Oh, come all ye faithful? The city and County of Denver yesterday issued a parade permit to a group of Hillary Clinton backers for Tuesday, August 26.

Hillary Clinton supporters will march through Denver during the Democratic National Convention to show appreciation for the New York senator's historic primary run and urge the party to place her name in nomination.

The city issued a permit Tuesday to Colorado Women Count/Women Vote for a parade on Aug. 26 - the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage and the date Clinton is rumored to be speaking at the DNC.

Also participating: "18 Million Voices, a national organization of Clinton supporters."

Hillary supporters, who will be arriving by buses from all over the country, have a place of their own to gather: [More...]

The military jury in the trial of Guantanamo Detainee and Osama bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan reached a split verdit: Guilty of terrorism, not guilty of conspiracy.

Sentencing is expected to take place this afternoon. Life in prison is on the table. Hamdan cried as the verdict was read. His lawyers point out the inherent unfairness of the military tribunal trial process:

Hamdan's attorneys said the judge allowed evidence that would not have been admitted by any civilian or military U.S. court, and that interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.

Unfair trials rob the public of the ability to trust in the integrity of the verdict. Guantanamo has been a failure and a black mark on America since day one. After the War in Iraq, this will be the biggest stain on the legacy of George W. Bush. Worst President Ever.[More...]

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.