So Obama doesn't vote the way you like on FISA, and you throw a fit.  Then Hillary votes how you like and panders to you on top of it, stoking your collective fire and making you angry at Obama all over again.  Some of you even regret having Obama as the nominee.  You don't think it's possible that Hillary had alterior motives for her vote?  That maybe she wanted to get one last shot in at the man who ended her Oval office dream?  The Clintons would bever do something like that, would they?

Obama is not perfect.  No candidate is.  But did he call social security a disgrace?  Did he say the casualties in Iraq "aren't that important"?  Did he make jokes about killing Iranian civilians or not know the difference between Shia and Sunni?  I think some of you have forgotten just how damn important this election is.  I cannot survive another four years of a Republican president.  I cannot wait for the perfect candidate.  I am unemployed, up to my neck in debt, and draft eligible.  I need change now, and I will not let you ruin it!  Get over your damn hissy fit and get behind Obama!  

I trust Barack Obama… from that moment I heard his Iowa victory speech… to when I caucused for him several days later… to when he hit some road bumps along the way to the nomination… to these raging debates on moving to the middle and FISA… to today when I write this diary.  I trust Barack Obama.

Some might say our support has wavered; some might say that we have become disillusioned because we thought he was something that he is not; and some may even seek to broaden the divide and create a new media narrative.  I say to these people, the words of a few might be louder at the moment, but the silent majority are pragmatists and will deliver for him in the end.  We will deliver for America.

Reality check over the fold…

I have been largely trying not to let Clinton's disingenuous ambitions, spin machine, and outright dishonesty be too much of a distraction.  Problem is, she keeps re-inserting herself into the discourse, and not in a good way.

As I've sat and watched primary coverage online each day, most recently and notably Mr. Ickes insinuation of threats of taking full advantage of the process, as well as Hillary's bile about popular vote, I couldn't help but think to myself, "oh yeah, where was that attitude in 2000, when thousands of voters were in fact disenfranchised with nary more than a meek whiny objection before a conciliatory concession???

Then I had a mental flash of the observations flying about how Billary's actions seem to openly and glaringly point more to plans of killing the Dems' chances in '08 if she is not the nominee, so she can come back in '12.

Then, another flash of the indefatigable Chuck Todd saying "it's Barack Obama's party now."

Hello, let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Forest. I am important to our political ecosystem. All of the trees you keep perseverating on, and bumping into are fine and dandy. But, I am the real deal.

Just to let you know, the Democratic primary (tree number 1) is not the general election. That would be me (i.e. the Forest).

Now, some of you may wonder why I, an acknowledged Obama partisan, am promoting this poll which shows Clinton fairly substantially ahead. Follow me below the jump for why.

My asbestos suit is securely buttoned.  Gloves, check.  Helmet, check.  Ready, set, ignition!

Postings on Kos like the one hereare what give liberals/progressives a bad name.

This emotionalism:

We were scrambling to come up with this month's premium and my husband said "maybe we should just go un-insured. If I get cancer, I will just shoot myself in the head."

This is a terrible thing for a man who has worked so hard for 40 years to say. I don't know how much longer we will be able to afford to pay for medical insurance, it is so expensive.

makes for great theater, but does absolutely nothing constructive towards solving the problem.

First of all, let me apologize to all John Edwards supporters.  Now let me tell you what this diary will not be about.  

I promise you I will not mention how John Edwards constantly criticizes other candidates for taking "Washington" lobbyists’ money, yet he takes money from Unions, trial lawyers, state lobbyists, hedge funds...the list goes on and on.  And of course when he takes this money he is not promising them anything, but I will not mention that or his zero credibility on this issue.

I also will not mention how his campaign tried to crush a student documentary on the location of Johnny’s fancy headquarters in the upscale portion of Chapel Hill; I guess they thought it would look bad for a "man who is fighting for the poor".  Again I will not mention his zero credibility.

I will not mention how John Edwards claims he can win a redstate is BS, seeing how he will not even when his two home states(NC or SC).  As a matter of fact, he will not come close.  In addition, I will not address the polls that his supporters claim show him winning redstates since they also use to boast about polls that showed him leading in Iowa.  

This is not meant to be a pro-candidate or anti-candidate diary.  It is a reality check for those who think that John Edwards can miraculously win in Iowa, which in turn will catapult him into the Democratic Party nomination.  It is not going to happen, and here’s why.

In a few diaries, I’ve responded as follows to the suggestion that an Edwards win in Iowa will give him the momentum to win primaries in the other early states, and ultimately the nomination.

Hillary Clinton is not Howard Dean.

Hillary Clinton was right on Iraq.

At least she was by the standards that people at dKos apply to many of their pet presidential candidates for 2004 and now 2008. She must have been "right," because her position in the fall of 2002 was the same as that of the much lionized Dean, Clark, and Gore during that time.

Disclaimer: I voted for Dean in 2004, largely due to his Iraq War opposition during the campaign. But I vote for Clinton in every 2008 straw poll - and I present this diary about her - not because she is my ideal candidate, but out of frustraion with the unfair and growing dismissal she gets from this site, and because I don't see many other strong alternatives.

(more after the break)

Al Gore recieved a 28%approval rating in the latest CBS/NY Times poll. Al may have had some funny lines in the SNL intro last night but he is still not breaking through to mainstream America. There was an article a month or so ago from Ezra Klein in the American Prospect that said Al Gore was reinventing himself and may be poised to run in 2008, it is going to take more then telling some jokes on SNL for Gore to make a serious run, the man has a lower approval rating than Dubya for Christ Sakes!

Some things are `self-evident' while the motivation behind others is not quite so clear.

 Government
 Capitalism
 Politics
 Money
 Commerce
 Banks