Tony Campbell is a unique character attached to a stranger-than-fiction cause. A Republican, he worked in the early 90’s for two Democratic members of Congress from Pennsylvania: Ron Klink (who’s no longer in office) and Mike Doyle. “Growing up in western Pennsylvania, I always heard there were no Republicans, only Democrats and conservative Democrats,” Tony explained. Tony has also run for office, first as a Republican candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 7th District, and then as...

Regular readers know I’m an Andrew Sullivan fan. But I have to respectfully disagree with him on this argument. Among other things, he writes: If the Clintons beat Obama this way, I have a simple prediction. It will mean a mass flight from the process. It will alter the political consciousness of an entire generation of young voters – against any positive interaction with the political process for the foreseeable future. My response, emailed to him a few minutes ago: Please. If the...

So today I receive a follow-up mass email from the Obama campaign, purportedly written by Senator O himself. It started as follows: I want to add some more news to David’s note about the state of the race. As you know, we’ve won 27 of 41 contests and have maintained our commanding lead among pledged delegates. But today I want to share another staggering number: supporters like you donated more than $55 million to this campaign in the month of February. OK. Great. I knew that already....

As I work on the next installments to my “None of the Above” series — the first was published yesterday — this essay by Roger L. Simon caught my eye. It deserves a full read, though the following passages struck me as the most familiar and (perhaps) comforting to folks like me who refuse to stand firm on the ground of any so-called ideology. No wonder, like Linus clinging to his blanket, we cleave to these very old, conventional and often sclerotic viewpoints more than we...

I received a mass-email from the Obama campaign about three hours ago, but did not have a chance to post on it until now; subject line was simply “The math.” From the intro, leading up to the inevitable money ask: Our projections show the most likely outcome of yesterday’s elections will be that Hillary Clinton gained 187 delegates, and we gained 183. That’s a net gain of 4 delegates out of more than 370 delegates available from all the states that voted. For comparison,...

“As I grow older, I regret to say that a detestable habit of thinking seems to be getting a hold of me.” – H. Rider Haggard “A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.” – William James —————————————————————————————————– So...

Earlier this morning, TMV’s Shaun Mullen summarized his bottomline view on yesterday’s Democratic contests — offering a conclusion very similar to the one reached by Slate’s chief political correspondent, John Dickerson: The larger point the Clinton aides will make to superdelegates and voters in the next big primary state of Pennsylvania is that the Texas and Ohio results reflect what happens when the two candidates are compared side by side. Obama can give speeches and...

Dear Senator Obama: First, let me offer my congratulations. No, I’m not trying to jinx you. And yes, I remember New Hampshire. But let’s be honest: You’ve arrived. The cat is in the bag. The check’s in the mail. The fat lady has sung. And, as much as I respect Senator McCain, and as much as I’m still undecided for which of you I’ll vote in November, my gut (in chorus with others) has convinced me that you’ll garner enough votes to make you the next...

The third commenter on Steve Benen’s debate wrap-up writes, “Rachael Maddow of Air America and a guest commentator on MSNBC called this debate a snooze-fest and I agree.” Really? My wife and I watched the debate together last night, from start to finish, the first time we’ve made it all the way through one — of either party’s candidates — without growing bored or frustrated. In fact, as we watched, we remarked to each other (several times) how riveting we...

This weekend, I missed the return of Saturday Night Live, but have heard from several sources that it was the best episode in recent memory, starting with the opening skit, this faux debate between Clinton and Obama. Priceless.

I suspect unsolicited efforts like this one will only help Obama, as he continues to cut into HRC’s base. We’ll find out for sure, a week from tomorrow. H/t Andrew Sullivan.

Last week, Shaun Mullen attempted to remind us that the McCain-NYT flap was less about sex, more about lobbyists and hypocrisy. Separately, Patrick Appel (filling in for Andrew Sullivan) noted: “… the sex scandal, if real, would sink [McCain]. Arguing about lobbyists is somewhat academic; a sex scandal any voter can understand.” Despite the efforts of writers like Shaun to keep the focus where it probably should be, I suspect Patrick will ultimately be proven correct. “Lobbyists?...

I’ve questioned some of Senator McCain’s decisions, and I’ve retracted some of those questions. I’ve defended him, and later reconsidered some of my defenses. Accordingly, on the matter of the already (in)famous NYT story about McCain’s relationship with a female lobbyist, I plan to generally withhold judgment until the matter has played itself out — with the exception of these few comments now. (1) As of today, I put no more stock behind the innuendo running...

The question is perhaps ill-timed. After all, Wisconsin is tomorrow; Texas not for another two weeks. But time is proving no obstacle for some Obama hopefuls in Texas, who have thorough knowledge of the state’s unique primary system. Consider this post by Phillip Martin at Burnt Orange Report. The analysis is well-constructed and seemingly well-informed. The crux of it: The first thing that should be understood is that while Senator Clinton does have strong support in the Latino community,...

Four days ago, I invited readers to challenge and question me as I explained why I was leaning toward an Obama vote in the general election. To say that they took me up on the offer would be a remarkable understatement — especially in the context of my now-withdrawn post on McCain. In that post, I argued that McCain’s apparent lurch to the right — including his vote last week on the CIA torture bill, plus his seeming obstinance on Iraq — had persuaded me he was no longer the...

My esteemed co-blogger Paul Silver — with whom I frequently agree — wrote earlier about his disappointment with McCain’s perceived “flip flop” on campaign finance. The DNC was also up in arms about McCain’s decision, citing in a press release this line from today’s related NYT story: Mr. McCain’s advisers said that the candidate, despite his signature legislative efforts to restrict the money spent on political campaigns, would not accept public financing...

Last week, I crossed party lines to vote for Obama in the Missouri primary. Last night, I noted that I’m increasingly likely to do the same in November. This evolution is more painful than you might imagine … if you could only hear the cacophony in my head. “How can you do this?,” my conservative conscience screams. “You thoroughly distrust government’s ability to be all things to all people. You have seen and read far too many examples of the failures of public policy to fix what...

My Uncle G was a Richmond, Va., resident for much of his adult life, until the day he passed on nearly six years ago. I respected him for many things, not the least of which were his intelligence, his ambition, and his notable successes as an engineer and businessman, one who accumulated, enjoyed, and left behind considerable wealth. Small surprise that Uncle G was a die-hard conservative Republican. He was also a man who — despite his ability to rise above many challenges — never seemed...

If one of my esteemed colleagues already posted on this subject, my apologies for the duplication. But I found this site and this particular post intriguing, especially if you enjoy the math of campaigns as much as I do. In short, the site — Obama is Winning — suggests its authors believe if they say it loud enough, it will not only be but remain true. And the post — “The Real Magic Number is 1,627″ — makes a not-so-subtle-but-logical appeal to any sense of fairness...

H/t Andrew Sullivan for drawing attention to this video segment, above; it’s well worth your time. And personally, I think the young man featured in this segment has a shot at running for and winning the Presidency some day. On the larger questions — Is Obama nothing more than empty rhetoric? Are his supporters slightly unhinged? — check out Sullivan’s take on the subject, preceding this video. Money line: “… the strongest case for Obama is not emotional; it...