With the publication of the memos from within the Clinton campaign in The Atlantic, we can see the internal strife within that operation.  Not only does this show the different approach of the No Drama Obama crew, but it demonstrates quite clearly that Hillary Clinton did a poor job of heading her campaign team and that her purportedly excellent executive skills were not as advertised.

But there's more here -- both reflections on the past and, more importantly, cautions for the future.

First - the past -

Did the Clinton campaign push the Wright tapes into the public eye?
So far the evidence is minimal, captured by a line in one of Penn's memos.

As Jake Tapper notes:

Penn writes that if they come out of Iowa and it's a two-way race with Obama, "on Friday we do a media interviews (sic) and basically say that he is unvetted, discuss his ever-changing positions. Release the tapes. Create immediate pressure that deprives him of oxygen.'

Here is a recap of last night's episode of The Daily Show, in case you missed it. The main story was on "Baracknophobia" which Jon defines as the irrational fear of hope - or in other words, the paranoid and constant internet rumors that swirl around the MSM and blogosphere. Theres a pretty good montage of clips showing the MSM complicit in giving air time to these wholly unfounded smears. They give special attention to Sean Hannity's comments.

For the interview Jon sits down with former attorney David Iglesias who was fired in the White House's politicization of justice scandal. Interesting note about David - he is also the guy who the Tom Cruise character was based on in the movie "A Few Good Men".

Lastly, for the moment of Zen the show airs a tribute to Tim Russert from a 2004 interview. Its touching and a bit sad..

Anyways, check out the clips and weigh in with thoughts / opinions below:

The guilt by association thing has never made sense to me. I have good, close, long-time friends who are blatantly racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, etc. I just accept that as part of their personality. I know where they stand, they know where I stand, sometimes we'll argue about it, sometimes we'll try to rile each other up over it for fun. At no point have they ever rubbed off on me. If one of my more intolerant liberal friends suggested to me that by knowing these people and not kicking them to the curb for their faults, it must mean that deep down I'm racist, homo-phobic, and anti-semitic, I'd find that laughable and just wrong.

Hillary and her supporters have an awfully short memory about Democratic candidates experience with the MSM after mis-speaking. Clinton and her supporters claim that the media is in bed with Obama. The truth couldn't be more far from her claims (wouldn't be the first time) Here are two examples that everyone should remember.

This will be a short, exasperated, ranty diary.  I just had another huge fight with my mother over poltics and Barack Obama.

You see, my mother is one of those 28%ers who still supports Bush.  Why?  Because he is doing God's work, or so she believes.  She believes this because, according to her, George W Bush was prayed over by a minister when he was a baby and he was prophesied to become President.  I have no idea where this story comes from, or why anyone would possibly believe it.  What I do know is that it is believed by a lot of Evangelical Christians.  And apparently, because bad things are never prophesied (snark) it means that George W Bush is of God.  

What is also believed by a lot of Evangelical Christians is this idiotic smear that Obama is a Muslim.  We all know that, but what many people don't seem to understand is that the Wright issue makes it worse.  People seem to think that since his Christian pastor has become an issue, it should put an end to this Muslim idea.  No.  You don't understand, the smear isn't just that Obama is a secret Muslim, but also that he attends a secret Muslim church.

I was thinking about how many women about my age (57 last time I looked), are furious at the democratic party for rejecting Hillary, and how some of them vow never to vote for Obama. You can make fun of this anger, and you can try to reason it away. But that anger is real, and for people who support Obama, I would like to suggest there is similar case close to home.

Reverend Wright got his 15 minutes (though it seemed like years) of fame, for a few angry phrases. On the flip, I'd like to discuss Rev Wright's anger and compare it to the anger we see in some Clinton supporters.

Dear God,

I understand that it is unpopular to invoke you in public, let alone in a political conversation. I also understand that you and I have had some run-ins in the past. Sometimes I've felt your presence, sometimes I haven't. In fact, funny as it may seem, I actually grew up thinking you were an elderly white-guy with a beard and lived in the clouds. As you know, years later this led me to reject you all together. But whatever, wherever, and if-ever you existed, I feel that now is the time for me to talk to you. Given the state of the planet and the popularity of "open letters", I thought that I should put forth a grievance (just in case you read the dailykos). Before I dive into things though, let me thank you. Although times are tough around the world, there's a lot to be excited about. Summer is on the horizon, the Democratic primary is almost officially over, and a certain world leader (that you so humorously created to look like a monkey) is on his way out of power.

Look, kids! Its the brand new tongue twister game! Say it three times fast and join in the loads of fun!

Cross posted at my blog at StopPoliticalCalls.org.

Got your attention.  This is NOT real, yet.

This week I attended an event at the New Politics Institute and was lucky enough to ask Joe Trippi a question about the outsourcing of American politics to technology, especially robo calls.   He said that he agreed and that he hated them.

After his talk I had a chance to talk about the robo call issue with Simon Rosenberg, the head of the New Democratic Network, and he mentioned that he was concerned that the GOP was going to play the race card this Fall.   John McCain won't, himself, but the unafiliated groups, 527's, will.   They are outside most regulation and can raise unlimited amounts of money from undocumented sources.

While Democrats may applaud the media for finally focusing on McCain's creepily cozy relationship with the delusional rantings of Hagee, Ron Parsley, Falwell, Robertson and even Sun Myung Moon, who between them would condemn Catholics, gays, Jews, blacks, Muslims, pro-choicers and other such riff-raff to eternal hellfire, there's not really much cause for said applause.

Here's why.    

This is beyond disturbing.  It is dangerous.

Breaking.....Parsley Muslim Hate Video!

We have a man running for President who has described a televangelist who hates Islam and is a religious bigot as "a great leader", a "moral compass", and even a "spiritual guide"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/...

Many observers argue that Wright's sermons convey a more complex message than simple sound bites can express.
...
SEPT. 16, 2001
...
"I heard Ambassador [Edward] Peck on an interview yesterday, did anybody else see him or hear him? He was on Fox News. This is a white man, and he was upsetting the Fox News commentators to no end. Did you see him, John? A white man. He pointed out, an ambassador, that what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Muhammad was in fact true, that America's chickens are coming home to roost.

While our nation is at war, American families are being forced out of their homes, and gas is inching towards four dollars a gallon, we have more important issues to talk about than Obama's ex-pastor. I was personally troubled by Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s warped view of the world, and I understand why many Americans were angered by his message, but it’s ridiculous to think the former pastor's sentiment is a representation of Barack Obama's values or judgment. We would be no more justified in criticizing the whole of Christianity for Reverend Wright's comments than pundits and rival campaigns have been in criticizing Obama for vitriol the former pastor spewed. This election is about war, the economy, healthcare and our global climate crises. It's time we focused on these issues instead of what Obama's outlandish ex-pastor said.

Barack Obama is running one of the most impressive primary campaigns in American history by most quantifiable performance indicators.  He has raised more money, from more people than in any other primary campaign ever.  His website is superior to any other politician's; Barackobama.com features the most powerful social networking tools and demographic information database available in politics.  He has mobilized America's youth to turn the lever for him at an unprecedented rate.  Perhaps as importantly, Obama's team has mastered the arcane art of the caucus, trouncing his opponents in nearly every single state caucus beginning with Iowa.  Most strikingly, he has accomplished all of this as a half-black Washington newcomer, beginning his national campaign just two years after stepping into the Senate for the first time as a guy that most Americans knew little to nothing about.  

I have read a number of posts, on this site and elsewhere, attributing the different response of some people to the pronouncements of Rev. Wright on the one hand, and of the Revs. Falwell, Hagee, Robertson etc. on the other, to the race of the preachers.  The point being made is that it's more acceptable for a white minister to make derogatory comments about certain groups of people, and to say that God is punishing America for various sins, than it is for a black minister to make such comments.  I'm certainly prepared to believe that race is a factor.  But I think a bigger factor is whose ox is getting gored.  

It's time to introduce the Fox Network's new Fall TV schedule, right from a memo leaked from the desks of Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes and Sean Hannity:

Going beyond the obvious (AIDS conspiracy, Farrakhan...)

I have no problem with Reverend Wright's argument that "difference does not mean deficient" nor his cogent analysis of African and European rhythm and music patterns.

But when Wright suggests that Black children need to learn differently from Whites, he brings us periously close to a reversal of Brown v. Board of Education.

If your primary political news source is TV, radio or print media you're aware that the "Rev. Wright Controversy" is a huge issue. One that weighs heavily on voters minds around the country. You might also know that the issue is completely overblown, that in reality people are far more concerned with bigger issues then whether or not Obama agrees with everything his pastor said.