Campaign notes

Just took my first biology exam, think I did pretty well. So I'll indulge in a little bit of online political reading... getting my fix, so to speak. :-)

Read this commentary on the Florida and Michigan Democratic delegate situation on The New Republic's website. They haven't endorsed a candidate, but looking around their site, it seems like they lean Obama. Still, I think their argument is fair and reflects my own feelings.

NOW ABOUT ROMNEY... good riddance. Not so much because I disagree with his current positions (which I frequently do) or because I think he has no integrity (he's changed positions so often and refuses to acknowledge doing so), but because he continues George W.'s habit of questioning the patriotism of those who disagree with fighting the Iraq war.

Listen to him in this video beginning around the 2:30 mark: Romney says that electing Obama or Clinton is the equivalent of "surrendering to terror."

To surrender to terror would require that somehow we were challenged by a group of terrorists and gave in rather than pursued them. Now that's a scenario more akin to Afghanistan than Iraq. All evidence points to Osama bin Laden being the mastermind behind 9/11. His last known whereabouts were Afghanistan, not Iraq. We've prioritized a war of choice in Iraq over responding to the folks who attacked us; during the last several years, al Qaeda has had the opportunity to re-group. And Obama and Clinton have both highlighted this error and the need to re-focus on Afghanistan (though Clinton does have her vote to authorize force against Iraq as a blemish on her record).

So which strategy--George W.'s (which Romney seems to endorse) or the Democrats'--amounts to surrender with respect to the attacks of 9/11?

I LOVE HOW THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN dismisses an Obama win if it's in a "red" state. This is exactly the mindset that Obama's campaign transcends, the notion that Democrats have to write off huge swaths of the country in the general election. What is it about Hillary that has her thinking so small? More here, here, and here.

And while her campaign likes to say that Obama does well only in caucus states, he's actually won nine states that held primaries. And Hillary has won how many primaries? Nine as well. Hmm.

And don't tell me that she's simply realistic... that's a cop-out, an acceptance of the status quo and a lack of vision inappropriate for America when we face so many challenges at home and overseas.

THREE INTERESTING POSTS from The Daily Dish, each highlighting an email he has received about Obama: one from a caucus-goer from Maine, another from an Iowan Republican, and a third from a couple visiting Yemen. (And thanks, Dish, for bringing several of the other links above to my attention.)

Here's video of Obama answering the question, "Why should I vote for you?" in Alexandria, Virginia.

And finally, a link to his in-depth interview last night on 60 Minutes.