Michelle Obama Is The New Hillary Clinton

or at least she will be when she comes from into focus, and what I mean by that is all those conservatives and republicans who felt threatened by an outspoken first lady and sort of viewed Hillary as a menacing spectre will soon feel the same way about Michelle who I think will make the Hillary of the 90s look like Laura Bush. And I think the first shot in that war was of course fired in response to Michelle's now infamous "for the first time I'm proud of my country" remarks.
But other than the whole narrative of another liberal blaming America and hating it first is the notion that I'm holding that while "white America" seems incredibly comfortable about Barack that may have to do with the fact that he does not implicate them by the fact that he is not the descendant of a slave and so, to some he can be thought of as the person to "move us forward" from slavery and shame without the painful self examination that this country shrinks from, whereas Michelle in her more..."blunt" style seems willing to point the finger and lay blame and be pessimisitic being someone who's ancestors were slave.
And so it's a very interesting dynamic, Michelle the "Implicator" and Barack "the Absolver" of our racial and class sins.
Plus America still isn't ready for a blunt and forthright woman. It's true.
What got me thinking about all of that was this piece in the L.A. Times about Michelle finding herself in the spotlight's glare

...unlike her husband, she tends to dwell on the negative. America, in her telling, is a place where "regular folks," meaning the working class, can't get ahead because, as she said at Ohio State University, "folks set the bar, and then you work hard and you reach the bar -- sometimes you surpass the bar -- and then they move the bar!"

Americans, she says, have become "cynical" and "mean" and have "broken souls." For regular folks, life is bad and getting worse.

People can't raise a family on one salary anymore, she says. They can't afford to get sick even if they have insurance because of deductibles, premiums and the high cost of medication. They can't confidently send their kids to neighborhood public schools because so many of them are so bad. Young people can't afford to attend college to become teachers or nurses or journalists because those jobs don't pay enough to repay college loans.

"We don't need a world full of corporate attorneys and hedge-fund managers," she told a crowd in a Baptist church in Cheraw, S.C., last month. "But see, that's the only way you can pay back your educational debt!

"The life that I am talking about that most people are living has gotten progressively worse since I was a little girl. And this is through Republican and Democratic administrations. It doesn't matter who was in the White House. . . . So if you want to pretend there was some point over the last couple of decades when your lives were easy, I wanna meet you!"

Her rhetoric is jarring given that the Obamas themselves are a stunning embodiment of the American dream. Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, the men's basketball coach at Brown University, attended Princeton University. Barack and Michelle Obama both earned law degrees from Harvard, another of the nation's most prestigious schools, and are facing the possibility of raising their two daughters in the White House.

The couple's combined salaries were more than $430,000 in 2006, according to their tax return. In addition, Barack Obama earned $551,000 in book royalties. The family lives in a $1.6-million home in Chicago.

Despite their Ivy League pedigrees and good salaries, Michelle Obama often says the fact that she and her husband are out of debt is due to sheer luck, because they could not have predicted that his two books would become bestsellers. "It was like, 'Let's put all our money on red!' " she told a crowd at Ohio State University on Friday. "It wasn't a financial plan! We were lucky! And it shouldn't have been based on luck, because we worked hard."

When challenged during an interview about how her rather bleak view of America is at odds with her own life, she said she is not talking about herself. "I start the stump speech talking about regular folks, and I define them using the story of my father -- a regular working-class guy [who] didn't have a college education. . . . The folks in that room that I was talking to have had it hard for a long time."

Chicago real estate developer Valerie Jarrett, a close friend of the Obamas and a senior advisor to the campaign, said she thinks Michelle Obama is simply stating a reality. "I think her point is that when she grew up, with a blue-collar job and the right principles, you could provide for your children," said Jarrett, who once hired Michelle Obama to be her assistant when she was deputy chief of staff to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. "That's not possible anymore."

No, it's not and everything she seems to be railing against, y'know about how we're the first generation who may not leave this country in better shape for our children and all that, umm was John's campaign. But once again the elitism and class markers of Barack's initial base come out, those highly educated upper middle class who are worried about paying down college loans and not losing their jobs. That being said even though I hate her and think she's a bit of a twat I'm glad to see someone at least gesturing about inequality in that campaign. plus it's good to know that at least one person in that family has some bollocks since Barack's tendency to be slow to refute attacks shows that he may not yet be "wise to the Freak Show"

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Emily Answered My Question

You remember the Slate article by Emily Yoffe about what the psychological personalities of the candidates say about them? Well I guess I was either bored or intrigued enough to find out she was having a discussion about the article. Since I really don't care about any of the current candidates I sent in a question about my one obsession, John Edwards. and I don't know if every question that was submitted was answered or what but I got really excited to see her response

I'm not sure you bothered to go into this during your original research, but as a diehard and disappointed John Edwards supporter I just kind of wonder what his personality type was, and what that indicated for his leadership style?

Emily Yoffe: I didn't do Edwards, but let's see. He's an E -- an introvert. I think he's an S -- a concrete as opposed to an abstract (N) thinker. Although he comes off as being motivated by his feelings, I actually think he's more tough-minded, so T, not F. And I read that he was chronically late on the campaign trail, by a lot, so an P, not a J. So he's an ESTP -- same as McCain. Yes, I know that doesn't initially make sense. But I think Edwards is driven by a desire to DO, to be in the arena, make an impact. His desire to help is not driven by Idealism, like Obama, but by a desire for action.

So i think that means I should vote for McCain

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Viacom Hates America

I mean what show is more All-American than a show about high school football in small town Texas?
But Viacom doesn’t care about that as they’ve forced Best Week Ever to stop its vocal and seemingly effective campaign to keep Friday Night Lights on the air according to a Defamer investigation

Over the weekend, all mention of the campaign mysteriously disappeared from the site's homepage. So we decided to do some digging.

According to Viacom insiders familiar with the situation, the campaign immediately began to draw the ire of upper management the second it was launched. You see, Friday Night Lights airs on Friday nights, the same night that Best Week Ever premieres a new episode each week. Although the shows are not direct competitors, Vh1 production execs were less than thrilled that the flagship site of their new Digital Programming unit was using Viacom funds and bandwidth to promote a show that airs on NBC. The irony here is rich, especially when you consider that the entire concept of Best Week Ever revolves around content generated by sources outside of the walls of Viacom AND includes significant amounts of programming aired on other networks.

So, what will become of the campaign? At press time, the answer is not clear.

Don’t let Sumner “I Drink Young Blood” Redstone win; Save Friday Night Lights
Keep sending lightbulbs to Ben Silverman

Send Light Bulbs to NBC-"So grab a bulb, write “Lights On” on the side of it, and send it to NBC honcho Ben Silverman at: Ben Silverman
c/o NBC Studios
3000 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA. 91523

Clear Eyes, Full Heart Can’t Lose
I’m pretty sure this was why John Edwards wanted to fight evil corporations so badly. We’ll yearn for him yet

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My One and Only (Political) Love

Because true love never dies or says goodbye

John Edwards' bold ideas have shaped the debate in this election. Whether it’s creating universal health care or halting global warming, ending poverty or ending the war in Iraq and restoring America’s moral leadership around the world, John has led with the boldest and most comprehensive plans for overcoming the challenges we face today.

John is the one candidate willing to speak the truth about what’s going on in Washington: big corporations and special interests have taken over our government and taken the power away from the American people. And he knows there’s only one way to get it back: to stand up, take them on, and beat them.

John is ready for this fight – because fighting special interests on behalf of regular, hard-working Americans is what he’s been doing his entire life.

John is a self-made man who was born in Seneca, South Carolina and raised in Robbins, North Carolina, a small town in the Piedmont. Growing up, John learned the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, Wallace, who worked in the textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother, Bobbie, who ran a shop and worked at the post office. Working alongside his father at the mill, John developed his strong belief that all Americans deserve an equal opportunity to succeed and be heard.

A proud product of public schools, John was the first person in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University where he graduated with high honors in 1974, and then earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For the next 20 years, John dedicated his life to representing families and children just like the families he grew up with in Robbins, who were being victimized by powerful interests.

Throughout his career, John found himself on one side of the courtroom with an army of corporate lawyers on the other. Every time, they thought they could win. But they were wrong. Because John beat them, again and again, on behalf of hard-working families facing the darkest moments of their lives. Through his career, he helped families overcome tremendous challenges, and earned a national reputation as a forceful and tireless champion for regular, hard-working people.

In 1998, John took that commitment into politics, to give a voice to the kind of people he represented throughout his career. Without taking a dime from lobbyists or political actions committees (he never has), John ran for the Senate and won an upset victory, unseating an incumbent Republican who was a part of the corrupt Jesse Helms political machine.

In the Senate, Senator Edwards continued to be a champion for regular, hard-working families, taking on critical issues like quality health care, better schools, protecting civil liberties, preserving the environment, saving Social Security and Medicare, and getting big money out of politics.

As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Edwards worked tirelessly for a strong national defense and to strengthen the security of our homeland. He authored key pieces of legislation on cyber, bio, and port security.

Senator Edwards brought his positive message of change and fighting for regular families to the 2004 presidential primaries. During the primary season he spoke about the Two Americas that exist in our country today: one for people at the top who have everything they need and one for everybody else who struggle to get by. This powerful message resonated with voters all across America.

After the Democratic primaries, Senator John Kerry picked Senator Edwards to serve as his running mate in the 2004 general election, and Senator Edwards crisscrossed the country and campaigned tirelessly on Senator Kerry's behalf.

Today, he is running for president on behalf of the people he grew up with: good, hard-working Americans who want nothing more than to leave a better life for their children – just like their parents did for them.

He is the former Director of the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Senator Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, whom he met when both were law students at Chapel Hill, were married in 1977. They have had four children, including: their eldest daughter, Catharine, who is attending law school; nine-year-old Emma Claire; and a seven-year-old son, Jack. Their first child, Wade, died in 1996.

sigh. Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are `It might have been.'

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Thata Boy Johnny

(and yes I know John didn’t actually say it but he’s thinking it)
From Radar comes news that a Times reporter thinks what all (or a lot) of JRE supporters believe

Asked by The View executive producer and Walters business partner Bill Geddie whether it's true that coveted endorser John Edwards doesn't like Hillary Clinton, Time magazine's senior political analyst and editor at large Mark Halperin responded ...

"Yes, that's right. And I can tell you, he's really skeptical of her ability to be the kind of president he wants. But, he kinda thinks Obama is....he thinks Obama is kind of a pussy ... He has real questions about Obama's toughness, his readiness for the office ... he has real doubts about Obama, not just as a president, but as a general election candidate...."

Don’t act so shocked- you know it’s true, even if you don't want to believe it

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The Dog Lover’s Guide to the Presidential Election

Aka “What Dogs Look Like Each Candidate”

I’m afraid of what this says about the direction of the newspaper industry but it’s still bizarre enough to be entertaining, and because I know you racked your brain thinking of this very same topic.

From the Baltimore Sun (the same newspaper currently getting shredded on The Wire”)

Today the Mutts blog brings you Part One of "The Dog Lovers' Guide to the Presidential Election," a special report that asks, and answers, the question, "If the presidential candidates were dogs, what breed would they be?"

Today, we bring you the Democratic front runners. Tomorrow, in addition to wishing you a Super Tuesday, we'll unveil the Republicans. And on Wednesday, in the belief that every candidate should get his doggie due, we'll show you the lesser-knowns and also-rans.

The decisions on which breed the individual candidates most closely resemble were based both on physical appearance and personality, and the breed descriptions and behavioral characteristics that follow all come directly and without alteration from reputable sources including the American Kennel Club, the Kennel Club in London and Petplanet.co.uk.

This may even tell you who Mike Vick would support, if he actually voted
You can click on the link to learn more about the characteristics of each breed, and perhaps what the Mutts editors perceive in each respective candidate

On with the Dog Show:

Hillary Clinton – Labradoodle



Barack Obama - Great Dane



John McCain - Pug




Mitt Romney - Smooth Fox Terrier (this dog’s breed really sounds like the name of a pimp)




Mike Huckabee – Beagle (that description makes me think that my dog’s part beagle…who knew?)





Duncan Hunter - Standard Schnauzer





Alan Keyes - Standard Poodle




Fred Thompson - English Bulldog (I’ve always wanted a bulldog. I’d name him Winston)




Mike Gravel - Samoyed





Rudolph Giuliani - French Bulldog




John Edwards - Golden Retriever





Ron Paul - Welsh Corgi




Dennis Kucinich - Jack Russell Terrier




via Radar

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"It doesn't matter who you vote for, just make sure you vote"

or to paraphrase Will Bailey from Election Night “but it does matter who you vote for so how ‘bout we change that sign to say ‘No Matter Who You Vote For…is that okay with you?”

(I’ve had this since before the Iowa Caucus and today seems fitting enough)
“Fancy Clothes and Overalls”-Emma Claire Edwards reads a poem about voting written by her brother, Wade Edwards.


(and that’s really sad because Wade never was able to vote and Emma Claire never knew him)

p.s.

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Porn Star Politics

from Funny or Die
Your favorite porn actors explain Super Tuesday and voting.


Did Mary Carey make it through that Celebrity Rehab show?
Anyway, apparently Barack doesn't have a lot of support in the Porn community, which is kind of shocking.

But of course my favorite was the Edwards supporter, sigh.

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The Canonization Continues

San Giovanni de Carolina
I will cut Paul Krugman some slack* because he's always seemed to believe in John

The Edwards Effect

So John Edwards has dropped out of the race for the presidency. By normal political standards, his campaign fell short.

But Mr. Edwards, far more than is usual in modern politics, ran a campaign based on ideas. And even as his personal quest for the White House faltered, his ideas triumphed: both candidates left standing are, to a large extent, running on the platform Mr. Edwards built.

To understand the extent of the Edwards effect, you have to think about what might have been.

At the beginning of 2007, it seemed likely that the Democratic nominee would run a cautious campaign, without strong, distinctive policy ideas. That, after all, is what John Kerry did in 2004.

If 2008 is different, it will be largely thanks to Mr. Edwards. He made a habit of introducing bold policy proposals — and they were met with such enthusiasm among Democrats that his rivals were more or less forced to follow suit.

It’s hard, in particular, to overstate the importance of the Edwards health care plan, introduced in February.

Before the Edwards plan was unveiled, advocates of universal health care had difficulty getting traction, in part because they were divided over how to get there. Some advocated a single-payer system — a k a Medicare for all — but this was dismissed as politically infeasible. Some advocated reform based on private insurers, but single-payer advocates, aware of the vast inefficiency of the private insurance system, recoiled at the prospect.

With no consensus about how to pursue health reform, and vivid memories of the failure of 1993-1994, Democratic politicians avoided the subject, treating universal care as a vague dream for the distant future.

But the Edwards plan squared the circle, giving people the choice of staying with private insurers, while also giving everyone the option of buying into government-offered, Medicare-type plans — a form of public-private competition that Mr. Edwards made clear might lead to a single-payer system over time. And he also broke the taboo against calling for tax increases to pay for reform.

Suddenly, universal health care became a possible dream for the next administration. In the months that followed, the rival campaigns moved to assure the party’s base that it was a dream they shared, by emulating the Edwards plan. And there’s little question that if the next president really does achieve major health reform, it will transform the political landscape.

Similar if less dramatic examples of leadership followed on other key issues. For example, Mr. Edwards led the way last March by proposing a serious plan for responding to climate change, and at this point both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are offering far stronger measures to limit emissions of greenhouse gases than anyone would have expected to see on the table not long ago.

Unfortunately for Mr. Edwards, the willingness of his rivals to emulate his policy proposals made it hard for him to differentiate himself as a candidate; meanwhile, those rivals had far larger financial resources and received vastly more media attention. Even The Times’s own public editor chided the paper for giving Mr. Edwards so little coverage.

And so Mr. Edwards won the arguments but not the political war.

Where will Edwards supporters go now? The truth is that nobody knows.

Yes, Mr. Obama is also running as a “change” candidate. But he isn’t offering the same kind of change: Mr. Edwards ran an unabashedly populist campaign, while Mr. Obama portrays himself as a candidate who can transcend partisanship — and given the economic elitism of the modern Republican Party, populism is unavoidably partisan.

It’s true that Mr. Obama has tried to work some populist themes into his campaign, but he apparently isn’t all that convincing: the working-class voters Mr. Edwards attracted have tended to favor Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Obama.

Furthermore, to the extent that this remains a campaign of ideas, it remains true that on the key issue of health care, the Clinton plan is more or less identical to the Edwards plan. The Obama plan, which doesn’t actually achieve universal coverage, is considerably weaker.

One thing is clear, however: whichever candidate does get the nomination, his or her chance of victory will rest largely on the ideas Mr. Edwards brought to the campaign.

Personal appeal won’t do the job: history shows that Republicans are very good at demonizing their opponents as individuals. Mrs. Clinton has already received the full treatment, while Mr. Obama hasn’t — yet. But if he gets the nod, watch how quickly conservative pundits who have praised him discover that he has deep character flaws.

If Democrats manage to get the focus on their substantive differences with the Republicans, however, polls on the issues suggest that they’ll have a big advantage. And they’ll have Mr. Edwards to thank.

So will you America.
*yet another expression I don't really understand

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Songs I’ve Been Singing Today

I’ve been on a bit “diva”tastic mood especially with this song, which I hadn’t thought about seriously in like a decade

Whitney Houston- I Have Nothing



Crowded House- Don’t Dream It’s Over

There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're travelling with me

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof
In the paper today tales of war and of waste
But you turn right over to the T.V. page

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Now I'm walking again to the beat of a drum
And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and release

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Don't let them win

(Hey now, hey now)

(that was for John really)


and Panic by The Smiths

Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music they constantly play

(the video featured ever so quickly in Shaun of the Dead)

Whitney Houston- I Have Nothing [download]
Crowded House- Don’t Dream It’s Over [download]
The Smiths-Panic [download]
Pete Yorn-Panic [download]

Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ,
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ

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The Next Al Gore?

An intriguing idea for John Edwards from WorkingLife.org

Edwards--The Al Gore of Economic Struggle
So, John Edwards is dropping out of the presidential race. From trade to an ability to really talk about unions and on whole lots of other issues, Edwards shaped the Democratic presidential debate.

The question is: what now? I'm hoping that he becomes the Al Gore of economic struggles. Gore rose dramatically in stature--far beyond what he ever achieved as a political figure or a candidate running for office--when he became THE political voice on climate change. I'm hoping that Edwards, who made it clear that the campaign to end poverty in America was the calling of his life, now continues that fight. As a non-candidate, more people (and, maybe even, the pathetic press) will tune into a message that comes from someone who is not running for office.

Working Americans--the people who Edwards wanted to represent and whose policies and positions were superior to the other major candidates--will need an advocate for them past the general election. In the past several months, I've told virtually every person or audience that I've spoken to that, no matter who wins, we--that would be, labor advocates or people trying to build an economic justice movement--will still have a fight on our hands because the system that a new president would confront (whether they feel audacious and hopeful or not) will be hard to change without a movement out in the country demanding that change.

We still face a battering of wages, disappearing pensions, 47 million people without health care, so-called "free trade" deals that Democrats don't seem united to vanquish from the agenda, unprecedented greed in the CEO ranks...you know the drill.

Edwards has a role to play as a rallying force for those people who want to change the economic system.

Edwards, seize the moment.

Of course I want him to keep doing the good that he's doing and also spend time with and let his family know how much he loves them while he can but,
I really like that idea- I think he would be amazing at it (and once the Great Recession starts and everyone is struggling economically (even more so) we'll look back and say a collective, damn
And if you think about it who will history look more kindly upon Al, or GweeB.
Only after he lost and devoted himself to a forgotten issue and made people understand its importance did people really understand how much they screwed up.
I can see that happening again.

But then there is pretty legitimate and understandable speculation that JRE would be named the AG, which he would also be amazing at.

Plus in order for him to be President I’d only have to kill:
the president, vice president, speaker of the house, president pro tem of the senate, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury and secretary of defense.
Damn, that's a lot of people

(and about the line of succession, from wikipedia here are some thoughts that I never thought about it before and why its screwed up:


from James Madison (whom James Monroe may have been in love with-check his last words)

Under the principle of separation of powers, the Constitution specifically disallows legislative officials from also serving in the executive branch. For the Speaker or the President pro tempore to become Acting President, they must resign their position, at which point they are no longer in the line of succession. This forms a constitutional paradox to some.

and some other controversies

1. The reality that all figures in the current line of succession work and reside in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. In the event of a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that everyone on the list would be killed or incapacitated.
2. Doubt (such as those expressed above by James Madison) that Congressional leaders are eligible to act as President.
3. A concern about the wisdom of including the President pro tempore in the line of succession as the "largely honorific post traditionally held by the longest-serving Senator of the majority party." For example, from January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001, the President pro tempore was 98-year-old Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
4. A concern that the current line of succession can force the presidency to abruptly switch parties mid-term, as the Speaker and the President Pro Tempore are not necessarily of the same party as the President.
5. A concern that the succession line is ordered by the dates of creation of the various executive departments, without regard to the skills or capacities of the persons serving as their Secretary.
6. The fact that, should a cabinet member begin to act as President, the law allows the House to elect a new Speaker (or the Senate, a new President pro tempore), who could in effect remove the cabinet member and assume the office him- or herself at any time.
7. The absence of a provision where a President is disabled and the Vice Presidency is vacant (for example, if an assassination attempt simultaneously wounded the President and killed the Vice President).

also:

There are no explicit provisions for what would happen if everyone on the list were dead, unable to serve, or otherwise ineligible to assume the Presidency. Deputy secretaries would not be eligible, as the line of succession only applies to full Cabinet members. In the event of the death of their superior, deputy secretaries only assume the responsibilities as "acting secretary"—positions that are not counted in the line of presidential succession. If Congress were still able to convene, then the House could elect a new Speaker or the Senate could elect a new President pro tempore who would then immediately act as President. However, this could be dangerously time consuming during a national emergency, and would be delayed even further if the crisis left both houses of Congress without a quorum to fill those key leadership positions, requiring special elections to fill seats in the House of Representatives or state gubernatorial appointments to replace Senators. This possibility has caused some discussion on constitutional or legal remedies, although no formal action has been taken.

Our government is way too easy to disrupt and throw into turmoil. When will people learn-democracy has failed

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No, Thank You John!

John Edwards' speech from the Lower 9th Ward today.
It actually made me cry

Thank you all very much. We're very proud to be back here.

During the spring of 2006, I had the extraordinary experience of bringing 700 college kids here to New Orleans to work. These are kids who gave up their spring break to come to New Orleans to work, to rehabilitate houses, because of their commitment as Americans, because they believed in what was possible, and because they cared about their country.

I began my presidential campaign here to remind the country that we, as citizens and as a government, have a moral responsibility to each other, and what we do together matters. We must do better, if we want to live up to the great promise of this country that we all love so much.

It is appropriate that I come here today. It's time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. We do not know who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history. We will be strong, we will be unified, and with our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November and we'll create hope and opportunity for this country.

This journey of ours began right here in New Orleans. It was a December morning in the Lower Ninth Ward when people went to work, not just me, but lots of others went to work with shovels and hammers to help restore a house that had been destroyed by the storm.

We joined together in a city that had been abandoned by our government and had been forgotten, but not by us. We knew that they still mourned the dead, that they were still stunned by the destruction, and that they wondered when all those cement steps in all those vacant lots would once again lead to a door, to a home, and to a dream.

We came here to the Lower Ninth Ward to rebuild. And we're going to rebuild today and work today, and we will continue to come back. We will never forget the heartache and we'll always be here to bring them hope, so that someday, one day, the trumpets will sound in Musicians' Village, where we are today, play loud across Lake Ponchartrain, so that working people can come marching in and those steps once again can lead to a family living out the dream in America.

We sat with poultry workers in Mississippi, janitors in Florida, nurses in California.

We listened as child after child told us about their worry about whether we would preserve the planet.

We listened to worker after worker say "the economy is tearing my family apart."

We walked the streets of Cleveland, where house after house was in foreclosure.

And we said, "We're better than this. And economic justice in America is our cause."

And we spent a day, a summer day, in Wise, Virginia, with a man named James Lowe, who told us the story of having been born with a cleft palate. He had no health care coverage. His family couldn't afford to fix it. And finally some good Samaritan came along and paid for his cleft palate to be fixed, which allowed him to speak for the first time. But they did it when he was 50 years old. His amazing story, though, gave this campaign voice: universal health care for every man, woman and child in America. That is our cause.

And we do this -- we do this for each other in America. We don't turn away from a neighbor in their time of need. Because every one of us knows that what -- but for the grace of God, there goes us. The American people have never stopped doing this, even when their government walked away, and walked away it has from hardworking people, and, yes, from the poor, those who live in poverty in this country.

For decades, we stopped focusing on those struggles. They didn't register in political polls, they didn't get us votes and so we stopped talking about it. I don't know how it started. I don't know when our party began to turn away from the cause of working people, from the fathers who were working three jobs literally just to pay the rent, mothers sending their kids to bed wrapped up in their clothes and in coats because they couldn't afford to pay for heat.

We know that our brothers and sisters have been bullied into believing that they can't organize and can't put a union in the workplace. Well, in this campaign, we didn't turn our heads. We looked them square in the eye and we said, "We see you, we hear you, and we are with you. And we will never forget you." And I have a feeling that if the leaders of our great Democratic Party continue to hear the voices of working people, a proud progressive will occupy the White House.

Now, I've spoken to both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. They have both pledged to me and more importantly through me to America, that they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency.

And more importantly, they have pledged to me that as President of the United States they will make ending poverty and economic inequality central to their Presidency. This is the cause of my life and I now have their commitment to engage in this cause.

And I want to say to everyone here, on the way here today, we passed under a bridge that carried the interstate where 100 to 200 homeless Americans sleep every night. And we stopped, we got out, we went in and spoke to them.

There was a minister there who comes every morning and feeds the homeless out of her own pocket. She said she has no money left in her bank account, she struggles to be able to do it, but she knows it's the moral, just and right thing to do. And I spoke to some of the people who were there and as I was leaving, one woman said to me, "You won't forget us, will you? Promise me you won't forget us." Well, I say to her and I say to all of those who are struggling in this country, we will never forget you. We will fight for you. We will stand up for you.

But I want to say this -- I want to say this because it's important. With all of the injustice that we've seen, I can say this, America's hour of transformation is upon us. It may be hard to believe when we have bullets flying in Baghdad and it may be hard to believe when it costs $58 to fill your car up with gas. It may be hard to believe when your school doesn't have the right books for your kids. It's hard to speak out for change when you feel like your voice is not being heard.

But I do hear it. We hear it. This Democratic Party hears you. We hear you, once again. And we will lift you up with our dream of what's possible.

One America, one America that works for everybody.

One America where struggling towns and factories come back to life because we finally transformed our economy by ending our dependence on oil.

One America where the men who work the late shift and the women who get up at dawn to drive a two-hour commute and the young person who closes the store to save for college. They will be honored for that work.

One America where no child will go to bed hungry because we will finally end the moral shame of 37 million people living in poverty.

One America where every single man, woman and child in this country has health care.

One America with one public school system that works for all of our children.

One America that finally brings this war in Iraq to an end. And brings our service members home with the hero's welcome that they have earned and that they deserve.

Today, I am suspending my campaign for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency.

But I want to say this to everyone: with Elizabeth, with my family, with my friends, with all of you and all of your support, this son of a millworker's gonna be just fine. Our job now is to make certain that America will be fine.

And I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard – all those who have volunteered, my dedicated campaign staff who have worked absolutely tirelessly in this campaign.

And I want to say a personal word to those I've seen literally in the last few days – those I saw in Oklahoma yesterday, in Missouri, last night in Minnesota – who came to me and said don't forget us. Speak for us. We need your voice. I want you to know that you almost changed my mind, because I hear your voice, I feel you, and your cause is our cause. Your country needs you – every single one of you.

All of you who have been involved in this campaign and this movement for change and this cause, we need you. It is in our hour of need that your country needs you. Don't turn away, because we have not just a city of New Orleans to rebuild. We have an American house to rebuild.

This work goes on. It goes on right here in Musicians' Village. There are homes to build here, and in neighborhoods all along the Gulf. The work goes on for the students in crumbling schools just yearning for a chance to get ahead. It goes on for day care workers, for steel workers risking their lives in cities all across this country. And the work goes on for two hundred thousand men and women who wore the uniform of the United States of America, proud veterans, who go to sleep every night under bridges, or in shelters, or on grates, just as the people we saw on the way here today. Their cause is our cause.

Their struggle is our struggle. Their dreams are our dreams.

Do not turn away from these great struggles before us. Do not give up on the causes that we have fought for. Do not walk away from what's possible, because it's time for all of us, all of us together, to make the two Americas one.

Thank you. God bless you, and let's go to work. Thank you all very much

God bless you John. The dream will never die.

John Edwards for President.

(and on a more personal note I always love seeing the gray and khaki of the AmeriCorps kids)

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People Always Love You When You’re Gone

Now Everyone Loves John
De mortuis, nihil nisi bonu, I guess


Hillary’s Statement

John Edwards ended his campaign today in the same way he started it - by standing with the people who are too often left behind and nearly always left out of our national debate.

John ran with compassion and conviction and lifted this campaign with his deep concern for the daily lives of the American people. That is what this election is about - it's about our people. And John is one of the greatest champions the American people could ask for.

I wish John and Elizabeth all the best. They have my great personal respect and gratitude. And I know they will continue to fight passionately for the country and the people they love so deeply.

[and definitely read the comments here]

and from the Other (UPDATE: I didn't know about his front page photo because I refuse to help drive up his web traffic)

John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn’t popular to do or covered in the news. At a time when our politics is too focused on who’s up and who’s down, he made a nation focus again on who matters – the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington. John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this – that two Americas can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America.

[read the comments here as well]

really if he was such an amazing person and inspiration and yada yada then why exactly where you supporting other candidates?

Grrr. So. Frustrated.

I'm done with democracy (again.)

And maybe this post wasn’t a good idea I’m way too bitter

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Still "Coping"

Dreams die hard.



But I was thinking about it, trying to be positive and not look back in anger and,...Well at least because of John important issues are actually being discussed in this campaign, even if they are often times obscured by the bickering, the “idea of history” and identity politics.

I just wish I knew who to vote for on Tuesday. I would say I’m supporting Hillary but everything I touch seems to turn to mud.

And have you ever thought that somehow you’re powerful and that you can effect and influence things that you know you can’t? because somehow I feel really guilty for a moment of disbelief last night, maybe while I was sleeping but I was actually thinking about when I should on facebook become a supporter of Hillary and I was thinking about doing it after California but remembered that California was on the same date as so many other primaries and at the last moment, in my thoughts I unknowingly betrayed John.

Sigh, sigh


"John Edwards' bold ideas have shaped the debate in this election. Whether it’s creating universal health care or halting global warming, ending poverty or ending the war in Iraq and restoring America’s moral leadership around the world, John has led with the boldest and most comprehensive plans for overcoming the challenges we face today.

John is the one candidate willing to speak the truth about what’s going on in Washington: big corporations and special interests have taken over our government and taken the power away from the American people. And he knows there’s only one way to get it back: to stand up, take them on, and beat them.

John is ready for this fight – because fighting special interests on behalf of regular, hard-working Americans is what he’s been doing his entire life.
-----
In America, everyone should have a fair opportunity to realize their dreams, no matter where they came from. John Edwards is running for president to build One America where every American can work hard and build a better life, the same opportunity that Edwards had."

someday I hope there will be an America like that

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The End; A Work in Progress

January 30th- The Day America Died
(pardon my melodrama, I'm just actually really upset about the news right now)







I’ll be adding more songs to this as I remember they exist

Don McLean- American Pie

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

I started singin’,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it used to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from james dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lenin read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

They were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die."

Bob Dylan- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue


You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last.
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast.
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun,
Crying like a fire in the sun.
Look out the saints are comin' through
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense.
Take what you have gathered from coincidence.
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home.
All your reindeer armies, are all going home.
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor.
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you.
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

for JRE
[addition #1]

Paul Simon-American Tune

Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I've often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I'm all right, I'm all right
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees
but it's all right, it's all right
for we lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the
road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hours
and sing an American tune
Oh, and it's alright, it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest

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The Dream is Over

What a way to wake up this morning:
John Edwards to Drop Out of Presidential Race Today
I knew he had almost no chance but still....it's a bad day for the future.
The night of I think South Carolina I remember something that Donna Brazile said how John was running a "rich campaign" on like a poor man's budget because his issues that he's fighting for are so real and urgent and important, it's a idea rich campaign but he just couldn't compete in the face of intense media apathy and the notion of voting for history.
From an e-mail he sent out on the 27th of this month


Dear Jacqueline,

From the very beginning, our campaign has been about one central thing: giving voice to millions of Americans who have absolutely no voice in our democracy.

If you are worried about your health care or, like 47 million other Americans you have no health care, your voice will be heard in this campaign.

If you're one of 37 million Americans who wake up every single day, worried about how to feed and clothe your children and living in poverty, your voice will be heard in America -- and it will be heard in this campaign and we will speak and fight for you.

If you're worried about being able to pay for your child to be able to go to college and being able to pay for tuition and books, your voice will be heard in this campaign -- and it will be heard in America.

If you're one of the forgotten middle class, working and struggling just to pay your bills, worrying every single day about what may be around the corner, we will give you a voice in this campaign.

And if you're one of the extraordinary men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States with pride and honor and served this country patriotically, and you're not getting the health care you need or deserve, your voice will be heard in this campaign. If you're one of the 200,000 veterans living in America who every night go to sleep under bridges, in shelters or on heating grates, your voice will be heard in America.

That's why this campaign moves on to February 5 and "Super Tuesday" when millions of Americans will cast their vote and help shape the future of the Democratic Party and, most importantly, help shape the future of America.

Thank you for standing with me as, together, we take this campaign to the Democratic Convention, to the nomination -- and then to the White House.

Your support as we move forward means that the voices of millions of voiceless Americans will be heard.

Sincerely,

John Edwards


sigh, I'll love you forever John and follow wherever you lead

The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the Dreamweaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
And so dear friends
You'll just have to carry on
The dream is over

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Casting The (Inevitable) 2008 Campaign Movie

Zap2It had a pretty interesting idea to try to cast the Presidential Candidates, because y'know this has all been sooo historic that someone will probably make a movie. And for the most part they're actually really good

for the sake of winnowing I've only included current "contenders"

Edie Falco as Hillary
John Edwards portrayed by Steven Culp (he played RFK too)
Zeljko Ivanek as Rudy (well, he is in the race at least until the morning)
Gregory Itzin as The Huck
John McCain starring Kevin Nealon (Hmm… Nealon is less straight talk, more mr. subliminal)
Harry Lennix as...somebody
Sir Ian McKellan as Ron Paul (not sure how happy Ron would be about that)
and Ted Danson as Mitt












































































































































































Thoughts? Suggestions? Critiques?
(found on Top of the Ticket, which also has a link to a really cool site “The Living Room Candidate” which features campaign ads from 1952-2004. It's fun and such an amazing time waster in the form of historical record. Really.)

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