Politico ( http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0 808/Obama_I_will_win.html )  

He was warmly received by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called him "a leader that God has blessed us with at this time."

Almighty err alrighty then.

My Grassroot effort paid off and I was on TV today! One city at a time. No flip floppers- Just a pure Liberal! VOTE FOR MY ID(flipped): FOXROXY 08 RULES!

I have moved to the center. Thanks to largely the net roots crowd and people on MyDD and Kos and alike. I have never pretended not to be a Hillary supporter. But Obama's message of unity in Washington, HOPE and CHANGE was inspiring. I was holding my nose to vote for Obama. BUT...

You won baby, you have taken yet another voter who was going to come together for Obama - to back away.

Have at it people- I now leave you to your séance, bashing and successful run at making more like me to back away from Obama. Your conduct as his supporters who take Obama over country- has solidified it

Sorry senator but you

Failed in getting your own faithfuls to act on your message
Failed in creating anything remotely HOPEFULL.  

All we have so far are words and no sign of its effectiveness or follow through. In all fairness, you have not had the chance as president to do so but his move on FISA and stance on Pro-choice is self evident of same ole politics.  More evident is that his democratic supporters this year have become a mirror image of the nastiness that republicans have always been known for.  You are not democrats- you are for anything Obama stands for. He is your 11th commandment. If he FAILED in getting his 1st act of creating a different 'kind' of politics through to the heads of his own supporters, I have no hope or am I inspired about his potential as a President. All I hear is same old talking points when politicians say things to tug at the heart strings of the people to get elected.

Regardless, we are going to have a Republican lite version for the next 4 years. Obama is so thankful for Bush being a leader in this--for he paved the way in taking away our rights as citizens and allowed Obama to says "trust me" but I want to keep those policies going. Well you know what? Since you still want to keep his policies ticking, I will bet my house that the Iraq policy of stay the course will remain-- maybe with some small token gesture of 40K troops out from it.  And lets not even talk about the elephant in the room of NO attacks in the last 7 years. This will force Obama to cower to an aggressive domestic policy assault on our constitution rights.  

Republicans that had majorities in both houses with a republican president led to spending and more spending and corruption. Now it's the turn of democrats to do the same.  

So what's the solution for me? Not voting for McCain rather not voting for a presidential candidate. Yup! We speak of others who support Bush or tell them that they are complicit in promoting his failed policies. Well, I will not be complicit in letting My Vote go to any democrat who is hell bent on staying the course Bushy style.

Adios with this last word!

In my book: The only great proven democrat in the last 40 years was/is Bill Clinton. You would not know, as I suspect 90% of you were chasing the next beer bong in High school or university in that decade.

And oh - don't forget to kiss my ass as that Mydd door shuts behind me! These boots are finally made for walking.

There you have it- all you Hillary could be VP supporters. Obama is hinting at ( as dana carvey would say )' Not gonna happen'.  Let the 'Most' successful and only president in the modern era who has the best economic record, Bill bashing begin.

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama told a potential donor to his campaign that Hillary Rodham Clinton is on his list of possible vice presidential running mates, but that her husband's status as a former president makes matters "complicated."

Jill Iscol, a faithful Democratic donor who was an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said Obama reached out to her because he heard she was unhappy about the way the New York senator had been treated by the Democratic Party and the media.

Iscol turned their phone conversation Thursday to the vice presidency -- something the Obama campaign has refused to discuss publicly. She said she told him that Clinton would be his best running mate.

Obama replied that she is on his list, Iscol recounted, and that it would be a mistake not to have her on such a list. But he also explained that he was thinking through a potential "complication" -- Bill Clinton.

"I sit on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and I am one of the few members of this body who has been fully briefed on the warrantless wiretapping program. And, based on what I know, I can promise that if more information is declassified about the program in the future, as is likely to happen either due to the Inspector General report, the election of a new President, or simply the passage of time, members of this body will regret that we passed this legislation.

I am also familiar with the collection activities that have been conducted under the Protect America Act and will continue under this bill. I invite any of my colleagues who wish to know more about those activities to come speak to me in a classified setting. Publicly, all I can say is that I have serious concerns about how those activities may have impacted the civil liberties of Americans. If we grant these new powers to the government and the effects become known to the American people, we will realize what a mistake it was, of that I am sure."

Having read several dairies on FISA and seen posters go "Man why are the FISA freaks freaking over this, duh?". How is our 4th amendment rights effected?

Do yourself a favor and read below the new bill that is set and coming towards you like a freight train hurdling itself against your constitutional rights. New FISA is not just a battle over the telcom immunity piece. The explanation below is relayed in baby steps, so no excuse for not comprehending FISA anymore.  YOU HAVE NO excuse continuing to be ill-informed and yet try to act like you know the new bill when commenting in those diaries.
---------------------------------------- -----------

The FISA deal announced on June 19 effectively grants retroactive immunity to companies that allegedly participated in the President's illegal wiretapping program, and it does not provide adequate protections for innocent Americans. Title I of the new bill, which includes a dramatic expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, does not include the most significant safeguards approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it does not include any of the amendments that Senator Feingold offered on the Senate floor earlier this year, each of which received 35 or more Democratic votes. These safeguards would have permitted the government to obtain the intelligence information it needs while also protecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans.

Background

The purpose of the bill is to address a problem that everyone agrees should be fixed - namely, making clear that the government does not have to get a warrant for foreign-to-foreign communications that happen to pass through the U.S. The new bill goes far beyond this narrow fix, however. It allows the government to listen in on international communications to and from law-abiding Americans in the U.S. who have no connections to terrorism, and the checks on this international dragnet authority are entirely inadequate.

Lengthy Sunset

The bill sunsets in December 2012, a mere one year earlier than the Senate bill and a presidential election year.

Little Protection Against Reverse Targeting

The bill prohibits intentionally targeting a person outside the U.S. without an individualized court order if "the purpose" is really to target someone reasonably believed to be in the U.S., and it requires the executive branch to establish guidelines for implementing this requirement. But the guidelines are not subject to judicial review, and the bill does not include provisions approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee bill that would require the government to obtain a court order whenever a significant purpose of the surveillance is to acquire the communications of an American. This important "significant purpose" language had the support of 38 Senators when offered on the Senate floor, and was included in the House bill.

She pretty much won me over towards the last half of her primary season. I won't pretend here that I don't absolutely respect Senator Clinton. Yeah she rocks my world! And If I have an iota of respect for her I will honor her legacy on behalf of women and vote for Obama.  I don't come easy into it. I happen to like Obama but FISA and the hitch in the Pro choice stance makes my skin crawl. But watching McCain makes my skin burn!

Anyways here is the classy lady who walks her talk.

"I've been trying to exercise a little bit, which I'm told does wonders for a person."

With that line, Sen. Hillary Clinton drew the first of several laughs from the largely female crowd in attendance at her joint appearance with a comparatively less energetic Barack Obama Thursday morning at the Hilton Towers in New York City. Hosted by Women for Obama and the DNC's Women's Leadership Forum, the event was another pit stop on the "unity" tour that kicked off in New Hampshire two weeks ago.

And, at least as a speaker, Sen. Hillary Clinton proved that she is currently in tip-top shape. After noting that Obama told her she looked "rested" at an event last night, the New York Democrat admitted to reaping the benefits of a non-campaign schedule, but also showed she is still willing to bring some partisan fire and enthusiasm whenever she is invited to join him on the trail this fall.

On issues ranging from education to abortion rights to global warming, Clinton pointed to Obama as the superior candidate for women. On climate change, Clinton took a moment to mock President Bush by accusing him of just discovering the issue months before leaving office. "Gosh, this is a problem, and I sure hope the next president does something about it," Clinton said while impersonating the president -- adding, in her own voice, "well so do I!"

But beyond the yucks and the fired-up phrasing, the former presidential candidate did also take a moment to talk about the still-raw wounds dating from the primary season.

"Now I've had countless conversations since the end of my campaign," she began. "And I know how difficult it is for people who have invested their time, energy and emotion -- just their entire being -- into any campaign or cause. ... When it is over, I know how difficult that is ... how challenging it is to turn on a dime. It is a process. It does take time for people to take a deep breath, to go forward. ... But anyone who voted for me has so much in common with those who voted for Barack. ... It is critical that we join forces. The Democratic Party is a family -- sometimes a dysfunctional family -- but it is a family. We care about what is going to happen to health care [and education], and in Afghanistan in Iraq. ... That work cannot be done if we do not have a Democratic president in the White House!"

As she wrapped up her remarks and began to introduce Obama, Clinton said, "this is the man -- this is the one -- we should be voting for. ... Do it for your children. Do it for your jobs. Do it for the education of future generations."

I don't why people are tripping over Jesse Jackson Sr remarks. It's just an off the cuff private comment. I did not read it as the man hates Obama and wants to have harm come upon him.  But the larger point is ---why is his son speaking about his father in the national press with such disrespect. Like him or not Jesse Jackson is an iconic civil rights leader in this country.  

Regardless---to disrespect your father openly? I think Jr needs his nuts cut off.

Jessi Jr  comment:

"I'm deeply outraged and disappointed in Reverend Jackson's reckless statements about Senator Barack Obama. His divisive and demeaning comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee -- and I believe the next president of the United States -- contradict his inspiring and courageous career," wrote Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), an Obama campaign co-chairman, in a statement sent out after word began spreading that his father had said something crude and deeply offensive.

The bold-faced text was his own. "Instead of tearing others down, Barack Obama wants to build the country up and bring people together so that we can move forward, together -- as one nation. The remarks like those uttered on Fox by Reverend Jackson do not advance the campaign's cause of building a more perfect Union."

Speaking of inartful statements. Time is reporting on JAY-Z part deux moment and I hope not the next PUMA rally war cry (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/09/obama-references-lil-wayn_n_111621.html) :

Barack Obama crossed the pop culture/politics divide today by praising Lil' Wayne's rhyming ability at a campaign event in Powder Springs, Georgia.

Take the lyrics of Lollipop, the aforementioned song which, if you have not yet heard on the radio, then your children certainly have. As is the habit of most modern Hip Hop, it is a song of sexual conquest, with Lil' Wayne boasting of his ability to attract women and enjoy their company. Not so interesting, you think? Check out this set of lyrical couplets:

I get her on top / She drop it like it's hot
And when I'm at the bottom / She Hillary Rodham