Posts from ‘April, 2008’

So, there’s a lot handwriting on the wall for Big Oil, all of it indicating big changes are imminent. But with billions invested in plant, equipment, technology and a well-established business model complete with lavish government support, oil executives aren’t anxious to move on to some still uncertain next thing.

Clinton bashes the Bush administration for approving the plant’s relocation to China, presenting herself as a staunch opponent of that kind of thing. But Clinton doesn’t mention the plant’s sale to the Chinese was first approved during her husband’s administration, albeit with ultimately worthless assurances it would remain in the U.S.

Sen. Barack Obama stepped in front of reporters today, putting distance of biblical proportions between himself and his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, then forthrightly answering questions about the matter. Short of the senator firing mortar rounds into Wright’s home, Obama’s message to Wright and the country could hardly have been more emphatic. . .

Democrats, including Clinton’s backers, shouldn’t kid themselves. Once the Democratic race is settled and the gloves come off, that trust gap will become crucial — and Republicans now acting almost smitten with the lady will exploit those numbers and what they indicate with a vengeance.

Let us point you to a couple of feature stories, both excellent in content and writing.
The first, “Democrats registering in record numbers,” offers welcome news during this spring made worrisome by the overextended struggle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Here’s a teaser . . .

What came through most of all about Obama is what a reasonable, thoroughly decent and understandably tired human being he is. What came through about Wallace, no surprise, was that he was pursuing a certain agenda — the same one we noted about a year ago in the right-wing establishment generally. That is, the Republican right believes running against Sen. Hillary Clinton in November will give their guy his best chance.

After 21 debates and given that the candidates are so closely aligned on policy, another debate simply provides Clinton an opening to see how many times she can work Pastor Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, the words “bitter” and “cling,” and 3 a.m.-phone-call nonsense into the exchange.

Quote: “Now the burden is on Obama to win the next round of primaries on May 6. He has said publicly that Indiana could be the tiebreaker, a prediction he could come to regret. If Clinton can win Indiana, hold Obama to single digits in North Carolina, and then run up a big margin in Kentucky on May 20, where she’s leading in the polls, she could overtake Obama in the popular vote. . .”

Reportedly put off by the tone of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign, a major fund raiser announced he’s switching to Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign. . .

Keeping in mind the ongoing nightmare of Palestinians’ displacement is a chief cause of hatred for the U.S. across the Mideast and prime motivator for terrorists, you have to view this news of a secret U.S.-Israeli pact OK’ing more West Bank settlements as way beyond the Bush incompetence we’ve all come to expect. Never mind that Bush & Co. now denies having made such an agreement; they lie early and often, avoiding a last-minute rush.