The San Francisco Chronicle has an article today by Bob Egelko comparing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on crime issues.

Shorter version: They are pretty similar and not particularly liberal (certainly not as much as I would like them to be.)

There are some things I take issue with. For more on Obama's record on crime and defendants' rights, see my earlier analysis here.

It's true, as the article says, that while both support the death penalty, Obama worked to revise it in Illinois to prevent wrongful convictions and Hillary was an early and consistent supporter in Congress of the Innocence Protection Act.

But neither one opposes the death penalty for the guilty. Obama, for example, supported legislation in Illinois to increase crimes eligible for the death penalty -- specifically for those convicted of brutal murders of the elderly and mentally disabled. (Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2001, available on Lexis.com) He also supports it for heinous crimes.

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Is this an appropriate photo of Hillary Clinton for Time Magazine? Not to my mind. I think it's very offensive. Not just the depiction, but the uneven anatomy. Gross.

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are on 60 Minutes tonight.

If you watched, tell us what you thought. Was the coverage even? Did it change your mind or add to your conviction as to which candidate to support?

By Big Tent Democrat

A lot of my theories of this election will be facing their moments of truth in the next month. I will lay them out here now so folks can razz me on how wrong I was.

The Dem Nomination

Hillary runs better than Obama in contested big state primaries. The tests? Texas and Ohio on March 4th.

As a result, Clinton is still the favorite for the nomination. The test? Well, winning the nomination.

To win the nomination, Obama needs to run better with women, registered Dems, Latinos and working class whites. The test? Again Texas and Ohio on March 4th.

More . . .

By Big Tent Democrat

CNN declares Obama the winner of the Maine Caucus. He leads by 58-41 with 70% of the precincts reporting. As many of us expected, it appears Barack Obama will win another February contest.

As Jeralyn reported earlier, Maine has 24 delegates. CNN projects that Obama takes 15 to Clinton's 9 for a 6 delegate gain.

Clinton is very likely to lose every contest until March 4, when big states Ohio and Texas have their contests. What effect will this string of losses have on the campaign narrative?

Update(TL): Comments almost at 250, time to close this thread. Thanks for your thoughts.

ABC News reports Hillary Clinton went to John Edwards' home in North Carolina on Thursday to ask for his support. Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with him tomorrow.

Who will Edwards endorse if anyone? He seemed more aligned with Obama when he was in the campaign, but that was mostly on lobbyists. On poverty and health care, which were his main issues, I think Hillary is closer to him.

What could each offer John Edwards if elected to sweeten the pot? I doubt he wants to be Attorney General -- maybe Hillary can offer to let him be in charge of tweaking and getting universal health care through Congress. A health care czar?

Patti Solis Doyle has stepped down as Hillary Clinton's campaign manager. She will remain as a senior campaign advisor. The new campaign manager is Maggie Williams:

In a note she sent to her staff, Solis Doyle announced that this week Maggie Williams, Clinton's chief of staff when she was first lady, "will begin to assume the duties of campaign manager." Solis Doyle said she would remain as a senior adviser to the campaign.

Here's a report from the blog Turn Maine Blue, where caucus goers and local news are reporting some results [by BTD, and here is CNN's running totals, with 44% reporting, it is 57-42 Obama]:

• Fairfield:

  In the end, said caucus Chairman Franklin Bouchard, there were 55 Democrats for Obama and 54 for Clinton. The vote means each camp will send seven delegates to the Maine Democratic Party convention in May.

• Obama wins Cape Elizabeth by a large margin.

• Hillary wins Turner (Results (including 8 absentees) were: Clinton 62; Obama 55; Edwards 1; Undecided 2) and Wells (Clinton: 151, Obama: 122, Kucinich: 4,Undecided: 4)

• Obama wins Houlton and Rockport

More below the fold:

The Writers' Strike is about to end. The union voted to approve a settlement. Here are the major terms.

The LA Times Strike Zone is here.

It doesn't look like this in Maine today, but the picture is so pretty I'm using it anyway. There's heavy snow in Maine but it's not expected to deter turnout.

The Washington Post reports that older women will be key for Hillary in Maine.

The delegate count is small, the state has 24 pledged delegates and 10 superdelegates, who can support the candidate they prefer and make the decision at any time.

As to who is eligible to vote in the Maine caucuses:

Caucuses are held by each municipal Democratic committee. Any enrolled Democrat within a municipality can attend the municipal caucus. New voters and unenrolled voters can also attend by registering as Democrats at the caucus. Voters registered as Greens or Republicans must change their registration by Jan. 26, 2008 to participate in this year's Democratic Caucus. Young voters who will be 18 by Election Day, November 4, 2008 can participate in the caucus.

I'll start another thread on Maine when the results and exit polls are in.

By Big Tent Democrat

With all the talk about superdelegates, I must admit I am more than somewhat confused on what Barack Obama's position is. First Read reported:

Obama would not commit to a position he had put forward previously that superdelegates should vote the way their states did -- should the Democratic nomination come down to their votes.

"I think those superdelegates and elected officials and party insiders would have to think long and hard about how they approach the nomination if the people they represent have said that Obama is our guy," Obama said the morning after the February 5th primaries.

(Emphasis supplied.) It is obvious why Obama will not stick to that position - having lost California, New York, New Jersey, Florida* and Michigan* - he would be guaranteeing a huge loss for himself among superdelegates. Having won in states like Alaska, Idaho and the like, he will be giving away the game with that position.

Thus he now says:

By Big Tent Democrat

It is funny to see the Obama camp decrying the rules that allow superdelegates to choose whichever candidate they prefer. I happen to agree with them. There should NOT be any superdelegates. That is one of many travesties in this horror show of a nominating process that the DNC has approved. Let's face it, the DNC has screwed this up six ways to Sunday.

From the absurd caucus system which is the biggest disenfranchising process in this entire system, to the craziness of apportioning delegates, to this Washington travesty, we have been cursed with an awful system for choosing our nominee.

What are we left with? These crappy rules. And what can we do? Accept it. As Matt Yglesias writes:

I'll take a middle ground view -- I think Chris is right to think it'd be a pretty bitter pill to swallow if that's how things shake out, but the controlling principle here is that "the rules are the rules." . . . [T]here's a lot of oddness in the nominating system and there's no point of plucking out any particular feature and slamming it as unfair as the process unfolds.

Update (TL): Comments now closed on this thread.