If you still believe that photo was not a deliberate ploy by the Clintons:
God, the Clintons are disgusting.
Crack From Ohio
Obama gaining, as he usually does when voters pay attention.
Obama And The Jews
If Marty ain’t worried, ain’t nobody need to worry. Of course, Marty suffers from the same malady I do: clear-eyed understanding of what the Clintons actually are.
For The Love Of Guns
Montana could secede over 2nd amendment rights?
The Attention Gap
Jonathan Chait argues that Obama is winning high-education voters because they are high information voters. His reasoning:
"Among the one-third of Texas Democratic primary voters who watched all or most of the debate, Obama leads Clinton by 20 points," said CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.
"Among the 42 percent who followed news about the debate, Clinton and Obama are neck and neck. And among the one-quarter of Texas Democrats who paid no attention to the debate, Clinton leads Obama by nearly 20 points.
I made a similar point here. Clinton wins mainly among the uninformed, which is why she loses ground the more people pay attention. Her support is based largely on name recognition and vague associations with the pre-9/11 world.
The Coolest Movie Graphic Ever
The NYT provides a marvelous example of what online graphics can do.
Gays And Social Conservatism
A reader writes:
I believe the greatest enemy we have today is the under-reported and under-combated "sheer ignorance factor" of straight people that impedes legislative change to match the positive changes in social attitudes of those same majority straight persons (of either political stripe) toward gay unions.
I find that when talking one on one, the vast majority of straight people of all political stripes, confronted by personal contact with a gay couple exhibiting stability and commitment, seem positive on our securing rights. But, those same supportive persons most often voice their assumption that we already have those basic rights, and are incredulous (or downright doubtful) when I describe the reality and impact of how Federal and state laws prevent numerous common sense solutions to partner issues (such as sharing health care benefits or the recognizing of foreign partners). How can they be so ignorant of our plight? Where and who is our public champion(s)? Where are the well crafted but subtle long term ad campaigns that might motivate legislative change? Or is an ad campaign impossible because few commercial avenues are available? Of course the Human Rights Campaign would be a good engine for change if they were not corrupted by the profitability of keeping the goal perpetually out of reach. A more long term, consistent and concerted effort than a single movie is needed.
The Clintons’ Soaring Wealth
She’s right. Whatever happens in this campaign, they’ll be fine.
Yglesias Award Nominee
"Whatever else he is, Obama is a smart man. His campaign shows that. So I doubt he would repeat Carter’s mistakes when the evidence shows that they failed the tests of both practicality and popularity. The current version of Carterism is too close to the original to be mistaken for something else. In this context, unlike most of my colleagues, I think Obama’s rhetoric of American unity is probably a better guide to his potential presidency than his liberal voting record," – John O’Sullivan, NRO.
Obama and the Jews
I’ve been struck by the lack of love in many quarters. A reader writes:
Obama’s getting swift boated by Jews – both pro-Clinton liberals and Republicans. A few Clinton supporters sent me emails and Jerusalem Post editorials about how pro-Palestinian Obama is, not based on anything he said, but based on (1) his alleged foreign policy advisers (he has some list of alleged foreign policy advisers – really people who have endorsed him, I suspect – with pro-Arab sympathies. Brezhinski’s name keeps popping up on these emails, as well as some guy named Malley I never heard of) and (2) his crazy pastor who gave some kind of award to Farrakhan. I argued about the latter with my mom; she said that "those blacks all obey their pastors."
I think Obama will be lucky to get more than half the Jewish vote if he’s nominated; because of the history of black anti Semitism and ethnic cleansing, any black candidate has to be purer than Caesar’s wife to avoid accusations of anti-Zionism. Obama is probably reasonably OK from a pro-Israel perspective, but he isn’t THAT pure – he’ll get clobbered on guilt by association issues.
The pattern is familiar:
With 8 days to go before Ohio and Texas, get ready to see more of Obama in tribal dress, more about his being a Muslim, more about his advisers not liking Israel and Jews, more about Farrakhan and Jackson. And more about Michelle’s "edge."
