By now it is clear to regular DailyKos readers that, as far as the media are concerned, Obama can’t win.  Well, at least not with them, even if he is consistently ahead in the polls.  A quick rehearsal of news anchors, editorialists and other talking heads’ positions on Obama in just the last week go something like this:  

We don’t know enough about Obama.
We’ve seen too much of Obama.
We don’t know the specifics of Obama’s energy policy.
Americans don’t want the nitty gritty details—give us the big picture!
Obama isn’t hitting McCain back on attack ads.
Obama is going negative.
Obama is gaining support in the Red states.
Obama can’t close the deal.

That last one is my favorite:  if he’s such a winner, why is he ahead in national polls by only 5%?  Why can’t he close the deal?  We heard this talking point first during the primaries against Clinton, now again with McCain.  Some diarists here have taken the question seriously and have attempted to justify Obama’s modest lead.

Those Republicans can't really seem to decide:  do we talk to dictators and state leaders we don't like or not?  First, the line was no diplomacy with Iran.  Now, as we know, there have been diplomatic talks between the State Department and the Iranian government for weeks (at least as reported--they've probably been working on it for months).  

Just as a reminder, here's what John McCain had to say back in May about Obama's policy towards Cuba:

Yesterday, speaking to a Cuban American audience, McCain singled out Obama's willingness to meet Castro. "These steps would send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators: There is no need to undertake fundamental reforms; they can simply wait for a unilateral change in U.S. policy," McCain said. "I believe we should give hope to the Cuban people, not to the Castro regime."

Ok, I admit I have spent an unhealthy amount of time reading and commenting on dKos today.  On a day that is chock-full of beautiful news strangely emanating from our very own political party, I've also read a disproportionate share of creepy things, including Our Fearless Leader's very own commentary on the hue of McCain's teeth.  

I'm calling for a do-over of the whole dang day, focusing on the great things being accomplished.

I wish I could provide you with links to prove the following news, but I can't because there don't seem to be any.  So, call this on-the-ground reporting.

The Cuban government just announced that there is a rice shortage.  Cubans will be guaranteed their ration of 7 lbs of rice per month per person only until July.  After that, if prices don't come down or more rice isn't available through China, they will have "something else" as a substitute.  

Slinkerwink has graciously suggested unrecommending her first Superdelegate open thread for the day.  That thread got large quickly; once comments get to 500 or so, my slow dial-up connection starts to go berserk.  Given that it's only 12:43 pm est, I thought I would start another open thread to discuss today's declared super delegates.

Italian parliamentary elections take place today.  Unfortunately, according to the exit polls, Berlusconi's coalition is poised to lead again.  However, the new Partito Democratico led by Walter Veltroni (the extremely popular mayor of Rome) is currently the #1 party.

How did a new party gain so much support in so little time?  Veltroni's adoption of a positive campaign, modeled after Obama's, seems to have struck a note with Italian voters.  He even used the "Yes We Can" slogan--in Italian, "Si Può Fare."  

There are all sorts of shenanigans happening on the rec list right now, I imagine in honor of April Fools' Day.  Well, fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice...uh, fool on...uh, for shame.  

So, I've decided to offer a nothing but shenanigans diary which may include bannable shenanigans.  I'd just like to see someone try it.  Let's see who's brave enough.

Go for it, y'all.  Pootie Pics, Bottom Races, the works.  Get it all out of your system here.  BeFOre ThEy sTarT ChAnGinG yoUR TeXt tO lOok likE ThIs.  OMG.

I missed the diary earlier today by Marcus Junius Brutus on Fidel’s resignation.  My only correction is to this initial statement the diarist makes:

Several news sites are now breaking the news that Fidel Castro will not seek re-election.

To be more precise, Fidel was in fact reelected a couple of weeks ago.  He is now refusing to accept his elected post.

This announcement was a surprise, but not a huge one, to those of us living in Cuba.  He mentioned yesterday that there would be a big announcement.  On Sunday, the newly-elected Cuban parliament will meet and confirm elections.  There may be a shake-up on the horizon.  It may be that Fidelista and parliamentary president Ricardo Alarcón loses his job in favor of someone who is on Raul’s side.   If there is a power struggle this weekend, things ought to get pretty interesting.  Not that we’ll find out about it until much later.

I needed a break from primary projections, results, and musings about the candidates’ futures, so I decided to do a little analysis of an academic type.  A question I’ve been pondering lately is this:  How is it that Obama has come this far in so little time?  We can point to a number of factors contributing to his success, starting with the popularity of his message and his dual mantra of hope and change.  Certainly his skill in oratory and ability to connect with people has been crucial.  Then we have to look at his campaign organization.

Obama’s campaign has been nothing short of brilliant.  He has made creative use of a variety of media, particularly his web site that acts as a social networking tool, in order to promote his campaign platform.  As an art historian by training, I have been fascinated by the campaign’s use of images and graphic design.  It has inspired other Obama supporters to create their own images that produce a specific message:  Obama as cultural icon.  Below, I am going to engage in visual analysis of a series of images from the Obama campaign.  I will then explain why the use of images is a crucial component of the overall campaign and has been central to his success.

I’ve said several times that I’ve been dying to write a diary about my experience living in Cuba.  My husband is a foreign service officer (not American) and we’re posted in Havana.  We’ve been here for a year and a half.  Despite our position of privilege, it is still hard living here.  We have a young child and procuring food and other necessities for him has turned out to be a full time job for me.  We’re never quite sure about the safety of the water.  Our power goes out frequently, and though we have a generator, the constant power surges wreak havoc on our appliances.  And then there’s the political aspect.

Though there’s no active threat of repression, we always wonder if our conversations are being overheard or monitored, if there is surveillance of our internet use.  Not knowing, and not wanting to get my husband in trouble, I have generally been shy about "reporting" from here.  But I just had a short conversation with a woman who works for us and I couldn’t help but sit down and write.

I'm writing this to provide a little more context to enlightened folks like yourselves about the current situation in Cuba.   I do not have any privileged information, just observations as I live in Havana.  My husband is a foreign service officer from a country that shall remain anonymous in this diary, but I am American.  Though I paraphrase statements my husband has made here, any opinions expressed here are my own.  To be honest, I have been reluctant to write about my experiences here, not so much because of possible monitoring by the Cuban government as by our own government. UPDATED AT BOTTOM

I was surprised to see that the author of this letter to today's NYT was none other than Walter Cronkite.  It is interesting to see him step into the fray.  He must be feeling as desperate as we all are.  The letter below the fold.

You think we're the only ones who have it tough, people? Think of our good friends in Italy, who have had to put up with Silvio Berlusconi for the past 5 years. There have been many analogous political situations between the U.S. and Italy in the last few years, only things there seem so much more transparently ridiculous.

What happened today is a good example.

Many of us are hanging around here, 11:00 A.M. EST, waiting eagerly for Bill in Portland Maine to produce his Cheers & Jeers diary.  Many of us worry when it does not magically appear circa 10:20 each weekday morning.  

If I were Bill, I might be pissed, though, and be reluctant to issue my diary.  

Yesterday, a Cheers & Jeers Weekend Edition appeared, and several C&J Irregulars (including myself) participated.  But something made me very uneasy about participating.

I offer this diary as a supplement to the two that have already been posted by Gilgamesh and Jerome a Paris.  Given that they are now long with comments, I thought it might be a good idea to start another one for news updates as well as analysis.

First, a word about Calipari:  my husband and I just discovered that a friend of ours here is a good friend of Calipari.  Our friend Antonio is a mafia expert, and Calipari worked extensively with him in investigating 'Ndrangheta, a mafia family in Italy.  These, of course, are facts that can only come out now that he is dead.  Apparently, even Calipari's family was not clear about what he did.

Now, more regarding Sgrena below the fold:

Just seen on BBC world news:  Sharon Stone stood up today during a conference at Davos and offered $10000 to the President of Tanzania, who requested funds desperately needed to fight malaria and other diseases.

She then asked others in the audience--primarily businessmen--to stand with her to give the money immediately to the President.  

Bill Frist, sitting on the stage, asked her to sit down, but she did not.  She said, and I paraphrase," The people in the President's country are dying today and we need to give him the funds today."

She gathered $1,000,000 in only 5 minutes.