First Door on the Left

The day is finally upon us. Democrats, and I dare say a lot of Republicans, will go to the polls in Pennsylvania tomorrow to state their preference as to who should be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008.

Hillary Clinton is expected to win, though her projected margin of victory has been shrinking some in the past few weeks. She needs a big win to justify her continued presence in this primary. If, somehow, Barack Obama manages to defeat her, she is done. I predict that she will squeeze out a five to ten point victory, her campaign will spin that into a landslide and she will continue the fight into at least next month.

Both camps went on the air with last minute ads today. First, the Clinton folks made an attempt at Republican fear tactics…

The Obama camp quickly rebutted…

I would really like to see the good people of Pennsylvania put the Clintons out of their misery tomorrow, but I doubt they will. Obama will do well in the more populated urban and suburban areas where people tend to be more affluent and educated, but it will not be enough to overcome the elderly, white and rural Clinton demographic.

Perhaps, by some miracle and with a whole lot of luck, we will be listening to Hillary Clinton give her final concession speech at about this time tomorrow evening.

Barack Obama took a little heat today for saying that John McCain would be a better president than George W. Bush. Here is the quote from the AP report:

“You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain. And all three of us would be better than George Bush,” Obama said.

I don’t see where the McCain folks should be gloating over that statement. That’s actually setting the bar pretty low. A trained chimpanzee would probably be better than George W. Bush. For that matter, the chimp probably would not even have to be trained.

At a rally later in the day, Senator Obama had this to say:

“We are going to bring an end to the George Bush era,” Obama declared. “His name won’t be on the ballot” but “one name that will be on the ballot is John McCain!”

The audience booed, and Obama said: “The problem is that he’s running for George Bush’s third term.”

It isn’t really all that difficult to see the real choice, is it? (Rhetorical question. Apparently, for some, it is.)

We spent the day at the Fort Worth Main Street Art Festival. It was hot, it was extremely crowded, and it was loads of fun. There were lots of really beautiful things to look at, but very little we could afford to bring home with us.

I tried to catch up with the news when we got home, and there seems to be very little. Hillary Clinton, who just a few days ago was trumpeting that you have to be tough to be president, is now complaining that Barack Obama is attacking her. He’s actually giving her a taste of her own medicine and she doesn’t like it one bit.

Oh, well. With any luck this will all be over soon and we can get down to the business of humiliating the Republicans and John Sidney McCain III in November.

In the meantime, here’s a bit of a tune for a Saturday evening. I don’t know why, but I thought of this song while I was contemplating the Democratic primary during the train ride home from Fort Worth this evening. Enjoy…

In all seriousness, Mrs. Clinton, it is time to step aside and let the Democratic party get on with the business of defeating the Republicans and John McCain in November.

Analysis: Time, delegate math working against Clinton

Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON (AP) – Time is running out on Hillary Rodham Clinton, the long-ago front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination who now trails Barack Obama in delegates, states won and popular votes.

Compounding Clinton’s woes, Obama appears on track to finish the primary campaign fewer than 100 delegates shy of the 2,025 needed to win.

Clinton argues to Democratic officialdom that other factors should count, an unprovable assertion that she’s more electable chief among them. But she undercut her own claim in Wednesday night’s debate, answering “yes, yes, yes” when asked whether her rival could win the White House.

There’s little if any public evidence the party’s elite, the superdelegates who will attend the convention, are buying her argument anyway.

In the days since the surfacing of Obama’s worst gaffe [Ed.: A "gaffe" is when a politician tells the truth.] of the campaign – an observation that small town Americans are bitter folk who cling to religion and guns out of frustration – he has gained six convention superdelegates, to four for Clinton.[..]

Overall, Obama’s delegate lead is 1,645-1,507. That masks an even larger advantage among those won in primaries and caucuses. There, his advantage is 1,414-1,250.

An additional 566 are at stake in the remaining contests in eight states, Guam and Puerto Rico before the primary season ends on June 3.

If Obama captures 53 percent of them, which is the share he has gained in contests to date, he would close out the primary season with at least 1,945 delegates, only 80 less than the total needed to clinch the nomination. If he and Clinton split the 566 evenly, he would still be within 100 of the number needed.

Clinton needs to win a forbidding 65 percent of the delegates in the remaining primaries to draw even with Obama in pledged delegates. It’s a share she has achieved only once so far, in Arkansas, where her husband was governor for more than a decade.

Given the unyielding delegate math, Clinton has relied for weeks on forbearance from party leaders to sustain her challenge. And they are growing restless, eager for the epic nomination battle to end so Democrats can unify for the fall campaign against John McCain and the Republicans.

You fought the good fight, Bill and Hillary. You lost. It is now getting to the point where you are only embarrassing yourselves and those who profess to support you.

Say goodnight, Hillary. Another four years in the White House for you and Bill just was not in the cards. It is time for the two of you to retire and enjoy the good life. You can afford it.

Another week has passed and Friday is upon us. Once again we press our noses to the monitor and weed out what we consider to be the best of the week’s editorial and political cartoons. Your mileage may vary. Click and enjoy.

Whew! Bigger and better in Texas.

As always, our thanks to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.

Howard Dean has sent notice to the Democratic superdelegates… It’s time to get off the pot.

Dean: I need a decision ‘now’

Howard Dean

(CNN)— An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”

“We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”

After facing criticism for a mostly hands-off leadership style during much of the primary season, Dean has been steadily raising the rhetorical pressure on superdelegates. He said Thursday that roughly 65 percent of them have made their preference plain, but that more than 300 have yet to make up their minds.

The national party chair, who has remained neutral throughout the primary process, said again it’s his job to make sure both candidates feel they are treated fairly – but not to tell either of them when to end their run.

Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. The sooner he is able to dedicate all his time and resources to defeating John McCain and the Republicans in November, the better. This country simply cannot afford another four years of George W. Bush, which is exactly what we will get if Mr. McCain is allowed to win this election. Hillary Clinton and her minions need to either get on board or get out of the way.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton met in Philadelphia tonight for their 21st debate. It was hosted by ABC News and moderated by Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

Democrats Debate

I did not watch.

From the reports I have seen, no new ground was covered and nothing was discussed that has not been discussed before.

This thing has dragged on for too long. There really isn’t much left to be said. The time has come, Democrats, for the final decision to be made.

UPDATE: What did Senator Obama think of the debate? Not much, it seems…

The Washington Post agrees: “In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC.”

Hillary Clinton may have Elton John in her corner, but Barack Obama has Bruce Springsteen…

Bruce Springsteen endorses Obama for president

Bruce Springsteen

WASHINGTON (AP) – Rock star Bruce Springsteen endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday, saying “he speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years.”

In a letter addressed to friends and fans posted his Web site, Springsteen said he believes Obama is the best candidate to undo “the terrible damage done over the past eight years.”

“He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president,” the letter said. “He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where ‘…nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.’”

The bard of New Jersey is known for his lyrics about the struggles of working-class Americans, particularly in the economically ravaged factory towns of the Northeast.

Springsteen and his E Street band were part of the Vote for Change tour, a coalition of musicians opposed to the re-election of President Bush in 2004. He wrote the anti-war ballad “Devils and Dust” about Iraq.

Springsteen did not directly mention Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s rival for the Democratic nomination, in his letter, but appeared to take issue with her recent criticisms of comments made by Obama about working-class voters in small towns in Pennsylvania and controversial statements by his pastor.

“Critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships,” Springsteen wrote. “While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man’s life and vision … often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.”

The wingnuts, I am sure, are delighted. (I think “bitter” may be a better word to describe their reaction.)

I got nothin’.

I am still amazed that the Clintonistas and their BFFs the wingnuts made such a big stink about a true statement. It really is, as Senator Obama says, “the silly season in politics.” Hang on to your hats, folks, because it’s fixing to get a lot sillier. Just watch.

Anyway, like I said, I got nothin’. Did you remember to do your taxes?

Delta to Join Northwest to Form World’s Largest Airline

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines agreed to merge late Monday, in a $3.1 billion deal that would create the world’s biggest carrier and could trigger other airlines to pursue mergers of their own.

The agreement came despite failed efforts to get pilots at both airlines to agree on how to combine their ranks, an issue that could lead to labor unrest and disruptions to flight operations.

But the threat of rising fuel prices — and a belief that a merger would bring huge cost savings — overcame those concerns.

Northwest shareholders would receive 1.25 Delta shares for each of 236.4 million Northwest shares outstanding. That represents a premium of 17 percent based on Monday’s closing prices. Delta closed 48 cents higher at $10.48; Northwest closed up 26 cents, to $11.22.

Seven directors from Delta and five from Northwest would join the board of the new airline, to be known as Delta. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at both airlines, would receive a seat.

Delta’s chief executive Richard H. Anderson would run the new airline and Delta’s chairman Daniel A. Carp would retain that role, with Roy J. Bostock, a Northwest director who also sits on the board at Morgan Stanley, as vice chairman. Northwest’s chief executive, Douglas M. Steenland, would have a seat on the board but would not have a role in day-to-day operations.

What to look for: between 15 and 20 thousand people (mainly employees of NWA) will lose their jobs, airplanes will become more crowded and fares will be higher.

(An indication of what we have to look forward to as the Bush Recession deepens.)