McCain Caught Contradicting Himself Again. This Time On Hamas

h/t jedreport

McCain is losing his bearings. And i'm not saying that because he's old. I'm saying it because he's wrong. I can't wait for his propped up, manufactured image of "honor" and integrity collapse under the weight of his own opportunism.

His position on torture, the religious right, campaign finance, the success of the war and now talking to Hamas.

All that's left is the shell of a leader.

This is going to be fun.

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.

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 people in Indonesia.

Nancy Barry, who was the head of Women's World Banking and knew Ann well, has been bewildered by the way she's been reduced to a stick figure. "She was stubborn, hard core, decisive, convincing, deep-thinking, rigorous in her analysis," says Barry. "When I hear Barack talking about how we are not red states, blue states, but the United States, I think he gets that from his mother. The other core capability he gets from her is the desire for healing."

Obama Launches Vote For Change, A Massive 50-State Registration Drive

Hey fam, sorry for such a late post. I've been traveling and am in San Fran for the weekend. If you want to meetup, I'm holding "office hours" Sunday afternoon in The Mission. Details here. Would be nice to put a face to some of your names.

Now, on to business.

I am relieved to begin the shift from primary to general election mode. With the Wrath Of The Math having been determined by voters in March and accepted by the media this week, with Rasmussen concluding there's no point (or money) in polling Clinton vs. Obama, with Hillary somehow one-upping her race-baiting beyond even my wildest dreams, let's move on.

One of the things I've appreciated most about Obama is his first-hand experience with and respect for grassroots organizing. I've been a part of it firsthand in VA, TX and PA, and this weekend, his campaign takes it up another notch with an unprecedented, massive, 50-state voter registration drive: Vote For Change

For those who didn't know, Obama ran ProjectVote in Illinois many years ago. Check this video for some background.

Here's the campaign's description of Vote For Change

On May 10th, Barack Obama is launching Vote for Change, an unprecedented 50-state voter registration and mobilization drive. More than 100 events will be held across the country that day. Obama volunteers will register new voters as the start of a six-month voter registration drive.

We can change Washington if more Americans get involved, get registered and show up to vote on November 4th. If millions of new voters get involved, a powerful message will be sent to the special interests that dominate the old politics. This is an important time to find more people in your community to register to vote. To attend a May 10th Vote for Change launch event in your area, click on your state above.

Recent voter registration drives have registered more than 200,000 new Democrats in Pennsylvania, more than 165,000 new Democrats in North Carolina, and more than 150,000 new Democrats in Indiana. Those numbers just scratch the surface of what's possible.

If you're a Democrat living abroad, you're included too!

Obama will run circles around John McCain. He's putting his effort where his mouth is and has already proven an ability to engage new people in the political process. What's starting tomorrow has the potential to be huge. Wherever you are, consider being a part of it.

There are millions of us who want more from our government and our politicians and more from ourselves. Help take that step and get involved. At a minimum, you'll meet some neighbors. That's how some revolutions got started. :)

Head to the Vote For Change site, and see what's up in your area tomorrow and beyond.

Ill Doctrine's Exclusive Footage Of Hillary's Meet w Party Leaders

Jay Smooth does it right.

"Painful as it may be, ability don't last. And your days are just about over. Now that's a hard muthaf***n fact of life, but that's a fact of life your ass is gonna have to get realistic about. You came close, but you never made it. And if you were gonna make it, you would have made it before now."

So true. Super Tuesday was when Hillary was "supposed to make it." That's when she really lost. Everything since then has been slow realization on the part of her, her campaign and the oh-so-analytically challenged media.

Bravo Jay Smooth. Bravo.

PLEASE DIGG THIS JOINT.