Howard Fineman writes:

Does Barack Obama think he needs the Clintons’ help this fall? And do the Clintons really want to give it to him? The answer to both questions seems to be a resounding “no.” And this could very well be the reason why a slam-dunk Obama victory in November becomes a down-to-the wire race against John McCain.

(Emphasis supplied.) Fineman quotes a Clinton fundraiser saying:

“It’s not that we’re being dismissed,” she said. “The Obama people are perfectly happy to have our support. But their attitude seems to be, ‘we can win without you.’ And I guess that’s why none of us is going from rah-rah Hillary to rah-rah Obama.”

As I have written, I think Obama is certainly going to win this election -- and that he can win without the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party. The question is why does he want to win that way? Why go for a close victory without the Clintons when you can have a slam dunk victory, a mandate giving victory, with them?

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Bush's Third Term. It is pretty obvious, but it seems to have taken a while for the Obama campaign to get back to the narrative of John McCain as Bush's Third Term. This Obama ad is what we need:

More of this please.

Via Pontificator (who argues for Hillary as VP), the Financial Times reports:

Obama officials say privately it is unlikely a running mate will be selected before the candidate returns from a week’s holiday in Hawaii, which starts this Friday. That leaves about 10 days until the start of the Democratic party convention in Denver.

More . . .

Maureen Dowd is already in "oblivion" as a political commenter. She is defined by her silliness and her columns are basically fodder for mockery. But she wrote a few lines today that merit consideration because they follow a theme that has been running through the Obama campaign, mostly through his supporters in the Media and the blogs - "Bill Clinton looks at Obama and sees his own oblivion", writes Dowd. Of course, the opposite is true. The Obama Post Partisan Unity Schtick has been a direct descendant of Bill Clinton's Third Way Schtick of the 1990s. Obama, in many ways, not the least of which is the marked improvement in race relations in the 1990s, IS Bill Clinton's legacy.

But, as I wrote about before, Barack Obama seems determined to disown this Democratic legacy. In a political campaign that is becoming increasingly dominated by economic concerns, this is political stupidity. Obama should be embracing the Clinton economic legacy. He should be trying to place the Bush economic legacy on John McCain.

More . . .

In these times of financial distress, the New York Times runs a good editorial on the issue of credit card company abuse:

When the Federal Reserve asked for comments on its proposed rules on abusive credit card practices, an astonishing 56,000 poured in. Most were from outraged consumers. They told of interest rates skyrocketing when they paid an unrelated bill late. They complained of unwarranted late fees and pushed-up due dates. One Pennsylvania customer fumed: “I’m fed up with credit card company tricks that drive us deeper in debt.”

This anguished deluge should send a clear message to leaders in Washington. The Federal Reserve should swiftly adopt its proposed rules against unfair or deceptive credit card practices. But the real burden to curb these abuses falls on Congress. For too long, members of Congress have shirked the responsibility to ensure fair lending to credit card customers and have listened more intently to the banking lobbyists.

More...

It doesn't look like Sen. Barack Obama will name his running mate after all this week. It's hard to imagine him naming someone on Wednesday when he's leaving for vacation in Hawaii on Friday. But to add to the Evan Bayh speculation, there's this, from his birthday party-fundraiser in Boston Monday night:

Introducing Obama, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said: "I asked Barack Obama what he wanted for his birthday. He said, 'Indiana, Colorado and Virginia,' " said Kerry, referring to three potential swing states Obama hopes to win in the Nov. 4 election.

Since both Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and Sen. Ken Salazar have said they haven't been asked for documentation, that says to me Obama will pick either Kaine or Bayh. It would be crazy to pick Kaine who is personally anti-choice and has backed abortion restrictions. Between the Hillary supporters he's alienated and others who won't vote for a wishy-washy on abortion candidate, Kaine's negative impact on the ticket is obvious. That leaves Evan Bayh.

I suspect he will drop hints at his joint appearance with Bayh today in Indiana. Then his campaign can do a final round of polling before he makes a final decision.

One question: What if his final polling results indicate it has to be Hillary? [More...]

Bump and Update: Jose Medellin was executed tonight just before 10:00 pm. The Supreme Court declined to intervene. His last words:

“I’m sorry my actions caused you pain,” he said to the witnesses present. “I hope this brings you the closure that you seek. Never harbor hate.”

Bump and Update: Medellin was set for texecution at 6pm. No word yet from the Supreme Court which is considering his case. Stay tuned, will update further. [More....]

Via Avedon at Sideshow, longtime political blogger Skimble is packing it in and closing up shop.

I have ceased to care about McStupid's Britney video and Obama's acting presidency. Or the New Yorker cover. Or Cindy McCain's 20 painkillers a day. Or the endless hand-wringing about the f**king narrative. The 24/7 minutiae of yet another artificial campaign horserace cannot captivate me. The big story is this....

Go read the rest, it's a well-deserved attack on the Dems, Harry and Nancy in particular.

This has been a lackluster, ho-hum election campaign since May when the primaries ended. I doubt it will pick up. Obama is just not as exciting to cover as he was when he had Democrats as competitors and McCain would put anyone to sleep.

It is what it is. From here on out, both candidates will play to the middle. The rest of us, right and left, will be marginalized. [More...]

Steven Waldman analyzes "the religion factor" as the candidates consider various potential running mates. Too bad he didn't mention the last clause in Article VI, section 3 of the United States Constitution:

but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Really bad advice:

Former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel was caught on tape last week telling a crowd in Washington, D.C., that they should harass a federal prosecutor who helped bring criminal contempt charges against a Palestinian activist. ...

“Find out where he lives, find out where his kids go to school, find out where his office is, picket him all the time,” Gravel said, in an audio tape obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism and provided to FOX News.

No matter what you think of this prosecution or any other, stalking a prosecutor, and particularly doing anything involving his or her kids, is way over the top, and will probably land you in jail.

Gravel's defense -- "that he personally wouldn’t do the things he’s recommended" -- doesn't excuse his comments. He should know better.

When I first heard today of the new website Drug Dealer Cindy, I thought it was going to be about Cindy McCain's past struggles with prescription drugs. It's not. It's about her family beer distributing business, Hensley & Company.

The site and the video are the work of Safer Choice, a Colorado organization whose goals I've supported in the past.

This new site makes me a little uneasy. I'd almost rather it was about the sweetheart deal Cindy McCain got for her prescription drug violations that others don't get -- and if her husband is elected President, won't get.

SAFER in the fine print says the site is not an attack on Cindy McCain but on the hypocrisy of our laws that tolerate alcohol abuse while punishing users of marijuana, a less harmful substance.

Sorry, SAFER, I see it as an attack on Cindy McCain and I think it will be viewed as mean-spirited. I'd rather you stick to attacking our unjust laws and the politicians who pass them. That's John McCain, not Cindy.

Raw Story has more.

The Tallahassee Democrat, mentioned in this post, has two interesting stories about the Tallahassee Police Department. Five TPD officers were placed on leave yesterday after a "botched drug sting" ended in the death of Rachel Hoffman.

Hoffman, 23, was working for police as a confidential informant when she was killed May 7, after the plan for her to buy drugs and a gun went awry. Police lost track of her, and her body was found 36 hours later in Taylor County. ...

In its presentment last week that cited police negligence in Hoffman's death, a Leon County grand jury reported the vice lieutenant — [Lt. Taltha] White — signed off on the flawed buy-bust plan but didn't actually read it. Grand jurors also said she was in charge of monitoring radio transmissions during the deal but was conducting a computer audit at the same and was distracted.

Drug police are famous for coercing those they arrest into working to set up busts of dealers. They too rarely mention the dangers involved in that effort. It's better to take the jail time than to end up dead. [more ...]