Update:  MSNBC gossips that the person alluded to is Gen. James Jones.  

According to North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad... posted on the CBSNews Horserace blog:

In picking his running mate, Barack Obama has said he intends to keep the process confidential and is "not gonna do it in the press." But it appears that someone forgot to send the memo to Kent Conrad.

After meeting with Obama's vice presidential vetting search committee on Tuesday, the North Dakota senator told the Associated Press that Obama is considering former top military leaders for the VP slot....

It's now on CNN as well:  Obama VP Team Discusses 20 Possible Picks

More...

Update:

Should have linked to this to begin with.

Please visit StopIranWar.comand work to make a difference!

Get some starch, Dems!

From AFP:

Bush warns of 'holocaust' if Iran gets nukes

US President George W. Bush warned Tuesday that letting Iran acquire atomic weapons risked putting the Middle East "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust."

On the wires now:

CIA, FBI Computers Used For Wikipedia Edits

By Randall Mikkelsen
2 hours, 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People using CIA and FBI computers have edited entries in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia on topics including the Iraq war and the Guantanamo prison, according to a new tracing program....

The program, WikiScanner, was developed by Virgil Griffith of the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and posted this month on a Web site that was quickly overwhelmed with searches....

WikiScanner revealed that CIA computers were used to edit an entry on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A graphic on casualties was edited to add that many figures were estimated and were not broken down by class...

God, I hate Republican debates.

But I love this new game at GOPBingo.com.  Wager mightily!

Bingo card follows the jump -- along with a nifty poll to enhance high-stakes gambling.

Have fun!

[UPDATE:  Still waiting for a transcript, but there's no real debate here about whether or not she said it.  She did.  Commenters to this diary have some interesting takes on why she said it, though.  Diary has been retitled.]

Please forgive the fact that I only got to see a few minutes of the debate and haven't yet found a transcript...

But did Hillary Clinton really say that "it's the Iraqis' fault" that they didn't take advantage of their liberation and get control of their country after their elections?
If someone can disabuse me of this notion -- perhaps by posting a link to a transcript -- I'll delete the diary right away.

Otherwise...

Last night, the AP ran an ominous breakdown of polling and anecdotal evidence from key political players.  No suprises here:  voters in Iowa and NH are fixated, above all, on Iraq:

Iraq is main issue for Iowa, N.H. voters
By HOLLY RAMER and MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writers

CONCORD, N.H. - When it comes to the Iraq war, apparently there is more than one right answer.

Among rank-and-file Democrats in early voting states like New Hampshire and Iowa, anti-war passion is so strong that it's difficult for their party's presidential candidates to oppose the war too forcefully. On the other hand, candidates don't want to go too far and risk losing swing voters critical to winning the general election...

What's so ominous about that, you ask?

More after the jump...

I apologize for the title:  It's the only thing that really speaks to me in reference to the latest news from the cocksucker who cost Al Gore the Presidency.  And who single-handedly set American Democracy back two hundred years.

The guy who gleefully escorted W into the White House.

That guy... whose name I can only bring myself to utter in conjunction with profanity.

So here goes again:  Fuck Ralph Nader.

Here's why, blockquoted after the jump:

Just got a press advisory from the DNC.

Here's the money quote:  

...The following presidential candidates will speak at the winter meeting: Sen. Joe Biden, Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd, Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Mike Gravel, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. Barack Obama, Gov. Bill Richardson, and Gov. Tom Vilsack....

The language of this advisory isn't accidental, is it, folks?

More after the jump...

Just got back from UCLA, where the Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations hosted Gen. Wesley Clark's talk on  "Legality, Legitimacy and Public Support: Reflections on Winning Modern War."

Clark was, as usual, brilliant, outlining the evolution of the theory of "just war," and parsing the difference between the "legality" and the "legitimacy" of the war in Iraq.  He spoke for half-an-hour or so, and fielded questions very deftly.  

His bottom line:  The invasion of Iraq may have been legal, but it's been illegitimate since it was a gleam in W's eye.

For the sake of argument, Clark accepted the legality of the U.S. invasion of Iraq; after all, both Congress and the U.N. gave the U.S. formal authority for action.  But he demolished the argument that the occupation was in any way legitimate.

In fact, Clark was so brilliant that it begged a couple of questions about whether it's too late:

Is it too late to restore a sense of legitimacy to American use of force in Iraq?

And, importantly:  Is it too late for Clark to enter the race for the Democratic nomination?

Some answers, and questions, after the jump.

I started asking that question a few weeks ago when Mark Warner abruptly stepped aside.  One of my friends who is a top advance man for Democratic candidates said that Warner had a "pussy problem" (pardon my French, but that's a direct quote).  Could be... I have no evidence about that either way.

But today as Russ Feingold also suddenly pulled out of the race, another scenario seems more likely:  Democratic money men and power brokers are knocking off key contenders early in order to pave the way for their chosen candidate(s).

And there's some telling evidence to that effect... after the jump...

It's not really registering that the widespread spinach food poisoning was caused in part by the GOP!

That's right... it's Spinach Gate... according to no less than the Sacramento Bee, who front-paged this story on Sunday.

More on the flip...

Foley Resigns Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors

September 29, 2006 3:02 PM

Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:

Rhonda Schwartz contributed to this report.

Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former congressional pages under the age of 18.

A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignation in a letter late this afternoon to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Hours earlier, ABC News had read excerpts of instant messages provided by former male pages who said the congressman, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual organs and acts...

You'd think we'd all have learned the lesson, right?  Rove et al. popularized the alleged adjective "Democrat" (as in "He's active in that Democrat club.), after deciding it was a far, far better word to use than "Democratic."

We learned that during the infamous "rats" commercial of 2000.

Rats!  Bureauc-RATS!  Plutoc-RATS!  Autoc-RATS!  Aristoc-RATS!  Democ-RATS!

Don't think there's much of a difference between "Democrat" and "Democratic"?  Then I guess Karl doesn't have to worry about you, now does he?

Try this Google:  "vote Democrat".

Make the jump and see if you agree that this is a difference we have to be vigilant about -- at least as much as we are about having union bugs on our lapel buttons.

In fact, it rocked so much that a musician in the crowd was inspired to start dreaming up protest music.  Just now, I heard
the song he's posted on MySpace.  Fantastic!  Our activism has inspired some pretty kick ass art!

Please go give a listen:

http://www.myspace.com/...

Congressman Tom DeLay
Representing the 22nd District of Texas

For Immediate Release

DeLay Notifies Speaker of June 9 Resignation Date

WASHINGTON - Congressman Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land) today delivered the following letter to the Speaker of the House announcing his intention to resign his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives effective June 9, 2006....

...Federal prosecutors are investigating whether two contractors implicated in the bribery of former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham supplied him with prostitutes and free use of a limousine and hotel suites, pursuing evidence that could broaden their long-running inquiry....

And what makes it even more salacious?

They did it at the Watergate!

This may be our best branding opportunity in a long time.  So get those branding irons ready!

Read more...

Regardless, here's a case-in-point to debunk Bush's claim that UAE (Dubai) is a "country that plays by the rules and has got a good track record...."

It's right here, all summed up in this USAToday headline from February, 2004:

BIN LADEN'S OPERATIVES STILL USING FREEWHEELING DUBAI.

Pretty much says it all, doesn't it?  Bush wants to hand over our ports to the most notorious Al Qaeda hub in the world.

Some stunning excerpts from the article after the jump...

Gen. Wesley Clark will rally the Democratic troops; KTLK/AirAmerica's hilarious Stephanie Miller will emcee...

...and NINE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES will join together to help one of their own, Francine Busby, who's running to succeed convicted Republican felon Duke Cunningham.  The special election is April 11.

Flyer, details after the jump....