dammit.

I'm not even going to get into the NIU shootings, because it's unbelievably screwed up, and people who I've been very close to for the better half of my life were put in mortal danger because some guy can't deal. I'm cranky about a good many things today that I'm not going to mention, but knowing that less than a few days ago bullets were flying through a classroom does not make things any better.

In brief:

• Just because Obama gives good speeches doesn't mean he's not capable when it comes down to the nitty gritty of governing, and it doesn't mean he doesn't have serious talent on his team.
• Remember how the GOP in Washington decided to stop counting votes when the chair of the state party didn't think his guy was going to win? John "Straight Talk" McCain tells Huckleberry to shut up and deal.
• Obama on why his campaign bodes well for his presidency.
• Hillary knows she has to win in Texas and Ohio to stay in the race, but thanks to some awful strategic decisions by Mark Penn, she may not even be able to pull that off. Oops!
• I know it's been said a million times, but the Iraq war has made America less safe. Why are we still there?
• The Governor of Pennsylvania wants you not to vote for Barack Obama. Because, y'know, he is black.
• Natalie Cole, a former drug addict who was once recognized favorably for making dull music and has since faded into artistic irrelevance, explains that we should only listen to music made by good people.
• If at first you don't succeed . . . blame the rules and try again somewhere else.
• Puerto Rico may be startlingly influential in choosing the Democratic nominee.
• Obama scores a RINO endorsement and may already be whittling down McCain's support from his own staff.
• Obama has been lining the pockets of some superdelegates' campaigns. I wonder if this will help him win . . . (Hint: there are still about 400 superdelegates who haven't endorsed).
• Iraq is learning from the nuances of the American legal system.
• Hillary Clinton's strategy of waiting it out until the delegate-rich states like Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania vote has been endorsed by someone who had a similar strategy: Rudy Giuliani's campaign manager.
  

Hilarious Publicity Stunt of the Week:
Indignant that the Democrats were going to pass an update to the Protect America Act that didn't include retroactive immunity for telecom companies who illegally surrendered information to intelligence agencies, House Republicans staged a walk-out that subsequently interrupted the memorial service for the recently deceased Representative Tom Lantos. So convinced were they that this bill was vital to our protection from the terrorist threat and our continued survival as a nation that they . . . let the bill lapse. Because it didn't protect large corporations who broke the law on behalf of the President. The nation is still standing, ladies and Gentleman. Democracy prevails.

John McCain and the Bullshit Express:
Despite my numerous disagreements with John McCain on a wide variety of issues, I had given him credit for at least being an honorable man, and for being less insane than a lot of Republicans. This week, I've written him off completely. Why?

• After a recent (four years ago) discussion of possibly switching parties in hopes of becoming a Democratic Vice President, McCain is now rated as the second most conservative member of the Senate, since he now has aspirations to be a Republican president.
• His vision of a 100-year-war to bring peace to Iraq is the exact vision that the Iraqis are fighting us to prevent.
• And the last straw: after his numerous statements saying that waterboarding is torture, and that the United States should never be torturing anyone, he voted not to prevent the CIA from waterboarding people. Screw that guy.
  

Important Quote of the Day #1:
"Rather than punish Solis Doyle or raise questions about her fitness to lead, Clinton chose her to manage the presidential campaign for reasons that should now be obvious: above all, Clinton prizes loyalty and discipline, and Solis Doyle demonstrated both traits, if little else. This suggests to me that for all the emphasis Clinton has placed on executive leadership in this campaign, her own approach is a lot closer to the current president’s than her supporters might like to admit." -- Josh Green

Important Quote of the Day #2:
"In the go-go world, where we eat standing up and are always on the run, looking to save time and do more, more, more in less time, can we agree to this: Let's start saying FEMA instead of SNAFU or FUBAR. We save a letter in each case, and it's clear that the one acronym will do the work of the two other words." -- Nick Gillespie, closing an article about toxic formaldehyde fumes in 35,000 FEMA trailers in the gulf coast.

Important Quote of the Day #3:
"On Monday, General Petraeus -- the unfailing font of wisdom who Must Be Listened To At All Times -- praised Syria for its enhanced cooperation with our forces in Iraq. Naturally, yesterday Bush issued some new anti-Syrian sanctions tied to Syria's lack of cooperation with our efforts in Iraq." -- Matthew Yglesias

Unsolicited Prediction:
After Barack Obama wins Wisconsin tomorrow, Hillary's margins in the remaining states will slowly start fading when Democrats around the country decide that while they do like both candidates, they just want this thing to be over. Election fever has passed, and now it's just election chest congestion. Texas and Ohio will serve as a political expectorant, and Hillary can return to being a rich, influential, and powerful Senator.