I want to see the video, but, and I know Obama supporters do not like to hear this, when Bill Clinton has to assert on Good Morning America that he is "not a racist," that is NOT good for Obama. But that is where we are:

[ABC's Kate]Snow asked Clinton, "Do you personally have any regrets about what you did campaigning for your wife?" With his arms folded and looking a bit tense, Clinton replied, "Yes, but not the ones you think. And it would be counterproductive for me to talk about it."

Barely pausing for a breath, he added, "There are things I wish I'd urged her to do, things I wish I had said, things I wish I hadn't said. But I am not a racist, I never made a racist comment, and I didn't attack him personally," a clear allusion to Sen. Barack Obama.

President Clinton is a big boy, and can take care of himself, but that he has to say that is simply disgraceful.

By Big Tent Democrat

A new July 10-13 WaPo/Harvard poll shows Barack Obama with a wide lead among voters earning less than $30,000/yr, 58-28 (the 24% undecided is hard to explain). This is not unusual for the Democratic candidate for President - John Kerry won voters earning less than 15k/yr by 63-37 and those earning between 15 and 30k/yr 57-42. Jointly, these two income groups were 23% of the electorate in 2004. Obama's lead, according to WaPo, stems from "overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics."

The finding that is attracting attention is Obama winning whites who earn less than 30k/year by 47-37. Some say this "knock[s] down the idea that Obama can't win the vote of White low-income workers." But that has never been the question. The question is can he win enough white working class voters (50k/year or less income being the traditional definition) to win the election. In case you missed it, John Kerry lost the election in 2004. I think Obama can and will win the election. Heck, I say he is a shoo-in. The question is this - is winning 47-37 now, with 16% undecided a good result? I do not know, but I think it is nothing to crow about.

More . . .

Nancy Pelosi is an awful Speaker of the House, imo. You may disagree, but you can not disagree with the fact that she plays fast and loose with the idea that she can block House votes when she wants. To explain away the FISA Capitulation vote and why she let it pass in the House, Pelosi bizarrely blamed the Senate, as if the Senate controlled the House calendar.

But when it comes to offshore oil drilling, Pelosi DOES control the calendar:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday ruled out a vote on new offshore oil drilling even as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he might be open to a compromise that included it.

Somehow she could not rule out a vote on FISA Capitulation. I mean that only involved the Constitution after all. No big deal.

Speaking for me only

One of the most clever aspects of the McCain race card play last week was the defense of the Clintons against the disgraceful smears that came from many quarters, including many Obama supporters. Of course the defense was cynical - politics is politics. But consider what will be said about Hillary and Bill Clinton when these same people start justifying why Obama did not choose Hillary as his VP. The Politico asks the obvious question - what happens when Hillary is not chosen by Obama? Mario Cuomo says:

No matter who he picks, the question is going to be raised: Are you telling me that this person would be a better qualified vice president than Hillary Clinton?

Indeed. And the response to that query from some Obama supporters will denigrate Hillary Clinton. That will hurt Obama.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

If you had to guess which presidential candidate would be attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, would you pick the 47 year old or the 72 year old? If you picked Sen. Obama, you'd be wrong. McCain is making an appearance at Sturgis tomorrow night.

Sen. Obama will be celebrating his birthday in Michigan where he is set to unveil a new energy plan. Tomorrow night he'll be at a fundraiser in Boston.

If you had to guess which presidential candidate was consulting Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on foreign affairs would you pick the one from her party -- a party which has frequently suggested she be added to the ticket as the VP candidate -- or the candidate from the other party? The Aspen Daily News, citing a new Time Magazine article, says it's Obama who has been consulting Condi Rice on foreign affairs.

Nobel prize winning writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, best known (to me at least) for writing Gulag Archipelago, died today at the age of 89.

The world lost a great writer and, more importantly, a great voice of conscience. May he rest in peace.

We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that laws are made by the legislature, not the president. Any proposal for a substantial change in the law that the president sends to Congress is likely to be amended repeatedly before it comes back to the president for a signature.

Recognizing that reality, presidential platforms tend to be more general than specific. Still, it appears the Democratic platform will recognize (as it should) the valuable contributions that Hillary Clinton and others have made to the debate over health care reform.

The committee charged with updating the platform agreed to include suggestions from Clinton, whose campaign emphasized universal health care.

[more ...]

One of the murderers of Deborah Thornton was executed for that crime. Here's what Deborah's brother, Ronald Carlson, thinks of that:

Wanting to see those who killed your loved ones suffer the same fate is understandable — no one can sit in judgment of those who have faced such loss — but our justice system should not be dictated by vengeance. As a society, shouldn’t we be more civilized than the murderers we condemn? ... The death penalty does nothing more than continue the cycle of violence that is corroding our society.

I have stood more than one time with Death Row families as they prepared to watch their loved ones head to the execution chamber. The pain that they feel is no different from the pain that I felt for my sister. When we engage in the practice of capital punishment, we force more people to suffer through the tragic loss I had to endure. We simply create more victims — victims of the very criminal justice system meant to protect us....

[more ...]

Sen. Barack Obama has sent a letter to the DNC asking that the Florida and Michigan delegations be seated in full. As much as we knew this would happen, it still strikes a sore spot.

Open Left provides direct evidence of why John Kerry is a loser. From Meet the Press:

MR. BROKAW: We're going to get to all those issues, but I also want to raise what a surrogate for Senator Obama had to say to my friend Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation." This is former General Wesley Clark talking about John McCain. He said, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." He described him as untested and untried. With all due respect, Senator Kerry, he could have been talking about your qualifications. You're a Vietnam veteran...

SEN. KERRY: Yeah, I, I don't agree. I don't agree with Wes Clark's comment. I think it was entirely inappropriate. I have nothing but enormous respect for John McCain's service. . . . I have awe for John McCain's experience as a prisoner of war, and he, and he does understand duty and service. . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) John Kerry embodies the loser wing of the Democratic Party. He is a terrible surrogate in all circumstances, and was particularly bad today. Why the Obama camp continues to trot him out is beyond comprehension.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

What's up with Maureen Dowd? Now she's suggesting American women, specifically those who supported Hillary, dislike Obama and won't for him. Her reasons are rather odd. First she compares Obama to romantic figures in Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones' Diary, saying women think Obama is arrogant and prideful, then she says it's because he's too skinny and then she makes it all about race.

I hate when writers paint with too broad a brush. I haven't heard a single woman say they would never vote for a man again.

I'm a former Hillary supporter who will gladly vote for Obama over McCain or a third party candidate. Taylor Marsh, among the most ardent Hillary supporter on the blogs during the primaries responds, criticizing the Hillary supporters who can't move on: [More...]

John McCain broke his promise to run a respectful campaign -- again -- when he approved an ad that compared Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Will the tactic backfire?

For intelligent independents who had believed that Mr McCain was a cut above all that, it is a sadly disillusioning thing to see. ... The prevailing tone of his new campaign adverts is contempt: they sneer, they mock and they outrageously misrepresent. ...

Some speculate that this new turn in strategy could succeed and may indeed already be working. Mr Obama’s still narrow lead in the polls appeared to wobble last week under the onslaught. That makes it no easier to watch Mr McCain, of all people, descend to gutter politics. The Republican spent years gaining the respect of allies and opponents alike for his integrity and plain speaking. Now, it seems, he would rather lose a reputation than lose an election.

McCain's warped focus on personality rather than issues has likely caused him the support of two voters: Paris Hilton's parents. Kathy Hilton called the ad "a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign." She has a right to say that, since it's her money that's being wasted. She and her husband each donated $2,300 to McCain this year. Think they'll ask for a refund?