Disingenuous, thy name is AKA... -- Alas, we all know about the Clinton's parsing of phrases, the "Is" meaning "is" -- Bill's definition of sexual relations, and the "his" of the His and Her Clinton's weaselly way of saying he didn't actually do drugs bec. he didn't inhale. If you don't remember any of this, then perhaps you DID inhale...deeply?

You can try to be cute about it, but joining in the Clintonian parsing of verbiage won't help your girl do any better in the polls, or make her any likelier to be president.

Obama has nothing to be ashamed of by the photo, and frankly, in the grand scheme, I don't think it's going to hurt him a bit. Given the news today, it may actually be helping him, by creating even more disgust and distaste for Clinton, and backlashing against her.

Funnily, the folks who are so truly addlepated enough to think that a photo of Obama in Somali garb makes him an Islamic terrorist aren't voting for Obama. And as you suggest, and I agree -- those simpletons aren't voting for Clinton either. If Genghis Khan were on the ballot, or Dubya could have a third term, they'd have themselves a clear frontrunner.

Did Hillary's campaign disseminate that photo? I don't know if they did or not, but it certainly has all the stench and style of a last-ditch, desperation Clinton campaign tactic, and is consistent with their passive aggressive "Boo! He's black/he's Muslim" "let's frighten the bigots" undercover smear campaign.

But whoever disseminated that photo did it in order to pander to the lowest common denominator, to frighten the Neanderthal HennyPenny hysterics who think anything even remotely suggesting Islam is somehow an immediate threat to their very survival. That is clear.

She should play it out through Ohio and Texas, but unless she trounces Obama, after that, game's over, time for Hillary and Bill to go home, and lick their wounds.

And of course, we know that she's not going to trounce Obama.

So all the speculation is just getting the Hillary fans ready for what is now the only inevitable thing about Hillary -- she's not going to be president in 2009.

AKA Smith asks: "What' s wrong with the photo." "What' s wrong with the photo" is the sort of question of semantics that falls right in line with what "sexual relations" really means, and "I didn't inhale."

That said...

Is there anything inherently wrong with a photo of Barack Obama, where he donned Somali garb and posed for willingly? Of course not.

Does the photo show Obama wearing a headdress and garb that, to someone unfamiliar with various traditional garb, might appear similar to that worn by some Islamic extremists, and in particular, Osama Bin Laden? Yes.

Are there people in Texas and Ohio -- and other states for that matter -- who are stupid enough to believe that Obama is a Muslim, or that he is an Islamic extremist? You betcha.

Are there people around the nation -- including a few Democrats -- who are stupid enough to see a picture of Obama in Somali garb, and because they are so unsophisticated, somehow believe that donning the garb that THEY associate with an Islamic extremist somehow makes Obama one? You betcha.

Is actively disseminating that otherwise obscure and unimportant photo -- knowing that it panders to the lowest common denominator of stupid Islamophobic voters -- a cynical, dirty, nasty, Rovian, underhanded, desperate and politically bankrupt tactic to attempt to discredit Obama? ABSOLUTELY.

It's clear her campaign is dying. It's on life support, but it'll soon be time to pull the plug.

The Sunday pundits all talk about her in the past tense. She spent all weekend firing nutsy potshots to see if anything would stick -- and it didn't. McCain, the Repugs and the wingnuts address their attacks at Obama. The Ring Wing Republican Smear Machine is going after Obama.

Now we have leaking photos, and various and sundry last-ditch, desperation tactics from a dying campaign.

And just a few minutes ago, USA Today/Gallup released new results: "In a new national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, those surveyed predict by 73%-20% that Obama will be the Democratic nominee. Democratic voters hold that view by nearly 3-1.

The Illinois senator has surged to a double-digit lead nationally over Clinton, walloping her 51%-39% among Democrat voters as their preference for the presidential nomination."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-02-25-poll-prez_N.htm

Say your goodbyes, and make your peace, Hillary fans. Her candidacy is almost gone.

@Slackie

Cheers!!

Of course we haven't even mentioned "Health Reform Has-Been" Hillary, "Hey I'm Inevitable" Hillary, and "Hope You Don't Remember That I Supported NAFTA" Hillary.

But these days, "Haven't a Clue What the Heck I'm Doing" Hillary seems to be cycling through personalities faster than Britney Spears.

Add an autoresponder that posts to every thread, every other response, with a rotating selection of tedious one or two-line anti-Obama, kneejerk pro-Hillary posts from Not.WES.

Or better yet, can we just -- get an IGNORE button that will filter in Not.WES and the trolls in the first place?