By Big Tent Democrat

I am on a Howard Wolfson press conference call and in response to an Andrea Mitchell question about whether the Clinton camp was involved in pushing the Obama Somali garb photo. Wolfson answered "No, not that I am aware of."

Wolfson excoriated the Media (and implicitly bloggers like me) who ran with the story with out doing some independent reporting. I would defend myself by saying that when asked for a statement, the Clinton camp did not issue a denial. Suspending common sense is not a requisite to reporting imo.

If something further develops, I will add it to this post.

NOTE - Comments are now closed.

Tomorrow morning, the ACLU will hold a rally in Washington on the unfairness of mandatory minimum sentences, and specifically, the need to repair the 100:1 crack to powder cocaine sentencing disparity.(Received by e-mail, no link yet.)

Speakers at the rally include:

• Dorothy Gaines, who was charged with conspiracy to deliver crack cocaine due to her then-boyfriend’s alleged participation in a large-scale drug operation as a driver. Ms. Gaines served 6 years of a 19½ year sentence before being granted clemency by President Clinton in 2000.

• Karen Garrison, whose sons are currently serving 15+ years in federal prison for non-violent crack cocaine offenses.

• Kemba Smith, who was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to 24.5 years on charges of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and related charges after a failed relationship, despite her lack of involvement in any drug dealing operation.

The ACLU's written testimony on the need to reform these draconian, unfair penalties is here.

Several bills to reduce the injustice are pending in Congress. I outlined them here. A hearing is scheduled on them tomorrow before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Let me start with this statement - that all politicians are, by definition, shameless hypocrites. And I expect that most of them will do whatever they are allowed to get away with in terms of hypocrisy. And all credit to the Obama campaign for exploiting the Obama Rules to the hilt.

Here, from the conservative publication, the NY Sun, comes the latest on the Obama Rules:

Senator Clinton's campaign is charging Senator Obama with hypocrisy for denouncing independently funded advertising campaigns which supported his opponents in Iowa but saying little about similar efforts being mounted now on his behalf in Ohio. . . . The Clinton campaign's salvo against Mr. Obama came in response to what the New York senator's aides said was a plan by a supermarket union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on pro-Obama television advertising in Ohio between now and the March 4 primary. A spokeswoman for the UFCW, Jill Cashen, confirmed late last night that group funded by union members will roll out TV ads across Ohio tomorrow which underscore the Illinois senator's commitment to universal health care and other issues. . . .[MORE]

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Update [2008-2-25 13:36:24 by Big Tent Democrat]: There could be some clarification on this that may exonerate the Clinton campaign. I will await a further statement and see what it says. It is also worth noting that Daily Kos accepts that the Clinton Campaign had nothing to to do with this.

I think Josh Marshall gets it right on the Obama garb flap:

[W]e got [a] statement in which the Clinton camp says Obama should be "ashamed" at saying the picture is "divisive," without addressing one way or another what they're accused of doing. . . . Put it all together and the Clinton camp would appear to be unwilling to make even the most perfunctory denial that they are or were circulating this photo around.

We held up on this because we never want to take Drudge as a fact witness for anything. But I think the Clinton camp's statement speaks for itself.

I think Josh is right here. And shame on the Clinton camp for pushing this photo out there.

[Update (TL): Comments now closed, there's a new thread on this.]

While I happen to agree at present that Barack Obama does not have sufficient experience to be President, I think it's pretty obvious voters around the country aren't sold on the concept.

At a fundraiser in Boston today, Hillary told her supporters:

"We're going to emphasize more and more the experience gap," Clinton told several hundred supporters who had paid at least $500 to attend a Boston fundraiser. "You'll hear a lot about it the next eight days."

The New York senator said the posters voters are bringing to her events indicate that the issue of experience is coming to the forefront.

"When I first started, it was 'You Go Girl,' 'Women Making History,' all about the pioneering nature of my candidacy," Clinton said. Recently, she said, the signs had changed. "In Houston last night, it was, 'We Want Experience, Not An Experiment,' and 'The White House Is No Place for Training Wheels,'" she said.

Can this work now? I'm not convinced. Perhaps, if John McCain, who has begun making the same argument about Obama, keeps hitting the experience factor this week, it might resonate. [More...]

Nation of Islam founder Louis Farrakhan is now singing the praises of Barack Obama:

In his first major public address since a cancer crisis, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan said Sunday that presidential candidate Barack Obama is the "hope of the entire world" that the U.S. will change for the better.

"This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better," he said. "This young man is capturing audiences of black and brown and red and yellow. If you look at Barack Obama's audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed."

Obama isn't happy with the endorsement:

Said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton: "Sen. Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan's past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister's support."

More...

Check out today's Gallup Daily Tracking Poll showing the month of February, with latest results taken Feb. 22-23. (Larger version here.)

Hillary started February off with 47%. She's now at 46%. She rose 4% in the past few days.

Obama peaked on Feb. 17 at 49%. He had a 7 percent lead over Hillary then. Now, he's down 2 percent to 47% and has stayed flat the last few days. Hillary, meanwhile, is up 4 points from Feb. 17.

In the last few days alone, Obama has stayed flat while Hillary has risen 1%.

Where's the momentum?

I do it every year. Live blog will be below the fold, hope you join in. If you want others to see your comments, put them in this thread rather than the live blog.

More...

By Big Tent Democrat

The Oscars are tonight. Who is going to win? Who should win? Predictions please.

Jeralyn has arrived. This thread is now closing.

By Big Tent Democrat

60 Minutes is about to run its segment on Karl Rove and his alleged actions against Democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Worth a watch

By Big Tent Democrat

The Associated Press continues its atrocious coverage, here it directs its attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism:

Sen. Barack Obama's refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism. Now Obama's wife, Michelle, has drawn their ire, too, for saying recently that she's really proud of her country for the first time in her adult life.

Conservative consultants say that combined, the cases could be an issue for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination, especially as he runs against Vietnam war hero Sen. John McCain.

Yes, as Mark Halperin says, the Media's political coverage is a freak show. Does this mean that the Media is now going to open up the show on Obama? This is just outrageous.

Update (TL): Comments now closed.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

When is mocking your opponent a good thing? According to HuffPo wire service selections, when you are Barack Obama. When is it a bad thing? According to Huff Po, when you are Hillary Clinton.

Any criticism of Obama's statements which do not take into account Obama's clarifications and explanations of what he REALLY meant are unfair personal attacks and the attacker is a "liar" who will say and do anything to get elected. . . . Obama's attacks are always fair and merited. . . .

More . . .