Much sturm and drang on the Interwebs today about reported rumors that Barack Obama's Veepsquad have started vetting former Bush Administration Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman as a potential running mate.

The American Thinker is not happy, declaring:

I would give her chances of being chosen at 100-1 but the fact that Obama's vetters are even looking at Ann Veneman, former Bush Agricultural Secretary, proves that the Democrats are looking more for symbolism over substance in their choice of running mate.

Folks here at the Great Orange Satan (a/k/a "Buy Markos's Book Dot Com") are not happy either.

And I'll admit, this idea superficially seems like some sort of Dr. Who alien conspiracy.

Doubtless most of you have already seen Dave Weigel's take-down of the Very Serious Larry Johnson, proprietor and agent provacateur of the anti-Obama hate site No Quarter.

As a former blogger-bombthrower, I have my own thoughts on Mr. Johnson, and needless to say I think we should all be prayerful (even those of us who are mostly irreligious, such as myself).

Secretidentityx suggested an out-of-the-box convention approach which I think bears repeating and polishing.

While I disagree with his suggestion of having former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan anywhere near a Democratic convention podium, I want to set forth the reasons why it would be an excellent idea to ask someone like Warren Buffett address the American people on the important issues facing America in this election.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stated in her West Virginia victory speech last night that no Democrat since 1916 had ever won the White House without West Virginia. The implication, of course, is that Hillary will work the Clinton magic to win West Virginia and the nation as a whole.

That is undoubtedly true. But it is also undoubtedly irrelevant, and betrays a fundamental inflexibility in the Clinton view of the electoral map that does not grasp the changes that have taken place in America over the last 20 years.

I get e-mails. I hope this dispenses with any notion that Hillary is going quietly into the night.

SUBJECT: Here's Why

FROM: info@hillaryclinton.com

DATE: Today, 12:12 p.m.

Hillary Clinton was right. It took a village!

The Dededo Village, the most populous village in Guam, has finally reported. 509 for Clinton, 313 for Obama. This results in a win for Obama of exactly seven (7!) votes.

OBAMA 2,264 50.1%
CLINTON 2,257 49.9%

Source: Pacific Daily News.

The results have to be certified, and the Obama folks areupset about spoiled ballots, according to the Pacific News Center.

Barack Obama lead the count all day (it is now morning on Sunday, March 4th in Guam), but his margin was always too small to be sure of victory.

The likely delegate split for the pledged delegates from Guam will be 2-2 (4 half delegates each).

A superdelegate slate to Obama was also elected in a landslide.

My final "magic map" of Guam is attached:

Congratulations to Guam and to Senator Obama!

I would like to thank my friend (possibly plural, but probably singular) who apparently cast a write-in vote for me in today's Pennsylvania Republican Primary.

You know, I may have been outspent by at least 3-to-1 by John McCain in Pennsylvania, but did I give up? No! Except for when I cast my own ballot in Texas for Obama... that might be construed as giving up... but Obama won Texas so it's not a state that matters, unlike Pennsylvania, which totally matters!

I'm in this race for all the people who were told they couldn't win, and in fact, can't win, but won't admit it and keep on fighting for no apparent reason at all!

The latest news, as you may know, in the on-going saga of Florida and Michigan is that the states are considering holding snap mail-in primaries:

Democratic leaders in the two states are considering a mail-in election to allocate delegates to the Democratic National Convention between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Democratic National Committee will not seat delegates chosen by primaries held in January, earlier than allowed under party rules.

There are a lot of good reasons to think this might not work. But what if it does?

Howdy.

As you all may remember, there was an effort about four or five years ago to  greatly improve the Democratic Party's voter contact / fundraising lists.

I've seen what the Texas Democratic Party offers through VAN, and I'm not entirely impressed (yet, for I hope).

Could someone familiar with this give us an update as to where we stand vis-a-vis the GOP with our databases today?

Thanks.

Like millions of Americans, I am drawn to Senator BarackObama's message of hope, progress, and an end to the cynical "Old Politics." And, like most Democrats, I am not keen on negative campaigning -- especially against fellow Democrats.

Heretofore, Senator Obama has been blessed in his political career not to have to run a so-called "dirty campaign." Mud-slinging is so disliked that it now goes by the clumsy euphemism of "contrast." And certainly, Senator Obama grasps this; he has written approvingly of the lack of negative advertising in the 2004 Senate race.

But as Ecclesiastes says, there is a time and place for everything. And while some may fret about the supposed hypocrisy of "going negative," the Obama campaign can, and in fact must, go about the "dirty" business of telling the awful, unvarnished truth about Hillary.

America has been threatened many times by the horrible British. They raped our women and took our guns away. They put tacks in our tea. They burnt down the White House. They gave us the Spice Girls.

What Barack Obama doesn't want you to know is that he is the son of a BRITISH SUBJECT.

Can we really trust Barack Obama to keep us safe from the existential threat posed by limey dry humor?

Markusd just posted a diary about Republicans voting in the Texas primary. Markusd, of course, is entitled to be offended by Republicans "crossing over"; cross-over voting in our open primary has been a bane for Democrats for decades. Indeed, it explains why Texas has such a unique "hybrid" system for delegate selection.

At the community Obama Rally in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, Houston City Councilman Ron Green pleaded with Galveston Democrats who might be on the fence, saying words to the effect of "You Don't Owe Bill Clinton Anything."

Although the words of a third-tier surrogate in a fourth-tier city in Texas may not be of much import to Democrats in other parts of a America, it explains the context of a lot of today's exchange between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama over mailers.

If one has a compelling message and a powerful vision, one can build an e-empire on the Internet. Kos did it. Atrios did it. But even without such niceties as "reasonableness" or "sanity", one can become a minor Internet celebrity.

Take for example my friend and e-sparring partner, Adam T. Yoshida.

CNN is reporting that Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

For those of you who are trivia buffs, I just realized that St. Crispin's Day (October 25 on the Julian calendar) fell this year on Election Day (November 7 on the Gregorian calendar). (See this calendar converter)

What an appropriate irony for us "band of brothers."

Shakespeare's famous speech from King Henry V below the fold.

I am, like a lot of Kossacks, kind of getting tired of repeatedly being barraged by exposure to the US Count Votes article claiming that a non-fraudulent explanation for the discrepancy between exit polls and election results is highly unlikely, some even going so far to imply Kos is burying the story. Let's talk for a moment about probability.

I would very much like to commend Tom Friedman for using his column this week to speak out on the need for a real alternative energy policy. That said, I have to condemn him for being such a silly person.