A glimpse into the future...

January 2009:

I want to be everyone's president. That's why I stole nearly everyone's vote, in that spirit. Uh, don't report that, here's some ribs.

February 2009:

We are secure, my friends, we are. And, of course our secret nuclear stealth subs off the coast off the Kamchatka peninsula are fully staffed. And... Wait, whoops. Forget I said that.

I'm still voting for you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

I'm voting for you.

-Addison                                                                                                                                                                        

We have a time for purity. It's the primaries. And that time is over. Now it's about electability until one or the other guy gets elected. Then we can transition back into threats and attacks when our guy does badly.

Jumping the gun this 4th of July eve...

I'm an American, and will die one, because -- in full knowledge of the ups and downs of this country, our laws and our rights, our flaws and our fights, and the ideals with which this nation was founded and strives toward -- I would never choose to be anything other than American. I'm an American because I actively choose to be every single day. With no ancient ethnic or blood ties to this nation all we have are words of volition and vows of endless idealism to show we have chosen this country as our homeland.

The vast majority of Americans -- right, left, center, or situated in some weird 4th dimension of politics -- love this country. And I mean really love it. Most of us would never trade in our American birthright for citizenship anywhere else. And most of us would never trade the American system of governance for any other (the media, well, that's a different story...).

We're Americans because we choose to be:

This will be short because frankly there are only a few facts that need saying. [Update: I'll also note that this took about 10 minutes of research and so any misunderstanding anyone else has about this topic is their own fault, since not even my own inherent laziness stopped me from figuring it out].

It seems like the less people understand about the history and actual statutes of the faith-based initiative, the more they're outraged about it.

All it does, and this started under Clinton in 1996 (and was reauthorized and expanded twice under Bill Clinton) with the first Charitable Choice provision, is allow churches to set up a non-profit accounting partition and apply for pre-existing federal grants, which they may or may not get depending on their ability to fulfill the goals of the grant.

Well, I'm sure we've all seen the HATEFUL coverage on EVERY OBAMSNBC broadcast about how Cindy McCain allegedly stole a cookie recipe. Is this what matters to the DISCIPLES? A cookie recipe? What about Obama stealing EVERY MAJOR POINT from a 1992 PAUL TSONGAS speech? When I hear about Cindy McCain stealing a cookie recipe I wonder if OBAMAFANS have ever been to an Applebee's (the "no salad bar at Applebee's" stuff was classic Chicago DISTRACTION from the point by a great journalist, whose name I can't remember).

Having made it into the post-midnight dead zone, where any diary will do, I'd like to make sure that I'm hearing things right on a certain news story.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is flooded. Right?

10,000 people have been forced to evacuate, and 100 blocks of that city are underwater, right? Because of a levee break?

And nine Iowan rivers are cresting at dangerous levels as I type?

Bridges have collapsed and power is out and worse is to come?

Just wanted to fact check this since all I'm hearing about here is how old McCain is, and how unfair the media is to Obama, etc. But certainly if the above story about a flooding disaster of epic proportions in Iowa were true there'd be more coverage, here and elsewhere, right?

Right?

UPDATE 2: Look at the comments again. These people are insane. These people don't represent you. Hillary Clinton and the Clintons in general have done countless things I detest, but Dailykos has been hijacked by lunatics who are just virtual gangs. You know, I know, we know that this is just politics, just juvenile affiliations, that this is just a competition. Some people have lost their minds and by shouting louder than the rest they've taken over this site. Hillary is a Democrat. How fucking hard is that to comprehend or agree with? Think about it.

UPDATE: People, look at the comments. The Hillary-hate has gone too far. You know it. I know it. We know it. We've been hijacked. Obama for president. Hillary for Democrat. How is that controversial?

There is a poll at the end of this diary! It's being voted on right now! Scroll down and vote, this is seroius! The quesiton is not importnant, also results not important. VOTE to show we are NOT AGRAID!! EMERGENGY! It wants more characteres before I can submit!! 1 Why is there no special EMERGENGY diary function?  TIMe is important, MODERATORS!@! And we're runing OUT!

RECOMMMEND IT!

According to the AP's reporting, a high level source within her campaign says Hillary plans to drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination sometime in mid-April, setting the stage for a party-unifying Obama victory in Pennsylvania.

If this is true the recent rhetoric on Hillary's part is designed to make her exit seem like a martyrdom, and seem all the more altruistic, thus cementing her long-term viability and possible 2012 candidacy (should Obama lose).

The AP is reporting that Hillary will announce, somewhere in Pennsylvania, that she is suspending her long run for the White House in the interest of the Democratic party's long-term good. However, the senior aide is adding that she'll sort of remain in the race, acting as a non-competing candidate to retain her ability to guide the policies of her opponent Barack Obama.

This story will not be good in Chicago for another hour. If you live in California, don't take this seriously until, I dunno, maybe 3am. If you live in Denver, what, you can't hack it on a coast?

Largely as a result of portions (described in some sources as "splinter groups") of the Mahdi Army engaging in illegal smuggling activities in Basra (which increased, accompanied by higher levels of violence when the UK pulled out), the US and Iraqi armies have launched what is, in essence, a militarized police action against the Shia militia.

[In sourcing this diary I'm using new first-hand reporting from the New York Times and Christian Science Monitor.]

Well, in a story that could cut either way, there have been mass rallies in Basra, Iraq, over increased levels of violence since the British forces withdrew. The majority of the protestors were Shia, men, and apparently jobless.

Residents are becoming increasingly alarmed about security, saying that killings, kidnappings and other crimes have increased significantly since British forces turned over responsibility for the city at the end of last year. [Al-jazeera (English)]

Is this an argument for or against continued US involvement?

Tragically this:

...has sucked up this:

Let it dominate your worldview for a news cycle or two.

Now a major motion diary...

At the risk of getting banned for negatively impacting Markos' ad revenue...

So, yes, today sucked.

I told you it would.

The solution isn't to become depressed, and nor is it to bury your head in the sand. It's all about perspective. Obama is, mathematically speaking, being gravitationally pulled toward the nomination. He'll be alright. All of this mess right now is about appearances, and you can't do much to change that. So, for your own sake, keep perspective on the race as a whole AND on your own involvement.

Trust me, here's what you do:

It has been reported on Dailykos that Hillary Clinton cancelled an event in Cleveland, or Columbus, or somewhere in Ohio (or Texas!) in order to appear on Saturday Night Live. This is usually reported as an 8:15pm "Solutions for America" rally at a university.

However, this rally is taking place tomorrow* and Hillary Clinton apparently did not cancel or skip any events to appear on SNL (if you have a link to prove she did, that would obviously change things). See here. The Ohio schedule for today after the jump...

     Two good resources I've found. Many may be aware of them but it never hurts to make sure that everyone is aware. Lots of hyperlinks in this diary, so try not to get confused. There are only two main sites and most of the links are to particular pages on those sites.

I agree with Hillary Clinton: This is fun.

The part of a campaign where it gets borderline dirty. When the candidates try to outmanuever each other's talking points and spin, try to use the news cycles against one another, and generally (slightly) misrepresent reality all for the sake of winning at the polls.

You might think I'm being snarky, but I'm not. I really like arguing. This is the best part of the campaign besides the inauguration, and it's really just too bad that -- since someone had to lose -- the sparring partner here had to be Hillary fans.

But it's pretty much over now, I think. The fun might be at an end. After months of assuming Hillary would be the nominee, today I finally figured that Obama had a pretty good shot. And so the age of my snarky cheap shots at Hillary* may be coming to an end...