NARAL Endorses Barack Obama

From Naralprochoiceamerica.com

NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA ENDORSES SEN. BARACK OBAMA




Washington, DC - Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, released the following statement today, announcing that her organization's political action committee proudly endorses Sen. Barack Obama for president.

"Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC is proud to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president. Sen. Obama has been a strong advocate for a woman's right to choose throughout his career in public office. He steadfastly supports and defends a woman's right to make the most personal, private decisions regarding her reproductive health without interference from government or politicians.

"Sen. Obama has been a leader on this issue in the United States Senate. Since joining the Senate in 2005, he has worked to unite Americans on both side of this debate behind commonsense, common-ground ways to prevent unintended pregnancy. Sen. Obama supports legislation to provide our teens with comprehensive sex education, prevent pharmacies from denying women access to their legal birth-control prescriptions, and increase access to family-planning services.

"We are confident that Barack Obama is the candidate of the future. Americans are tired of the divisive politics of the last eight years, and will unite behind Obama in the fall. We look forward to working with a pro-choice Obama White House in January."

Keenan also praised Senator Clinton as a pro-choice leader. "Americans have been fortunate to have two fully pro-choice candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination. But only one can go forward to the general election. It is truly historic for us to have these two outstanding candidates in the race."

Ah, to be a fly on the wall when Camp Hillpatine found out.

Johnny "Come Lately" Edwards To Endorse Democratic Nominee

cross-posted to goodCRIMETHINK

While Politico, TIME and others. are running headlines that say "Edwards Endorses Obama," I think mine is better.

My initial reaction was:

about friggin time dude. where you waiting for hillary to come out in blackface and campaign for mccain?

There's nothing particularly impressive about his decision. After all, he's coming out even after the mainstream media has concluded that the race is over. So it's not so much an endorsement as it is the only possible thing to do.

I'm a bit harsh on people who lead after the fact. Your decision means more to me when I feel like you made it in a difficult environment. It's one of the reasons I'm so critical of Hillary's Iraq War vote. She made the easy decision to go along with a popular president and look "strong." The truly strong decision would have been to stand up when few others did.

For all John Edwards's talk of being a fighter and standing up for the little guy, I've gone from impatient to furious to bored over his non-endorsement after so many months. When Hillary's campaign, months ago, started acting the fool, where was this Mr. Edwards? Hiding in North Carolina.

The calculating political side of me understands that he probably wanted to keep as many doors and options open as possible and might have been afraid of the wrath of the Clintons had he miscalculated or endorsed "too soon." But I have the luxury of not being in that position, and I don't really care.

That's my take. I may update it after his speech tonight. And no matter how unimpressed I am with the timing of Johnny Come Lately, it will be good to have him on the campaign trail if only to silence this stupid narrative about Obama and the white vote. Given the thoughtfulness behind many of his policy positions, I also think he has a lot to offer the country.

Update at 6pm ET
Craig Hickman in the comments below points out that this timing is kind of good, coming on the heels of West Virginia. As far as its ability to change the headline from Hillary's "rural white" win, that is a good thing. I still maintain I'd have been more impressed with an earlier endorsement (remember Richardson??), but this is OK. Anyhow, let's get about the business of McSame.

Hillary As The Dead Parrot From Monty Python. Funny. Sad

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post in This Is an Ex-Candidate

2:57 p.m., Yeager Airport, Charleston, W.Va.: A steep descent brings Clinton's plane to Charleston's hilltop airport. After an appropriate wait, she steps from the plane and pretends to wave to a crowd of supporters; in fact, she is waving to 10 photographers underneath the airplane's wing. She pretends to spot an old friend in the crowd, points and gives another wave; in fact, she is waving at an aide she had been talking with on the plane minutes earlier.

On the way into town, she makes an unscheduled stop at an upscale farmers market, but about 30 Clinton supporters, several wearing AFSCME T-shirts and waving Clinton campaign signs, have somehow gotten wind of it. Clinton works the crowd, signing autographs and making small talk ("Is that your dog?"). She makes her way past rows of geraniums and marigolds.

But even among the blooms, Clinton is reminded of her troubles. She stops at Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream and orders a scoop of espresso Oreo and a scoop of butter pecan. "Ooh, that looks good," she says after taking the confection, then pauses. "Now, let's see. Who's got my money?" asks the woman who has lent her campaign $11 million to keep it afloat. She laughs. "Where -- where'd they go, the people with my money?" Finally, two aides arrive to retire Clinton's dessert debt.

Biggest Election of the Night - Mississippi's First District

Hat tip: ms. martin here at JJP

The results for the Mississippi First District Special Election:

This is Northern Mississippi. The seat was vacated when Congressman Wicker became Senator Wicker when Trent Lott resigned.

This is a SOLID REPUBLICAN SEAT.

IN MISSISSIPPI.

Results:


93% of Precincts Reporting
Travis W. Childers (D): 53% (54029)
Greg Davis (R): 47% (47361)



YES, this is one of those seats where they tried to Swiftboat the candidate by tying him to Obama and Rev. Wright.

Mississippi, people.

First, Hastert's seat.
Then, the Louisiana seat a couple of weeks back.

Tonight, Mississippi.

This was it. The last ' argument' Hillpatine had against Obama to the SuperDelegates - his potential to be a ' drag' on downticket Democrats.

Childers WON a solid GOP seat in MISSISSIPPI.

Biggest election of the night.

SNL On Hillary: Sore Loser, Racist Supporters, No Ethical Standards

Pretty accurate summary, in fact.

Obama's Mama

A thoughtful piece from Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe addresses more of the woman who made Barack who he is and how her story may help him reach out to core Hillary supporters as he begins to heal the party.

Thanks to Angela for sending this in.

From all accounts, this daughter of a family that kept traveling west in restless pursuit of the American dream took no part in Eisenhower-era conformity. She was a teenager in Hawaii when she fell for the charismatic Kenyan in her Russian class and married him six months before her son was born. This was a time when interracial marriage was still illegal in parts of the country.

The rest of the story is known: a divorce, a marriage to an Indonesian, a second divorce. She was a mother who kept her children focused as well as fed. But what's less known is the woman in her own right, the one who became an anthropologist, the woman who spent years as the respected head of research for Women's World Banking, bringing micro-financing to poor