Why do some in the left blogosphere -- and by extension, a large portion of the liberal/progressive elctorate -- truly hate Barack Obama?

Hi ho, one and all.  It's 8:36 a.m. here in cold Maryland, where the polls have opened for today's Chesapeake/Potomac/Beltway/whatever-you-wanna-call it tri-area primaries.  I won't be long with this post, because it's a little past my bedtime (I'm an overnight shift guy, and my work week starts tonight, hence staying up to get my body acclimated).  

As these crucial primaries begin, two parts of me are torn between our two candidates -- my head is for Hillary, my heart for Obama.  So -- with hours to go before the polls opened -- I decided to spend some of my waking hours on their respective websites, and see where they really stood on the issues (yeah, the night before...what an involved voter I am, huh?).  Honestly, I skimmed most of them, but I focused in on two or three key points for ME:  energy independence, foreign policy/the war in Iraq, and health care.  

   I'm an African-American resident of Maryland, and I proudly voted for Kwesi Mfume in the September Democratic Senatorial primary.  Honestly, I thought he would be a great advocate for in the U.S. Senate, something that is sorely needed in these agonizing times.  But after all the votes were counted, I threw my support behind Ben Cardin.  

  So you can imagine how concerned I've become over the last few days after hearing and reading reports that empty suit Michael Steele has been gaining on Cardin in recent polls.  And this week's endorsement of Steele by five black Democratic leaders in Prince George's County really threw me for a loop.

  But I've started to wonder -- is it all a typical last- minute Republican head fake?  

About two weeks ago, the missus and I took the D.C. Metro into the city to see the Japanese Cherry Blossoms (we live in Northwest Maryland).  We walked from the Smithsonian Metro stop to the Tidal Basin, where the blossoms were truly in full, beautiful bloom.  Of course, the place was packed with people, everybody from native Washingtonians to tourists from all points on the map.  We stopped every so often to rest our feet, take in the breathtaking scenery...and see if the many vendors along the path had run out of bottled water.

Hey DKos gang, I need your help, and I need it by 9:30 EST (8:30 Central) tonight.  I have a co-worker who is VERY conservative, and I'm sure he will repeat the ReTHUGlican talking points that Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin did not ask for federal help until it was too late, including the angle about Governor Blanco's state of emergency.  I need you to hook me up with whatever links you can find from newspapers, cables, other blogs, etc., that shows they asked for this help well before Katrina hit landfall.  I especially need sources to rebut the spin that Mayor Nagin didn't use the city school buses to evacuate those folks who couldn't evacuate on their own (I've heard he used the city transportation buses get the people to the Superdome/Convention Center).  Remember, I need this TONIGHT by 9:30 Eastern.  THANKS!!!!

Washington State couple who Gore championed during 2000 White House run loses son