With Edwards Out...Thursday is BIG!

The CNN Democrats' debate on Thursday night is now the (latest) biggest moment in American politics this year. It will be Hillary and Barack. No funny lights telling them to shut up. No third candidate to scold them for being silly. Barack Obama needs to stay on message and not get distracted by Hillary's low blow tactics. He must rise above her on Thursday appeal to John Edwards' voters and Hispanics...plainly beat her.

Religion in America

The map highlights 8 major Christian denominations, showing where they represent a plurality (and in counties marked with a + at least 50%) of the relevant counties’ population. This shows that there are quite a few remarkably contiguous religious blocks in the US...click for details.

Get Ready America!

As we move closer to Super Tuesday, February 5th, it would also appear that we might be down to these two candidates for POTUS. Mitt Romney clearly has the money to continue to battle John McCain but does he want to spend his own money if he can't win the nomination. It is true that the Republicans are not happy with either candidate. However, when push comes to shove the Republicans will give the nod to McCain because he is their traditional candidate for 2008...a not so traditional year for the GOP. The Democrats, appear to be to old and angry to try to bridge the gap with unity and youth in Barack Obama...instead they are looking for tried and true another round of Clintonista Baby!

All of this saddens me as I watch this play out because for a moment...I thought we could elect someone who would reach across the aisle to heal the old partisan wounds of the last 16 years. All hope is not yet lost, but time I feel is running out. First, Obama needs to be able to create some Super Tuesday magic…make these 20 states close and pull off at least one or two unexpected victories. John Edwards needs to realize that Barack Obama will help fight the good fight...a deal of delegates will need to take place and a position in the Obama Administration conveyed. If these things do not come to pass it will be another 4-8 years of partisan bickering between the ideologues of both parties...same old, same old! Opportunity lost….

To read why McCain and Clinton are going to win read Coming Into Focus, Maybe

Edwards Weighing Options

Said Edwards campaign manager David Bonoir: “We’re still hoping that John is the nominee. But with a chunk of delegates, you can leverage what you’ve been fighting for and standing for. You can raise these issues to where they should be on the Democratic agenda. We’re running for those two reasons: to get the nomination and to have his voice heard on his issues.”

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A Commentary by Dick Morris

Barack Obama used his victory in South Carolina to change the dialogue with the Clintons in the presidential race. He has taken Hillary’s and Bill’s attempt to use the race issue and replied with a clever move. He has basically called their bluff.

And Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama has ratified the Illinois Senator’s strategy and candidacy.
So far, to summarize: Move One was when Obama arrived as a new candidate. Move two was Hillary’s comeback that she is more experienced. Move three was when Obama pivoted off her experience message and said he was the voice of change. Move four was the Clintons’ attempt to inject race into the election. They counted on a racial split in South Carolina to make Super Tuesday about a black/white division.

Now Obama has come back saying, in effect, “Yes, I know that you have made this election about race. But I am betting on the decency, fairness, tolerance, and objectivity of the American electorate. We all share the same hopes and dreams.”

In effect, he said I match you and raise you.

To date, Obama has avoided the race issue. But after his smashing win in South Carolina, he embraced the issue and turned it around to his advantage. He did not go down the path of Jesse Jackson and base his candidacy on a rainbow coalition. Rather, he decided to rise above the Clintons and appeal to America’s ecumenical diversity.

So now Super Tuesday is a contest between those who are mired in racial division and those who are willing to transcend it.

The massive outpouring of criticism of the Clintons for their tactics in South Carolina is withering fire which may take a serious toll among Hillary’s voters. Caroline Kennedy’s invocation of her father in endorsing Obama seems right on the money. Ted Kennedy’s support for him legitimizes white backing for the Illinois Senator and could have a big impact.

The Clintons were banking on a silent invocation of racial division stemming from a massive Obama win in South Carolina among black voters and a last place finish among whites. Their hopes were that whites would note the racial split in South Carolina and react by voting for Clinton.

But this racial divisiveness can only take place in the dark, out of sight. With the glare of Obama’s idealism shining on the dialogue, conscience comes into play and the American electorate may overcome the divisiveness of the Clintons.

Will Obama’s move trump the Clinton strategy? A lot hangs in the balance. Ultimately, the choice will say more about our soul as a nation than about the candidates in this election.

The boldness of Obama in accepting the Clintons’ injection of race as an issue and his insistence on an enlightened answer challenges us all. Even as one’s head warns that the strategy will fail, one’s heart hopes that it will succeed.

Either way, Obama has made the Super Tuesday vote more about who we are than who the candidates running for president are. Dick Morris, a Fox News Analyst and author of several books, is a former advisor to Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss) and President Bill Clinton.

I believe this campaign is going to answer a couple of questions that only Americans can answer. First, are we truly ready for change or are we to complacent to change in 2008. There is another question in this race who will decide the races outcome? Clearly, Obama has tapped into...the generational gap. This race will be decided by the Baby Boom establishment wanting to maintain their status quo versus the Generations X and Y.
I, hope it is the latter.

HALPERIN’S TAKE: Six Reasons Why the Kennedy Endorsement is a Big Deal

Mark Halperin's take follows here...

Illinois Lawmakers Defend Obama

In most legislatures, lawmakers vote either "yes" or "no" on bills, but in Illinois, senators and representatives can hit a third button for a "present" vote. Now that quirk -- not unique to Illinois -- has sparked heated exchanges among Democrats vying for president. The two main rivals of Illinois' U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination accused him during a debate Monday (Jan. 21) of ducking important votes by voting "present" about 130 times during his eight years in the Illinois Senate.

So why use the present button?

The "present" vote in Illinois is sometimes cast by state lawmakers with a conflict of interest who would rather not weigh in on an issue. Other times, members use the option to object to certain parts of a bill, even though they may agree with its overall purpose.

"The 'present' vote is used, especially by more thoughtful legislators, not as a means of avoiding taking a position on an issue, but as a means of signaling concerns about an issue," said state Rep. John Fritchey (D), an Obama supporter.

Kennedy's Endorsement Helps Obama With Latinos...

Intended or not, one of the consequences of making Barack Obama the "black candidate" is to damage his cause among Latino voters. And that's a constitutency where having Ted Kennedy's endorsement might matter. There are still lots of households with photos of JFK, RFK, and César Chavez in the living room...like this one top left of Robert Kennedy and César Chavez taken March 11, 1968.

Caroline Kennedy Endorses Obama... "A President Like My Father"

OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
Read on @ New York Times

And now is it time for Ted Kennedy...

Barack Obama: South Carolina Victory Speech

Obama wins 44 of 46 counties in South Carolina!

Barack Obama has crushed Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina primary, beating her by a margin of two to one, and throwing the increasingly bitter battle for the Democratic nomination into fresh doubt.

Exit polls suggested he had received four in five black votes - and a quarter of those cast by white voters. But he also beat his rival in every age or income group on Saturday.

Nationally, Obama Closing the Gap on the Dynamic Duo

With most national polls showing Hillary Clinton with a commanding 8 percentage point average ahead of Barack Obama, Rasmussen Reports has a national poll indicating Hillary and Bill's lead is down to 3 percent. Of course, this could be an anomaly in polling or it could be a reaction to the Clinton's campaigning tactics of the last four weeks that have grown more overtly nasty.

I don't know Rezko, Clinton says...

"Today" show host Matt Lauer asked presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Friday if she has a connection to indicted developer Tony Rezko after flashing an undated photo of the two posing with President Bill Clinton.

"You were attacking Senator Obama, in particular, his work connected to what was a so-called a slumlord in Chicago, a guy named Tony Rezko," Lauer said. "You can't see what I'm going put up on the screen ... but it is a picture of you and your husband Bill Clinton posing with that same man." Read on @ Chicago Sun-Times

The Next Attorney General...

Robert Novak is reporting that Obama and Edwards could be making a deal.... Democrats close to Sen. Barack Obama are quietly passing the word that John Edwards will be named attorney general in an Obama administration.

Installation at the Justice Department of multimillionaire trial lawyer Edwards would please not only the union leaders supporting him for president but organized labor in general. The unions relish the prospect of an unequivocal labor partisan as the nation's top legal officer.

In public debates, Obama and Edwards often seem to bond together in alliance against front-running Sen. Hillary Clinton. While running a poor third, Edwards could collect a substantial bag of delegates under the Democratic Party's proportional representation. Edwards then could try to turn his delegates over to Obama in the still unlikely event of a deadlocked Democratic National Convention. Courtesy Rasmussen Reports

Florida's Republican Debate

A recap of the debate via the politicalwire.... If you missed last night's Republican debate in Florida, CQ Politics has the "bests and mosts" of what we wrongly predicted would be a fiery event.

Chuck Todd: "Overall, the tame affair was good news for both Romney and McCain, the two frontrunners in Florida; both got to sound and look presidential. Romney, in fact, may have had his best debate performance in a long time because he wasn't attacked. In every other recent debate, Romney's struggled when under attack. But he wasn't really attacked tonight and that allowed Romney to control his image more so than in previous debates. McCain also got to look like a frontrunner, but it appears he tailored his message nationally, more so than Florida."

Rick Klein: "It was a snoozer. That's good for John McCain and Mitt Romney. I'd make Romney the winner on points -- he looked the part, as he always does, and mostly ducked the incoming fire, while talking about the economy in strong terms."

Josh Marshall: "Candidly, I was surprised that there wasn't more contentiousness in tonight's GOP debate in Florida. After all, probably at least two candidacies will end Tuesday night. So the stakes were extraordinarily high."

Andrew Sullivan: "The big take from the debate is the Republican unanimity on the Iraq war: it's been a great thing and we should keep at it. Maybe it helps with base voters (although I doubt it), but it's going to be a real issue this fall and every single one of them is now wedded to it."

Public Policy Poll: Obama Widens Lead, Edwards a Possible Second?

Most recent polls in South Carolina show a tightening Democratic primary race, but not the most recent results from Public Policy Polling. The latest survey shows Sen. Barack Obama with a commanding lead at 44% support among likely voters, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 24% and John Edwards at 19%.

The results do show Edwards gaining on Clinton, a result also reflected in other recent polls.

Basketball Wonder @ Age 11?

Lots of kids dream of playing in the pros. Some kids get completely obsessed by the sport, but most importantly, they work on it. The kid you're about to see just turned 11, and his talents will blow you away. Check this out @ LiveLeak.com

Here are 11 reasons Hillary should withdraw now:

1. Her experience argument is bogus. Even if it were true, historically, experience is a poor predictor of presidential success. Further, anyone who claims to be prepared to be president “from day one” is lying - because no experience can prepare you for the presidency.
2. Her most successful and most-used tactic against Barack Obama in the primaries and caucuses - suppressing voter turnout - will ensure her loss in the general election as it alienates many of those who she most needs to appeal to - younger voters (under 55), black voters, and swing voters. The Clintons have also introduced identity politics into the primary - and have tried to encourage racial polarization, especially between Latinos and blacks. The Clintons are running a campaign very different from most primary campaigns - they are attacking Obama with a ferocity usually reserved for attacking Republicans in the general election. In an election that splits the country roughly 50/50, Hillary can’t afford to lose anyone. At the rate she is going now, she won’t be able to put together a winning coalition.
3. Bill Clinton became an admired elder statesmen after retiring from the presidency. The fact that he was still chasing skirt became a quirk rather than a political liability and a possible threat to the Democratic Party. And things like this might be considered charming. Now, he’s become Karl Rove with Secret Service protection, a bigger media presence, and with the same lack of conscience. Even top neutral Democrats are telling Bill to shut up. I’d like the old Bill Clinton back.
4. If Hillary Clinton wins, her success will become a lesson in how women should achieve power: marry well; put up with any humiliations your husband throws at you, and then, maybe, if you fight dirty, and ask your husband to run your campaign, you might be able to ride his coattails to your “own” political success.
5. The Clintons are relying on the laziness and stupidity of the American people to attack Barack Obama unfairly: through lies, distortions (eg. regarding Reagan), and other unconscionable means. It just goes to prove the most dangerous place to be in America is between the Clintons and an elected office.
6. Her three most significant political acts: botching health care reform and setting it back for a generation; deciding to stonewall independent investigators, Congress, and the press on Whitewater, and voting for war with Iraq.
7. The Democratic Party has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-align the country and reinvigorate liberalism and America. Hillary Clinton has shown no interest in seizing this opportunity or any capacity to rally Americans to a broad consensus. She remains a highly polarizing figure. Her winning strategy does not involve winning a significant majority but eking out a 51% win by micro-targeting, niche marketing, and espousing incremental targeted policies - all working off of a broadly Republican status quo.
8. The Clintons are fundamentally and irredeemably corrupt. And we don’t need to have a Clinton dynstasty to rival the Bush dynasty.
9. No other candidate can rally the Republican base and right-leaning independents as effectively as Hillary Clinton.
10. Hillary Clinton use language exactly as George Orwell lamented in “Politics and the English Language” - to hide her true intent and demonize her opponents.
11. Her breakthrough moment came when she her eyes got misty over how much effort she had put into making the country better. Courstesy 2parse.com