This is really rich. It delights me to no end that this is being brought up now. Bob Dole apparently wrote a letter to Rush telling him to lay off McCain.

Nope, nothing "BREAKING". And it can't be said to be a "surge" or "collapse" on either side. However, looking at today's national tracking polls from Rasmussen and Gallup, we might be seeing the beginning of a new trend to keep an eye on.

There is an article out in the New York Times today with Jesse Jackson's reaction to Bill Clinton's quote from Saturday comparing him with Obama.

To his credit, he downplayed it:

"I don’t read anything negative into Clinton’s observation," Mr. Jackson said in a phone conversation late Sunday night...

But, Mr. Jackson said, "Bill has done so much for race relations and inclusion, I would tend not to read a negative scenario into his comments." He said his chief concern was that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton not "bloody themselves" so much that they can’t unite against the Republicans in November.

Alternate title: The tragedy of "false hopes".

In a wildly popular diary yesterday entitled BREAKING: HRC Collapses Nationally - Rasmussen it was revealed that after just one day in the Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll,  Hillary Clinton had plummeted 8 points and was just 3 points ahead of Barack Obama. It also showed a bit of a surge for Edwards. Those numbers were:

Clinton 36%
Obama 33%
Edwards: 18%

Speculation ran wild over what Hillary might have done to cause this.

What a day this has been!

This diary (currently near the top of the recommended list) details a dramatic collapse seen for Hillary in today's Rasmussen daily tracking poll, and rising numbers for both Obama and Edwards.

I have to say, this was a fascinating development. Was the Rezko thing somehow helping Obama? Were Bill's so-called "red-faced lying tirades" backfiring?

At any rate, it seemed as though the tide might suddenly be turning in Obama's favor.

You knew this was coming.

Clinton in Las Vegas today:

"My leading opponent the other day said that he thought the Republicans had better ideas than Democrats the last 10 to 15 years. That’s not the way I remember the last 10 to 15 years.

"I don’t think it’s a better idea to privatize Social Security. I don’t think it’s a better idea to try to eliminate the minimum wage. I don’t think it’s a better idea to undercut health benefits and to give drug companies the right to make billions of dollars by providing prescription drugs to medicare recipients. I don’t think it’s a better idea to shut down the government, to drive us into debt. I think we know what needs to be done in America and I think we’re ready to do it. And I’m ready to lead on day one, to run this government, to manage this economy."

Mitt had this to say in an interview earlier this week:

"I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times. I do think that, for example, 1992 was different. I think Bill Clinton changed the trajectory of America in a way that Jimmy Carter did not and in a way that Ronald Reagan did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1980s and early 1990s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and responsibility that had been missing."

Statement from Senator Obama:

You have seen a tone on the Democrat[ic] side of the campaign that has been unfortunate. I want to stipulate a couple of things. I may disagree with Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards on how to get there, but we share the same goals. We all believe in civil rights. We all believe in equal rights. They are good people. They are patriots....

I don't want the campaign at this stage to degenerate to so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, that we lose sight of why we are doing this.

Obama said he wants to send "a strong signal to my own supporters that let’s try to focus on the work that needs to get done. If I hear my own supporters engaging in talk that I think is ungenerous or misleading or unfair, I will speak out forcefully against it....

Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically been on the right side of civil rights issues. They care about the African American community.... That is something I am convinced of. I want Americans to know that is my assessment.

It's been a long couple of days for the progressive community here. But there is some late night news, and its good.

I am feeling a bit down this evening. The Cuomo thing, the Jesse Jackson Jr thing, now the quotes from Rep. Clyburn...that and a whole bunch of other things related to this has really started to get to me and I'm feeling a bit depressed about what should be an amazing, thrilling Democratic primary.

You know...I'm used to our shitty media, but this...this just got to me for some reason. Check out this incredible headline from this evening on CNN.com:

I think its safe to say, narrow win or loss tonight.....

update....she won.

Huh? Yes. Though polls released later today might bear it out or squash it.

Hillary Rodham Clinton
John Reid Edwards
Barack Hussein Obama

Question: Is simply saying out loud a person's full name an attack on them?

Attention fabled Hillary lurkers!

Despite the recent Iowa poll which showed an uptick for Obama, it appears that Clinton's (highly-watched) debate performance has caused the national numbers to shift in her favor, according to today's Rasmussen daily tracking poll.

Its been a rough couple of weeks for Senator Clinton, but in the crucial state of Iowa, it appears she is still holding a strong position and possibly has even rebounded somewhat since the debate on 10/30.

Or at least thats what this chart suggests:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/...

My libertarian Republican coworker and I often get into debates. He feels that Democrats are virtual commies. He sent me this quiz today. It is followed by my response. None of this has been altered, but names have been changed to protect the innocent: