I figured…

…all along that the Michida? Florigan? matter would be resolved at a time and in a way that would, ultimately, make no difference in the nomination contest. The decisions reached today by the DNC Rules Committee accomplished just that. Hunter sums up the bottom line...

Yesterday, Obama needed 41 delegate votes to clinch the nomination; Clinton needed 244.

Today, Obama needs 64 votes; Clinton needs 240.5.

There are 291 delegates remaining.

…and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

I don't have much to quibble with, but I'm still a bit disturbed about the decision to assign uncommitted delegates to anyone. I hope that when the Obama campaign compiles its list, they include all their supporters who took the time and trouble to run on the uncommitted line. Any who didn't are likely now sympathetic Edwards supporters, and Senator Obama should take care of them, as well. That's inside Michigan baseball stuff, though, and I don't claim any special understanding of the game.

One thing assigning delegates to Obama does, though, is disprove this point from Gilbert Martinez at The Democratic Daily...

By seating the delegates in any fashion, the RBC legitimized the popular vote tallies from FL and MI. This means Hillary can legitimately claim a net of over 600,000 votes today.

It doesn't do anything of the kind, of course. Though Obama received no votes in Michigan, granting him delegates is, in effect, determining the will of some percentage of voters, and they would have to be included in any vaguely equitable count, if such a thing were possible. Of course, it's not. There is no popular vote, not in any measurable national sense, at least. There are a series of statewide processes, some elections, some caucuses, some combinations, that offer different choices in different manners at different times. It's not apples and oranges. It's apples, oranges, bananas, pears, mangos, kumquats, plums and then some. That's why Gilbert's exactly correct when he says...

No news source should report total popular vote numbers that don’t include the tallies from FL and MI.

No news source should, in fact, report total popular vote numbers at all.

There's no such thing.

Hi ho, hi ho....

...off to work. The DNC Rules committee should have a ruling by the time I'm back. Hope so, anyway. See ya' later...

Up late…

…so we might as well get the soundtrack started early.

Eyes Of Pandora - Hard Hand Of War
Buddy Blue - Conversation With The Bottle
Carl Perkins - Matchbox
Woody Guthrie - Pastures Of Plenty
Chet Baker - Let's Get Lost
David Bowie - Space Oddity
Lovin' Spoonful - Darlin' Companion
Robbie Fulks - Let's Kill Saturday Night
Herman's Hermits - A Kind Of Hush
Roger Miller - Atta Boy Girl

Bunch of faves in there...

OK…

…but what's the problem? Via The Democratic Strategist...

Key figures on the Rules Committee informally agreed by telephone Wednesday night to seat the entire Florida delegation based on the Jan. 29 primary, but to give them each only half a vote. The same principle would be applied to Michigan, but there are still unresolved complications over how to handle the "Uncommitted" delegates chosen in the Jan. 15 primary in which Barack Obama's name was not even on the ballot.

The uncommitted delegates don't need any quotation marks. Uncommitted delegates are a perfectly normal part of the Democratic nomination process, and they can (and should) be seated at the convention exactly as such. How the Michigan uncommiteds - who were elected to represent the people who didn't have a preferred candidate on the truncated Michigan ballot - cast their .5 votes should be completely up to them. They're not anybody's to assign.

Is anybody talking to these people? That's what delegates are, you know - people. Not digits on a vote tally. Not chess pieces to be shifted about strategically. They're people who were elected as, essentially, free agents. The fact is, most of them probably had a preference at the time they were elected, though some of them may have shifted allegiance since. It should be easy enough to poll the uncommitteds for pre-convention tally purposes. In any event, they should be seated as elected and should vote as they wish.

Complication resolved.

McSame old lies.

This is not true...

So I can tell you that it is succeeding. I can look you in the eye and tell you it’s succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels.

Actually...

...we still currently have 20,000 more troops in Iraq than we had pre-surge, or 2/3 of the surge troops are still in Iraq.

This isn't true either...

Basra, Mosul and now Sadr city are quiet…

Not in Mosul, anyway...

Another suicide bomber driving a police vehicle struck Iraqi commandos earlier Thursday in Mosul, killing three of them and wounding nine other people, according to battalion commander Capt. Aziz Latif.

Same old McSame old.

From the "They represent you" file.

Via PolitickerWA...

Washington State Democratic Party Vice Chair Eileen Macoll of Pullman announced today that she is supporting Hillary Clinton for President.

What they're doing...

Rep. Brian Baird: Obama
Sen. Maria Cantwell: Clinton
DNC member Ed Cote: Uncommitted
Rep. Norm Dicks: Clinton
Former House Speaker Tom Foley: Clinton
Gov. Christine Gregoire: Obama
Rep. Jay Inslee: Clinton
Rep. Rick Larsen: Obama
State party Vice Chairwoman Eileen Macoll: Clinton
DNC member Sharon Mast: Uncommitted
Rep. Jim McDermott: Obama
DNC member David McDonald: Uncommitted
Sen. Patty Murray: Clinton
DNC member Pat Notter: Obama
State party Chairman Dwight Pelz: Obama
King County Executive Ron Sims: Clinton
Rep. Adam Smith: Obama

They represent you. How're they doing?

Guaranteed.

100% Brand W™

Quote of the day.

Newly committed DNC member Wayne Kinney of Oregon...

Senator Obama will win our nomination, and will be our President. It felt good to write that sentence.

Feels pretty good to read it, too.

Thanks, Guv!

The NPI reports...

As governor, Chris Gregoire has signed 47 pieces of legislation addressing veterans’ issues, from providing property tax exemptions to disabled veterans to giving tuition and fee waivers to family members of fully disabled veterans.

Always appreciate someone who remembers the ones who come home.

Of course, Governor Gregoire is a featured player on the Upper Left ActBlue page.

RIP.

Bruce "Utah" Phillips



Sometimes in a dream I sit by a tree
My life is a book of how things used to be
And the kids gather 'round and they listen to me
They don't think I'm all used up

And there's songs and there's laughter and things I can do
And all that I've learned I can give back to you
And I'd give my last breath just to make it come true
And to know I'm not all used up

Never, Utah. You've left songs to sing and stories to tell and tell again. That legacy will never be used up.

Hat tip to The Minstrel Boy.

He's said it before…

…and it bothers me a bit more every time I hear it. Senator McSame…

"I am running for the office of commander in chief. That is the highest privilege in this country, and it imposes the greatest responsibilities."

Of course, there is no such office. The authority of commander in chief over the armed forces, the cornerstone of civilian control of the military, is one of the enumerated constitutional powers of the presidency. An important one, surely, but not so important that the framers granted it its own clause, let alone section, placing it on a par with the president's power to ask his cabinet for written reports. McCain may prefer a more, ahem, activist interpretation, but me, I'm fine with the framers.

The office in question is much larger and encompasses a much wider range of powers and corresponding responsibilities. In confusing the smaller part with the larger, McCain manages to diminish the presidency, flaunt his constitutional illiteracy and once again demonstrate his complete inadequacy for the office he actually is seeking, the office of President of the United States.

The Big Dog remembers...

"On April 7, we also won in Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. On April 9, Paul Tsongas announced that he would not reenter the race. The fight for the nomination was effectively over."

Hat tip to Political Wire.

Three headlines…

…from ABC News' Political Radar.

Clinton's Memorial Day Message Focused on Voting Rights for Puerto Ricans

Obama Tells Veterans: 'I Will Not Let You Down'

McCain Defends Opposition to GI Bill

They tell quite a story between 'em, don't they.

"Don't let me down."

"I won't let you down."

"Get down! And stay off my lawn!"

Memorial Day.

To me, everyone who's ever worn an American military uniform is a brother and sister, and every military grave represents a personal family loss.

In the sixth year of the current war, though, the testimonials, parades and other ceremonies of remembrance don't ease the loss or inspire patriotic gratitude. The only way to truly honor our fallen is to stop making more of them. Not a single trooper fell in the hope that future generations would go to battle. We all fought hoping to end the fighting, they all died so that others would live freely and in peace.

Honor the dead. End the war.

From the "history is silly putty" file.

ABC News' Sarah Amos covering Bill…

Clinton spent more than six minutes calmly discussing what he called a "frantic effort to push her out" of this race, saying that no one asked Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson or Gary Hart to end their presidential campaigns early.

As an active participant in the Kennedy, Jackson and Hart campaigns, my memory differs wildly. More noteworthy, perhaps, is the lack of mention of the '92 gang - Paul Tsongas, Tom Harkin, Jerry Brown, etc.

Call it revision or evasion, Bill Clinton is as careful a student of modern Presidential campaign history as you're going to find. He knows better.

He's lying.

If there's a "frantic effort," it's to get them to stop lying in their effort to delegitimize a nominating process that the Clinton operation had such a long and strong hand in crafting.

Suddenly I feel old.

"Times change," sez Matt.



I doubt that anyone living will ever see the likes again.

We don't have Mike Gravel to kick around anymore…

…unless he can find himself another party lickety-split.

The Libertarian Party has picked former Republican Rep. Bob Barr to be its presidential candidate after six rounds of balloting.

Perfect choice, I suppose. An economic troglodyte but a strong and consistent civil libertarian. Not a bong hitter, AFAIK, but you can't have everything.

And now...

Worth repeating.

LowerManhattanite...

While politics isn't “beanbag”, it shouldn't be the ear scene in “Reservoir Dogs” either.

Lede of the day.

Chris Dashiell...

I ran across the following tidbit in a footnote from Wyndham Lewis’ 1928 biography of the 15th century poet François Villon:

You can only get away with that if you follow it up with a great post.

Let's leave Kennedy out of it…

…because I'm willing to accept Hillary at her word. I assumed her intention was to emphasize the chronology of 1968, although those of us with long enough memories recognize that as an apple and oranges irrelevancy. The differences between the nominating process and the candidacies are glaring.

No, it's not the invocation of assasination that first caught my eye. It was the lies.

I find it curious. Because it is unprecedented in history. I don’t understand it. Between my opponent and his camp and some in the media there has been this urgency to end this. And historically, that makes no sense. So I find it a bit of a mystery.

(...)

My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right?

Wrong. And "unprecedented"? Well, let's look at that 1992 nomination. By the time of the California primary - during the first week of June, not "somewhere in the middle" - Bill Clinton had held a commanding plurality of delegates in an active three way race for months. In May, the second place candidate in the triumvirate, Paul Tsongas, had suspended his campaign. While it wasn't an expressed reason, DNC Chairman Ron Brown, a Clinton partisan, was making it clear that there would be no insurrection in New York City. No one who had not, at the time of the convention, endorsed the presumptive nominee, Bill Clinton, would be allowed to address the convention from the podium. That ruling, not his anti-choice views prevented Governor Casey from addressing the convention, and that ruling, Chairman Brown assured us, would apply to any candidate who had the temerity to be offered in nomination from the floor. It became the raison d'etre of the Jerry Brown campaign.

With no hope of the nomination in sight, we organized a battle for the soul of the Party, asserting our rights as delegates to place our candidate in nomination, and his right as a candidate and Party leader to address the convention. Readers of a certain vintage may remember the televised demonstrations on the floor featuring gagged delegates carrying "Let Jerry Speak!" signs (I remember Senator Moynihan taking great umbrage over our blocking the front row view of the NY VIPs.) We were, ultimately, successful on both scores, but imagine the furor today if Chairman Dean were to announce that unless she withdrew, Senator Clinton would be denied the podium.

At any rate, that's plenty of historical precedent for me on the subject of encouraging opponents to curb their campaigns. (the visit from Clinton 92's campaign manager, David Wilhelm, to the upper left to quell dissidents, well, that's another story, and yet another precedent…) I was there when those precedents were established, and so was Hillary. I don't believe for a moment that I remember the story or schedule of that campaign better that Hillary Clinton.

So her assassination gaffe? Explanation and apology tendered, explanation and apology accepted.

Now about those lies…

OK...

...now I'm jealous.

It didn't have to come to this…

Steve Soto...

You may recall that I endorsed Hillary because of her smarts, judgment, and demeanor. And all of these things have been gone from her and her campaign for a while now.

The most charitable view I can muster is that Senator Clinton has been served very poorly by people who owe her very much.

Some days I almost believe that.

While I plow through a pile of feeds...

...a quick random ten.

Gram Parsons - Return Of The Grievous Angel
Jackie Wilson - Higher And Higher
Carole King - You've Got A Friend
Tom Paxton - My Son, John
Stan Getz - I Remember Clifford
Johnny Hartman - The More I See You
Bottoms Up Blues Gang - Key To The Highway
Shania Twain - Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under
Marian McPartland - It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Bruce Hornsby w/Jerry Garcia - Sunflower Cat (Some Dour Cat) (Down With That)

Happy holiday weekend…

…whatever that may be (I think I have a day off coming up Tuesday).



Hat tip to Where It Stands.

Have you done your Good Deed For Darcy today?

Via Goldy…

Gen. Wesley Clark is going to one lucky Congressional district to do a community service project and we get to decide where to send him. So go to Democrats Work today and vote for Darcy in WA-08.

You'll feel better when you do!

Amazing?

Matthew Dowd, via ABC News...

“What is amazing to me is that she has got a camp filled with DNC operatives. These are the people who essentially created the rules. She has been in the game a long time. It’s not as if she’s new to this and didn’t know better. Her campaign is run by the insiders who have been running the party for the past 16 years.”

Well, not to all of us, I suppose. True, though. And revealing.

Hat tip to Len at First Door On The Left.

Hmm...

Jeff Zeleny at The Caucus…

Barack Obama has asked a tight circle of advisers to begin conducting a confidential search.

Not tight enough for confidentiality, apparently.

Inch by inch...

...row by row.

Great!

Senator Clinton...

“No matter what happens, I will work as hard as I can to elect a Democratic president this fall.We will come together as a party, united by common values and common cause. And when we do, there will be no stopping us. We won’t just unite our party, we will unite our country.”

Happy to hear it. How 'bout we get started now?

Hat tip to howie in seattle.

Hillary in an nutshell…

…according to Aravosis.

Math is misogynist.

Seems to be the latest line, alright.

Quote of the day.

Senator Biden, via Think Progress...

I don’t want an average American as president. I have great respect for average — average Americans don’t want an average American president of the United States of America. I want someone above average. I want someone who knows what they’re dealing with. And it surprises me that John didn’t understand the complexities of the power struggle going on in Iran right now.

Some kid from Lake Wobegon for President?

Actually...

...it's right here...

McCainpeda.org

TheRealRossi.com

Check 'em out. Truth is power.

That Kerry fella…

…speaks for me.

“Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family have faced adversity more times, in more instances, with more courage and more determination and more grace than any family should ever have to face even just once.

“He’s helped millions and millions of people, in so many ways, at so many different times, from countless big pieces of legislation in Washington to the most personal of issues.

“Now, everybody needs to pull together on behalf of Ted. We must pull for him and his family and remember that Teddy is one unbelievable fighter."

Hat tip to The Democratic Daily.

From the "They represent you" file…

Pelz for Obama.

Rep. Brian Baird: Obama
Sen. Maria Cantwell: Clinton.
DNC member Ed Cote: Uncommitted
Rep. Norm Dicks: Clinton
Former House Speaker Tom Foley: Clinton
Gov. Christine Gregoire: Obama
Rep. Jay Inslee: Clinton
Rep. Rick Larsen: Obama
State party Vice Chairwoman Eileen Macoll: Uncommitted
DNC member Sharon Mast: Uncommitted
Rep. Jim McDermott: Obama
DNC member David McDonald: Uncommitted
Sen. Patty Murray: Clinton
DNC member Pat Notter: Obama
State party Chairman Dwight Pelz: Obama
King County Executive Ron Sims: Clinton
Rep. Adam Smith: Obama

Yep.

TBogg...

America doesn't need a woman president any more than it needs a black president, a Mexican president, or a gay president. We don't need to prove anything to anyone, we don't need a trophy. We don't need to point out how far we have come as much as we need to decide how far we want to go. What we need is good president or two. That would suffice.

Personally, I think either Barack or Hillary would make a perfectly good President, particularly in light of the precedents. But which isn't the question anymore. We know which.

How, that's the question. Those 75,000 souls in Portland are part of the answer.

"Wow. Wow. Wow."

This is what hope looks like...

An estimated 75,000 gathered on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland on Sunday to see Barack Obama.

And now...

Seems to me…

…that John McCain's own liberation from enemy captivity owed a great deal to direct negotiations with a country that was "directly responsible for the deaths of brave young Americans." A lot more directly involved with a lot more deaths than anyone Barack Obama's talking about talking to, in fact.


Just sayin'...

Random, randomer…

…could this be the randomest yet?

HARP - What's Going On/Foolish Notion
Dean Martin - That's Amore
Jerry Jeff Walker - One Too Many Mornings
The Drifters - Save The Last Dance For Me
Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie
Woody Guthrie - Hard, Ain't It Hard
Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm
Dana Lyons - My Country
Candye Kane - I'm The Toughest Girl Alive
Johnny Cymbal - Mr. Bass Man

Since he asked…

Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi...

"How much does Saudi Arabia need to do to satisfy people who are questioning our oil practices and policies?”

I think , oh, another million barrels a day might do it…

Early this week, Senate Democrats introduced a resolution to block $1.4 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh agreed to increase its oil production by 1 million barrels per day.

Yep, sounds about right.

Putting a lid on the fundies and joining the community of civilized nations wouldn't hurt, either.

Nor I

Kagro X...

Remember when Susan Collins investigated Iraq contractor fraud? Neither do I.

Which reminds me to remind you that Tom Allen is one of the worthy Democrats you'll find at the Upper Left Actblue page.

Heckuva job, Georgie.

Charles McMillion at The Economic Populist...

Manufacturing lost -3.5 million jobs; more than 1-in-5 Manufacturing jobs were lost in the last 7 ¼ yrs.

Textile Mills lost -57.2% of their jobs;
Apparel manufacturers lost -56.8% of their jobs;
Communications Equipment manufacturers lost -46.9% of their jobs;
Semiconductor and Electronics Components manufacturers lost -40.4% of their jobs;
Computer and Peripheral Equipment manufacturers lost -38.9% of their jobs;
Telecommunications service providers lost -30.0% of their jobs.

Quote of the campaign.

Senator Obama...

“They’re trying to fool you. They’re trying to scare you. And they’re not telling you the truth."

Hammer. Nail.

BANG!

Truth.

From the Rude One...

Of the legion of harms done to this nation by this presidency, one of the worst has been the elimination of our capacity to be appalled. The administration has just raised the bar too high.

What could Bush possibly do or say in these remaining months that could surprise us enough to appall us? Not anger us or outrage us or frighten us - to actually shock us with the discovery that such a thing might be possible. What would we put past him, I wonder?

For example?

The Preznit abroad...

“Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along."

Really? Some people believe this? He must have had someone in mind, because the Preznit wouldn't just make this stuff up, right? But who?

Maybe the people who suggest this...

“Some people suggest if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away."

Some people suggest this? OK, some people would no doubt like to see the US break off with Israel, but those are about the most marginalized people in the American body politic, and I'm not sure that even they would accept that "all our problems in the Middle East would go away" as a result. At least I've never heard anyone, anywhere, make such a suggestion, and I get most of my news from the intertubes where you might expect to find that kind of stuff. Still, it's hard to imagine that the putative leader of the free world would just make something like that up without an example in mind, so who?

Naturally, the White House communications staff doesn't want to leave any misperceptions about the target of the remarks, the particular examples Bush had in mind. Press Secretary Dana Perino, asked whether it might be Obama...

PERINO: It is not. And I would think that all of you who cover these issues and have for a long time have known that there are many who have suggested these types of negotiations with people that President Bush thinks we should not talk to.

Well, that clears it right up. Who is "some"? "Some" is "many."

Now if we could just figure out which ones.

My own personal Congressman…

…and I agree. Rep. McDermott, via Goldy...

“As Democrats, we are fortunate to have two very talented public servants running to be the nominee of our party, and I have great respect for Senator Clinton. But I believe now is the time to unite behind Barack Obama so we can be in the strongest place possible to win in November.”

Yep, "now is the time." Thanks, Jim.

(You can thank Rep. McDermott more tangibly at the Upper Left ActBlue page.)

Keeping my finger on the pulse…

…of all y'all. The top ten keywords that send folks here, according to Google Analytics...

1. mccain is older than
2. upper left
3. john mccain is older than
4. older than john mccain
5. fletcher lamkin
6. "darcy burner"
7. older than mccain
8. upper left blogspot
9. darcy burner
10. john mccain older than

Interest in John McCain's age doesn't seem to be on the wane, and he's getting older every day. I think those searches are really seeking this, though. Happy to oblige.

And "fletcher lamkin." Who'da thunk.

"The Democratic voters have made their choice…

...and so have I."

Me too.

Yes, yes...

West Virginia, blah, blah, blah. Congrats to Senator Clinton, I suppose, but the real election news is in MS-1.

Yep.

Exactly…

“When our troops go into battle, they serve no faction or party; they represent no race or region. They are simply Americans. They serve and fight and bleed together out of loyalty not just to a place on a map or a certain kind of people, but to a set of ideals that we have been striving for since the first shots rang out at Lexington and Concord - the idea that America could be governed not by men, but by laws; that we could be equal in the eyes of those laws; that we could be free to say what we want and write what want and worship as we please; that we could have the right to pursue our individual dreams but the obligation to help our fellow citizens pursue theirs."

Sounds like something a vet would say. Definitely something a patriot would feel.

Pot…

…meet kettle.

Jerome Armstrong opens...

I don't even like to imagine an Obama nomination...

And closes…

The hatred of Clinton runs deep among the Obama supporters...

Who's hating on who here? And isn't it time we just knock it off?

I can certainly imagine, given only minor changes in the events of recent months, a Clinton nomination. In fact, I came started imagining it quite awhile ago. She's been running for years, and it wasn't all that long ago (though, notably, before any votes were counted) that she was seen as the inevitable nominee. How did I feel about that? She wasn't my favorite, but she'd be fine.

She's lost the nomination now, though, in the reality based universe Democrats like to say we live in. Lost it to someone who, frankly, wasn't my favorite, or even my second choice. But he's fine.

Since 1968, when I picked a candidate for the first time (I 'supported' Kennedy because Mom said so, and, well, everybody supported LBJ way back when) and got clean for Gene, until today, my first choice has won the Democratic nomination race three times - 1972, 1976 and 2004 - in eleven cycles, and I've been a Democrat, on the streets and in the ballot box, in all eleven. In the end, after the convention, they've all been fine.

There's always a way home, and all of us should do what we can now to make that path straighter and smoother. As the young folks say, it's time to chill. As the poet said, ain't no time to hate.

It's time to wake up, join up and get busy.

Obama…

…in Oregon.

Here's the thing. When people ask me about my patriotism, when they ask me why I'm doing this, I try to explain to them, I'm doing it because that story's not just my story, it's your story. It's the American story. It's that idea that each generation successively is able to work a little bit harder, work a little bit better, to make life better for the next generation

That's why I love this country.

Me too.

Momma...

...and the Brilliant and Beautiful Bride of Upper Left and my favorite mommy blogger and Sis and, well, all ya'll moms out there.

Happy day.

And now...

Put another nickel in...

...in the randomodeon.

Doc Cheatham & Shorty Baker - Night Train
Dan Bern - Live Another Day
Mississippi John Hurt - Candy Man
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Multi-Horn Variations
Etta James - At Last
Dixie Chicks - Hello Mr. Heartache
The Duhks - Dance Hall Girls/Bozeman Boogie
Duke Ellington Orchestra - Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
The Seeds - Pushing Too Hard
Cocoa Tea - I Can't Help

Hey, ten plays for a nickel's a good deal no matter what comes out.

So you can't give five grand…

…to Darcy Burner. Russ Feingold and the Progressive Patriots Fund can, though, and you can help her get it. Darryl has the details...

Sen. Russ Feingold is offering a $5000 check to one of ten progressive House candidates. You get to help decide who gets the dough.

Cast your vote for Darcy in the Progressive Patriots Fund election today. Let’s show them the kind of strong grassroots support that has allowed Darcy to kick Reichert’s ass in dollars raised and number of individual contributors in every quarter since she joined the race this election cycle.

Of course, if you can give something, the Upper Left ActBlue page is available for your convenience.

From the "They Represent You" file…

…via The Hill.

Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) surprise visit Thursday to the House floor has already paid dividends in the form of a superdelegate endorsement - Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.)

That's the first update to the upper left PLEO list in awhile. Here's where we stand...

Rep. Brian Baird: Obama.
Sen. Maria Cantwell: Clinton.
DNC member Ed Cote: Uncommitted.
Rep. Norm Dicks: Clinton.
Former House Speaker Tom Foley: Clinton
Gov. Christine Gregoire: Obama.
Rep. Jay Inslee: Clinton.
Rep. Rick Larsen: Obama
State party Vice Chairwoman Eileen Macoll: Uncommitted.
DNC member: Sharon Mast: Uncommitted.
Rep. Jim McDermott: Uncommitted.
DNC member David McDonald: Uncommitted.
Sen. Patty Murray: Clinton.
DNC member Pat Notter: Obama.
State party Chairman Dwight Pelz: Uncommitted.
King County Executive Ron Sims: Clinton.
Rep. Adam Smith: Obama.

Are you being represented?

Good point…

…from Joe Sudbay.

It is deluded to make "electability" THE issue, when the candidate making electability THE issue is losing the election.

Oh well...

Iraq has all but given up on bringing U.S., Iran together

…I've all but given up on Iraq bringing Iraq together.

"The bottom line…

…for that Kerry fella?

"He clearly did more than he had to, and she did not achieve what she had to."

And there it is.

TO: Superdelegates

FROM: David Plouffe, Campaign Manager
RE: An Update on the Race for Delegates
DA: May 7, 2008

...With the Clinton path to the nomination getting even narrower, we expect new and wildly creative scenarios to emerge in the coming days. While those scenarios may be entertaining, they are not legitimate and will not be considered legitimate by this campaign or its millions of supporters, volunteers, and donors…

No, they aren't, and no, they won't, well, they shouldn't be, anyway. Kos has the whole memo.

Election night Obama…

…via The Hotline...

"The question, then, is not what kind of campaign they’ll run," he said referring to the GOP, "it’s what kind of campaign we will run. It’s what we will do to make this year different. I didn’t get into race thinking that I could avoid this kind of politics, but I am running for President because this is the time to end it...

...We will end it by telling the truth – forcefully, repeatedly, confidently – and by trusting that the American people will embrace the need for change – even if it’s coming from an imperfect messenger."

Tell the truth. Trust the people.

What a concept.

The Pumpkinhead Primary.

According to Yglesias…

Tim Russert just said "we now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be."

Well, now he knows. Or admits, anyway. I coulda told him awhile back.

Good news…

…from PolitickerWA.

U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) earned a dubious distinction in the pages of Roll Call, the newspaper that focuses on congressional politics. Yesterday, the former King County sheriff was featured in an early edition of the newspaper's "10 Most Vulnerable" House incumbents list.

Or, as I like to put it, Darcy Burner is one of the ten challengers most likely to succeed.

Fear card?

Hell, he's playing a full house. From target="parent" the DNC blog…

McCain fundraising email today: "I'm sure I don't have to remind you how important even one vote on the Supreme Court can be. Issues concerning states' rights, abortion, affirmative action, the Second Amendment and religious freedom have all been decided by a very slim 5-4 margin."

God, guns and gays. Acid, amnesty and abortion. Yada, yada, yada.

Turns out the "maverick" from Arizona's pretty much the McSame as all of 'em, from Nixon on down.

Liar.

Arianna Huffington via Matt Yglesias…

He denied ever talking with John Kerry about his leaving the GOP to be Kerry's '04 running mate -- then later admitted he had, insisting: "Everybody knows that I had a conversation." He denied admitting that he didn't know much about economics, even though he'd said exactly that to the Wall Street Journal. And the Boston Globe. And the Baltimore Sun. He denied ever having asked for a budget earmark for Arizona, even though he had. On the record. He denied that he'd ever had a meeting with comely lobbyist Vicki Iseman and her client Lowell Paxon, even though he had. And had admitted it in a legal deposition.

One more reason we call him McSame.

Who do you trust?

The Hotline reads the small print in the new NYT/CBS poll…

Those polled indicated the greatest cynicism about Clinton, with 62% of respondents saying that she says what people want, compared with 34% who said she says what she believes.

Obama does markedly better; 43% said he says what people want, while 53% said he says what he believes. Meanwhile, 41% said that McCain says what people want to hear and 51% said he says what he believes.

We've obviously got some work to do on those McCain numbers, but can we really expect to get it done with a nominee who people just don't believe?

Hasn't Hillary done herself just about enough damage? Not to mention the collateral impact...

And now...

Guambamania?

63% reporting…

Obama 54%
Clinton 46%

So, why can't Hillary close the deal with Pacific Islanders?

And now…

…the miracle of randomization.

Dave Mason - Feelin' Alright
The Jelly Beans - Doo Wah Diddy
Robbie Fulks - Cry, Cry, Cry
Al Jolson - Carolina In The Morning
Diana Krall - The Look Of Love
Hank Williams - Honky Tonk Blues
Ramsay Midwood - Monster Truck
Ricky Nelson - Travelin' Man
June Carter Cash - Ring Of Fire
Chan Romero - The Hippy Hippy Shake

Yep.

Tim Noah, via Oliver…

Here’s a rule I would like every political reporter, campaign official, TV talking head, and politician in the United States to follow. Go ahead and say, if you like, that Hillary Clinton retains a serious chance of winning the Democratic nomination. If you say this, however, you must describe a set of circumstances whereby this could happen. Try not to make it sound like a fairy tale.

Sounds fair.

That's one way to put it.

Bureau of Labor Statistics...

Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in April (-20,000)...

Of course, for about 20,000 households, the changes were somewhat more dramatic.

Different perceptual funnels for different reality tunnels, I suppose.

Hat tip to The Economic Populist.

Making May Day matter...

…by closing down the docks to end the war.

More than 25,000 West Coast International Longshore and Warehouse workers, including many hundred in Tacoma, are taking a day off work today in protest of the war in Iraq.

****

ILWU International President Bob McEllrath said the workers are “standing down on the job and standing up for America.”

A solidarity shout out to the men and women of the ILWU for reminding us what this day really means...or should.