McCain is an idiot, whether Joe Klein loves him or not.

hi again. thanks for the map.

We are watching history. I like it.

Obama!

Got this maze figured out now?

Cliff!

me too. I’ll never forget this day.

my letter to Hillary…(per her request)

**********

I haven’t contributed before, because quite frankly, I can’t afford. But I’m contributing today.

Hillary, this is about the country — I started out over a year ago as “anyone but Hillary”. And when it came down to you and Obama, it was a tough choice — and I decided to support you because this country CANNOT take a risk on someone who we don’t KNOW can fix what Bush has destroyed.

But over the last four months, I have become so impressed by you, that I now PROUDLY support you. You’re not just “better than the alternative” — you are EXACTLY what this country needs to move forward. You’ve given me…and ALL of us, a POSITIVE argument — which in this day and age is tough to find for a politician.

I do feel that i have to tell you that if Barack Obama is the nominee, I cannot vote for him — he simply is not Presidential material at this point. I won’t vote for McCain… I’ll just sit this out.

I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to fight on — especially after what happened on Saturday at the RBC. Do NOT under any circumstances leave this race until EVERY vote is counted — and counted the way they were cast. Do NOT let party insiders steal this election — I cannot remain in this party if the theft of YOUR delegates is allowed to stand, and if the women, latino voters, jewish voters, older voters and everyone else who gave you a resounding majority in Florida are treated as “half voters”

In America, we have no “half voters” — only corrupt politician who will say “treat these people with less than 100% of the dignity they deserve because they don’t support me.” Fight THAT fight, if you fight for nothing else.

Finally, tHank you, Hillary, for making me see that my cynicism is not always deserved, that politicians can be BETTER than I expect.

nope!

‘Evening Cliff. I’m trying to work and watch history at the same time. Not being terribly successful at the work part.

look at all those faces. so much diversity, so different , all american.

The buttons at the top of the page are the key. Each one leads to a different blog in the FDL network. You can bounce back and forth by using the buttons.

Americans the beautiful.

It is beautiful. Nothing anyone says can ruin this moment.

4200 viewers online at Obamas website.

giving and volunteering for the campaign.

This is the moment.

Jesus, this guy is brilliant.

wow …

Speech ended with almost 4500 online viewers. Cool.

How ya doin’?

This. is. the. moment.

mr and I are crying like idiots because I never thought that this day would come. It is as beautiful as I thought.

too much shouting — its going to remind people of Wright and Pfeger. Obama really has to distance himself not just from their words, but their approaches — because while YOU may not see it, America does not think like you.

We can’t stop now. On to the White House!

Yep.

Now it’s time to start hammerin’ McShitForBrains with the Million Ton Shithammer. Every day.

here too wobbly … here too

what an awesome moment we are witnessing

and we can share and work for

s

c

r

o

l

l

Well done.

17,000 inside the arena and 15,000 outside. Awesome crowd that wanted to see history.

agreed. after i’m done snotting all over myself, I’ll roll up my sleeves and get to work. I’m already a volunteer working here in California. Fired up and ready to go

Sure beats the 50 or so employees of Cindy’s beer distributorship that showed up for McShitForBrains. Wonder if they paid ‘em in brewskys.

wow. are you kidding? 15,000 waiting outside? they must be really light black people because Obama has an issue with white folks, rememeber? /s

Could Brokaw stop with the “two young people” line … I’ve heard it twice and it borders on creepy

costco ribs and beer

He’s creepy.

LOL I know. mr just said the same thing. guess it is better than whippersnapper

Better than the crotchety old man yelling “get off my lawn!!”

I’m giddy.

America could be saved.

or an old man yelling at the clouds

Let me jump in and say that was a brilliant speech. Thanks guys. Will stay here for a while longer

Can we run McCain and Obama’s speeches side-by-side?

I would imagine Hannity, et al will be slamming the Dems starting in about, oh, 15 minutes. After they get done pissing themselves over the fact that an African-American is the presumptive Dem presidential nominee. They’ll be pulling out their sheets, tryin’ to scare the white folks.

That’s with the sound off on McShitForBrains side, right?

As was said, we witnessed a moment in history.

They are rare, so let it imprint on your memory.

Hope. For. Change.

Wow.

He had me long ago, but I burst the eyelid dams about 5 minutes into this one.
Can’t even recall what the topic was. Change, likely. *G*

Gonna go leap into the arms of Morpheus.

Stay away from the shallow edge of the Lake where the trolls congregate. Little suckers bite for no reason.

Namaste

umm no. I want folks to hear how it is so forced and how underwhelmed his audience seemed to be

LMAO Romney won montana !!!!

boa noite SD

Ha, ha! I’m crying again! It’s a good night!

bwa-ha-ha!

Tester endorses Obama.

Mittens won UT, nearly won AZ and now MT….. someone has a Mountain West issue doesn’t he…

I can’t figure out which of Cliff’s Liveblog III: Democratic Nominee Edition threads I’m supposed to be on–there’s another one at FDL

Just remember that McBush is up 11% over Obama in Arizona ….. that is doable…. Arizonans need to make sure that McBush looses his home state…. everyone assumes that AZ is red….. ya right…..

yep. he definitely has a Mountain West issue. But I guess mittens can bargain to be on the ticket now.

(((((Wobbs!))))) (((((Mr. Wobbs!)))))

FunnyD

And, holy crap, it just hit me. This guy is of MY generation. Wow. Holy fork. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock for being so unaware of this potential in MY age cadre. Hope that makes sense…I’m only saying this is my little epiphany for the evening. Now that’s inspiring–reminds me that the hard work to come really IS my work, too.

FD

You have to wonder why in the world that’s the case:

Reply
PetePierce June 3rd, 2008 at 8:25 pm Your comment is awaiting moderator approval

Obama has now exceeded every evolving metric of the Clintons even including awarding her all the delegates in Michigan and Florida. Chew on that Paul. 2219 baby!–that’s what his Super Delegate Flood has brought up to the minute.

Pledged 1743 to 1638
Supers: 390.5 to 293
Edwards Pledged: Obama 21 to 0
OVERALL 2154.5 TO 1931 (Number Needed ws 2118)

I hope you include these 20 Questions for Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton with your contribution to a woman who has nearly $200 million dollars from a secret Library Foundation Slush Fund. Her not answering them helped put her where she is tonight and Obama where he is tonight.

Terry McAuliffe: *g* “Are ya ready for the next President of the US?”–yeah McAuliffe we are and he was in Minnesota. It’s time for Little Ms. Limelight to get out of the way and quit jerking off. She can revel in those tax returns you’re afraid to have her show Paul, and those Library Foundation slush funds from illegal arms dealers.

While you’re getting Little Ms. Limelight to fight on, instead of jerkoff, (how much money did it cost for this clusterfuck of a speech in New York tonight that she’s going to stiff people on although she could pay it out of her purse with plastic?) I hope your contribution will bring answers to these vetting questions which have never been answered by anyone here or by the Clintons. They are the reason she is not going to be on the ticket for anyone running for President, including Barack Obama.

There needs to be this vetting of Clinton, even though she is dead in this race, and I’m delighted to have done it. The illegal and unethical Library Foundation money grubbing deals from Billiary continue to roll this morning.

We all recognize that accross all platforms, there have been racial and gender inequities. My point has been I abhore them as much as any so-called “feminist.” There have been many inequities men have been subjected to as well. We should go after them all. It’s going to be harder with Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia on this S. Ct.

One of the worst gender inequities for example I’ve watched for years is that medical research has favored the disease in men in terms of investment, time, and personnel, and it’s slowly now being addressed once women began being admitted to med schools at the same rate as men–this was not the case but a few years ago (but is now). Much has been written in the medical literature the last several years about this.

I have long advocated a 50% representation of women in all state and federal government positions of leadership, including legislatures, Congress, and the Bench.

But Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is not the place to jury nullify in false hopes that you’re going to correct these inequities (real or perceived) and calling people misogynist or women haters who criticize Clinton is just plain delusional, and a lot of the fire puppies have done that with not one scintilla of improvement for their lives gained by doing that.

Also could someone please help Clinton get the dates correct on when Bill Clinton wrapped up the nomination and when Bobby Kennedy did? Her memory is clearly wrong on both these dates as has been pointed out ad nauseam two weeks ago?

Vetting Questions Never Touched at FDL including my main one: What Experience Does Clinton Have to be President–On What Planet and in What Job Did She Gain It?

Hillary Clinton today: “Let’s have a real campaign.” I assume Senator Clinton means one in which you stop trying to count the screwups in Florida and Michigan as real elections and stop trying to steal super delegates and pledged delegates after you lost the election. I assume she means the one she lost and the one in which her campaign mismanaged funds:
Donors Worried by Clinton Campaign Spending

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02…..038;st=nyt

1) Piss Poor Financial Planning by the Clinton Campaign Given their Budget and Bill and Hillary’s Selfhish hording of their $100-200 million shuffle from Library Contributions for Bribes and Deals Swung by Bill:

Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000. And top consultants collected about $5 million in January, a month of crucial expenses and tough fund-raising.

The firm that includes Mark Penn, Mrs. Clinton’s chief strategist and pollster, and his team collected $3.8 million for fees and expenses in January; in total, including what the campaign still owes, the firm has billed more than $10 million for consulting, direct mail and other services, an amount other Democratic strategists who are not affiliated with either campaign called stunning.

Howard Wolfson, the communications director and a senior member of the advertising team, earned nearly $267,000 in January. His total, including the campaign’s debt to him, tops $730,000.
The advertising firm owned by Mandy Grunwald, the longtime media strategist for both Mrs. Clinton and Bill Clinton, the former president, has collected $2.3 million in fees and expenses, and is still owed another $240,000.

Mrs. Clinton built a top-down fund-raising operation that relied on a core group of donors to write checks early on for the maximum amount, $4,600 for the primary and the general election, which left few of them to go back to when money became tight. Mr. Obama, by contrast, focused on building a network of small donors whose continued ability to give has been essential to his success this winter.

2) In this case, I’d call Hillary desperate. I’d like to be treated to the scene of Bill Clinton on stage outlining his NAFTA support, and Hillary Clinton on the same stage with her new position criticizing it. I’d love to see them both confronted with David Leonhardt, the economic writer for the NY Times and this article in particular:

The Politics of Trade in Ohio
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02…..038;st=nyt

What you’re seeing now is an angry person whose campaign has become a trainwreck shrieking in anger, thrashing around very desperately and pulling out her final death rattle which is “Obama is part of the right wing conspiracy that’s out to get Billiary.”

Again, Clinton has ignored the questions of the public. She is too arrogant to answer the main questions that have been put to her repeatedly and I’m still waiting for the FDL counterpart to the one that LHP had up on Tony Rezko, poker games, and a very wrong view of what a “Yes” vote actually stands for according to the Rules of the Illinois Senate.

As to Health Care plans–they’re aren’t any. The campaign slogans that Obama and Clinton have are very very far from beginning to cover most health care delivery issues.

2 Plans and Many Questions on the Uninsured

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02…..th.html?hp

3) Where are the 2007 Income tax returns for the Clintons?

She’s refused a thousand times to release them and where are the contributors to the Clinton library on the secret list you’ve refused a thousand times to release?

These records are being hidden for a specific purpose. They are being hidden because they will reveal extremely embarassing or possibly illegal sources for this income.

Here are 13 more Questions that Clinton Doesn’t Dare to Answer:

Anyone is welcome to Xerox them and send them to Howie Wolfson and Maggie Williams. But you won’t get a response from “Her Arrogance Hillary Workingirl $200 million in secret funds Clinton or Billiary or Bill or Terry McAuliffe who lied about Obama chairing an Afghanistan connected legislative sub on Senate Foreign Relations because he thinks you’re fucking stupid or her in your lifetime.

4) Why has Hillary persisted in racially insutling African Americans and White Americans by saying explicitly that Obama can’t get White working people’s votes or address their needs. Why have the Clintons both been using the code for “don’t vote for the black man.” Why has Charlie Rangell called her recent comments stupid?

As pointed out in his May 10, 2008 article in the NYT
Bill Clinton made a flood of absurd pardons in the last few minutes of his Presidency. Among them were pardons that Hillary Clinton facilitated that were bought from her two brothers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05…..rt.html?hp

5) Instead, a huge scandal erupted when it became known that Mrs. Clinton’s brothers, Tony and Hugh Rodham, had lobbied the president on behalf of criminals who then received presidential pardons or a sentence commutation from Mr. Clinton.

Tony Rodham helped get a pardon for a Tennessee couple that had hired him as a consultant and paid or loaned him hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over the protests of the Justice Department, President Clinton pardoned the couple, Edgar Allen Gregory Jr. and his wife, Vonna Jo, who had been convicted of bank fraud in Alabama.

Hugh Rodham was paid $400,000 to lobby for a pardon of Almon Glenn Braswell, who had been convicted of mail fraud and perjury, and for the release from prison of Carlos Vignali, a drug trafficker who was convicted and imprisoned for conspiring to sell 800 pounds of cocaine. Sure enough, in his last hours in office (when he issued a blizzard of pardons, many of them controversial), President Clinton agreed to the pardon for Braswell and the sentence commutation for Vignali.

Hugh Rodham reportedly returned the money after the scandal became public and was an enormous political liability for the Clintons.
Both Clintons professed to be ignorant of anything improper or untoward regarding the pardons. Once, when asked specifically if she had talked with a deputy White House counsel about pardons, Mrs. Clinton said: “People would hand me envelopes. I would just pass them on. You know, I would not have any reason to look into them.”

That’s right–as a Yale law graduate (who flunked the D.C. bar and never retook it) she wouldn’t have noticed passing messages for her brothers to make hundreds of thousands of dollars buying pardons from her husband. What was up with that?

6) Why did the Clintons prove that you can still remain trailer trash and graduate from Yale law school by trying to steal so many furnishings from the White House that they ultimately had to return when they left?

It wasn’t just the pardons that sullied the Clintons’ exit from the White House. They took furniture and rugs from the White House collection that had to be returned. And they received $86,000 in gifts during the president’s last year in office, including clothing (a pantsuit, a leather jacket), flatware, carpeting, and so on. In response to the outcry over that, they decided to repay the value of the gifts.

So class is not a Clinton forte.

Hillary Clinton Pretends She Never Supported NAFTA But She Did

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..86747.html

7)Clinton’s 15 Million Uncovered proclamation is pure bullshit. There are no real stats that support her purported figure. Where in the hell is Clinton pulling her stats from there? They have no basis in medical reality.

What brought about the very sudden appearance of billing records from the Rose law firm in the dining room of the White House that had been subpoenaed 18 months earlier in 1984? You can bet that would be front and center in any hypothetical general election with McCain.
I do not see Christy Smith or LHP LHP sitting on their hands if they had issued a subpoena in a criminal case when at DOJ and the party refused to answer their subpoena in 18 days let alone 18 months. I’d expect a motion for contempt and jail time for the party refusing the subpoena. None was issued when Clinton was first lady by the Starr group, including by Amy St. Eve who was on the team.

I would expect that if Judge St. Eve ordered something produced or a subpoena enforced a few weeks ago against Tony Rezko now in his 12th day of jury deliberations while Fitz ignores Rove, someone refusing her order would be shown the jail on the South loop of Chicago forthwith just as Rezko was shown it by St. Eve after Fitz’s motion he allegedly withheld funds.

9) What was the genesis of Hillary Clinton’s miraculous cattle futures trade netting her a sudden hundred grand in 1994?

1 Grand to 100 Grand No Experience in Cattle Futures Hillary’s Investment Miracle

10) Where does an examination of where Hillary got the $5 million to loan to her campaign? If it was in fact from her book deal, she doesn’t have a lot left to loan herself–except for the $100,000 speaking fees her husband continues to generate world wide. Was it from something like the mining deal that garnered $31.5 million for the Clinton library, or did it come from the misty, nebulous secret dealings of Bill Clinton and billionaire playboy friend Ron Burkle?

11) An examination of the $400,000 bribe paid by Denice Rich to Bill Clinton in order to get a pardon for her divorced husband Mark who pretty much fits the word “sleazy” that LHP used–at the time the pardon was granted Rich’s husband was an international fugitive on the run from US Marshal Service–that’s not quite up to the usual standards of the pardon office at LHP’s old digs–the DOJ. That’s going to be front and center in any attempt of Hillary Clinton to get elected.
It’s the classic defininition of a bribe and a Presidential pardon sold for $400,000.

12) An examination of the recent mining deal that netted Bill Clinton a contribution of $31.5 million dollars described in this article should be vetted. It’s going to be showcased in any hypothetical general election. Clinton swung mining deal–and got $31.5 million for Secret Library Fund

13) What connections does Tony Rezko have to the Clinton campaign or her campaign co-chairman? Two co-chairman took money from Rezko, and have refused to answer any questions about it.
Obama has answered dozens of questions to all Chicago newspapers.

14) Why has the word Rezko not come from Clinton’s lips and why has the accusation of working for slum lords not come from Clinton’s lips since early January in a debate? Is there a focal lesion brain/larynx that prevents this? She raised it once and never again. I know Ms. Merritt clings to the concept, but I haven’t seen any mention at FDL either.

15) When will Clinton learn to understand the Levin bill and the Kyle-Leiberman amendments she voted on authorizing war in Iraq in the first? Why did she mischaracterize them in the last debate, when she has had the advantage of a Yale law degree which should have insured that she can read a bill correctly? Why did she mischaracterize her vote against the Levin amendment and the amendment itself? Levin has said her explanation had nothing to do with his amendment that she voted against.

16) Why has Clinton blocked release of over 1.5 million documents relating to a health care initiative she references all the time but refuses to detail at all no matter how many times she’s asked? This would be pressed for in any general election.

17) Why are the Clintons refusing to release the big money donor list to the Clinton library? This is a valid question for anyone who is running for any public office whether it’s a county commissioner or President of the United States. This would be front and center in any hypothetical general election.

18) Why did Clinton vote to table the earmark legislation that Obama wrote and sponsered votting with Vitter (R) who has made the most news in his Senate career in admitting his long term use of escort services?

19) Why did Clinton fail to know what a present vote means in the Illinois Senate when she grew up in Illinois and went to high school there as asked this morning on the op-ed page of the NYT?
‘Present’ Perfect

20) Why is Clinton White House Counsel Avner Mikvah working on the Obama campaign, and why is former best friend to the Clintons in law school and the coordinator of Clinton’s impeachment defense, Greg Craig of Williams and Connolly LLP working for Obama? Craig’s daughter was a good friend of Chelsea Clinton all through her private high schooling at the same school, and Craig rented the Clintons the first apartment they lived together in at Yale law school for $65 per week?

_____________

Hillary Clinton Is Her Own Worst Enemy (New York Daily News)

Articles Referenced Above:

12) An examination of the recent mining deal that netted Bill Clinton a contribution of $31.5 million dollars described in this article should be vetted. It’s going to be showcased in any hypothetical general election. Clinton swung mining deal–and got $31.5 million for Secret Library Fund

After Mining Deal, Financier Donated to Clinton and Clintons Refused to Release this List of the Hundreds Million Slush Fund

19) Why did Clinton fail to know what a present vote means in the Illinois Senate when she grew up in Illinois and went to high school there as asked this morning on the op-ed page of the NYT?
‘Present’ Perfect

‘Present Perfect’ by Avner Mikva (White House Counsel to Bill Clinton; D.C. Circuit Appellate Judge, Illinois Legislator, and Distinguished Prof. University of Chicago School of Law

Terrific job live blogging, Cliff, much appreciated.

“This has been a long campaign and I am making no decisions tonight…I won the popular vote. Go to www.hillaryclinton.com”

Bmaz needs to be informed. Clinton did not leave gracefully. I knew she wouldn’t and she is being removed.

Reality: Even if Florida and Michigan had received full complement of delegates Clinton still has lost decisively rendering the RBG moot for this result although I’m sure EW would argue there were reasons for the RBG to play out. And besides, it brought us some You Tube fame for a bussed in racial bigot was You Tube was displayed at FDL.

[(((((Translation))))]

“I’m clinging to the limelight like a 5 year old clings to an All Day Sucker Mommy has to wrestle away from her. Mommy will have to drag me kicking and screaming away. I’m a textbook diagnosis of Borderline Personality the way Harvard Medical School’s John Gunderson hs brilliantly defined it.”

Tucker Carlson is correct. There is a big gulf between the Obama and Clinton camps and Obama people do feel (aside from the way Clinton egregiously conducted this campaign including pandering gas tax relief, false statements, and the unforgivable comment that she was ready to be President, McCain was ready, but Obama was only able to make speeches ignoring all of his accomplishments, and the most egregious that she claimed experience that she didn’t have, the kind Bmaz assumes she got by living in the White House without security clearance and I don’t. I found it blasphemous and very hard on the ears to hear from Clinton “I’m experienced and he’s not” and “I’m for solutions” implying Obama was for making sure that every American gets a big piece of pink cotton candy and that’s it. Of course Obama wouldn’t have had the insight and wisdom to be looking for solutions. Why weren’t we Obama supporters sophisticated and nuanced enough to glean that?

And it’s absolutely true that the vast majority of voters in West Virginia, Kentucky where I grew up and know the state, Pennsylvania, and Ohio where Cliff lives aren’t that well educated and are bigoted.

Are there smart people in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky–of course. Look at Kristy Hardin Smith’s writing abilities and career–look at Cliff’s impressive resume. But the vast majority of voters in those states are not, and a number of these working white people so-called demographic states aren’t Cliff Schecter who has won numerous honors and almost has his doctorate in American History or a lawyer like Christy Smith who has considerable litigation experience and has immersed herself in analyzing this government and writes incredibly well.

I haven’t seen any backbone from Harry Reid, particularly with FISA legislation as a metaphor to showcase that lack of backbone, or Pelosi.

Now is the time. This borderline personality needs to be removed immediately from this Presidential Race and her close friends need to get her hospitalized for treatment.

What opportunity should Clinton take next? I’d suggest this is the most clinically appropriate one for her and this is the place she should turn to next:

MacLean Hospital, John Gunderson, M.D. Clinical Director

Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide