The Dish

Look at the steady evaporation of Clinton’s lead since January 20:

Money quote:

Clinton’s lead in the three-day average is now 42% to Obama’s 36%. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race Wednesday after Gallup conducted these interviews, ended his quest for the presidency with 12% support. Wednesday night’s interviewing will reflect the distribution of the vote choice of former Edwards’ supporters as well as the impact, if any, of Hillary Clinton’s popular vote win in Florida on Tuesday.

These national numbers are a critically important indicator of the political environment when voters in more than 20 states go to the polls next Tuesday. At the moment, Obama has the momentum among Democrats nationally.

Personally, he’s never had a problem:

Rep. Barney Frank was on his cell when President Bush passed by and joked, "Tell him I said hello." Later, the openly gay congressman told him it was his boyfriend on the line, reports Matthew Huisman of the Boston University-Washington News Service. "Oh, okay, I hope he appreciates how open-minded I am," Bush said.

No, we don’t actually. It makes everything you’ve said and done publicly worse.

A linguistic analysis of their speeches:

John McCain and Mitt Romney are the most like Ronald Reagan whereas (within the set of primary candidates) the words of Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama are the closest to those of Martin Luther King. Hillary Clinton is by far the candidate closest in oratory to Bill Clinton.

A pretty banal speech, but what seemed like a heartfelt one. No endorsement. No inkling from his speech about whom he might prefer. Maybe he’s trying to get them to compete for his poverty themes. I don’t think either will resist.

That’s how many Chinese are stranded by cold weather, waiting for a train.

C’mon, you can do it. Ben Domenech leads the way:

He is the same man, whichever side he is on. He brings that same infuriating passion to our cause when his inner compass has led him to alliance. His support of the surge confounded the glitterati of the MSM, who gave him every opportunity to break with the president in a fashion that would’ve led to countless more cover appearances for the late-night self-pleasuring of pimply interns of the New Republic. And yet he could not be agreeable to them, as tempting as the doyennes and the cameras were: he rambled through, grousing yet triumphant, middle fingers raised to Rumsfeld on the right and the New York Times on the left. Even if you dislike McCain, you have to admit: It was a glorious moment for him.

Denmark’s national library wants them for posterity.

If you’re a Democrat, it isn’t really a contest. We all know the record of the Clintons on gay equality. In the words of Melissa Etheridge, they "threw us under the bus" when it was politically expedient for them (after they’d bled the gay community financially dry). Here are a few YouTubes of Obama’s public, proud and often risky defenses of gay and lesbian equality – in front of non-gay audiences and not prompted by questions. The Ebenezer sermon, when he called on black congregants in MLK’s church not to condemn or ostracize their "gay brothers and sisters" (after the 9 minute mark). The AU speech (around the 9 minute mark again). His stump speech, "Countdown To Change." Obama was the only Democratic candidate to mention gay and lesbian equality in his announcement address. In South Carolina, he spoke of the importance of gay outreach to religious voters.

I’ve had two core principles in my own work in defense of gay equality: supporting the simple equality of gays and straights under the law; opposing the toxins of identity politics and a balkanized gay identity. The way Obama transcends his own multiple identities, the way he both embraces his difference and yet seeks a common political discourse: this is the model that makes the most sense to me. Neither denying difference nor being defined by it is a path all minorities would be better off pursuing. And Obama’s call for self-empowerment rather than self-defeating victimology is particularly apposite for gays and lesbians.

Or rather shifts imperceptibly in his seat, and giggles a little. Bliss is bliss. Retirement must feel even better. (And, yes, I’ve been trained in TM and recommend it.)