Am I the ONLY one who bothered to click on the link 'whitecat' posted some pages back? It contains clear and abundant evidence that Obama has been attacking Clinton from every angle, going on three years now. Dates, sources, content, it's all there.

OKAY, HERE'S THE LINK AGAIN - CAN'T MISS IT THIS TIME:

http://www.attacktimeline.com/

Just burn Clinton at the stake already - you could even apply torture first and find out what she was REALLY thinking.

But this is just plain obscene. So glad I lived to see the Oprah-sizing of Democratic fundraising.

This is what the Chicago Tribune editorial page had to say Thursday about the Senator from Hyde Park:

"Obama's greatest discomfort is self-inflicted. He's never submitted to a full vetting of his ties to indicted Chicago businessman Tony Rezko. This page repeatedly has urged him to do so, to no avail. That failure to fully engage the Rezko connection left Obama telling reporters Monday in Texas that he'd happily answer questions about Rezko -- even as he scooted off without answering many of those questions.

Rezko's trial now is the background music to Obama's campaign. And the volume surely will increase before it fades. About that vetting, Senator: Better late than never."

For all those Obama fans who think Rezko doesn't count and will magically fade away...uh uh, no it won't. This reminds me all too much of Louisiana's indicted congressman Wm. Jefferson, who has yet to let the public in on his 'honorable explanation' of that $90,000 in freezer money. Stay tuned.

The spite and sheer viciousness emanating from the Obama camp toward Hillary Clinton - and her supporters - has become absolutely appalling. You should hear yourselves on this site and so many others. You sound like a pack of Brown Shirts circling for the kill.

I'm a firm believer that supporters of any given candidate take their signals from the top down. As Obama well knows, his patent condescension towards his rival is all the 'go ahead' his fans have needed, and I'm sorry, but I find all this rather chilling.

And now I leave you with a little Scottish ditty:

"O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,

An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye"

Obama Theme Song 2008 (as sung by Samantha Powers)

You say: "so first you criticize people for using vitriolic language. Then you compare these people to Brown Shirts."

What would you have me call them? Misguided Sunday school teachers? The true irony here is the naked nastiness and condescension radiating from the camp of unity and transformation. This nastiness has to sorely disappoint those Obama supporters who, commendably, do not participate in the mudfest.

You say: "Obama had us all soaring there for awhile. It was nice while it lasted."

With all due respect, Peter Pan is a classic fairy tale (one with which Bill must be quite familiar). If you remember, in the pre-Spielberg/Lucas-era stage and film versions, Mary Martin had nearly invisible wires floating her aloft. It was a nice trick, but it was a trick and the only element which made it work was willing suspension of disbelief. Well, what we're seeing now is the wires coming off as we finally re-enter the real world, a world peopled by real politicians and real constituents with real troubles and real differences. In this world where life's battles are necessarily fought with grit and determination, willing suspension of disbelief is typically ruinous.

I'll take extended metaphors over pseudo-intellectual snarkiness any day. What I'm witnessing on salon.com is a co-opting of the tactics of the far right by the far left, and the view is just as ugly on this side of the fence (with pre-apologies for the metaphor). What this co-optation is in service of, other than self inflation, is beyond me.

You are very wrong that Obama has been forthcoming about Rezko on his home turf. This is an excerpt from an editorial in yesterday's Chicago Tribune:

"Obama's greatest discomfort is self-inflicted. He's never submitted to a full vetting of his ties to

indicted Chicago businessman Tony Rezko. This page repeatedly has urged him to do so, to no

avail. That failure to fully engage the Rezko connection left Obama telling reporters Monday in

Texas that he'd happily answer questions about Rezko -- even as he scooted off without

answering many of those questions.

Rezko's trial now is the background music to Obama's campaign. And the volume surely will

increase before it fades. About that vetting, Senator: Better late than never."

You say: "did I miss anything important today?"

Yes, you forgot to check your snarkiness at the door.

You say: "So thank you for reminding me that optimism is a waste of time"

My guiding philosophy is best expressed by Romain Rolland: "Pessimism of the intelligence, optimism of the will."

What strikes me about your last message is that we both seem to want the same things - but I see Hillary Clinton as the true believer, the most likely to steer America toward them. And I do thank you for elaborating on your previous post. It's pretty sad when those who share a basic philosophy end up eyeing one another's throats.

What I gather from the Trib editorial is that the paper has made more than one good faith attempt to question Obama on the subject of Rezko. Since Obama has apparently refused all cooperation, the newspaper has rightfully expressed their frustration in this editorial. BTW, I'm a journalism grad and fully understand the news/editorial split - something which is increasingly going by the boards these days.

Excuse me? Did you read the same message I wrote?