Remember Dems for a Day? Here's the new ad that went up on Barack Obama's website yesterday, telling voters if they are Indpendents or Republicans they must register as Dems by March 24.

Salon has more on the Obama's very orchestrated and intentional campaign to have Republicans and Indpendents register as Dems so he can be our party's nominee. [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

Adam Nagourney writes:

While many superdelegates said they intended to keep their options open as the race continued to play out over the next three months, the interviews suggested that the playing field was tilting slightly toward Mr. Obama in one potentially vital respect. Many of them said that in deciding whom to support, they would adopt what Mr. Obama’s campaign has advocated as the essential principle: reflecting the will of the voters.

(Emphasis supplied.) Ah, the question is begged - what do we mean by the "will of the voters?" Obama means the selected delegate count. Most normal people say the popular vote.

More . . .

By Big Tent Democrat

Ah, the will of the people:

Democrat Barack Obama expanded his fragile lead in delegates over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday, picking up at least seven delegates as Iowa activists took the next step in picking delegates to the national convention. Half the 14 delegates allocated to John Edwards on the basis of caucus night projections switched Saturday and Obama got most, if not all, of them.

I can only laugh at this caucus system. I understand Clinton picked up delegates this way in Colorado. The whole system is a travesty.

By Big Tent Democrat

It is still more than a month until the Pennsylvania primary, but what the heck, let's look at the demographics of Pennsylvania as compared to who voted in Ohio and other states.

More . . .

By Big Tent Democrat

Matt Stoller writes:

Obama is not a part of any progressive fights, so there's no independent organizing going on on his behalf from people who actually understand the right-wing media and how it operates. He's decided he's a post-partisan politician, and when a politician makes that choice, it's not just a disincentive for partisans to fight for that person. It becomes structurally impossible to fight for him because the incentives get all out of whack.

I wonder if that will be true? I have my doubts. It is an untested thesis to be sure since Obama is a Media Darling with his very own cable network to support him, not to mention 99% of the progressive blogosphere. There has been no need to defend him. Heck, Obama has had no need to go really negative, as the Media and the Left blogs have done it for him when it comes to Clinton.

But if Obama is the nominee, do we believe Obama won't be defended by the Left blogs? I find that hard to believe. Heck, I know I will.

• Avedon Carol on Eric Boehlert's and Jamison Foser's Media Matters column. Check out all three.

I'm trying to follow the Iowa county assembly votes today. Here are the January caucus results so you can compare when today's numbers become available. Nieman at Daily Kos may be keeping track.

This is an open thread, with a caveat. We are not commenting (and neither should you) about a candidate and his pastor. Any comments about it will be deleted. People have shown they can't discuss it rationally, and what's okay to one person is insulting to another. My decision, with the full support of Big Tent Democrat, is that it will not be on this site.

As to other topics, the floor is your's.

Via Drudge, here are this week's cable news ratings:

FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2,979,000
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 2,280,000
FNC GRETA 1,896,000
CNN KING 1,640,000
FNC HUME 1,530,000
CNN COOPER 1,417,000
FNC SHEP 1,392,000
CNN DOBBS 1,057,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,001,000
CNNHN GRACE 605,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 507,000

For political shows, Hardball is on the bottom and Olbermann right above him. Will this tell MSNBC anything?

The AP reports that Hillary Clinton supports the proposed Michigan re-vote plan.

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton Saturday said she supported a plan being developed by Michigan Democrats to hold a new primary in June.

As to both Michigan and Florida,

"I feel really strongly about it," Clinton said. "The 2.5 million people (in Michigan and Florida) who voted deserve to be counted. If it were my preference, we'd count their votes but if not, then they should have the opportunity to have a full-fledged primary waged for them and revote."

Where's Obama on this? Hedging.

Spokesman Tommy Vietor Saturday said the campaign was open to a "fair and practical" resolution of the conflict...."We will evaluate the details of any new proposed election carefully as well as any efforts to come to a fair seating of the delegates from Michigan."

Hillary also address the "big state" issue and electability today: [More...]

This fellow needs a bit more training:

An Air National Guard jet mistakenly dropped a 22-pound, nonexplosive practice bomb on an apartment complex in Tulsa, damaging the foundation, but no one was injured, the police said.

Beware of zealots. Today's zealot is Greg Gambril, the district attorney in rural Covington County, Alabama, who is making a name for himself by prosecuting women who use drugs during their pregnancies.

Over an 18-month period, at least eight women have been prosecuted for using drugs while pregnant in this rural jurisdiction of barely 37,000, a tally without any recent parallel that women’s advocates have been able to find.

Gambril's prosections are likely to convince drug using women to avoid seeking medical care during their pregnancies, lest they face imprisonment. Physician-patient privilege assures that won't happen, you think?

Police affidavits make it clear that local doctors are cooperating in these investigations.

Separating women from their newborn children doesn't promote "family values" -- it simply prevents mother and child from bonding during the child's critical formative years. Sensible alternatives would focus on helping women, not sending them to prison.

It isn't at all clear that the prosecutions are consistent with the law upon which Gambril relies: [more...]

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

This afternoon, the Clinton campaign offered up chief campaign strategist Mark Penn and Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer to "discuss" the Rezko issue - demanding "Obama answer all of the questions" plus various and sundry attacks by Clinton and Obama on each other. This conference call raised questions for me, about the Clinton campaign.

Instead of offering any news or positions on the Florida/Michigan situation in their opening statements, a situation which is urgent now, the Clinton campaign gave the same old same old on Rezko. We have heard it all before. If you care about Rezko (and not only do I not, I am sick of hearing about it), then whoopee. But I would have thought the Clinton campaign would rather have discussed the work it is doing to insure that the will of the Democratic voters of Florida and Michigan is counted. My mistake.

More . . .

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Via eriposte. Taking his cues from Josh Marshall, Ezra Klein casually smears Hillary Clinton.

His blog is published by The American Prospect, where previous casual smears of Clinton have been published.

One hopes that TAPPED will improve its standards. There will be no comments to this post.