The NYT's Patrick Healy has a reality check today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/us/politics/24clinton.html

Exit polling and independent political analysts offer evidence that Mr. Obama could do just as well as Mrs. Clinton among blocs of voters with whom he now runs behind. Obama advisers say he also appears well-positioned to win swing states and believe he would have a strong shot at winning traditional Republican states like Virginia.

According to surveys of Pennsylvania voters leaving the polls on Tuesday, Mr. Obama would draw majorities of support from lower-income voters and less-educated ones — just as Mrs. Clinton would against Mr. McCain, even though those voters have favored her over Mr. Obama in the primaries.

And national polls suggest Mr. Obama would also do slightly better among groups that have gravitated to Republican in the past, like men, the more affluent and independents, while she would do slightly better among women.

On the one hand, it would have been nicer if the developer had taken over an existing development and greened it up. There are quite a few abandoned or nearly-abandoned resort locations in Montana. Taking one of those off the hands of its owners would avoid ripping up more wilderness while perhaps preserving a bit of Montana history.

On the other, it will be instructive to see just how far he can push current green technology -- and sell it to his clients. If he can pull it off, it may get his hyper-rich clientele to thinking: "Hey, what if I were to retrofit my office building with this stuff?"

On yet the other hand, I do notice that the Ameya Preserve site (www.ameyapreserve.com) doesn't say exactly what sorts of cutting-edge high-tech stuff they'll be using, which to me is a big fat red flag: C'mon, folks, planting trees ain't gonna cut it. What else are you going to do? Or not do?

He was part of the "godly human shield" that the Clintons surrounded themselves with at the White House prayer breakfast held the day before the release of the Starr Report:

http://truthabouttrinity.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-pastor-has-represented-us-well.html

This is why Donna Brazile was warning the Clintons a month ago to stop abusing the Reverend Wright. For one thing, it forcibly reminds the black community of how the Clintons attacked Sister Souljah to score cheap political points.

Meanwhile, despite -- or perhaps because of -- the Clintons' throwing the kitchen sink at Obama, he's doing better among white voters than he was at the start of the campaign: http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=1144

Even better: In last week's special election in Louisiana, efforts by the GOP to use Obama against the Democrat in the race in a heavily-Republican congressional district failed miserably, and LA-06 now has a Democratic representative for the first time in over thirty years:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/4/111946/0004

If GOP efforts to play the race card using Obama in LA-06 can't stop Democrats from getting elected, that bodes well for Obama in the rest of the country.

Including on the Alex Jones show last fall.

Also, I agree with Gina: If I was in her position and planned to go out that way, I'd do my damnedest to take more people with me. Gina's method would be to paper the walls of the shed with her client list; mine would have been to give copies of the list to Larry Flynt and say "You may fire when ready, Gridley."

He apparently didn't like the Obama campaigns daring to back-talk him when he criticized their health-care plan, so now he's gone scorched-earth against Obama.

As do 150-odd economists (and even Krugman, but he won't come out and admit his goddess Hillary is wrong and siding with McCain, much less that Obama is right).

From http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/30/ap/politics/main4060360.shtml

THE FACTS:

In 2000, gasoline prices were climbing quickly, reaching $2 a gallon in the Chicago area _ a remarkable price back then. Illinois legislators scrambled to offer some election-year relief to angry motorists.

Obama voted three times for a tax holiday.

The version that ended up becoming law required a six-month suspension of the state's share of the sales tax on gasoline, a 5 percent tax paid directly by consumers rather than gas stations. It also required gas stations to post signs on their pumps saying that the Illinois General Assembly had lowered taxes and the price should reflect that cut.

The impact of the tax holiday was never clear.

A government study could not determine how much of the savings was actually passed along to motorists. Many lawmakers said their constituents didn't seem to have benefited. They also worried the tax break was pushing the state budget out of balance.

At the end of Illinois' tax holiday, there was a failed push to eliminate the sales tax permanently. Obama was among those voting against eliminating the tax.

Obama's presidential campaign says the lessons of that Illinois tax holiday influenced his decision to oppose a national tax holiday. The lack of clear results then make him dubious about suspending the national tax now.

In addition, the Illinois tax was paid directly by consumers and increased as gas prices increased. Obama's campaign points out the national tax is a flat 18.4 cents (24.4 cents a gallon for diesel) and, therefore, isn't climbing as gas prices climb. It's also paid by producers, raising more questions about whether they'd pass the full savings along to customers.

During a three-month suspension, the average driver would save only about $28, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

"That assumes the oil companies are going to give it to you. That's probably not a likely outcome," said Jack Basso, the association's director of management and business development.

If oil companies did pass along the savings, tax experts say, the lower prices would increase demand. Since refineries are already at maximum production levels, the increased demand probably would drive prices back up.