Barack Obama will return to Iowa Tuesday night. The New York Times says it may be to "claim victory" and declare himself the Democratic nominee. His campaign views winning a majority of 2025 pledged and unpledged delegates victory.

Will ignoring the popular vote total in Florida backfire on him? In addition to the 2.3 million who voted in Michigan and Florida, there are 17 million or so Hillary supporters who think those votes should count before we pick a nominee.

A new poll out shows Obama in third place behind McCain and Clinton among rural voters in America. They comprise 23% of the voting public.

Hillary runs even with McCain in the poll but Obama trails McCain by 9 points.

Update: Just wanted to add that the Democratic nomination is not Obama's to claim until one of two things happens: Either Hillary withdraws from the race or all the delegate votes, pledged, unpledged and superdelegate, are counted at the convention.

Comments now closed.

CNN is repeating the interview from earlier this week with Wolf Blitzer that got sidelined due to John Edwards simulutaneous endorsement of Obama which reduced her interview to a split screen.

She still hopes to be the nominee. She says it would be a big mistake to vote for John McCain over the Democratic nominee. And, it's premature to talk about vice-presidential nominees

As to why she won't drop out: We have a close race, people have gone to conventions with far fewer delegates, and we're going to keep going until one of us reaches 2,210.

This interview was taped the day Obama announced Edwards would make the endorsement. I'm not sure if she knew about Edwards endorsement at the time of the taping, or learned afterwards.

Goodbye to You, Patty Smythe and Scandal.

Will she succed? Here's the male's point of view, Dwight Yoacam and "I Ain't That Lonely Yet."

Once there was a spider in my bed

I got caught up in her web

...but I survived,

....After what you put me through

Oh I ain't that lonely yet

This is another open thread for you late-nighters and early birds.

Comments now closed.

I've been away from the computer all day. The TL kid and I were car-shopping for him. After weeks of research online, we got to the dealership at noon. We left with his new Jeep at 7:00 pm. Buying your first new car with your own money is a big deal. We test drove a lot of them, then there's going back and forth over options and color ten times, then the financial (payment) decisions and bargaining. I'm exhausted, so I'm putting up an open thread.

• Big Tent Democrat sent me an email saying he's suspended himself until Monday for violating the site rules.

• I've also got work to do for hosting tomorrow's Book Salon for Firedoglake.

  

  Snitch: Informants, Cooperators, and the Corruption of Justice. Author Ethan Brown will be discussing his new book and answering questions (I'll be moderating), hope you will stop by and join us. It's at 5pm ET.

• The New York Times has an article on Barack Obama's books. It ends with [More...]:

A few points. The most important, we all are relieved that Ted Kennedy appears to be fine.

Next, Big Brown is a Super horse.

Third, when I criticize the delegate selection rules and the outcome of the pledged delegate process and the MI/FL fiasco I am in no way criticizing Barack Obama as he has done exactly what he was supposed to do. I tip my hat to him. He has behaved honorably throughout the process in that he is trying to win the nomination. My critique is of the process and the organization that organized the nomination process and made the disastrous and rule breaking decisions regarding FL/MI.

Finally, this is an Open Thread. Oh some foul mood music on the flip.

As we have known for a long time, the Democratic delegate selection process is a travesty. Starting with the disenfranchising caucus system, which shuts out legions of voters from the process, to the unbalanced proportional system of awarding delegates by congressional district (which produces such perverse results like a candidate winning 60% of the vote in a district receiving the same amount of delegates and a different candidate receiving 60% of the delegates with a 50.1% of the vote in another district), to the overweighting of regions arbitrarily and haphazardly (for example, in Nevada rural district were overweighted, in Texas urban districts were overweighted), to awarding low turnout states disproportional representation to high turnout states, the entire system is a travesty of democracy.

Let me put it bluntly, anyone holding up the pledged delegate count as representing the "will of the people" is simply full of it. It does not. It thwarts the will of the people. BY DESIGN. Now we have the latest bit of evidence that the pledged delegate system is a total crock:

At some point, one hopes, Barack Obama and his supporters will start thinking about winning in November. It needs to start with seating the Florida and Michigan delegations. There are many arguments that those worried about the future Democratic primary schedule can raise about this and that and the integrity of the RULZ. I think they do not have much merit, but I am not writing here to rehash that. Why? Because a normal functioning Democratic Party would not be wasting time thinking about the 2012 primary schedule and instead would be thinking about making the 2012 primaries moot - by winning the Presidency in 2008. No one will remember or care about Donna Brazile and her silly RULZ fixations in 2016, if we win the White House in 2008.

Which brings me to Florida. Adam Smith argues it SHOULD be in play this Fall:

Shame on Alabama:

Back in the day of chain gangs, Alabama passed a law that gave sheriffs $1.75 a day to feed each prisoner in their jails, and the sheriffs got to pocket anything that was left over. More than 80 years later, most Alabama counties still operate under this system, with the same $1.75-a-day allowance, and some sheriffs are actually making money on top of their salaries. ...

Critics charge that Alabama is, in effect, paying law enforcement to skimp on food and may be rewarding sheriffs for mistreating prisoners.

"Critics charge"? We should all be critical of laws that reward the mistreatment of prisoners. Does anybody out there think this is sound public policy? (more...)

Go West Dems!

The latest Ras GE polling has both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton leading John McCain in New Mexico:

Obama 50
McCain 41

Clinton 47
McCain 41

Barack Obama will definitely defeat John McCain in New Mexico in November. Hillary Clinton can as well. Dem NM Senate candidate Tom Udall has a huge lead over his potential GOP opponents.

By Big Tent Democrat

I always am amazed that discussions of the Unity Ticket never seem to include any reasons why it MIGHT be a good idea. Thus, I must protest Bob Wright's discussion with Mickey Kaus of the Unity ticket possibility.

Their entire discussion is predicated on the assumption that, despite the fact that Democratic voters strongly support a Unity Ticket, it is bad for Obama to have Clinton on the ticket. I think the polling has clearly said otherwise. I have made arguments for why I think it is almost essential that Obama pick Clinton as his running mate. No such arguments are addressed in most elite pundit discussions of a Unity Ticket.

More . . .

Bump and Update(TL): Mass General Hospital is expected to make a statement shortly.

CNN is reporting. Let's hope he is ok. Our thoughts are with you Senator Kennedy.

Update (TL): News report here.

Hillary Clinton is running this ad in Oregon:

It seems a good one to me.

By Big Tent Democrat