Democrat Delegate Count

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You Got to Love This Debate Moment

GO HERE to relive the magic moment when Hillary and Barak were zapping each other (although, I do believe Barak had the best "zap" -- heh heh, Hillary, so you were a corporate lawyer on the Board at Walmart?)

Fight the Lies, Part Deux

As a follow-up to my post below, "Fight the Lies..."

Obama takes on question of faith

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama is stepping up his effort to correct the misconception that he's a Muslim now that the presidential campaign has hit the Bible Belt.

...Obama tried to set the record straight from an attack circulating widely on the Internet that is designed to play into prejudices against Muslims and fears of terrorism.

"I've been to the same church — the same Christian church — for almost 20 years," Obama said, stressing the word Christian and drawing cheers from the faithful in reply. "I was sworn in with my hand on the family Bible. Whenever I'm in the United States Senate, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. So if you get some silly e-mail ... send it back to whoever sent it and tell them this is all crazy. Educate."

Obama is referring to a debunked chain e-mail circulating widely on the Internet that suggests he is hiding his Islamic roots and may be a terrorist in disguise. It says he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran and turns his back on the flag during the pledge.

There are some truths in the e-mail's details. Obama's middle name is Hussein. His father and stepfather were Muslim. And he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, a largely Muslim country. But he attended secular and Catholic schools, not a radical madrassa.

His campaign has been pushing back against the false rumors all year. His aides decried an incorrect news report that Obama was educated in a Muslim madrassa and a section of his Web site is devoted to correct that and other false rumors circulating on the Internet.

But they are stepping up the effort now that the campaign has hit South Carolina and soon turns to other southern states where religion is so important to voters. The campaign distributed an open letter from seven Jewish senators this weekend condemning the attacks; aides are planning an event this week to respond directly to the e-mails; and campaign representatives blanketed South Carolina churches Sunday with literature that touted Obama's Christian faith.

MORE...

The campaign of lies against Barak Obama reveals the desperation and fear felt by his opponents. To have to resort to such ridiculous lies... have they nothing of substance of their own? Nothing to recommend themselves? No truth of their own to say, "Here, this is why you should vote our way..."

The Great Republican Screw-Up in California

Has the Republican Party really, truly been 100% infested by morons? Who thought this was a great idea? I used to think that the Bush Cabal had merely strong-armed itself into power but this sounds like the party as a whole has gone over to the Stupid Side (possibly even worse than the Dark Side, because at least then there'd be some intelligence at work even if for evil purpose).

I also used to think of the Democrats as the political party bent on self-destruction but now it seems the Republican Party has overtaken them in that particular race, too.

This will no doubt delight many Democrats but it really is not a good thing for America. I truly believe the bulk of the regular folks who are registered Republicans are basically the same as the bulk of the just plain folks who are registered Democrats. Families, working people, individuals trying to keep one foot in front of the other, trying to muddle through Life with some little measure of security and comfort.

Some folks think being a Republican is the surest way to arrive at their destination while others think being a Democrat is the way.

It's only because I think leadership in both parties is so mired in the doo-doo that they no longer hear the voices of the people (like me) that I no longer feel any loyalty to any political party. They're all full of shit.

But, when it comes to elections, it's independents like me that need convincing that one candidate or another, one political party or another, is the right choice for this country.

You see, it's precisely because I love my country that I'm an independent. Being independent doesn't always have to mean every act, every thought, every vote is a protest against one party or another.

And now, the Republicans have declared they don't want me. They don't need me. The vote of independents is of no consequence to the Republican Party. At all.

Okey-doke. If that's how they really want it...

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES:

Shut out by GOP, independents may tilt Democratic

SAN MATEO -- -- Medea Bern, once a registered Republican, is one of a growing number of California voters who shun party membership and declare themselves independent. In the upcoming presidential election, that makes her the kind of voter all the candidates would like to reach.

But when it comes to California's Feb. 5 primary, there is only one major party where she's welcome: the Democratic Party. She isn't allowed to cast her ballot in the Republican primary, and that upsets her.

She might be inclined to vote for Republican Sen. John McCain, but instead finds herself weighing a choice between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"It really makes me mad," she said. "I haven't decided which candidate to vote for, but I'm not happy that my voice is eliminated on the Republican side. Don't they trust the independent vote?"

Unlike the New Hampshire primary, where huge numbers of independents were embraced by both parties, California's independents will be limited to the Democratic or American Independent Party primaries.Some political analysts -- including some Republicans -- say the California Republican Party blundered when it decided last year that only registered Republicans could vote in its presidential primary, unlike 2004.

"It's pretty hard to build a big tent if you don't let anybody else in," said Dan Schnur, a veteran Republican political consultant. "It doesn't make sense for a party that wants to and needs to broaden its base to throw this kind of obstacle in the path of an independent voter who wants to hang out with us."

Not surprisingly, the Democratic Party is delighted at the prospect of attracting hundreds of thousands of independents to vote for one of its candidates next month. Democratic strategists believe that an independent who votes Democratic in February is likely to vote for a Democratic candidate in November too.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Obama pulls ahead for Democrats in Iowa Poll

I think we are seeing a contest between Obama's "positives" versus Clinton's "negatives." Obama's main positive point is that he makes a good showing for himself as an advocate of the American family because he, himself, is a family man and treasures his loved ones. Every time he talks, this comes through and it makes people take notice of this guy.

Hillary's main negatives are that she is thought of as almost a carbon copy of George Bush when it comes to Iraq and that a vote for her is a vote for George Bush's policies and the country is sick unto death of that.

She's also got a huge negative in being thought of as a major player in the Slime Machine of American Politics. She's not much more than pond scum when it comes to that and the only thing beneath her are the scum who have actually been convicted of corruption. Never mind that they're Republicans - all pond scum is starting to look alike anymore.

If Obama gets caught with a mistress or Hillary can vault herself out of the pond and show clear evidence of having a conscience, then things may change.

Unfortunately for Obama, his JFK-esque fresh image also makes the average person wonder if he's a bit too pure for Washington and world politics. Once there, could he kick ass?

Anyway, have a peek at what the Des Moines Register has t o say:

Barack Obama has pulled ahead in the race for Iowa's Democratic presidential caucuses, while the party's national frontrunner Hillary Clinton has slipped to second in the leadoff nominating state, according to The Des Moines Register's new Iowa Poll.

Despite the movement, the race for 2008's opening nominating contest remains very competitive about a month before the Jan. 3 caucuses, just over half of likely caucusgoers who favor a candidate saying they could change their minds.

...The lead change appears after weeks of increasing criticism of Clinton by Obama and Edwards about her position on U.S. policy toward Iran and questions of her candor.

Meanwhile, Clinton has recently begun accusing Obama of inexperience and criticizing his proposal to expand health insurance coverage.

The poll shows what has continued to be a wide gap between the top three candidates and the remainder of the field.

READ MORE OF THE ARTICLE HERE

Resign-O-Rama: GOP Woes Worsen

Lott's Departure Precedes Ethics Restrictions
Veteran Republicans Opt Out, Making 2008 a Tougher Fight

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., is calling it quits only one year into his six-year term, giving Republican leaders one more headache as they head into an already tough 2008 election cycle.

Lott announced in Pascagoula Monday that he would resign from the Senate before the end of the year, becoming the latest in a string of prominent Republican lawmakers to leave Congress.

In the Senate, GOP veterans John Warner of Virginia, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Pete Domenici of New Mexico and Wayne Allard of Colorado have all, for various reasons, already decided not to seek re-election.
Those departures are more troublesome than Lott's for Republicans because Warner, Hagel, Domenici and Allard are all from battleground states.

Lott and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Ida., who opted not to resign after an embarrassing scandal but will not run for re-election next year, are both from states considered reliably Republican.

LINK

I think some of this Republican exodus is due, in part, to people trying to preserve a "personal legacy" as a lawmaker or prominent American and nobody wants their name and their body of life work to be intimately associated with Bush or even the official tie-in to the Republican Party at this time in our country's history. They have some realization that history will not be kind to Bush and his bots.

Well, and in ol' Trent's case he's got a fat lobbying career ahead of him and he has to skedaddle out of Washington to beat a deadline in order to transition to lobbyist.

The Religious Right vs. The Religious Right

Ha ha ha... you just know it's not going to be pretty for the radical right-wing haters when all the little bots have lost their way and they scurry about looking for someone to program them but the Programmers-in-Chief (that would be Dick Cheney and his Dubya sock puppet) are a bit preoccupied with other matters like trying to squirm out of culpability for their crimes against the American people and humanity.

It seems the religious right wing is not going to break in a solid voting bloc for any of the Republican candidates. They're each going their own way as what passes for leadership of what used to be a powerful force in American politics has run out of juice. It is no more. The dark days are coming to an end. Hallelujah.

Pat Robertson and Rudy "I Swear I Didn't Know My Partner Was in Bed with the Mafia" Guiliani make strange bedfellows indeed.

So here's an article on the theme of "Religious Right vs. Religious Right" for you to peruse: New concerns crack unity of religious right - a story of the *gasp!* diversity of opinion to be found at Liberty University.

Are the students at Jerry Falwell's "university" not swallowing their talking-point-daily-vitamins? Who let them know they had their own minds and a right to exercise them? This is NOT ALLOWED in Right-Wing Extremist World.

Oh my... 2008 is not going to be a good year for the haters and the greedy ones.

Rudy Loves Bernie

Enough said.

Hannity & Dobson on Guiliani

A case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, perhaps? Dobson all but declares himself an advocate of Hillary Clinton for President because that would be better than the Republican candidate that he hasn't personally selected for you and me and the rest of America. Poor, poor deluded Sean Hannity. He's actually quite pitiful in this video -- almost crying over trying to convince Dobson not to say/do whatever it takes to get Hillary elected.

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Dancing Hillary

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