After the dust settled...

Indiana is a statistical tie.
Obama trounced Clinton in North Carolina.


More to come...

The dangerous Clinton/McCain gas tax con...

Rachel Beck writes for the AP:

Sure, a gas-tax holiday seems like a good idea, at first. According to the presidential candidates touting it, it would yield cheaper gas, which in turn would produce less expensive packaging, food, etc.

It's trickle down at its best ... until you drive over one of those super-sized potholes that jolts your car and rattles your teeth.
That's because the idea proposed by presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton to ease the federal gas tax would strip the U.S. government of about $10 billion for roadway and transportation projects.

And the plan doesn't even guarantee that lower taxes will lead to lower gas prices. Just the opposite might happen if the tax holiday spurs more demand for gas at a time when supply is already constricted.

It's basic economics. But it gets muddled when mixed with politics.

McCain and Clinton are trying to capitalize on motorists' dismay over gas prices topping $3.60 a gallon nationally. That's more than 20 percent higher than a year ago and it's hurting average Americans as they face mounting economic stress due to soaring food costs, fewer jobs, declining home prices and volatile financial markets.

McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, recommended the gas-tax moratorium during an April 15 speech where he laid out his economic plan. He called for cuts in the federal gas tax — 18.4 cents a gallon for gas and 24.4 cents for diesel — from Memorial Day to Labor Day — the peak summer driving season. He also wants the United States to stop adding its emergency stockpile known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move that would lower the worldwide demand for oil.

Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce gas prices, which would have a trickle-down effect. "Because the cost of gas affects the price of food, packaging, and just about everything else, these immediate steps will help to spread relief across the American economy," McCain said in the speech.

Clinton, who is still battling with Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination, announced her support of the tax holiday on Monday, and said she would make up for that lost revenue by imposing a windfall profit tax on oil companies. "I understand the American people need some relief," she said in an April 28 speech.

Before anyone starts counting on the potential savings, it's important to know that a gas tax moratorium might not give them much.

As economists explain it, gas prices typically rise in the summer months because demand is higher. Now, refineries are already running near capacity. If lifting the federal tax reduces gas prices, that could boost demand even more. Supply can't grow — in economics terms it is known as being inelastic — so it could drive prices back up.

That means the economy wouldn't get the intended stimulus, and consumers would see no benefit or could even be worse off.

(Full Article)


A picture is worth 1,000 words.
Daily Kos' Meteor Blades sums it up...

McCain supporter Hagee compares Catholic church to Hitler...

In a NY Times Op-Ed, Frank Rich lays out the stunning hypocrisy of Wright vs. Hagee:

Mr. McCain says he does not endorse any of Mr. Hagee’s calumnies, any more than Barack Obama endorses Mr. Wright’s. But those who try to give Mr. McCain a pass for his embrace of a problematic preacher have a thin case. It boils down to this: Mr. McCain was not a parishioner for 20 years at Mr. Hagee’s church.

That defense implies, incorrectly, that Mr. McCain was a passive recipient of this bigot’s endorsement. In fact, by his own account, Mr. McCain sought out Mr. Hagee, who is perhaps best known for trying to drum up a pre-emptive “holy war” with Iran. (This preacher’s rantings may tell us more about Mr. McCain’s policy views than Mr. Wright’s tell us about Mr. Obama’s.) Even after Mr. Hagee’s Catholic bashing bubbled up in the mainstream media, Mr. McCain still did not reject and denounce him, as Mr. Obama did an unsolicited endorser, Louis Farrakhan, at the urging of Tim Russert and Hillary Clinton. Mr. McCain instead told George Stephanopoulos two Sundays ago that while he condemns any “anti-anything” remarks by Mr. Hagee, he is still “glad to have his endorsement.”

I wonder if Mr. McCain would have given the same answer had Mr. Stephanopoulos confronted him with the graphic video of the pastor in full “Great Whore” glory. But Mr. McCain didn’t have to fear so rude a transgression. Mr. Hagee’s videos have never had the same circulation on television as Mr. Wright’s. A sonorous white preacher spouting venom just doesn’t have the telegenic zing of a theatrical black man.

Perhaps that’s why virtually no one has rebroadcast the highly relevant prototype for Mr. Wright’s fiery claim that 9/11 was America’s chickens “coming home to roost.” That would be the Sept. 13, 2001, televised exchange between Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, who blamed the attacks on America’s abortionists, feminists, gays and A.C.L.U. lawyers. (Mr. Wright blamed the attacks on America’s foreign policy.) Had that video re-emerged in the frenzied cable-news rotation, Mr. McCain might have been asked to explain why he no longer calls these preachers “agents of intolerance” and chose to cozy up to Mr. Falwell by speaking at his Liberty University in 2006.

(Full Article)

Poll positions...

The only national poll in which Clinton leads is Fox Noise.

Go figure.

Meanwhile, Obama continues to inch ahead in the latest Zogby poll of Indiana.

Poll positions...

Obama wins Guam! Thank you Guam!

Latest Zogby polls for Saturday show Obama ahead by 9 points in North Carolina and tied with Clinton in Indiana.

Gallup national has Obama tied with Clinton...


Yes! We! Can!

The Empire Strikes Barack

A call to action...

After getting riddled with shots from Rev. Wright like Al Pachino in the final scene of Scarface, the campaign is now in critical condition.
We all know that poll numbers can be deceiving, but the recent drop cannot (and should not) be ignored or dismissed.

Barack Obama needs our support more than ever.
If you have ever considered yourself an Obama supporter, you need to get mobilized and act NOW.

If you live in Indiana, North Carolina, or West Virginia, find your local campaign office!
Go to the Obama site and create a profile.
Do a zip code search and find the organizers and events nearest you.

If you don't live in these states, and you have unlimited long distance, making calls is still extremely effective.
Talking to a live human does much more than a "robocall".
The site will give you a script that you can follow if you don't know what to say.

We've come too far to let "campaign fatigue" make us apathetic!
Obama has all but won the nomination. The superdelegates are not abandoning him, neither should we!

Get FIRED UP again folks!