Okay...the FISA thing is a bit of a sticking point for some people, I realise, and I do hope Feingold and co are able to kill this stupid thing at least until Obama takes office (when, hopefully, congress will no longer be afraid of bush).

But what bothers me is the way Obama's getting thrown under the bus (by some) for allegedly throwing us under the bus (but where, pray tell, is this bus?)...

John McCain travelled to Santa Barbara to talk about how much purtier our coast would be if it had a half-dozen greasy oil derricks every couple of miles or so.  I have to say, I do appreciate his kind words for our coastline and how he intends to rape it, but I don't think that'll win him a lot of votes...though in reality it was just a fundraiser, and the Californians who go to McCain fundraisers to give that old fart money don't really care about much other than their perceived 'tax risk' if Obama gets elected.  Though I wasn't there to hear him personally, this is how I imagined his speech going:

"My Friends, when I look at your beautiful coastline, I can only think of the psychological benefit opening up those pristine waters to oil drilling will give the ignorant voters in the flyover states who may still be leaning in my direction, and I really need to keep those votes."

You gotta love these Al Gore hit pieces that float around the intertubes the day after he endorses Obama.  Sheesh...Republicans are so desperate to change the subject (from their pathetic candidate McCain, from the war on Iraq, from the resurgence of the Taliban, from the housing crisis, from whatever) that they'll go back to digging for dirt anywhere they can find it...even if it's not really dirt.

Well, isn't THAT magnanimous of her?

Okay, this will be brief, but I'd like to throw this out to everyone all the same...

Update [2008-4-22 17:46:14 by darthstar]: - Economy #1 issue Iraq #2...

56% economy voters go to Clinton (about same as Ohio)
57% of Iraq voters going to Obama (Ohio - these were split)...gain for Obama on this issue.
Update [2008-4-22 18:9:3 by darthstar]: #2 From Climateguy in the comments

From CNN:

Among first time voters, 60 percent went for Obama while only 38 percent went for Clinton. That discrepancy could keep the race close.

This is HUGE. Looks like Limbaugh's plan might have backfired ?

Update [2008-4-22 18:9:3 by darthstar]: 54% of voters in PA think Obama will be the nominee...let's hope that means they voted that way.

This will be short...I'm listening to Blitzer online right now, and he's promising exit poll results in a few minutes.

Update [2008-4-2 17:1:57 by darthstar]: Prank calls are not what I'm actually proposing here...my intent is to call attention to the idiocy of the 3am ad itself.  So don't take me literally and start calling Hillary's HQ and harassing her...christ, she'd parlay that into a seven day News Mini-Series on Fox and CNN.

Okay, by now there are a few 3am diaries up to discuss Hillary's latest "3am ad"--which, of course, she can't afford to fucking buy time for, so she's using the same goddamn theme so the MSM will play her ad (pro bono) fourteen fucking times an hour during the 'news,' and as a teaser for the 'news' and as discussion later on the talk shows about the 'news'...

Just thought I'd throw out a little vessel to hold your comments for those watching Obama speak.

I, for one, am sorry he even has to give this speech.  It's a sign he's on the defense against Clinton's campaign, when as vote and delegate and states-won leader, he should be in a more commanding position.

It is my hope he comes out strong and uses this speech as an opportunity to put this issue back on the shoulders of those to whom it really belongs--the biased media trying to hype up controversy to either help Clinton stay in the race or keep their ratings up or both, and the Clinton campaign for treating him worse than they treat McCain (who should be our true opponent).

I was listening to NPR this morning, as I do each morning, and they were talking about 'attack ads' and their effectiveness.  They mentioned an ad by a liberal organization calling John McCain "McSame as bush" and that the ad simply kept replacing McCain's face with bush's.  They also mentioned that the ad's sponsors spent about $1m dollars on a three week run un Erie, NY to test its impact.

Also covered in the story was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign against John Kerry, and the "3 am Telephone call" ad by the Clinton Campaign...and what hit me was the comment that these ads got a lot more play in the "news" than their initial market buys.

Okay, so Hillary's got her coffee clatch tonight, and there are already two or more "live blogs" for her "Town Hall" meeting...sychophants (oops! and I  should have caught that)psychophants of the world, unite!

But for those of us who find that option less than appealing, there's hope...

What...my money's not good enough for him? Sheesh...I go to try and make a simple donation, and he's all, Sorry, but we're just a little too busy right now to take your measely donation...

Screenshot over the flip.

Here's a working link (thanks, Populista) https://donate.barackobama.com/...

Methinks someone's got a little momentum going right now...

Cheers, everyone.

It also happens to be National Rhubarb Pie Day...so that has to be a little confusing for the rhubarb contingent as their crust overlaps with the generic pies out there.

So, given that Pie, pi, paisano, pi-rate, 3.14, etc. are often poll choices here at dKos, I thought I'd offer the following thoughts on the subject.

Given that the current primary season began back when oil was a mere $70 a barrel, I've had a lot of time to look at the candidates.  I've seen several 'debates' though to be honest one really couldn't call most of those staged moments debates.  Sure, there were loaded questions, such as (to roughly paraphrase) "Mr. Obama, can you explain why you hate the woman next to you on stage?" and "Mr. Kucinich, can you tell us more about your UFO experiences?" and of course everyone's favorite, "Diamonds or pearls?"

But these tough-to-answer questions on the real issues that concern Americans more than the economy, the occupation in Iraq, and (gasp) the environment didn't shake our candidates, and they didn't make me lose focus on MY candidate of choice...my navel.

My wingnut brother just sent me two links...vids below the fold.

They're from "Swiftkids for Truth" and yes, they're slamming Hillary...but honestly, I think these videos might actually help her.

Okay, we haven't even gotten off the Iowa Strawman yet and I'm already seeing diaries about Hillary stompin' ass in the 'swing states'...For chrissakes, people, give it a fuckin' rest already!

So, to help alleviate primary overload, I've put together a simple schedule which I'd appreciate people follow when blowing smoke up everyone else's respective ass about how great their candidate is doing...in states where noone's even bothered to campaign yet!

Please excuse the formatting...added dashes to make it more readable...feelin' too lazy to make it a table (plus, I've got to do some work today as well)...

WAAAA!!! We want a do-over!

What a bunch of fuckin' babies...clips after the flip.

Having finally (for the fifitieth fucking time) gotten exactly what he wants from the Democratic congress, President bush today declared he was going to be more reasonable in the future and not make any further demands on congress to show that he can be reasonable, and that good deeds do get rewarded.

But wait...there's more.

unless you're Rudy Giuliani.

Fires here in California, and tomorrow we're adding a bush to the fucking mess.

The dollar is making the fucking Peso look good these days.

Thirty-one Americans have died in Iraq this month (actually, a new low).

Congress prepares to capitulate (again) on FISA.

We need a distraction, people!  So let's play ball!