There is an obvious and very important question that Obama has skillfully avoided answering in any way even remotely resembling clarity ever since shifting (a few weeks ago) from the clear answer he had during the primaries (which was a major factor in his winning the nomination).

Will this be the state of political discourse in America until November? It's starting to look that way (and I'm not speaking of discourse on SwordsCrossed, but elsewhere).

I saw this chalk drawing on a sidewalk on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

ok, folks, what exactly happened here?

1) A random act?

2) A dog who doesn't like Hillary? (some real bitch?)

3) A dog owner who doesn't like Hillary?

4) A homeless guy who doesn't like Hillary?

5) Someone who hates Hillary so much that he relocated material from elsewhere?

6) Some other possibility?   

As follow-up to my comments on this thread http://swordscrossed.org/node/2283, I am setting up this thread for your contributions to a project of mine, any and all of which I'd greatly appreciate.

I may update this diary at a later point, but for now:

Promoted by Brendan

This just in from Newsweek: Obama may have as much relevant experience for the presidency as McCain, or perhaps even more! This insight comes courtesy of “Special Guest Columnist” Alan Ehrenhalt in his column http://www.newsweek.com/id/142892

Are You Experienced?
Why a U.S. senator might not trump a state legislator

In the days before every Memorial Day I range from irritated to disgusted at all the commercialization of Memorial Day -- as in the unavoidable screams of "MEMORIAL DAY SALE!!!". I think to myself: "Who was the first a--hole with the nerve to hold and advertise a 'Memorial Day Sale'?" If 9/11 ever becomes a national (day-off) holiday, will we at some point see one TV commercial after another urging us to "Come on in for great 9/11 SAVINGS!!!" ? If that sounds sick to you -- even inconceivable -- well, that's how I feel about Memorial Day sales.

Promoted by Brendan

Many "progressives" oppose implementing (now or at any point) a policy of means testing of Social Security and Medicare. They often base their position solely on principle, with some arguing that we should not change the nature of Social Security or Medicare to one of "welfare" (either because they object to that in principle or because they think doing so would make those programs more politically susceptible to deeper cuts), some arguing that reducing the level of benefits constitutes "theft" (although I see this as only applicable to promises already made based on taxes already paid, rather than applying to taxation and related benefit promises going forward), and some simply arguing that we just shouldn't reduce the amount of money any seniors would receive.

But before anyone can sensibly say he opposes means testing of entitlements, he must acknowledge scarcity of resources and the fact that this scarcity requires trade-offs. In particular, the reality is that we are on an unsustainable fiscal course.

Clinton and her folks argue that the superdelegates exist to exercise independent judgment, rather than just to rubber stamp whoever leads in pledged delegates, but my sense is that that view is misleading and mostly invalid as she would have it applied to this year's nomination.

Bumped by Brendan

I'm not going to watch the China Olympics. I'm boycotting because of Darfur, Tibet and lack of democracy, liberty and human rights in China. And I think only liberal democracies (and I mean "liberal" in a classic sense, meaning human rights and rule of law) should be considered as hosts. No more Olympics like 1936 or 1980. The world should not boost the prestige of dictatorships that oppress their own people and support or practice genocide.

I just want to say this before any results are in for Florida, lest anyone think it's just griping because my guy lost:

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that if one candidate gets 0.1% more of the FL vote, he gets ALL the delegates. Although I realize the benefit of winner-take-all for a particular state, it seems borderline insane to me from the standpoint of the party choosing its nominee democratically. I wish the national parties would insist on some sort of proportional delegate allocation.

Thought re: Hillary in the general, assuming she's the nominee. I don't know the actual numbers, but suppose African-Americans would normally be 10% of the general election vote, of which 90% are for the Democratic candidate, so 9% of the total vote. Suppose two-thirds of them (6%) of those would-be voters are currently Obama supporters, and of those, two-thirds (4%) are eventually so pissed off at Hillary that they stay home in the general. That could easily make the difference in the outcome, right (even if I'm off by a bit in my assumed percentages) ?

Drink tonight every time:

Promoted by Brendan

Rudy’s bold claim last Sunday on ABC’s This Week: "The case for me is that I am the strongest fiscal conservative in the race”.

On what basis does Rudy make this claim? Apparently on the basis that he is offering “the biggest tax cut plan of anyone running.” http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iyM-KTdp3jrniNOZ80hWZGc7ZWiQD8U9TH0G0

All you have to say at a presidential primary debate to win thunderous applause, as if from well-trained seals:

REPUBLICANS:
- Ronald Reagan! Did I mention Ronald Reagan? And let's not forget Ronald Reagan.
- First, I will cut taxes! And second, I will cut taxes!

If 2008 Democratic primary voters ran a business and needed a new CEO…

WANTED: CEO

POSITION: CEO of the world’s largest and most complex business, managing vast resources with enormous potential consequences for the entire world.

My picks for "Person of the Year". These are NOT my predictions for Time Magazine, which will probably choose "Mom & Apple Pie". These are, in order, MY picks. It was tough to order 1 through 5 because any of them would be good choices.

Mitt Romney says, “What concerns me about Washington is that people have answers before they’ve gathered any data, done any analysis, solicited opinions from people who disagree,” Mr. Romney said in an interview. “From the business world, you look at that and you say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ (NY Times 11/24/07) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/us/politics/24manage.html?_r=2&ref=politics&oref=slogin&oref=slogin