According to AP, Chuck Hagel says he'd consider the VP spot on the Obama ticket. Hagel has been pretty much in line with Bush with the exception of the war in Iraq where he has been clanging the warning bell for a long time.

In the AP report, Hagel admits that he and Obama have their differences, but he is clearly committed to bringing the country together, and he adds that he's had his share of differences with McCain as well.  Hagel, along with Jim Webb and John Kerry, is one of the four Vietnam combat vets in the Senate.  The fourth, is, of course, McCain. Hagel, who served as a Sargent in the Army, is the only enlisted vet among the group; the others were commissioned officers.  

This morning's NYTimes carries a story (Link to NY Times June 7 story)about the DNC soliciting contributions for the convention from large corporations. In return, according to the article, the "sponsor packages" will include "private sessions with federal officeholders." I'm disappointed that the DNC has not chosen to follow the path that has been so successful so far: reaching out to small donors. I understand that the convention costs lots of money and there's not much time, but small donors have proven their mettle in this campaign so far. Let's ask the DNC to limit the amount any corporation can contribute to the convention fund and give us small guys a chance.

In an era when the news media have seen fit to function more as the lapdogs to power than the fierce guardians of democracy, we need to recognize those who will stand in the proud tradition of Murrow.  I propose that we establish a Golden Spine award that recognizes those in the media who will strive to elevate the public discourse, who will call out the powerful when they attempt to deceive and manipulate the public, who will defend a truly "free" press. I humbly submit that Keith Olbermann be the first recipient of the Golden Spine Award for his tireless efforts to secure and exercise the rights and responsibilities of the "fourth estate" as the founders intended and for which the defenders of liberty have sacrificed so much.

HILLSBORO, Oregon - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton Saturday strengthened her pitch to allow disputed primaries in Michigan and Florida to be counted in the nominating contest, noting the vote totals had been officially recognized in each state.

"Some say their votes should be ignored and the popular vote in Michigan and Florida should be discounted. Well, I have a different view," Clinton said at a rally here. "The popular vote in Florida and Michigan has already been counted. It was determined by election results, it was certified by election officials in each state, it's been officially tallied by the secretary of state in each state, and the question is whether those 2.3 million Democrats will be honored and their delegates seated by the Democratic party."

http://enews.earthlink.net/...

Wise head Warren Buffett once said that he likes to learn from the other guy's experience. So given the past few weeks, and last night's results, what should we learn from the other guy's experience?

Beth Fouhy of the Associated Press is reporting that Clinton's campaign may bring legal action against the Texas Democratic Party.  http://enews.earthlink.net/...

According to the article, Texas Democratic party attorney Chad Dunn, in a letter to both campaigns, "noted that many of Clinton's senior campaign advisers in Texas had helped to develop" the rules the campaign is now challenging.  

Clearly the intent here is to minimize the value of the Texas results, to imply that they are less than meaningful because the Clinton campaign was too busy being inevitable and eating donuts than to plan a 50 state strategy.  If nothing else, the Obama campaign has proven, again and again, their ability to win -- and not whine.

Okay, let's get down to it on this plagiarism thing.  Hillary is plagiarizing Bill's administration.  That's right, she's trying to claim it as her own.  She was not an elected nor appointed member of his administration, so any accomplishment of Bill's administration that that she claims as indicative of her experience are just quite simply plagiarized.  Doesn't matter if Bill says it's okay (based on the Clintonista standard that it doesn't matter if Obama's close friend says it's okay to use his phrase because, after all, plagiarism is plagiarism).  And when we get to the elements of her own experience, top most among them is voting for the war, Bill rushes out to say that he was against the war before he was against it, or for it, or, or, or that it was really Hillary making the decisions, or something like that.  Frankly, it's hard to keep the doppelganger's role straight in this whole convoluted affair.  

Is this what we've come to?  I had a dream that a Democrat would win the 2008 election and we'd dance in the streets from January to June, united in our joy and ready to do God's work in this country once again.  Now apparently, some of us are so afraid that they're not going to get THEIR way that they'll do just about anything.  Here's the latest from the Clintons, according to the New York Time at 1:37 p.m. today: <On the eve of the Wisconsin primary, a top adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Mr. Obama of committing "plagiarism" in a speech he delivered in Milwaukee on Saturday evening. The passage in question is Mr. Obama responding to criticism from Mrs. Clinton that his inspirational speeches are not merely "just words." The Clinton campaign called a conference call with reporters on Monday to highlight their charges.>  
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...

This is hardly Joe Biden lifting an entire speech and passing it off as his own.  It's hard to believe that there would be a straight face in the room.  

Incidentally, Obama was talking about the economy and jobs while touring a plant in Ohio.