no preview, no edit, no "delete my abomination" contact email.

*sob*

apologies for the distraction folks. If you have any interest in NY politics, you can check the post at The Albany Project:

http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3502

Posted at June 23, 2008 8:30 PM in response to Sheldon Silver needs to go; why NY needs Obama-style bottom up reform and Paul Newell for Assembly

oh dear god, I missed the part about "no HTML tags" in posts themselves. what a trainwreck.

Posted at June 23, 2008 8:22 PM in response to Sheldon Silver needs to go; why NY needs Obama-style bottom up reform and Paul Newell for Assembly

The Obama campaign's continued willingness to wage battle openly on favorable McCain territory is a good sign. Clearly, they understand this perceived strength needs to be deflated. The general electorate isn't paying attention yet, and won't be for some time. Now is the time to keep up the attacks, keep McCain on his toes, exercise and perfect the tone and substance of your criticism of McCain. I'm mostly encouraged by Obama's efforts thus far.

Posted at June 12, 2008 3:48 PM in response to Poll: Equal Numbers Say Obama And McCain Have Qualities Necessary To Be President

The party has already proposed the policies Sen. Hart refers to. Our Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, has made some effort to frame our energy crisis as part of a larger national security problem, requiring drastic action. His campaign sees two substantial threats stemming from our dependence on Middle East oil. First global warming threatens the world with increased famine, droughts, flooding and territorial conflict resulting from continued climate change. Second, our continued presence in the Middle East continues to fund dangerous authoritarian regimes, destabilizes the entire region, and imperils the world's economic security, now so dependent on cheap energy.

Regarding the more visible perils of our continued military presence in the Middle East, Obama's Energy policy (pdf) claims, "not since the 1970s has America’s national security been so threatened by its energy insecurity, and, as we have learned the hard way over the past seven years, achieving energy security in the 21st century requires far more than simply expending our economic and political resources to keep oil flowing steadily out of unstable and even hostile countries and regions." This language re-frames the distant threat of Middle Eastern instability as a direct threat to our interests at home. Like Sen. Hart suggests, the Obama campaign is expanding the definition of "national security" to include these regional threats stemming from our energy policy. Global warming can -- and has been -- be included alongside more direct threats in the Middle East as a long term obstacle to our continued safety and prosperity.

Obama's energy policy, especially his cap-and-trade proposal, is a perfect example of a tangible policy proposal that addresses the new, broader definition of threats to our national security.

Posted at June 12, 2008 11:54 AM in response to Security From What?

He literally just walked off the stage at AIPAC, so I doubt he'll be on for some time. His speech in front of AIPAC was really wonderful, and opened with another gracious hat tip to the lingering pebble in his shoe.

Clinton should be on stage shortly. CNN.com has the live stream.

Posted at June 4, 2008 11:00 AM in response to Obama Speaking To SEIU -- Watch It Live Online

how utterly unsurprising

Posted at June 3, 2008 9:56 PM in response to Hillary: "I Will Be Making No Decisions Tonight"

Jesus, this endless posturing from superdelegates is absolutely infuriating. Senator Clinton won't concede -- or even move definitively towards concession -- until Obama has the numbers. He needs the superdelegates to deliver that number tonight. Delivering Obama the numbers tonight isn't a slight to Senator Clinton, it's simply the final step towards a finish line long in site.

Why do superdelegates feel the need to politely honoring Senator Clinton's delusion? The race is OVER. Now is the time to endorse. If Senator Clinton still thinks she can win by making her case to Obama's endorsers, still-uncommitted superdelegates and (eventually) the Credentials Committee, then so be it.

I hope, looking back, this excess of decorum, we find it helped create a smooth transition towards a party under Obama's lead. For the time being, the superdelegate hesitation looks a lot more like political cowardice.

Posted at June 3, 2008 9:55 AM in response to Uncommitted Super-Delegate: We Want The Race To Be Over This Week

Kim Jong-il

Posted at June 1, 2008 11:36 AM in response to After Tuesday's Voting, Obama May Be Only 20 Delegates From Clinching Nomination

It was Stephanie Tubbs Jones, outspoken Clinton supporter

Posted at May 31, 2008 7:24 PM in response to Rules Committee Officially Rejects Full Voting Strength For Florida

Full pledged and unpledged delegates for Florida at 1/2 vote each passed unanimously. Thank god.

Whoever made the first statement on the 1/2 Florida delegation vote motion did a really wonderful job. She responded perfectly to heckling from the crowd. Something along the lines of, "don't you believe in democracy [to Clinton demonstrators]? The full vote failed, and this resolution [half vote for delegates] is a reasonable compromise, and I urge an aye vote." Wonderful

Posted at May 31, 2008 6:51 PM in response to Rules Committee Officially Rejects Full Voting Strength For Florida