At a campaign rally in Eugene Oregon, Hillary Clinton was asked why she voted for the Iraq war.   Part of her response:

"I started criticizing the war in Iraq before (Obama) did. So, I’m well aware that his entire campaign is premised on a speech he gave in 2002 and I give him credit for making that speech. But that was not a decision.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/04/05/politics/fromtheroad/entry3996192.shtml

Can she bend the truth that much without the MSM calling her on it?

Was just watching MSNBC, David Gregory's show. Chrystia Freeland, from the Financial Times, made an interesting observation/prediction:

Is the cabinet post on poverty Hillary's job offer to John Edwards?

She had no inside word on it, she was just pointing out a possible connection.  

Maybe John Edwards endorses Hillary before PA.?

Also:  Hillary's Pennsylvania personality change:

-Quote from speech to blue collar workers:   From the coal mines to the lace mills, my family has worked our hearts out, and I will work my heart out for you.”
-says she's like Rocky Balboa
-tells Ellen she's used to boys piling on her
-challenges Obama to bowl-off

Conclusion:  she's a vulnerable blue collar wife and mother with boys picking on her just trying to survive.This week.

On March 20, Barack Obama's senate office was notified of a major security breach on his passport file.  
Hours after it was reported by MSNBC, the State Department confirmed the story and added that it had been breached on three separate occasions - Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14.   

This rapidly became a major news story, and raised questions about whether there was political motivation--as was suspected in 1992, when a Republican political appointee broke into Bill Clinton's  passport records while he was running against President George H.W. Bush. 

So here we have Barack Obama, a democratic presidential candidate leading the race, generating sweeping support across the country, during an election year  in which a major transition of political power  is likely. 
Barack could be the first African American to become President.

There was no way, I thought,  that anyone could possibly believe this incident wasn't politically motivated. (pardon the double negative)

Well actually, there was one way.  My marketing and PR instincts  kicked in and shed light on the only way this fire could be put out:  announce that the same thing happened to the other candidates.  

I weighed the prospect of the State department looking incredibly incompetent and bureaucratic with the the prospect of the immense toxicity that would ensue if the breach on Obama's file was believed to be politically motivated.

I chose incompetence and bureaucratic.  

As I suspected, the next day the State Department announced that McCain's file and Clinton's file had been breached as well.  By low level contract employees, no less.
 "It was just a matter of "imprudent curiosity" said state department spokesman Sean McCormick.

"It may boil down to simple human folly and voyeurism in the wee hours of the morning,"  said David Laufman, a former CIA official who was investigating the matter at the time. 

The story pretty much died after that. 

A week or so ago, it was reported that Anna Nicole's passport file was also breached, though that turned out to be a perfectly legal request.

Today, the state department announced to virtually no fanfare that it intends to name a new acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services to replace Ann Barrett who will be stepping aside.

After 8 years of so many lies and coverups,  I can only imagine the size of the rug that this one was swept under.

One theory regarding the allleged call that came from Afghanistan before 9/11;

It's possible that Mukasey and the administration are creating a narrative in which they "tried" to get a telecom to help divulge the content of the call with a warrant but the telecom refused because they didn't think it was legal. All of this wasn't public because it was highly classified. Even the FISA court couldn't talk about it. There was one telecom, as I understand it, that actually did refuse to cooperate with warrantless wiretaps. 
Then the discussion becomes, "wait, they could have prevented 9/11, but they couldn't get a warrant?" 
And telecom immunity will be granted. 
Just a theory but this administration has concocted stranger stories. 

To be fair, I wouldn't want TPM to print everything that Obama surrogates say either.  
One of my problems with MSM is that they print whatever press release comes out of the Pentagon or the White House. No questions asked.  
How do blog editors not fall victim to operating the same way?  How do they not become yet another propaganda machine?  
I can go to MSM blogs to read about gossip and he said she said news.  I can turn on the tv and see that stuff on every 24 hour news channel.  
I like most things about TPM and don't think I'm being hyper-critical. 
Aren't these fair questions to address or inquire about?


   

At today's California press conference with Hillary, she said that there's no such thing as pledged delegates, responding to a question about her intentions to speak in North Dakota, where Obama is ahead in pledged delegates.
Another interesting quote:

"Senator Obama is timid and unenthusiastic about doing anything about the economy.   I've been talking about this for a year, I feel like Paulette Revere, "the recession is coming, the recession is coming".


  

ON BEING OUTSPENT 3 to 1,

Obama outspent Hillary  3 to 1 in Texas and Ohio, and she STILL won.  
ON OBAMA'S $30 MILLION FUNDRAISING
 At some point,  raising that much money is just  redundant. (implying that it doesn't matter as much)
ON OBAMA'S RECENT ENDORSEMENTS
When Sen. Kennedy, Carolyn Kennedy and John Kerry all came out to endorse Obama, the media said it was a transformative day; but clinton went on to win Ca. by 13%, 
ON GENERAL ELECTION
people who vote in big states really control the general election. 
ON PLEDGED DELEGATES, POPULAR VOTE When Michigan and Florida are to be included, Hillary would have the popular vote lead. That's why Obama doesn't want those results included. 

I wish she'd make up her mind on this issue.  If there's ever been an example of flip-flopping, this is it.  

David:

I just read an article regarding a mailer that was sent out talking about Barack Obama's substantive legislative record.  

"Don't believe it," says factcheck.org  

First, did this mailer come from your campaign?

Second, if they're wrong about this, please address it as soon as possible.  

 If they're right about it,  even if the mailer just "stretches the truth" about Obama's record, please withdraw it immediately, and print one that is accurate.   
Thank you
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/substance_abuse.html

A quote from Hillary in Wilkes-Barre, PA:
 “My family has deep roots here…and we don’t quit. From the coal mines to the lace mills, we have worked our hearts out, and I will work my heart out for you.”

I posted this clip earlier, in defense of Rev. Wright.  I thought people might want to see a positive clip, as opposed to all the ones Fox has distributed.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yOR_srOUI0

Some people just went on a rant about how awful a person I am.  Please, look before you leap.

I'm watching CSPAN right now.  There's a debate in the house about Global HIV/AIDS funding.   
Every Republican has got up and asked a question that's been missing from their language since 2000:
"Where are we going to get this kind of money?"
Where were these republicans before we spent 3 trillion we didn't have to fund wars?

This morning's Quinnipiac polls show Hillary Clinton running just nine points ahead of Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary, significantly down from her lead two weeks ago:

Clinton 50% (-3)
Obama 41% (+0)

I didn't see this on the Fox news compilation reel of Jeremiah Wright:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yOR_srOUI0

There are other clips available from those who posted this one on youtube.

I know, ridiculous.  As ridiculous as claiming Obama doesn't want you to vote.  

8 years and I have yet to hear George Bush or Dick Cheney or any of their cabinet cronies tell the truth.  Ever.  Has any administration in American history been held less accountable than the current one? 
I challenge anyone to find one example of telling the whole truth, clear and undiluted.  

The Clintons are famous for a lot of things.  Currently, it's hypocrisy.  
A quick refresher: 
Florida and Michigan.  Months ago, the "then-winning-Hillary" and all the other candidates signed an agreement which clearly states that those delegates would not count. But the "now-losing-Hillary" insists that if they don't count, it's a travesty of injustice perpetrated by the DNC and Obama. 

But wait. That's not all.

The Clinton campaign attempted to hold up the Texas caucus a few weeks back. Just stop it all together, because as we all know, it would favor Obama. I was proud that Texas stood their ground and moved forward with the process.  

But wait.  That's not all.
Just before Wednesday’s deadline to file complaints before the county convention credentials committee, Clinton campaign officials delivered a large packet of challenges in District 23, a heavily-African American district with an 80/20 split in Obama's favor. The night before, the Clinton campaign pledged to not try to influence the district conventions with mass challenges. The result was that it added at least ten hours to the process that thousands of African Americans were participating in. It may have created the intended chaos, but those participating did what the Clintons hoped they wouldn't. They waited and waited until their voices were heard.  

But wait. That's not all. 

In Nevada, they tried to get a court order from a judge to block the Culinary Workers Union from participating in the caucus--just a few days after the predominantly hispanic 60,000 member Union endorsed Obama. 

But wait. That's not all. 

There's a record of this kind of behavior that dates back to the Iowa caucuses--where it was alleged that the Clintons were trying to dissuade younger voters from participating. 

All in all, that's a lot of disenfranchising. 
And now, in true hypocritical form, the Clintons are telling voters from state to state that Obama doesn't want their votes to count. 

That's like the triple sow cow of hypocrisy. Because in the end, the Clintons don't want the votes in those states to count either.  

Nope. They want the whole thing decided by the credentials committee in Denver. 

Before they begin, they both agree to take their queens off the board and play the rest of the game without them. So they both develop a strategy that doesn't include the queens. As the game progresses, Hillary is clearly losing. She suddenly decides to put her queen back on the board and then takes some of Barack's pieces off the board because that's what would have happened if she had been playing with the queen the whole time. The chess game continues. Hillary now says "You know, I think only the pieces on the board that favor me should be counted." 
The game continues. Meanwhile, you can hear the tv in the background;  we just invaded Iran. 

Hillary, who hasn't taken her attention off the chess game, says to Barack "I think I should be able to turn some of your pieces into my pieces as we continue to play. It's not automatic that your pieces are your pieces."

Meanwhile, you can hear the tv in the background;  John McCain is elected president.

Hillary makes another rule tweak.  "Barack, if it looks like I'm beginning to play better, even though I can't win, that should be taken into consideration when the game's over...

...okay, your move.  Bill, make sure he doesn't cheat."