10:00 a.m. Pacific time.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/...

This case includes the following issue: Does California’s statutory ban on marriage
between two persons of the same sex violate the California Constitution by denying equal
protection of the laws on the basis of sexual orientation or sex, by infringing on the
fundamental right to marry, or by denying the right to privacy and freedom of expression?

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/...

If you think the color of Obama's skin will not be a factor in the general election, read this article.  Bigotry is real, and often under the surface.  The kind of thing polls may not pick up (the Bradley effect).  Which could lead to a nasty surprise come election day.  Brushing these voters off as those who wouldn't vote for Obama anyway doesn't explain the phenomenon.  That doesn't mean we should be discouraged.  But it does mean facing up to the reality we are up against.

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

$120 a barrel oil.  $4.00 gas.  Rising food prices.  Yet only 3% inflation?  Job losses for several months in a row.  Yet the economy is still expanding?  Doesn't make sense?  You're not alone.

It's clear that as a result of the way the government now calculates inflation, its reporting vastly underestimates the true rate of inflation.  That, in turn, increases the rate of growth, and reduces cost of living adjustments the government has to make to social security recipients.  That, in turn, reduces the budget deficit.  In addition, wall street and the business press likes the incorred calculation of real inflation because that makes stocks more attractive to investors, and permits people like Larry Kudlow to crow about how great the U.S. economy is.

Fortunately, an astute observer like Kevin Phillips is on the case.

James Webb has to be considered in the top tier of possible running mates for Obama.  Military background, ex-Republican, economic populist, and from a state that has been moving the Democrats way.  Today, a distinguished political scientist makes the case for Webb.

Virginia Senator James Webb should be the Democratic candidate for vice-president.

http://rasmussenreports.com/...

With the 60th anniversary of the declaration of the State of Israel upon us, Arabs living in Israel take time to pause and reflect on their status:

As Israel toasts its 60th anniversary in the coming weeks, rejoicing in Jewish national rebirth and democratic values, the Arabs who make up 20 percent of its citizens will not be celebrating. Better off and better integrated than ever in their history, freer than a vast majority of other Arabs, Israel’s 1.3 million Arab citizens are still far less well off than Israeli Jews and feel increasingly unwanted.

. . . .

"I am not a Jew," protested Eman Kassem-Sliman, an Arab radio journalist with impeccable Hebrew, whose children attend a predominantly Jewish school in Jerusalem. "How can I belong to a Jewish state? If they define this as a Jewish state, they deny that I am here."

http://www.nytimes.com/...

It's time to suit up, John.

Remember, you've only "suspended" your campaign.  Elizabeth may be chomping at the bit to get you to endorse, but you can end the indecision by getting back in.  Sure, you only have two dozen delegates or so, so what?  Even pledged delegates aren't required to vote for the candidate they're pledged to.  And the supers would love to be able to support a candidate not named Hillary or Barack.  I know a "dark horse" candidate hasn't won a nomination since 1952.  But only two senators have ever been elected president without serving as vice-president, and one will be elected this year.

Howey is the foremost Indiana political site.

 
Obama, Clinton neck-and-neck, poll shows  

Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a virtual dead heat in Indiana, according to the latest Howey-Gauge Poll.

Hoosiers favor Obama over Clinton by the slim margin of 47 percent to 45 percent.

. . . .

The poll by Gauge Market Research was conducted April 23-24, after the Pennsylvania primary election, through two surveys of 600 likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

http://www.ibj.com/...

Here we go again.

Another Democratic candidate who thinks he is in an academic debate at Oxford, rather than a political campaign against ruthless opponents.  Someone who fights by the Marquis of Queensbury rules while his opponents keep hitting him below the belt.  A candidate whose idea of counterattacking a charge is to go on the station that is out to destroy him and say:

"The fact he's my former pastor I think makes it a legitimate political issue," Obama said. "So I understand that."

McCain took him up on the offer immediately during a question-and-answer session with the media while campaigning in the Miami area. He said that, while he wouldn't make an issue of Wright, he wouldn't be surprised if other people do.

"Sen. Obama himself says it's a legitimate political issue," McCain said, "so I would imagine that many other people would share that view and it will be in the arena."

http://www.thonline.com/...

Someone once said that the problem with the Democratic party is that it is the "stupid party."  Not that its members and voters are stupid, but that the party's decision-making tends to be stupid.  It's one thing to be disorganized and disunited, it's another to be clueless.  So it is with the party and Faux.

So, Goldwater Girl, Ms. Rodham of Wellesley, is blaming Al Gore's "loss" in 2000 on his "elitism."

http://www2.nysun.com/...

Putting aside the question of whether Gore won, and Hillary's "elitist" work for the Rose law firm and Wal-Mart, I want to focuse on the chutzpah (nerve, for those not familiar with the term ;) of her blaming Gore's failure to enter the white house in January 2001 on Gore.  The chutzpah is, that Gore's failure to win a clear victory was the fault of . . . Bill and Hillary Clinton.  I know you don't want to hear that you wonderful couple, but the truth hurts.

Don't know how much play this will given the media gaffe for the day focus.  But not since the Reagan recession of 81-82 has consumer confidence been as low as it is today.  It's worse than the early 90s, when people were pretty pessimistic.  This should be good news for Democrats if they have candidates who take advantage of it the right way.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its preliminary index of confidence fell to 63.2 in April from 69.5 in March, well below economists' median expectation of a 69.0 reading.

The April result was the lowest since March 1982's level of 62.0, when the "stagflationary" period of low growth and high inflation was still fresh in the memory of many Americans.

http://www.reuters.com/...

I always find it amusing how often folks on this progressive site cite the polling done by Scott Rasmussen.  Rasmussen is described charitably by wikipedia as "an independent leaning Republican public opinion pollster," who is anti-gay.  http://en.wikipedia.org/...

Rasmussen does polling for the right-wing Washington "Moonie" Times, as well as the equally right-wing Faux News.  http://www.reuters.com/...

And his polling on Bush's job approval is consistently higher than any other polling outfit.

Why do I bring this up now?  Because Rasmussen's blatant pro-Republican bias is crystal clear in the polling on the presidential race the last two days.

It should be clear, if it wasn't already, that the Clinton campaign has decided that it needs a diversion from Hillary's lying about Bosnia and Obama's release of his tax returns, and that that diversion is their using Sean Hannity's talking points to smear Obama with Wright's comments.  Not only did Hillary Hannity push the smear twice today, but it turns out that a member of Clinton's finance committee even went further over the weekend in an interview on Irish radio, including the despicable use of the false equivalence between Wright and David Duke.

agitprop

     n 1: political propaganda communicated via art and literature and cinema.

You can add television.

I had the misfortune of checking in on Faux last night from 7 to 11.  What I saw was a nonstop attack on Obama, mainly focusing on every contact Obama has had with African-Americans who do not fit into Faux's defintion of patriotic correctness.  Some may brush this off.  But I take it seriously.  Remember, it was Hannity and Faux that began pushing the swift boat thing.

Alright, before you scream, "but it's ARG," take a look at how they polling outfit did in Ohio and Texas.  Pretty close to the mark.  So, even though the poll should be looked at with a jaundiced eye, they're on a better track of late.

http://americanresearchgroup.com/...

Today, we've had Howard Wolfson and his Ken Starr remark, now we have another Clinton hack, Ann Lewis, chiming in on how attacks on Clinton from the Obama side is somehow "echoing Republican takling points."

All we need is uber-hack Lanny Davis to join the chorus.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...

Ohio was probably never winnable, but Obama's margin of defeat should have been about the three percent margin he lost in Texas.  And he should have won the Texas popular vote.  Why didn't he?  Because instead of taking Clinton head on, apparently channeling Michael Dukakis and John Kerry, he adopted a "turn the other cheek" tactic.  He struck a frontrunner's pose instead of fighting back.

And they did throw the kitchen sink at him.  From questioning whether he was a Muslim (not that there's anything wrong with that), to questioning his experience (even though he has more elective experience than Clinton), to claiming he is unprepared to be president, Obama failed to respond.  In addition, he let lackeys and flunkies like Mark Penn, Terry McCauliffe and Howard Wolfson, dictate the terms of the news coverage through daily conference calls.  Nary a word from the Obama camp about Clinton's failure to release her taxes.  Obama made the time-worn mistake of not finishing off his opponent when he/she is down.

With the same cynical lack of respect for the intelligence of the American people, McCain sought to score points against Obama on the war in Iraq and the "war on terror."  Unfortunately for McCain, Obama was just to quick for him, and used the opportunity to expose McCain as Bush III and to clear up the truth of the matter.

Like a basketball player blocking a shot, Obama stuffed McCain and shoved his charge right back down his throat.  Nice going!  Job well done.

"I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I did not watch the Democrat debate last night," McCain said, "but I am told that Senator Obama made the statement that if Al Qaeda came back to Iraq after he withdraws -- after the American troops are withdrawn -- then he would send military troops back, if Al Qaeda established a military base in Iraq. I have some news: Al Qaeda is in Iraq. Al Qaeda, it's called Al Qaeda in Iraq

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...