Hillary Clinton today asked Barack Obama to participate in a Lincoln-Douglas style debate without moderators. They would each ask the other questions.

Obama tells Fox News in a segment that will air tomorrow there will be no more debates before May 6, when Indiana and North Carolina vote.

Hillary's challenge:

“You know, after the last debate in Philadelphia, Senator Obama’s supporters complained a little bit about the tough questions. And you know, tough questions in the debate are nothing compared to the tough questions you get asked when you’re president and you have to answer them to make tough decisions,” she said.

“So here’s my proposal: I’m offering Senator Obama the chance to debate me one-on-one, no moderators. Just the two of us, going for 90 minutes, asking and answering questions. We’ll set whatever rules seem fair.”

Update: Comments now closed.

Just out from Newsweek:

After an important primary win in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton has reduced Democratic rival Barack Obama's double-digit lead among registered Democrats and voters leaning Democratic by more than half, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Plagued by controversies over Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments and the candidate's own "bitter" remarks, Obama has seen his favorability rating slip significantly in the last week, the poll found.

The survey found that Clinton now trails Obama by seven points, down from 19 just one week ago. The previous NEWSWEEK poll, conducted on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, found that more than half (55 percent) of registered voters believed Obama was more electable, while 33 percent gave the edge to Clinton. The current poll finds Obama leading 46 percent to 38 percent.

Complete poll results are here.

I actually think this post has a lot of insightful analysis but I do chuckle that its central point is that a 50 State Presidential strategy this year is a pipe dream:

Even West Virginia, once one of the most Democratic states in the country—it voted for Dukakis and was one of the six states won by Jimmy Carter in 1980—is now moving in to Republican territory for Presidential years. It's not as Republican as Kentucky, but like Kentucky it's unlikely to go Democratic regardless of the Democratic nominee, even if it were Clinton.

More . .

Flamboyant attorney and legal analyst Geoff Fieger, perhaps best known for his defense of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, is on trial in federal court in Detroit. He and his law partner, Van Johnson, are charged with having employees at their law firm and others donate to John Edwards' presidential campaign and then reimbursing them, in violation of federal campaign laws. Fieger is also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly concealing a memo and tampering with grand jury witnesses. (Background here.)

Gerry Spence, a legendary jury communicator, is representing Fieger. From his opening argument:

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Some Congressional Obama (I know some pretend to be "neutral") supporters seem intent on damaging Barack Obama's candidacy.

I have already mentioned Jim Clyburn's disastrous behavior. Nancy Pelosi has been a disaster for a while now. Now a new WaPo article provides more of the same:

"If you have any, any kind of loyalty to the Democratic Party, perhaps you need to rethink your strategy and bow out gracefully in order to save this party from a disastrous end in November," Rep. William Lacy Clay (Mo.), an African American Obama supporter, said in an appeal to Clinton.

(Emphasis supplied.) What an insulting, divisive and stupid remark. With friends like these, Obama needs no enemies. They seem intent on making Obama unelectable. More . .

After years of isolation in detention at Guantánamo, is Salim Ahmed Hamdan competent to assist his lawyers in mounting a defense? His lawyers say he's not.

They say Mr. Hamdan has essentially been driven crazy by solitary confinement in an 8-foot-by-12-foot cell where he spends at least 22 hours a day, goes to the bathroom and eats all his meals. His defense team says he is suicidal, hears voices, has flashbacks, talks to himself and says the restrictions of Guantánamo “boil his mind.”

A defendant who isn't competent to understand the proceedings or to assist in his own defense has a due process right not to be put on trial. But due process seemingly has little meaning at Guantánamo. Hamdan's lawyers want their client placed in a less restrictive setting until he's able to focus on his defense. The government's response is less a defense of Guantánamo than an indictment of the American prison system. (more...)

Alice Palmer is campaigning for Hillary Clinton today in Indiana:

Joining Chelsea Clinton and other women leaders to campaign for Hillary Clinton today is Alice Palmer, the former state senator who picked Obama to be her successor back in the mid-90s. When she tried to reclaim her spot, though, Obama got her booted from the ballot.

Her story is an interesting one, since it shows how Obama plays hardball.

Fresh from his work as a civil rights lawyer and head of a voter registration project that expanded access to the ballot box, Obama launched his first campaign for the Illinois Senate saying he wanted to empower disenfranchised citizens.

But in that initial bid for political office, Obama quickly mastered the bare-knuckle arts of Chicago electoral politics. His overwhelming legal onslaught signaled his impatience to gain office, even if that meant elbowing aside an elder stateswoman like Palmer.

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Former President Bill Clinton is taking on a greater role Hillary's campaign. The Wall. St. Journal today:

His relentless approach to battling Barack Obama -- on the trail and inside the campaign -- is becoming key to Sen. Clinton's newfound success, as she has won four of the last six primaries.

He believes the campaign should be stronger in its attacks on Obama. He's also increasing his campaign appearances.

Mr. Clinton also told the campaign to double the number of his daily appearances. "Look at this schedule -- you've got me down for four events," he said the week before Pennsylvania's primary, according to one operative. "Give me six, eight a day. Get me to the suburbs where I can make a difference."

His involvement has had a positive impact. In the rural counties in PA where he campaigned for Hillary, she got more votes: [More...]

The DNC Rulea and Bylaws Committee will meet May 31 to decide whether the DNC exceeded its authority in stripping FL and MI delegates because the states held early primaries.

The plan under consideration: Allowing all the superdelegates to vote and giving the pledged delegates 1/2 vote (or only seating 1/2 the pledged delegates.

Michigan lost 128 pledged delegates and 28 superdelegates, for a total of 156. Florida lost 185 pledged and 25 superdelegates, or a total of 210.

If it were valid, Florida's election would have given Clinton 105 delegates to Obama's 67. Michigan's would have given Clinton 73 delegates, while 55 were uncommitted. That means awarding half-delegates would give Clinton 89 more delegates and Obama 33.5, with 27.5 uncommitted.delegates.)

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Supporters of both Obama and Clinton seem unable to even consider a Unity Ticket. I think that is exactly why it is necessary. The divisions are extreme now. They are not ideological. Heck, how could they be? There is not a dime's worth of difference between the candidates on the issues.

Some want imagine there is some huge philosophical war going on - some New v. Old Politics fight to the finish. That is delusion or a grasp at thinking there is something really meaningful to this nomination fight. Others have absolutely no concern about the divisions in the Party. Indeed, there is more concern about the probable winning candidate's base:

The Field’s presumed qualifications are that it will be a Catholic Democrat of evident competence and experience, a team player, and someone the nominee and his base consider ready to be president.

(Emphasis supplied.) We already know how immature Nancy Pelosi has been. I wonder if there are any grownups left in the Democratic Party.

If Rep. Darrell Issa has his way, you'll need to read the fine print carefully before signing up with an Internet Service Provider:

Issa suggested that Internet providers could get "consent from every single person who signed up to operate under their auspices" for federal police to monitor network traffic for attempts to steal personal information and national secrets.

Issa's plan would give the FBI yet another mechanism for invading your privacy.

"That's very troubling," said Greg Nojeim, director of the project on freedom, security, and technology at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "It could be an effort to achieve, through unknowing consent, permission to monitor communications in a way that would otherwise be prohibited by law."

Do you really want to consent to an an "FBI-can-monitor-everything clause" when you sign up with an ISP? Since most of us would balk at such a blatant invasion of our privacy, and since people who send us email (particularly from another country) may not themselves have consented to sharing their thoughts with the FBI, Issa has a back-up plan which, unsurprisingly, is even worse. (more...)

Read Somerby on Olbermann. Scroll down to "The Torch Is Passed."

Countdown has almost surely become the most propagandized show in cable “news” history. Yes, you can still find pure crap in the mainstream press. But pure crap abounds now on Countdown.

Obama's O'Reilly is Olbermann. This is an Open Thread.

Comments now closed. Thread cleaned of some insults. Not finished yet.