There's a fellow Kossack/diarist here whose handle is "RFK Lives."  I couldn't find a way to contact him here, other than that he's a South Floridian and a graduate of Notre Dame, so I'm posting this in his honor.

The "Style" section of today's Washington Post had a great story, "Forty Years On, RFK Ad Maker Still Frames The Campaigns."

As an avowed RFK lover, this brought tears to my eyes, for the way things might have been 40 years ago.

Forty Years On, RFK Ad Maker Still Frames The Campaigns

By Ann Hornaday
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 3, 2008; C01

It's a historic year in American politics, and during a pivotal Democratic primary in Indiana, a television ad shows the candidate speaking casually but forcefully within a scrum of farmers. Other spots feature similar conversations -- spiked with talking points on crime, jobs and agricultural policy -- set in a roomful of schoolchildren, perhaps, or a group of homemakers sipping coffee.

Ali Hussein is pulled from the rubble of his home after a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad's Sadr City.  The 2-year-old died at a hospital.

you come up with fleas."

That's the lesson in Ben Smith's post yesterday evening at Politico.com, titled, "Clinton's right-wing media romance sours."

To wit:

Over the course of her six years as a New York senator and in the early days of her presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton cultivated an unlikely set of allies: the conservative media.

But when Sen. Clinton's campaign started to stumble, those hard-won friends were the first to go. Murdoch's pet tabloid, the New York Post, repudiated her and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama. The Drudge Report rode her decline as gleefully as it watched her rise. And the pundit class moved from its grudging respect for Clinton into an infatuation with Obama.

...more...

Adam Nagourney's piece in today's New York Times demonstrates, unequivocally, that Hillary Clinton will do whatever it takes, anything--even destroying the Democratic Party--in order to win.

With every delegate precious, Mrs. Clinton’s advisers also made it clear that they were prepared to take a number of potentially incendiary steps to build up Mrs. Clinton’s count. Top among these, her aides said, is pressing for Democrats to seat the disputed delegations from Florida and Michigan, who held their primaries in January in defiance of a Democratic Party rules.

...more...

Today's Washington Post carries an Op-Ed piece by former Senator George McGovern, titled, "Why I Believe Bush Must Go"

Just a few quotes:

Sally Bedell Smith has a new biography out about ClintonCo (Bill and Hillary)--For Love of Politics: Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years--and it raises very troubling questions as to how Hillary has been all too ready to trade lives for political expediency in the past.

For example, thousands of Muslims died in the former Yugosalvia when HRC prevented her husband from intervening militarily to save innocent lives because it wasn't "good politics" to do so.

Todays' Huffington Post has a timely report by Marc Cooper on the push-back by AFSCME members against their union's sleazy attempt to smear both Barack Obama and John Edwards on Hillary Clinton's behalf.

My friend and colleague, American pollster Vic Fingerhut, was instrumental in Australian Labor Party candidate Kevin Rudd's smashing victory over Liberal Party Prime Minister (and George Bush ally) John Howard on Saturday.  

Thanks to the Vic's sage advice, which the Australian Council of Trade Unions used to develop hugely successful TV ads in support of Rudd and the ALP, Howard and his party were delivered a landslide defeat.

The lessons learned so well in Australia should be studied and implemented in this country by organized labor and the Democrats, as outlined in Vic's memo below.

"Lieberman Calls Liberal Democratic Base 'Paranoid'" is the headline on a lengthy item in The New York Times' "The Caucus" blog site today.

A few "highlights" on the other side...

The Washington Post reports that the Virginia Democrats' ability to take back the State Senate came down to one key race in Fairfax County: Democrat George Barker beat anti-immigrant Jay O' Brien in the 39th District.

The key to Democratic hopes was secured by Fairfax voters, who reversed control of the Senate by ousting Republican incumbent J.K. "Jay" O'Brien Jr. from his seat in the western part of the county.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

Jay O'Brien overplayed the anti-immigrant (anti-Hispanic, "illegal" immigrant) hand and was shown the door.

Below is an e-mail I sent to George Barker last Thursday morning, before the candidates' debate that evening.

I'm no rocket scientist, but this was a no-brainer, if ever there was one.

but he's still kickin' ass:

Gore Rips Media: ‘Don’t Give Equal Time To Someone Who Believes The Earth Is Flat’
This morning, former vice president Al Gore appeared on NBC’s Today Show to talk about global warming. Host Meredith Vieira brought up a Nov. 1 Wall Street Journal op-ed by climate skeptic John Christy, a former member of the IPCC. In the op-ed, Christy wrote, "I see neither the developing catastrophe nor the smoking gun proving that human activity is to blame for most of the activity we see."

When Vieira asked about the op-ed, Gore noted that Christy "no longer belongs to the IPCC" and is "way outside the scientific consensus." He also sharply criticized the media for giving so much air time to such climate skeptics:

But, Meredith, part of the challenge the news media has had in covering this story is the old habit of taking the on the one hand, on the other hand approach. There are still people who believe that the Earth is flat, but when you’re reporting on a story like the one you’re covering today, where you have people all around the world, you don’t take — you don’t search out for someone who still believes the Earth is flat and give them equal time.

"You talkin' to me?"

Yeah, you, Mr. Gore.

Kiss my ass.

I've had it with you. You're nothing but a cock-teaser.  Your shit is bogus, and you are dead to me now.

You just sent me your last "Dear Tom" letter.  I just hit the "unsubscribe" button.

The Washington Post is reporting Mark Warner's anticipated annoucement tomorrow, via e-mail, of his intention to run for John Warner's Senate seat next year.

Democratic Mob Censures Bush In Effigy

An activist holds aloft the censure motion so that all in the crowd can read it carefully and make up their minds.

(from The Onion 8/24/07)

Our favorite "Dean" of American journalism is at it again in today's Washington Post.

He's basically saying, "A pox on both your houses," by claiming that "A Polarized, and Polarizing Congress" is equally the fault of the Dems and the Rethugs.

Please jump with me...

Sorry for the brevity of this diary, but this is breaking news, concerning the "leader" of the free world.

The White House has released this image, captured during W's colonoscopy (below the fold).

Well, our "favorite" Northern VA Rethug, Tom Davis, was in the news again recently.

According to Steve Barr's "Federal Page" report in the Washington Post on Friday, Davis is using e-mails sent by Office of Special Counsel head Scott J. Bloch (who is tasked with pursuing Hatch Act violations by Federal employees) to attack Mr. Bloch.  This, at the same time that Bloch is investigating Bush's GSA head, Lurita Doan, for Hatch Act violations.

The e-mail alludes to testimony by a Bush appointee, Lurita Alexis Doan, who heads the General Services Administration. Bloch's office has sent a report to the White House alleging that Doan violated the Hatch Act when she asked other political appointees at a campaign briefing how the GSA team could help "our candidates" in the next election.

(more on the other side)