It was not until we got North to New York that we began to hear this from Koch, President Reagan and then Mrs. Ferraro . . . . Some people are making hysteria while I'm making history."

(H/T Randi Rhodes)

Bush: NAFTA Good. Me Want Banana

Chimpy tried to act all smart and presidential-like today by trashing Clinton and Obama on their NAFTA stances.

Although he did not name Clinton or Obama, he left little doubt who he was talking about, at one point even mocking Clinton's promise to take a "timeout" from free trade agreements if she becomes president. "You know, some have called for a 'timeout' from trade," he told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce shortly after Clinton addressed the group. "I guess that's probably popular with the focus group. You know, they toss out the word 'timeout' from trade -- it's got this kind of catchy little title to it. In the 21st century, a timeout from trade would be a timeout from growth, a timeout from jobs and a timeout from good results."

Growth, jobs and good results for what country, Raisinbrain?

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer Resigns... (Updated With a Clinton Twist)

...and the ridicuousness of the whole day was the "news" coverage complete with a chopper following the Spitzer motorcade for a half hour through midtown Manhattan traffic.... at 3 miles per hour.

...Riveting. A white Bronco it was not.

Update: What is up with Hillary Clinton and her non-comment comment on Spitzer? Isn't this something she should be addressing considering the fact that they are, or at least used to be, political allies?

"I don't have any comment on that. Obviously I am sending my best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family."

You meant "soon to be former Governor," didn't you, Hillary? Whoops! There goes another superdelegate. First Spitzer fucks Hillary on the drivers license for illegal immigrants thing, then he fucks her by fucking around...not that she's unaccustomed to that situation.

Obama Wins Mississippi

O-mentum was apparently only slightly delayed.

Obama wins Mississippi 61% to 37%

Clinton's "Outrage"...

... at Ferraro's comments.

Clinton: “I do not agree with that and you know it’s regrettable that any of our supporters on both sides say things that veer off into the personal. We ought to keep this focused on the issues. That’s what this campaign should be about.”

How about it Hillary? Are you going to ask her to resign from your finance comittee? Do you denounce her comments? Do you reject her comments? Obama got rid of Samantha Power for her comments. Now it's your turn.

Update (11am) - Rachel Maddow on Countdown last night (H/T C&L):

For anybody to be saying that Barack Obama is only where he is because he is black, that black men are so privileged in America that that’s the only thing that explains his success because he’s otherwise unqualified - which is the implication of her comment, would be absolutely offensive, more than regrettable, from anybody commenting seriously on the campaign. Honestly, you know it, you know it would be. But for this to come from somebody whose [sic] an official part of the campaign and the campaign did not to disavow that person and distance themselves, is, it’s an incredible decision and therefore does make us question whether they’re doing this on purpose for some reason.

Ferraro has gone off the deep end with this comment defending her remarks:

"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?... "

Yeah... okay. Are you fucking kidding me?! Hell hath no fury like a bigot scorned. Maybe you're being attacked because of your patently racist comments, Gerry. Did you ever think of that?

This is becoming a major issue. Obama gets rid of a foreign policy advisor because she called Hillary a "monster" and has to "reject" an endorsement from Farrakhan that he never sought, but it's okay for McCain to actively seek and accept the endorsement of a religious nutball like Hagee, and it's okay for Clinton to react to Ferraro's comments with what amounts to a slap on the wrist?

And now that Ferraro's defended her remarks, in essence calling it reverse racism, if Clinton does anything less than ask her to step down, I'll just equate it as another "kitchen sink" tactic.

Sinbad Calls Bullshit On Hillary

You know you're in the shitter when you're gettin' schooled by Sinbad.

In an interview with the Sleuth Monday, he said the "scariest" part of the trip was wondering where he'd eat next. "I think the only 'red-phone' moment was: 'Do we eat here or at the next place.'"

...In her Iowa stump speech, Clinton also said, "We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady."
Say what? As Sinbad put it: "What kind of president would say, 'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife...oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'

T Minus 314 Days

"They didn't think we were a nation that could conceivably sacrifice for something greater than out self; that we were soft, that we were so self-absorbed and so materialistic that we wouldn't defend anything we believed in. My, were they wrong. They just were reading the wrong magazine or watching the wrong Springer show."

- Washington, DC, March 12, 2002