I posted few of my notes on my experience at today's incredible Barack Obama rally in Portland over at The Huffington Post. For those who don't frequent that site, I'm reposting them here at good ol' TPM.

- You know the switchbacks used for lines at theme parks? Well, it was a single long line to get into this event at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which had been sealed off, with the exception of a single entry area. A sizable portion of Portland's downtown sidewalks served as a giant form of switchbacks. A line of at least 60,000 people (the approximate number in the park itself) snaking block after block... Quite striking. And I'm very glad we were on a shady sidewalk, considering we were there for about two hours before the line started moving.

- TSA agents handled most of the entrance screening duties. The experience was extremely similar to entering the boarding area at an American airport, metal detectors and all. Shoe removal was not necessary and there were no liquid restrictions, though.

- I also went to the Obama rally a couple of months ago at Memorial Coliseum here in Portland. The crowd at today's event was noticeably younger and, although about six times larger, wasn't as energetic as the Memorial Coliseum event. I would attribute that to the fact that most had spent hours in the virtually unobscured midday sun and there wasn't the major endorsement (Bill Richardson) that took place at that previous Portland event.

- It was in the low 80s. Good timing. The previous two days had been in the mid-90s.

- Michelle Obama and their daughters joining Barack as they took the stage was a nice surprise.

- Other than commenting on the size of the crowd, the beauty of the location, and Portland's promotion of bicycles and public transportation, Barack Obama gave pretty much his standard stump speech.

- As with the Memorial Coliseum event, the crowd was exceptionally diverse and extremely polite. 75,000 people, yet no pushing, nothing even approaching a confrontation, but rather it was "excuse me", "sorry", and plenty of friendly talk among strangers. It all further confirms what I've already experienced - Obama supporters don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Together we'll (everyone) restore that sense of caring and respect for our neighbors that's been slipping away for too long. : )

In keeping with today's CNN story on Barack Obama's difficulty attracting older voters, here are the top ten things he can do to win their support.

Number 10...

Complain more about his aches and pains.

Number 9...

Promise dedicated "mallwalking" lanes at all shopping malls.

Number 8...

Refuse to tolerate any malarkey.

Number 7...

Drink more prune juice at campaign rallies.

Number 6...

Go on about how great that last Tom Jones concert was.

Number 5...

Highlight his superior gumption and moxie.

Number 4...

Pledge to reduce the maximum speed limit to 35 mph.

Number 3...

Talk about how much he wishes he had more time for bingo.

Number 2...

Select Wilfred  Brimley as his running mate

Number 1...

More early bird specials.

The official Daily Show announcement.

What stands out to you in these headlines?

AP -  Clinton emphatically says Obama can win White House

Retuers -  Obama and Clinton on defensive in tense debate

ABC - Clinton, Obama Find 'Brotherly Love' at Philly Debate (Headline link at Drudge)

NBC - Democratic rivals face off in Pa.

CBS - Clinton, Obama Face Off In Philadelphia

CNN - Clinton, Obama decline to back loser as VP

I'll tell you what I see - Nothing.

Other than Hillary Clinton forced to admit that Barack Obama can beat John McCain and the no surprise revelation that they wouldn't promise to pick the other as VP, there was no news.

Hillary Clinton needed news.  On that fundamental level, Barack Obama won tonight debate.

Generally I try to avoid cheap shots like this, but I just like this one too much. :)

It was on the NBC affiliate KGW, just before 8 pm.  It was the ad they've started of with in a number of markets - "Join".

The campaign could quite possibly be over before the May 20th Oregon primary, but it's nice that the Obama campaign has the money to play it safe.

If the Democrats lose this upcoming election to the virtually unelectable John McCain, it's hard for me to imagine that Hillary Clinton wouldn't receive the blame for it.  I believe the anger, hatred even, that Ralph Nader received in the wake of the 2000 election (which he continues to receive) would pale in comparison to what would be directed at Hillary Clinton.

Former Oregon Governors John Kitzhaber and Barbara Roberts put their support behind Barack Obama today.

Current Governor (and of course, superdelegate) Ted Kulongoski , is standing firmly by his endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

Here's a short local article on the endorsements.

It seems obvious to me that John McCain will defeat himself. His advocacy of maintaining a large force of U.S. troops in Iraq for years to come flies in the face of strong public opinion to the contrary.  That, in combination with his rather apparent (to me, at least) psychological instability and his relative "stay the course" economic positions (despite unprecedented dissatisfaction with the direction of the country) will doom his candidacy. A loaf of bread could beat John McCain in November.

But his opponent will not be a loaf of bread, it will be Barack Obama; A natural leader with positions based in reality, far more than they're based in politics and corporate interests. (Notice that I didn't say "entirely". The man is not perfect.)

But it's all become much more than just the one man.  He's attracted a massive, highly motivated constituency of voters; voters who've become extremely frustrated with the unreality that's gripped our federal government. His real pressure will be to live up to their expectations, because they will be watching.

(And yes, I've assumed Barack Obama will win the Democratic nomination.  As the old saying goes, unless he's caught with a dead hooker or a live boy, he is the Democratic nominee. I see any debate in that regard as nothing more than a hypothetical exercise. )

I didn't post them.  Just passing 'em along.

General David Petraeus

Ambassador Ryan Crocker

Just a curiosity.

Posted: 02:11 PM ET

(CNN) — Hillary Clinton’s campaign says the candidate will stop telling the story of an uninsured pregnant woman who lost the baby and died after being denied medical care, following a hospital raising questions over its accuracy.

The full article is here.

From Rasmussen -

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows Barack Obama with his largest lead ever in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Obama now attracts 51% of the vote while Clinton earns 41%.

And -

... this is only the second time that Obama has ever reached the 50% level of support ...

The full article is here.

"Enjoy"

This was originally inspired by and posted in response to an an elaborate question by "DF."

Happy April Fools Day!

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On stardate 7100.7 (Earth calendar year 2271), an unidentified nebula-like object with the diameter of over two au skirted the fringes of Klingon space. Impervious to long-range sensors, three heavily armed D-7 Class Klingon Cruisers were dispatched on a reconnaissance mission to the massive cloud, only to vanish soon after initial contact - seemingly vaporised by spheres consisting of a previously unknown form of energy. First thought to be a natural phenomenon, it became clear that the object was not only of artificial origin, but it was immensely powerful, capable of extraordinary destruction, and on a direct heading for Sol System's planet Earth.

Despite an incomplete upgrade and a skeleton crew, as the only Starfleet vessel in the sector, the starship U.S.S. Enterprise was dispatched to intercept the object. Nearing Earth, the Enterprise, utilizing advanced shields, was able to penetrate the cloud, discovering inside a mindboggling collection of what appeared to be all that the mysterious nebula had encountered on its journey. Never before in the history of the Federation had such a fantastical collection of objects been observed. In an effort lead by Commander Spock, a vast amount of data was recorded from the interior of the cloud to the Enterprise's main computer.

Rapidly dissipating upon arrival at the planet Earth, the only remnant of the previously massive cloud, a capsule measuring approximately two meters in height and three meters in diameter, went almost unnoticed as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Utilizing ancient "parachute" technology, the capsule soft-landed at the National Mall in Washington, DC, United States, United Earth.

Emerging from the scorched capsule was a being with the appearance of an adult human female. Entering Earth's ancient United States Capital Building (know today as "The Capital Museum"), she displayed an object to a member of museum security, then took a seat in the building's Chamber of the United States Senate. When questioned, the guard stated that the object appeared to be an ancient form of identification. All he could discern from the aged and tattered card was a portion a single word - Cl'ton.

ORIGIN OF CL'TON

Pieced together from the fragmented records of pre-World War III Earth by a team of librarians and researchers at Memory Alpha, details of what lead to the incident now known as "The Cl'ton Event" began to take shape.

In September of the Earth year 2008, a group of wealthy citizens of the United Sates of America, all members of a society know at the time as The Democratic Party (the Federation political party known today as "The Cult of Obama"), procured a decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile. Fitting it with a primitive cryogenic capsule and designating the craft "SOROS 1", the group launched it from an unused strategic nuclear missile silo in the remote U.S. state of Arkansas. Utilizing the gravitational pull of Earth's Moon, and later the Sol System's planet Jupiter, the cryogenic capsule was catapulted from the star system at a high rate of sub-light speed.

The then highly mysterious launch coincided with a particularly tumultuous period within the Democratic Party. A member of the United States Senate by the name of Hillary Rodham Clinton had lost her bid to become the nominee of the Democratic Party for the office of President of the United States, consequently launching an independent campaign for the office. Unexpected by many, the public reaction paled in comparison to the surprise brought by her withdrawal from the race a mere twenty-three days later. Hillary Rodham Clinton soon after became known as one of the most strident supporters and valuable allies of her former opponent, the legendary former President of the United States and host of the long running and influential weekly video series "Yes We Can, America!", Barack Obama.

Upon exhumation, the grave of Hillary Rodham Clinton was found to contain an early, previously unknown, and unexpectedly advanced prototype of the DATX android, production models of which were introduced for purchase in the United States in the Earth year 2021 by cybernetics pioneer (and outspoken Democrat) Dr. Maury Soong.

Although data from within the cloud indicated that a great space battle (culminating in a meeting with God) lead to Cl'ton's evolution, physical evidence has proven conclusively that extended exposure to cosmic radiation, in combination with faults in the capsules primitive cryogenic unit, were responsible for the senator's extraordinary mutation.

In a tragic disappointment to citizens of the Federation, what had seemed to be an almost limitless volume of information and experiences from Cl'ton's journey was found to be almost completely useless. Upon inspection, the data had been extensively manipulated, exaggerated to a point in which it bared only the slightest similarity to reality. Federation programmers continue to develop de-exaggeration algorithms, but they anticipate only marginal success in decrypting the data.

Cl'ton can be observed today, requesting quorum calls alone on the Capital Museum's Senate Floor, and periodically holding press conferences, announcing her candidacy for President of the United States, refusing to acknowledge that such an office no longer exists.