The latest Carnival of Divided Government – Labor Day Edition has been posted at my home blog. The carnival is an irregularly scheduled compilation of links to new and traditional media commentary on the topic of divided government. I’ll highlight one link here.

This excerpt is from a 1959 letter written by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and referenced in a recent New York Times Op-Ed by Max Blumenthal – “Ike’s Other Warning“.

Eisenhower wrote the letter in reply to one Robert J. Biggs, a WWII veteran. Biggs was dissatisfied with the level of discourse in Washington D.C. and thought the President was not projecting sufficient strength and certitude. He goes on to say that Americans need “more of the attitude of a commanding officer who knows the goal and the mission and states, without evasion, the way it is to be done.” Ike took the time to write a long, thoughtful and honest letter to Mr. Biggs:

“As you know, for four years our government has been a divided government, with the Administration confronted by a Congress controlled by the opposition–and the two working, if not in opposition, at least at cross purposes much of the time. An example is the sparring that seems to go on constantly over our defense situation–and specifically over our missile position. It is difficult indeed to maintain a reasoned and accurately informed understanding of our defense situation on the part of our citizenry when many prominent officials, possessing no standing or expertness except as they themselves claim it, attempt to further their own ideas or interests by resort to statements more distinguished by stridency than by accuracy.”

As an exercise to the reader, I suggest rereading the above paragraph substituting “health care reform” for “missile position” and “defense situation”.

Ike continues the letter, explaining in more detail the burden and responsibility that our messy, democratic government puts on the citizenry:

“Even if this division in the government did not exist, I doubt that citizens like yourself could ever, under our democratic system, be provided with the universal degree of certainty, the confidence in their understanding of our problems, and the clear guidance from higher authority that you believe needed. Such unity is not only logical but indeed indispensable in a successful military organization, but in a democracy debate is the breath of life. This is to me what Lincoln meant by government “of the people, by the people, and for the people. … But while this responsibility is a taxing one to a free people it is their great strength as well–from millions of individual free minds come new ideas, new adjustments to emerging problems, and tremendous vigor, vitality and progress.”

The legion of bloggers and pundits complaining about the tone of the health care debate, and the difficulty of passing a health care reform bill because the masses seems insufficiently appreciative, would benefit from reading Ike’s letter.

H/T – Septimus at The Whig Blog

More at Divided We Stand United We Fall

The arrest of noted Harvard African-American scholar and The Root co-founder Henry Louis Gates, Jr. spread like wildfire across the blogosphere this week. Today, there are a few additional updates. First, the Smoking Gun obtained and posted the actual arrest report. Second, Slate enlisted the help of the ACLU in explaining away a lot of the charges made against Gates by the Cambridge police. And finally, last night’s prime time press conference on health care saw President Obama delicately wading into the issue in his last press answer, stating:

Now, I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know, separate and apart from this incident, is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. And that’s just a fact.

The story is fraught with political and policy significance on so many levels that it’s no surprise that it spread so quickly. Washington is debating the confirmation of the first Latina Supreme Court associate justice — the same woman who has sparked a firestorm of conservative commentary concerning her judicial decision about affirmative action in New Haven and her comments regarding the jurisprudence of a “wise Latina” being better than a white male. Some commentators pointed out that the arrest happened just as New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote a piece saying that race-based affirmative action had to be abolished. Finally, the arrest happened the same week that CNN had been scheduled to run a special with Soledad O’Brien entitled Black in American 2. The political irony is almost palpable and seems to beg the question: does being black in America mean being arrested for disorderly conduct on your own front porch after getting a little miffed?

First, it’s pretty clear that the police acted inappropriately — at least if Gates’ version of the story is to be believed in its entirety. As Slate pointed out, it is a requirement that Massachusetts police show ID when asked. Second, a disorderly conduct charge in the state usually refers to conduct that will spark a riot. Blowing your cool on your front porch hardly seems to endanger polite civil society. Finally, as the Slate Explainer pointed out, getting upset and shouting at a police officer about being racially profiled is about as explicitly political as you can be — and thus count as protected speech under the first amendment.

But if it’s true that the Cambridge police acted foolishly and probably illegally, it could be equally true that this arrest says very little about the overall state of race relations in America or the many public policy debates surrounding it. As President Obama pointed out, racial profiling is a problem across America. I see it everyday in my Washington D.C. neighborhood. But at the same time, does the arrest of one prominent scholar in Massachusetts really negate Douthat’s point that perhaps affirmative action has run its course? Is one anecdotal case in one Massachusetts city really emblematic of the struggles of a whole race of people?

Race in America is a touchy subject, still. The latest Internet meme from today refers to a prominent AMA physician accused of forwarding racist photoshopped caricatures of President Obama as a witch doctor. It’s currently the lead story on Talking Points Memo. What these incidents do reveal is an American public hungry for a frank conversation on race and a media class only perfectly willing to oblige with stale, simplistic race-baiting. What they don’t reveal is a racist, bigoted society rotten to the core.

The rise of Americans like Sonia Sotomayor, Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and others is more than just the tokenism that Martin Luther King Jr. warned Americans to avoid when talking about race. Women comprise a solid majority of college graduates at convocations every spring, and their salaries in major urban areas amongst unmarried, childless women are higher than men in almost all the major urban areas. The President of the United States is an African-American, who garner 66.8 million votes — 8.5 million more than his white, American male rival. Prior to his election, the previous two top foreign policy makers in the Bush Administration were both prominent and well-credential black Americans. There is a large and well-heeled black middle class in this country — one often marginalized in popular culture depictions of urban life media stereotypes and hip-hip rags-to-riches glory stories.

It does us no favors as a society to turn an unfortunate incident at Cambridge into a microcosm for all of American society. There is ample evidence for real and sustained racial progress, and America has mostly moved beyond some of the baser prejudices that haunted her for centuries. There are some barriers to achievement still, just as there are some opportunities for those of any skin color, gender or creed. Just as the election of one African-American hasn’t made racism disappear, the arrest of another hasn’t brought it back in vogue.

Due to D.C.’s strange system of governance, the District’s laws are subject to approval by Congress. If D.C. passes a gay marriage ordinance, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the subcommittee that handles District matters will have to either reject D.C.’s decision or accept it.

If they reject it, the outrage from gay donors and activist groups will be overwhelming.

If they approve it, even on federalist grounds, the Right will argue that Congress has literally approved gay marriage.

Given this, is gay marriage in D.C. a lot less likely? Maybe. But I’m sure a lot of Dem politicos are looking for a chance to federally approve gay marriage in an official/unofficial way and this could be a way to do that.

More as it develops…

UPDATE:
Seems like there’s a much more likely scenario than Dems approving this…

What Klein doesn’t quite get right is that Congress need not actively “approve” D.C.’s decision. If lawmakers do nothing about the bill for 30 days, it’s law.

In fact, no District statute has been actively disapproved by Congress; what is more common is that “riders” are attached to District appropriations prohibiting spending on the controversial legislation—which is what happened when D.C. first passed domestic-partnership laws.

So there you go. No real conflict for D.C. to pass a gay marriage law.

More good news…

Domestic partnerships are already legal in the nation’s capital. But yesterday’s vote, billed as an important milestone in gay rights, explicitly recognizes relocated gay married couples as married.

The initial vote was 12-0. The unanimous vote sets the stage for future debate on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District and a clash with Congress, which approves the city’s laws under Home Rule. The council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month.

Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who is gay, called the amendment a matter of “basic fairness.”

The city’s laws on same-sex unions have been murky, he explained. Couples ask, he said, “Is my marriage valid in D.C.? For years now, it has not been clear.”

“It’s high time we send a clear, unequivocal message to those persons of the same sex and married in another jurisdiction that their marriage is valid in D.C.,” said Graham, who added, “I hope this city recognizes this is a human rights struggle.”

This doesn’t mean that gay marriage has been legalized in the district, but that legislation is apparently in the pipeline so be on the lookout for it to happen soon.

This is Danielle Ivory, reporting from the American News Project and Alternet.

Back in February, in the House Financial Service Committee, when asked a question about the value of Citigroup’s assets, CEO Vikram Pandit provided a less-than-clear response: “It’s an extraordinarily difficult question.”

Click the video below to WATCH the exchange between Rep. Louis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Vikram Pandit.

Rob Weissman, director of the corporate watchdog group, Essential Action, and author of a new report called Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America, said that, in addition to what Pandit said, there’s an additional factor that could fog the test results: off-the-book assets.

“If you don’t include the off-balance sheet assets in the stress test, then it’s not a legitimate stress test,” Weissman said. “It’s pretty plain that the off-balance-sheet operations are a central part of the story of why we don’t know what the banks own.” The Treasury Department declined to comment on whether they would take off-book-assets into account when running the stress tests.

Weissman says that recipients of bailout money, like Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan, have been engaging in “fanciful accounting” of what they owe and what they own by relocating of their less-than-healthy assets off the books, in shadow corporations. Rep. Brad Sherman has described the process as, “apples on one balance sheet and oranges on another.”

According to RGE Monitor, off-balance-sheet operations have skyrocketed over the last 15 years. From 1992 to 2007, on-balance-sheet assets grew by 200 percent, while off-balance-sheet assets grew by 1,518 percent. In 2007, it was estimated that there was 15.9 times more money parked in off-balance-sheet operations than in on-the-book operations. Not all off-book assets are toxic. Some financial institutions might park assets off their books if they are planning, for instance, to sell them. However, in rough economic times, off-balance sheet accounting allows banks to veil their losses from investors, regulators, and even insiders.

“This turns out to be a really important benefit [for a bank] if it happens to be insolvent,” Weissman added. “And many believe that if you total Citigroup’s assets and liabilities, it is insolvent.”

As of July, Citigroup appeared to have the most off-book assets — an estimated $1.1 trillion. But they aren’t alone. As of July 2008, JP Morgan Chase & Co. had more than $400 billion off their books. Bank of America had $48.2 billion off the books before it bought Merrill Lynch. “If you start adding up all the potential exposures, it’s a huge number,” Sam Golden, former ombudsman for the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, told Bloomberg. “The banks will say that it was disclosed. Investors are saying, ‘Yeah, but it was cryptic.’”

Disclosure rules for off-balance sheet operations are notably less strict than those for assets on the books. Neri Bukspan, chief accountant for Standard & Poor’s told Bloomberg, “A lot of information tends to disappear.”

The use of the off-balance-sheet assets was a core part of the Enron scandal, where they were able to wrap debt inside of debt, using obscure corporations, so no one could track what they owed and what they owned. After the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was set in place, there were efforts to address the problems with off-book assets. But after heavy lobbying by two main trade groups, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the American Securitization Forum, banks were given special exemptions.

In September of 2008 as the financial crisis was coming into full view, the Senate Baking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing, discussing off-balance sheet operations. Senator Jack Reed recalled Enron: “This phenomenon of moving assets off the balance sheets is eerily familiar. We recall back in the days of Enron that its schemes to manufacture false profits included special purpose entities that conducted transactions off-balance sheet. The goal was to avoid financial reporting. While no one is necessarily suggesting scandals of the Enron kind, we cannot fail to admit the irony. We are dealing with a similar problem yet again, only six years later.”

George P. Miller, Executive Director of the American Securitization Forum, said that moving assets off-book back on to the books would cause dangerous swelling of balance sheets. He added, “There are many other steps that the industry can and should undertake to promote broader and better transparency about risk exposures in these vehicles, whether they are on or off-balance sheet.”

But Donald Young, former member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board countered, “We just had an investment bank [Lehman Brothers] go bankrupt with a fair value balance sheet that showed it had plenty of assets and liabilities. And it almost seems like financial reporting is out of control and not trusted and not believed in. And I think what we do here has got to establish transparency. If the transparency is such that we’re going to bring out some bad news that wasn’t there before, that’s a risk. But I think the benefits of reestablishing confidence in the markets will overwhelm that.”

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) are revising the rules so some off-book assets will have to be reported on the books. However, the changes won’t be effective until January 2010 at the earliest. In March at a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Sherman complained about this lag. He told the chairman of the FASB, Bob Herz, “If you guys can’t act quickly and logically, perhaps the regulatory accountants need to act and depart from what is a somewhat illogical and certainly slow process that you’ve got.”

In the meantime, in a recent letter to his employees, Pandit has said Citigroup is having its best quarter since 2007 and the bank had conducted its own internal stress tests with positive results. But Weissman says something doesn’t add up. “Either they’ve done a lot of due diligence in a short amount of time that they hadn’t done before, or the stories are incompatible.”

Crossposted at Alternet.

It is.

But $2 trillion is.. ridiculous.

This is Danielle Ivory from ANP.

Congress and the new administration have been focusing their attention on strengthening oversight for the Treasury’s TARP program, but meanwhile few are paying any attention to the Federal Reserve.

Since September, the Fed has lent out about $2 trillion (Bloomberg reported 1.2 trillion in November), but it’s keeping the names of its recipients a big secret.

And while the Treasury’s bailout package has a $700 billion cap, there’s no limit to how much money the Fed can lend.

The American News Project sat down with Washington newcomer, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL), who actually used his five minutes of valuable Q & A time in a Financial Services hearing to do some serious Fed fact-finding.

You can see the story or get the embed code here.

Or follow Danielle’s reporting on twitter here.

And visit Acorn Project for more music like this.

This is Danielle Ivory from the American News Project.

As another $350 billion goes out the door, ANP looks at one small bailed-out bank. Eagle Bank is having trouble making loans. Its CEO, Ron Paul, says that the government has not taken fleeing depositors into account and, as a result, small banks and their surrounding communities will suffer.

Follow Danielle’s reporting on twitter.

http://americannewsproject.com/node/190

WATCH:

Today, Henry Paulson urged Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion of the bailout money. But no one seems know what banks have done with the first $350 billion. Despite the fact that Congress wrote more than one hundred pages about oversight in the bailout bill, they left a gaping hole.

All of the content on ANP is available for free! If you like the piece, please feel free to post it on your blog, or replay on the radio or tv.

http://americannewsproject.com/videos/186

With newfound bailout money in their wallets, big banks have been rushing to gobble up smaller ones. At the center of these mergers is the Treasury Department, led by Goldman Sachs alums Henry Paulson and Neel Kashkari (you might remember his Ferrari, recently profiled on Gawker.) While neglecting struggling homeowners, they have created major incentives for widespread bank consolidation, which could lead to a host of new problems. And, as members of Congress recently noted, Treasury officials seem to be making the rules up as they go.

http://www.americannewsproject.com/videos/181

Follow Danielle’s reporting on twitter.

Follow Lagan’s reporting on twitter.

James Joyner’s tongue-in-cheek characterization…

Osama bin Laden could run as a Democrat and win in DC, so it’s not exactly news.

I think OBL would have some problems.

D.C. carries 3 electoral votes.

My friend and colleague, Lagan Sebert, and I have just published a follow-up on the voting situation in Pennsylvania, arrowing in on a recent legal battle over paper ballots and the Philadelphia City Commission (which has kind of become a peculiar little beat for the ANP, I guess.)

This week, we attended the federal hearing against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (filed by the NAACP) and the last public meeting of the Philly City Commissioners before the election. We were surprised to see very few members of media at either meeting–Bob Warner of the Philadelphia Daily News was an exception.

If you like it, please do send this along to other people who might be interested or link to it or embed it on your websites! All ANP content is free for use in newspapers, blogs, television, and radio.

Chaos Looms Over Pennsylvania Vote
By Danielle Ivory on Oct 31, 2008

Philadelphia is shaping up to be a key city in a key battleground state in this election, but machine problems and long lines may plague the polling stations and voter disenfranchisement will be a serious risk. Unfortunately for voters, the people charged with running a smooth election in Philly seem surprisingly unconcerned. Philly’s veritable election czar, Marge Tartaglione (D), in particular, shocked ANP with her comments at a recent hearing. See more videos at the American News Project.

ANP has been investigating the perplexing case of the Philadelphia City Commission for a few weeks.

Click for our original story, Philly Official Scoffs at Voting Problems.

Click for our follow-up, Voters Sue Pennsylvania, Election Official Scoffs.

And click for the judge’s recent ruling in the case of the NAACP v. Cortes.

Follow Danielle’s reporting on twitter.

Follow Lagan’s reporting on twitter.

Just by way of introduction, the ANP is an independent non-profit video news organization in DC. We produce pieces for the web, but offer all of our content for free to newspapers, blogs, websites, radio, and television so please feel free to embed or share our videos. We see all visitors to our website as potential partners and hope that our community will eventually help fund specific beats, send us news tips and story ideas, and join us as freelancers. Another great site to check out is http://spot.us.

We’re convinced that journalistic collaboration will be essential to the future of news, and so far it’s worked pretty well for us. We’ve worked with McClatchy, The Nation, the Washington Independent, and The Huffington Post on investigative and breaking stories and look forward to more teamwork in the future.

Recently, I’ve been covering voting infrastructural issues for the ANP and found myself in Philadelphia. During the 2008 primary, parts of Pennsylvania (particularly areas with high concentrations of poverty and people of color) experienced major delays due to machine failures, and many voters ended up waiting in line for hours or getting disenfranchised. When I spoke to Philly’s Deputy Commissioner, Fred Voigt, I was startled by a strong sense of institutional inertia, an unwillingness to admit that serious problems exist and, what’s more, that these problems could possibly be fixed with better management and funding. Furthermore, he and the commission (headed by Marge Tartaglione) seemed alarmingly unconcerned about long lines leading to disenfranchisement. We aired a story about this on Monday, featuring this disturbing interview. Since then, the NAACP and the Election Reform Network have filed a lawsuit against the state or Pennsylvania, requesting that paper ballots be made available for the voters of PA in case there are machine breakdowns. ANP’s original story was quoted in the complaint—Voigt’s comments were described as an example of a “woefully inadequate” official response to election problems.

We aired a follow-up yesterday, covering the lawsuit and presenting more of our strange interview with Fred Voigt. I asked Voigt how voters could avoid lines, and gave me another surprising answer.

We’ll continue following this case and the state of voting in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. (If you have ideas or tips, please feel free to email us at contact@newsproject.org.)

ANP: Voters Sue Pennsylvania, Election Official Scoffs

Click here to view our original story.

Click here to view the Voter Action complaint and plaintiffs’ memorandum.

First, Rep. Henry Waxman and Rep. Howard Berman of California…

Senator Obama’s vision for change has inspired tens of millions of Americans,” Chairman Waxman said. “And he’s also proved that he has the experience, judgment, integrity, and toughness to bring real reform to Washington. [...]

“Barack Obama has laid out a foreign policy vision driven by principle and conviction, and he understands that our moral authority and our safety as a nation go hand in hand,” Chairman Berman said. “I spoke with him about a number of foreign policy issues that most concern me. He assured me that he shares my views. The moment President Obama takes office, we’ll send a powerful message to the world that America is back and ready to lead again—that we haven’t abandoned the values that made us the light of the world, and neither should anyone else.”

Then, Rep. Jim McDermott…

Rep. Jim McDermott on Thursday became the fourth U.S. House member from Washington to endorse Barack Obama for president.

The Seattle Congressman told the P-I’s Joel Connelly that Obama is his pick because “I am confident as president he will end the war in Iraq and bring our sons and daughters home.”

Last, D.C. superdelegate and president of the Communications Workers of America, Larry Cohen…

In a statement, Cohen said that Obama “is building a broad base of support, inspiring new voters to join in the political process and demonstrating great appeal to all those who are looking for positive leadership to move us beyond politics-as-usual in Washington.”

Cohen also praised Clinton as “an excellent candidate and a staunch friend and advocate for American working men and women.”

Post-Pennsylvania Delegate Pickups:
Obama – 62.5
Clinton – 14.5

Total Superdelegates:
Obama – 293.5
Clinton – 273.5

Total Delegates Needed To Clinch
Clinton – 306.5
Obama – 133.5

Total post-PA pickups after the jump…

Obama superdelegate pickups:
Jim McDermott (WA), Representative – May 15, 2008
Larry Cohen (D.C.), DNC – May 15, 2008
Henry Waxman (CA), Representative – May 15, 2008
Howard Berman (CA), Representative – May 15, 2008
Mike Morgan (OK), DNC – May 14, 2008
Lena Taylor (WI), DNC – May 14, 2008
Awais Khaleel (WI), DNC – May 14, 2008
Lauren Wolfe (MI), DNC – May 14, 2008
Christine Schon Marques (DA), Chair – May 14, 2008
Pete Visclosky (IN), Representative – May 14, 2008
Anita Bonds (DC), DNC – May 13, 2008
Roy Romer (CO), DNC – May 13, 2008
Joe Donnelly (IN), Representative – May 13, 2008
Ray Nagin (LA), DNC – May 13, 2008
Daniel Akaka (HI), Senator – May 12, 2008
Dolly Strazar (HI), DNC – May 12, 2008
R. Keith Roark (ID), Dem Chairman – May 12, 2008
Tom Allen (ME), Representative – May 12, 2008
Crystal Strait (CA), DNC – May 11, 2008
Harry Mitchell (AZ), Representative – May 10, 2008
Dave Regan (OH), Add-On – May 10, 2008
Kevin Rodriguez (VI), DNC – May 10, 2008
Carol Burke (VI), DNC – May 10, 2008
Kristi Cumming (UT), Add-On – May 10, 2008
Joe Johnson (VA), DNC – May 9, 2008
Vernon Watkins (CA), DNC – May 9, 2008
Wilber Lee Jeffcoat (SC), DNC Vice Chairman – May 9, 2008
Laurie Weahkee (NM), DNC – May 9, 2008
Mazie Hirono (HI), Representative – May 9, 2008
Ed Espinoza (CA), DNC – May 9, 2008
John Gage (MD), DNC – May 9, 2008
Peter DeFazio (OR), Representative – May 9, 2008
Donald Payne (NJ), Representative – May 9, 2008
Rick Larsen (WA), Representative – May 8, 2008
Brad Miller (NC), Representative – May 8, 2008
Jennifer McClellan (VA), DNC – May 7, 2008
Inola Henry (CA), DNC – May 7, 2008
Jerry Meek (NC), Dem Chairman – May 7, 2008
Jeanette Council (NC), DNC – May 7, 2008
Lauren Dugas Glover (MD), DNC Vice Chairman – May 5, 2008
Michael Cryor (MD), DNC Chairman – May 5, 2008
Kalyn Free (OK), DNC – May 5, 2008
Jaime Paulino (Guam), DNC & Territory Vice Chair – May 4, 2008
Parris Glendening (MD), Governor – May 3, 2008
Inez Tenenbaum (SC), DNC – May 3, 2008
Brian Colón (TX), DNC – May 3, 2008
Paul G. Kirk, Jr. (MA), DNC – May 2, 2008
John Patrick (TX), DNC – May 1, 2008
Barbara Flynn Currie (IL), DNC – May 1, 2008
Todd Stroger (IL), DNC – May 1, 2008
Richard M. Daley (IL), DNC – May 1, 2008
Joe Andrew (IN), DNC – May 1, 2008
Bruce Braley (IA), Representative – Apr 30, 2008
Lois Capps (CA), Representative – Apr 30, 2008
Baron Hill (IN), Representative – Apr 30, 2008
Ben Chandler (KY), Representative – Apr 29, 2008
Richard Machacek (IA), DNC – Apr 29, 2008
Jeff Bingaman (NM), Senator – Apr 28, 2008
Charlene Fernandez (AZ), DNC & State Vice Chair – Apr 26, 2008
David Wu (OR), Representative – Apr 24, 2008
Audra Ostergard (NE), DNC & State Vice Chair – Apr 23, 2008
Brad Henry (OK), Governor – Apr 23, 2008

Clinton superdelegate pickups:
Vicki Harwell (TN), Add-On – May 14, 2008
Arthur Powell (MA), Add-On – May 10, 2008
Ciro Rodriguez (TX), Representative – May 9, 2008
Chris Carney (PA), Representative – May 9, 2008
Brad Ellsworth (IN), Representative – May 7, 2008
Heath Shuler (NC), Representative – May 7, 2008
Theresa Morelli (Dems Abroad), DNC May 5, 2008
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (MD), Lt. Governor – May 3, 2008
Jaime A. Gonzalez Jr. (TX), DNC – May 2, 2008
Andrew Cuomo (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
Thomas DiNapoli (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
C. Virginia Field (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
Carmen Arroyo (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
John Olsen (CT), DNC – May 1, 2008
Luisette Cabanas (PR), DNC & Territory Vice Chair – Apr 30, 2008
William George (PA), DNC – Apr 30, 2008
Ike Skelton (MO), Representative, Apr 29, 2008
Mike Easley (NC), Governor – Apr 28, 2008
Kathy Sullivan (NH), Add-On – Apr 26, 2008
John Tanner (TN), Representative – Apr 23, 2008

Clinton superdelegate losses:
Kevin Rodriguez (VI), DNC – May 10, 2008
Donald Payne (NJ), Representative – May 9, 2008
Jennifer McClellan (VA), DNC – May 7, 2008
Arlene P. Bordallo (Guam), DNC & Former Territory Vice Chair- May 4, 2008
Joe Andrew (IN), DNC – May 1, 2008

Sorry, I couldn’t resist that picture.

He’s +4 today over Hillary.

First, former Colorado governor and DNC chairman Roy Romer:

Roy Romer, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Colorado, said Tuesday that he is supporting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for president. In announcing his decision, Romer urged other superdelegates to do the same, saying that "it’s important" for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., “to know where we are so she is not misled.”

“My reasons are that the party needs to get on right now with a lot of business, including figuring out what to do with Michigan and Florida,” Romer told ABC News. “It’s important to make known right now not only my vote but as many superdelegates as possible.”

Then DC DNC chair Anita Bonds…

Superdelegate Anita Bonds, chair of the DC Democratic Party, announced last night that she will endorse Sen. Barack Obama at the Denver convention. Her announcement continued the superdelegate march toward Obama after last week’s primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. [...]

Bonds, who has attended events for both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama during the campaign, said, “You try to exercise your best judgment….We want to go to the convention as unified as we can.”

Now Obama has officially picked up 4 superdelegates for every 1 that Hillary has after Pennsylvania. Why is she still misleading her supporters that this thing is winnable?

Post-Pennsylvania Delegate Pickups:
Obama – 54
Clinton – 13.5

Total Superdelegates:
Obama – 285
Clinton – 272.5

Total post-PA pickups after the jump…

Obama superdelegate pickups:
Anita Bonds (DC), DNC – May 13, 2008
Roy Romer (CO), DNC – May 13, 2008
Joe Donnelly (IN), Representative – May 13, 2008
Ray Nagin (LA), DNC – May 13, 2008
Daniel Akaka (HI), Senator – May 12, 2008
Dolly Strazar (HI), DNC – May 12, 2008
R. Keith Roark (ID), Dem Chairman – May 12, 2008
Tom Allen (ME), Representative – May 12, 2008
Crystal Strait (CA), DNC – May 11, 2008
Harry Mitchell (AZ), Representative – May 10, 2008
Dave Regan (OH), Add-On – May 10, 2008
Kevin Rodriguez (VI), DNC – May 10, 2008
Carol Burke (VI), DNC – May 10, 2008
Kristi Cumming (UT), Add-On – May 10, 2008
Joe Johnson (VA), DNC – May 9, 2008
Vernon Watkins (CA), DNC – May 9, 2008
Wilber Lee Jeffcoat (SC), DNC Vice Chairman – May 9, 2008
Laurie Weahkee (NM), DNC – May 9, 2008
Mazie Hirono (HI), Representative – May 9, 2008
Ed Espinoza (CA), DNC – May 9, 2008
John Gage (MD), DNC – May 9, 2008
Peter DeFazio (OR), Representative – May 9, 2008
Donald Payne (NJ), Representative – May 9, 2008
Rick Larsen (WA), Representative – May 8, 2008
Brad Miller (NC), Representative – May 8, 2008
Jennifer McClellan (VA), DNC – May 7, 2008
Inola Henry (CA), DNC – May 7, 2008
Jerry Meek (NC), Dem Chairman – May 7, 2008
Jeanette Council (NC), DNC – May 7, 2008
Lauren Dugas Glover (MD), DNC Vice Chairman – May 5, 2008
Michael Cryor (MD), DNC Chairman – May 5, 2008
Kalyn Free (OK), DNC – May 5, 2008
Jaime Paulino (Guam), DNC & Territory Vice Chair – May 4, 2008
Parris Glendening (MD), Governor – May 3, 2008
Inez Tenenbaum (SC), DNC – May 3, 2008
Brian Colón (TX), DNC – May 3, 2008
Paul G. Kirk, Jr. (MA), DNC – May 2, 2008
John Patrick (TX), DNC – May 1, 2008
Barbara Flynn Currie (IL), DNC – May 1, 2008
Todd Stroger (IL), DNC – May 1, 2008
Richard M. Daley (IL), DNC – May 1, 2008
Joe Andrew (IN), DNC – May 1, 2008
Bruce Braley (IA), Representative – Apr 30, 2008
Lois Capps (CA), Representative – Apr 30, 2008
Baron Hill (IN), Representative – Apr 30, 2008
Ben Chandler (KY), Representative – Apr 29, 2008
Richard Machacek (IA), DNC – Apr 29, 2008
Jeff Bingaman (NM), Senator – Apr 28, 2008
Charlene Fernandez (AZ), DNC & State Vice Chair – Apr 26, 2008
David Wu (OR), Representative – Apr 24, 2008
Audra Ostergard (NE), DNC & State Vice Chair – Apr 23, 2008
Brad Henry (OK), Governor – Apr 23, 2008

Clinton superdelegate pickups:
Arthur Powell (MA), Add-On – May 10, 2008
Ciro Rodriguez (TX), Representative – May 9, 2008
Chris Carney (PA), Representative – May 9, 2008
Brad Ellsworth (IN), Representative – May 7, 2008
Heath Shuler (NC), Representative – May 7, 2008
Theresa Morelli (Dems Abroad), DNC May 5, 2008
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (MD), Lt. Governor – May 3, 2008
Jaime A. Gonzalez Jr. (TX), DNC – May 2, 2008
Andrew Cuomo (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
Thomas DiNapoli (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
C. Virginia Field (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
Carmen Arroyo (NY), DNC – May 1, 2008
John Olsen (CT), DNC – May 1, 2008
Luisette Cabanas (PR), DNC & Territory Vice Chair – Apr 30, 2008
William George (PA), DNC – Apr 30, 2008
Ike Skelton (MO), Representative, Apr 29, 2008
Mike Easley (NC), Governor – Apr 28, 2008
Kathy Sullivan (NH), Add-On – Apr 26, 2008
John Tanner (TN), Representative – Apr 23, 2008

Clinton superdelegate losses:
Kevin Rodriguez (VI), DNC – May 10, 2008
Donald Payne (NJ), Representative – May 9, 2008
Jennifer McClellan (VA), DNC – May 7, 2008
Arlene P. Bordallo (Guam), DNC & Former Territory Vice Chair- May 4, 2008
Joe Andrew (IN), DNC – May 1, 2008

Hello, this is my first post to Donklephant. My name is David Donar and I’m a political cartoonist. I’ve been published in the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, and now I’m really excited about expanding into the world of blogging. Thanks to Justin for having me and I look forward to adding something to the mix.

Please visit my site Political Graffiti for more.

Also, from somebody at the scene…

Perhaps six minutes into the event, security tried to stop us and kick us out of the memorial. Most of the Jefferson fans questioned the officers to try to understand what authority they citing to use force against us. Unfortunately I wasn’t near the “Jefferson 1” so I can’t tell you what she did or didn’t do but she was hauled away, handcuffed, in a police van and charged with disorderly conduct.

So in the 2008 version of the USA you cannot dance at the Jefferson Memorial without being disorderly it seems.

I’d like for you to think about the country we are living in and how far we’ve drifted from what Jefferson and the founding fathers wanted for us. The wrong people and ideas govern us and we need to change the direction we’re heading in. Not by electing different politicians but by electing to take charge of our own lives and removing a government that controls us to the point where we can’t dance to celebrate the birthday of our hero on public property.

The problem here is that cops are trained to look for things out of the ordinary and stop them. Ultimately, this is an unfortunately policy because it singles out people who don’t go with the flow.

And so it goes…

Now to return Huck’s call about that VP position…

Today (02/12/08), Barack Obama is having a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. Doors opened at 6:15 CST and Obama is scheduled to speak at 8:15 CST (just in time to opine on the results of the primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.).

5:55: Walking up to the Kohl center, where the event will take place.

6:15: All settled in. Unlike other events that I’ve been to, getting through security here was relatively painless (outside of the surly doorman). About 1/6 of the venue is filled, but judging from the long line outside, I don’t think they’ll have much trouble filling this place up.

6:17: The crowd cheers after they see the CNN projection that Obama will win Virginia. I cheer because their cheers temporarily drown out the ska band that’s playing.

6:28: The band is now singing “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours.” Somewhere, Stevie Wonder weeps.

6:40: This place really filled up fast. It’s more than halfway filled already. What are these people going to do for an hour?

6:59: The good news: the band has stopped playing. The bad news: Wolf Blitzer on a jumbotron. The crowd cheers every time someone mentions Obama’s name (it doesn’t matter what the context is).

7:24: The venue’s now full. They’ve been playing some ‘get to know Barack’ videos for the past 15 minutes – one biographical, one about his judgment on the Iraq war and one featuring Michelle Obama talking about Barack’s “good old Midwestern values” and herself.

7:31: The crowd does the wave for a few minutes.

7:35: A new video. This one starts with a brief discussion of the civil rights movement and the role that young people played in bring about change in that arena. Then, turns to Obama’s call for youth to get involved in this campaign and a “behind the scenes” look at some of his young volunteers. Now, the video turns to the Iraq war. The message: it’s cool to volunteer for Obama, so go do it.

7:47: CNN just flashed the latest delegate tally (Obama: 1170, Clinton 1168) and the crowd goes wild.

7:48: I overhear some jackass in the press corps says to a friend of his, “Hillary must be saying to herself, ‘I stayed with him all those years for this’”

7:49: The program starts. A student from Wisconsin talks about why Obama connects to youth. He also tells the crowd not to believe “the rumors” and that students (including out of state students) can register to vote the day of the primary and he encouraged all of them to do so. He neglects of course to remind people that if they’ve already voted in their home state, they aren’t allowed to vote in Wisconsin too.

8:12: “Aint no stopping us now” is blaring on the speakers. And based upon Obama’s massive margin of victory in Virgina displayed on the screen, the crowd probably believes this.

8:19: David Axelrod, right here, right next to me…

8:20: Video montage on jumbotron of some famous singers and actors doing their rendition of Obama’s “yes we can” speech.

[Continued At 2008Central.net]

Not a surprise, but if he can lock up Maryland, which looks likely, this will be a big night for him and a really, really bad night for Hillary. Especially since he’s up in Wisconsin and Hawaii for next week’s primaries.