Some Obama supporters have truly entered a state that is referred to in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) as “Bat-shit Crazy.”

At the normally sane Hullabaloo we get this from D-Day:  Read more 

Campaign reform.

Not just that, but it’s high on my list. We need to fix a broken system.

Some required fixes:

1. End the caucuses. Secret ballot primaries only.

2. Regional primaries. Five of them, in rotation, beginning in February and ending in June. Iowa and New Hampshire can get in line with everyone else.

3. Closed primaries. Democrats should select our nominee.

4. Select the nominee by popular vote. Delegates should be used for other intra-party buisness at the convention, but let the voters select the nominee.

5. Campaign finance reform. The winner should not be selected based on who can raise the most obscene amount of money.  Read more 

I was reading one too many references to “Archie Bunkers” when it occurred to me that Archie is getting a bad rap.

Yeah, Archie was a bigot in 1971 when “All in the Family” went on the air, but he changed over the years.

From Wikipedia:  Read more 

John Cole has clearly OD’d on kool-aid:

Where do these wingnuts come up with this perception? I see the same sort of crap from the Hillary Clinton blogs and the pro-Clinton commenters- this notion that Obama supporters are somehow unaware that Barack Obama is GASP a politician.

He is a United States Senator. He is running for the highest political office in the land. He is a politician. We are aware of this. Trying to change the tone and tenor in Washington as well as how politics is conducted is not apolitical, and we are all aware of this. What we reject is the current status of our politics, not the notion of politics. What we see in Obama is a chance to change the nature of our current political mess.  Read more 

Last year Rolling Stone magazine published an article about Barack Obama called “Destiny’s Child” by Ben Wallace-Wells. The story deserves a second look, because at the time Obama was a virtual unknown to most of the public.

The piece begins with Obama’s arrival in Washington D.C., then shifts to his meteoric rise in the Democratic party:  Read more 

How did the Unity Pony become the most divisive Democratic Politician in recent history? The Scary Smart One explains:  Read more 

Once again we are presented with evidence that Barack Obama is not the special and transformational figure he is advertised to be. Christi Parsons tells the tale:

Joining Chelsea Clinton and other women leaders to campaign for Hillary Clinton today is Alice Palmer, the former state senator who picked Obama to be her successor back in the mid-90s. When she tried to reclaim her spot, though, Obama got her booted from the ballot.

For those of you who aren’t familar with Ms. Palmer’s story, it is detailed in the Chicago Tribune:  Read more 

Jake Tapper tells the tale:

In an interview with National Journal’s Linda Douglass, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe downplays the impact Obama’s race will have on any November match-up, saying “the vast, vast majority of voters who would not vote for Barack Obama in November based on race are probably firmly in John McCain’s camp already.”

Did Obama run out of Democrats to offend? Is this strategy part of the “party building” meme?

Will this be a chapter in How to Win Friends by Insulting People” by Barack Carnegie and Dale Obama?

Expect W.O.R.M. 1.0 by tomoorow morning.

Big Tent Democrat at Talk Left points out teh stupid:

Elizabeth Drew writing in Politico confirms what we have been seeing for months - the House Dem leadership is populated by fools. Consider this unforgivable ignorance:  Read more 

The OFB have been proclaiming quite loudly, even stridently, that Obama has already locked up the Democratic nomination and should now turn his efforts to defeating Senator McCain.

I think that is an excellent idea!

Barack Obama should immediately cease all fundraising for the primary, stop all advertising (television, radio and direct mail) and remove his name from the remaining primary ballots.

He has already decided to stop debating.

PocketNines’s diary:

So listen up, I am going to make this easy for you. Do not screw this up. Use the three obvious points, and use concrete examples, which I have helpfully provided for you. If you do not say these three things, you are a total failure as a surrogate.  Read more 

From WKJM:

Status Quo Ante  Read more 

From tomorrow’s NYT:

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.  Read more 

Bostonboomer has an interesting article about Obama the community organizer over at riverdaughter’s place, The Confluence.

I just want to highlight one portion, (quoting Ryan Lizza):  Read more 

Greg Sargent doesn’t get it:

Bloomberg News takes a look at what Hillary needs to do to earn a popular vote win, and finds that she basically needs to do the political equivalent of pitching a no-hitter, hitting for the cycle, and pulling an unassisted triple play — all in one game:

What these geniuses forget is that Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates, but not their votes.  Read more 

Since Barack Obama likes Jay-Z so much, and songs like “99 Problems (But a Bitch Ain’t One)” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” I think it’s only fair that we help her pick out some theme music.

Some suggestions:  Read more 

Let’s peer into the future and say “What if?”

What if we Democrats work out our differences, unite behind two candidates for President and Vice President, and head for victory in November? Let’s assume we increase our majority in the House of Representatives, and gain an unlikely six net seats in the Senate, giving us an effective 55-45 majority. “Your” candidate is now President. Will we all live happily ever after?

Not hardly.  Read more 

She does it again, with help from Paul Krugman:  Read more 

Much of the media and blogospheric discussion of “Bittergate” has focused on whether people really are bitter, or just pissed off. Obama and his sycophantic supporters have argued that what he said was essentially true, just inartfully phrased.

They don’t get it.

Underlying their arguments is the condescending attitude that there is something wrong with the people in the small towns of America. The OFB can’t understand why those stupid people don’t like Obama the way they do, or why rural Americans “vote against their economic interests” by voting for the GOP. They assume it must be a combination of ignorance and racism.  Read more 

This is just wrong.

We’ve all heard that Obama opened his mouth last week and inserted both feet. It was an unforced error and Hillary quite rightly called him on it, as did John McCain and the GOP media. The Blog Boiz have been having a hissy fit ever since.

But some people are using the right-wing tactic of blaming the messenger for the message. In this case the messenger was Mayhill Fowler, who attended the San Francisco fundraiser between Obama and some millionaire contributors.

In an article titled “Faux Obama Supporter Mayhill Fowler Smears Obama, Joseph Palermo at Arianna’s
Huff & Puff writes:  Read more 

I predict that regardless of what actually happens during tonight’s debate, immediately afterwards (if not sooner) the Boiz will hit the comments throughout Left Blogistan to proclaim that Obama not only won, he blew Hillary away.

“He was masterful, magnificent, and most excellent!

The election is over!”

Anyone want to bet?

(8pm EST on CNN)

Fauxgressive Randi Rhodes has resigned from Air America radio.

Via Shakesville:

A source at Air America, who asked to remain anonymous, said,

“Randi Rhodes refused to apologize for her obscene comments and has chosen instead to terminate her relationship with Air America.”

Now she decides to have principles.

Randi needs to learn that the right to say something doesn’t make what you say right.

Can someone explain this to me?

According to Tweety & the Gang, it’s no big deal for David Bellavia to compare Barack Obama to Tiger Woods, because Tiger is a great golfer.

But when Bill Clinton compared Barack Obama’s win in South Carolina to the earlier victories in South Carolina by Jesse Jackson, it was vile racism.

Survey USA, which has been the gold standard of polls this election season, just released their latest results for Pennsylvania.

Hillary leads Obama by 18 points. MyDD has more.

SUSA was the one that correctly predicted Hillary’s 10 point win in California when many others showed it to be a close race or even had Obama ahead.

Lou Dobbs puts the smackdown on Bill Schneider trying to spin the Democratic race.

Go watch, Res ipsa loquitor.