Friday night, every cable news show I watched, mostly on MSNBC, took former President Bill Clinton to task for reverting to attacks on Barack Obama, much like he did before the South Carolina primary.

Now comes the Dallas Morning News, with just the opposite story.

Headline: "Bill Clinton avoids attacks on Obama in East Texas."

The story:

On a campaign swing through East Texas on Friday, Bill Clinton said over and over that he has nothing against Barack Obama.

"I'm not against anybody," he told an overflow crowd in the student center at Tyler Junior College. "I'm for Hillary." Later, he added: "If you disagree, you have another very attractive choice."

The former president, admitting that Texas looms as a make-or-break state for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential hopes, scrupulously avoided attacks on Mr. Obama – attacks of the type for which he was roundly criticized after the Jan. 26 South Carolina primary.

Go figure.

Here's an late-night roundup:

• NY Times: Al Gore and John Edwards are holding back on endorsements. Gore, in particular, is waiting in the wings to play mediator if the race doesn't tip soon towards Hillary or Obama.

• NY Times: Some New York City superdelagates holding firm for Hillary, even in districts Obama won.

• NY Times: McCain v. Obama on public financing. The League of Women Voters weighs in on this.

• AP: Hillary says she can beat Obama and McCain. For her, it's not "Yes, we can" but "Yes, we will."

• AP: Obama on Hillary: "I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she's feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal," he told reporters." Here's the video. Sexist? Very, says Lambert at Corrente Wire. [More...]

It's been a contentious week in the blogoshpere and the media between the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama factions. It's Friday night. Let's lighten up -- here's something for fans of each of them:

[hat tip to The New York Times' Caucus Blog.] This is an open thread.

The Washington Post lays out the problems for Obama in Texas. Shorter version: He still suffers from a lack of support in the Hispanic community.

It begins with John McCain, who does have Hispanic support in Texas:

The Latino community is a critical piece of any Democratic candidate's general election calculations. Against John McCain, who has championed comprehensive immigration reform to his detriment in the Republican primaries, the Democratic nominee will face an opponent who begins the general election with a credible chance of holding a solid minority of the Hispanic vote.

On to Hillary: [More...]

Via Jerome at MyDD:

Here's the state of the race that includes all 50 states (TL adds: in other words, with Florida and Michigan counting):

Clinton leads Obama, 1127 to 1119, in pledged delegates.

Clinton leads Obama, 240 to 140, in super-delegates.

There are 393 remaining super-delegates.

There are 1301 remaining pledged delegates.

There are another 94 remaining delegates among the uncommitted, and John Edwards delegates.

Sources: Jerome says Green Papers and DemConWatch have the best and most accurate information.

I disagree with Big Tent Democrat, Markos and every other Obama supporter on what to do about Florida. (I'm saving Michigan for another post as it's factually different.)

I don't believe that Obama suffered because of the lack of campaigning allowed in Florida. And, if he did, so did Hillary. They had television. Floridians could watch the debates and the nightly news and read the newspapers. They weren't living in a cave.

It's evident from the high turnout in the Florida primary -- 1.7 million Democrats voted in a primary that was not open to Independents-- that Floridian Democrats came out in record numbers. They voted early, voted absentee and voted on their primary day. In all, 4 million voters voted on Jan. 29, 41% of all registered voters. That's a huge percentage for a primary.

Florida Dems didn't willingly hold their primary early, the Republican legislature forced the early date on them. [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

While I think it is pretty clear that the DNC did not follow its rules regarding Florida and Michigan, I think Obama supporters make a compelling argument: why didn't Clinton fight for Florida in 2007? It does require a response.

I think the short answer is the DNC used the leverage of possible backlash in Iowa and NH to get the candidates to go along with its wrongheaded and harmful actions. Given the strength Clinton had and I believe would have in a revote in Florida, it seems they miscalculated. Clinton should have fought for Florida at least, since the Florida date change was forced by a Republican controlled legislature (see Rule 21 of the DNC Delegate Selection rules which seem to provide Florida a safe harbor to protect its delegates.)

That said, that still does not address the Obama argument that he did not get to compete for the votes in Florida and Michigan by campaigning in Florida and Michigan. A very fair point. But what are we to do? I go back to my original solution:

By Big Tent Democrat

Like Move On, Speaker Pelosi's daughter, Christine Pelosi, seems not to care who wins the most votes in this nomination process:

"Many of us are elected by the grassroots of the party," she said, "And I cannot imagine going home in November to those people and try to phone bank for someone who did not capture the [pledged delegate] vote... We were all galvanized by what happened to Al Gore in Florida."

Apparently Ms. Pelosi does not at ALL remember what happened to Al Gore, he won the POPULAR VOTE, and lost the vote of the "delegates" to the Electoral College. Ms. Pelosi has it exactly backwards. I for one would be dismayed if the Popular Vote winner were denied the nomination due to the undemocratic pledged delegate process - with its undemocratic caucus and apportionment processes. That would be a travesty.

By Big Tent Democrat

This horse has long been beaten to death, but this thoughtful diary about the MI/FL fiasco ignores the fact that, as commenter dhonig points out, it was the DNC that changed the rules of what the punishment would be for moving up the Mi and FL primaries. Rule 20(c)(1) of the DNC Rules on Selection of Delegates at the time the date changes were enacted by Michigan and Florida stated:

By Big Tent Democrat

As we say in Spanish, una muerte anunciada:

Sen. Barack Obama won the support Friday of the 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union, his second endorsement in as many days from large labor organizations . . . "There has never been a fight in Illinois or a fight in the nation where our members have not asked Barack Obama for assistance and he has not done everything he could to help us," Andy Stern, the union's president, told reporters in announcing the decision.

By Big Tent Democrat

Dog bites man, Joe Lieberman supports torture:

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman reluctantly acknowledged Thursday that he does not believe waterboarding is torture, but believes the interrogation technique should be available only under the most extreme circumstances.

Lieberman was one of 45 senators who voted Wednesday in opposition to a bill that would limit the CIA to the 19 interrogation techniques outlined in the Army field manual. That manual prohibits waterboarding, a method where detainees typically are strapped to a bench and have water poured into their mouth and nose making them feel as if they will drown.

(Emphasis supplied.) It bears repeating, shame on Connecticut for reelecting Lieberman.

By Big Tent Democrat

Research 2000 says it is 47-42:

ALL MEN WOMEN

Barack Obama 47% 53% 42%

Hillary Clinton 42% 36% 47%

Undecided 11% 11% 11%