David Corn

Penn is out but:

"Penn formally got the heave-ho as official lead strategist, but he'll still be apparently doing polling and consulting."

And Obama could still use it. Maybe he won't need to do so.

HRC, and her camp have been suffering from self inflicted wounds. BHO can stay on the issues and rise above.

Do you suppose Clinton might bow out if Obama agreed to appoint her to the Supreme Court if he were elected?

That would make the wingnuts ALMOST as furious as if she became President, and I love the idea of making the Base's faces turn purple while steam issues from their ears. ;)

Do you suppose Clinton might bow out if Obama agreed to appoint her to the Supreme Court if he were elected?

I love the way you think but I'm not sure I'd want her on the court... how about Michelle Obama? She's one hell of a lawyer and she's proud of this country - finally! I am too. I think we may have survived bush and Cheney - still holding my breath Cheney doesn't get access to launch codes.

Is there any hope that someone in Congress will grow a spine by Tuesday and point out all he stupidities in the current public relations campaign on the Surge?

No matter how many sheikhs are bribed and how many guns the USA gives Iraqi nationals, there will not be any negotiated peace between any of the militias that would last long enough for the USA to vacate the country. The next administration will need to kill a massive number of Iraqis or simply step away and let the Iraqis kill each other.

It is a disservice for the Media to claim that Mark Penn has been fired or has stepped down or that he will not be affiliated with the campaign. This is contradicted in Maggie Williams' statement which says "After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign. " From the following statement it is accurate for the Media to say he has been DEMOTED! Although many in the Media are trying to insinuate that he has been fired or has stepped down, this is a FABRICATION and Media has a right to inform Truth and not falsifications.

'"The president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James Hoffa, said through an aide tonight that the change is of little significance, since Mr. Penn will continue to advise and poll for Mrs. Clinton's presidential bid. "Demotion doesn't answer General President Hoffa's concerns. Mark Penn is still on her payroll and Burson-Marsteller's payroll," a spokeswoman for Mr. Hoffa, Leigh Strope, said. "Title demotion doesn't indicate loss of influence."' "In a statement on Friday, Mr. Hoffa called for Mr. Penn's ouster. "Someone like Mark Penn should not be dictating strategy, and possibly legislation, for a Democratic candidate for president," the Teamster leader said."

Anyone with any Political smarts and savvy, should know that the Clintons are not REALLY getting rid of Penn and that this is just a smoke screen -- he is far too valuable to them and knows WAY too much for them to push him under the bus. He will still be pulling the strings behind that Wizard of Oz Curtin, as they say,polling and advising! This is just more double talk, double speak, misstate, misspeak and misspoke moment. Mark Penn should step down for Real!

Wizard of Oz?

Maybe "Blizzard of Blahs" -

(it sounded funnier in my head)

Pennsylvania

Apr 5-6

Clinton 45%
Obama 45%

http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres08/padem8-704.html

*****

Wow, BHO tied in PA? BHO is up by over 20 in NC.

If these numbers are real - and if they hold . . .

http://www.republicanoffenders.com/

That certainly changes things.

Sounds like Hillary is humming an old Paul Simon song.... "the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin away.."

Just in Folks!

Alan Greenspan endorses McCain~

Even Obama who wants 60,000 to 80,000 troops in Iraq until 2010 knows it's over now.

Bill Moyers' Remarks on the Occasion of the 5th Annual Ron Ridenhour Prizes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/on-journalism_b_95444.html

Book: McCain temper boiled over in '92 tirade, called wife a 'cunt'

[...]

"Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html

*****

Oh my, those conservative family values.

From calling Hillary a f_cking whore to calling McCains wife a cunt~~

You Obama supporters are a classy bunch!

A 10 Second ad that could say it all....

81% of America says we're going the wrong way.

(voices shouting "you're going the wrong way")

Clip of John Candy driving the wrong way on the interstate (Plains, Trains and Automobiles) and John McCain leans forward and says "How do they know which way we're going"

'I'm John McCain and I endorse this ad"

John McCain’s Iraq speech interrupted with news of attacks on the Green Zone.

McCAIN: Faced with the prospect of defeat, we had two fundamental choices. We could retreat from Iraq and accept the horrible consequences of our defeat. Or we could change strategies and try to turn things around. It was, I believe, a critical moment in our nation’s history, and a time of testing for our nation’s political leadership.

In the year that has passed, our nation showed its strength –

MSNBC: And speaking of Iraq, we do have breaking news out of Iraq, where at least four mortars have been fired into the heavily-fortified Green Zone today. It’s unclear at this time if there are casualties or any major damage. Now the news comes just a day after five U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq. Two, again, inside that Green Zone…

(C&L)

capt, thanks for the link to Moyer's comments. He describes what it takes to do investigative journalism without coming down with vindictiveness on the employers, instead encouraging those with an interest to pursue this in spite of the owners of the media.

Penn: Never Out, Still In
07 Apr 2008 01:39 pm

Demoted Hillary Clinton strategist Mark Penn may no longer have the coveted title of chief strategist, but he remains a key member of the campaign's senior staff.

Mr. Penn took part on the campaign's morning message call this morning, as usual.

This afternoon, he is also scheduled to be on a call with Clinton and other aides to begin to prepare for Saturday's presidential debate in Philadelphia.

Mr. Penn "is still going to be very much involved," a senior campaign official said.

Indeed, it is not clear precisely what Mr. Penn's title-change entails, other than a public rebuke, although the official said that "there is a difference between being in charge and being one of many voices."

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/04/penn_out_then_in.php

*****

Maybe it will work. The HRC camp has to be betting on people not being well informed. Such has not worked yet.

Moyers is always great (IMO)

I listened to Senator Lindsey Graham on ABC Sunday. He says we have to keep the outsider out of Iraq, referring to Syria and Iran. Lets just pretend that neighbors can't be there, but we were invited from 8,000 miles away. Outsiders?

So what would happen if we sat down with Iran and ironed out some changes for Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria? Iran would be willing to talk toward these solutions and all they would get from it is a 50% cut in oil revenues.

Instead our Secretary of State is a Gun Running (leave the end of that to McCain) who is now aspiring to be Vice President. That should help things along, the first Vice President with an Oil Tanker named after her.

She could probably pull 4-5% of the black vote from Obama and give him a larger lead with the independents.

Strategic Oil Reserves account for 10-15% of the price of oil. Instability in Iraq (which Republicans want to maintain for 100 years) is causing 30-40% of the price of oil. Pure greed and control is costing 5-10%. And after watching the dollar fall for the past 5 years my bet is the dollar is another large factor in the price of oil. All totaled, oil when adjusted for inflation and these other factors has probably gone down when based on supply and demand alone. Each of these factors is being deliberately controlled by the Bush/Cheney regime.

I don't understand the lack of Union leadership outrage over this situation with Mark Penn in the Clinton campaign. All she did was "shuffle the deck" so to speak. This guy is still gonna do polling and provide "advice". Mark Penn needs to be GONE! I cannot put any trust in Clinton that she has the best interests of American union members as long as she refuses to part with this guy. And neither should the leadership of any union. I don't understand all the wailing about Obama's unpaid advisor's comments to some Canadian official, while the leader of Clinton's campaign is holding strategy meetings to get this onerous Columbian legislation passed? She is basically spitting in the eye of the unions by moving this guy to the back room for a while till the heat (what little of it that has been generated) dies down. Is union leadership so in love with (or in fear of) the Clintons that they accept this with nary a whimper? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? The AFL-CIO ought to be hounding Clinton night and day to make a complete break with this guy. Somebody please explain to me why that is not happening.

Obama Campaign To Go After Mark Penn

The Obama campaign has announced a 12PM conference call with Teamsters head James Hoffa, to discuss the continued role of Mark Penn in the Clinton campaign.

As long as Mark Penn is involved with the campaign, still dispensing advice along with polling, even with a title change, he presents a major liability for Senator Clinton in Pennsylvania. If Hillary Clinton was smart, she wouldn't have demoted him, she would have fired Mark Penn. The fact she still has him on the campaign shows her tone-deafness to labor issues in Pennsylvania.

(kos)

*****

No reason to give HRC or Penn a pass for the title change.

Go Barack!

Guys- anyone interested in politics/presidential race should definitely check out http://www.savagepolitics.com
Their articles are like nothing I have read in any of the current media outlets. It is brilliant writing plus it offers a great community in which to discuss. The editor actually takes time to answer and the political humor section is awesome!!!

Check out the article “We are the puppets”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://savagepolitics.com/?p=271

What "progress" has the nearly 1,000 troops killed since we began the "surge" brought?

What is different from before the surge when even Busheney admittedly accept the obvious abject failure of their policies?

Forget the money - what has 1,00 lives bought and paid for? More of the same? A thousand more - for what?

It was an escalation - and an extension of the original failed policy. Why continue getting our troops killed?

Pew Research Poll:
Historians Rate George W. Bush
http://tinyurl.com/6r5yfa

It's worth the click, do it.

“Glib, contemptuous, ignorant, incurious, a dupe of anyone who humors his deluded belief in his heroic self, he has bankrupted the country with his disastrous war and his tax breaks for the rich, trampled on the Bill of Rights, appointed foxes in every henhouse, compounded the terrorist threat, turned a blind eye to torture and corruption and a looming ecological disaster, and squandered the rest of the world’s goodwill. In short, no other president’s faults have had so deleterious an effect on not only the country but the world at large.”

We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws. . .

More on Legal and Illegal...

A Tale of Three Lawyers
http://tinyurl.com/6lp7u7

Along the same lines and with consideration of activism:

http://grievanceproject.wordpress.com/

I think they are onto something.

This morning on Today, Barack Obama offered a vigorous defense of his troop withdrawal proposal, as well as a critique of the administration's Iraq War policy. Similar to his rival Hillary Clinton's appearance on Morning Joe, he refrained from mentioning or furthering a dispute with her, preferring to stay on the offensive against McCain and Bush's Iraq war policy in general.

VIEIRA: You've said when, Senator, that if you are elected, that within 16 months you are going to bring all the troops home from Iraq. Senator McCain said yesterday that is a reckless promise you cannot possibly keep, a failure of leadership. And even military leaders say any withdrawal of troops would be dictated by security on the ground. So how can you guarantee you can pull out those troops in just 16 months?

OBAMA: Meredith, I've been very consistent in saying that we are going to set a timetable and we will have a prudent pace of withdrawal, one to two brigades per month. At that pace, we can have combat troops out within approximately 16 months. That will be about two years from now, Meredith, which means that this war will have lasted seven years.

VIEIRA: That's if everything goes well, sir. What if there's chaos?

OBAMA: Meredith, there's the possibility of chaos right now as we saw in Basra. So, what we can do is we can stay there in perpetuity. But if we can't have the Iraqi government resolve some of its conflicts in seven years, we won't have it done in 14 years or 21 years. The height of irresponsibility was going in, in the first place, and not having these questions answered, as John McCain ratified and went along with. I think it compounds the irresponsibility if all we're doing is simply moving the goalpost. We won't leave because violence is up. Now we don't leave because violence is down, as we've made progress. And the notion that we would have a long-term occupation of Iraq is not only unsustainable from our military's perspective and our financial perspective - we're spending $400 million a day - it's also distracting us from going after al Qaeda and those who actually perpetrated the deaths of 3,000 Americans on September 11th.

Poll Finds McCain Best Commander-in-Chief

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 8:04 AM

By: Monisha Bansal Article Font Size

Americans say Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumed Republican presidential nominee, would be a better commander-in-chief than the Democratic candidates: Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) or Barack Obama (Ill.), according to a new poll.

The poll by the Everett Group found that 51 percent of Americans think McCain would be a better commander-in-chief than Clinton, at 32 percent. When asked about Obama and McCain, the survey found that 53 percent favored McCain while 35 percent viewed Obama as a better commander-in-chief.

Another classy moron Obama supporter~~~

Rocky Apologizes to McCain

“I have profound respect and appreciate his dedication to our country, and I regret my very poor choice of words,” Rockefeller said in a prepared statement.

Rockefeller, who supports Barack Obama for President and has campaigned for him, said in an interview with the Charleston Gazette editorial board this week that McCain was not grounded in issues affecting people because, in part, he was a fighter pilot.

“He flies at 35,000 feet and drops laser-guided bombs, missiles,” Rockefeller said. “He was long gone before they hit. What happened down there, he doesn’t know.” Rockefeller added that he knew the comments were “unkind” because McCain was fighting for the country, but he added, “You sort of have to care what goes on in people’s lives.”

The McCain campaign responded through Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, USMC (retired) who served in Vietnam and spent 20 months in a Hanoi prison with McCain. “We know what flying through hell is like and the senator doesn’t,” Swindle told Metronews. “He probably never heard a shot fired in anger unless it was in the backwoods of West Virginia hunting or something like that.”

“He (Rockefeller) doesn’t know a damn thing about the military,” Swindle added.

Later, Obama’s office issued a statement saying Obama “does not agree with what Senator Rockefeller said.”

It was only a short time after that Rockefeller’s statement of apology was issued. “I have a deep respect for John McCain’s honorable and noble service to our country,” Rockefeller said in the statement. “I made an inaccurate and wrong analogy and I have extended by sincere apology to him.”

Markets don’t seem to be impressed with the Petraeus God:
Dow industrials -64.08 at 12548.35
Nasdaq -22.27 at 2342.56
S&P 500 -9.82 at 1362.72

I know we already have a war czar, but maybe Bush can appoint a “Surge Czar” to coordinate, you know, all the success we don’t seem to be feeling.