Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota Endorses Obama

From Yahoo.com:

Obama picks up new endorsement Mon Mar 31, 9:55 AM ET


HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AFP) - US Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar has endorsed Barack Obama to become the party's presidential nominee, adding new pressure on trailing rival Hillary Clinton, Obama's campaign announced Monday.


Obama "has inspired an enthusiasm and idealism that we have not seen in this country in a long time," Minnesota Senator Klobuchar said in a statement. She said that he speaks "with a different voice, bringing a new perspective and inspiring a real excitement from the American people."

"My endorsement reflects both Barack's strong support in my state and my own independent judgment about his abilities," Klobuchar said.

"Barack has been a proven agent for change and advocate for middle-class Americans."

The announcement of support came in the wake of Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey's endorsement of Obama last week, and Senator Patrick Leahy's call for Clinton to drop out of the race, saying that there was no way she could win it.

According to Obama's campaign, Klobuchar is the 64th "superdelegate" to the party's August convention to endorse the African-American senator since the February 5 Super Tuesday primaries gave him a solid lead over Clinton in regular committed delegates.

Rest of story linked above.

There seems to be a good story coming out with the North Carolina Congressional Delegation.....keep your eyes open.

Obama Wins Texas

This is from the BurntOrangeReport:


This past weekend, the Texas Caucus Conventions were held. And, Senator Obama won it, and combined with his Primary Finish, wound up winning the State of Texas.

Current State of the Texas Primary

Produced by Burnt Orange Report


TX Primary-Chosen Results (March 4)

Primary Delegates

Clinton - 65
Obama - 61
TOTAL - 126

Texas Caucus Chosen Results

Clinton - 30
Obama - 37
TOTAL - 67


Texas Delegate Results TOTAL

Clinton - 95
Obama - 98
TOTAL - 193

Good Discussion Of Obama's Race Speech At TPMCafe

Includes the newly-oft-linked-to Ta-Nehisi Coates, Carmen van Kerkhove and professors Glen Loury, Joseph Lowndes and John Skretny.

Check it out.

Hillary Too Busy Dodging Sniper Fire To Pay Small Vendors, Health Care Bills?

This is astounding. I peeped this at Politico first, then Pam Spaulding at Pandragon fleshed out more.

From Politico:

Among the debts reported this month by Hillary Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign, the $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff stands out.

Clinton, who is being pressured to end her campaign against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, has made her plan for universal health care a centerpiece of her agenda.

From Pam, who also cites Politico

The Clinton campaign is trying to keep its financial operation afloat as it hits the next slew of primaries, but this is bad PR any way you look at it. You can’t sell yourself as a president ready to give hope and help to working families when you stiff small vendors who have made you look good on the road. Even worse, when vendors have contacted the campaign to see when they might be paid, no one responds

The people who put on her Ohio event had voted for her and now regret it.

T-R-I-F-L-I-N-G

So let me get this straight. Ms. 35 years of experience, ready on day one, don't call me Hillary, call me Healthcare Clinton, doesn't pay her bills, doesn't pay her HEALTH CARE BILLS!!??

Are You F^%&^ing Kidding Me??

Health care.

Wow.

I know sleep deprivation and sniper fire can interrupt an otherwise responsible lifestyle, but damn Hillary. Get your ish together.

Lou Dobbs. Cotton What? Cotton Who?

Cotton pickin, perchance?

Alphonso Jackson's State Of Mind

Hat Tip to ProgressiveSouth

There are so many people in the Bush Administration resigning in disgrace on any given week that it's hard to keep track. But Alphonso Jackson's tenure is particularly notable for its callousness and incompetence.

Perhaps nothing expresses Jackson's attitude towards his responsibility as housing secretary more than this anecdote, at the bottom of the Times report:

In 2004, less than two months after his confirmation as housing secretary, Mr. Jackson told a House panel that he believed poverty “is a state of mind, not a condition.” Two years later, he said in a speech that he had canceled a contract for a company after its president told him that he did not like Mr. Bush. Mr. Jackson later said he had made the story up.

Actually, poverty is the state of being broke. And under Jackson's tenure, there are more people broke than ever. Thanks to the Bush Administration's slow response to the mortgage crisis, the black middle class is losing its most important resources--the homes so many worked so hard to buy, which are now plummeting in value and being lost to foreclosures.

But of course, it's not just "poverty" that is a state of mind--it must also be "homelessness." That would explain Jackson's callous remarks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, "it's not going to be as black as it was for a long time, if ever again," a pretty ominous statement for someone who was at least partially responsible for helping to rebuild homes for residents displaced by Katrina. Jackson was probably still thinking of "homelessness" as a state of mind when he diverted funds earmarked for affordable housing in New Orleans on luxury hotels and casinos.

I suppose you could also refer to "corruption" as a state of mind, especially after Jackson spent his career as HUD secretary hooking up his buddies with lucrative no-bid contracts...it's kind of hard to imagine anyone in this administration getting in trouble for that though, isn't it?

The problem is the FBI tend to see corruption as a "crime" rather than a "state of mind", and they were apparently suspicious after Jackson threatened a developer in Philadelphia with retaliation from the federal government if he didn't agree to sell one of his properties at a substantial discount.

Jackson's behavior has led him to a new state of mind today, "resignation". And if the FBI has a strong case, Jackson might be experiencing a few other states of mind, like "arrest," "trial," and "incarceration."

Bill and Hillary's Top 6 Lies

hat tip to Think On These Things