This needs to be cleared up forthwith.

Here is Obama's Scorecard as of the seventh frame:
<table border="1" width="783" id="table1" height="75">
    <tr>
        <td width="146" height="19">Player</td>
        <td width="38" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">1</td>
        <td width="37" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">2</td>
        <td width="40" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">3</td>
        <td width="40" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">4</td>
        <td width="37" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">5</td>
        <td width="38" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">6</td>
        <td width="40" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">7</td>
        <td width="39" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">8</td>
        <td width="38" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">9</td>
        <td width="61" colspan="3" height="19" align="center">10</td>
        <td width="108" height="19">Total</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td rowspan="2" width="146" height="44">Barack</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">4</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">7^s</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">2</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">9</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">7^s</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">8</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
        <td width="23" height="25" align="center">9</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">/</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="24" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="108" height="25">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="38" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">0</td>
        <td width="37" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">4</td>
        <td width="40" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">13</td>
        <td width="40" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">22</td>
        <td width="37" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">29</td>
        <td width="38" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">37</td>
        <td width="40" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="39" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="38" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="61" colspan="3" height="25" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
        <td width="108" height="25">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
</table>

Note that although he toppled <i>all ten pins</i> in the seventh, that doesn't show up in his score (and that's something we'll get back to later).  So, even arguing that he would gutter out or foul for the rest of the game, that game is a 47.  But let's play this out hypothetically, shall we?

Given that he seemed to be getting the hang of it, his first balls for five straight frames were at least 7's.  Giving him 7
on his next ball (first hypothetical), he's at 54 through seven.  If he averages eight pins over those last three frames, also less than his previous five (43 pins over five frames, including one mark), he rolls a 78.  Giving him a three-frame average as close to his previous five, he rolls 80.  One more spare in there, he's close to 90.  A strike or two spares (let's face it, he's just getting used to this sport when he quit), and he's cracking that three-digit "minimum requirement" for manhood in the bowling world.

Now, I'm not saying you're going to find many male league bowlers in Altoona who are rolling 90 on average.  But I doubt you'll find many who would outright scoff at someone rolling 90 in a first attempt in years, if ever.  And they would bowl in comfortable pants designed for deep bending of the knees, and bowling shirts, not polo and tie meet-n-greet clothes.  And the Altoona regulars (and the Tere Haute and Steelton and Toledo and Wheeling and Flint and Peoria regulars too) would have those sleek wrist support and positioners, because they are serious about their bowling, and frankly, if they would pay that much for a dozen golf balls (which they don't because golf is elitist), they may as well do something for their bowling.  Obama didn't have one of those either (and they make them left-handed, which seems to be his bowling preference).  So Barack Obama may have done even better, had his staff properly prepared him for the game.  Are'nt they supposed to iron out all these details beforehand?

But let's get back to the score Obama actually did have in that game.  If he had 47 pins, why was it reported that he only scored 37?  Or conversely, if he only scored 37, why didn't he get any credit for the ten pins of his seventh frame spare?

Well, it's simple, really, and anyone who's ever bowled knows why.  But because some people actually have never bowled, let's go over it anyway.  When someone knocks dowwn all the pins, whether in one ball (a strike), or two (a spare), that is called a mark (a term I used above).  When a bowler marks, he or she gets a bonus, of adding in subsequent balls to the score for that frame.  A spare gets one more ball added, a strike gets two.  Otherwise, how could a game that allows no more than 120 pins to be toppled allow a score of up to 300?  So Obama had yet to record an official score for the seventh, because it requires he roll the next ball, which he never did.  And when the scorecard was printed, the blank in the seventh reflected that.

Now, here's where the great hypocrisy lies.  Again, even if he had guttered his last six balls, Obama had 47, not 37.  Understand nothing else if you wish, but get this: Only someone patently unfamiliar with the scoring system of bowling would make this mistake.  And every MSM journalist who has reported on this story has made this mistake.  Therefore, no MSM journalist reporting on this shows even a basic familiarity with the sport (sorry, Coach Stouffer)* of bowling.

Care to reckon who's showing elitism now?

*Coach Stouffer would bristle at the notion of a "sport of bowling."  Football is a sport, bowling is a game.  Yes, I remember.

As it is, neither Sen. Hillary Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama can garner 2,025 delegate votes for the Democratic Presidential Nomination solely through accumulation of pledged delegates.  That ended when Clinton reached 1,228 pledged delegates.  So Superdelegates must decide this contest.

Knowing that, Clinton strategies seem to cycle through at about two per week, as to how to win over enough Superdelegates to get the nomination.  Right now, the only realistic path for her is to wait to see if Obama somehow self-destructs.  Or try to make it happen.

Obama's skill at redirecting the debate when in crisis has been shown to be considerable, most notably in crafting A More Perfect Union, on March 18.  Not only did this speech show Obama to be tough enough to confront his accusers (FOX Noise and the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy), but has served in some small measure to have marginalized the attackers, revealing just a little bit the hypocritical neofascist partisans for what they truly are.  He has posted the sign, "Attack at Your Own Risk."

Given this, it is risky policy for the Clinton campaign or the candidate herself to attack Obama on what really are peripheral issues.  I will also show that it is entirely unnecessary.

Given that Clinton has passed the 1,228 threshold, unanimous support of the Superdelegates will give her the nomination, should she receive it.  We have already established the prerequisites for this possibility.  But given that if Sen. Obama found a way to lose support for the nomination, Sen. Clinton has established herself as the best remaining option, far and away.  So she need do nothing to secure the nomination in this circumstrance, and indeed doing nothing appears to be her best option from this point forward (as shown previously that Sen. Obama can damage attackers).  This is not to say that she should quit, but that she should campaign in a manner that will best preserve her dwindling chance while simultaneously maximizing the competitiveness for Democrats in the fall; indeed, continuing will serve to keep adding Democratic registrants, voters, volunteers, and organizers for November.

Sen. Obama needs to do something as well.  He needs to ignore any future attacks by the Clinton campaign, and simply assume the role of presumptive nominee.  He cannot lose ground to Sen. Clinton in the remaining contests to the degree that the nomination is in serious jeopardy, barring the complete collapse scenario (CCS).  His campaign can make significant progress for the general election by running as the Democratic nominee, opposed not by Sen. Hillary Clinton, but by Sen. John McCain.

The Superdelegates also have a charge to complete.  Superdelegates remaining undeclared must, if not genuinely undecided, declare support for their chosen candidate.  This fairly establishes the finish line for both Clinton and Obama, and helps either candidate to determine the best strategy for winning in Novamber, whether that be battling McCain, standing aside, or any other course of action.

These actions will serve the individual Presidential nomination candidates most effectively, while simultaneously best serving the Democratic party in winning White House control and Congressional gains in 2008.

The Clinton campaign is mired in a quagmire that they cannot exit.  The only way to escape is to dump everything pulling it down.

Or maybe, it is a plane running out of fuel.  The only way to make the landing strip is to lghten the load.

I suggest that they throw Mark Penn overboard.

To be fair, there are Obama supporters who dislike Senator Clinton for reasons I cannot begin to fathom. But among our contingent in our county convention (numbering 179), they were outnumbered by Obama supporters who have long held high opinions of Sen. Clinton. Some still do, some are trying to, some have recently lost respect for her and her campaign. A couple were Clinton supporters at the Jan. 3 caucus, but have publicly switched, mainly due to campaign tactics.  Increasing numbers are unwilling to vote for her, to campaign for her if nominated, and even to provide the assistance for downticket Democrats that in many places will ned all the assistance they can get.  As it is, there is no way Sen. Clinton will have nearly the friendly majorities in the House and Senate as Sen. Obama, especially considering his appeal to Independents and Republica crossovers, demonstrated until the resolution of the Republican race.

If Senator Clinton holds out any hope to still garner the Democratic nomination, and win in the fall, that hope diminishes every day that Mark Penn remains on her payroll. This man has no loyalty to the Democratic party, he strategizes solely for the campaign. His plan is to beat the nomination frontrunner using the same tactics he would use in November against the Republican nominee. His strategies are firmly based on evidence that shows such tactics work. Certainly those statistics will help to determine the best path to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Except, Penn's entire hegemony is based on what is becoming an outdated worldview. People have been awakened to the destructive nature of Personal Destruction Politics. They understand the detrimental effects of fearmongering and divisiveness. People are ready for something different, something that brings people together to work for a goal that inspires them for what it says about how they can agree, and generates a future not possible from division and partisanship. Mark Penn's worldview is outdated and antiquated. While the crowds are screaming in unison, "The Emperor has no clothes!" he still stands rapt, admiring the gossamer finery so delicate that it feels like nothing to the touch.

It looks like Rush still matters.

Some exit data from Ohio indicates that GOP loyalists got out in decent numbers to cross over and ostensibly help Clinton (Meaning tank the Dem chances against McCain).

Discuss.