The Dish

Clive can dream, I guess.

Because they’re afraid, very afraid.

A fraud? But here’s good news for the Clinton-Rove axis: she’s an Obama delegate. Now, you can call him a commie, radical, terrorist, atheist, black alien polygamist! It’s not true, but it’s McTruthy enough!

A new poll finds the Brits more anti-theist than ever.

Bitter.

I need to add the qualifier:

Look, there’s no disputing that Madonna is the consummate music-video artist of our time.

Or else I could be divorced.

Keep changing the subject.

Noam Scheiber has an excellent piece on David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager. Just as interesting is this reader comment:

Plouffe is calm, highly knowledgeable and disciplined. Businesslike in the best sense of the term. I heard him speak and answer questions in June and October of 2007 and he said almost the same thing both times. Consistency is an underreported strength of the Obama campaign (and Obama himself) and Plouffe deserves a lot of credit for maintaining that consistency. They devised a strategic plan early and have stuck by it. Today, they are on the precipice of completing one of the greatest upsets in American political history. PS – That leaked February 6 delegate spreadsheet continues to amaze with its accuracy and insight, only underestimating the Obama margin of victories. It lays out the minimum path to victory for Obama in pledged delegates. The final delegate spread shown on June 7 is Obama +67. If you include the pledged delegates of Michigan and Florida (giving the 55 Michigan uncommitted to Obama), the Obama margin becomes +1.

I’ve been struck by how calm Obama seems in the face of all this Clinton drama. It helps to recall that he never expected this to be easy or anything but extremely close. And he’s still ahead. And still the overwhelming favorite. Against the biggest brand in Democratic politics as a freshman senator. WIth a little perspective, the calm makes more sense.

It’s been legal since 1978, but voluntary shifts have made it rarer and rarer:

Between 2003 and 2007 the number of gynecologists claiming the conscience clause to avoid carrying out abortions rose from 58.7 percent to 69.2 percent, according to the report.

For anesthetists helping in abortions, the figure of those refusing to participate rose from 45.7 percent to 50.4 percent.

"In the south, this increase is even more pronounced and in certain areas the rate has almost doubled," the report adds. In Campania, the region around Naples, the proportion of gynecologists refusing to carry out the procedure reached 83 percent, and in Sicily 84.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of abortions has dropped slightly. Between 2006 and 2007 it fell from 131,018 to 127,038, a decrease of three percent.

Money quote:

The television advertisement you are planning to air degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats. In the strongest terms, I implore you to not run this advertisement. … There is no doubt that we will draw sharp contrasts with the Democrats on fundamental issues critical to the future course of our country. But we need not engage in political tactics that only seek to divide the American people.  Once again, it is imperative that you withdraw this offensive advertisement.

The local GOP will keep running it. If McCain wants to run a campaign that is not based on McCarthyism, racial fears, and polarized labeling, he probably shouldn’t be trying to lead the current GOP. It’s all they really care about.