Oh, and by the way, thanks for having a blog that is not based on the trashing of one democratic candidate or another - you stand no chance of having substance enter the rec'd diary arena but I rec'd anyway.

I think the point here is not IF this will happen, but WHEN this will happen.

I rec'd because I think we need to start understanding the reality of our energy future even aside from the potential catastrophe of global warming.

Gas tax holidays, modest increases in cafe, whining about foreign oil etc. all mask the magnitude of the underlying problem we face and the need for a total and urgent transformation of our economy to a clean energy economy.

Agreed.  these naysayers are really just quitters or bitter.  and I can say that because I am bitter about the loss of my candidate (edwards) and could not bring myself to voter for Obama.   I just felt no passion at all for him.

But while he has some real challenges in the general (questionable ability to re-define McCain, weak showings in the debates, in-experience rap, etc), anyone who is calling this over is just being a blowhard.

Obama puts Kaine on the ticket.  The aggressively court the faith community from a position of real authenticity.  It does nothing to scare off democratic voters, causes McCain to mount a rear-guard action that keeps alive his double-talk express, and opens up endless opportunities for the democratic ticket;  VA, KY, getting IA back, OH.  We also fight and win the west based more on underlying shifts than the ticket, so we get CO, NM back, and that is probably all.

All in all, I am a skeptic of Obama and the Hope Talk Express, but I think it is pretty easy to pragmatically put your efforts in to this kind of map for victory.

Did anyone just see Chris Shays kiss Bush.  Seems like any politician in CT who is trading kisses with Bush is trying to make life hard for himself.

No.  It probably wasn't them.  Just the people who will work in their administration.  Add them to the ranks of "good dem" folks from the drug, insurance and defense industries who have been so helpful to the campaign and it is looking like quite a group of people who would be operating the levers of the machine under Clinton II.

If this is indeed backed or prompted by the Clinton campaign, it tracks perfectly with their effort to disenfranchise young voters in Iowa.

They see a disadvantage and they respond with no qualms about the damage done to election policy - even policies that would help them in the general.

They backed off their effort to challenge young voters in Iowa, but the playbook moves are exactly the same.  And ripped right out of the republican playbook of challenging any electoral reform that increases access if it increases it for the wrong people.

Totally disgusting.

You know, I basically agree with you, but then you were the person who was trumping up sexism charges against John Edwards just a day before the primary.

In that regard you seem to be a well vested and practiced part of the cynical machine you now are taking aim at.

This is absolutely absurd.  Anything shred of legitimacy to the complaint is out the window because you are clearly crazy.  "Hate crime" ?  "Hate Speech"?

Seems like the facts got away from you and you keep running harder in the other direction.  Keep going until you abandon on the haters over at the DNC and in the progressive movement all toghether.

Where is Anna Burger on this?  Why isn't John Podesta crying foul.  Crooks, liars the lot of them.  

Please.  Go join Nader - Oh NO.  He didn't even abandon his support of Edwards over this.

And Steinem, she had that whole op-ed and never mentioned this assault on her candidate.  Simply an outrageous act by another hater.

Wow... Hating is fun now that you mention it.  Just a little roleplaying and I am right with you.  HATE HATE HATE!  YAY.

Anna Shame.

Maybe the Obama folks should clarify the difference between Fox and the Guardian from England.  

I am all against Fox, but this is pretty sketchy....  This is not change.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/video/200 8/jan/08/obama

Obama will likely be like Jimmy Carter (If we are lucky and he doesn't have to run against McCain, to whom he would likely lose).

Like Carter he will be a great person with a great vision and he will get crushed by the forces of K Street, corporate dems, the repubs, and the general lack of iron fist decision making that is inherent in the academic dreamer class whose wave he is riding and who he seems to be.

Great the Clinton is going down but I am more convinced than ever that whatever happens in the race, John Edwards would be a better president for progressive change that is both fundamental and pragmatic.

If Obama goes up against McCain in the general we all lose.  That plus a real difference on unions, the environment, health care are all pretty good reasons.

And it took a straight shot from Edwards to make it happen.  Seriously he is the only one who knows how to fight here.

Every one of them can come up with funny lines and lots of plans and points, but Edwards is the only one who has changed the game in any of these debates.

Your spin is wrong.  He is just cutting Clinton out of the change debate.  He responded to Iowa by sayijng the change won over the status quo - a shot ac clinton.  

She said it was change against the repubs - ignoring the fact that she just lost.

Edwards has two things to do - aid the collapse of hillary and then take on Obama, he was doing an able job of the first because Obama can't quite seem to get the job done.

I believe there are two re-apportionment of caucus goers.  The first, for candidates who don't meet the threshold and the second for caucus goers who can redistribute without costing their candidate a delegate.  i.e. if Obama is one voter short and CLinton is 10 votes over, a couple could switch sides to Obama to give him the other delegate without costing CLinton.