When you're on the pot, you have two choices

Nancy DiNardo, as the final holdout of Connecticut's super delegates, it's time to make a simple decision. You've got to stop worrying about how this will affect your career, and start thinking about how your decision will help our nation win in November.

It's time to shit or get off the pot!

McCain's decade of mystery

(I was unable to find any X-rays of the candidate because he hasn't released them, so to illustrate this article I'm using this image of a patient that closely resembles him, identified only as a "Mr. H. Simpson")
For months, national Democrats and members of the media have been pressing for John Sidney McCain III to release his detailed medical records, as all presidential candidates regularly do.

In 1999, when running for President, McCain made 1,500 pages of his extensive medical history available for detailed perusal by the media. Since then, McCain was diagnosed with invasive melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, on his left temple. In his life, McCain has had four melanomas.

Not to mention that he's nearly a decade OLDER, and he has a family history of heart disease and other genetic ailments.

We need to keep in mind that this isn't some ghoulish or voyeuristic examination of McCain's personal information; it's a necessary investigation into the health and longevity potential of a presidential candidate. Based on the most commonly accepted actuarial data, if McCain is elected for two terms, the odds are very likely that his chosen Vice President will complete his term.

I'm sure many Republican contenders are aware of this fact, and are presently swarming to McCain's Arizona compound like overly ambitious locusts of doom to vie for the treasured nod.

So now it's 2008. McCain has balked for months at providing his medical information. Today, the day before the big holiday weekend (and we all know that when Republicans don't want to release bad news, they save it for the Friday news dump; when it's really AWFUL news, they wait until a holiday weekend), he finally makes this information available.

Sort of.

From CNN.Com:

The newer batch of records has strict security guidelines attached. Only certain news networks and newspapers will be permitted to enter the room, and they will have only three hours to examine the papers.

No cell phones or Internet access will be allowed in the room, located in a resort outside Phoenix, Arizona. Copying the records is also prohibited.

Anyone who leaves the room for any reason except the bathroom will not be allowed back.

[..]

Although the document-viewing window closes after three hours(!), the campaign plans to post some(?) details of McCain's medical history on the senator's Web site. (sarcastic emphasis mine)

And then McCain's people make a hilarious statement that I'm sure was written by a mole from "The Colbert Report's" writing staff:

McCain's campaign says the rules allow for a "thorough and substantive review" of McCain's medical history.

LOL!

UPDATE: The AP is reporting that McCain is in generally good health. They arrived at this carefully considered medical assessment after being given no more than three hours to read and absorb well over 1,100 pages of detailed medical records of McCain (under an assumed name) in an undisclosed location without the ability to copy them or even make notes.

They did report that McCain had four spots of skin cancer removed on three separate occasions, including a very dangerous invasive melanoma; a butt-load of colon polyps removed; he suffers from bouts of dizziness; he has degenerative arthritis from war injuries that might require a future joint replacement; and while he spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war, including long stretches of torture and solitary confinement, there were no records available detailing any mental health evaluations he may have had in the last eight years. Not a one.

Obviously, his lengthy treatment under brutal conditions had no effect whatsoever on his psyche.

Gee, I wonder if we've ever had another presidential candidate with possibly incomplete or vanished records?

{cough} George Bush's military records! {cough}

Next up for Obama

Which high profile super delegate or venerable Democrat will endorse Barack Obama today or tomorrow? Last week it was John Edwards a day after Hillary's impressive win in West Virginia. Today is the day after another big win in Kentucky. Who will be the next one to declare for Obama?

Sen. Clinton is right about one thing. It will come down to the super delegates. But at this point, they're flocking to Obama compared to Clinton; and with Obama reaching the majority of 1627 in committed delegates, we'll probably see that trend increase.

As far as Clinton's recent wins in Kentucky and West Virginia go, it seems that she scores heavily with voters in Appalachia. This graphic from Daily Kos shows counties where Clinton has won more than 60% of the vote, and you can add Kentucky to that map now that the results are in. For the most part, these are red states; New York is an obvious exception. We're not likely to win them in November regardless of who the Democratic nominee ends up being.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see who steps forward today or tomorrow and throws their support and their vote to Obama. Even though the primaries will run to the finish on June 3rd, for all intents and purposes the nominee is Barack Obama.

UPDATE: Not the biggest fish in the super delegate sea, but Rep. Joe Courtney (D-02) has finally thrown in with Obama. That makes it a clean sweep for CT's Congressional Delegations. I think this leaves State Party Chair Nancy DiNardo as the single holdout from committing.

C'mon, Nance, there's a pot that you need to decide what you're going to do with!

Just a few months ago...

...we gathered in Hartford.

17,000 of us, to support Barack Obama the day before Connecticut's primary.

Obama won the state by a close margin, helped in no small part by a personal endorsement from Senator Edward Kennedy, who appeared on the stage along with Caroline Kennedy to express their support for the candidate.

Ted Kennedy was given a warm welcome by the crowd, a good many of whom hadn't even been alive when Kennedy first won his senate seat. Yet everyone seemed to know and appreciate all he's accomplished in his long and illustrious political career.

Today we all heard the deeply upsetting news that Sen. Kennedy is now facing the battle of his life. As Sen. Dodd said tonight, Ted's a tough guy and a fighter, and there's nobody who can beat this if it isn't Ted Kennedy.

We all send our best wishes and prayers to him and his family.

75,000

Unbelievable. Simply amazing.

"Tailgunner Joe" protects us from videos

Serial draft-deferrer and Homeland Security Chair Joe Lieberman is bravely taking the War Against Terror to a new battleground, with a patently absurd letter addressed to Dr. Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Google, Inc.

Apparently, our self-appointed representative of the Thought Police doesn't like that people are free to post videos on Youtube that might contain images or ideas contrary to his apparent plans for total regional war in the Middle East!

At least, it seems that way to me.

To his credit, Dr. Schmidt removed several videos that contained violent or illegal content, then he responded with this:

"While we respect and understand his views, YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right to express unpopular points of view," the company said. "We believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views, and rather than stifle debate, we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds."

It's ironic that wimpy Joe Lieberman, who managed to avoid serving our nation in Vietnam by slithering out on multiple college deferments (thereby saving himself the pain of shooting off a toe or the shame of admitting to being a homosexual), is suddenly taking the war to Youtube.

Hmmm...I wonder if Joe harbors any OTHER reasons for hating the online video service...could it be THIS, or THIS, or THIS, or a million OTHER videos that feature Joe Lieberman looking like the political hack and dangerous wacko he is?

Oh, and if you're wondering where the "Tailgunner Joe" reference is from, watch this video:



(h/t to Sue from MLN and DailyKos)

Tuesday's primaries

This week we'll see the Kentucky and Oregon primaries. This is the last big group of delegates to be selected, a total of 103 will be chosen by voters.

In Kentucky, Sen. Clinton is leading in the polls with West Virginia-style numbers, somewhere around 62% to 30%. With 51 committed delegates up for grabs, I'm guessing Hillary will garner about 32 delegates to Obama's 19.

In Oregon, Sen. Obama is holding around an 8 to 12 point lead. My prediction is Obama will get 29 to Hillary's 23 delegates.

So, based on my entirely un-scientific guesstimate, Hillary will gather 55 delegates to Barack's 48.

With only Puerto Rico (55 delegates, June 1st) and Montana and South Dakota (31 delegates total, June 3rd), we'll probably see a moderate Hillary advantage on the remaining delegates.

Which leaves us with the following numbers when the primaries are all over and done with Obama at 1986 and Clinton at 1824. Figure in a portion of super delegates who are tending towards Obama, and the numbers after the final primaries will be something like Obama 2050 and Clinton 1900.

This will push Obama over the top.

Of course, we need to see what the DNC Rules & Bylaws committee rules for Michigan and Florida, but even with a full Clinton ruling (where all the votes count as is) Hillary would still be behind Barack in the count.

It's going to be Obama. Let's just work on healing the party and unifying everyone who worked so hard for Hillary. Because we'll need everyone to turn out and work together to defeat another disastrous four years of Republican leadership.

The campaign in 7 minutes

I get a kick out of videos like these. You start watching them, and before you know it you're compelled the view the whole damned thing.

This campaign has been going on for so long that it's not too early to start reminiscing about it.

Democratic Race For President in Seven Minutes

(Sorry about the link, I can't embed this video)

My Left Nutmeg is going to Denver!

Woohoo!!!

Today the DNC announced the selections to represent each state at the Democratic National Convention in August, and My Left Nutmeg made the cut and will be the one blog from Connecticut.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me that the national media will have to deal with a blog called "My Left Nutmeg" being a part of the world-wide stage in Denver. I remember that the entire New York Times editorial staff clutched their collective pearls and were nearly overcome by a fatal case of "the vapors" at the prospect of having to actually repeat that name in print; and they ultimately referred to MLN as "a blog with the name of a person's naughty bits" (or something of that nature).

As we all learned during the incredible 2006 senate contest, bloggers sometimes became the focus of media curiosity. With the expected flood of media at the national convention, we'll almost definitely get to see our blogger rep be interviewed on a cable news network, with the title "from My Left Nutmeg" appearing at the bottom of the screen.

I can't wait!

Timing is everything

Wow.

I'm totally in awe of John Edwards, and his deft use of precise timing to utilize his endorsement to maximum advantage.

Less than 24 hours after Hillary Clinton's impressive victory in West Virginia, Edwards dropped a metaphorical A-bomb on Hillary's parade by endorsing Barack Obama at a rally in Michigan tonight.

I was wondering when he was going to step up for one or the other candidate, since he publicly stated on several occasions that he wouldn't issue an endorsement until after the voters went to the polls in the North Carolina primary, which concluded a week ago with Obama winning big. I couldn't understand why he was waiting so long to make the announcement.

Now it makes perfect sense. He used the occasion to deflate Clinton's victory after a single news cycle, when it would have the maximum impact. Keep in mind that Edwards was a very popular candidate in the Presidential race, and he still holds 26 delegates. His endorsement may lead to Obama getting a large percentage of those delegates. Even last night, Edwards was still on the ballot in West Virginia, and he received about 7% of the vote. That's a substantial margin for somebody who dropped out months ago.

Edwards has proven he's an impressive political creature. His support of Barack Obama can only help the senator's chances in November.

Big win for Hillary

There's no mistaking it - West Virginia loves it some Hillary!

Every indicator had predicted this victory for Clinton; and judging from Howard Wolfson's studied practice on CNN tonight of repeatedly labeling West Virginia a "key swing state", it appears Hillary's crew was also quite aware of their imminent landslide.

I think he might also have mentioned in passing that "no Democrat since Woodrow Wilson has won the White House without winning West Virginia" a couple of times.

At least.

But hey, repetition is a proven strategy when struggling to make a mountain out of a delegate-poor molehill. With 28 committed delegates at play there, tonight's results might give Hillary a 20-8, or even a 21-7 edge. Which will do very little to change the substantial delegate lead that Barack Obama currently enjoys.

But it will help ensure that Hillary will stay in the race until at least the DNC Rules & Bylaws committee decides how to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates at the national convention. That meeting is going to occur at the end of the month, and there's probably no reason for her to pull out before the Puerto Rico caucus on June 1st (which she'll win equally as decisive as tonight), and the final primaries on June 3rd for South Dakota and Montana.

Which is fine, as long as both candidates keep the really negative attacks focused on John McCain rather than each other.

Because ONE of these two Democrats will eventually need to have enough support from the ENTIRE electorate if we're going to keep "Bush the Third" out of the White House.

Jim Himes is nominated at 4th CD Convention

(Photo by Sue from MLN)
Congrats to Jim Himes! A preliminary report with lots of photos is up at My Left Nutmeg.

Checking McCain's "bearings"

Thanks, Joe. You make blogging easy!

Expect a Hillary blowout Tuesday

The latest poll from West Virginia shows Hillary Clinton with a prohibitive lead, according to CNN.Com:

Clinton has a 43-point advantage over Obama, 66 percent to 23 percent, according to a new survey from the American Research Group.

The poll was conducted entirely after Tuesday's primary results, and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

With 28 earned delegates up for grabs in WV, Clinton may pick up mabye 10 more delegates than Obama. But with his current 164-delegate lead, this will have little impact.

It will, however, give Hillary a chance to capitalize on the results and claim that she appeals more to "middle America's voters".

And more than likely, we'll see these grueling primaries continue for at least the rest of the month. I'm guessing we won't see much change in the margin of Obama's earned delegate lead, but by the final (June 3rd) primaries he'll have a majority of the super delegates.

The ruling of the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting about the fate of the Michigan and Florida delegates, scheduled for May 31st, will likely influence Hillary's all but inevitable decision to end her quest for the nomination. I'll be very surprised if we see a concession any time before then.

Why does everyone bug me to run for Amann's seat?

(With Stamford mayor Dan Malloy at last year's JJB Dinner)
I'm getting kind of tired of this silliness.

The worst thing that happened to me in the last couple of years (other than Joe Lieberman's stubborn daily insistence on breathing) is for Jimmy Amann to have announced his retirement from the General Assembly at the end of his term.

Which leaves a sizable void in the political landscape of the 118th district, which occupies about 1/3 of Milford, specifically the center-to-western area.

Which is where I live.

And people apparently know that. Which begs the question:

Why do people keep bothering me to run for this seat?

I mean, get real, friends!

I can think of dozens of good reasons to not run, and not a single one why I should!

Well, OK; maybe having a progressive voice in the GA might be a good thing. I think I qualify as a "progressive". Whatever that is. I like progress, and I have a loud voice. That's gotta be "progressive". Somebody define it for me. I'm kinda lazy. So I don't wanna look it up.

I'll admit it would be a fun campaign. How can't it be? I'd insist on being placed on the ballot as "Connecticut Bob". In fact, I might go as far as legally changing my name so it'll appear that way. Or at least "Bob".

Who wouldn't want to vote for some character listed on the ballot as "Connecticut Bob"?

But the reality is there are literally dozens of people in my district better suited at being a rep than me.

Yes, but there are also hundreds who would be much worse at it than me.

All sorts of people tend to run for all sorts of reasons.

But let's try to find just ONE of the good ones to run!

More on Bill's crimson face

Last night Jon Stewart discussed Bill's persimmon face during his Daily Show rundown (just after the 2:00 mark below). As I mentioned here first, Bill's facial coloring seemed to run the gamut of red tints from magenta to rose; and depending on what cable channel you watched, even alizarin and cerise.

So far there's been no definitive explanation for Bill's multi-chromatic mug, but trust that I'm working on the case.