Oh, and Krugman. Obama is starting a cult of personality, comparable to Bush in his flight suit? What has Obama ever done that is comparable to that stunt on the carrier deck? Which candidate followed Bush's lead with a staged town hall featuring handpicked questioners and scripted softball questions?

Krugman's charge of "venom" is interesting. How do you stand up against the Jesse Jackson race-baiting remark, or the attempt to seat the Michigan delegates, without being accused of "venom" towards the Clintons?

Al Gore's 2000 Campaign Manager says she'll QUIT THE PARTY if the superdelegates and "not the voters" decide the nominee.

Colin Powell makes noises like he might endorse someone who sounds a LOT like Obama.

Then there's Edwards meeing with Clinton last Thursday and with Obama tomorrow.

And all the unsubstantiated rumors about an imminent Gore endorsement...

if obama wins maryland, dc,indiana, virginia, hawaii, wisconsin, mississippi, guam, nc, wv, the rest of kansas, indiana, oregon, wyoming, montana, south dakota by teh same average percentage (60%) he has won other states he will wind up with 699 delegate votes.

Apparently 6O Minutes also asked Grampa Munster McCain to show up, but there were "scheduling conflicts" (read: he had a nap to take).

I mean, I know I have.

Seriously lazy punditry. And this guy is considered one of the Smart Ones. Disappointing.

In 2004 Kerry just barely squeaked by Idiot Boy to turn the state blue. And this time the GOP will actually have a candidate with an IQ above room temperature. I can't speculate on how PA will go in the primary, but I know Hillary hasn't got a chance outside the two big cities. She couldn't win against Osama Bin Laden with this crowd. The real hard core rednecks won't vote for Obama either, but he has a much better chance of pulling in the independents and moderates who would otherwise go for McCain.

2. Neither Patty or Maria will yield to any pressure campaign. Period. Don't waste your time, they are both completely secure, won their respective races by great margins and are very true blue Democrats. Patty is one of the most powerful members of the US Senate, and THE prevailing advocate for veterans rights, and key member of Senate Appropriations, the power center in Congres. For the blinded, Hillary has a big following among feminist professional women.

3. Both Hillary and Obama ARE super delegates. Yes, they are part of this system.

4. Obama has started to trash talk and has increased his messages to evangelicals. He warned that Hilary has a dump truck of baggage, and on a live interview on NPR this AM said his outreach does include all the good Christians who turned Republican and cited several, Rev. T. Jakes among them. Jakes is on TV and is a Rev. Hutchinson clone, great old style evangelical preacher, virulently, frothing and ragingly homophobic.

I can appreciate calling for the new more idealistic America, but for me, that does not include frothing homophobes from the nut case evangelical right wing.

5. Clinton is moving left, Obama to the center. Interesting. The Clinton speech in Seattle was excellent, all progressive issues. Student loans, health care, and affirmation for a national freeze on foreclosure - Obama has never mentioned that topic with a policy. And his health care plan is weak as can be compared to Clinton.

6. Will this Obama youth wave hold? And if Obama does not get the nomination, will they work for Hilary to defeat Mc Cain?? I fear that answer.

Clinton is close to being toast. The primaries on Tuesday strongly favor Obama. Clinton's big donors are maxed out. Her campaign is being reorganized.

Obama's campaign is a money-sucking Hoover right now and is bringing in $$ faster than they can spend it.

The record so far shows that the more time he has to campaign the better he does.

I would not be surprised if given his string of big wins, lot's of cash, and time to mount a ground war in PA, OH and TX if he comes away with at least two of the three.

If that happens anyone with any political brains will jump on the Obama train as fast as they can.

anyway, when obama is the nom you'll vote for him right?

#1. Obama has the momentum with or without Idaho, and his skills. Hillary has her 47-49% negatives going back years. Her presence as the nominee would raise more money for the GOP than McCain or Huckabee and reunite a currently fractured and weakened party. In SIX polls in the last two weeks, matching up Obama/McCain and Hillary/McCain, Obama won all polls, one by as many as 7 points, where as Hillary lost 4, tied once, and barely one one.

#2. Yup.

#3. Sure, the "Party" itself the system but being a superdelegate doesn't mean you believe it should make the final decision. I'm sure Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Al Gore in 2000 is also a super, but she said she'll QUIT THE PARTY if they decide the winner instead of the voters.

#4. Quotes please on this alleged "trash" talk?

#5. Both had great events in Seattle, but 20K versus 5K? Incomparable. Numbers means votes, including Independents and Republicans (I spoke with several at the Rally)

#6. Obama's about getting people (not just kids) involved in politics for future decades, not reviving policies decades old (or admitting you made mistakes on DOMA, Don Ask/Tell/Pursue, Iraq, etc). But yes, good point. Are these youths "fired up, ready to go" in the same numbers with the same energy? Is Hillary really a "once in a generation" inspiration?

I think it's worth a shot.

Who wants John "I'll appoint justices in the mold of Alitto and Thomas" McCain to fill any (likely) vacancies? Raise your hand.

In the end, I'm gonna vote for a crusty sock over the Republican nominee, if that what it takes.

And if Hillary's the nominee (and Obama's not) then: Go, Hillary!

I'm just saying I've got no plans to waterboard Hillary folks.

But I am becoming quite concerned about the prospects of Clinton getting the nomination. And not for the reasons Andy mentions @33.

Money.

Specifically Clinton's ability to raise it. She has tapped out her major donors in a big way. She could try and go after the Obama donors, but one of the reasons so few of them have maxed out is because they don't have the money.

Obama, on the other hand, could go after all of Clinton's maxed out donors and get funds from them.

As this goes on, she is in an increasingly weakened position in the general campaign. She could easliy win the battle and lose the war.

Democracy is at stake and beyond that Mc Cain is far more dangerous than stupid silly moronic Bush. Others have mentioned Mc Cain is an arch militarist, and will use nukes.

I agree he will use nukes, perhaps many at the same time ..... his parting page of history to please his dead dad and long dead Granpa, both Navy Admirals.

War monger seems like a tame word.

Someone tell me again how Hillary is going to attract any Republican votes other than Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh's promised sarcastic support?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/01/AR2008020102663.html?nav=rss_opinions/outlook?nav=slate

And we haven't even talked about the Coat-tails issue--who's going to inspire larger turnouts? and who those turnouts might vote for farther down the ticket? meaning a better mandate (especially if the Democrats can regain a 60-plus majority in the Senate)...

If she was the nominee, that is.

Mandating that we all have health insurance is not "universal healthcare" except in the sense that we have "universal auto care".

Hillary receives more contributions from the healthcare industry than any Republican candidate. This might be because she is talking about "going after people's wages" [Feb 3], and that money will be going straight into that gigantic insurance business. French- or Italian- (or even Canadian-)like universal healthcare, it's not.

The other plan is not drawing as much vitriol from the other side because it's not as far-reaching: Obama will mandate coverage for children, but will let adults decide if they will buy insurance, which will be partly government-subsidized.

It is time.

I have been reading political blogs very heavily the past two months. The same thought has appeared in many places. Mc Cain is an ultra militarist and will up the ante by using nukes.

By the way, Goldwater carried one state as I remember history.

Right now, I'd probably vote for McCain.

My dad's family is from a small town in northwestern Maine, and their caucus site went for Hillary 3:1. I hadn't really thought about how the town would vote (it is pretty anti-Bush, very independent-minded)... so, I was interested that that's what happened and trying to figure out why that might be.

My guess is lack of youth involvement (it's not, you know, hip to be into politics when you're 20 and living in the middle of nowhere), and the fact that the people in the town are very practical and likely to be more swayed by Hillary's practicality than Obama's hope. But, just a guess...

i'm fucking pissed off about how inept the democratic party has been the past ten years. hillary went along with the political winds, and my vote for obama is partially to send a message to the democratic party that i don't like how they've been fucking up all the time and i'm sure as shit not going to reward their performance with a vote for the establishment candidate.

if our senators nullify that, then i won't vote for them, either.

i think the democratic party needs to realize that they can't just run roughshod over us. that we will in fact kick them the fuck out. i don't care who the person is, what their gender, etc., if you're part of the problem that let george bush happen, then you're done. period.

we'll see how our senators feel about voters when they decide to either vote obama and represent our wishes, or blow us off and give us the finger. that will tell me more about their character and how they feel about my vote.

i'll be the first one to print "who's super now?" t-shirts when they get voted out.

For what purpose? More fake, unrealistic, vague promises by a Washington insider who has already failed to bring consensus in the Senate?

Besides, I don't support bailing out on Iraq now that the war is over, nor am I impressed by Obama's weakness on the Iran issue.

So again, I'll pass on the hype (oops I meant "hope") and stick to candidates who deal with reality.

But if Hillary is nominated I'll certainly vote for her in November.

Won't you? Ha ha ha.

Assume Obama's first term is awesome? do you vote for re-election?

And if Obama does not get the nomination, will they work for Hilary to defeat Mc Cain??

Sure, just like the Howard Dean netroots supporters raced to help John "I got swiftboated" Kerry.

@37: Nice fearmongering! Actually, as someone born without cojones, Hillary's more apt to do something stupid to demonstrate she's got 'em. In contrast, McCain's military credentials are impeccable, therefore he doesn't have to pull an Ehud Olmert bombing-orphanages-in-Lebanon move.

What I'd say to Obama is: "talk to me in 2012 or 2016".

As oppeosed to the Hillary backers who can't see the corruption of Hillary right in front of their eyes.

I mean at least Obama plays by the party rules. Can't say that about Hillary.