Obama captures the coveted Tom Hanks endorsement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68CKnirCxak

Hanks does a nice job with this. It looks like he produced it himself. It's been a good day for pro-Obama video clips.

I'm only sorry that my "Is Tim Russert the Reincarnation of Heat Miser?" video post died an early death. Will you ever look at Tim Russert the same way again? You decide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqMrKuTZtNg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqMrKuTZtNg

So what's the mood in North Carolina? Check out this diary and clip at Daily Kos to find out:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/3/15156/60603/86/508416

Julia Louis-Dreyfus posted a statement on Huff Post outlining her concerns about the latest WVWV robocall scandal:

Recently I was part of a group of women who filmed public service announcements for an organization called Women's Voices. Women Vote. The goal of the PSA campaign is to encourage high voter turn-out amongst women, especially single women, 20 million of whom have been known to stay home on Election Day. It is an issue about which I am deeply passionate. However, there have been reports about WVWV which questioned the intention behind my PSA and which candidate I am endorsing for president. For the record, I am proudly supporting Senator Barack Obama.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julia-louisdreyfus/a-point-of-clarification_b_99915.html

National Public Radio noted the Clinton connection to the Women's Voices Women Vote robocalls on the May 1, 2008 airing of "All Things Considered."

<blockquote>Will Evans of the Center for Investigative Reporting , who collaborated in reporting this story, found some Obama backers among the Women's Voices leadership, but the group mostly has ties to Clinton and her campaign. Gardner worked on former President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. Board member John Podesta was President Clinton's chief-of-staff. Maggie Williams, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, used to be on the Women's Voices leadership team and did consulting work for the group. </blockquote>

-snip-

<blockquote>The Institute for Southern Studies began investigating after receiving complaints about the robocalls. The institute traced the calls to Women's Voices, which has acknowledged responsibility.

The Institute turned up other complaints about the group as well, in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. A "Lamont Williams" robocall similar to North Carolina's ran in Ohio last fall. In Virginia, robocalls days before the February primary caused voters to flood the board of elections with phone calls, in turn triggering an investigation by the state police.

Kromm says this shows at least five months of a "deceptive tactic, illegal in many states." He notes, "Each time this group is criticized for this activity, they apologize for the confusion."

The North Carolina attorney general says the robocalls are illegal. State law requires that automated phone calls identify the sponsoring group and give the recipient a phone number or other means of contacting the group. The Lamont Williams call did neither. </blockquote>

You can see the entire article here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90114863

I guess in this business, nothing is ever really surprising. Jake Tapper of ABC News had a report yesterday that the McCain campaign has dismissed a member of his Michigan Finance Committtee because of his ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah. Coming directly on the heels of McCain's attempt to smear Obama with an unsubstantiated Hamas endorsement, there does seem to be a bit of irony here.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-mccain-hezb.html

<blockquote>
The McCain Hezbollah "Connection" *

April 30, 2008 8:37 PM

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., removed a man from his Michigan Finance Committee today.

It started after conservative writer Debbie Schlussel called Michigan businessman Ali Jawad not only a supporter of Hezbollah -- a group the US State Department labels a "terrorist organization" -- but also claimed he was a "key agent of the terrorist group in the Detroit area."

After Schlussel started asking questions the McCain campaign removed him from the finance committee for a May fundraiser.

"Apparently he is a well known member of the Arab-American community in Dearborn," a McCain staffer tells ABC News. "He is also a known Republican donor and former Bush finance committee member. When these rumors surfaced he notified the campaign and we removed him from the finance committee. The guy never raised a dime for us and he isn’t even a contributor."

Yes, that's right, the McCain campaign said they removed him because of "rumors."

Jawad is president of Armada Oil & Gas Company and founder of the Lebanese American Heritage Club.

In 1997 he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor insurance fraud. Prosecutors accused him of submitting names of non-employees to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to receive health insurance benefits and claims. He received two years of probation and he paid approximately $6,000 in fines and restitution.

In this 2002 story, Jawad is quoted saying he "rejects talk that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that should be shunned by the United States and other governments. 'Killing innocent people -- we reject that,' he said. 'Hezbollah does not fit this category. It has protected its people.'"

Read Schlussel's story -- she lays out many charges against him.

You will note in one photograph in Schussel's story, Jawad is sitting at a table with Michael Rosen, a lawyer and policy advisor with the U.S. Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes of the U.S. Treasury Department, and Andrew Arena, Michigan FBI Special Agent in Charge, and formerly in charge of Counterterrorism for the New York FBI.

This all seems a little odd to me.

Is there anyone out there who thinks McCain supports Hezbollah? Was McCain truly offended by the notion that an Arab-American businessman with sympathy for Hezbollah supports him? Or was today's move just to deprive Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, of some future rebuttal? </blockquote>

With the news that "Former DNC chair Joe Andrew switches to Obama" that makes 11 Supers for Obama this week to Hillary's 3. Obama has closed the Super gap to under 20 today! When asked for comment , Buddy Holly broke into song:

Everyday, it's a gettin' closer,
Goin' faster than a roller coaster,
Love like yours will surely come my way, (hey, hey, hey)

Everyday, it's a gettin' faster,
Everyone says go on up and ask her,
Love like yours will surely come my way, (hey, hey, hey)

Everyday seems a little longer,
Every way, love's a little stronger,
Come what may, do you ever long for
True love from me?

Everyday, it's a gettin' closer,
Goin' faster than a roller coaster,
Love like yours will surely come my way, (hey, hey, hey)

Everyday seems a little longer,
Every way, love's a little stronger,
Come what may, do you ever long for
True love from me?

Everyday, it's a gettin' closer,
Goin' faster than a roller coaster,
Love like yours will surely come my way, (hey, hey, hey)
Love like yours will surely come my way.

This is a very interesting diary that was posted by Stefanie Lane today at Daily Kos. It bears re-posting in its entirety here:


"John Podesta responds to WVWV robo-call scandal"

I wasn't surprised to find that there were ties to Clinton's campaign - in fact, when I read about the robo-calls, my first thought was "Mark Penn." I really lost it, though, when I saw that John Podesta is a member of WVWV's board.

You see, John Podesta is a graduate of my tiny and relatively unknown but completely amazing alma mater, Knox College - Knox is where Elsinora kicked John Ashcroft's ass last week, as a matter of fact. So I've always felt a kind of connection to him. I've met him a few times and found him to be an extremely pleasant guy.

Then I found out that he's on WVWV's board. So I dug up his email address and sent him this:

Dear John:

I read today, with immeasurable shock and disappointment, that Women’s Voices, Women Vote, an organization on whose board you sit, has been involved in suspicious attempts to mislead and disenfranchise black voters in several states over the past several months, most recently this week in North Carolina. (Details can be found here: http://southernstudies.org/... <http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/facing-south-exclusive-dc-nonprofit.asp> )

As a fellow Knox alum, I expected better from you. I have told countless people with great pride that John Podesta went to MY college. Remember when you took over Old Main? Do you remember the 1970 version of yourself? What were you fighting for then? Fairness? Equality? Everyone’s right to have their voices heard? Does the 2008 version of you still stand for these things?

In case you are unaware of the situation, WVWV has robo-called black North Carolina voters (using the name "Lamont Williams") with the message that they needed to return a voter registration packet by mail, despite the fact that North Carolina does not register voters by mail, the voter registration deadline in North Carolina is April 11, and many of these voters are already registered (but the calls make them think they are not).

It is a Class I felony in North Carolina "to misrepresent the law to the public through mass mailing or any other means of communication where the intent and the effect is to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote."

I hope against all hope that you did not have prior knowledge of these incidents, and that these voter disenfranchisement efforts have not, as some have suggested, been coordinated by the Clinton campaign. I urge you to immediately break all ties with this group and publicly renounce their tactics.

Regretfully,

Stefanie [lastname]
Knox College Class of [year]

He actually responded, which I didn't expect, though his response was less than satisfying:

Believe me, you were no more shocked than I was. WVWV has a strong record of registering disenfranchised people so that they can participate in the political process. Over 400,000 in this cycle. With respect to North Carolina, remedial action is being undertaken.  While  I believe the calling program there was a mistake of judgment and execution, and not an attempt to disenfranchise voters, as a board member, I have asked for a full accounting of the circumstances of the North Carolina events.

It's great that he's asked for "a full accounting of the circumstances," but seriously, I don't understand thinking this is all a big coincidence. So, my response:

Thanks for responding, John. I'm glad to hear that you've requested an accounting of what's happening in North Carolina but frankly North Carolina is just the tip of the iceberg - WVWV has apparently executed similar "lapses in judgment" in Virginia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas, usually immediately before those states' primaries. I have an incredibly difficult time believing this is anything less than voter disenfranchisement - if their intentions were good, why wouldn't WVWV identify themselves on the call? Why target black voters? Why use a fictitious identity for the call, and why else use the name Lamont, if not to immediately establish the caller's racial identity? Why choose the week before an election to suggest to these (largely black) voters that they may not be registered to vote?

From my perspective, the odds of all these factors being coincidental is virtually nill. But I look forward to the full accounting, which I hope you will encourage WVWV to make public. Thank you.

Stef

When/if he responds, I'll post that too.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/30/211016/253/775/506710

Reader stefanielane posted this at Daily Kos. It bears re-posting in its entirety here:


"John Podesta responds to WVWV robo-call scandal"

I wasn't surprised to find that there were ties to Clinton's campaign - in fact, when I read about the robo-calls, my first thought was "Mark Penn." I really lost it, though, when I saw that John Podesta is a member of WVWV's board.

You see, John Podesta is a graduate of my tiny and relatively unknown but completely amazing alma mater, Knox College - Knox is where Elsinora kicked John Ashcroft's ass last week, as a matter of fact. So I've always felt a kind of connection to him. I've met him a few times and found him to be an extremely pleasant guy.

Then I found out that he's on WVWV's board. So I dug up his email address and sent him this:

Dear John:

I read today, with immeasurable shock and disappointment, that Women’s Voices, Women Vote, an organization on whose board you sit, has been involved in suspicious attempts to mislead and disenfranchise black voters in several states over the past several months, most recently this week in North Carolina. (Details can be found here: http://southernstudies.org/... <http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/facing-south-exclusive-dc-nonprofit.asp> )

As a fellow Knox alum, I expected better from you. I have told countless people with great pride that John Podesta went to MY college. Remember when you took over Old Main? Do you remember the 1970 version of yourself? What were you fighting for then? Fairness? Equality? Everyone’s right to have their voices heard? Does the 2008 version of you still stand for these things?

In case you are unaware of the situation, WVWV has robo-called black North Carolina voters (using the name "Lamont Williams") with the message that they needed to return a voter registration packet by mail, despite the fact that North Carolina does not register voters by mail, the voter registration deadline in North Carolina is April 11, and many of these voters are already registered (but the calls make them think they are not).

It is a Class I felony in North Carolina "to misrepresent the law to the public through mass mailing or any other means of communication where the intent and the effect is to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote."

I hope against all hope that you did not have prior knowledge of these incidents, and that these voter disenfranchisement efforts have not, as some have suggested, been coordinated by the Clinton campaign. I urge you to immediately break all ties with this group and publicly renounce their tactics.

Regretfully,

Stefanie [lastname]
Knox College Class of [year]

He actually responded, which I didn't expect, though his response was less than satisfying:

Believe me, you were no more shocked than I was. WVWV has a strong record of registering disenfranchised people so that they can participate in the political process. Over 400,000 in this cycle. With respect to North Carolina, remedial action is being undertaken.  While  I believe the calling program there was a mistake of judgment and execution, and not an attempt to disenfranchise voters, as a board member, I have asked for a full accounting of the circumstances of the North Carolina events.

It's great that he's asked for "a full accounting of the circumstances," but seriously, I don't understand thinking this is all a big coincidence. So, my response:

Thanks for responding, John. I'm glad to hear that you've requested an accounting of what's happening in North Carolina but frankly North Carolina is just the tip of the iceberg - WVWV has apparently executed similar "lapses in judgment" in Virginia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas, usually immediately before those states' primaries. I have an incredibly difficult time believing this is anything less than voter disenfranchisement - if their intentions were good, why wouldn't WVWV identify themselves on the call? Why target black voters? Why use a fictitious identity for the call, and why else use the name Lamont, if not to immediately establish the caller's racial identity? Why choose the week before an election to suggest to these (largely black) voters that they may not be registered to vote?

From my perspective, the odds of all these factors being coincidental is virtually nill. But I look forward to the full accounting, which I hope you will encourage WVWV to make public. Thank you.

Stef

When/if he responds, I'll post that too.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/30/211016/253/775/506710

It appears that Obama has quite a few Supers up his sleave, and is playing them out in a carefully orchestrated campaign.

Great quote from Sen. McCaskill today:

“The majority of superdelegates I’ve talked to are committed, but it is a matter of timing,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “They’re just preferring to make their decision public after the primaries are over. ... They would like someone else to act for them before they talk about it in the cold light of day.”

Obama currently holds an 18-13 lead among committed superdelegates in the Senate, while Clinton holds a 77-74 lead in the House. Asked which way the committed-but-unannounced superdelegates are leaning, McCaskill — who has endorsed Obama — said: “James Brown would say, ‘I Feel Good.’”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9968.html

Gotta love those Republicans! This just in on HufferPost:

"This afternoon on MSNBC, Republican strategist Kellyanne Conway and Democratic strategist Keith Boykin were discussing Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright, when Conway made a startling declaration, calling Hillary Clinton "the chief white woman in this country." Her full statement:

"The person who has criticized them is Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton has been criticizing Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. and I think that's the real issue, I think that's why Barack Obama had to push back. She is the chief white woman in this country, calling into question Jeremiah Wright's bonafides and she has made that issue on the campaign trail. Republicans aren't saying much about it at all, including John McCain. He had one thing to say about it early on."

Boykin immediately objected and Conway attempted to explain her statement, but a very wise Tamron Hall interrupted them and cut to commercial as fast as she could."

Watch the clip:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/29/kellyanne-conway-msnbc-gu_n_99299.html#postComment

Obama picked up two more supers today. Hillary picked up one.

Obama denounces Wright today and dominates the news coverage.

Where's Hillary? Oh, right, prepping for her big date with Bill-O.

It's a beautiful day in the Obama-hood!

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood Theme Song

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beautywood,
A neighborly day for a beauty,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you,
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

So let's make the most of this beautiful day,
Since we're together, we might as well say,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?

Won't you please,
Won't you please,
Please won't you be my neighbor?

Spoken: Hi television neighbor, I'm glad we're together again....

Kos himself has gone into high freak-out mode today over Obama's appearance on Fox News on Sunday. In his editorial today, "Obama and Fox News," it is apparent that Kos feels that Obama should only address the left wing of the American populace, and that he has committed an act of treason by trying to reach out to the white, working class viewership of Fox.

http://www.dailykos.com/

Along with listing a variety of grievances against Obama, Kos cites Greg Sargent of TPM as providing another piece of evidence that Obama "showed weakness by caving to right-wing bullying taunts."

According to Kos:

"It exposed his campaign as a bunch of liars. The Obama campaign's press show promised people that Obama would "take on" Fox News. Of course, none of that happened. That would've electrified "the left", and we know that Obama doesn't want to do anything that might make him look like a "captive" to it. "

"The campaign would've been better off just being honest and upfront about Obama's motives, but that might've proven too cynical for supporters that think he can possibly "rise above politics". Of course he can't. Yet I suspect that much of the erosion in his momentum of late comes from people realizing that Obama can't possibly deliver what he's promising. If he promised to be a good president, one who delivered for people and improved their lives and restored America's standing in the world, then great. That he can deliver."

"But "rise above politics"? His refusal to acknowledge the political reality may very well be his greatest weakness. I hope it's all an act. I can take cynical political rhetoric. I expect it. And it's not like Clinton is offering anything different in that department. But if Obama actually believes it, then the Republicans will chew him up and spit him out. And either way, his campaign -- never good at setting expectations -- shouldn't have promised something that Obama is apparently incapable of delivering."

Kos, of course, is referring to Greg Sargent's headline from a few days ago claiming that Obama was going to "take on Fox."

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/senior_obama_adviser_obama_wil.php

In his piece, Sargent cited an un-named source:

"Here is what the adviser IM-ed me about this today:

We are clear-eyed about Fox's role in the dissemination and amplification of Republican talking points this election. They have been the tip of the spear when it comes to repeatedly broadcasting some of the most specious of rumors about Obama. He is going on their Sunday show to take Fox on, not because we have any illusion about their motives or politics in this election.

"The Obama adviser declined to detail how he'd be taking on Fox. But if Obama does this, it could end up playing to his advantage. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out."

So at this point, it appears that Kos' expectations over an anonymous IM that claimed that Obama was going to "take on Fox" have not been met, and justifies Kos' claim that Obama's campaign is now composed of a "bunch of liars":
 
"So Obama showed weakness by caving to right-wing bullying taunts (thrilling our political foes), disrespected his base, gave Fox a propaganda victory, exposed his campaign as a bunch of liars who promised something their candidate was clearly incapable of delivering, and defended the Democratic spinelessness that gave us the most ridiculous Supreme Court in generations."

"I won't pretend to guess whether this helps him in Indiana or not. It may or it may not. And since I've never put Obama on a pedestal, this doesn't knock him down. What this does demonstrate, and quite clearly so, is that Obama is quite willing to score cheap political points at the expense of his base, regardless how much it might embolden the very same people that are working to demonize him to the American people."

An anonymous source has just IM'ed me and says that "Kos is now very angry and upset and hopes to take a nap sometime this afternoon."

One answer to the "Where is Obama" post from earlier today, is to be found in Thomas B. Edsell's informative column at Huffington Post on April 24:

"Media Jump Ship from Obama to Clinton"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/24/media-jump-ship-from-obam_n_98545.html

excerpt:
<blockquote>

In a blink of an eye, the media has jumped ship from the Obama campaign and become a crucial Clinton ally, pressing just the message -- that Obama is a likely loser in the general election -- that Hillary and her allies have been promoting for the past six weeks.

The new tenor of media coverage is visible almost everywhere, from Politico, Time and The New Republic to The Washington Post and The New York Times.

For Hillary, the shift is a potential lifesaver as she struggles to keep her head above water; without it, she would, metaphorically, drown.
<blockquote>

So it appears that it's not so much that Obama isn't here, but that the MSM has been highly effective in shifting their attention to Hillary, and fooling us into thinking that Obama is off his game.

In simple terms, the media is playing "peek-a-boo" with us, and the infants among us are buying it.