Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Craig...

I think Bill protest too much. He would count the Florida and Michigan popular vote while disenfranchising those states that were caucus's that Obama won.

They also don't want to give any of the votes in Michigan to Obama since his name wasn't on the ballot. Don' t sound very fair to me.

But that's just my two cents.

God Bless.

Good evening all.

No clue what DNC will decide, but just praying it leads to no floor fight at the convention.

Andrew Sullivan had a good post up tonight -- Bill Clinton's 1992 contest was effectively over by April 9, when Paul Tsongas declined to reenter the race.

Time to bring this saga to a close.

What?!? Vacation's over already? I didn't get all the spring plants I bought in the ground yet...one more day, that's all I need.

is the summer of peace over?

no wait!!!!I got it wrong.
summer of love

Love
'summer of love????

gone poof

Odds are Florida will be reduced by 50%, not sure what will happen to MI. Regardless of what happens it's not a game changer.

It looks like Obama, is the man.

Funny how many people will not be happy with that

Funny how many people will be!

very true !

I'm considering Costa Rica....I have heard there are great advantages to living there....

bon voyage.

Great article about the race...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/138514

Yeah I posted that article earlier MD, but it bares repeating.

The expression on those women's faces says it all.

It doesn't matter what anyone says, or what kind of proof you may offer, the O-bots run in blinkers and that's the way they like it. It gives them an excuse for not having seen the light when things "Go Bad", as they will when the tape of Michelle hits the airwaves.
All this talk about assassination is ridiculous. You don't get rid of the puppet, you get rid of the puppeteers. Soldier of Fortune magazine would know....

Morning all...

Haven´t seen the movie yet, but my sister said it is priceless.
And relax everyone: HRC will be the nominee. Keep your eyes on the prize

By the way: is there a website where I can watch the HBO movie recount?

Why didn't Michigan and Florida simply abide by Party rules and not bump up their Primaries ? Now, since the selection is still in process, it's plain to see each of those states could still have had their thunder.
For weeks we read the warnings, yet state leadership proceeded and moved the Primaries up.
The states should not be revisited, the delegates should not be seated, and the heads of the idiots who are to blame for causing the problem should be rolled down the aisles with a stick , in Denver's The Pepsi Center .
OK, there's a lot more to it, right? Fill me in on the gaps i my simplistic view of this, please.
I am saying it's the fault of State leadership, NOT the national Democratic leadership.

Jason, no. HBO introductory packages are cheap, life without HBO is pointless, come on board!

No Clear Map For Clinton's Political Future

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052602006.html?nav=rss_politics

The Trouble With June 1992 as a Case for Pressing On
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/us/politics/27checkpoint.html

On the Trail, One Aide Looms Over Obama

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/us/politics/27reggie.html?ref=politics

I want a body man!

http://www.talkleft.com/2000recap.html
Review of 2000
a nice companion to the HBO recount

Obama's got no margin of error and for him winning the general will be very difficult
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/5/26/182414/123

If the Clintons' really wanted the nomination, they would hire Jim Baker, the real architect of Bush's post-loss victory. Wish I had HBO to watch this--but not enough to buy it.

Flatus.....Gore Vidal wrote a pretty good book including much about the florida re-count......

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/v/gore-vidal/dreaming-war.htm

another good one is PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE

both non-fiction.......

Hating Hillary

"But Obama himself prepared the ground by making the first gratuitous personal attack of the campaign during the televised Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate in South Carolina on 21 January ...

One of his female staff then distributed a confidential memo to carefully selected journalists which alleged that a vaguely clumsy comment Hillary Clinton had made about Martin Luther King ...

Another female staffer, Candice Tolliver - whose job it is to promote Obama to African Americans - then weighed in publicly, claiming that "a cross-section of voters are alarmed at the tenor of some of these statements" and saying: "Folks are beginning to wonder: Is this an isolated situation, or is there something bigger behind all of this?" That was game, set and match: the Clintons were racists ...

Obama and Axelrod have achieved their objectives: to belittle Hillary Clinton and to manoeuvre the ever-pliant media into depicting every political criticism she makes against Obama as racist in intent."

http://www.newstatesman.com/north-america/2008/05/obama-clinton-vote-usa-media

Craig,
You're an exceptonally insightful and kind person.
But, I cannot figure out how you can look at the abuse, insults and downright cruely on your own site and allow it to continue under your name. You draw people here because of who you are and what you stand for, and then once they're here, you watch the cruelty of what's to follow.

You know who the Chief Offender is, along with two or three in his posse, and yet you choose to ignore it. Doesn't that make you some kind of enabler?

There are many exceptional, interesting, unbelievably articulate, intelligent and caring people here and it can be wonder to observe. But you know the tone and the direction of the conversation is set and guided by one.

Isn't there something sinister about sitting back and watching one person(and his very tiny group of supporters, maybe 3 people) pounce on unexpecting people who think they're in a safe place? Can't you make the one corner of the world that is under your watch a pleasant and fair place to be? Even if you do love him like a brother (or so I heard) don't even really cruel brothers have to be disowned to at times in order to protect the rest of society.

Please open your eye's and do the right thing. Don't give a platform to "mad man". Guard your corner of the world here. You owe it to the good people that come and go and have so much to share. And to keep it safe so the rest of us can listen.

Dexter...

Florida should be seated with half the delegates since it was the Republicans that moved up the Primary. Obama's name was on the ballot but they should still be punished for jumping the gun.

Michigan is another story. The Governor is a personal friend of Hillary and wanted the race over by February 5th as Hillary said the race would be over at that time.

It they want to give Obama some of the vote total for the uncommitted, which Hillary don't, and give the delegates as the Michigan Democratic Party suggested as a fair deal then fine.

However, Hillary don't want Obama to get any of the vote or delegates.

Also the Michigan Courts stopped a new primary, not Obama.

Out of here for the rest of the day.

God Bless.

I want a body man!

Posted by: BrianInNYC

Really lovely article.

But it makes me think.

Carries snacks. Keeps you on schedule. Makes sure you're prepared. Plays basketball with you regularly. Takes lots of pictures of you. Never ever leaves your side.

I believe such a person's called a daddy.

meg...

Since the Hillary supporters number around 24 or more compared to the 6 or 7 Obama supporters you want Craig to kick us out?

That don't sound very Democratic does it?

And before you take this as a personal attack against you, it is not. Look at it objectively and you will see my point maybe.

God Bless.

Anon, I don't want Craig to kick you out. You know I was talking about Brian. When I said those things, you never entered my mind. I respect you.

The Frogs Desiring a King

The Frogs were living as happy as could be in a marshy swamp
that just suited them; they went splashing about caring for nobody
and nobody troubling with them. But some of them thought that
this was not right, that they should have a king and a proper
constitution, so they determined to send up a petition to Jove to
give them what they wanted. "Mighty Jove," they cried, "send unto
us a king that will rule over us and keep us in order." Jove
laughed at their croaking, and threw down into the swamp a huge
Log, which came downrplashto the swamp. The Frogs
were frightened out of their lives by the commotion made in their
midst, and all rushed to the bank to look at the horrible monster;
but after a time, seeing that it did not move, one or two of the
boldest of them ventured out towards the Log, and even dared to
touch it; still it did not move. Then the greatest hero of the
Frogs jumped upon the Log and commenced dancing up and down upon
it, thereupon all the Frogs came and did the same; and for some
time the Frogs went about their business every day without taking
the slightest notice of their new King Log lying in their midst.
But this did not suit them, so they sent another petition to Jove,
and said to him, "We want a real king; one that will really rule
over us." Now this made Jove angry, so he sent among them a big
Stork that soon set to work gobbling them all up. Then the Frogs
repented when too late.

The Moral Principle and the Material Interest

A MORAL Principle met a Material Interest on a bridge wide enough
for but one.

"Down, you base thing!" thundered the Moral Principle, "and let me
pass over you!"

The Material Interest merely looked in the other's eyes without
saying anything.

"Ah," said the Moral Principle, hesitatingly, "let us draw lots to
see which shall retire till the other has crossed."

The Material Interest maintained an unbroken silence and an
unwavering stare.

"In order to avoid a conflict," the Moral Principle resumed,
somewhat uneasily, "I shall myself lie down and let you walk over
me."

Then the Material Interest found a tongue, and by a strange
coincidence it was its own tongue. "I don't think you are very
good walking," it said. "I am a little particular about what I
have underfoot. Suppose you get off into the water."

It occurred that way.

ambrose bierce by the way......

Jason,

Here is the HBO films website.

http://www.hbo.com/films/index.html

You can't watch on line. They will probably release it in the theater in Europe unless they have a cable arrangement with a european network. Otherwise, it will be avaiable on DVD eventually.

Do you have anyone in the states who might be able to burn you a disk?

I'll chalk it up to just one more disillusionment.

and Sturgeon, I love your stories.
But why don't you just talk to me once in a while.

Hello Meg....how ya doin'?

the second one had nothing to do with anything.........I just like it........lol

Hey Sturge, fine thanks.
Now why don't you just tell me what you think.

Let's try not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

http://www.gallup.com/poll/107524/Six-Democrats-Confident-Victory-2008-Election.aspx

meg...

I understand how you feel, I really do. All I want to point out is that when there are 20 or more against a few it brings out the worse since they feel they have to defend themselves and might or will make harmful comments back.

That's all. Take care, have a good day and ...

God Bless.

meg...

And by the way I also have done that as well, so not excluding myself.

God Bless.

Sorry meg....bear voiced your same concern yesterday and i kinda spoke to it a bit.......I just always look for an excuse to post that frog story......

I place some of the blame on Craig for not always touching the steering wheel to keep this bus on the road. When it got so bad that he even boycotted his own site, I thought someone would get the hint.

Posted by: Bear | May 26, 2008 11:48 AM

there is no point in blaming craig for not intervening.....once one intervenes one steps off onto a slippery slope which winds up in Constant Supervision and endless settling of disputes........and endless rules.....craig has made his feelings known much more than once. all should self police....like adults, or at least decent children.......

"I will if HE will"

"Stop touching me"

etc

Posted by: sturgeone | May 26, 2008 11:57 AM

ha ha ha .......

Deus ex Craigina

Sturge,

I can't believe you think this is just about me and my feelings. It's not. And I want to make that clear. But your point is well taken. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Maybe you should post a sign at the entrance of the site. Speak at your own risk.

Have a good day all.

Meg,

It took me a while to figure it out, but Brian lives to absue. He doesn't really care about his candidate, the facts, or making any real useful contribution. He simply enjoys inflicting pain, getting a response, and keeping the argument going purely for his own entertainment.

I know it is hard to ignore and not bite at the provocation and attacks, but just keep reading the same way you would drive by a car wreck. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.

Meg,

Ignore the person who offends you. Responding only triggers more of the garbage.

A friend of mine told me some advice his father had given him. "Consider the source, and rise above it."

In this case the rising above part is a pretty low standard and should be easy to do.

sorry meg......Im just a visitor here same as you.....I have no weight here other than what I post .....I do not wish to criticise you or what you post, and sorry that's what i did......youre right about the state of this blog and the reason for it......I wish something would happen to improve the manners here, my own included.........but as long as bile continues to run free it certainly IS a case of speak at your own risk and the heat/kitchen deal.....been that way for quite some time.....I have no idea what to do about it........

Are "Meg" and "Heather" the same person?

IMHO...the 7:20 post by "Meg" seems very "Heather"-like.

I'm just sayin'...

Sheila...I just caught up with last night's thread and saw your late post.
Please don't worry anymore. Just go on being yourself here. You're a good person at heart, and I don't want to lecture you anymore because that's really not my place. So I'll try to just leave it alone. Fair enough?

Thank You Lard. Fair enough.

Hey
Craig
The DNC are floundering idiots

God bless their little hearts.
LOL

Silly fools
Florida is solidly in McCains column
Michigan is in play.

Bumbling , fumbling doofus
The DNC

Politics
It is about power.
This time the only power
the DNC has
is to shoot themselves in the foot.

Aren't they great?

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote divided government
Vote McCain

For the history and military buffs, this should be interesting: Why did the Navy pay for the search for The Tittanic and what did it have to do with the cold war?

http://natgeochannel.co.uk/Programmes/Custom/Titanic/Intro.aspx?Id=823

I think the general plea here is for common courtesy, decency and fair play......who can or would argue against that?
as long as there is someone here who chooses to utter indefensible remarks like telling a lady she should go chew her cud, or that she and her friends belong to a coven, or rides a broom, or the like, with no restraint, and people here who defend such rancorous spew, common decency will go out the window.......I guess I'm here too much, but at least the holiday is over and I'll go back to work.......maybe if I had a yard to tend I wouldnt belabor the blog so much.......lol..........
anyway...........I dont think craig wants to be the "officer" who has to enforce rules of common decency.....he has enough to do and I think he expects the persons here to learn to act like adults without enforcement of regulations, etc etc........but craig has made his observations known along the way enough for everyone to have the general idea........

but then Im just another bozo on the bus.

Thank you, Thank you, and next time you must come to my house.
--Robt. Heinlein

Hey
Jamie

Great tease.
Got me hooked

I'm a sucker for that stuff.

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote divided government
Vote McCain

Wish I could watch the movie. Must be interesting.

However, I am not thinking that the Primary here is in the same league as the 2000 general Election.

Two States breaking the rules....well in the end, rules are rules and it has nothing to do with the Candidates and everything to do with the DNC's decission.

I can agree that some will think the election was stolen from Senator Clinton. But with all the Math Spinning and supposing, I can understand the difficulty when someone believes so whole heartedly that there candidate is best.

But rules are rules. (1) Iowa and New Hampshire, for better or worse, were deamed the first states and its been a tradition. (2) Delegates have been ruled the way in which, we get our votes counted. (3) the popular Vote argument is just that an argument.

The rules commitee has a very hard meeting on Saturday. Good Luck to them.

Sturg, nice post. Very eloquent.

Pugnacious

Apparently, the Navy hired Dr. Ballard and his wonderful little subs to go hunting for the Thresher and the Scorpion (he found them - top secret at the time). In exchange, they agreed to pay for 12 additional days for him to hunt for the Titanic. There is going to be some wonderful background history and pictures on this.

Meg Thanks for Speaking up for Civility.

Luscious,

I don't think Heather and Meg are the same person. No proof here. I just don't think that's the case.

Meg,

I'd change, "Speak at your own risk" to "Read at your own risk." Craig tries to be fair to all, and does a good job of it. The problem with the censorship you and many of us would like to see, is that once imposed, it's bordered by Craig's, or someone's judgement.

I come here to look for ideas that wouldn't have occurred to me, and usually find them. If my writing gets someone to laugh, I figure I've had a good day. I note that others have provided good advice on dealing with the crude posts we occasionally find here and elsewhere, so I'll skip that.

At this stage, i just wish that Brian was the ONLY offender. Too many others, have chosen to go toe-to-toe with him, and that's when the discourse has made being here less than worthwhile.

Hey
I had to laugh yesterday.

all the obsessing over a troll
one clueless
Pathetic
troll

Is the troll politically savy?
Not so much
An
idiot.

LOL
He knows you.
Expert there.
LOL

Punch your buttons
hear you scream.

LOL

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote divided government
Vote McCain

Sheila,

Admittedly, Lanny Davis is a Clinton proponent, so this article leans in that direction, but there is a great deal of useful background information here.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10614.html

The major problem is that the DNC really messed up the handling and as a result the voters (not the party) are the ones who suffered. This has created a lot of hard feelings that could injure the Democratic candidate in November. That makes it very important that a compromise be reached, not so much for the candidate's benefit, but rather one that will make the voters happy.

Florida feels as if it has been cheated before. We don't need Michigan joining them in the insulted column.

CQ has a great idea so MSNBC steals it

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24672458/

pug make sturgeone laugh......

Edvb make sturgeone think.......Ed said:

"At this stage, i just wish that Brian was the ONLY offender. Too many others, have chosen to go toe-to-toe with him, and that's when the discourse has made being here less than worthwhile."

I don't get why Hillary's numbers against McCain are still going up by the day and Obama's numbers are pretty much staying put. Her numbers went up even after her Kennedy remark. I don't understand what is going on out there. I know it's early for looking at November numbers but there is something about these numbers that have to be looked at. The Supers need to take a good look at this also what happens in the next three primaries. Also if the decision on Saturday is to have FL and MI do a revote. It would be interesting to see the new results in FL after the HBO movie.

If someone saw the movie what was the nic name of the REB person who they sent into assist Harris in making her decision. Also what was the actors name who played the part. It was a perfect part for him to play

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Obama/Maps/May27.html

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Clinton/Maps/May27.html

Jamie...

I really don't want my comment to be taken out of context, however Hillary boasted that the race would be over on February 5th and didn't believe that Michigan or Florida votes would be needed.

Only when she saw that she needed them to get more of the popular vote and pledged delegates did she start talking that they were being disenfranchised.

I have already stated my opinion about both Florida and Michigan and I still stand by it.

Hope this doesn't start a war again over the votes of the two states.

God Bless.

We all know that the person losing would want to have FL and MI count if it made any difference no matter what they said back in January when they moved the date. It just happens to be Hillary but we know Obama would want it to count if it was reversed and Hillary would be fighting it. You would be doing the same thing if you were them.

AP

You always give a reasoned opinion and you are always a gentleman about it. I just happen to believe that the voters are the most important consideration and their desires should be placed above those of both the candidates and the party.

This whole election has been bedeviled by media, power players, money men, internet wars and general shenanigans that had little to nothing to do with an honest process to determine the will of the public.

This sort of thing goes on in every election, but this one has been the worst in my lifetime for ugliness and manipulaiton and actually makes me fear for the Democratic process.

vadaryl...

See my earlier comment about seating of Florida and thoughts on Michigan in a reply I left to Dexter at 7:16am.

God Bless.

Jamie...

I had read that the Michigan Democratic Party had offered a solution and the Hillary campaign turned it down.

I don't remember where it was, but the idea was that she didn't want to give Obama anything.

I could be wrong so you may have to do a search to see if I am since I don't remember where or when it occurred.

God Bless.

Jamie,

I agree with your "feelings" on this. But My opinion is that it is too late this time around for anyone to juggle the rules and change them after the fact.

In my opinion, Florida's should be seated as stands. But as a member of the Michigan disenfranchised, Unless my vote for Obama gets counted too, It would be unfair. That was just plain wrong to not count my vote.

Rules are rules and Michigan's corrupt bunch of Yahoos did that to me, not the DNC.

mornin' all.

Well, I spent the weekend bemoaning the fact that Mrs. P forced me to go to Orlando (have I ever mentioned that I hate visiting Orlando? - sorry Craig, but JHC, dcould they come up with a more convoluted road system? I think not.) But from my brief perusal of this morning's comments about the weekend's posts, I think I'd rather have been in Orlando.

So anything at all happening worth noting - other than sturgeon getting me chuckling at yet another Firesign Theater reference?

Glad to see you are safely ensconced in your new digs, Sheila. Hope the trip was evntful, but safe.

VAD, I saw the HBO movie over the weekend, but you've lost me with your question. I think you may be asking about Bruce Magill - he played Walter Hagen in The Legend of Bagger Vance, but his signature role was as D-Day in Animal House (not to mention the Sheriff in My Cousin Vinny).

hmmm. Anon-p, We are thinking the same thing.

Through 5/26

Clinton beats McCain who beats Obama

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/

This actually surprises me as I keep wondering who would vote for McCain after the incredibly rotten job the Republicans have done in Congress and the Presidency.

Bruce Magill is right. When he first came on the movie the character's title was displayed and it was a nic name and don't remember what it was.

Sheila...

I totally agree with you. Florida was screwed up by the Republicans and they should lose half their delegates just like the Republicans lost half of theres.

Michigan was changed by the Governor who is a personal friend of Hillary and the Democratic Party of Michigan went along with it.

I also agree that something needs to be done, however it needs to be fair to both candidates.

It is also wrong to blame the DNC for this as they had nothing to do with the changing of the dates.

Also the Michigan Supreme Court over ruled a new primary and not Obama which no one will acknowledge and blame him for not wanting a revote which would have than disenfranchised voters who did not vote because they were told the vote would not count and they would not be allowed to vote in the re vote.

Only those who originally voted would have been allowed to vote and I believe that's why the Michigan Court stopped a new primary vote.

But then again that's just my two cents worth.

God Bless.

Sheila,

I actually favor letting Obama have all of the "uncommitted" votes and anything that went to anyone other than Clinton, purely on the basis that if they weren't "for" her then they were "against" her and he is the only "against" candidate left. Also, his campaign was putting out the message to vote "uncommitted" even though he wasn't on the ballot with all the other names. Those voters may have genuinely liked one of the other candidates other than Hillary, but they aren't around any more and she shouldn't get the benefit of their numbers.

"Her numbers went up even after her Kennedy remark"

Hey
Vadaryl

Your not a baby.
You know why.

Numbers
15% a gaga for a kennedy
Rest of the world
Not so much

60%
Kennedy punch line for a dirty joke

The more Obama man hugs a Kennedy
the more
the dirty joke
is Obama's

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote divided government
Vote McCain

Either revote both states or make the delegates Supers and let them vote for whoever they want.

Bruce McGill - Mac Stipanovich

Thanks Jamie, Then we are in agreement. ;0)

Was Mac the character name, but they also gave him a nic name.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/05/hbos-next-florida-thriller.html#comment-89290

Meg, regarding your concerns about abusive dialogue here. I wish it would stop, but I set up this blog (and its forerunners) as an open thread and that's how it remains. Please consider advice from others on today's thread about simply ignoring nasty comments. For both sides surely it's obvious that responding only begets more of the same, if not an escalation of hostilities.

vadaryl

That is the way he is listed in the cast list and those always come from the official credits because of award considerations. He was known in political circles as "Mac The Knife". Is that what you wanted?

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3D6123BF934A25752C1A9669C8B63

Craig what did you think of the HBO movie?

Yes that's what I wanted Mac the Knife. Thanks!

As a NH resident, I watched over the years as other states moved up their primary dates. NH actually has a state law that requires it to have its primary first. So as all this jockeying was taking place NH held back annoncing when it would hold its primary. Now the DNC has always allowed NH to be the first Primary. The blame for this goes all around. States wanting to get in on the early primary since it helps them gain influence as kingmakers. Candidates were also working to frontload the process. Edwards spent years in Iowa, and it didn't even help.

So in my opinion there is plenty of blame to spread around. Plus the setup with caucus, & primary & weighted delegate counts it is a disaster. No wonder it is a mess. So it will all be over in a little while.

The ironic this is that all the promises that the candidates make probably won't happen any way. Universal health care, unlikely, end the war, not right away. Fix the energy crisis, think that will happen soon. There are so many competing forces in play that whomever moves into the White House next January is going to have a tough time getting their agenda going.

I had a boss at work named Dave about 11-12 years ago. From time to time the people I worked with would get into fights/arguments with each other. Each time this would happen , the next night Dave would ask some of us questions about whatever happened the night before. My typical response was "I wasn't paying attention. I don't know what this person said to the other person that made them so angry." Non-involvement was crucial. Whenever there was a conflict within the team of people I worked with our boss would always take his hands and rub his cheeks and say "In the future...." Anyway , people got mad because Dave was terrible at resolving conflicts between people. It was as if he was afraid to handle conflicts. One night , I had a meeting with Dave and he acknowledged this and told me his reason for being like that. He had a professor in college who verbally berated a female student one day in front of the entire class. This girl broke down in tears in front of everyone. Dave said , "From that moment on I decided I would never do that to anyone." So , Dave basically held out the hope that because we were adults we could resolve our conflicts without him having to get involved.

re Fl primary snafu, shouldn't the validity of votes in FL's congressional primary races be questioned and also nullified by the DNC just to be consistent?
Have some compassion for that poor FL voter who hazarded traffic, stood in lines, lost wages in some cases, felt good and full of pride for voting that day. What do you tell him or her? Your vote counted in this federal race but not in that one. Your vote counted to assure paper trails in future elections, but there's nothing in this one for you.

That's it...I'm writing in Sturge this election!

your self-pictures are trickling in, but hoping others to come for our next gang video (for our June 7 Third Anniversary).

if you want your picture included in a video of Trail Mix regulars, please send it cqtrailmix@verizon.net

and be sure to indicate whether you want your Trail Mix screen name identified with your picture in the video

as a sample, here's our 2006 video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eefpydKD4v8

a paean to the end of holiday:

Up in the morning, out on the job
work like the devil for my pay
But that lucky old sun, got nothing to do
But roll around heaven all day

now i fuss with my woman
and toil with my kids
sweat till I'm wrinkled and gray
but that lucky old sun, got nothing to do
but roll around heaven all day

dear lawd above cant you see I'm cryin'
I got tears all in my eyes
why dont you send me down that cloud
with the silver lining.......and lift me up to paradise

show me that river and take me on across
wash all my troubles away
just like that lucky old sun I'll have nothing to do
but roll around heaven all day

"When a nation brings a cult of personality leader to power, it is typically at a low point in its national self-confidence and finds an outsider to rule over them in the hope he will save them from themselves. With a slim record and a campaign built primarily around his outgoing personality, Obama is America’s biggest mistake waiting to be made. Let’s not play any part in making it."

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/05/27/obama-and-the-jews/#more-2727

Gordo,

you are being boring again. Is Larry paying you for your spamming this forum?

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

GORDO...

Don't think that "cult-of-personality" hypothesis rings true.

Ike was such ay leader, and he came in when U.S. was cruising along at peak power and self-confidence.

Same goes for JFK.

gordo

"O brave new world! That has such people in't!"
shakespeare, The Tempest

Love Frankie Laine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4x0n9q_mjg

Of course once Craig has the video done, he might consider this as part of the show in honor of

"The Late Unpleasantness"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxrWz9XVvls&feature=related

There's much more to that article, such as: "Just as Hitler was an Austrian ruling over Germany, Stalin was an Ossetian ruling over Russia, Obama is an African Arab with a Muslim background positioning himself for the White House."

gordo is in the "cult-of-personality"

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

I have always enjoyed Craig's commentary both here and elsewhere, but it appears that he is really carrying the Clinton's water of late. He sounds more like Howard or Terry than he does a serious commentator.

Which is fine of course - as long as this isn't disguised as real political commentary as opposed to advocacy.

I have to find a decent pic of me... I took some pictures in Paris and Amsterdam lately... I'll check and see if I look ok.

Re: Pics for Craig's Trailmixers regulars

Oh yeah, Craig! I like your site so much better than Daily Kos. Who the heck is this guy and why do so many people march in step with him?

Hey
sturgeone
Last word on little troll
Then will STFU.

OK?

As a Newbie , just looking in
Troll baby
sets the standard.

Play with trolls
Have a big troll party

Want to be highbrow
Learned?
Then play "Highbrow , Learned"

high brow, learned
bores trolls.
They leave or change

Hey
Where is my club
Back to politics
F#%k this troll poo

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote divided government
Vote McCain

"Craig what did you think of the HBO movie? -- Posted by: vadaryl"

loved it, as i noted in today's post. was amazed they could so smoothly work in many details of the miserably complex legal machinations and still make such a compelling drama. it almost creates a new genre, the political horror movie

What took so long for a movie to be made about this? Next movie should be on Bush and Gore.

"At this stage, i just wish that Brian was the ONLY offender. Too many others, have chosen to go toe-to-toe with him, and that's when the discourse has made being here less than worthwhile."

Well, I for one, can take myself out of play. I cannot be a part of something where responding strongly to ugliness is considered worse than being the one on the attack.

But cheer up, things will be very "civil" as soon as everyone gets in line or gets out of the way.

I like that, political horror movie. I think the screenplay for a new one is in development right now. Starring:

Hillary - the rancher that does not know how to quit
Obama - as the stranger that rides into town and steals their hearts.
McCain - as the old sherrif who wants to make sure the town isn't over run by newcomers

Edwards - the smooth talking gambler that lost it all
Huckabee - the preacher man
Guiliani - the merchant of patent medicine

Anybody want to help with the rest of the cast?

and for those who are shy about putting their face pic in a video, you can always send a pic of your pet, garden, or anything else reasonably tasteful that reflects you in some way. send to cqtrailmix@verizon.net

Craig, what do you think will happen on Saturday when they decided what to do with FL & MI?

AP, and others - I have done a little poking about and have seen several references to the vote to move the FL primary before the DNC rules allowed haveing been unanimous in the FL legislature. Are those references accurate? If so, the FL Dems can't now argue that the Republicans moved the date, and I hope the FL dems running for reelection have their hats handed to them for voting for a Republican bill that would have the effect of stripping FL of its delegates voting in August. Any FL lawmaker who voted for the bill to move the primary is, in my opinion, estopped from making the argument that the primary should count depite the DNC rules tot he contrary. If anyone who has the inclination to ferret out the FL laegislature's voting record on the bill, I'd like to see it - but I'm too lazy to try and drill down (I hate that term) to it.

Michigan is a different kettle of fish. If Granholm, the Dem governor, signed a bill sponsored by Dems moving the primary, she and Debbie Dingell should shut the hell up. As tot he delegates, they are estopped. They gambled to change the nominating process and not lose their delegate votes in the process and have probably lost at least the second half of that gamble. But as to the process that puts NH & IA as first and unduly important, argue away.

Oh, and I do still support Clinton and will bemoan Obama's nomination. But this is about integrity and consistency.

Good morning peeps,
Has she quit the race yet?

bowman,
how about Kucinich as the town drunk?

Yep. Just quit about 5 minutes ago. Haven't you heard?

ET

KOS is very well financed and connected far left proponent. He looks good and talks well on TV and has been able to stage massive conventions due to those connections ... The crowd just naturally follows.

pogo...

As I understand it the reason the Florida Dem's went along with the change in the primary vote was because the Republicans offered to go back to a paper trail for the voting machines thereby removing the paperless machines for the elections.

To get the paper trail back they had to go along with the Republicans on the primary move to a earlier date or not get rid of the troubling paperless machines.

So yes they did go along as they had no other way to change the voting machine problems Florida had with the Diebold and other paperless voting issues.

God Bless.

Hey
An early jump here
But Fla, MI
Sooooooo boring
silly Democrat games
Who cares.

Some early VP polls
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZjU1MjgxMmFlYWM0NGFkZWM2Yjc5NjQxY2I3Njg4YWE=

Hey
From
Myth of the prairie queen

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmY4Y2RmOWVmZDY2Yjg2MDUzYTMyYjU5ODU3NjQ3M2M=&w=MA==

"McCain defeating Obama in Philadelphia? Now that’s the sort of political miracle only Kathleen Sebelius could deliver"

God I love it!!!
Go Kansas!!!!!

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote divided government
Vote McCain

Joseph Lieberman To Headline Upcoming Pastor Hagee Summit

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/joseph-lieberman-to-headl_b_103624.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGd6nNPyeaw&feature=related

AP, talk about a Hobson's choice! But a choice (IMHO the correct one) nonetheless.

Bowman

Romney - Oily but charming City Slicker
Richardson - Rumpled somewhat boozy newsman

If this is true - Yep. Just quit about 5 minutes ago. Haven't you heard? Then why is it not the top story on all the web sites? Also Carville has not written out the check yet.

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/05/john-mccain-a-2.html

McCain and his gambling lobbying buddies and one of the stories that Pugnacious doesn't want you to think about

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

Peeps? Here's what Peeps are!

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Peeps

bowman

andrea mitchell as the saloon singer a la dietrich.

tweety as the sniveling coward that tells the bad guys which way the hero went.

"Sebelius may not be the most popular governor Kansas has had, but she’s the most popular governor the Kansas press has ever had."

From the NR article link posted by pugnacious.

This is the big problem with offering Sebelius as an alternative to Clinton as VP. The Clinton supporters are already angry at the media for selecting Obama as their beloved. Putting a second media darling on the ticket is not likely to sooth any ruffled feathers.

Brian: In your post of about 1:25 a.m. , the phrase is not bares repeating, it is bears repeating. For future reference.

Kucinich - The guy worried that others are after his Lucky Charms

Gravel- The rock-throwing Grandpa telling the other candidates to get off his lawn.

The era of big Clintons is soon over
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_el_pr/clintons_end_of_an_era

"Craig, what do you think will happen on Saturday when they decided what to do with FL & MI? -- Posted by: vadaryl"

they actually do not have to make a decision, and certainly not on Saturday if they don't want to. that's my best guess, that it will be a hearing only with no decision announced until later

My mistake Corey, allow my to rephrase.

Morning sheep.
Has she quit yet.

Craig, the way this primary season has gone you just might have it correct. Won't the media just love that decision.

good morning gang....

just caught up on today's posts..... Rick and I went away to Portsmouth, NH for the weekend...... Strawberry Bank forever.....

sounds like it was the usual "fun" here over the weekend..... oh well.... don't have time to read it....

Craig...... making a new video.... I have a picture of Rick and I riding the "people mover" in Tremblant Quebec.... I'll get Rick to help me upload it tonight....

Meg.... don't take it personal about sturg..... he always talks cryptic to everyone..... I for one.... luv him for it.... and others here have learned to ignore the crap..... you know..... kinda like you have to in "real life"....

oh yeah...... I forgot....

Bowman..... let's get Mike Gravel to play the bartender....

Patsi,

Glad that you and Brian are both here since I picked on him earlier. I'd argue that we could respond strongly to ugliness without getting ugly. We'd have to choose our words more carefully, and in my opinion that would be a good first step.

But that's just me. You guys can have at it from here. My boss thinks I should do some work before I bail out early on him today.

Brian , you ask that question every day. We all know how you feel about her.

Sturge , give us a verse or two of your wisdom.

Craig if you are on any shows this week I hope you say the same thing you said here about the decision. It would be interesting to hear their response to you.

For all you music lovers , Reverand Al Green has a new cd out today.

Does anyone but me feel that Lieberman is being obnoxious just for the entertainment of Pissing off people.

I know every time I see his smirky face and hear that nasal voice, it is the desire for the brick through the TV Screen time.

Re MI / FL
And BTW, welcome back Sheila.
Michigan has been trying to displace New Hampshire for about 30 years now. It is not the first time they have tried this. The last time they did it was in the last election cycle and Terry McAuliffe and the Dems allowed them 50% of their votes.
Each cycle they go before the DNC and plead their case and a vote is taken ... they always lose but it is by no means unanimous. Their argument is that neither Iowa nor NH are representative of the country as a whole nor of the Democratic electorate.
Second point ... Kucinich and Dodd were also on the ballot in Michigan. It has been reported here that Dodd, Obama, and Edwards agreed to remove their names from the ballot as a sop to NH but they did not inform the HRC campaign. They withdrew their names from the ballot at the last possible moment (except Dodd reneged) so that HRC could not do so. The Obama campaign then began an on-air and word of mouth campaign that people should vote uncommitted.
Florida's a different case ... but the FL Dems did everything they could short of standing on their head in the corner and spitting nickels ... first to keep the primary date from being moved and then to get a waiver from the DNC. BTW, while neither candidate may have campaigned...both had supporters who were campaigning like crazy.
The Obama supporters make the argument that if he had personally been able to appear in Florida, she would not have won by as large a margin as she did ... but there is no empirical evidence that that is so.

I don't think any talking head would say that they don't have to make a decision on Saturday.

GORDO: Thank you for your earlier post about events in South Carolina. I am one who has always been angered that the Obama campaign got away with the racist remarks talking points memo ... yes, Russert did question Sen Obama about it once ... but there was never any follow-up, either by Russert at the time or the MSM.
More than anything else in this campaign, I personally am absolutely livid that Sen Obama's campaign, his surrogates, and the cable news networks felt that it was necessary to turn Bill Clinton into a racist in order to diminish Sen Clinton's chances. IMO it was a scurrilous thing to do ... and not at all necessary.

Ever since CQ posted an article about General Odum's Grand Bargain with Iran, bloggers have been debating which side Obama would take. Most said that McCain and Hillary would advocate more of and Stick/Carrot approach and set some pre-conditions and creating intial leverage on talks with Iran. While Obama has talked about "tough diplomacy", he has been careful not to embrace the Odum approach.

Now it seems Zbig's article in WAPO advocates a position that Obama will be embracing. Just to be clear, Obama talked of nuking Iran back in 2004. Then he flipped position and called Hillary's Iran position Bush-like will talking tough to AIPAC.. Then he said he never said he would talk to Ahmadinejad and his advisor Rice said pretty much what Hillary had said, but added that Obama would work his way up the chain of Iranian officials eventually telling them that unless Iran stops supporting terror and enrichment, US force will be Israel as a last resort. What isn't clear are the many contradictions and what Obama's plan B and C rally are.

Now this:

http://armchairgeneralist.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/dealing-with-ir.html

Don't forget that Zbig baited the Soviets into Afghanistan and left the US unprepared to enforce his Carter Gulf Doctrine. Words are always easier to say than impliment. It appears Obama is heading the US towards the Grand Bargain and unlike Reagan has discarded verification or even visible rewards beyond allowing some US face (to only US voters) to pull US forces out of the region as Hamas and Hizb"Allah celebrate our departure.

Jamie: I have to laugh at your comment about Lieberman. If you did not see Recount -- he is featured only briefly and then as a thorn in the side of the campaign. Too funny...
As a Jew, I was enormously proud when VP Gore selected him to be on the ticket, and I thought Gore showed quite a bit of political courage ... but my enthusiasm lasted about 30 minutes.
Strangely enough, when he ran for President himself, I remember remarking to my daughter that America would elect a black Christian male before it would ever elect a Jew (of any gender) or a woman.

jamie, I don't kow how good, but you are in company. If he's going to be on the tube, i move to a room with a cheap old rug and tv just in case I can't control the urge to hurl or hurl something at it.

Renee , are the Pistons and Celtics gonna go 7 games now? Looks that way.

Burden on Dean to bring harmony
Set to mediate Fla., Mich. issue
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/27/burden_on_dean_to_bring_harmony/

Soory for the typos....

Ever since CQ posted an article about General Odum's Grand Bargain with Iran, bloggers have been debating which side Obama would take. Most said that McCain and Hillary would advocate more of a Stick/Carrot approach and set some pre-conditions while creating intial leverage on talks with Iran. While Obama has talked about "tough diplomacy", he has been careful not to embrace the Odum approach.

Now it seems Zbig's article in WAPO advocates a position that Obama will be embracing. Just to be clear, Obama talked of nuking Iran back in 2004. Then he flipped position and called Hillary's Iran position Bush-like while talking tough to AIPAC.. Then he said he never said he would talk to Ahmadinejad and his advisor Rice said pretty much what Hillary had said, but added that Obama would work his way up the chain of Iranian officials eventually telling them that unless Iran stops supporting terror and enrichment, US force will be used as a last resort. What isn't clear are the many contradictions and what Obama's plan B and C rally are.

Now this:

http://armchairgeneralist.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/dealing-with-ir.html

Don't forget that Zbig baited the Soviets into Afghanistan and left the US unprepared to enforce his Carter Gulf Doctrine. Words are always easier to say than impliment. It appears Obama is heading the US towards the Grand Bargain and unlike Reagan has discarded verification or even visible rewards beyond allowing some US face (to only US voters) to pull US forces out of the region as Hamas and Hizb"Allah celebrate our departure.

Once this is all over, I can only hope the DNC draws up all the RULES and PUNISHMENTS in advance. High on my list of suggestions:

Don't start the contest so early

Work out a geographic rotation of several "super primaries"

Get rid of the weighted delegates

Get rid of the supers. They are more trouble than they are worth. Increase the number of delegates and force them to run just as they did before or give them "non voting" convention passes.

Max: Vis a vis foreign policy ... it seems to be that the wiser course would be the course politicians used to take ... outline a broad general princi