xtcian

Don't lose heart! Vermont is as white as a state as you can get, and by the logic that you express on your blog, you can argue that New England white seniors are as "racist" as the rest of the US white seniors, if Obama can win Vermont, it is a good sign. And, racism and misogyny seem to go hand in hand -- but the white guys like Edwards were eliminated pretty early.

I don't think McCain will win. Democrats are fed up, and I think that their day is coming.

My most recent epiphany is that Hillary = Duke U. Truly, you can't argue that Duke is not a good even great academic institution. And, their basketball team has an outstanding record of winning -- year after year. They (the Dookies) also demonstrate the kind of prize-fighter tenacity Hillary claims as her own. So, you have to give them props on all that. But they both seem driven to win at all costs and to feel that its the divine order of things for them to be on top. And, individuals or institutions that get in the way are promptly dispatched with. Contrast this with "the Carolina Way" -- humility, winning the right way, focusing on the team and being positive about the future. Equating Obama's campaign with UNC hoops may be stretching a metaphor. However, it helps me personally understand my visceral reaction to Hillary. It's just the same feeling I get when I see those sad little students jumping up and down at Cameron.

Sharon, while I, too, prefer Obama -- I disagree!

I see Bush = Duke and maybe even McCain (though he's probably more NC State).

But I know Hillary's on my side, working for the same things I believe in, even if I don't like the way she does it sometimes. So maybe Hillary = (choose your least favorite sorority at UNC).

Again, I prefer Obama, but there's no question I'd support Clinton if she won the nomination. What if Barack had never been in the race -- how do you think you would have felt about Hillary then?

While maybe the metaphor is a little stretched, Sharon's comparison is mostly brilliant. Hillary is smart, accomplished, motivated, passionate, and completely and utterly unlikable, just like all those hopping, Heil Hitler-saluting Cameron dookies. You thought Kerry and Gore and Dukakis were weak general election candidates?!? Holy crap, you ain't seen nuthin' yet if Hillary gets the nomination. She would be starting out with 50 percent or so of Americans *hating* her with the passion of a thousand suns (maybe that's not Hillary's fault, maybe it's not fair, but it's the freaking reality, so wake up you Democratic Party nominatin' goofs). How is that possibly tenable? Nobody *hated* Kerry or Dukakis, and they still got their butts kicked. The only thing I disagree with in Ian's blog today is where he says McCain beats Hillary by five points. It'll be 10. And in the count that actually matters (just ask Al), if it's McCain v. Clinton, Hillary wins New York, one or two small New England states, and what else? Maybe it's close in California, maybe. And even if I'm too pessimistic, just imagine the supremely nasty anti-Hillary commercials and rhetoric that will be flying for months. We will all be permanently slimed in an unfixable way. To paraphrase Robert Smith, we "will never be clean again." And maybe that's the "other" side's fault, but news flash -- we're all Americans, and ultimately we're all on the *same* side.

So Ian, here's my suggestion for you if you end up mostly sitting on the sidelines this fall. Spend the time working to help figure out how to create and sustain a meaningful third party and/or non-partisan approach to government in this country. 'Cause it's the uncompromising extremists -- in both parties -- that are *killing* this country. Not because of any particular opinion on any particular subject, per se, but because of their absolute refusal to nominate palatable candidates who are actually willing to work side-by-side with members of the opposite party to actually accomplish anything. Candidates of both parties are naturally obsessed with getting in and staying in office. The way they do that is to support their party machine at every turn, come hell or high water. But the core base of both parties is so obsessed with their own divisive issues that they completely lose the forest for the trees, and those people are the ones who get to pick the candidates for whom we vote every fall. This country needs to find a way to start electing people who will focus their energies on accomplishing progress in the 90 percent of areas in which we can all mostly agree (with the help of some positive, inspiring leadership) and stop wasting legislative time and money on the things on which we will never agree. Until the two party system is substantially changed or ended, we're all at a complete standstill, being un-led by the two-party Seussian North-bound Zax and South-bound Zax, permanently in opposition, never budging.

WOW!!!! an NC State reference!!!

BTW, for those unfamiliar with The Zax, here's three minutes and 17 seconds that will be well spent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfI9e4BX0lU

people are waking up to Obama and switching to Hillary

healthcare costs are so high because Obama's wife works at the hospital and is making over $250,000 a year, that is why healthcare costs are so high in America

if you want change, then you have to vote for Hillary, she has 35 years of experience while the only experience Obama has is stealing speeches from other politicans and taking as much money from the healthcare industry and lining his pockets with it, also - the Obama friend's corruption trial is getting underway in Chicago, people are realizing Obama is just corrupt with no ethics

if the over/under on how many points hillary would lose by is 10, i'm taking the over. huge.

if the over/under on how many points hillary would lose the general election by is 10, i'm taking the over. huge.

Jon writes about a way of campaigning and reaching across the isle that very much describes McCain. He takes every opportunity to slam extremists in the GOP on policy issues (torture, immigration) and even red meat jokes (Cunningham, Limbaugh, last night's Hillary heckler). He promises to run a respectful campaign and has backed it up at every turn so far. Can anyone say that of Hillary? McCain is on the "wrong" side of many issues for you guys, I know, but he's on the same side with many, too. Take heart, whatever happens in November, liberals' lot will get a lot better. He just may be the purple candidate y'all say you want.

I love this blog, but I will never understand its obsession with Duke-bashing. I'm an alum of both Duke (undergrad) and UNC (grad) and proud of both diplomas. I've been active in the Carolina alumni organization in Boston, and I hear the same comments from my fellow UNC alums here as I read on this blog. As someone who actually went to Duke - in fact, who came out there as a gay man in the Reagan/Bush 80's (which, believe me, was not fun) - I feel like I can actually talk from my own experience about what was negative and positive about the Duke experience. But I get a little mystified when I talk to UNC alums who have never even set foot on the Duke campus but get absolutely enraged at the school over what they see basketball fans do in Cameron on TV. I guess that reflects my deeper lack of understanding about the whole basketball thing.

In any case, I pretty easily ignore these comments most of the time. But "Bush=Duke?" "Heil Hitler saluting Cameron dookies?" Give me a break.

That said, I liked the post today. And as a former Hillary-supporter, now fully defected to Obama, I agree with you wholeheartedly, Ian.

i lOVE the duke comparison!

the hatred of duke (as much as i share in it) IS completely irrational. and completely polarizing. and that's why it's fun. i am not a UNC grad, but i have seen enough of it close up to know that part of the love of UNC IS the hatred of Duke, and visa versa. it makes the rivalry even more exciting for both.

which is why, jon, i have to disagree with the thing about hillary and her electability because she is hated - and i say this as a passionate obama supporter: i actually think that is a plus.

look at bush - *plenty* of people, lots of them, HATE him, and i think that is why he got elected twice (well, at least once...). no one hated kerry or dukakis, but no one loved them either. they were ok. which is why they lost. you have to be polarizing to win anymore, i think.

i *hope* that people love, love, love obama and , without the hate, he will still be the candidate and the president. but we shouldn't underestimate how much the hatred of a candidate (or a school) can actually propel them with force from the other side.

Cris, the "left-wing hate machine" is no more rational about its hate for Duke than it is with its hate for Republicans. McCain may agree with liberals on campaign finance reform, tax cuts, climate change, "torture", closing Guantanamo, giving foriegn terrorists captured on the battlefield the same constitutional rights as US citizens, and many others, but he has an "R" after his name so he puts the taste of vomit in liberals' mouths.

Here's an uplifting thought for some on this blog: While Hillary would probably never accept the VP slot on an Obama ticket, Obama might take an offer from Hillary. Though she may despise him, she worships power enough to make it palatable for her. I don't know if it would make enough of a difference in the outcome, but at least you'd get a ticket most Dems could love.

What put me over the edge on Hillary (I'm supporting Obama but was trying hard to maintain a "Hillary would be fine too, we're all Democrats" attitude) was her pronouncement that "I have years of experience. John McCain has years of experience. Barack Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." That did it for me. As Rachel Maddow said last night, that's what you say when you're trying to be McCain's VP, not the Democratic nominee. How dare Hillary Clinton endorse the Republican nominee over her Democratic opponent?

I guess I still don't hate her so I can't quite use the Duke metaphor, which I like very much. Cris, of course you can't understand why we feel the way we do about Duke -- you went there! I'm afraid that will have to remain one of life's little mysteries to you, but to those of us whose blood runs light blue, I can only say GO HEELS, BEAT DOOK, and thank you Ian for GOD BLESS THEM TAR HEEL BOYS!

Cris - Clearly there are tons of decent human beings who are also dook grads, and no doubt you are one of them. But you also clearly are not much of a dook basketball fan (a plus in my book), at least not in a fanatical sense. A few points to consider: When I say "Heil Hitler-saluting Cameron dookies," that is a specific reference to the kameron krazies' most kommon and frequent cheer (clap, clap, "Let's go dook") that, when they raise their arms in the air in cult-like unison, unquestionably resembles visually a Heil Hitler salute. I do not mean to imply in any way that kameron krazies are *actually* Nazis, but rather that their idiotic cheer and cult-like devotion to one nasty SOB of a leader are visually reminiscent of Third Reich patriotic fervor. Next, let's talk about dook's second-most common cheer. Any idea what it is? Obviously not. It's "Go to hell Carolina, go to hell." And this cheer is not reserved just for when dook is actually playing Carolina, if you ever watch a dook home game on TV or in person, you will hear that cheer. They could be playing Alabama A&M, it doesn't matter. As a celebratory cry during that game, the kameron krazies will break out in "Go to hell Carolina, go to hell." Further, I can't speak for all of the dook bashers who hang out here, but I can assure you that Ian, me, and plenty of others here have spent lots of time on the dook campus. and it's a lovely campus (if you don't mind a pretentious campus that wants you to think it's 300 years old, when actually it was bought and built by 20th century tobacco money - sorry, couldn't resist). To be honest, not one, but two of my favorite classes at Carolina were taught by dook professors. So sure, there's lots of upside to dook. It's a fine academic institution. But when it comes to dook's men's basketball team? Not so much. I think most of the specific dook-venom here is generally reserved for the basketball program and its silver-spoon, country club-in-training obnoxious student fans. The same people who grow up, in large percentages, to work their asses off to make sure you'll never get to marry your partner, if you were so inclined.

Matt - I agree with you about McCain, and I'm very hopeful he will run a reasonable and thoughtful campaign (though there will be plenty of non-McCain attack dogs out in full force, of course). If it's Obama v. McCain, I'm voting for Obama, but if it's Clinton v. McCain, I'm taking a long hard look at both candidates. Yes, policy-wise I agree way more with Hillary than McCain, but since my number one issue is bringing people together to accomplish things, that means I'd be a fool if I didn't at least consider McCain. Because Hillary will not be able to accomplish a thing as President. So what if she agrees with me if she can't accomplish anything?

DeniseD - Forgive me if I just haven't seen you around here before, but your sudden appearance and wild-eyed, half-baked, punctuation-averse statements sure make you sound like a Clinton Campaign underling assigned to anonymous web-based smear tactics. If that's the case then congratulations Ian, you're big enough to be on their radar screen!

Cris, you asked what was probably a rhetorical question, but I want to help enlighten you as to why so many of us take great pride in bashing dook. For the record, I think you're a "plant"--one of my friends on this list just trying to ruffle my feathers. I went to Carolina for both undergrad and grad school and I've also been to dook on many, many occasions. In fact, I was in cameron the night they won their first national championship in 1991.

It starts with the coach, that sniveling rat bastard. The guy who is a role model for young men, but whose coaching proteges (Amacker and Snyder) had numerous coaching infractions, each costing them jobs; with Amacker's latest stunts bringing shame at Harvard, of all places.

The same not-a-man that won't start his seniors in their final home game (against Carolina) if there is too much riding on the game. Nothing says thanks for 4 years of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes like sitting the bench in your final home game while Carolina starts every senior Walk-on Jones or Walk-on Smith in their final home game every year--always.

The same man who films a commercial in his gym, with his players' highlights and his coaches and then is shocked, SHOCKED that others see it as a recruiting advantage and call him out on it.

The same man who abandons . . . A-fucking-BAN-DONS . . . his team in 1995 with an alleged back [nervous breakdown] injury because he didn't have any talent or not enough talent to tough it out. "Thanks Jeff Capel, thanks Cherokee, but you're on your own. Oh yeah, and I'm going to throw the admirable Pete Gaudet out on his ass when I get healed enough to host the NCAA tournament studio shows with my buddies at CBS a week after the season ends."

The same little bitch who took a bunch of college newspaper reporters into a closed locker room and ripped their heads off for having the "audacity" to grade his team in a sports column for the student paper.

That's the prick that is the face of dook university. Cris, you lived through this and you got into Carolina's grad program. You've got to be a smart guy. How can you not know these things?

Carolina may not be perfect. The Doherty era--both his coaching ways and his awkward termination--weren't Carolina's best shining moment. But you really can't debate the class, character and behavior of men like Smith, Guthridge and Williams.

That, in a little nutshell, is part of the reason why we hate dook.

Would I call dookies "Heil Hitler saluting crazies?" No.

But you have to admit the uncanny resemblance between K and the diminutive little dictator. Same snarly/scary smile. Same dyed black hair. Same tantrums on the sidelines. If you loaned K Charlie Chaplin's moustache . . . I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Hell judge for yourself. Look at this recent video of Hitler after the NFC Playoffs and see if it doesn't remind you of a certain NCAA basketball coach whining to the refs when one of his players' flops doesn't get called a charge: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vYu68SHWh64

Take courage, Ian. The truth is, Clinton did not come back from the dead last night. This was her last, best shot at erasing Obama's delegate lead, and she didn't do it.

She's in the position of a basketball team that was down by 32 points, had a decent run and is now down by 26 points, with 5 minutes to play. Obama's still our nominee.

In fact, this is Clinton's big chance to bow out on a high note, and to do it gracefully. If she doesn't, she'll be the one who loses by it, not Obama.

Why people are acting as if Obama just lost the kitchen sink is beyond me. He did exactly what he had to do. Doing more than that would have been nice, but I'll settle for running out the clock.

Nope, Cris is not a plant. He went to high school with Tessa and one of the nicest guys on the planet. He's with Scotty and Lars on my Can't Help Lovin' That Dookie of Mine list.

That and Kris Richardson. Jon, Chip, any of you know where she is?

I heart GFWD!!!!! Now I'm all fired up for Saturday's game...aaaaaaannnnd it's Wednesday.

It's pretty cool that my NC primary vote might actually matter for a change -

Borrowing from The 40-Year Old Virgin . . .

Hey, Chris, wanna know how I know you're gay (other than you admitting it)?

Because you went to Carolina and DONT hate dook.

dh

I can't help but chuckle when those of you on the left side of the aisle are learning what those on the right are saying has been going on for years:

1. The Clintons are all about the Clintons. Those of you who are hoping Hillary will just graciously step aside and unite the party are dreaming. She may go down, but she will go down hard and ugly, kicking and screaming. This woman has been plotting her ascension to the presidency for at least 16 years and if you think she's going to be usurped by some wet-behind-the-ears cream puff, think again. She will say or do anything to get elected (see the 3 A.M. ad).

2. Sucks when you are on the other end of the celebrity treatment, doesn't it, Hillary? In many ways, Bill Clinton's time in office was not as much about being president as it was being a celebrity. Great care was made to separate his personal approval (e.g. hummers IN the oval Office) from his job approval. His extra-marital affair with a subordinate was treated with the kind of tabloid lens that we now associate with Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. This time Mrs. Clinton, as the established person, has had to watch as Obama gets the celebrity treatment. She correctly argued that he has been handled with kid gloves by the media and to win she must expose him for the lightweight that he is. While this kind of infighting may damage the party's hopes and give red meat to the Repubs, well, see point #1.

3. I laugh about when I read about "delegate counts" and Obama's edge there. You mean, kind of like when Repubs win 34 of 51 states and tout the electoral college? Hillary is taking the classic Dem approach of trying to win the big states - and pretty much with the exception of Illinois (gee, win your home state - why didn't YOU think of that, Al Gore?) has done that. It's funny to see the spin coming out today: the Obama people are trying to say it's over by virtue of the number of delegates, but basically he could have knocked her out yesterday and whiffed. Don't believe the Obama hype - this is a big setback for Obama; meanwhile winning Ohio and Texas after 10 straight losses was HUGE for Hillary and puts him on the defensive. Now they get to beat each other's brains out for the next few weeks until PA.

4. All of this may be moot anyway, because it will all come down to the superdelegates. Neither one can win it outright on delegate count, and as long as Hillary stays within 10% of Obama's elected delegate count, she is viable. If she wins PA and one or two more and goes into the convention on a winning streak, or having taken 5 out of the last 6, then she can argue she is the hot candidate no matter the delegate count.

Hmmm. Michelle Obama's salary doesn't raise my eyebrow one bit. Take her job requirements/duties and translate them to Corporate America and see what kind of salary she could demand. I'm sure she has brought in more money in donations, grants, and exposure than what they pay her. Just because someone works for a nonprofit entity doesn't mean they should work for free. The CEO of Habitat makes one tenth what most corporate CEO's but should we tsk tsk at his six figure salary and pay him minimum wage?

I've been thinking about it, and can anyone explain to me how the 3 am ad is "reprehensible"? Isn't exactly the kind of thing a president has to deal with and a legitimate question when considering a candidate? Are we supposed to pretend nothing like that will ever happen? The complaints sound like someone who knows their candidate is weak on this point. I think that's the message voters are getting from Obama's and his supporters complaints.

As far as the Hillary/Duke thing, how mad does it make y'all that CNN has made Hillary's color Carolina blue!!!

Everytime I look at projections, I get so mad Barack didn't get the right color.

On a serious note, last night wasn't great, but it's not over. Hillary's not going away, but that doesn't mean she's getting the nomination.

Go Heels and Go Obama!!!

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/10/080310fa_fact_collins

mrs. obama profile in the new yorker. (pre-TX/OH) addresses the salary issue (she got a huge bump when he was elected to the Senate) and worth a read for a host of other reasons.

P.S. Obama leads Hillary by 90 delegates (1466 to 1376). That's only 3.2% of the taken delegates, hardly a huge lead.

First of all, we should be ecstatic that we have two viable candidates battling it out for the honor to lead our party. The numbers of people voting is staggering and is extremely moving to me. After decades of disengagement, people are more passionate and jazzed by this election. With all due respect to many of the posts, its a contact for arguably the most powerful position in the world and NOT a local basketball rivalry.

As a supporter of Hillary, I have always contended that while I would prefer to see her as the nominee, I would equally be happy and ready to support Obama if the party and the people decide he is the candidate. What i hear repeatedly is a cruelty from my fellow party members around Hillary if the opposite were true.

I have chose to be a Democrat because of the basic principles of the party square with my own. Both these candidates embody the principles of the party. They are good people with good policies and BOTH want to win. To suggest that Hillary is not 'playing by the rules" is silly.

This has been the least negative race in my memory. Both candidates have been respectful of each other. The "3 am call" ad you refer to is absolutely fair play. The issue that Hillary has been trying to sell herself on is that she has more experience and is better prepared to hit the ground running on day one. You can agree or disagree with that statement but it is not like she has crossed some imaginary line. Some say its fear mongering but I don't see it that way.

The Obama supporters seem to hold him in such esteem that anyone raising difficult challenges to him are wildly insulted. Well, if he is our parties nominee , he will be facing a LOT stronger challenge from the Karl Rove devotees. This has been child's play so far and if he cant handle these light body blows he will surely not survive the actual prize fight.

I watched both Hillary and Obama's speeches last night. It seemed that Hillary has cast herself as the worker and Obama has chosen the role of poet. The shift that happened last nite, clearly a reason why Hillary carried Ohio, was demostrated in their language. I couldn't help but think that she was speaking to blue collar america and he was speaking to white collar america. Short simple sentences vs long beautiful metaphoric speech. She is waging a scrappy schoolyard fight and he is appealing to our higher angels.

As happened with Bill Clinton, it seems "it about the economy stupid" is again the issue. As the news on the economy continues to go from bad to worse, Hillary will do better. People are afraid. Seriously afraid. Not about the boogyman of terrorism but the boogeyman of foreclosure, high gas prices, health care costs, and the price of milk. Hillary's recent surge has more to do with that then a questionable political ad.

Those of us that are lucky enough to be able to weather this serious economic crisis we are just beginning to slide into can be moved by the soaring speeches. But i fear those that are hanging on by a thread are too busy calming the voices of dread inside their heads to hear Obama's poetry.

As Brecht said , "First fill my belly, then talk to me of morals".

Paul, you need to watch MSNBC for your political coverage. Obama is Carolina blue and Hillary is that dookier shade. Much more satisfying.

I am loving these comments that remind me why -- despite the fact that my grandfather, father, brother, and most of the paternal side of my family went there -- I hate Duke. Go Heels!

Zel, you almost had me.

Then you said "Hillary" and "hot" in the same sentence.

Now I'm just trying to keep my lunch down. It's like imagining my mother trying to breakdance.

Thanks, Campbell.

MSNBC, here I come!!!

I feel like Carolina is the guardian that keeps dook's poison away from the rest of the world.

If anybody needs koozies or shirts (besides Ian's, www.cafepress.com/xtcian.17660684), my friend runs a website for all your Duke/dook hating needs, www.dukereallysucks.com.

Go Heels!!!

dean smith for president.

Team Clinton just got another month to do everything it can to take down Obama. She needs to, in a sense, disqualfy him. Call it Swift Boating or whatever you like, but we've seen it over and over. Remember Gary Hart?

On the other hand, Obama has a month to dredge up some of Hil and Bill's dirt. There is so much muck to be raked. One thing is for sure -- there will be blood.

@Piglet:

Ha ha ha! My bad - I ddin't catch that one!

@Matt:

Thanks for backing up my point - 90 delegate lead for Obama and yet the BO spin machine has it like she is behind by 300.

Lead is 90 with 800 superdelegates out there. If she can get 450 to his 350, then it's Hillary!

@ChrisM:

You're right, but there's already been so much dirt on Team Clinton that it just fades into the din. Obama is much more vulnerable on that account.

I'd go into why I think the "3am" ad is reprehensible, but... oh man, can't someone else do it? My wife and daughter are sick (along with 40% of the country).

i don't think the 3am ad is "reprehensible" exactly, but it is way disingenuous. the ad implies that she, rather than BO, has the requisite experience in dealing with matters of national security to make her the more legit candidate. he has to pin her down / call her out about the specific foreign policy and national security experience she claims (she doesn't really have any - i don't care how many speeches she has made in other countries) and then the empress will be left without clothes on this issue.

1 - blatant nixon plagarism (nixon, of all people, in the middle of the friggin cold war)

2 - character assassination, i.e., obama is so weak and incompetant that he will let your children die

3 - does not address any specific example of the way obama has voted or actual evidence about him

4 - does not address any specific example of the way hillary has voted or actual evidence about her

5 - rove-esquely plays up non-specific fear of *something bad* is hovering around every corner and only the big brother political machinists can save you

6 - plays on idea that children are non-specifically *safe* with the old white lady and *unsafe* with the young black guy

7 - negative campaigning against person in your own party who at least 1/2 the party wants to lead the country

8 - cowardly

9 - mean-spirited

10 - doesn't even show hillary herself until the very end fo the ad

xuxE,

Thanks for the reply, but...

5) The ad doesn't suggest something bad is lurking around every corner, merely that when the call comes, who do you want to answer it, the experienced veteran or the silver-tongued upstart?Sounds like a fair comparison to draw.

6) How does race come into it at all? Isn't that rather the product of your over active imagination and paranoia? If that ad plays on race, what wouldn't?

The rest of the reasons seem as if they could apply to any negative ad (this one was pretty mild, BTW) and any candidate. It seems like an argument against drawing comparisons, especially ones that your candidate doesn't like. But maybe I'm wrong and just not seeing it. I'm a knuckle-dragging conservative, afterall.

Fr. Cathie, your own parish! It looks like a great church.

Now this is funny:

http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-0403walt-toon,0,7505740.flash

The funniest line is the "old interns" line and Bill's reaction.

actually, in today's climate i think it is important to be specific. what exactly does obama or hillary have to do at 3AM when they are woken up by the bat phone? advanced calculus? do they have to diagram intricate naval maneuvers? do they have to make a choice between screaming "SAVE THE CHILDREN!!!" or "BRING IT ON!!!" it's about as clear as the rumsfeld multicolor warning system of bullshit.

i can't even begin the racism answer for you, you'd have to actually be tuned in racist messaging to have an intelligent dialogue about it. all of us "soft on crime" left wing folks will have to just talk amongst ourselves on this one. you could maybe pick up an anti-racism primer, maybe start listening to some krs-one or watch some spike lee movies, start with some anti-racism kindergarten steps and we'll pick up the discussion when you get to like 8th grade level on it.

Did anyone read about Rush & Co. telling Republicans in Texas to vote for HIllary? ...to keep the Democratic primary running on and increase the bloodbath? I didn't know about this until today when several people told me they diligently followed instructions, "pimped themselves out", and voted for Hillary. We have open primaries in Texas where anyone can vote for either party.

xuxE,

There's no way that ad is racist. You are basically saying that no one call a black person inexperienced without being fascist. It's absolutely ludicrous, and one reason why anyone making such a case cannot be taken serious.

Sorry we couldn't have an intelligent discussion, and I'm even more certain now that there's nothing out of bounds with that ad. Now, back to Mo' Better Blues.

Correction: Not "fascist" but "racist." Stupid iPhone spell correction.

Ian, what is your connection/interest in Larry Kissel? Just curious because he is in my Mom's district I think. I'm impressed by the breadth and depth of your political interest!

Have you all heard about this Obama skin darkening thing by the Hillary campaign? I can't believe the MSM isn't covering this. Or maybe I can. Anyway, get your outrage on.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/4/21311/85811/447/468408

mmm hmmm

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11patterson.html?em&ex=1205380800&en=2a03d1b410beb859&ei=5087%0A