It is you, Hillary, not what you said - YOU are the offense!

Enough Hillary, enough!

We've heard your lame-ass excuses as you claimed that you meant no offense for race baiting in South Carolina, ethnic/religious baiting by not standing by Obama during the Jeremiah Wright/Muslim smears, and your recent "hard-working white people" slurs against all working people, and Obama - and now you give the impression that your reason for staying in a campaign you lost months ago is that you are waiting for an assassination in June!

Hillary, your insincere, bullshit apology doesn't cut it - remember when you said the same thing to TIME back in March?

Sad, pathetic, mentally ill, delusional, despicable, or unabashed evil - short of some unimaginable act of contrition, Hillary, the above adjectives are apt descriptions of your shoddy political legacy.

Get the hell out of this race!

zjm

Note to the DNC - you should be ashamed for not stripping Hillary of her right to run as a Democratic candidate for the presidency.

Note to the American People - PLEASE watch the following video commentary by America's voice of conscience, Keith Olbermann,as he denounces Hillary and her reprehensible assassination comments -

Clinton Gave Voters Permission to be Racist

Cenk Uygur | Thu May 22, 2:58 PM ET | Huffington Post

Yesterday, RJ Eskow was on our show and we had an interesting discussion of why so many people in West Virginia and Kentucky admitted to pollsters that they voted based on race. This is otherwise known as racism. It's also something that people are usually loathe to admit. So, why did 21% of the voters in Kentucky freely admit that race was an important factor in their vote?

It's because Hillary Clinton's campaign gave them permission to be racist. Let me explain.

Normally the race issue is a third rail in American politics; you're not allowed to touch it. But Clinton did two important things to change that paradigm. First, she turned it into a legitimate issue by framing it as a matter of electability. The argument is -- it's not that you wouldn't vote for a black guy, but knowing how you and others around you feel, you know the black guy can't win.

This argument has soaked into the Hillary team so much that I'm afraid they've actually come to believe it themselves. That's part of the reason why they can't let this campaign go. I keep hearing them say -- we can't let the party make this kind of mistake. It is profoundly disappointing to see them internalize this ultimately racist argument.

What's interesting is that the primaries allow them to make this kind of race-based argument. In the general election, you can't say -- don't vote for this guy because he's black. But in the primaries you can say -- don't vote for this guy because you know in the general election people will not vote for him because he's black. It's not that you're racist, wink, it's that so many other people are, wink.

The second way they gave their voters permission to be racists is by using thinly veiled code words like, "I'm looking out for people like you." The very thin veil on these code words was lifted when Senator Clinton flat out said she was looking out for "hard working white Americans." And presumably Obama wasn't. And why is that? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand the implication that he wasn't looking out for people like them because he wasn't one of them.

So, when the voter in Kentucky stepped into that booth, he didn't necessarily think, "I'm going to vote against Barack Obama because he is black and I'm racist." He thought, "Hillary Clinton is looking out for people like me. Obama cares more about his own people. And besides which he's going to lose in the general election because who would elect a black guy as president?"

Voila, he has been given permission to vote based on race. Now, how many of you think that the Clinton team stumbled upon this phenomenon and how many of you think they understood this and took full advantage of it? Well, now you understand why so many of us are frustrated and disappointed with the way Hillary Clinton has run her campaign.

"We need a president who..." Obama Speaks to a Crowd of 15,000 in Tampa Bay, Florida

UMWA endorses Barack Obama for President

May 21st, 2008

United Mine Workers of America endorses Barack Obama for President

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for President of the United States. The endorsement came after a unanimous vote of the union’s National Council of the Coal Miners’ Political Action Committee (COMPAC) in favor of the endorsement.

“We are extremely proud to make this endorsement today,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “Sen. Obama shares the values of UMWA members and our families. He understands and will fight for the needs our members have today and the hopes our members have for a secure future for themselves and their families.

“Most of all, Sen. Obama will implement the clear change in direction UMWA members–indeed, all American working people–must have if they are to once again move forward and have a true opportunity to realize the American dream,” Roberts said. “After eight years of being pushed aside by an administration which neither respects nor values the contributions American working families make to our society, we are looking forward with great anticipation to a new era in our nation starting with the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

“We looked at the positions of both Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when considering this endorsement,” Roberts said. “On issue after issue, it is clear that Sen. Obama will be on our side while Sen. McCain will not.

“For example, Sen. McCain would impose a tax on the health care benefits our members and retirees receive that we have negotiated in our contracts,” Roberts said. “UMWA members are at risk of receiving serious injuries or contracting occupational diseases every day. Many of our retirees suffer from debilitating injuries or black lung. They have paid for those health care benefits with their blood. To impose a tax on them because they receive those benefits is not only unjust, it’s immoral.

“We also have many thousands of retirees and widows of retirees who depend on Social Security,” Roberts said. “Sen. McCain wants to privatize Social Security and put those retirees’ benefits at risk in the stock market. We cannot stand by and allow that to happen.”

“Sen. Obama will fight to preserve American jobs, not ship them overseas in greater and greater numbers,” Roberts said. “Sen. Obama will make sure that the nation’s mine safety and health enforcement agency actually enforces the law, instead of coddling mine operators who repeatedly and willfully violate the law.

“And Sen. Obama will work to ensure the future of American coal and the jobs that go with it by moving aggressively to develop and implement carbon capture and sequestration technology,” Roberts said. “Sen. McCain has advanced proposal after proposal that would cut jobs in the coal industry, especially in the eastern part of the country.

“Sen. Obama is from a coal state,” Roberts said. “He understands that coal will remain a primary source for electricity generation in this country for many decades to come and he will join with the UMWA as we work to ensure that it will be used for that purpose in an environmentally responsible way.

“We will be making these points with our members over the coming months as we move forward to the election in November,” Roberts said. ”It doesn’t matter whether it’s our members’ jobs, their safety, their health care, their pensions, their children’s education, their union, their standard of living, or their very rights as American citizens–John McCain will do harm to all of them by continuing the failed Bush administration policies.”

“Americans are crying out for real change in Washington, and Sen. Obama will bring that,” UMWA International Secretary-Treasurer Dan Kane said. “We will be working as hard as we can, using every resource at our disposal in every community where our members live and work across this nation to do our part to help him.”

The UMWA is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., and represents 105,000 active and retired coal miners, mine construction workers, public service employees, health care workers and manufacturing workers in the United States and Canada. The UMWA represents more coal miners than any other union in the world.

Full Circle

Last January, Barack Obama, after stunning Bill and Hillary Clinton and the DNC Clinton loyalists with his historic Iowa caucus win, ignited the passion and vision of the American people.

Last night, Barack Obama (despite the increasingly delusional, destructive, and divisive campaign efforts of the 'flailing energizer bunny' now known as 'Bad Losers/Billary & Company') clinched the majority of pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination with a decisive win in the Oregon primary. Barack Obama IS the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.

Returning to Iowa to give thanks to the people who launched his historic journey, Barack Obama continued his call for the American people to come together and change the world.

zjm

P.S. Hey all you undeclared superdelegates!
Hint, Hint - this is your cue to ratify the will of the voters - and end this thing, NOW!

Obama Wins Oregon; Clinches Pledged Delegate Majority!

Warrren Buffet Endorses Obama

Obama seals support of world's richest man

By scopical.com.au Published: 20 May 2008 9:02am

The world's richest man has backed leading Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama for the top job.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he previously offered to support both Obama and former first lady turned New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

However Buffett said he was giving his full support to Obama after it became clear the leading Democrat would seal his party's nomination.

"I will be very happy if he is elected President," Buffet said.

"He is my choice."

Two Alaska Superdelegates Endorse Barack Obama

Alaska superdelegates Cindy Spanyers and Blake Johnson endorsed Obama today, praising his commitment to take America in a new direction, and his grasp of Alaskan issues.

"Senator Obama is committed to Alaskans and establishing important ties to the state. He recognizes Alaska's role in our future in energy and is sensitive to the challenges we face due to high-energy costs across the state, from Juneau to Fairbanks and across rural Alaska.

Alaskans responded overwhelmingly to his campaign in February, coming out in droves in sub-zero weather. His candidacy captured the imagination of thousands of new voters, including Republicans and non-partisans who responded to his message of change. Senator Obama will work to end the war in Iraq; provide affordable health care to all Americans; and strengthen our economy by creating good paying jobs."

'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'...Obama in Portland

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-West Virginia, Endorses Obama

May 19, 2008 | By Paul J. Nyden

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., endorsed Barack Obama for president shortly after noon today, focusing on his hope to end the Iraq War.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., endorsed Barack Obama for president shortly after noon today, focusing on his hope to end the Iraq War.

"As people all across this great nation know, I have been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush administration's misguided war in Iraq and its saber rattling around the globe," Byrd said.

He said he had "no intention of involving myself in the Democratic campaign for President in the midst of West Virginia's primary election. But the stakes this November could not be higher."

Byrd praised both Obama and Hillary Clinton, saying their "integrity, honor, love for this country and strong belief in our Constitution I deeply respect...

"Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support," Byrd concluded.

Senator Byrd's entire statement

"As people all across this great nation know, I have been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush Administration’s misguided war in Iraq and its saber rattling around the globe."

With the Bush Administration's latest request to fund this on-going war in Iraq without any attempt to start bringing our troops home, the issue of the upcoming presidential contest has been weighing heavily on my heart. The loss of life continues and the sons and daughters of tens of thousands of American families remain in harm’s way every day.

This Democratic primary campaign has been tough and competitive. I had no intention of involving myself in the Democratic campaign for President in the midst of West Virginia's primary election. But the stakes this November could not be higher."

After a great deal of thought, consideration and prayer over the situation in Iraq, I have decided that, as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, I will cast my vote for Senator Barack Obama for President. Both Senators Clinton and Obama are extraordinary individuals, whose integrity, honor, love for this country and strong belief in our Constitution I deeply respect."

I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support."

Kansas Democratic Party chairman backs Obama

By JOHN MILBURN (Published May 19, 2008) Fort Mill Times

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates on Monday endorsed Barack Obama's bid for the party's presidential nomination.

Gates, one of Kansas' superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention, said he was backing Obama for his ability to win in Republican-dominated states and "his positive campaign." Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in February's Kansas caucuses.

"Senator Obama inspired record numbers of voters to turn out to the Kansas caucuses, which not only strengthens our party, but also the whole political process," Gates said in a statement. "He is the best candidate for Democrats to stand behind as we work to take on John McCain."

Obama is actively courting support from superdelegates across the country as he closes in on the Democratic nomination. Obama also on Monday picked up the backing of West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a day before Democrats in Kentucky and Oregon go to the polls.

Obama holds a lead over Clinton that makes it mathematically unlikely that she can overtake him in the remaining primaries, putting the outcome of the nomination in the hands of superdelegates such as Gates.

Gates joins Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, who have endorsed Obama's campaign over Clinton. All three are among the state's delegates to the national convention this summer in Denver.

Gates compared Obama's appeal with that of Sebelius, a popular governor who wooed Republicans and independents to win two terms.

Hillary No Mate For Obama

Loyalty is the first quality a presidential candidate seeks in a vice-president


by Lisa Van Dusen

The bewilderingly resilient idea that Hillary Clinton, after the draining, divisive psychodrama of the past year, would be an attractive choice of running mate for Barack Obama is like the premise for a new political reality show; Survivor D.C.: White House from Hell.

The first quality a presidential candidate seeks in a vice-presidential candidate is loyalty. Washington is a tough, tough town and there is no place tougher than the White House, which, after every post-inaugural honeymoon, becomes by necessity an us-versus-them fortress against incoming fire from Congress, K Street lobbyists and, sometimes, depending on whom you've handed the keys to, the vice-president's office in the neighbouring Old Executive Office Building.

Imagine Obama working on health care legislation while Clinton works the phones from the Old EOB and her husband works the phones from the VP's residence at the Naval Observatory. A tut-tutting, smoothly second-guessing tag team madly protecting its legacy of the '90s from any unwanted showing-up while relentlessly spinning the groundwork for 2012, propelled by both their shared grudge at being robbed of the White House this time and their shared determination to secure it for the next time.

MESSAGE

Obama has run his campaign on the premise the country doesn't need another third-term presidency, either a third Clinton term with Hillary or a third Bush term with John McCain. Why would he torpedo that message by taking on all the old Clinton baggage and all the new GOP opposition research that comes with it?

The only people more enthusiastic about this scenario than Clinton supporters are Republicans. Republican pundits and politicians can barely contain their glee at the prospect of watching Hillary lose the nomination and then having her on the ticket anyway.

For the Clintons, the advantages of a spot on the ticket are obvious. Aside from its tactical advantages, it would give them the legitimacy of Air Force Two from which to re-establish their bruised brand and put in the legwork for 2012 at public expense.

According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, Clinton is viewed as "honest and trustworthy" by just 39% of Americans, which means 60% of American don't trust her. If a majority of Americans don't trust her, why would they consign Obama to four years in captivity with her?

And that's if he wins. The more likely scenario, and the other benefit for the Clintons, would be that Hillary on the ticket would guarantee a loss for him while exorcising all the Republican anti-Clinton smears so they'll have nothing left to throw at her in four years.

OBAMA-EDWARDS

Watching Obama and John Edwards on stage together in Michigan the other night was like watching a newer, prettier, biracial, north-south version of the Bill Clinton-Al Gore dream team of 1992. Edwards is a southern white guy with a good mind, a solid following, a great wife who voted for Hillary and a solid record on fighting poverty from his role as director of the University of North Carolina poverty centre. He's also, as a candidate who ran twice for president and once for vice-president without making any memorable major verbal gaffes, solidly road tested.

In the 44 years since Lyndon Johnson bravely passed the Civil Rights Act against warnings that it would lose the Democratic Party the south forever, the only Democrats who've been able to win the south were southerners, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. In both 1992 and 1996, Clinton, even as a native son and former southern governor, won just four of the 11 Southern states.

In 2000 (Gore, despite his Tennessee roots, was never able to twang his way past his privileged D.C. upbringing) and 2004, the Republicans, with the help of southern evangelical Christians, shut out the Democrats completely. Having a genuine southerner on the ticket is, arguably, a strategic necessity.

The great political maxim that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer often makes brilliant strategic sense. But it was originally uttered by Sun Tzu 2,500 years ago, and Sun Tzu never met the Clintons.

Washington State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz, a Superdelegate, Endorses Obama

NIKI SULLIVAN; niki.sullivan@thenewstribune.com Published: May 19th, 2008

State Democratic Party chairman Dwight Pelz announced Sunday that he’ll support Sen. Barack Obama at the national convention in Denver.

In a letter sent to thousands of Democrats across the state, Pelz also called on members of the party to unite around Obama, who he said is “ready to be a great American president.”

“I feel the voters have spoken, that Sen. Obama will be our nominee, and that it is time for us as Democrats to begin the final stretch of this historic 2008 campaign to take back America,” he wrote.

Obama, with about 1,905 delegates, hasn’t secured the 2,025 votes for the nomination. But because Clinton trails by nearly 200 delegates, some have suggested she should bow out of the race.

“It is time to unify our party around one candidate,” Pelz wrote.

The party chairman’s announcement comes just before Oregon’s primary Tuesday, which Obama is favored to win, and a day after Washington’s Congressional district conventions, where the delegates to the national convention were selected.

Pelz had originally pledged to keep quiet until the national convention, but he changed his mind as pressure on superdelegates increased.

“As chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, it has been my job to represent all Democrats throughout Washington state as we navigated our way through the delegate selection process,” he said. “Yesterday, the process was completed.”

Pelz said he’s supporting Obama because he’s developed a deep respect for him over the years. He told supporters he was confident that Obama’s “inspiring vision and strong values” would serve as a stark contrast to the “Bush Republicanism” of candidate John McCain.

“Barack Obama can win this election, and has clearly energized a generation of voters that hunger for change,” Pelz wrote.

Obama Draws Crowd of 75,000 in Portland, Oregon

Posted May 18, 2008 6:19 PM by Jim Tankersley

PORTLAND, Ore. - Some 75,000 people have turned out to see Barack Obama speak along the Portland waterfront, a record for the campaign.

The crowd covers the lawn here at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, from the streetside entry gates down to the Willamette River. Portland fire officials estimate 60,000 people are packed inside the park proper and another 10-15,000 are watching outside the gates. Spectators are lining the bridge behind Obama and watching, bikini-clad, from boats on the river.

The stump speech is Obama's standard riff - 30 minutes long and counting now, despite the sun beating down on the candidate. He's added a few Oregonian flourishes, drawing big cheers when he said the country can learn from Portland's commitment to mass transit and bicycle lanes. The biggest applause came when he denounced the Iraq war; Oregon is a hotbed of anti-war activism.

At one point, someone in the crowd shouted an expression of love at Obama. He broke his speech for a moment: "I love you too," he said.

"If you vote for me on Tuesday," he said, "We won't just win Oregon. We'll win this nomination, we'll win this general election. And you and I together, we'll change this country, we'll change the world."

Seventy-five thousand people seemed to like the sound of that.

Media, not Obama, Misunderstands “White Working-Class Voters”

by Randy Shaw‚ May. 19‚ 2008

Since the Ohio primary, the traditional media has become obsessed with Barack Obama’s alleged failure to win more votes from “white working-class voters”(WWCV). Election coverage has come to identify this group as the most-prized electoral constituency, one said to likely determine the next President. But the media is routinely using the term WWCV without defining who these people are. For example, WWCV are often described as blue-collar, even though most are white-collar service or office workers. Similarly, WWCV are typically placed in the manufacturing sector, even though this is a small percentage of the overall constituency and the unionized portion is staunchly Democratic. To further confuse matters, some of these unionized WWCV are even described as “Reagan Democrats,” even though the union members voting for Reagan in 1980 had returned to the Democratic fold by 1986 (when the Party regained control of the Senate). The media’s sudden concern about a poorly defined constituency whose economic needs have long been ignored should raise suspicions; it appears to say more about the traditional media’s desire to frame the election in racial terms than it is does about Barack Obama’s political strength.

On March 20th, I wrote a piece questioning media criticism of Barack Obama for allegedly failing to win enough votes from the white working-class. One of my points was that white males formed the core of the Republican Party’s presidential base, and that Obama should not be expected to win majority support from these voters.

Among the responses to my piece was a lengthy message questioning the media’s sloppy use of the term “white working-class voters.” The author, who insists on anonymity, made some very important points that have almost completely been overlooked as the media pursues a racially charged frame for its 2008 election coverage.

Working-Class vs. Blue-Collar

Although the media is using these terms interchangeably, most “white working class voters” are not “blue collar" workers. To the contrary, most are clerical and/or service sector workers, or work in the fast food industry.

Of the 12 percent of workers in manufacturing, many are not white. The unionized segment—such as autoworkers, steelworkers, and mineworkers—vote strongly Democratic and will be backing Obama in November.

So if the media is using the term WWCV to describe non-union manufacturing workers, then we are potentially talking about as small as a 5% voting base. Yet the media’s desire to frame this election in racial terms has led it to constantly focus on this small constituency, while not questioning John McCain’s far weaker standing among African-American and Latino voters.

The media’s message that Obama has trouble appealing to the economic insecurities of non-union white-working class voters is undermined by his support among non-white workers of similar incomes; the media rarely acknowledges that Obama’s problem with these white voters is his race—which he cannot change—rather than his message,

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Alabama Governor George Wallace and other Southern segregationists repeatedly claimed that their problem with federal civil rights laws for African-Americans was not about race, but rather about “states rights.” By arguing that Obama’s problems with a small segment of white working class are based on his weak message, rather than his race, the traditional media is wrongly giving protection and cover to white racists.

Working-Class vs. College Grads

The media has also wrongly equated “working-class” with voters lacking a college degree. Many of the white-collar workers earning working-class wages are college graduates, while many middle-class blue-collar workers—electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople—are not.

While polls have shown Obama doing less well among those without college degrees, this does not mean these voters are the Joe and Jane Six-Packs routinely designated as WWCV by the media. These voters are just as likely to work in the insurance industry or other white-collar field whose politics have long been aligned with the Republican Party.

Working-Class vs. “Ethnic” Voters

In addition to misleading the public about a blue-collar, uneducated “white working class,” many in the media have identified the constituency Obama allegedly has trouble with as “white ethnic working class voters.” In other words, the Polish or Italian blue-collar worker frequently interviewed prior to the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries.

Few of these interviews included information about their subject’s voting history. While the implication was that because these “white ethnics” are registered Democrats their opposition to Obama is troubling, many Democrats do not vote with the Party in presidential races. The media did not explain whether the white ethnics interviewed had happily voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton, Gore and Kerry but were turned off by Barack Obama

As for Obama's problems in white-dominated Appalachia, Charles M. Blow reported in the May 17, 2008 New York Times that Kerry won only 48 of Appalachia's 410 counties, and that Gore only won 66, or 16%.

In truth, we know that many factors—particularly race and religious concerns—have led white ethnics and other low-income voters to support Republican presidential candidates. But the media downplays this reality, preferring to blame Obama for failing to “connect” with the economic problems faced by the white working-poor.

The Ongoing Denial of Racism

Over forty years after the passage of the 1964 federal civil rights law, the traditional media in the United States remains reluctant, and even fearful, of ascribing racial motives to voting patterns. When racism is identified, the focus is on Southern states, not on the presence of virulent racism among pockets of voters in such states as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, or Indiana (the latter was a former stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan).

As a result of the media’s ongoing denial of racism, it needed an alternative explanation for Obama trailing Hillary Clinton among white working-class voters. This explanation—Obama is as “elitist,” “aloof,” and “arrogant,” and doesn’t understand “kitchen table issues”—allows the media to avoid acknowledging that some white voters, particularly those with low education levels, still view successful African-Americans as “uppity.”

If politicians cared as much about the white working class as they and the media say they do, the minimum wage would not be a fraction of what it was in the 1970’s, universal health care would be in place, and the Democratic Clinton Administration would never have pushed NAFTA.

That’s why the media’s eagerness to now trumpet the political importance of the white portion of this undefined constituency has nothing to do with improving their plight, or the status of low-wage workers of all races and backgrounds. Rather, the media needed a non-racial explanation for what is primarily race-based voting, and inventing an ill-defined “white working class voter” was how they chose to accomplish this.