On why he won’t endorse yet: “Barack Obama is doing pretty well without my endorsement so far…”
And: “I just voted for him on Tuesday”
From The Sun:
THE death toll in cyclone-ravaged Burma could hit 500,000 – more than TWICE the total killed by the Boxing Day Tsunami.
Last night’s warning came as it emerged that 17 Britons, including ex-pats and backpackers, were still missing.
Sources said 200,000 people were already dead or dying.
But the figure could rise to HALF A MILLION through disease and hunger if the nation’s hardline army rulers continue to block aid for the devastated lowlands of the Irrawaddy Delta.
That would dwarf the 230,000 deaths across South East Asia in the 2004 catastrophe.
Numbers like these are hard to wrap your mind around. I really can’t think of much more to say than that.
Chris Matthews to top Clinton strategist Howard Wolfson:
“You’re like one of these Japanese soldiers that’s still fighting in 1953.”
Tim Russert: “We now know who the democratic nominee is gonna be, and nobody is going to deny it.”
Also, an AP Breaking News Alert: “Campaign aide says Hillary Rodham Clinton loaned herself $6.4 million in the past month.” This, after cash appeal last night…
Update: It’s not just the AP that’s got this scoop, it feels like everybody has it. My gut tells me that this was an authorized leak from the Clinton campaign designed to try and project the image of a candidate who is personally invested in winning this race who won’t quit soon. Remember the large donations Clinton got after it was “leaked” that she had loaned $5M to her campaign? I think this is a sizable miscalculation this time though cause everybody is taking this as a sign of desperation…
Update 2: Americablog writes:
We’ve just been told that General Wesley Clark, a strong Clinton supporter and fellow Arkansan, called Hillary tonight to tell her it’s over.
In addition to our source, the king of the pundits, Mark Halperin, drops a tantalizing hint that something might be up with Clark:
“The biggest question: Will any of her supporters (including Wes Clark) say publicly or privately she should quit?”
Other networks quiet…
CNN has no projection, (MS)NBC says too close to call…
NY Times provides results chart for 83% of precincts reporting:
Looks like solid lead for Clinton, though it is surprisingly close still at 52% to 48%.
See Pollster.com’s collection of recent IN polls here.
Obama is having a great night tonight so far. Here’s a refresher on the expectations, as set by Matthew Yglesias, an all-around smart guy:
So what’s going to happen is that (of course) Clinton will win Indiana and Obama will win North Carolina. But Clinton will win Indiana by a larger margin than Obama wins North Carolina, and Clinton’s supporters will note in somber tones that Obama lost the white vote in NC. At the same time, because NC has substantially more delegates than Indiana, Obama will actually make a small gain in net delegates causing his supporters (i.e. me) to become further enraged at Clinton’s refusal to admit that she’s lost and the press’ insistence on indulging the idea that there’s real doubt about the ultimate outcome.
That pretty much reflects the conventional wisdom and it was pretty reasonable. Here are the results so far though:
Obviously, and this is without many precincts reporting, Obama has managed to kept Indiana very competitive and has won handily in North Carolina, which was more expected. Still, if the final tally stays this close in Indiana, a state where he was behind in the past week, pressure on Clinton to drop out will really intensify.
A look at how a few news websites react to a possible death toll of 10,000 due to a cyclone in Myanmar:
Drudge (see lower right left corner)
CNN (see tiny text under “latest news” to the right of jaguar picture)
Obama rebounds in a sign that the public is getting tired of all this silly Rev Wright nonsense and distractionism:
Democrat Barack Obama appears to have rebounded from some of the damage caused by the controversy surrounding his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll.
On one key measure, Obama has seen a big reversal since his denunciation of Wright’s remarks on Tuesday. He now leads presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in the hypothetical fall contest by eleven points, 51 percent to 40 percent. That compares to a tied match-up in a CBS News/New York Times poll that was released last Wednesday.
Positive assessments of how Obama has handled the situation with Wright are also reflected by a continued lead over fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton in his battle for their party’s nomination. Among Democratic primary voters (those who have voted or plan to vote in a Democratic primary) Obama’s lead over Clinton has increased — he now leads Clinton by twelve points, 50 percent to 38 percent. That’s up from his eight point lead in the poll released just a few days ago.
Hillary Clinton enthusiastically picked a filly named Eight Belles to win the Kentucky Derby and compared herself to the horse. Eight Belles finished second. The winner was the favorite, Big Brown. Eight Belles collapsed immediately after crossing the finish line, and was euthanized shortly thereafter.
The delegate split (Guam awards 4 pledged delegates and 5 supers) will likely be almost even, or a one or two delegate advantage for Obama.
A recount is reportedly unlikely.
Update: Although I had heard that neither side was going to challenge the results, it looks like a recount could occur automatically under Guam’s rules because of the slim margin of victory.
Just for fun, I’m going to predict that on Tuesday, Obama takes North Carolina handily and Clinton wins Indiana by a smaller margin.
I’m saddened to see that convicted “DC Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide today. I had exchanged some emails with her in relation to the case and some reports I was writing at the time several months ago and was on her attorney’s mailing list. Obviously there were a lot of charges leveled against her, but nothing was worth dying for. Below is the last email she sent out to her list in late February.
My and defense counsel’s various efforts the past 17 months to resolve the charges levied against me by the Department of Justice have been unsuccessful. Therefore, a full-jury trial is scheduled to take place on April 7th, in Federal District Court, in Washington, D.C.
I intend to defend myself vigorously against the charges of racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy. I will call witnesses to testify on my behalf about the legal, sexual nature of my former business – Pamela Martin & Associates. These witnesses likely will be culled from the existing research – conducted over the past 8 months - by a variety of press/media, bloggers and interested third parties.
It should be noted ALL charges are predicated upon the seldom utilized Travel Act, which allows the Government to claim jurisdiction for ANY crime – including misdemeanor offenses such as prostitution – when state lines are crossed. In the course of regular business operation in the Washington, D.C. area, state lines are crossed routinely by any number of businesses, including escort services. In fact, all one has to do is quite literally cross the street in hundreds, if not thousands of locations in the vicinity to cross a state line. The Travel Act is important here because – unlike the state misdemeanor crime of prostitution – the Travel Act can be used to satisfy the requirement of an SUA (specified unlawful activity), which must be in place in order for the Government, not only to claim jurisdiction, but to be able to charge racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy. Federal law recognizes dozens of SUAs. Normally, such activities involve murder, treason, rape, kidnapping, drug trafficking, white slavery, extortion, embezzlement, etc and subsequently are utilized to support broader crimes like racketeering and conspiracy.
Perhaps, it also should be stated (and clarified) the racketeering charge is based in part upon the belief my previous business – to this day - is an ongoing criminal enterprise. Pamela Martin & Associates ceased to exist the day phone service was disconnected by me, in August of 2006. Any/all affiliated parties went their separate ways, at this time. The money laundering charge has been built upon the fact that payment transaction was done through the U.S. Mail. Since I did not live in the Washington, D.C. area, during the 13 year period, PM&A was a viable concern – there realistically was no other logistical way for the women in my employ to send agency revenue onto me. Lastly, conspiracy – from what I have been able to ascertain – ostensibly occurs when two minds agree to commit a crime. Strangely, a person also can conspire with himself/herself, without the inclusion of a second individual.
Without doubt, I am in the fight of my life. Unfortunately, the Government will not capitulate, nor will I in this extremely bizarre case; one, where no person other than myself – including all former clients and escorts - is being charged with any crime here. Technically the Government has been successful in making the charges against me work on paper. As a result, I have no choice- nor have I ever had any alternative - but to fight on and clear my name via the facts of the case, particularly since - if convicted, federal sentencing guidelines allow for a maximum sentence of 55 years imprisonment. Realistically, it has been calculated I would receive 8 to 10 to 15 years. Nonetheless for me at age 51, such a harsh penalty would be tantamount to a virtual life sentence – stripping me of some of the most productive years remaining in my life.
Jeane Palfrey
This is just too juicy not to post:
Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright could hurt his presidential hopes. So could his comment about “bitter” small-town America clinging to guns and religion. And Americans might question Sen. Hillary Clinton’s honesty and trustworthiness.
But according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the bigger problem appears to be John McCain’s ties to President Bush.
In the survey, 43 percent of registered voters say they have major concerns that McCain is too closely aligned with the current administration.
By comparison:
* 36 percent have major concerns that Clinton seems to change her position on some issues (like driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband signed but which she now opposes)
* 34 percent say they’re bothered by Obama’s “bitter” remarks
* 32 percent have a major problem with the Illinois senator’s past associations with Wright and the 1960s radical William Ayers
* 27 percent have serious concerns that Bill Clinton would have too much influence on U.S. policy decisions if his wife is elected
Ha! You have to assume that a lot of the “major problems” that people have with Obama’s connection with Wright have to do with the media playing it up so much. But the media hasn’t played up McCain’s connection to Bush at all. When the media stop giving them a free pass? McCain and Bush have many more political connections than Obama and Wright ever had.
I think the DNC is being far too harsh on McCain in this web video. After all, the guy is what, 101 years old? To him, 11 years probably is a very short period of time.
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