Mark Penn, Clinton pollster, ignoramus, greedy hypocrite, union-breaker, and fat piece of lard, reportedly does not have the quality of "intelligence" to counterbalance these aforementioned traits, according to a report by Karen Tumulty. I was going on the assumption that he was just a greedy moron. I figured, this guy MUST be brilliant, he has awful people skills! But no. Apparently, not only did he drive Clinton's campaign into the ground, he did it with very little knowledge of the campaign: so little knowledge, in fact, that he THOUGHT DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES WERE WINNER TAKE ALL.

Delegate math is getting complicated everyday. There is a scenario in which both candidates may end up with equal pledged delegates. It is tied to many "if"s but it is a likely scenario with an ever increasing probability. More below the fold...

"One of us on this stage will be the next president.  Whoever that is will be a good president -- respectful of the Constitution, committed to solving the health-care crisis, working toward energy independence and ending the war.  Any, given the right circumstances and the support of the American people, could be a great president.  My opponents are all intelligent, highly competant, ethical leaders.  We differ - certainly - on points of policy, we have different personalities. and we vary in our approaches to governance and public service.  The voters will decide among us and I trust them to make the best decision for our nation and the world.

I hope and believe that the voters will ultimately select me as the Democratic nominee.  Not because I am "the best" but because they believe my approach which emphasizes . . . [text omitted] . . . can do the most to restore our nation to greatness.

Thank you.

exactly what Obama stands for? I get the "Hope" thing, I also heard "Change", but are there any specifics? This is my first candidate hit diary, so please excuse my naiveté. I was talking with my best friend tonight, a young father who was leaning Hillary but I've been pelting him with the Edwards meme long enough to start turning him. He emphatically vowed that Obama should not get the nomination, and unless I can figure out what Barack actually values and what he would bring to the table, I have to agree. Maybe the right-wing talking points have been getting to me - I certainly understand what it's like to have your favored candidate attacked on the ad hominem front, but my criticism comes from a lack of clarity on the part of his campaign. I just don't understand how people could be inspired by abstract nouns.

Sigh. Look, I'll be brief. I come here this morning, just a peak 'cause I have other work, seriously, and oh my god, what do I find? Three Gore diaries on the rec' list, one urging Al to run, one offering in-depth analysis the latest poll data showing that Gore is more electable than Hillary against Giuliani, and one that states categorically as "breaking news" that Gore has ruled out a run completely.. Guess which one made my heart stop? Thankfully, having been on this roller-coaster for a while, I check out the comments and sure enough, Gore has said nothing of the kind , nothing new at all, and who really thinks he would break such a huge piece of news to the Europeans before his own people?

One problem that has been raised, and it's a very valid point, is how will Gore be able to shift gears from repeatedly insisting, these many months, that  "I have no intention", "I have no plans" to run for President to suddenly declaring he's in?  What can he say without losing all credibility and becoming a laughing stock on the evening news? That is what this diary will examine.