Hillary Clinton will be on the Stephen Colbert show tonight. Michelle Obama was on earlier this week.

If you watch it, let us know what you think.

Update: I just got an e-mail from the Colbert Report. John Edwards and Barack Obama will also make appearances on the show. Edwards will be in person and Obama will appear by satellite.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only and post edited

Would a Democrat say:

There's really no difference between what happened in the Bush years and the Clinton years; that there's not much difference in how small-town Pennsylvania fared when Clinton was president, and in this decade when Bush was President.

Or would a Democrat dispute that point? In a way, there is a certain clarity that is being reached in the Obama blogworld - they want the Clinton part of the Democratic Party and the Clinton legacy demolished and destroyed. I personally think that leads to political suicide for the Democratic Party. But the Unity Schtick does not appear to extend to fellow Dems from the Obama blogs. Their hatred of Bill and Hillary Clinton has become more important to them than Obama's chances of winning in November.

Update: comments now closed

By Big Tent Democrat

Chris Bowers reports:

I went to the spin room after the debate . . . I passed Governor Ed Rendell just as he was finishing an interview. Afterwards, appearing very happy, he said the following to someone standing next to him, revealing not only what he thought of the debate, but also of the early questions at the debate:

Even an Obama Kool-Aid drinking guy like yourself has to admit she scored a decisive victory tonight. A decisive victory. A knockout blow. A decisive victory. A decisive victory. Even more decisive when they started asking real questions.

. . . It was a candid, off-the record moment that I was able to catch because I was only standing five feet away.

Interesting. Good reporting by Bowers.

By Big Tent Democrat

On the Trina Bachtel story, I disagree with Paul Krugman's correction. I think Krugman is wrong when he writes:

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Last summer, Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson defending Daily Kos:

BILL O’REILLY, HOST: Now for the top story tonight, another view of this. Joining us from Washington, Howard Wolfson, a top advisor to Senator Clinton. On Mrs. Clinton's website stands this statement: "Tell Bill O'Reilly to stop smearing grassroots progressives." That after our reporting on JetBlue sponsoring the Kos convention. So Mr. Wolfson, you want to explain that?

HOWARD WOLFSON, CLINTON COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Bill, I think it's unfortunate that in the last week or so, you have cherry picked some comments on the DailyKos site that you or I or others might find objectionable and have decided to smear an entire community, hundreds of thousands of people who go to the site every day, who talk to one another, who participate vigorously in our democracy, and are urging Democratic presidential candidates to stay away from their yearly conference. And unfortunately, with all due respect for you, the days where you can dictate where Senator Clinton and other Democrats go, who we talk to, are over.

Daily Kos today:

It's bizarre, but I don't really consider [Hillary Clinton] a Dem any more.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

On the theory, I guess, that one of his darts might possibly hit a target, the charlatan pundit who claims to be a pollster, John Zogby, tells us Pennsylvania is a tie (Let me add that if Zogby were actually a pollster, this finding would not be particularly newsworthy in that the movement from his previous poll (Clinton down 2, Obama up 1) is well within the MOE. It is not a surprising finding. But I know that Zogby is a charlatan and he just makes the numbers up by manipulating his turnout model.)

The race might indeed be a tie but I am sure John Zogby has no idea if it is or if it is not. He is a charlatan. But I do thank him for giving me another chance to call him one. After his disappearance after his humiliating exposure this campaign season, I thought I might not get such a chance again.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Our friend Markos approvingly quotes this offensive comment:

It's bizarre, but I don't really consider [Hillary Clinton] a Dem any more.

It is bizarre that any Dem who wants to win in November with a unified Party would quote that approvingly. For the record, would "not a Dem" say this?

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Greg Mitchell writes:

In perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years, ABC News hosts Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous focused mainly on trivial issues as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in Philadelphia. They, and their network, should hang their collective heads in shame.

Apparently, Mitchell skipped all of the NBC moderated debates this campaign season. ABC's performance last night was truly horrendous. The bias and unfairness against Obama incredible. But Greg Mitchell has had nothing to say about NBC becoming the Obama News Network. During debates and beyond. Has he watched Keith Olbermann's embarrassing performances? Truth be told, people like Greg Mitchell need to hang their head in shame because they said NOTHING when the hatchet job was done on Hillary Clinton. This is Boehlert's Revenge:

What’s happening online now is potentially dangerous: HRC has gotten dreadful press, not fair, “gotcha,” and so on — there’s a portion of the blogosphere that has ignored that and there’s a portion that has encouraged that.

It’s dangerous because the media criticism has to be consistent and relentless, and we can’t very well say, “You can’t go after our candidates … except this one.” I get nervous about pushback regarding disingenuous coverage - our response needs to be, “You can’t treat Democrats this way.” When people in the left blogosphere are quoting an anonymous Matt Drudge source, it makes me nervous.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

I have sworn off calling rabid Obama supporters cultists. It is mean, divisive and not fair to the 95% of Obama supporters that realize Obama does not walk on water. But I must admit some Obama supporters sorely tempt me:

I don't recall past campaigns where one candidate (in this case Clinton) devoted pretty much all her resources into examining tapes and transcripts to find awkward phrases that could be used to fan fears about a the opposing candidate. I don't know. But I do know this. I'm glad my candidate [Barack Obama] is not the one who is relying on tactics like this to win to win the Presidency.

My gawd. The sad thing is he really believes this. I end this post now before I direct the dreaded cult word at him.

By Big Tent Democrat

Conservative Philly radio talk show host Michael Smerconish (he is on MSNBC a lot and is buddies with Tweety I think) has endorsed Barack Obama. I suppose this is good for Obama but it does make me scratch my head:

I'm still a Republican, and while I won't have a vote in the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, like everyone else, I have an opinion as to the better of the two. It's Obama. I've watched virtually all the Democratic debates. Spent time reading the policy papers. Read each of their memoirs. There are few discernible differences between the two on the issues (she wants an individual mandate on health care; he's more anxious to leave Iraq). Each offers a similarly liberal agenda that will cause me angst in the fall.

But right now, one is more focused on an issue of paramount concern to me - the failure to avenge the deaths of innocent Americans by bringing Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to justice. And that's Obama.

(Emphasis supplied.) Has Obama been talking a lot about bin Laden and al-Zawahiri lately? I guess I missed that. Anyway, FWIW.

So does Bruce Springsteen.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Josh Marshall ridicules MoDo for having kind words for Hillary:

You know she's got it bad when she has the bit so firmly in her teeth that she even finds herself saying good things about Hillary.

Indeed, I doubt we will ever again see the day when Josh Marshall has a kind word for Hillary. The lack of self awareness is truly astonishing. Is he not aware that he is now on the frontlines of the Hillary Hating blogs?

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Got to have a little fun with our friends at daily kos who now tell us some states do not actually matter:

There's never been any reason to expect Obama to do well in Appalachia, so even if Clinton hangs around through Kentucky, a big win there won't mean much either in delegates gained or in creating a perception of momentum.

(Emphasis supplied.) For the record, I do not think any Dem has a chance in Kentucky or MS, GA, AL, AZ, TX, ID, UT, WY, ND, etc. But I do find it rich that the Big Orange now tells us it is ok to say some states do not matter.