Super Delegates To Determine Nominee

post from Open Left - Front Page on 04 February 2008 09:23:25 AM. © Open Left - Front Page

It can no longer be avoided: super delegates will determine the Democratic Presidential nominee[...]

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Last Minute: Hillary's Townhall, and Obama
Servers Overwhelmed

post from Open Left - Front Page on 04 February 2008 09:14:58 AM. © Open Left - Front Page

There's an interesting mad dash to the finish. I just got an email from WesPAC announcing a[...]

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ThinkFast: February 4, 2008

post from Think Progress on 04 February 2008 09:02:00 AM. © Think Progress

The New York Times writes that the Sunday morning public affairs shows “are careless about bias.” Their “experts are supposed to be impartial, but it is left to viewers to parse their complicated pedigrees and entwined political obligations. It’s not that they have nothing to say, it’s that what they say is not accompanied by an asterisk.”

60 percent: Americans who “think the economy’s already in a recession” while “two-thirds doubt that a government stimulus package will soften the blow,” according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. In total, 81 percent believe the economy is “in bad shape, the most since 1993.”

The White House will release its FY 2009 budget today. CQ reports that the document is “expected to project a deficit in the $400 billion range for fiscal 2008 and 2009. That would be more than double the $163 billion in red ink from fiscal 2007.”

“The cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined could rise to just under $900 billion by next spring and could near the $1 trillion mark by the end of 2009.” Congress has authorized $691 billion in war spending since 2001.

Speaking to a crowd in Florida over the weekend, Karl Rove admitted that he was a “bit of a hothead” while working for President Bush. Rove also compared Bush to Lincoln in his ability to “get to the nub of the thing.”

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They Lost Vince Fumo’s Homework

post from All Spin Zone on 04 February 2008 09:02:00 AM. © All Spin Zone

We've got corruption right here between the Schuylkill and the Delaware. Yes, right here in Philly, and the indictments are filed under the name of Vince Fumo. This time it seems, conveniently, the records pertaining to one aspect of the 139 count indictment against him have been lost.

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Risperidone Long-Acting Injection (RLAI) for
Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

post from Edward J. Renehan Jr. on 04 February 2008 08:57:00 AM. © Edward J. Renehan Jr.

Another new therapy with hopeful results in clinical trials:

MONTREUX, Switzerland, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients withfrequently relapsing bipolar disorder had a significant delay in thetime to an initial relapse when risperidone long-acting injection(RLAI) was combined with standard treatment, according to a new study.The study compared patients who received RLAI and standard treatment tothose who received standard treatment combined with placebo.
The study was presented yesterday at the 14th Biennial WinterWorkshop on Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders in Montreux,Switzerland.(1) This one-year, phase 3, trial is the firstplacebo-controlled study to explore the use of a long-acting injectionmedication in the maintenance treatment of frequently relapsing bipolardisorder (FRBD). FRBD, defined as four or more manic or depressiveepisodes in the previous year that require a doctor's care, may affect20% of the 27 million people with bipolar disorder worldwide(2,3). ...

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5 years in captivity made John McCain a hero. It
also may have made him nuts.

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 04 February 2008 08:52:00 AM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

John McCain's awful temper has been talked about for a long time. Well, it's still being talked about and his campaign has had to declare that John McCain does NOT wake up every day and think "I have to control my temper." Well that's reassuring. The Washington Post delves into the issue, and how some of McCain's Senate colleagues think McCain isn't quite presidential material as a result:

[O]thers have outright rejected the idea of a McCain nomination and presidency, warning that his tirades suggest a temperament unfit for the Oval Office.

"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), also a senior member of the Appropriations panel, told the Boston Globe recently. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

Romney, of all people, has documented some of McCain's more out of control moments in the US Senate:

Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And "Screamed, 'F*ck You!' At Texas Sen. John Cornyn" (R-TX).
"Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, 'F--- you!' at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. 'This is chickens---stuff,' McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. 'You've always been against this bill, and you're just trying to derail it.'" (Charles Hurt, "Raising McCain," New York Post, 5/19/07)

More of McCain's madness after the jump...

Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) An "A**hole", Causing A Fellow GOP Senator To Say, "I Didn't Want This Guy Anywhere Near A Trigger."
"Why can't McCain win the votes of his own colleagues? To explain, a Republican senator tells this story: at a GOP meeting last fall, McCain erupted out of the blue at the respected Budget Committee chairman, Pete Domenici, saying, 'Only an a--hole would put together a budget like this.' Offended, Domenici stood up and gave a dignified, restrained speech about how in all his years in the Senate, through many heated debates, no one had ever called him that. Another senator might have taken the moment to check his temper. But McCain went on: 'I wouldn't call you an a--hole unless you really were an a--hole.' The Republican senator witnessing the scene had considered supporting McCain for president, but changed his mind. 'I decided,' the senator told Newsweek, 'I didn't want this guy anywhere near a trigger.'" (Evan Thomas, et al., "Senator Hothead," Newsweek, 2/21/00)

Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A "F*cking Jerk."
"Senators are not used to having their intelligence or integrity challenged by another senator. 'Are you calling me stupid?' Sen. Chuck Grassley once inquired during a debate with McCain over the fate of the Vietnam MIAs, according to a source who was present. 'No,' replied McCain, 'I'm calling you a f---ing jerk!' (Grassley and McCain had no comment.)" (Evan Thomas, et al., "Senator Hothead," Newsweek, 2/21/00)

In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A "Scuffle" With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor.
"In January 1995, McCain was midway through an opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when chairman Strom Thurmond asked, 'Is the senator about through?' McCain glared at Thurmond, thanked him for his 'courtesy' (translation: buzz off), and continued on. McCain later confronted Thurmond on the Senate floor. A scuffle ensued, and the two didn't part friends." (Harry Jaffe, "Senator Hothead," The Washingtonian, 2/97)

Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Republican Volunteer.
"It was election night 1986, and John McCain had just been elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time. Even so, he was not in a good mood. McCain was yelling at the top of his lungs and poking the chest of a young Republican volunteer who had set up a lectern that was too tall for the 5-foot-9 politician to be seen to advantage, according to a witness to the outburst. 'Here this poor guy is thinking he has done a good job, and he gets a new butt ripped because McCain didn't look good on television,' Jon Hinz told a reporter Thursday. At the time, Hinz was executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. ... Hinz said McCain's treatment of the young campaign worker in 1986 troubled him for years. 'There were an awful lot of people in the room,' Hinz recalled. 'You'd have to stick cotton in your ears not to hear it. He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face. It wasn't right, and I was very upset at him.'" (Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, "Stories Surface On Senator's Demeanor," The Arizona Republic, 11/5/99)

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Tsunami Tuesday: Polls and Delegates

post from TalkLeft on 04 February 2008 08:50:00 AM. © TalkLeft

USA Today/Gallup, CBS/New York Times and McClatchey/MSNBC have new polling results. The full CBS Democratic poll is here (pdf).

Nationally, Hillary and Obama are close to being tied. CBS says Hillary is substantially ahead in the Super Tuesday states:

Among voters in those states, she leads Obama, 49 percent to 31 percent, with 16 percent still undecided.

Clinton also holds a big edge on the issue of most concern to Democratic voters: the economy. Nearly 60 percent say she would do a better job of managing the economy than Obama. However, more than two-thirds of Democratic voters see the policy differences between the two candidates as minor.

McClatchy-MSNBC polled 9 states, and found Hillary ahead in all but Georgia. (Remember the maps showing the Florida counties won by Obama? All 9 were in the most northern part of the state, 7 bordered on Georgia and 1 on Alabama.)

More...

Turnout could make a difference because of the way Democratic delegates are counted. Obama is hoping for a big youth and African American turnout.

Democrats award delegates based on the percentage of votes candidates receive in congressional districts across the country. As a result, placing second can still earn a candidate delegates.

On Tuesday, 1,681 delegates will be awarded of the 2,025 necessary to win the Democratic nomination.

While I think Hillary will win California and New York, Obama likely will pick up a lot of delegates and I expect he will win some other states besides Georgia, despite what the polls say.

Bottom line: Neither Hillary nor Obama may clinch the nomination on Feb. 5. Obama's got a lot of momentum and is getting a lot more media play than Hillary. But he also has a lot of ground to catch up. I think it will be very close.

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Losing the Argument

Spending all day on the internets as I do I come across plenty of candidate supporters. While I've never really chosen a candidate - at various times I've leaned towards all of the big 3 (now 2) - I certainly don't have a problem with those who have. My rough neutrality isn't some "I'm above it all" pose, it's genuine ambivalence combined with a bit of the sentiment that Roger Ailes (the good one) expresses here.

I am still open to being persuaded, not that my April vote is likely to matter much. And I do read the cases made by supporters with interest, even the zealous ones. But the worst supporters are the ones who are essentially saying, "If you don't support my candidate there's something wrong with you." You're stupid, or naive, or misinformed, or cowardly, or racist, or sexist, or immoral, or frightened, or whatever.

These twin editorials by Michael Chabon and Erica Jong are two representatives of this genre. Of the two Chabon's is less insulting, but it isn't ultimately that much different. Both suggest that if you can only manange to overcome your personal shortcomings and failings, then the choice is obvious. A failure to make that choice isn't simply a bed decision, but a reflection of personal flaws.

It's really a poor way to sell a candidate. More than that, both fail to understand that people actually do have different sets of priorities, and those differing priorities, combined with subjective yet informed judgments about the candidates, can lead perfectly sensible people to come to different decisions.

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The High Economic Cost of Virginia's Clean Energy
Inaction

Why does Virginia's inaction on clean energy get me so riled up? Because of articles like this detailing how in states with renewable portfolio standards the wind industry can't train new workers fast enough:

The American Wind Energy Association, a Washington, D.C-based trade group, estimates the industry employs about 20,000 people, not including those making turbines or other equipment. [...]

At Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, Ore., seven wind companies are working with the school as academic advisers. Several of the companies are also supporting the college financially, including a three-year $150,000 grant from PPM Energy and donated equipment from Arlington, Va.-based wind developer AES Corp.

"They are all just crammed to the gills with students," said Jeremy Norton, operations, maintenance and training manager for PPM Energy.

So why is a company based in Virginia sending six figures in grant money all the way out to Oregon? Because Oregon has set a state renewable portfolio standard of 25% by 2025, establishing a guaranteed demand and providing investors with market certainty. Virginia currently only has a voluntary goal of 12% by 2022, established as part of last year's Dominion re-regulation legislation.

That's why it's so critical on Monday afternoon for the Virginia Senate's Commerce and Labor Committee to pass the Clean Energy Future Act (SB446), which would establish both a 20% RPS and funding for green collar job training. Please email your legislator right now to ask them to support the Clean Energy Future Act, especially if your senator is on the committee.

As for the coal industry, there's a need for new workers there, as well. Why? According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1,500 miners die each year from black lung disease.

Cross-posted from Raising Kaine

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What Was The Independent Doing Until A Few Days
Ago

Oh, yes, supporting Rudy!

The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee today announced that Ron Silver is supporting Mayor Rudy Giuliani for President. As an advisor to the Mayor?s campaign, Silver will help promote the Mayor?s 12 Commitments to the American People and aid the effort to continue growing strong support across the country for Mayor Giuliani.

Silver, a veteran actor, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and on the Board of Directors for the United States Institute of Peace.

"Rudy had a tremendous impact as Mayor of New York City, a place I am proud to call home," said Silver, a native New Yorker. "His record of accomplishment is extraordinary and his vision will serve America well. He is committed to keeping our nation on the offense in the Terrorists? War on Us, and I am proud to support him."

Our discourse is so stupid.