If you don't like the weather in Denver currently, wait 15 minutes. Pt.II

While Obama’s Christmas… err, Holiday ad reminded us that “we all have a stake in each other” the man evidently neglected to drive one through the heart of the woman pictured.

Coy is how Hillary is playing this one… and both sides against the middle.

In a recent chat with supporters she reiterated her claim for a unified Party behind Obama but in a bid to salve the wounds of her supporters she allowed that, yeah… you know, I may allow my name to appear on the ballot at the convention and uhhh… I’m not telling you to vote for me but I’m not telling you to not vote for me either because there’s just no way (chuckle) that I’ll win.

And this from her blog regarding exactly what her (and Bill’s?) role will be regarding the campaign and possibly after the campaign: ““While no decisions have been made yet, I will make sure that we keep you up to date and involved with all of the Convention activity,”

Clinton remains hugely popular among Democrats as her 70 to 66 favorability rating over Obama would suggest so this subtle positioning weeks before the convention when McCain has closed the gap on Obama and, equally as significant, the Messianic shine has worn-off that coin, has caused quite a bit of musing around the BwD headquarters today.

She wouldn’t dare…. Would she…? No….

… chaos?

Hell Hath No Fury...

How many of Hillary’s supporters does the woman in video below represent? We suppose, we’ll find out in November. Its been a bruising primary and there are 5 months until the general election…. an eternity to heal wounds and mend fences but at this point some of the numbers bear noting.

“Polls confirm the impression left by anecdotal evidence. Roughly 30 percent of Clinton supporters say they'll vote for John McCain over Obama. Initial exit polls for yesterday's Puerto Rico primary asked Clinton voters if they'd be satisfied if Obama clinches the nomination. Seventy-two percent said no; only 26 percent said yes.” Story here.

For 2 candidates that offered very little in way of appreciable policy differences, these are significant numbers. But the woman, Harriet Christian, who was escorted from the Democratic Party Rules Committee meeting on Saturday, wastes little time in getting down to what this Democratic Party Primary has really been about all along and helps explain much of the bitterness: Identity Politics.

Strong language warning if you’re out surfing with the chilllins this evening.



H/T: HuffPo

Would it be possible for You to not make our lives a living hell... again?

So what’s next for the Democrats as they try to un-screw the mess they have made for themselves with respect to the presidential primaries? Mail-in ballots, anyone?

The idea that has been gaining some traction is to declare the original Michigan and Florida primaries null and void and have a “mulligan” - a do-over. Since the state of Florida said they are not footing the bill for another election, the DNC has been advancing the idea of mailing out the ballots, themselves.

Mind you, Floridians are the same folks who couldn’t grasp the butterfly ballot and then found something to bitch about with the electronic ballots because they were easier for Republican operatives to hack (hey, ever notice there are no charges of voter fraud when Democrats win?) and now these apparently electorally-challenged folks will be expected to a) go to the mail box b) open the ballot envelope c) correctly select the candidate of their choice d) place ballot in the self-addressed envelope e) place stamp somewhere on envelope if not an SAS envelope and finally, f) place envelope back in mail box for pick-up.

Now there is something we cannot stress enough: it is of paramount importance that each of these steps be executed in the EXACT sequence as laid-out above. Any deviation from the above will immediately result in howls of disenfranchisement and lawsuits. (After years of suffering the slings and arrows of derision for our somewhat unconventional ways out here in California, can we just say… "thank g#d for Florida!"...whose behavior of late has us Californicators looking like models of sanity, rationality and probity).

Believe it or not, we’ve got a significant degree of sympathy for our Democrat friends…. how is it possible for this mail-in ballot plan NOT to be an absolute grease-fire?

And even if the entirety of the Michigan and Florida delegates are seated it appears unlikely that either candidate will have enough delegates needed (2,025) to clinch the nomination (currently, Obama leads 1589 to Clinton’s 1470, courtesy RCP).

So, it looks like an open convention, where unless some sort of deal is brokered between the two candidates, things could get ugly down on the floor. Of course, Hillary has got a deal. How does Veep grab ya, Messiah? That from the candidate who is currently losing. Classic.

It’s going to be a fun summer. As we noted before, we were too young to be down with 1968 but the politically charged atmosphere of these Olympics and the train wreck that the Democratic national convention may be has us looking forward to our own little ’68 mulligan.

Its 10 P.M. Do you Know Where Your Delegate Is?

Newsweek’s cover last week was titled, “There will be blood: Why the Right hates McCain” which is also the name of a multiple Oscar-nominated film starring Daniel Day Lewis. Saw the trailer – looked violent. This aspect of a Republican party internecine Armageddon with McCain and his supporters versus conservatives like Rush and Hannity represented on the cover has been a hot topic in political circles since McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee.

While this ideological fight looms over the Republican party there is a similar meltdown brewing on the Democrat Party side the cause of which, though not ideological in nature, is more of a procedural thing but potentially no less volatile… in fact, a lot more volatile.

This particular foodfight is over the delegates of Michigan and Florida which the DNC deemed null and void as punishment for state pols pushing up the primary dates of those two states. Clinton Inc. along with all the other candidates promised they would abide by this procedural ruling but since Hillary’s ascension is now imperiled, Clinton Inc. has now petitioned the DNC to get them reinstated. Because every vote counts, you know.

Another element of this battle that promises to make the Democrat Party Convention must-see T.V. this summer is the battle for the super delegates – delegates that are not bound to vote for the candidate that won the primary in the state from which they hale. To say that there is some courting going on right now for these delegates would make heavy petting blush.

Oh, and this from Politico.com which claims that Clinton, knowing she can’t win even with the super delegates, is going after the “pledged” state primary delegates – a definite no-no. Article quotes former Virginia governor Doug Wilder as saying there will be rioting in the streets and chaos at the convention if this happens. More Wilder: ““If you think 1968 was bad, you watch: In 2008, it will be worse.” Awesome! We were too young for both the MC5 and the ’68 convention so we’d gladly take a do-over on at least one of them.