I see Hillary trolls and poor judgment haven't yet been eliminated from MyDD, seeing a diary on the rec list promoting some demand that Hillary be given a roll call vote at the convention.

Honestly, I know nothing of convention procedure other than what I've watched on TV in the past and what I read about the 1944 convention in separate biographies of Harry Truman and Henry Wallace.

But......

Senator Obama has said he would consider his first term a failure
if all troops were not withdrawn from Iraq, if health care was not affordable for all, and if the Economy was still in recession. Personally if he was to accomplish even the first two I would be satisfied. Creating an affordable health care system for all would be significant. Ending the Iraq war would save American lives and billions of dollars that could be used in other areas such as taking care of our wounded troops for the rest of their lives, Education, Foreign aid, and the list goes on. My question to you is what would satisfy you? What does President Obama have to accomplish to be rewarded with a second term? We disagree on many issues, even candidates, but we all have issues that mean something to us. I'm very curious to know what others believe to be their TOP issues. What would satisfy you and what would exceed your expectations? As you all know I love our candidate but once he is elected I will pressure him in any way I can. This is what a lot of people don't seem to understand, the people with the highest of hopes will demand the most of our president. No free rides from me, I demand results and I personally believe he will deliver. He needs our support and he needs to know what is important to us in order to lead effectively. I have never considered Senator Obama perfect or a God I consider him an intelligent man who sincerely wants to make America better.

Sometimes it is good to remember who the real enemy is.  Recently, a Medicare funding bill was passed by the House 355-59.  The bill would fund and expand low-income assistance programs and preventive services, as well as prevent a 10% reduction in doctor reimbursement rates that went into effect on July 1.  The additional costs of funding would be offset by cuts in payments to private plans that participate in Medicare.  Therein lies the rub, as explained by the NY Times:

That has inflamed opposition from the White House and Senate Republicans who seem determined to protect inefficient private plans from the rigors of competing fairly against traditional Medicare coverage. Medicare pays these private plans, known as Medicare Advantage, an average of 13 percent more to provide the same services as the traditional Medicare program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/opinio n/05sat2.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&o ref=slogin

However, the bill enjoys broad support among doctors and pharmacists and passed the House with a veto-proof majority.  All good, right?  Not quite.

The Senate Republicans, in their infinite wisdom and love for hardworking Americans, decided to filibuster the bill.  On June 26, 2008, cloture failed by a vote of 58-40 (i.e., 2 votes short of defeating the filibuster).  Sens. Obama and Clinton voted for cloture, as did all Democrats other than Kennedy (who did not vote, for obvious reasons) and Reid.  Even Lieberman voted in favor of cloture.  As for Reid, his vote "against" cloture is misleading - his vote was a procedural maneuver so that he can bring the bill up later.  In other words, cloture failed by one vote.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/ro ll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?con gress=110&session=2&vote=00160

Any guess on who decided to skip the vote to attend a fundraiser in Ohio?  It's awfully convenient that Senate Republicans mostly avoid blame by quietly filibustering this bill, and that McCain avoids even more blame by failing to show up and letting the rest of the Republicans take the fall for him.  Such is the way of the maverick.

A much more detailed analysis of this whole series of events can be found on Openleft, here:  http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jse ssionid=6EE0933FFA4BD49A4EEBD8A35A61BB2A ?diaryId=6782

(Cross-posted at Kickin it With CG and Clintonistas for Obama).

When Hillary Clinton conceded several weeks ago I was sad.  I truly wanted her to win the Democratic nomination and become the president in January 2009.

But....

It.Didn't.Happen.

Since that time we have seen the PUMA movement take hold.  Which for those living under a rock, stands for Party Unity My Ass.  I am not going to get into a diatribe about them because in some ways I understand what they are doing and somewhat how they are feeling.

- Disappointed that Hillary will not be the President in 2009?  Okay.

- Don't agree with some of Obama's policies?  Okay.

- Reviled at his campaign's tactics during the primary?  Okay.

- Think Hillary would have been the better candidate?  Okay.

- Dislike Obama?  Okay.

But you know what?  THE PRIMARY IS OVER.

And for those that are thinking of voting for McCain? Stop and think what you are doing -you are throwing Hillary under the bus.  Everything she stands for has very little to do with the Republican party ideals and voting for them would be a slap in her face.  Yes - a slap.

As my good pal Kysen wrote:

But, opting not to vote?
Voting only downticket?
Writing in Hillary?
Fine.
Whatever.
Seems a bit like holding one's breath to get one's way....but, at least it is not sullying Hillary's name.

So for the love of god - if you cannot vote for the Democratic nominee - people may not like your decision but will understand it.  But DO NOT betray Hillary and everything she stands for by voting for McCain.

After doing some research and general digging concerning background info on some of the key field operatives and organizations supporting the GOP effort this year, I've come to the conclusion that it's just all so damn UGLY--the more I read the worse it gets--I'm to the point where I don't know where to begin.

Yesterday, I blogged about "2008's Grand Masters Of GOP Dirty Tricks," (there's a link from today's "Saturday Morning Diary Rescue," currently on the front page, here; so that diary's old news, as it were; but, in advance, I ask your forgiveness for any unintended appearance of diary pimping; my sincere goal here is to get some specific realities up on everyone's radar now, in preparation for what lies ahead)  and today I wanted to drill a little deeper on that theme with regard to my concerns about planned and/or potential Republican "caging," voter suppression and any overall, generally racist efforts that we will most likely see supported by those camps in coming weeks and months.

For now, I'd like to focus on the McCain campaign in the always-critical states of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Specifically, I'd like to zero in on the two or three people that have been put in place by the McCain operation to head those three states' efforts for the GE.

Here is what Obama had to say today on the plane about his recent statement about mental distress and partial birth abortion.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/pol itics/blog/2008/07/obama_backs_late_abor tions_on.html

"My only point is this -- historically I have been a strong believer in a women's right to choose with her doctor, her pastor and her family. And it is ..I have consistently been saying that you have to have a health exception on many significant restrictions or bans on abortions including late-term abortions. In the past there has been some fear on the part of people who, not only people who are anti-abortion, but people who may be in the middle, that that means that if a woman just doesn't feel good then that is an exception. That's never been the case. I don't think that is how it has been interpreted. My only point is that in an area like partial-birth abortion having a mental, having a health exception can be defined rigorously. It can be defined through physical health, It can be defined by serious clinical mental-health diseases. It is not just a matter of feeling blue. I don't think that's how pro-choice folks have interpreted it. I don't think that's how the courts have interpreted it and I think that's important to emphasize and understand."

Linda Douglass had more: "Mental distress is not an illness. He absolutely believes and has always said there has to be a health exception for serious physical and mental illness."

I thought his statements to that Christian magazine were intended to play the wingnuts with a vague term that was meant to trick them into believing that the health exception for partial-birth abortion did not include a mental health.  A wink wink to the base?  Let's hope so.

I DEMAND TIME ON THE DNC CONVENTION FLOOR TO SCREAM ABOUT INADAQUATE BLACK MALES AND SEXIST DONNA BRAZILLE WHO STOLE THE NOMINATION BECAUSE SHE HATES FEMALES. I REPRESENT A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO HATE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE SO IT IS NATURAL THAT YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO SPEAK AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

I WILL BE GIVEN THIS TIME BECAUSE IT IS TRADITION DURING THE LAST 4 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION CONTESTS TO HAVE NEGATIVE SPEECHES ABOUT THE NOMINEE AND ROLL CALL VOTES DURING THE DNC CONVENTION.

(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama and DailyKos)

As a Clinton supporter, I think I had it wrong for a long time.

I heard Obama supporters talking about a new kind of politics - a kind which incorporated hope and change. For some reason, I decided this was a silly notion; I scoffed at Barack Obama's message: It was too idealistic, too vague. What did "Vote Hope" really mean? How had Obama rallied such a massive base of support around the nebulous concept of "hope"? Maybe that's part of what used to frustrate me - I simply didn't understand. Did his supporters believe his campaign would always stay positive? Every politician has to fight back against the opposition. They all get down in the mud, so didn't that make Obama just another typical politician?

It took me a very long time to formally "come to Obama," and an even longer time to understand his message of hope. I was looking at it the wrong way - I was trying to turn hope into something concrete and measurable, and I'd forgotten that some things can't be clinically analyzed or quantified. Hope isn't a static or tangible thing because it means something different to everyone. I do have hope for a new type of politics and a new kind of president in Barack Obama. I have faith in his ability to win the general election. He believes in the 50-State Strategy, and he perfected and implemented it with remarkable efficacy during the primaries. I have no doubt he'll use similar tactics in the fall as he makes the GOP fight for every stronghold. I have faith in his ability to govern and lead. He built his phenomenal campaign from the ground up and, with the help of his enthusiastic supporters, turned it into an unstoppable force.