At Tama Manufacturing Co. in Allentown, a JC Penney supplier of made-in-the-USA clothing, Obama took a 25-minute tour and flirted with female workers scrambling to take cell-phone pictures of him.
"You're gorgeous," Obama told a designer of dancewear made at the plant, looking at an old picture of her as a dancer with the New York City Ballet.
"I was," replied Marisa Cerveris.
"You still are," Obama said, turning to the crowd. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Hey Chris why is the WAPO ignoring the Mark Penn story. This is big and Hillary is gone!!!!

Hillary Clinton is an incredible woman who had dedicated her life to public service.
She is being treated so unfairly by the media who are intent on giving the nomination to Obama.

If I were an Obama supporter that would make me very nervous.
Why are the media so intent on pushing this man to the American people. He is being treated like a rock star and not a Presidential Candidate.
No other candidate would be able to have the kind of baggage he has and have the media hide it for them.

If he wins the nomination the wind will blow in a differenct direction and the Media and the Republican party will throw all of his baggage to the American people and there is no way he will be able to keep his supporters except for those who actually do think they belong to a cult.

Hillary Clinton is not trying to be anyones friend, or someone you want to have a beer with. She is running for President of the United States. She is interviewing for the American People by offering her plans in detail, her ideas and her hopes and dreams for America.

She is not giving speeches, she is talking to people. She is not trying to have rally's and stir people into a Frenzy, she is trying to have conversations about what we need to do to fix our economy, the war in Iraq, the health care crises.

It seems that some people prefer rallies with generic words where they can scream and yell, and they come out having no idea what the man said. People are crying when he comes in the room.

We have seen this reaction with pop culture icons before but I cannot imagine wanting any of them to be my President.
Can you imagine our most popular icons, as President, like Elvis for instance, or Michael Jackson. These are people who generated the same kind of response.
There are much more troubling examples of people who generate this kind of response also.

People if you care about our country and the future for our children think before you cast your vote.

After the election, when the rally's are over and the decision has been made the person we elect will not be out on the trail shaking hands or trying to get support. They will be sitting in our highest office, and their motives and capablities will shape our nation.

Hillary Clinton has the experience and the determination to bring about the change our country needs. You may not want to have a beer with her but she will work for us day in and day out and will make our Country a better place.
A vote for Hillary is a vote for a better America.

"I was married to a teacher."

Translation: She dumped me.

that why she vote Billry

So if Obama "wins" the nomination, it will be due to outspending Clinton 4 or 5 to 1, and bullying superdelates into supporting him because of his race. And oh yeah, because he's the "great uniter." Nice to know he's not the typical politician! He's worse.

The people that fought, got beaten up and killed for the right that we have now.

This does not disclude women rights. It is important to remember that there is no better side of rights here. For the first time we have a pretty damn good smart Woman and a not so bad African American. (part or not), so it is so very important that we support their right to run. Not just one. That negative attempt to get Hillary to quit was not only nasty, but it offends everyone's right, women, people of color and other rights...it's all human rights here.

Obama can spend all the money he wants to, but I do think its a shame that he has to spend that much against his opponent. Hillary does have a good opponent, but the comments that started with Hillary running a negative campaign is false. I tracked back to when this first started, and Obama had been doing his own so called negative campaigning.

I see know after paying close attention that the media has gone too far with this bias.

I think it's pretty interesting that so little of how much Obama embellishments are noted too. His has so little experience, embellishing what he has leaves us with even more to worry about.

sv; I think you have pretty much summarized every sexist comments known to man about HC.

I strongly urge you to post that message on as many different blog sitea in Pa,Indiana, and N Carolina as you can find.IF you support Sen Obama please post that as well. Those kinds of hateful comments do more to drive more voters to HC then most any expenditure in advertising. Thank you.

The media bias against Senator Hillary Clinton appears to be worsening. Newspapers and other media across the country are giving an increasing voice to those calling for the senator to drop out of this race. Many of those pleas are originating with Senator Barack Obama's supporters, but some of the calls are coming from columnists whose remarks are picked up by not only other newspapers, but television and the Internet as well.

Do you believe there is a media bias against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Barack Obama?

http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=2014

.

Oh, Hillary, oh, Hillary
She's ready on Day One
To tell all those men what to do
(Work problems all out on The View!)
Like Condi should have done.
The limp, dyed hair gaily a-bobbin'
Double chin does wag
Afflicting our America, this crude ambitious
hag-
gling and nagging,
drag the discourse to the dirt
ignoring my polite request that she
iron my shirt.

WHIIIIIIINE!

was zouk on, like 12 hours today, constantly talking about me? what gets under your skin, teeny little man, that makes you obsess on me 24/7?

rightwing men are really weird. i'm sorry, but truly messed up.

leichtman, think you need to check the batteries on your snark detector.

But let me use this opportunity to point out to our conservative friends that swing voters hate the fact that their local public schools are run by local, elected school boards. What they really want are for their local schools to be run by faraway corporations that answer to Wall Street sharps.

When will the AFT stop wasting my money? I will be voting against the local leadership due to this.

novamat this is a joke,right?
'Tout the benefits of turning over control of public schools to corporations every chance you get.'
Privatizing our prisons,FEMA,sending in Blackwater as mercenaries has been a great success, right?
I could care less that the SEIU is supporting Sen Obama, my only critique was the hypocrisy like in Nevada to say the SEIU is OK to spend millions in the primaries but god forbid if the AFT spends a fraction of that on Hillary in Pa?

The duplicity of Obama supporters is overwhelming.

HILLARY'S POOR JUDGMENT leaves AMERICANS FOOTING THE BILL:

THE WAR IN IRAQ IS HAVING SERIOUS NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON OUR ECONOMY and those who voted for the war (i.e. hillary) should be to blame, in part, for the state of the US economy.

Look how the WAR IN IRAQ is affecting the US economy...

$3,000,000,000... 3 billion dollars PER WEEK! That is the amount America is paying for the Iraq War PER WEEK, money that should have been used here, at home.

Add to this:

Interest. We are financing the war with borrowed money (e.g. treasuries) that carries interest; so in actuality, the war is costing the United States MORE THAN 3 billion dollars PER WEEK.

Higher oil and energy prices. Instability in Iraq is adding roughly 30 dollars per barrel as a premium.

High oil prices mean high utility bills. Due to high oil prices, demand shifts to other sources of energy - gas, coal, etc. - and greater demand will raise the equilibrium price of all sources of energy -- Can you say high energy bills?

Higher oil prices (a raw material used in the production of many goods, fertilizers, gasoline, diesel, plastics, etc.) mean higher prices of goods and services -- Can you say INFLATION?

Higher oil prices mean a higher trade deficit because most of our oil comes from foreign sources. A higher trade deficit means more money is leaving the country than is coming into the country -- Can you say Goodbye to your hard-earned money!

Our dollar is weak and getting weaker. Since we have a trade deficit and is growing in large part to the rising cost of imported oil, the value of goods and services we import exceeds the value of goods we export. You know that foreign car you're thinking of buying or the computer you're using, or that trip abroad you've been thinking of taking....well, guess what? It is going to cost more, Ceteris Peribus, because the dollar is weak and getting weaker.

Lastly, how do you think the world views our country since the argument was made for war? The evidence was weak and circumstantial, yet we rushed into war with Iraq thanks to hillary's authorization.

HILLARY'S POOR JUDGMENT leaves AMERICA FOOTING THE BILL:

THE WAR IN IRAQ IS HAVING SERIOUS NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON OUR ECONOMY and those who voted for the war (i.e. hillary) should be to blame, in part, for the state of the US economy.

Look how the WAR IN IRAQ is affecting the US economy...

$3,000,000,000... 3 billion dollars PER WEEK! That is the amount America is paying for the Iraq War PER WEEK, money that should have been used here, at home.

Add to this:

Interest. We are financing the war with borrowed money (e.g. treasuries) that carries interest; so in actuality, the war is costing the United States MORE THAN 3 billion dollars PER WEEK.

Higher oil and energy prices. Instability in Iraq is adding roughly 30 dollars per barrel as a premium.

High oil prices mean high utility bills. Due to high oil prices, demand shifts to other sources of energy - gas, coal, etc. - and greater demand will raise the equilibrium price of all sources of energy -- Can you say high energy bills?

Higher oil prices (a raw material used in the production of many goods, fertilizers, gasoline, diesel, plastics, etc.) mean higher prices of goods and services -- Can you say INFLATION?

Higher oil prices mean a higher trade deficit because most of our oil comes from foreign sources. A higher trade deficit means more money is leaving the country than is coming into the country -- Can you say Goodbye to your hard-earned money!

Our dollar is weak and getting weaker. Since we have a trade deficit and is growing in large part to the rising cost of imported oil, the value of goods and services we import exceeds the value of goods we export. You know that foreign car you're thinking of buying or the computer you're using, or that trip abroad you've been thinking of taking....well, guess what? It is going to cost more, Ceteris Peribus, because the dollar is weak and getting weaker.

Lastly, how do you think the world views our country since the argument was made for war? The evidence was weak and circumstantial, yet we rushed into war with Iraq thanks to hillary's authorization.

Hillary misspoke about Bosnia on St.Patrick's Day. She said it was because of sleep deprivation. Then it was found on tape that she misspoke in January and in December.Then it was found that she miswrote in her autobiography the same fish story. She misvoted on the Iraq War Powers Resolution. Then she misvoted on the Iran resolution to give Bush the green light there too. Then she misvoted on the bankruptcy bill that favored the big banks. Teacher should take Hillary back to scholl. She's a slow learner. It's enough to make a guy misvote himself.

A couple of notes: leichtman is right that the SEIU should be criticized for dumping money into pro-Obama ads. In fact, the SEIU should be criticized more than the AFT because one of the primary reasons for the Change to Win split that SEIU chief Andy Stern engineered was that the AFL-CIO was focusing too much on electoral politics and too little on organizing. The SEIU and the workers it represents would be better off in the long term if it returned to that organizing focus and left the primary campaigns to the candidates and the voters.

Also, I really hope that the cons go to the voters with their case against "government schools." Make that a central part of your platform. Tout the benefits of turning over control of public schools to corporations every chance you get. Voters in the suburbs and in rural America, where almost all the swing voters are, will lap that up.

"LOUD and DUMB
drindl's rules dictate you cut and paste from some OTHER site, not this one.

What you do is tedious and annoying to all. but I am sure you are used to that view of yourself everywhere you go."

You're backsliding, fatboy. That post was not funny at all. Please try harder.

LOUD and DUMB
drindl's rules dictate you cut and paste from some OTHER site, not this one.

What you do is tedious and annoying to all. but I am sure you are used to that view of yourself everywhere you go.

"I did not brag about my Porsche. I simply mentioned it as an example to something. the envious, victimized Libs somehow seized upon that as something worthy of thier excremental diatribe.

I really don't offer any personal details on this blog, only opinion. what perturbs the Libs so much is my opinion is backed up by facts and reason, something they are incapable of performing."

Fatboy, now that is some very funny stuff. I truly hope you intended it as such.

Lookout Libs - economic facts to follow:

A little perspective on the economy would be helpful. The average unemployment rate during President Clinton was 5.2 percent. The average under President George W. Bush is just slightly below 5.2. The current unemployment rate is4.8 percent, almost half a percentage point lower than these averages.

The average inflation rate under Clinton was 2.6 percent, under Bush it is 2.7 percent. Indeed, one has to go back to the Kennedy administration to find a lower average rate.

Gas prices are indeed up 33 percent over the last year, but to get an average of 4 percent means that lots of other prices must have stayed the same or gone down. On other fronts, seasonally adjusted civilian employment is 650,000 people greater than it was a year ago. Personal income grew at a strong half of one percent in just February.

Despite all that, this last week, Barack Obama proclaimed "As most experts know, our economy is in a recession." Hillary Clinton made similar staements last fall. Yet, as any economist knows, a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth, and we haven't even had one single quarter of negative growth reported. The economy slowed down significantly during the end of last year, but that was after a sizzling annual GDP growth rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter.

Housing has obviously been a big drag on the economy, but many other sectors of the economy, such as exports, have been doing well, some extremely well. For example, aerospace exports increased by over 13 percent last year.

The media's focus on the negative side of everything surely helps explain people's pessimism. In a recent interview Fox's Neil Cavuto claimed this bias "is all part of the media's plan to get a Democrat in the White House."

I did not brag about my Porsche. I simply mentioned it as an example to something. the envious, victimized Libs somehow seized upon that as something worthy of thier excremental diatribe.

I really don't offer any personal details on this blog, only opinion. what perturbs the Libs so much is my opinion is backed up by facts and reason, something they are incapable of performing.

I thought colleges were now responsible for liberal brainwashing. you know how white guys are all evil, how natives are happy until disturbed, how women have always ruled, how the government owes you because you are a victim.

you know the usual stuff.

"different opinions are part of an intelligent disourse "

actually very funny considering the twins running for office and their indistinguishable features. Except one is black and the other female. otherwise, hard to tell.

KOZ, as an anonymous poster you brought this on yourself the first time you bragged about your Porsche.

Have you read the "life story" of "svreader" who proclaims himself "to the left" of BHO?

How can one refrain from snickering at the millionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur who has forgone a fortune by blogging instead of compiling?

No personal offense is intended to you or svreader, of course. You and he are not actually "known". I am merely suggesting that calling upon one's own material success as authority for one's arguments works better for, say, Tom Peters, than it does for anonymous posters.

LOUD and DUMB
Aren't you required to post one line of insults and another of idiocy.

I don't want to report you to the union.

Keep to your required format Ace.

No king we believe that different opinions are part of an intelligent disourse obviously your side only likes to listen to themselves and the Heritage Foundation.
Just try for once and listen to different economic theories for once, like how lousy the Bush administration has been for the economy and the stock market without repeating your nonsense about Pelosi who apparently you would like to blame for everything, including earthquakes.

Open your mind king, that is what you are supposed to be learning in college.

"all completely wrong!!" says king.

Wow fatboy, you really poured your heart into that post. Regards to mommy.

JD: slight difference, corporations have shareholders, profits and earnings,and CEOs earning 10s of millions of dollars, I think you know the rest.

"A special interest is a special interest. Unless you forego all support (money, in kind, even mere endorsements), it's hard for anyone to claim that they are a new breed of politician, that they are conflict-of-interest free, etc."

So you fully support public financing of elections? I thought so.

Most amusing what the jackals assume about me to create a story under thier tin foil hats. Let's review:

I am on welfare
I live in my mom's basement
I am fat
I am uneducated
I am poor
I have no friends
I am stupid

(note - so far this is the quintessential description of a liberal blogger and by all evidence describes drindl precisely, talk about projection)

I listen to Rush all day
I can't think for myself
I get paid by the RNC to do this
etc.

Ever notice that the gut reaction of a Lib and the subsequent analysis is always almost 180 degrees wrong. for example surrender leads to winning. taxes lead to productivity. government leads to efficiency. Unions lead to effectiveness. clintons tell the truth. Obama is a wonder. drindl has something to say. LOUD and DUMB can change his name and remerge as smart.

all completely wrong!!

JD writes
"I'm using this thread to point out the hypocracy of some posters, who traditionally slam McCain and other GOPers for accepting corporate donations from organizations that they don't wholly agree with"

So, yes, you're carrying over the conversation from other topics and/or interactions with critics of McCain and/or Republicans. That's what I thought.

On the AFT, I think its amusing that there's so much ire that the TEACHERS union would support a liberal, when they're essentially no different than any other union.

It seems that, somehow, the teachers' endorsement of a Dem is even more offensive than, say, the Teamsters, or the SEIU, or any other union. Why is that? My hypothesis is that its a coupling of the ongoing anti-intellectualism from the talk-radio set, coupled with the general anti-union mindset and specific contempt for liberals and democrats.

JD, Blarg is the only self-described liberal poster who seriously and continuously argues for nor private financing of campaigns. I have as much trouble convincing him of con law principles as I do you when we talk about "time, space, and manner" restrictions on the 1stA.

Remember all the discussions we had about McC-Feingold? I recall that you think that there should be no limits to campaign contributions as a logical extension of 1st A principles. I am willing to have that discussion again, but I think I would have to get you to read cases.

OK simon, let me try again.

The AFT is a massive backer of HRC. The SEIU is heavy for Obama. I'm using this thread to point out the hypocracy of some posters, who traditionally slam McCain and other GOPers for accepting corporate donations from organizations that they don't wholly agree with (the aforementioned NRA is one).

A special interest is a special interest. Unless you forego all support (money, in kind, even mere endorsements), it's hard for anyone to claim that they are a new breed of politician, that they are conflict-of-interest free, etc.

PACs are the natural result of having a colective group interest in legislation. They are not evil in a free country. With full disclosure, as when the AFT says it is the sponsor, or when the pharmaceutical industry says it is the sponsor, all is well.

When they are allowed to make up names like "America for Americans" [I made that up] all is not well.

But it can get tricky. Without deep thought, and coming dangerously close to no thought, I would have some problem with the Southern Baptist Convention's tax exemption if they lobbied for a particular candidate, but not if they lobbied on a religious issue, like public aid to parochial schools.

Just sayin' it can get tricky.

ajt you are aware that Senator Edward Kennedy was the co-sponsor of No Child Left Behind, right? and what does that have to do with anything at all? I suppose you are also attacking Senator Kennedy for W's abuse of NCLB.

ajt: "How curious? American Federation of Teachers (AFT) supporting Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton voted to implement NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND"

consistency Obama supporters?

"My criticism is not of liberals, it's of hypocrites."

What hypocrites?

You're the guy who brought McCain & the alleged contributors to his campaign into the discussion. Who's criticizing him that is so hypocritical for not jumping on the anti-AFT bandwagon quickly enough for you? Thus far, you seem to be tilting at windmills, Don.

well simon, I may have assumed more intelligence in my reader than was prudent. I suppose I better spell that stuff out from now on.

Not sure where you read the 'dirty hippies' stuff in my thread, but OK, whatever. I have no problem with lefties, righties, or whoever, as long as they defend their positions with logic and not emotional drivel. My criticism is not of liberals, it's of hypocrites.

JD writes
" I implied that, if you are against corporate donations to Republicans, you sure better be against union/527/activist orgs donating to Democrats"

Where did that come from? As far as I can see, you introduced it in your 3:54 rant. Or are you carrying over from prior topics and/or other interactions with dirty hippies / pesky liberals?

OK crisis, let me try to coach you a bit here.

I never implied that teachers unions and corporations were equivalent in purpose. I implied that, if you are against corporate donations to Republicans, you sure better be against union/527/activist orgs donating to Democrats.

Otherwise you are a flaming hypocrite. As the liberals on this board have yet to condemn the obvious conflict of interest, I guess that answers that question.

""drindl - have you ever posted a single constructive, intelligent, original item on this blog ever? Ever?" - answer - no, it is against union rules.

LOUD and DUMB, as one of the pack of jackals, is meeting expectations according to the moonbat charter above.

Meeting expectations is liberal code for "we are never going to fire you no matter what".

I always look forward to the use of Ace, numbnuts and other treasures of the schoolyard."

Notice how this moron cannot help but jump in with his usual display of board-clogging nonsense.

Nice job, fatboy.

"drindl - have you ever posted a single constructive, intelligent, original item on this blog ever? Ever?" - answer - no, it is against union rules.

LOUD and DUMB, as one of the pack of jackals, is meeting expectations according to the moonbat charter above.

Meeting expectations is liberal code for "we are never going to fire you no matter what".

I always look forward to the use of Ace, numbnuts and other treasures of the schoolyard.

bsimon: MERIT PAY???? OH NO! NOT MERIT PAY!!! PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT MERIT PAY!

That's exactly what I was talking about. Good thing too, considering my ex-wife the teacher. We couldn't have handled the large pay cut.

"LOUD and DUMB - between shifts. gotta change your golden arches hat over to the king's crown for the evening drive thru?"

I see fatboy had to jump in. And no surprise that fatboy makes fast food references.

LOUD and DUMB - between shifts. gotta change your golden arches hat over to the king's crown for the evening drive thru?

Heard a report on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that the word is out.... don't work with the Clinton campaign, they aren't paying their bills.

Looks like those with something to lose can hear the Billary death rattle.

http://whathappenedtomycountry.blogspot.com

OhYeahBabe writes
"You have to meet standards and you can actually get fired if you don't perform well."

That is probably why AFT endorsed HRC rather than BHO. BHO proposed that teachers should be open to merit pay proposals, rather than seniority based pay increases. It seems the union views that position as a deal-breaker.

OhYeahBabe: "Spectator 2: And I have been SO MUCH happier ever since."

Well, I can't say I'm surprised by that. Your marriage sounds like something of a mismatch. Glad you're doing well.

Thanks USMC_Mike, but it's cool. Being dumped by an unholy b*tch is a good thing.

USMC_Mike: that's right, Ace, you've never tried to be funny. I say tried, of course, because you always fail.

"You have to meet standards and you can actually get fired if you don't perform well."

That is like kryptonite to a lib.

Forget the petty squabbling about politics. Its time to think big:

http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html

Virgin & Google are partnering on an ambitious new project that's bigger than politics, bigger than global climate change, bigger than anything mankind has yet accomplished. Check it out!

"hah JD, equating teachers' unions to the tobacco, firearms and oil industries. Yeah that's pretty accurate."

You're right. That's not accurate. Tobacco, firearms and oil industries are private sector jobs. You have to meet standards and you can actually get fired if you don't perform well.

Not like teaching at all.

OhYeahBabe -- don't bother engaging Spectator.

I have never witnessed her engage in meaningful discussion about anything.

Your dialogue above was Hillarious, BTW.

"Translation: She dumped me."

In liberal-speak, the above is a substitution for what some might call an "argument".

Spectator 2: And I have been SO MUCH happier ever since.

From; Factcheck.org, University of Pennsylvania

Substance Abuse

April 1, 2008

A widely forwarded e-mail claims that Obama's bills are more substantive and numerous than Clinton's. Don't believe it.

Summary

A misleading e-mail has been making the rounds, alleging that Clinton has fewer legislative accomplishments than Obama, and that they are less substantive. We've had questions about it from a number of readers, and blogs have jumped into the fray.

So what's the real story on the Senate careers of the Democratic presidential candidates?

We find that the e-mail is FALSE in almost every particular:

• It sets up a face-off between apples and, well, broccoli, comparing only the Clinton-sponsored bills that became law with all bills sponsored or cosponsored by Obama, whether they were signed into law or not.

• It includes legislation Obama sponsored in the Illinois state Senate, a very different legislative body.

• It tells us that Obama has sponsored more legislation than Clinton, when in fact he has sponsored less.

• It implies that Obama has passed more bills into law than Clinton, when the opposite is true.

Contrary to the e-mail's assertions, Clinton's and Obama's contributions are not qualitatively different, and quantitatively, CLINTON HAS THE EDGE..

crisis,

don't you have blogging to do for MTV?

Keep rocking the vote, DudE.

"I was married to a teacher."

Translation: She dumped me.

hah JD, equating teachers' unions to the tobacco, firearms and oil industries. Yeah that's pretty accurate.

Is it just my observation or does the right wing get dumber by the day?

drindl: "teachers support the party of facts and science???" I was married to a teacher. She knew little about facts and science and cared even less. Her views were based on gut liberalism, plain and simple. If God herself came down to Earth as a Republican, she wouldn't vote for her.

If the tracking polls show Obama within 10pts of Hillary, I suspect the SEIU will get involved in the next week or two.

"drindl - have you ever posted a single constructive, intelligent, original item on this blog ever? Ever?"

that is the single funniest thing i have ever read, coming from you. you entertain me thoroughly. you are possibly the most hateful, dimwitted, unoriginal rightwing nutbag of cliches i have ever seen. but your pompous ravings and obsession with me are hilarious.

How curious? American Federation of Teachers (AFT) supporting Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton voted to implement NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.

On the AFT Website it says:
When the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) became law in 2002, the AFT hoped that the resources earmarked for NCLB would be provided and that the law would be implemented in a way that would strengthen public education while raising the academic achievement of all students.

Senator Clinton suspected that NCLB would be underfunded but voted for it anyway while AFT HOPED resources would be provided.

That makes no sense!

McCain just can't seem to get a clue about what's going on in Iraq:

McCain Gets Iraq Facts Wrong Again: Says Sadr -- Not Maliki -- 'Asked' For Ceasefire»

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he was "surprised" by violent clashes between central Iraqi government and militias connected to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr last week in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. "Maliki decided to take on this operation without consulting the Americans," McCain told reporters on his campaign bus.

At the same time McCain expressed surprise about the developments in Basra, he also got basic facts wrong about the ceasefire that halted the violence on Sunday. McCain claimed that "it was Sadr who asked for the ceasefire," not Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malki:

Asked if the Basra campaign had backfired, he said: "Apparently it was Sadr who asked for the ceasefire, declared a ceasefire. It wasn't Maliki. Very rarely do I see the winning side declare a ceasefire. So we'll see.''

As most news outlets have noted, McCain's description of what happened is completely misleading and wrong. In fact, Sadr's call for a ceasefire only came after members of Maliki's political party traveled to Iran to broker a deal with him:

The backdrop to Sadr's dramatic statement was a secret trip Friday by Iraqi lawmakers to Qom, Iran's holy city and headquarters for the Iranian clergy who run the country.

There the Iraqi lawmakers held talks with Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Qods (Jerusalem) brigades of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and signed an agreement with Sadr, which formed the basis of his statement Sunday, members of parliament said.

Ali al Adeeb, a member of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's Dawa party, and Hadi al Ameri, the head of the Badr Organization, the military wing of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, had two aims, lawmakers said: to ask Sadr to stand down his militia and to ask Iranian officials to stop supplying weapons to Shiite militants in Iraq.

According to the AP, "the peace deal between al-Sadr and Iraqi government forces" not only "left the cleric's Mahdi Army intact," but it also left Maliki "politically battered and humbled within his own Shi'ite power base."

Got it? Maliki went to IRAN to beg them to persuade al-Sadr for a cease fire, and they did. Maliki got his butt kicked.

Chris,

I gave you a complement on your "How Not To Announce For Senate" thread.

Here, I will tell you that no one is commenting, not necessarily because no one cares, but because this is not news.

Everyone knows the teachers unions are in the bag for a Democrat, specifically for a Clinton.

Was *anyone* surprised by this?

Wow, General, the queen bee hive is active today!

that would be a no.

"Geeze, I wonder if it would be an absurdity to conclude that, since the teacher's unions NEVER endorse a R, that many/most teachers are liberals."

Geeeze, I wonder if it wold be an absurdity to conclude that teachers support the party of facts and science rather than the one of propaganda, revisionist history and lies.

drindl - have you ever posted a single constructive, intelligent, original item on this blog ever? Ever?

"Government schools teaching students to rely on the goodwill of the government for the rest of their lives... I love it."

You're a sick man. Completely and utterly and hopelessly brainwashed with the most trite and outlandish and juvenile rightwing propaganda.. a walking cliche.

And you suck it right up.

MARGO: She's capable, she is experienced and she's a fighter.

MARK: ...a fighter.

SANDY: We need a fighter in the Oval Office.

MARGO: She was in Bosnia.

MARK: ...under sniper fire.

SANDY: We need a sniper fire dodger in the Oval Office.

MARGO: Like her husband.

MARK: Did he dodge sniper fire?

SANDY: No, he dodged the draft.

MARGO: Still, a fighter.

MARK: ....yes, a fighter.

SANDY: Like Rocky.

MARGO: ...yes, a fighter like Rocky.

MARK: Didn't Rocky lose to a black guy?

SANDY & MARGO: Shut up, Mark!

Government schools teaching students to rely on the goodwill of the government for the rest of their lives... I love it.

What the teachers union is offering:

Government Schools
High School Graduation Rates Plummet Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland,

no wonder they like the Dems so much. health care hillary and gutter ball Obama will fit right into the giant failure of liberalism.

Roger Ebert to return to tv as film critic.
Uplifting message.

Good!

Hillary Clinton is being exposed to harsh and humiliating treatment by CNN and some other media. Over and over again CNN reminds people about mistakes made by her husband.

However, her small family is still united.

CNN, what is the purpose of these evil nastinesses? Are you trying to break her down mentally? If so you are not going to succeed. Hillary Clinton is not only clever she is also an extraordinary strong personality. That´s why she is going to be a great President.

At the beginning of the campaign I thought that Barack Obama was an interesting person. I have changed my mind.

This is why: "The United States, which has raised concerns about election fraud, called on Zimbabwe's government to make sure "the counting of the votes ... ensures the will of the people is heard," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday." (Source: CNN World news)

So, the Union is eager to establish justice in Zimbabwe. That´s good.
Democrats, how about Florida and Michigan there is no difference of principle. Obama recently objected that the will of the people in the two states is heard.

PS
CNN does never post any of my or my friends comments!

Wow.

The teacher's union is financially backing the establishment Democrat candidate? I'm shocked. What's next, the Pope declares that he's Catholic?

I wonder if the lefty extremists would similary criticize corporate backing of McCain, that he was 'bought off' by the tobacco industry, NRA, oil lobby, insert-your-hated-special interest-here.

Nothing like a little hypocracy, eh Dems?

The SEIU spent close to a million dollars on tv commercials here in Texas. Didn't hear that kind of whining here from their supporters, that I am now hearing from Obama supporters with a media buy by Pa AFT which I am sure is a mere fraction of what the SEIU spent here.

Double standards again?

"MC B. Hussein Osamabama, being the black Muslim extremist he is, eats white Christian babies for breakfast"
Posted by: novamatt | April 1, 2008 03:32 PM

That made me chuckle.

Come on, USMC_Mike, put two and two together. The gay satanist commie teachers want to brainwash the kids and create an army of unthinking gay satanist commies. MC B. Hussein Osamabama, being the black Muslim extremist he is, eats white Christian babies for breakfast. He's stealing and eating their future recruits! That's why they have to stop him!

There, I pushed your hyperbole to 12 for you. You've never been able to move it past 11, you slacker.

"Adding this Pennsylvania radio buy, AFT has now done paid advertising advocating for Clinton in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia."

Of those states, Clinton won NH, ostensibly tied NV, and lost the rest. I wonder if the AFT's help bodes well for this race?

Anecdotally, my retired stepmom is a former educator (in PA) squarely in the traditional Clinton demographic, but is leaning towards Obama.

Geeze, I wonder if it would be an absurdity to conclude that, since the teacher's unions NEVER endorse a R, that many/most teachers are liberals.

Bsimon, are you out there to check my facts?

Barack Hussein Obama is (still) a lying racist. [Will that influence your answer?]

'Seems like teachers have too much money on their hands when they can afford to pay campaign ads for HRC.'

yes we should pay them less so all our children can grow up to be as stupid as you.

I'd just like to point out that it's stupid and counterproductive for Dem-leaning groups like the AFT (or CtW or the LCV or whoever) to spend serious money on Dem primaries.

Open up the union halls for phone-banking, sign up new voters, fortify volunteers with sugary confections from Dunkin, sure, knock yourselves out, but don't be throwing away that kind of money on media buys. Save that kind of ammo for the real enemy.

Seems like teachers have too much money on their hands when they can afford to pay campaign ads for HRC.

John Heilemann made some very astute observations in New York Magazine this week:

"For the moment, none of these people [neutral party leaders like Pelosi and Reid], as far as I know, is advising Hillary to fold. They are not idiots and they are not blind--they can read the writing on the wall and do the math as well. But they also believe that, though Clinton's path to the nomination has narrowed to a cliff walk, it hasn't been barricaded. If she beats Obama in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Indiana, it may widen again, should the superdelegates start questioning his durability and the potency of his electoral coalition. Or Obama's candidacy could suddenly blow up in a more spectacular fashion -- over further revelations about Wright or some other political IED planted on the roadside ahead.

"The question is whether any of those that Clinton trusts are willing to intercede with Hillary if the rancor of the campaign continues to escalate. Despite all the wailing of the party's Henny Pennys, my own view is that, in the long run, Clinton's scuffing up of Obama has so far done him more good than harm; it has toughened him, steeled him, and given him a taste, if only a taste, of what he can expect this fall."

To our mind, only two things would knock Clinton out of the race before June 3. The first is an avalanche of superdelegate endorsements for Obama, which hasn't happened yet. The second is money. If she is being blasted out of the water on television and can't pay her staff, it might bring the race to a premature end.

Barring either of those developments, and, as we said, we don't see them yet, Clinton is in it, well, to win it.

Who is we - you and your pals in the media, or what you personnal think? Which is never any hint of in your reports. You offer no insight whatsoever, but I guess as a campaign supporter - you can't quite go there. I understand.

Need a crisis - get a Dem to change things.

Meet Barry Obama, Fair Housing Lawyer
By Jerry Bowyer
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Last Saturday, I was a guest on Larry Kudlow's WABC radio program. Larry's a good friend and we have been talking quite a bit lately on his TV and radio shows about the ways in which Federal regulations have created the sub-prime mortgage crisis. This is far and away the most underreported aspect of the mortgage story, and aside from Larry's shows and a few conservative media outlets, such as Townhall, it has been completely missing from the discussion.

That's a shame, because there simply was no such thing as a developed Subprime mortgage industry until the US congress created it by ordering banks to issue loans to people who were not credit worthy. Community activist groups (such as the Public Interest Research Group and Acorn) and civil rights law firms (such as Miner, Barnhill & Galland) had make their living by accusing banks of racism when the banks hesitated to approve loan requests from minority citizens with poor credit scores. Fair Housing laws, championed by American Heros like Martin Luther King, Jr., had long-ago outlawed the practice of 'redlining', which is refusing to sell or rent to blacks in certain neighborhoods. But a new generation of activists modified the concept of redlining, applying it not just to race-based home sale covenants, but to any refusal to lend to a minority member, even for sensible financial reasons.

The Community Reinvestment Act was created as a result. Initially the act was used, not to get banks to lend to minority households, but to get them to cut checks to 'community groups'. Left of center activist agencies, which had pushed for the act in the first place, used it as a shakedown tool. So long as the banks kept paying off to the activists, the activists would hold off on sending complaints to the bank regulators' CRA files.

Eventually, under Clinton, the CRA was renewed and, not surprisingly, made more punitive. Banks were required to make Subprime mortgage loans now too, or else suffer a low CRA rating and be punished accordingly. The Fed played it's part. The Home Mortgage Disclosure rules created an unfunded mandate for banks to track and publicly disclose the race and gender of it's mortgage clients. Now the shakedown artists had an easy source of complaints and a club with which to beat the banks into submission. The bankers complied and the Subprime mortgagage market was born.

But the bad paper remained principally on the balance sheets of the originating banks for a couple of years. The banks and their shareholders were directly hurt, but not the general public, at least in the beginning, that is until the bank regulators once again intervened and encouraged banks to push the paper out to unsuspecting investors.

First the Fed issued guidance which warned the banks that their capital requirements would be severely raised in response to the Subprime mortgages. In other words, banks were told that to the extent that they issued mortgages to high risk borrowers, to that extent they would not be allowed to put as much of their money into income-producing activities. The banks had already been told by the Fed that they would have to set aside more money for mortgages in general, and now they were being hit again for the Subprime variety.

Second, the Fed issued guidance on how to mix Subprime mortgage paper in with good paper and sell the resulting composite security to the general market. This is how the 'toxic waste' of bad debt was pumped out into the world. This is why credit markets are now having trouble clearing. This is why banks are taking massive write-downs of the loans which still exist on their books. This is why foreign investors don't want to buy US mortgages, or bank stocks, and consequently don't want to buy the dollars in which they are denominated either. If you add to this a Security and Exchange Commission ruling which compels banks to 'mark to market', which means they are forced to show large losses in times of market panic, you give a legal mandate for short-term thinking. You create a more serious crisis for the system and a fatal blow to the weaker banks.

This crisis has the fingerprints of congress and its bureaucratic enforcers all over it. It also has the fingerprints of a generation of activists and 'fair housing' lawyers as well, such as Barry (now known as Barack) Obama. That part of the story is yet to be told.

That reminds me, it's time to help Obama kick off a new fundraising quarter...

Obama has the support of "teachers" too.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/four_stumps_in_the_water_for_o.html

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