By Big Tent Democrat

Rules are rules, except when they are not. This has been the Obama motto in this Democratic contest.

In discussing the Michigan revote, it is important to note that the basis of Barack Obama's objection is that the rules of the Democratic National Committee require that voters who vote in the Republican primary be excluded from the Democratic primary in the same year. The Detroit Free Press reports:

By Big Tent Democrat

As reported by the Detroit News:

Clinton turns up heat for do-over
But new primary looks unlikely with Obama camp balking and time short.

Despite a quick visit from Hillary Clinton to make the case and pressure from other top Democrats, supporters of Barack Obama appeared no closer Wednesday to accepting plans for a do-over Democratic primary.

Supporters of the June 3 revote -- including a four-member committee of top Michigan Democrats that hatched the plan -- held out hope that the state Legislature would act on a bill to hold the new primary. But with time running short, the Obama campaign, which has little to gain and much potential for loss in a new vote, piled on the legal objections, and it remained unclear Wednesday night whether the proposal would even get an up-or-down vote in the Legislature.

More . . .

Tim Hames of the TimesOnLine examines Obama's speech and assesses its impact. He thought the speech was outstanding and moving. He thinks it will be remembered in a positive, ground-breaking way for years to come.

That said, what effect will it have on the presidential race?

Was the speech a turning point? No. Will the issue of the Rev Jeremiah Wright and his views on race be a burden to Barack Obama all the way to election day? Yes.

The Illinois senator demonstrated yet again his eloquence in his address in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The fundamental question about his candidacy, however, is whether a man who would be the least experienced president of the United States since Jimmy Carter has the judgment to serve in the Oval Office. That is the doubt that Hillary Clinton exploited in the Ohio and Texas primaries and it is the theme that SenatorJohn McCain will hammer home if Obama is his opponent for the White House.

More...

SUSA had three polls out yesterday:

• Ohio:

If there were an election for President of the United States today, and the only two names on the ballot were Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton, who would you vote for?

Clinton leads McCain, 50% to 44%

What if it was John McCain against Democrat Barack Obama?

McCain leads Obama, 50% to 43%

• Missouri, same questions:

McCain leads Hillary, 48% to 46%
McCain leads Obama, 53% to 39%.

• Kentucky, same questions:

McCain leads Hillary, 53% to 43%
McCain leads Obama, 64% to 28%

The AP reports that Gallup daily tracking polls shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 49% to 42% on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Will Obama's race speech turn the tide for him?

The New York Times says Hillary has to win Pennsylvania and lead in the popular vote (which doesn't include caucuses ) by the time the primaries end in June. [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

On Hardball, Tweety Matthews came up with this novel solution for Michigan and Florida:

Both candidates agree to full revotes in Michigan and Florida and both candidates agree that the winner of the national popular vote will be the nominee of the Democratic Party.

I second that motion Chris. Tweety thinks Hillary would turn that down. He is so wrong. She would take it in a heartbeat. OBAMA will say no no no to that one Tweety.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

With every Obama blog whining that Hillary Clinton should drop out*, it is worth remembering this key point - the reason the Democratic contest will not be decided by the Convention is because Barack Obama did everything in his power to remove certainty from the contest by acting to block revotes in Florida and Michigan.

More . . .

On this 5th anniversary of the vote to authorize an invasion of Iraq, who is the candidate most likely to get us out? As the Clinton campaign suggests in this video, Barack Obama has been anything but clear and consistent.

I'd put it another way. Obama, even today, wants to focus on who did what five years ago. That is so not the issue and so last year. Voters want to know who has the best plan for an exit and who is best going to be able to execute that plan.

Here's Hillary's plan. Here are 34 Admirals and Generals explaining why Hillary is better equipped to be commander in chief and why her plan to exit Iraq is both the best and most achievable: [More...]

The March 10, 2008 issue of the New Yorker has a very long profile on Michelle Obama. It's mostly a big puff piece, but I wonder what the evangelicals will make of this:

Barack had a more bohemian attitude toward romance. “We would have this running debate throughout our relationship about whether marriage was necessary,” Obama told me. “It was sort of a bone of contention, because I was, like, ‘Look, buddy, I’m not one of these who’ll just hang out forever.’ You know, that’s just not who I am.

He was, like”—she broke into a wishy-washy voice—“ ‘Marriage, it doesn’t mean anything, it’s really how you feel.’ And I was, like, ‘Yeah, right.’ ” Eventually, he proposed to her over dinner at Gordon, a restaurant in Chicago. “

Right now, I'm on the Hillary Clinton press conference call today with Howard Wolfson and Mark Penn. They choose the topic and start with a little speech but then reporters can ask questions on any topic.

Here's a rough live blog (because it's a live blog it's not in complete sentences, and it's not a transcript, I can't type quite that fast.)

Their topic today: recent polling data.

Their points: There are changes happening with voters. While Obama was declaring himself the frontrunner, the polls show his lead with Democrats nationally is evaporating.

Cites the Gallup daily tracking poll and Zogby/Reuters polls. Obama's lead is down from 14 points to 3 points, suggesting a strong swing of momentum for Hillary after Ohio and TX.

As Obama is finally going through the vetting and testing process, his ability to beat McCain is dropping. Some new polls show Hillary is better able to beat McCain. Cites USA Today/ Gallup, PPP poll. [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

The trend continues:

New Gallup Poll Daily tracking finds Hillary Clinton with a 49% to 42% lead over Barack Obama in national Democratic voters' presidential nomination preference. . . . The initial indications are that the speech has not halted Clinton's gaining momentum, as she led by a similar margin in Tuesday night's polling as compared to Monday night's polling.

Time will tell where this is heading.

Update (TL): Comments now closed.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

No excuse left for Barack Obama and his ardent supporters. Once so outraged by so called attempted "disenfranchisement" by Hillary Clinton, prove that their concern for the voters was false, as they either cheer or stand silent to Barack Obama's attempts to stop the revote in Michigan. The DNC has given the the thumbs up to the MI revote plan:

We have recently been asked whether the legislation as proposed by Michigan would fit within the framework of the National Party’s Delegate Selection Rules. Our review of this legislation indicates that it would, in fact, fit within the framework of the Rules if, it were, passed by the state legislature and used by the Michigan State Democratic Party as the basis of drafting a formal Delegate Selection Plan. If a formal Delegate Selection Plan is received we will convene a meeting of the RBC to consider such a Plan.

No more excuses Barack Obama. No more excuses Obama supporters who claimed a love for voters rights. Your hypocrisy is revealed. As they love to say, this is a question of what type of Democratic Party we will be - one that aims to enfranchise voters or disenfranchise them.

At a time when the country's struggle to overcome racial divisions is deservedly making front page news, the Supreme Court overturned a Louisiana conviction after concluding that a state prosecutor deliberately excluded a black student from serving on the defendant's jury. The opinion reinforces an earlier decision that called for stronger judicial scrutiny of the bogus explanations that prosecutors often give for their decisions to remove minority group members from criminal juries.

The decision (pdf) was 7-2, with Justices Scalia and Thomas joining in an unsurprising dissent. More surprising is that Justice Alito did not join them. In fact, he wrote the majority opinion.