Hillary is being abused largely because of her last name. There is this notion of entitlement that follows her around and it simply rankles people. I am enjoying her coming to terms with the fact that she will not win the WH in '08 under virtually any scenario short of tearing the country apart. It really has nothing to do with feminism or women's rights and everything to do with perceptions gone sour. GWB landed in the White house largely on the basis of his last name and we all know how that turned out. There is a mood in the country right now not to pick the next POTUS based on dynastic considerations.

If Condilezza Rice was running this year and had advanced this far, I doubt there would be as much "zero to bitch in 1.6 seconds" kind of talk that Hillary puts up with. The bottom line is that Hillary has not earned her way to where she is right now (independently of her husbnd) and people are having second and third thoughts about her presumed claim to be POTUS.

If by a stroke of luck, Hillary wins the democratic nod, expect Obama to go the third party route, which will throw the election into total chaos. Conceivably, the three candidates would split the electorate 33% each and nobody wins 270 electoral votes. What happens then? Who wins in the House of Representatives? Probably Obama because there are few women and Hispanics to come to Hillary's side in the showdown vote. And I doubt McCain could get the majority to win because the Dems would never allow it under any circumstances.

Things could get very wierd.

As a lawyer, he knew exactly what he was heading into when he volunteered for Gitmo. He didn't follow the rules and he got busted. I don't have any real sympathy for him, the prisoners in Gitmo or Joe Conason who is using someone's poor judgement for political purposes.

BTW, the next president (and that includes Obama) is not stupid enough to release any Gitmo prisoners anytime soon, so the silly lefties who are hung up on this story should just move on.

The last part of this piece is a bombshell in that the Clintons are "filthy rich" not unlike Eliot Spitzer and very few others. This puts them in a totally different light and raises serious questions about why she wants to be president so badly. She has seen first-hand that former presidents stand to make tens of millions in book deals and speeches, and as the first female president, the sky knows no limit for her. This smacks of corporate greed where the CEO rakes in tens of millions and the rank and file are denied health insurance.

Joan, you are asking the wrong question. Instead of lamenting the demise of a woman candidate and the ascendancy of a black candidate, the better question is what qualities in a candidate catches the imagination of the American people and propels him or her into the stratosphere? What are the intangibles that separate Hillary from Obama? These intangibles are well documented in this specific case and it is no wonder who is leading as of this point or who has raised the most money. However, we will soon find out whether those "out of this world" qualities will mean anything in the general election.

Obama knows that 95% of Edwards' supporters will fall under his wing so he really doesn't care what Edwards thinks AND it also follows that Edwards will NOT be his VP. It's obvious that Obama does not have to shore up the left wing of the party in the general and it is unclear that Edwards can help carry the South.

The BIG deal this past week was the timing of Richardson coming out for Obama because he is the perfect VP: Obama needs lots of help among Hispanics and he needs some foreign policy creds too.

So why did the NY Mag waste space on John Edwards other than to add fuel to the fire.

It seems to me that the "pastor disaster" that Wright has become will likely cost Obama in the fall. He should be the Dem nominee but he will have a "hell of time" defeating McCain, even if he can. If the swift boaters could derail Kerry despite their dubious facts, imagine the constant hum-drum of the "pastor disaster" for the next 6 months and what it will mean for Obama. This is an unmitigated disaster for Obama in the general because a lot of people will not give him a pass on it.

What is his best strategy to win the WH if he cannot win it outright? Team up with Bloomberg and run a third party ticket. Let HRC be the Dem candidate and throw the election into the House of Representatives where McCain would have no chance and Obama would likely edge out HRC in a major brawl that would make 2000 seem civilized.

Remember, Ross Perot got 19% of the vote in 1992 and he was an idiot. Obama would get at least 30%-35% causing no candidate to get 270 electoral votes.

Interesting!

The last national politican who felt he could be frank with the American people and still keep his job was Jimmy Carter in 1980 and we all know how that turned out. No presidential candidate wants to be identified with the Gary Kamiya wing of the democratic party, period. Democratic candidates cannot even hint that they might raise taxes much less talk trash about 9/11. Obama has carefully avoided the "hard left" label in the primaries and has even hinted that he may not end the war as soon as people think he will. Despite the hysteria, Obama does not want to rock the boat, not yet, at least. All of his talking points are at "38,000 feet" which is by design. He is letting people extrapolate what he is saying to suit their own personal worldviews, which is great as long as skeletons stay in the closet.