Category: The Dish

And not a pretty one:

Her campaign managers probably think they are creating a perception of her as a bold, decisive and humane woman with the extraordinary intelligence required to cope with America’s and the world’s problems. To non-Americans she appears to be a mean street fighter who might be a vindictive and war-mongering President if her pride is crossed. She looks like the caricature ugly American who will stoop to anything to win. If she does this now, she might do so in foreign policy as well.

A good question and a long answer.

Don’t say she hasn’t got any.

Ted’s endorsement:

"With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion. With Barack Obama we will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay."

On that latter point, no other candidate has defended gay people as "brothers and sisters" without prompting in front of a non-gay crowd in the height of an election campaign. The Clintons don’t do that. In fact, they have often done the opposite, using the fear of gay people as a way to triangulate for their own purposes. That matters to me. It should matter to gays and straights who care about equality under the law. On policy, there is no difference between Clinton and Obama. In terms of character, there is all the difference in the world.

In a critical Western test, Obama moves into a tiny lead.

Pretty fab:

Rudy’s ad campaign just got weirder.

A woman whose very presence in the US is against the law:

 Tatu Msangi, a nurse and single mother from Tanzania: Tatu Msangi is a 35-year-old single mother from Tanzania.  When Tatu became pregnant, she went to the antenatal clinic at KCMC and discovered she was HIV-positive.  Tatu enrolled in a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program and delivered a healthy daughter, named Faith.  As part of her treatment, Faith received a dose of nevirapine after she was born.  She is now over two years old, and she is HIV-free.  As part of her work at KCMC, Tatu counsels HIV-positive women and encourages them to participate in the PMTCT program.  KCMC is supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR) through the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.  Tatu and her daughter Faith are examples of the hope and compassion that is transforming lives with support from PEPFAR.

Tatu is also legally barred from coming to America. The administration must have found a way to get Msangi a special waiver from immigration authorities allowing her to enter the country. Another reason to support the Kerry-Smith proposal to end the still-valid Jesse Helms ban on all HIV-positive non-Americans visiting the U.S.

Rasmussen shows a sudden surge for McCain in Florida.

Novak unearths an important fact:

Another problem for pollsters is a California peculiarity. A registered independent who shows up at a polling place Feb. 5 and asks for a Republican ballot will be told, sorry, but the Republican primary is for registered Republicans only. But the voter then may take a ballot in the more permissive Democratic election. How many will do this and then vote for Obama? The polls cannot foretell that.