Bill Clinton's shaky thumb: an update

A few months ago I posted about Bill Clinton's thumb shaking (seemingly uncontrollably) during a Daily Show appearance. Commentors had noticed it, but no one knew if there was a problem, although some posited that it might be Parkinson's.

Looks like Bill Clinton has been tested, and he says that it isn't Parkinson's. Rather, it's just something that happens when one ages.

Who are these people?

According to a new poll, there are approximately 900,000 people in Illinois who still approve of the performance of Governor Blagojevich. Okay, so that translates to a whopping 7% approval rating, but how can anyone (except for his family and the president of the Hair Club for Men) possibly approve of this clown?

Wow

After getting a total of about 7 hours of sleep over the past two nights, I should catch my breath. But there is something palpable today in Washington (and it's not simply the inability to find a newspaper). How long this excitement can last is unknown, but the opportunity the election of Barack Obama offers is something that we have not seen in a while. Remember, this is the first time since 1996 that we have known the winner of the presidential election on election night. George W. Bush never got to celebrate until the next day in 2004 and (painfully) weeks later in 2000. And this is the first time a party has taken control of the White House with over 50% of the vote since 1980. I pray the Democrats use their power wisely.

A few thoughts:

1. For all the talk about GOP dominance in presidential elections, over the past 5 such elections, they have only won the popular vote once and none of their candidates received more than 286 electoral votes (both Bush '04). The Reagan coalition has long passed.

2. Barack Obama is George W. Bush's greatest achievement. Only with a presidency so disastrous would America be ready to elect an African-American named Barack Hussein Obama. To be sure, Obama could only have won because of his awesome political and oratorical skills and the running of a near flawless campaign, but Bush laid the groundwork to make this all possible. (He also made it virtually impossible for McCain to win.)

3. Nate Silver has entered my personal pantheon. He called virtually every state right.

4. Shortest meeting in history--this year's conclave to name Time's Man of the Year.

5. Should the other cities just drop out of the competition for the 2016 Olympics now? The odds of it not going to Chicago are pretty, pretty low.

6. Speaking of Chicago, does Obama's election mean it will get the 2012 Democratic Convention? It would make sense although Illinois is clearly not a swing state and using Denver this year was a boon in Colorado (although Obama would have won it anyway). Other possibilities--how about St. Louis--it borders Illinois, and Missouri was the one real swing state that Obama seems to have (very narrowly) lost. Charlotte? Atlanta? Heck, what about Phoenix--without McCain on the ticket, Arizona will be in play. Okay, I will now stop worrying about 2012.

7. I've mentioned it before, but I look forward to hearing Obama speak on February 12, 2009. No, I don't expect him to be wishing me an early birthday greeting. It is the bicentennial of the birth of Lincoln, and President Obama speaking on such an occasion in a sense says all that needs to be said of our greatest of presidents. (Obviously, the inaugural address has the potential to be an all time great.)

8. A shout out to one unsung hero of the election--Joe Biden. Sure he had a few gaffes, but you knew those would happen. But this sober choice served in marked contrast to McCain's selection, and Biden seems to have helped electorally in certain working class areas. Obama outperformed Kerry in Scranton and throughout NE Pennsylvania as well as in SE Ohio. (Did you know that Biden was from Scranton?) Biden spent a lot of time campaigning there, and it seems to have worked. And Biden will offer none of the drama Hillary would have had she been VP. There will, of course, be Biden putting his foot in his mouth from time to time, but right now he looks like the happiest man in America, and he has good reason to.

As I have been writing for the past few weeks, the implications of the election of Obama are amazing. Moreover, Obama has shown throughout this campaign and well before, a steely temperament, a deep intelligence, and a desire for justice that this nation needs. He offers such great potential not because of his race, and yet the historic nature of his presidency offers him even greater opportunity. Once again, America represents to the world an idealized image a world an which any person can become president and where all men truly are equal. Sarah Palin liked to talk about Reagan's shining city upon a hill. (Reagan was quoting John Winthrop, but I'm sure Palin knew that.) But it was Obama's election that has again made it so. Now, he must act to keep that shine.

Yes we did.

Thought of the Day

First, let me make a major caveat that I am not counting any chickens before there is any hatching. However, if Obama wins in 2 weeks (as I think will happen and is looking more likely by the day), is there any precedent for such an event in world history? You will have someone who is a member of a minority that was not only enslaved but was disenfrachished and otherwise discriminated against in much of this nation at the time Obama was born. In fact, his parents' marriage was illegal in many states when it occurred in 1961. And yet, Obama is at the cusp of being elected president despite African-Americans constituting only about 13% of the US population. (Yes, I know Obama's mother is white, but I don't really think that matters in this analysis.)

Has there ever been another situation where a member of a minority group that was disenfrachised and otherwise discriminated against and been at the lower part of the socio-economic ladder been elected to the highest office in that nation? Mandela in South Africa doesn't apply because blacks are the large majority there; once they were enfranchised, a black leader was predetermined. (In some ways, the election of a white South African president would be an interesting albeit imperfect comparison.) There has never been an aboriginal leader of Australia or a Maori in New Zealand. A Catholic elected to lead Northern Ireland (if they had such elections) would present numerous similarities but it too hasn't happened nor has an Isreali Arab becoming the PM of Israel? Can anyone come up with a parallel that has actually happened?

The seeming uniqueness of what the election of Obama would mean is a small but real reason to support him. His election would represent perhaps the final triumph of the idea of America. The nation has not always lived up to its ideals, but it has (often) aspired to them, and over the centuries moved closer and closer to them. My favorite quote from Bill Clinton is “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." This election will hopefully reinforce that point, and the election of an African-American president would be in many ways the final overcoming of America's original sin. (I should stress that this alone is insufficient reason to support him, but Obama's intelligence, vision, and temperament provide ample additional bases to support him.)

Finally, I point out that the day before the inaugural (which is on a Tuesday) is MLK Day. Something quite fitting in that. And 3 weeks later is the bicentennial of the birth of our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. The idea of a President Obama presiding over such an event would, one imagines, have brought some sort of smile to Lincoln's face.

And one more time: Knock on wood.

Well, I Guess This Was Inevitable

When you select as your running someone whose foreign policy experience is based upon her state's proximity to Russia, whose executive policy experience is running an administration like Boss Hogg ran Hazzard County, and whose energy expertise, at best, makes her qualified to serve as King of Saudi Arabia, but who looks good, you only encourage this. Had McCain picked Lieberman, this movie would never have been made. (Of course, if he picked Charlie Crist or Lindsay Graham, it would have been in a very different genre.)

Quote of the Day

"John McCain has already tapped me."
--Sarah Palin

Well, I guess we now know why he picked her.

A Good Omen?

For the first time in 102 years, both Chicago baseball teams have qualified for the post season. (For those who don't remember, in 1906, the "Hitless Wonders," the nickname affectionately given to the 1906 White Sox, pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Series history beating 4 games to 2 the Cubs of Tinkers to Evers to Chance and who had gone 116-36 (the best winning percentage in baseball history).) And who is from Chicago, you ask--Barack Obama, of course. (He's a Chisox fan.)

McCain's favorite team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, had a 4 1/2 game lead on August 29, only to collapse and lose the pennant to the Dodgers.

I'm not saying it means anything (and all the polling is a little more important) but . . . .

Thursday Musings

1. The baseball season is reaching its climax with most races decided, but a couple of thoughts. First, I have readily admitted my Yankee fandom, but I am really growing to hate the Red Sox more and more. Their performance on Tuesday night was pure bush league. This is a team that has made the playoffs 5 of the past 6 seasons and, much at it pains me to say it, won 2 of the last 4 World Series. And they have a full throttled celebration for clinching a wild card birth?!? Act like you've been there before . . . because you have. Papelbon is the biggest idiot of the bunch, and annoys me to no end. (I will say that as much as I fear Ortiz, I certainly respect him, and I would love to have Youklis on my team.)

2. In contrast, the Rays, who are about to finish ahead of the Red Sox, showed more restraint in their celebration. This is a team that has never won more than 70 games until this year. They could have had a massive celebration on Saturday night, but instead they have remained focused on winning the AL East ensuring that the Red Sox and Angels meet in the first round while they host the White Sox/Twins winner. Go Rays!

3. Mrs. Bartender and I attended our final Nats game of the season last night. Disappointing year for the Nats--riddled with injuries, they are going to lose 100 games for the first time in franchise history. (That includes the 36 years spent in Montreal.) Attendance at the new stadium was mediocre, but as long as the team improves, the attendance will as well. If, however, nothing happens in the off season, tickets won't be hard to come by next year (except when the Red Sox come to town in June).

4. I ran into Marc Lerner at the game (his family owns the team), and had a nice chat with him. He was very interested to talk particularly once he knew I had been to about 20 games this year. I made a bold suggestion of adding lights to the out of town scoreboard to indicate how many outs there were in other games, and he immediately had someone looking into the possibility. So if this happens next year, you can thank me.

5. Ah, politics. Every day I ask myself, what the hell was John McCain thinking in picking Palin. She is so far out of her depth, it is truly sad. She has neither knowledge nor intellectual curiosity, and while no one seems to want to say it, she just is not very bright. That she cannot, after having weeks of tutoring, be able to answer straightforward questions about the economic crisis our nation faces with anything other than the most basic platitudes is shocking. I certainly do not believe that a first class mind is required to be a great president--indeed, of the 4 most successful 20th century presidents (TR, FDR, Truman, and Reagan), only Teddy Roosevelt was a first class mind. But there are limits, and she is so far from what is required, it is shocking.

6. As for the McCain attempted time out yesterday, did it make any sense? Was his advertising somehow affecting the economy? If anything, it helps as it spends money! And do all of his campaign workers need to devote time to the meltdown (of the economy, not his campaign)? Was it anything more than another desperate gambit and an attempt to prevent Friday's and next Thursday's VP debates? In the end, McCain it seems is going to have to blink and show up in Oxford tomorrow, and the "suspension" of his campaign will be little remembered.

7. Finally, a little pop culture--isn't that what we're supposed to do around here? As I mentioned a while ago, we have been watching the Heroes DVDs. We have 1 episode left from season 2 before the season 3 premiere from Monday night. Season 1 was very good until the last episode; season 2 (and I don't yet know how it ends) sputtered with extraneous heroes that we cared nothing about, stories that dragged on way too long (Hiro in Japan), annoying actors (West and the black tear wonder twins), and characters who constantly act like idiots (see Mohinder). To its credit, the final few episodes were an improvement, but to compare this show to something like Lost is a joke. It's fine but not great television. (I think one friend likes it because it is providing employment to numerous former Star Trek actors. Too bad Bones and Scotty are both dead.)

8. Very excited for The Office but am sad that 30 Rock isn't back for another month. I do need some Michael Scott back in my life.

Bill Clinton and the shaky thumb

Last night Bill Clinton was a guest on the Daily Show. It was pretty great, but I noticed Clinton's thumb shaking, seemingly uncontrollably, throughout his first segment on the show. When he came back after the commercial break his hand was off-camera, so there were no more sightings of the shaky thumb.

I was curious about what might be wrong, so I did an Google search for "Clinton shaking thumb" and "Clinton shaky thumb," but alas, all I found were articles about Bill giving a thumbs up, or Bill shaking hands with others.

Am I the only one who noticed this? Does anyone know if there's a problem?

Attention, CNN: Don't Criticize What You Can't Understand

Okay, we've been way too quiet for a while, and I just wanted to put up a short post on the CNN created controversy of the day. (With the economy tanking, this is thankfully getting little play.) CNN.com has a link up to a discussion about what it calls Saturday Night Live's "Palin Incest Spoof." If, however, they actually watched the entire skit, CNN would understand that the point of it was not to attack Palin but to mock the New York Times and the mainstream media for knowing nothing about Alaska and being willing to say anything about Palin. Heck, Kathryn Jean Lopez, a crazy right winger at National Review Online, liked the skit, writing that Al Franken, who contributed to the opening skit attacking McCain, "has my apologies if he had anything to do with the New York Times skit." She got the joke (such as it was), and CNN didn't.

The biggest problem with the skit (and with the opening skit about McCain for that matter) was that they weren't very funny. Neither of them. I may have more sympathy with the skit that opened the show on a political level, but it wasn't that good and neither was the one attempting to skewer the Times. In fact, the only very good SNL skit in the first two episodes has been the Tina Fey as Palin skit.

Thoughts

You know what makes me sad? The fact that this blog is so inactive. We have had only two posts this month (both by Isaac, mine will be the third). Last month we had six total posts, with Isaac drafting four, and Holt and me drafting the other two. Bailey hasn't posted since June and Wilder hasn't posted since December 2007. I have barely been writing. Very sad.

I have seen posts like this on other blogs. The blogger then says that s/he misses blogging and will be better about keeping up with the blog. It's the kiss of death--the blogger rarely returns, and the blog eventually dies.

So I won't say that I'm going to be better. But I will share some thoughts:

1. I hate the Republicans. I can't even talk about the extreme hypocrisy and utter ridiculousness of their tactics (and the frustrating that they seem to be working). It consumes my thoughts way too often.

2. I'm watching Runway right now, and in anything between Kinley and Liane, I'm on Team Liane. I really like her best, but Korto is growing on me. Gobo is really fond of Kinley. He agrees with me that Liane is the best designer of the bunch, but he just has a warm spot in his heart for Kinley.

3. We watched the entire first season of Mad Men over the past month, and are catching up on Season 2. Gobo calls Peggy "Kinley."

4. Also on the Runway topic, I really hate it when Suede talks about himself in the third person. Who does that? Oh! And Heidi just said "...two of you, will be out." She's never said that before.

5. I started watching Big Brother again this summer. I'm pathetic. Luckily, there wasn't all this talk about god and evildoers like last season.

6. In addition to Mad Men, Gobo and I watched season 1 of both How I Met Your Mother and Burn Notice. We're about to start season two of both of those shows.

7. Fall television is starting. I'm really excited to see Pushing Daisies and the Amazing Race again, and I'm sad that I have to wait so long for Friday Night Lights. If I didn't have such an aversion to talking to customer service reps and waiting during a four hour window in the middle of a workday for technicians to install things, I would probably just sign up for DirecTv.

Thought of the Day

As the GOP has completely descended into an angry, bash Washington, bash the press, bash elitism party, I have to ask myself if John McCain regrets the path he took. Senator McCain, at his best, is a proud member of the Washington elite, someone with great relations with the press ("my base," as he has rightly joked), who has cared about some aspects of governing, and has left the culture and class wars to others (or, as was the case in 2000, was its victim).

Yet over the past year, he has had to reverse his position on god knows how many issues (the Bush tax cuts, the estate tax, the environment, offshore drilling, immigration, etc.), and he has now been forced to pick as his running mate someone who has not shown the slightest bit of interest in what McCain clearly (and perhaps rightly) believes is the most important issue this nation faces, the war(s) in which it is currently engaged and the threats it faces from terrorism and, in a very different way, the Russians. Yes, the base loves her, and maybe the Hail Mary will work, but this is not John McCain; picking Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge wuld have been. The result is--in a way the Obama campaign perhaps never realized--the third campaign of George W. Bush.

And so I wonder if John McCain ever asks himself if he should have said yes to John Kerry 4 years ago. I believe had he done so, he would currently be the VP of the United States. (He would have been a much more effective VP candidate than John Edwards--I have never been a fan of his even well before the latest misadventure.) And the nation would have had a type of bipartisan leadership that McCain, at his best, was the epitome of. Now, that is gone, perhaps for good.

Thankfully, Obama has in many ways taken over the mantle of this type of leadership. Yes, he's well to the left of McCain, but his instincts are for consensus and moderation. Not just with the safe selection of Joe Biden, but there is no doubt that certain Republicans will be very influential in an Obama administration--Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, Colin Powell, and Robert Gates all come to mind. Heck, had he lost the GOP nomination, John McCain would have too (and may try to reinvent himself during an Obama administration).

That being said, the election is certainly not over; however, even with the media's ridiculous overreaction to Palin's speech in the past 18 hours thanks to the attacks on the media from the McCain campaign--this election is becoming more and more Obama's to lose. The fundamentals all support him, he shored up his support in the party last week, and his message and Joe Biden are much more suited to the voters in the middle than the GOP's and Sarah Palin's. And if I'm right and McCain loses, hopefully he'll manage to keep some of the dignity that had made him so popular with those his party not only derides but it has basically made such derision its sole raison d'etre. (And yes, by using this French phrase--French, egad!--I am certainly one that would be at the center of their attacks. I am one of those cosmopolitans, that the former mayor of New York City derides.)

In Memoriam: Tim Russert

Like I'm sure all of us, I was stunned to hear this afternoon that Tim Russert had passed away at the age of 58. I had the good fortune to meet him last year at NBC's Washington Studio and spoke with him, Charlie Cook, and Chuck Todd (admittedly, I had no idea who Chuck Todd was at the time) for about 15 minutes. Although these three individuals are (and today the verb is sadly "were") 3 of the best political journalists in America, the conversation revolved almost entirely on the Washington Nationals. Just from that brief meeting, I saw the passion that Russert had for the game; his passion for politics was obvious for anyone who watched Meet the Press, just as he made quite apparent his love of the Bills and his family. At the time of this conversation, I was three days away from having a minor heart procedure; now, almost exactly one year later, Russert is gone seemingly of a heart attack.

Watching his colleague react to this devastating news, it was apparent how much he meant to them. Olbermann and Todd were near tears; Chris Matthews (in Paris in the middle of the night there) in shock. Brokaw will be hosting a tribute this Sunday on Meet the Press about his friend and colleague. He was not a perfect journalist, but he was undoubtedly one of the best. Sunday mornings will never be the same. For lovers of politics and, more importantly, by his friends and family, he will be missed.

Fact of the Day

I was looking at the vote at the 1968 Democratic Convention (don't ask) and discovered that none other than Paul "Bear" Bryant, the legendary Alabama footbal coach, received 1.5 votes. Too strange.

Department of Really Poorly Chosen Metaphors

From today's New York Times:

Cynthia Ruccia, 55, a sales director for Mary Kay cosmetics in Columbus, Ohio, is organizing a group, Clinton Supporters Count Too, of mostly women in swing states who plan to campaign against Mr. Obama in November. "We, the most loyal constituency, are being told to sit down, shut up and get to the back of the bus," she said.

Can someone please point out to Ms. Ruccia that Senator Clinton's opponent is an African-American? Question for Ms. Ruccia, "Was Rosa Parks ordered to go to the back of the bus because she was (a) a woman or (b) black?" Were women ever required to sit in the back of the bus? (Were they? I'm asking.) Yeah, Hillary is being denied the nomination because of her gender; it has nothing to do with her having fewer delegates or votes.

Two More Random Political Observations

1. On MSNBC this morning, Pat Buchanan was talking about how Obama can now go to WV and try to make inroads with white working class voters. "Man of the people" Buchanan commented on how he needs to go to towns like White Sulphur Springs. It was interesting that this was the only WV town Pat mentioned, considering that it is the home of the very high end Greenrbrier resort. I'm sure it's a regular hang out of the Reagan Democrats and that Pat has only gone there as his base to speak with the little people.

2. From today's NY Times, Page 1: "In winning North Carolina . . ., Mr. Obama . . . recorded his first primary victory in nearly two months." Wow, he was really slumping. Until you realize that between his last primary win (in Mississippi) and yesterday, there had been exactly one primary, in Pennsylvania. You know, since winning the Super Bowl, the Giants have yet to win a game.

Tonight on Letterman

Obama is doing the Top 10. Here, via Marc Ambinder, are the top ten surprising facts about Barack Obama:

10. My first act as President will be to stop the fighting between Lauren and Heidi on the Hills.

9. In the Illinois primary, I accidentally voted for Kucinich.

8. When I tell my kids to clean their room I finish with, "I'm Barack Obama and I approved this Message."

7. Throughout High School I was consistently voted "Barackiest"

6. Earlier today, I bowled a 39

5. I have canceled all my appearances the day the Sex and the City movie opens.

4. It's the birthplace of Fred Astaire (sorry that's a surprising fact about Omaha)

3. We are tirelessly working to get the endorsement of Kentucky Derby favorite, Colonel John

2. This has nothing to do with the Top Ten, but what the heck is up with Paula Abdul.

1. I have not slept since October.

I note that Letterman is from Indiana. Coincidence? I think not.

If You Are (Somehow) Still Undecided

The Boss (along with the rest of E Street) has endoresed Obama.

I'm Back (I Hope)

In case anyone was wondering, I have a good excuse for my lack of posting. About two weeks ago, Isaac, Jr., became a big brother. Understandably, this is taking up much of my time. I need a name for the new little man (just for blogging purposes--he has a real name), and Isaac III just don't cut it. And Ishmael doesn't work because (1) Isaac, Jr., is older, (2) they are not half brothers, and (3) one is not more entitled to the patrimony than the other. But enough biblical asides.

A few random comments:

1. Even in the midst of all of this, Mrs. Bartender and I have been watching the excellent John Adams on HBO. When HBO does a show like this, it really pulls out all the stops. Great cast, great locations, and a really good job of trying to condense some important and complex history into under 9 hours. I note that I have a soft spot for Paul Giamatti, not only because his father was the commissioner of major league baseball (and President of Yale), but because someone once actually thought that I was he. Two points: (1) She kept asking if I was the guy from Big Momma's House; I knew she didn't think I was Martin Lawrence, but it was not until I saw Giamatti on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart mocking the role that I finally knew to whom she was referring and (2) Mrs. Bartender assures me I am much better looking than Giamatti is (faint praise, I know); I pray she is right.

2. I also managed to make it to the first game at Nationals Park. First, the Ryan Zimmerman walk off could not have been a better way to consecrate the park. Second, the new stadium is excellent, particularly after three years at RFK. Third, having been to 32 major league stadiums (I'm a little nuts), I would put it in the upper category, but not in the elite few parks such as PNC (Pittsburgh), AT&T (SF), and Camden Yards. (Wrigley, Fenway, and Yankee are in their own category because of their history.) Although my seats have a view of the Capitol (!), it does not equate to the settings offered by the parks mentioned above. It is, however, a great place to watch a game, and hopefully will encourage some top notch players to join the Nats. I give the park a B+, and if the neighborhood develops as appears likely, this grade can certainly improve. I'm heading back tonight (with Mrs. Bartender) for the second of many, many trip in the days and years to come.

3. Finally, a brief political aside. Barring something shocking (e.g., tapes of Obama preaching a la Rev. Wright), Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee, and it is high time to end the fight. If Pennsylvania voters recognize that a vote for Clinton is simply a vote for McCain at this point, perhaps they will mercifully end this battle. (The tightening polls offer grounds for hope, but I still think HRC will win PA by between 5 and 10 points.)

I also must disagree somewhat with the optimism some in the McCain camp are offering because the polls all essentially show him tied with Clinton or Obama. Considering that McCain has a unified party behind him while 20 to 30% of Clinton and Obama supporters indicate they will support McCain if their preferred candidate is not nominated and we know that most of these individuals will ultimately support the Democratic nominee, I believe these polls are misleading and the Democratic will quickly find himself (or herself) ahead once the nominee is chosen provided that it does not completely blow up on the way to Denver. And it hasn't yet. So Pennsylvania--we can end it now or we can wait for NC. What do you want to do? Just end it no later than June 4. (I point out that once enough superdelegates announce support for Obama to put him over the 2025 threshold and the networks say as much, there is nothing Clinton can do. This is what happened to Gore when the networks erroneously called Florida and the presidency for Bush. )

Potomac Wipeout

I realize I am turning this into a political blog (other than my strike updates of which thankfully there will be no more), but I want to weigh in on what has occurred over the past 5 days in the battle for the Democratic nomination. As is becoming more and more clear, the only way Clinton can beat Obama at this point is (1) either to draw an inside straight or (2) cheat. And, sadly, we are seeing more signs of the latter than the former.

With the massive wins over the weekend and yesterday, Obama now has more than 100 pledged delegates than Clinton. Because of the proportional allocation of delegates, the remaining states (a number of which favor Obama), and the various rules for various states, Clinton is going to need to win 60%+ of the vote in PA, OH, and TX to have any chance to pass Obama in this count, and I just don't see that happening. In fact, the TX rules for delegate allocation mean that if the election is even close (say 55/45 or less), the delegates will be essentially 50/50.

If Clinton doesn't win both OH and TX, this is over, and she better move aside gracefully. In fact, Obama can pick one of the two to focus on since he really only needs one of them. (I would think TX would be the one.) And if she narrowly wins both, I'm not really sure she is greatly helped although it would turn PA into a war. And that would mean from March 4 until April 22, all eyes would turn to the Keystone state.

My fear is the Clinton's repeated emphasis on seating FL and MI's delegates. This disgusts me to no end. The candidates were told that these states would not have delegates because the states refused to follow the DNC's mandate not to hold their primaries before 2/5. So no candidates campaigned in those states and Obama's name wasn't even on the ballot in MI. So if Obama is ahead in pledged delegates and the overall vote (excluding MI and FL although he is ahead at the moment even if they are included), and the DNC agrees to seat those state's delegations to put Hillary ahead, that will be the end for me.

Imagine if after the Yankees had beaten the Red Sox in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS (2004 never happened), major league baseball said that the Red Sox would go to the World Series because they had beaten the Yankees in 2 spring training games (and in one of which the Yankees had been told not to show up at, so they actually beat a semi-pro team from the area), what would the reaction be? New York would errupt. What would the difference be with what Team Clinton is trying to do here? So I lay down the gauntlet, if Clinton uses MI/FL or superdelegates or some other shenanigans to deny Obama the nomination, I will vote for McCain. (To be clear, I am not saying that there is no scenario in which Clinton could "legitimately" win the nomination, just that what they are trying to do seem pretty illegitimate because the legitimate avenues keep getting closed off.)