A New Wave

Obama Is Just A Politician After All: PART I

To paraphrase Larry Johnson's post from yesterday, it's been somewhat painful to read and hear liberal bloggers' outcries over Barack Obama's statements last week to forego public financing and, more importantly, his acceptance of a reworked FISA law, which was passed by the House on Friday.

Frankly, I'm amused to see the level of apoplexy among so-called progressive bloggers over Obama's abandonment of principle, capitulation to politics-as-usual, and political calculation. Many of them are shocked, shocked! to learn that Barack Obama is, after all, just a politician.

New Polls, Intriguing Findings

New polls are out. The "horse race" polls are, in the main, nothing new, with the exception of the latest Newsweek poll, which strikes me more as an outlier, compared to daily tracking poll numbers that are probably closer to truth.

First, the horse race numbers.

To start things off, the Newsweek poll shows Obama with a whopping lead over McCain:

... new NEWSWEEK Poll shows that he has a substantial double-digit lead, 51 percent to 36 percent, over McCain among registered voters nationwide.

[snip]

Obama's current lead also reflects the large party-identification advantage the Democrats now enjoy—55 percent of all voters call themselves Democrats or say they lean toward the party while just 36 percent call themselves Republicans or lean that way.

Hillary Clinton: Our New Populist-Feminist Heroine

Blogs and news sites are buzzing about John Heilemann's excellent profile of Hillary Clinton in this week's issue of New York Magazine.

Above all, Heilemann's article is real journalism and not the slash-and-burn, take-down, smackdown variety of "news" practiced by Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, FOX, and so many others.

Al Gore's Endorsement: My Take

Even in political blogs and among online political chatterboxes, Gore's endorsement today didn't generate the same buzz that John Edwards' endorsement did. It was very low-key, generating at most a paragraph or two:

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and Nitya Venkataraman Report:

Former Vice President Al Gore will endorse Sen. Barack Obama Monday night in Detroit, appearing on stage alongside the presumptive Democratic nominee for the first time in the 2008 election cycle.

Obama Says No Privatization Of Social Security

Barack Obama would change the way payroll taxes are levied for Social Security, eliminating the tax on wages between $102,000 and $250,000, but re-assessing it on incomes of $250,000 or more annually.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Friday called for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 annually, a step that would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans.

Democratic Party Kumbaya, Anybody? Hello! Hello!

Not everybody in the Democratic Party is ready to make nice and unify.

Take some of Hillary Clinton's top fundraisers, who held a meeting on Thursday with Obama Campaign manager, David Plouffe. The sit-down was cordial; lots of questions were asked and answered; several fundraisers volunteered to host parties and other events for Obama and the Democratic Party. But not all:

Clintons' Statement On Death Of Tim Russert

Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Former President William Jefferson Clinton on the Death of Tim Russert

“We were stunned and deeply saddened to hear of the passing today of Tim Russert.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Maureen, his son Luke, his father who we all have come to know as Big Russ, his extended family and all of his many friends and colleagues at NBC who have suffered a tremendous loss.  Always true to his proud Buffalo roots, Tim had a love of public service and a dedication to journalism that rightfully earned him the respect and admiration of not only his colleagues but also those of us who had the privilege to go toe to toe with him.  In seeking answers to tough questions, he helped inform the American people and make our democracy stronger.  We join his friends, fans and loved ones in mourning his loss and celebrating his remarkable contribution to our nation."

Obama's Tax Plan Good For Low & Middle Class

It pays to read.

I found this nugget posted yesterday at The Carpetbagger Report. Because I'm sort of a geeky person and frequently like to (try to) wrap my head around economics (it was one of my favorite subjects in college!), I followed their link to this blog, which provides some helpful non-geek speak on tax policies. The bottom line difference between a John McCain tax policy and a Barack Obama tax policy is this:

Draining The Ocean - Part V: Unbelievable

I never cease to be amazed at our vacuous, vapid and venal purveyors of "information" and enlightenment: the media. In all its forms it fails us miserably. Individually there are a few decent examples of honest journalism. Keith Olbermann is not one of them, no matter how much in love with him progressives have fallen. Perhaps somebody should wake me when (and if) he proves why anybody should trust or respect him, ever again. There are, however, still depths to which he can and will sink:

John McCain's Bad Day

It Was a Two-strike Plus Day For John McCain: