Obama: Ann Dunham and Health Insurance

Is Obama lying when he says his dying mother had to fight insurance companies to cover her medical bills?

It certainly appears that he misled the public, repeatedly.

A new biography about Obama's mother, A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother by New York Times reporter Janny Scott, debunks Obama's tale about his mother in her hospital bed worrying about how to pay her medical expenses.

From Byron York, the Washington Examiner:

"I remember in the last month of her life, she wasn't thinking about how to get well, she wasn't thinking about coming to terms with her own mortality, she was thinking about whether or not insurance was going to cover the medical bills and whether our family would be bankrupt as a consequence," Obama said in September 2007.

"She was in her hospital room looking at insurance forms because the insurance company said that maybe she had a pre-existing condition and maybe they wouldn't have to reimburse her for her medical bills," Obama added in January 2008.

"The insurance companies were saying, 'Maybe there's a pre-existing condition and we don't have to pay your medical bills,' " Obama said in a debate with Republican opponent Sen. John McCain in October 2008.

It was a simple and powerful story, one Obama would tell many more times as president during the national health care debate. But now we're learning the real story of Ann Dunham's health coverage is not quite what her son made it out to be.

...Scott, who had access to Dunham's correspondence from the time, reveals that Dunham unquestionably had health coverage. "Ann's compensation for her job in Jakarta had included health insurance, which covered most of the costs of her medical treatment," Scott writes. "Once she was back in Hawaii, the hospital billed her insurance company directly, leaving Ann to pay only the deductible and any uncovered expenses, which, she said, came to several hundred dollars a month."

Scott writes that Dunham, who wanted to be compensated for those costs as well as for her living expenses, "filed a separate claim under her employer's disability insurance policy." It was that claim, with the insurance company CIGNA, that was denied in August 1995 because, CIGNA investigators said, Dunham's condition was known before she was covered by the policy.

Dunham protested the decision and, Scott writes, "informed CIGNA that she was turning over the case to 'my son and attorney, Barack Obama.' " CIGNA did not budge.

In September 1995, Dunham traveled to New York for an evaluation at the renowned Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Returning to Hawaii, she began a new course of treatment. She died in November.

A dozen years later, her son turned her ordeal into a campaign pitch for national health care. But the story Obama told, Scott writes, was "abbreviated" -- the abbreviation was to leave out the fact that Ann Dunham had health insurance that paid for her treatment. "Though he often suggested that she was denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition," Scott writes, "it appears from her correspondence that she was only denied disability coverage."

That's quite a revelation.

I don't think Obama "abbreviated" the story about his mother and her health insurance concerns.

I think he altered the facts to suit his political purposes.

It appears that Obama's mom did not have to worry about being able to pay her medical bills.

"I remember in the last month of her life, she wasn't thinking about how to get well, she wasn't thinking about coming to terms with her own mortality, she was thinking about whether or not insurance was going to cover the medical bills and whether our family would be bankrupt as a consequence," Obama said in September 2007.

"She was in her hospital room looking at insurance forms because the insurance company said that maybe she had a pre-existing condition and maybe they wouldn't have to reimburse her for her medical bills," Obama added in January 2008.

"The insurance companies were saying, 'Maybe there's a pre-existing condition and we don't have to pay your medical bills,' " Obama said in a debate with Republican opponent Sen. John McCain in October 2008.

Twisting the facts about your own mother and the last month of her life is sick.

This dishonesty is really creepy. Obama is shameless.

Obama: 'Think We're Stupid'

We didn't know much about Obama when he was elected president.

We've learned a lot about the man since then.

We've witnessed the way he governs and we're living with the results.

We've seen how he handles crises. We've watched the tactics he employs compared to the rhetoric he uses.

Of course, prior to Obama's election, some of us had major concerns that Obama was not the figure he and the media built him up to be. The myth didn't match the reality.

There were moments that revealed the truth. His own words exposed the real Obama.

We heard his condescension.

"It's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

We caught a glimpse of his economic philosophy.

"I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."

We viewed his racial attitudes and willingness to throw even his own grandmother under the bus.

"[My grandmother] is a typical white person."

Since assuming office, Obama has amassed a pile of embarrassments, unbefitting the leader of the Free World. Again and again, we've witnessed his poor judgment, his bad decisions, his penchant for leading poorly as well as his failure to lead at all.

He's not at all a great intellect. He's not the post-partisan, post-racial, transcendental figure he claims to be.

Not even close.

Yesterday, while fundraising in Chicago, Obama had an alleged "open mic" incident.

He supposedly didn't know that his comments were being heard by the press. I'm not so sure about that. I think it all may have been a ruse.

From CBS News:

In what he thought was a private chat with campaign donors Thursday evening, President Obama offered the most revealing behind-the-scenes account to date of his budget negotiations with GOP leaders last week.

CBS Radio News White House correspondent Mark Knoller listened in to an audio feed of Mr. Obama's conversation with donors after other reporters traveling with the president had left the room.

In the candid remarks, Mr. Obama complains of Republican attempts to attach measures to the budget bill which would have effectively killed parts of his hard-won health care reform program.

"I said, 'You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We'll have that debate. You're not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we're stupid?'" recalled the president of his closed-door negotiations on the bill to fund the federal government until September.

...Mr. Obama said he told House Speaker John Boehner and members of his staff that he'd spent a year and a half getting the sweeping health care legislation passed -- paying "significant political costs" along the way -- and wouldn't let them undo it in a six-month spending bill.

...Speaking into a microphone which he may not have realized was still relaying his remarks to the White House press room -- where Knoller had been listening to earlier remarks that were open to the press -- Mr. Obama bemoaned GOP leaders' attempts to attach a measure to the budget bill which would have cut funding for Planned Parenthood.

"Put it in a separate bill," the president said he told Boehner and his staff. "We'll call it up. And if you think you can overturn my veto, try it. But don't try to sneak this through."

..."When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, he's just being America's accountant ... This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for," Mr. Obama told his supporters. "So it's not on the level."

Audio of Obama's remarks.



Obama is a very small man. He sounds angry and bitter. And he despises Paul Ryan.

Ryan gets under his skin.

Why?

Because Paul Ryan reveals Obama to be a demagogue. And, I say this with all due respect, stupid.

The truth has always been Obama's enemy.

Obama Says He's Been in 57 States

Barack Obama is NOT smarter than a fifth grader.



Andrew Malcolm, from the Los Angeles Times, writes:

Ah, Oregon. The beautiful Northwest. Rain. Trees. Clouds. Rain. Friendly territory for Sen. Barack Obama, the leading contender for the Democratic Party's long-disputed presidential nomination.

So there he was in Beaverton today at the start of a two-day swing through Oregon, virtually ignoring his remaining Democratic opponent, what's-her-name from New York, as part of his new strategy to act like the actual nominee while she flails around way behind in numbers.

Naturally, this being the Northwest where everything is not ruined quite yet, his staff had Obama visit an eco-friendly company, Vernier Software & Technology, that makes products for science teachers. He could get education in there too, see?

In his prepared remarks Obama was ready to start blasting Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, to show the Illinois Democrat is moving on to the general election campaign.

But first the freshman senator had to go through all the obligatory delighted to see you, delighted to be here part of stump speeches that also require that you actually know where you are.

Obama pulled that off O.K. But then he drifted away from the text a tad, as rookies are wont to do sometimes, forgetting how exhausting this primary process is and should be. And trusting in their instincts, their very tired instincts.

"It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

The Times' conscientious Robin Abcarian thought she heard something different there. She checked her tape recorder. It had captured what he had actually said -- 57 states now.

Wow. Obama really seems to be "losing his bearings."

The oh so eloquent Obama addressed his mistake later in the day.

(UPDATE: At a later stop Obama was talking with reporters and expressed concern he'd also mis-stated the number of potential cyclone victims in Burma. He said, "I hope I said 100,000 people the first time instead of 100 million. I understand I said there were 57 states today. It's a sign that my numeracy is getting a little, uh." At that point, an aide cut him off and ushered journalists out. Before he could mis-speak again?)

"My numeracy is getting a little, uh...."

The guy can't even get out a sentence.

You know, he's not really very good at thinking on his feet. He stammers a lot.

It's kind of funny that Obama is dreaming of 57 states, actually adding states to the Union, when he wants the Dem nomination for president to be decided by only 48 states.

Obama must be dead tired. To say that there are 57 states is so bizarre. It's really an odd, almost impossible, mistake to make.

I know he doesn't like to wear a flag pin. He seems to have an aversion to flags, but perhaps someone should give him a nice big one and he can count the stars.

I'm kidding, of course. It seems that Obama was on auto-pilot when he was speaking. He must be completely exhausted to slip up like that. I am more than willing to cut him some slack. I believe he knows that there are 50 states.

BUT--

Think of what the reaction would be if John McCain said:

"Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

The Left and the lib media would be all over it. They would say McCain was showing his age. The rigors of a presidential campaign are too much for the old man. Surely, he must be senile. Absolutely no one in one's right mind could say that there were more than 50 states, right?

But according to Obama, he's been in 57 states with one left to go, and he wasn't allowed to visit Alaska and Hawaii. Going by Obama's "numeracy," America is made up of 60 states!

Can you imagine if President Bush said something like that? The Lefties would be speculating that he's hitting the bottle.

The fact is Obama made a mistake, a very, VERY embarrassing mistake.

Yes, he lost his bearings, and he lost them big time.

Do I think from now on Obama should forever be associated with referring to the 57+ states of America?

No.

Of course after all these years, Dan Quayle is still trying to live down the "potatoe" thing.

Something tells me Obama won't suffer the same sort of perpetual ridicule.

McCain: "Accountable"

Obama: Robert Malley and Hamas

No wonder Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama to be president of the United States.

From The Times:

One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council.

“I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: “Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.” The rapid departure of Mr Malley followed 48 hours of heated clashes between John McCain, the Republican nominee-elect, and Mr Obama over Middle East policy.

Mr Obama, who has been trying to assuage suspicion towards him among the influential Jewish and pro-Israel lobby, spoke at a Washington reception marking the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence on Thursday when he promised that his commitment to the country’s security would be “unshakeable”. However, Mr McCain has high-lighted the Democrat’s pledge to negotiate directly with nations such as Iran – whose leaders talk of wiping Israel off the map – and a statement from Hamas saying that it hoped that Mr Obama would win the presidency.

Mr Malley, a respected commentator on Middle Eastern issues and part of President Clinton’s negotiating team at the Camp David talks, has come under attack in recent months from right-wing bloggers. Yesterday, asked if Obama campaign was aware of his contact with Hamas, he said: “They know who I am but I don’t think they vet everyone in a group of informal advisers.”

Randy Scheunemann, Mr McCain’s foreign policy chief, suggested that Mr Malley was part of an emerging pattern in which other advisers had been repudiated after throwing confusion over policies on trade and Iraq. “Perhaps because of his inexperience Senator Obama surrounds himself with advisers that contradict his stated policies,” he said.

Obama needs to take a course in vetting. He surrounds himself with nutjobs, terrorists, and people who like to talk to terrorists.

No wonder Jimmy Carter, chum of Hamas, is in Obama's corner.

Daily Kos Appeals to Dems Considering McCain

This post at Daily Kos caught my attention because of the misspelling. I don't want to put words in onanyes' mouth but I think "Democrats an Independents" should read "Democrats AND Independents."

Onanyes argues:

I've heard some Obama and Clinton supporters say that they would either sit out or vote for McCain if their choice didn't obtain the nomination.

I argue that this is a very bad idea.

More below the fold.

Note: I didn't even touch on many other significant points (e. g. his gaffes over the Middle East).

Onanyes provides seven reasons that McCain is not right for Dems and Independents:

1. McCain is not the "straight talker" that he claims to be, nor is he a maverick.

2. McCain does not have a scandal free past. Remember the Keating Five? McCain was one of them.

3. McCain exercises poor judgment in public; witness his seeking and getting Reverend Hagee's endorsement and witness his joking about bombing another country.

4. McCain does not respect women.

a. He called his wife a "c--t" in public.
b. He joked that Chelsea Clinton is ugly because Janet Reno is her father.
c. He did not express disapproval when a supporter called Senator Hillary Clinton a bitch.

5. McCain thinks that we are better off after having Bush for 8 years.

6. McCain admitted that the Iraq war was for oil and then tried to backtrack.

7. He is clueless on healthcare.

Onanyes concludes:

Folks, if you are an independent or a Democrat, then John "more of the same" McCain is not for you.

There you have it -- the Left's talking points against McCain.

Pretty weak if you ask me.

Can We Ask? Yes We Can.

Do you have a question for Barack Obama?

Check out CanWeAsk.com.

Obama, McCain, Hamas: "Losing his Bearings"

Fact: Barack Obama can't handle the truth.

Mentioning his middle name, the name his parents gave him, is a smear.

Mentioning that Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, wants to see Obama become president is also a smear.

I am so sick of Obama's whining. Whenever someone utters something truthful, but something the Obama camp deems to be negative, Obama cries "smear campaign."

That diversion doesn't fly.

NEW YORK -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Republican John McCain was "losing his bearings" for repeatedly suggesting the Islamic terrorist group Hamas preferred Obama for president.

That brought an angry response from McCain's campaign, which accused Obama of trying to make an issue of McCain's age.

Age is a touchy subject for McCain, who turns 72 in August and would be the oldest person to be sworn in as president if elected.

The two senators have focused more intently on one another in recent weeks as Obama has moved closer to becoming the Democratic nominee. Thursday's back and forth between Obama and surrogates for both candidates foreshadowed a likely argument for the fall campaign.

...At the root of the dispute is McCain's decision to call attention to a Hamas adviser's apparent affinity for Obama. The adviser, Ahmed Yousef, said in a recent interview: "We like Obama and hope that he will win the election."

McCain used those comments in a fundraising appeal and has cited them in interviews.

Asked about the matter Wednesday during a taping of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," McCain said: "It's indicative of how some of our enemies view America. And I guarantee you, they're not going to endorse me."

In an interview Thursday with CNN, Obama accused McCain of trying to smear him by repeating the comments.

"This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics,'" Obama said. "And then to engage in that kind of smear, I think, is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his."

The Illinois senator added: "For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name-calling in this debate."

Transcript of Wolf Blitzer's interview with Obama.

The comments that McCain tossed out happen to be the truth. If Obama finds the truth disappointing, so be it.

Obama can't slam McCain for acknowledging a fact. It's on the record. It aired on WABC radio on the John Batchelor Show.

Obama shouldn't be critical of McCain. He has a beef with Hamas. A terrorist wants Obama to win the election. That's reality. Deal with it.

McCain isn't distorting anything. He's not lying like Obama does, such as when he deceives people about the meaning of McCain's "100 years in Iraq" statement. McCain hasn't lost his bearings. Since when is telling the truth losing one's bearings?

The supposedly eloquent Obama either intentionally took a shot at McCain's age by saying "losing his bearings," or he's too dense to understand the negative connotation of the words.

Is Obama really as stupid as he is smug?

I think he knew exactly what he was saying.

His arrogance is very unbecoming.

Obama Campaign Blames Limbaugh's Operation Chaos

The Obama camp says Rush Limbaugh is responsible for Hillary Clinton's Indiana primary victory.

From FOX News:

Barack Obama’s campaign issued an e-mail on Tuesday night that appeared to relegate Hillary Clinton’s lead in Indiana to efforts by Rush Limbaugh to wreak havoc in the Democratic presidential primary contest.

In an e-mail entitled “The Limbaugh Effect in Indiana = 7 percent,” Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton wrote: “According to the latest exit polling data, 17 percent of voters in the Indiana primary today said they would vote for John McCain in a Clinton/McCain match-up. Forty-one percent of that number is constituted by people who voted Clinton in the primary but also indicated they will vote for McCain in the general election. That comes out to just under 7 percent of the primary electorate the number that may be attributed to a Limbaugh Effect.”

What a lame e-mail!

Burton is saying that Obama really won Indiana.

That's not how it works. Obama lost because Hillary got more votes.

Did Limbaugh's Operation Chaos play a role in giving Hillary that slim victory in Indiana?

Maybe.

It doesn't matter.

What matters is the Dems are divided. This has been a grueling bloody primary. It's May and Obama has shown that he hasn't been able to knock out Hillary.

There's definitely chaos, but Limbaugh can't take credit for all of it.

Why Won't Blacks Vote for Hillary?

So far in Election 2008, race has been a major factor in the Democrat primary race.

That didn't change yesterday in North Carolina and Indiana.

Those Big Tent Dems are hung up on race.

From the Washington Post:

Sen. Barack Obama won a convincing victory over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday in North Carolina and nearly toppled her in Indiana, twin results that could ramp up pressure on the New York senator to reconsider her candidacy for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton claimed a 51 percent to 49 percent victory in Indiana, a margin of just 22,000 votes statewide out of 1.2 million votes cast. The result was badly delayed due to extremely slow counting of votes in Lake County, a northwestern area seen as strong Obama country.

...The North Carolina electorate divided sharply along racial lines. As has been the case in nearly every state to vote so far in the nomination fight, African American voters went overwhelmingly for Obama -- 91 percent for the Illinois senator to just six percent for Clinton, according to exit polling. Clinton carried white voters in the Tarheel State convincingly, taking 60 percent to Obama's 38 percent.

Whites are significantly more likely to vote for Obama than blacks are likely to vote for Hillary.

Regarding the black vote, this Dem primary is playing out like a general election, with Obama being the Dem and Hillary being the Republican.

Blacks are completely abandoning Hillary.

Over 90 percent of blacks vote for Obama even though Hillary and Obama aren't essentially different in terms of the issues.

The difference is skin. It's race.

Although Hillary carries white voters, the margins are nowhere near the overwhelming number of black voters that Obama carries.

It's about race. When given a choice between a comparable white Dem and a black Dem, blacks go with the black candidate.

That's racist.

It's the elephant in the room.

Blacks used to support Hillary. Then Obama came along.

From the New York Times:

In North Carolina, Mr. Obama’s performance was bolstered by a strong black vote. He captured more than 90 percent of those voters in that state, where blacks accounted for one in three voters.

Exit polls in North Carolina and Indiana show that race is key.

Race again played a pivotal role in Tuesday's Democratic presidential clashes, as whites in Indiana and North Carolina leaned solidly toward Hillary Rodham Clinton and blacks voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, exit polls showed. Almost half said they were influenced by the focus on Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama, the Illinois senator battling to become the first black president, again failed to gain ground with a crucial voting bloc that has consistently eluded him — working-class whites. But he pieced together coalitions that besides blacks included the young, first-time primary voters, the very liberal and college graduates, plus sizable minorities of whites.

According to exit polls of voters, about two-thirds of whites in both states who have not completed college were supporting Clinton. The New York senator could use that to fortify her argument that she would be the stronger Democratic candidate in the November general election. Of 28 states that held primaries in which she and Obama competed before Tuesday, Clinton had prevailed with working-class white voters in 25.

...The six in 10 whites in both states supporting Clinton were similar to her margin over Obama among whites nationally so far, showing he continues to have trouble cutting into her support from those voters. Even so, his lopsided backing from blacks meant he didn't need white majorities Tuesday to be competitive.

...Nine in 10 blacks in both states were backing Obama — an even stronger margin than usual for a group he has dominated. That proved decisive in North Carolina, where they comprised about a third of voters — nearly double their proportion in Indiana.

All the talking heads keep stressing that Obama hasn't managed to win the Archie Bunker vote. Those blue-collar, uneducated bigots won't vote for the "exotic" Obama.

Jeremiah Wright had an impact on the way these bigots voted.

Actually, the pundits and columnists sound like bigots to me.

They completely ignore why blacks aren't voting for the white candidate.

Nuns Turned Away from Polls in Indiana

No ID, no vote in Indiana.

From the Associated Press:

About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn’t have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary’s Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.

The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn’t get one but came to the precinct anyway.

“One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, ‘I don’t want to go do that,”‘ Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.

The convent will make “a very concerted effort” to get proper identification for the nuns in time for the general election. “We’re going to take from now until November to get them out and get this done.

“You can’t do this like school kids on a bus,” she said. “I wish we could.”

What's the big deal?

Nuns don't get a free pass when it comes to voting.

The fact that the convent will get photo IDs for the elderly nuns shows that it can be done. If an individual is capable of going to the polls and casting a vote, the person is capable of getting a proper ID.

If the 98-year-old nun doesn't want to get an ID, then she doesn't have to vote.

Every American has an interest in making sure that elections are clean.

Hillary's Top Ten Reasons

In this image taken from video and supplied by CBS, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., delivers the 'Top Ten Reasons Hillary Clinton Loves America' on 'The Late Show with David Letterman,' Monday, May 5, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/CBS)

On the eve of the Indiana primary, Indiana boy David Letterman showcased Hillary Clinton on his show.

Hillary had the honor of delivering the Top Ten List.

"Reasons Hillary Clinton Loves America"

10. We have more Dakotas than every other country combined.

9.Canadian bacon: soggy and chewy; American bacon: crisp and delicious!

8. Thanks to the Internet, I can order new pantsuits 24/7 – there’s your pantsuit joke, Dave. Are you happy now?

7. 232 years and not one cookie shortage.

6. TiVo

5. Did I mention the soup? Mmm, soup.

4. Did you know former President Teddy Roosevelt was an American?

3. Where else can you get a car painted for $29.95?

2. Is this the part where I say, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”?

1. Apparently anyone can get a talk show.

Feingold, Commit Thyself

Sen. Russ Feingold: Do as I say, not as I do.

From the Green Bay Press-Gazette:

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Middleton said he'd be pleased with whoever wins the democratic presidential nomination.

"I'm going to be happy either way, I just want to get it resolved," he said to a group of 20 people at a Saturday morning listening session in De Pere.

Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York prepare to duke it out in the drawn-out and hotly contested race for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday in North Carolina and Indiana. The winner of the nomination will face Sen. John McCain in November. Feingold voted for Obama, who won the Wisconsin primary.

Feingold whines that he wants the Dem presidential nomination to be resolved.

Terrific. This coming from Feingold. He still hasn't made a commitment as a super delegate to support Obama or Hillary.

He could help his party move toward resolution by taking a stand.

Feingold, commit thyself!

Hypocrite.

Tom Hanks Endorses Obama

TOM HANKS ENDORSES OBAMA!

TOM HANKS ENDORSES OBAMA!

TOM HANKS ENDORSES OBAMA!

Tom Hanks announces support for Obama's presidential bid

Hanks has taken to his MySpace.com page to pledge his support for Obama, who is competing to be the first black president. Obama, who faces rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has also been endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Scarlett Johansson.

"As an official celebrity, I know my endorsement has just made your mind up for you," the 51-year-old actor says in a short video titled, "Beware: Celebrity Endorsement."

"History with a capital `H' is going to be made this November, no matter who the president-elect is. I want Barack Obama to be president of this country, a country that once said people with his skin color were only three-fifths of a human being."

...The actor says Obama and Clinton have each "pretended to eat cheese- steak sandwiches and go bowling," "committed gaffes" and distanced themselves from supporters who could damage their campaigns.

But Hanks thinks an Obama presidency could bring about a "seismic shift," and "live up to the great promise once shaped by our founding fathers."

Signing off, the star says: "I'm Tom Hanks, I wrote and approved this message, and I'm now going to turn off the camera."

Tom Hanks is taking a humorous approach and he's being self-deprecating about his "celebrity endorsement" announcement.

That's nice, but he still chose to throw out his endorsement the day before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. Carefully timed?

Even when celebrities attempt to downplay their egos, they fail.

Celebrity endorsements: WHO CARES?

My mama always said, "Celebrity endorsements are like a box of chocolates. Don't pay attention to what celebrities say about candidates and enjoy the chocolates even though you never know what you're gonna get."

Conan O'Brien Interviews Jeremiah Wright

Here's the video:





NBC removed the video, but the segment is available on O'Brien's NBC site for now. Go to "full episodes," April 30, 2008. It begins after the first commercial break, about 11 minutes into the program.

Transcript

O'BRIEN: Welcome Rev. Wright. Thank you for joining us tonight.

WRIGHT: Good evening, Conan. And G--damn you.

O'BRIEN: Rev. Wright, I haven't even said anything.

WRIGHT: Neither did I. What are you talkin' about?

O'BRIEN: You just said, 'G--damn you.'

WRIGHT: Now you're taking the whole thing outta context. That's not all I said.

O'BRIEN: OK, what else did you say?

WRIGHT: I said, 'Good evening, Conan. G--damn you.'

O'BRIEN: OK. OK, I see. You were just being polite.

WRIGHT: It was a greeting.

O'BRIEN: Yes, OK. Now what about this clip that everybody's been hearing where we hear you say, 'G--damn America.'

WRIGHT: I didn't just say that. What you're hearing is a sound bite, Conan, taken out of context so that the political analysts can simplify and distort the whole thing.

O'BRIEN: OK, well why don't you help us out? Go ahead and provide the whole context.

WRIGHT: Alright. What I said was: 'G--damn America. G--damn it to hell. Burn, baby, burn. O.J. was innocent.' Now do you see how it's different in the context, when you take the statement and don't break it down?

O'BRIEN: Yes, very different in the context. Yes. Thank you.

WRIGHT: Thank you. And G--damn you.

O'BRIEN: Reverend, supposedly you're a supporter of Barack Obama, but certainly you realize every time you speak in public all you're doing is hurting Barack's chances to win the White House.

WRIGHT: Hurting? Hurting Barack Hussein Obama? All I'm doing is helping Barack Hussein Obama. I'm defending my church so people aren't afraid of Barack Hussein bin Laden Obama. That's all I'm doing.

O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, just yesterday, you seemed to threaten Sen. Obama. You said, 'Come November the 5th, I'm comin' after you.'

WRIGHT: No, no, no, Conan. It's a sound bite, Conan. When are you gonna listen to the whole thing, the whole context?

O'BRIEN: Well, go ahead. Give us the context.

WRIGHT: What I said was: 'Come November the 5th, I'm coming after you. And I'm coming after your family. G--damn America. G--damn all the Americas.'

O'BRIEN: OK, I see the context now.

WRIGHT: I'm not finished: G--damn North America. G--damn South America, Miss America, Six Flags over Great America. G--damn American Idol, America's Got Talent, America's Next Top Model. G--damn America Ferrera, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West....

O'BRIEN: Wait a minute. What the hell are you talking about?

WRIGHT: Everyone knows Fievel Goes West is the worst in the whole series. G--damn Fievel Goes West.

O'BRIEN: Alright, alright.

WRIGHT: You see the context now, when it ain't broken down into teensy weensy sound bites. Do you see what I was trying to say?

O'BRIEN: Well, actually, no, I don't really see. So let's sum it up: You cursed America and you're going after Obama and his family.

WRIGHT: No way. I would never hurt Barack Saddam Hussein Obama, or his two daughters, or his two daughters Uday and Qusay.

O'BRIEN: Oh for God's sake, Rev wright! Now let's talk about some of the more controversial statetments.

WRIGHT: What controversial...?

O'BRIEN: You have claimed that the United States government created HIV to suppress the black community.

WRIGHT: Well, that's right. And even worse than that they, not only did they create HIV, the government also invented blackne.

O'BRIEN: Blackne? What's blackne?

WRIGHT: Yes, black acne. Come on, you know it's true. Don't you see?They invented blackne, and they used it to break up Kid 'n Play.

O'BRIEN: Oh for God's sakes.

WRIGHT: They're suppressing us. Ask yourself this: How come only white men have walked on the moon, even though a black man invented moonwalking? And Conan, the government's using their tricknology to confuse us. They made Lewis Black white and Barry White black.

O'BRIEN: OK, wait a minute. That's actually... that's good. That's true.

WRIGHT: That is true. And just this year, they saw that a black man had a good shot to become president, so they invented a crazy black preacher to ruin his chances.

O'BRIEN: OK. Are you by any chance talking about you?

WRIGHT: G--damn me. G--damn Jeremiah Wright.

Otis Moss

Otis Moss

Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ, has a new pastor. Out with Jeremiah Wright and in with Otis Moss.

Yesterday on Meet the Press, Obama talked about Wright and Moss:

MR. RUSSERT: You're done with [Wright]? If you're elected president, you won't seek his counsel?

SEN. OBAMA: Absolutely not. Now, I think it's important to keep in mind, Tim, that I never sought his counsel when it came to politics. And I--you know, some, some of the reporting that implies that somehow he's my spiritual advisor or mentor, as he himself said, overstated things. He was my pastor, and he built a terrific church. I'm proud of that church. We've got a wonderful young pastor who's there who's doing--continuing the terrific work that the church does. And that's my commitment. My commitments are to the values of that church, my commitment is to Christ; it's not to Reverend Wright.

I don't know what Obama's standards are when it comes to being a "wonderful" pastor, but they're nothing like mine. He's right about that "wonderful young pastor... continuing the terrific work that the church does." Moss echoes Wright in his sermons.

There's no change. The message from the pulpit is the same as it has been for the past 20 years.

At WorldNetDaily, Aaron Klein writes:

Otis Moss, the man slated to become the new chief pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ, referenced a rap song during one of his recent sermons that includes among its lyrics "F--- America" and states the U.S. is "still with triple K" – referring to the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.

Moss was lauded last week by Sen. Barack Obama as a "wonderful young pastor," and an acceptable choice to replace retiring pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose controversial remarks landed the presidential candidate in hot water.

...Following a series of national media interviews given by Wright last week, Obama strongly denounced some of Wright's statements as "divisive and destructive."

OK. Wright spews divisive and destructive statements and Obama has condemned him. Obama says Moss is different. He's "wonderful."

Really?

The 37-year-old Moss, nicknamed the "hip-hop pastor" by congregants, will become the head of Trinity Christ in next month.

In an interview in March with National Public Radio, Moss said he welcomes media scrutiny of his future sermons, calling the expected publicity "exciting."

"I'm excited because I'm hoping some people will get saved in the process," he said.

But his recorded March sermons are already revealing some controversial rhetoric.

In his Easter sermon, Moss spoke at length about the media attention received by Wright. Moss claimed Wright was "lynched" by the international media.

"No one should start a ministry with lynching, no one should end their ministry with lynching," Moss said.

In a section of the sermon being circulated on You Tube Moss went on to quote a song by the rap artist Ice Cube:

"Do you know who's got our back? If I was Ice Cube, I would say it a little differently – you picked the wrong folk to mess with," Moss exclaimed.

The song Moss was referring to is actually titled "Wrong N-gga to f--- with." It includes the lyrics "F--- America, still with the triple K" and it uses the spelling "AmeriKKKa."

The full lyrics provided in the album:

"Down wit the niggaz that I bail out
I'm platinum b-tch and I didn't have to sell out
F--- you Ice Cube, that's what the people say
F--- AmeriKKKa, still with the triple K
Cause you know when my nine goes buck
it'll bust your head like a watermelon dropped from 12 stories up
Now let's see who'll drop"

The cover image of Ice Cube's album, titled "Death Certificate," features a dead man identified as "Uncle Sam" who is covered by an American flag.

Moss compares the "public lynching" of Wright to the "public lynching" of Jesus.

He calls being black comparable to being a leper and having a "skin disease."

"You see they still are lepers. They still have a skin disease. They had a skin disease. They had a skin disease. Based on their skin condition, they were considered to be second-class citizens. They had a skin issue. They had a skin disease.

"And the lepers lived in a leper project. The lepers had bad health care. The lepers were disrespected. They had funny names for lepers. The lepers were considered inferior. They had an inferior school system. The lepers lived in a ghetto leper colony. The lepers were segregated from everybody else," he continued.

Moss went on to imply those who segregated blacks are the "enemy."

"But they (blacks) refused to give up. They decided to leave the city. They said that's not going to stop me from my destiny. Once they left the particular area, they then find out God has cooked things up. The camp of the enemy ... nobody is there. So they go into the enemy's camp. They find food. They find shelter. They find gold. They find silver. They even find some drink. In the enemy's camp. They find gin and juice. In the enemy's camp."

Obama thinks Moss is a "wonderful young pastor"?

This guy is out of the same mold as Wright.

I don't know why Obama keeps stepping in the same pile.

No Pastor Problems for McCain

It's ridiculous to suggest that John McCain's connection with figures such as John Hagee and Rod Parsley even remotely resembles Barack Obama's relationship with Jeremiah Wright.

From FOX News:

If turnabout is fair play, then John McCain critics believe his association with controversial pastors should be held to the same scrutiny as Barack Obama’s ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

After all, they point out, one of McCain’s religious supporters, John Hagee, called the Roman Catholic Church “the great whore.”

Another, Rod Parsley, referred to Islam as a “false religion” that America was called on to destroy.

Still, when McCain’s link to both men came to light, the backlash was negligible compared with the furor Obama has faced for nearly two months over his relationship with Wright, his former pastor.

“McCain got a bit of a pass on that,” Democratic strategist Bob Beckel said.

Political analysts and the McCain campaign say it was the difference in his relationships with those pastors — more than the news media’s decision to use kid gloves — that spared him the kind of public trial Obama endured.

Hagee and Parsley are just supporters, McCain’s campaign points out. Obama’s relationship is personal, with Wright having officiated at the candidate’s wedding and baptized his two children.

“I didn’t attend Pastor Hagee’s church for 20 years,” McCain said last week, taking a shot at Obama. “There’s a great deal of difference in my view between someone who endorses you and other circumstances.”

But while Obama has repeatedly moved to reject and denounce such supporters, McCain will only go so far. And critics warn the issue could come back to hurt him.

Both Dems and Republicans have drawn support and endorsements from controversial people.

That's nothing new.

Obama's 20-year personal relationship with the racist Wright is in a totally different league. Obama's dramatic refusal to disown the hate-spewing Wright, and then his sleazy, lame about-face press conference cannot be compared to the support McCain has received from controversial pastors. Those associations are distant. I don't think McCain considers Hagee or Parsley to be like uncles to him.

No, McCain doesn't have pastor problems.

Obama and Hillary Split Guam

HAGATNA, Guam -- Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton by seven votes in the Guam Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday. The count of more than 4,500 ballots took all night.

Neither candidate campaigned in the U.S. island territory in person, but both did long-distance media interviews and bought campaign ads for the caucuses.

Results of the count completed Sunday morning Guam time show delegates pledged to Obama with 2,264 votes to 2,257 for Clinton's slate. That means they'll split the pledged delegate votes. Obama's slate won in 14 of 21 districts.

...Eight pledged delegates will attend the convention, each with one-half vote.

U.S. citizens on the island, however, have no vote in the November election.

The territory also sends five superdelegates to the National Convention in August in Denver.

Voters picked two of the superdelegates, electing uncommitted Pilar Lujan party chairman and Jaime Paulino vice chairman. Paulina ran as an Obama supporter. One other existing superdelegate has favored Clinton and the votes of the other two have not been declared.

The Guam caucuses added two pledged delegates apiece for Clinton and Obama. The vote for party chairman and vice chairman also added a superdelegate for Obama and subtracted one for Clinton because the outgoing vice chair had endorsed the New York senator.

Obama had a total of 1,742.5 delegates, including endorsements from party and elected officials who will serve as superdelegates. Clinton had 1,607.5 delegates, according to The Associated Press tally.

Out of thousands of votes, Obama beat Hillary by only seven!

The Dems are divided. No question about it.

10 Surprising Facts about Obama

John McCain and the C-Word

From FOX News:

An audience member ambushed John McCain on Thursday at an otherwise placid town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, with a surprise question about whether he had ever called his wife by an obscene term.

The man stood up and first said he wanted to ask the Arizona senator about a “mental health and mental health care” concern.

“Previously I had been married to a woman who was very verbally abusive to me,” the man said. He paused and asked, “Is it true that you called your wife a c***?”

The crowd booed, and McCain responded:

“No, no — you don’t wanna, you don’t wanna. You know, it’s a great thing about town hall meetings, sir,” he said. “But we really don’t — there’s people here who don’t respect that kind of language. So I’ll move onto the next questioner in the back.”

...The question came out of a new book called “The Real McCain,” by Cliff Schecter, that alleges McCain publicly called his wife Cindy that word in 1992. The McCain campaign has called the book “trash journalism” and called the alleged incident a “complete fabrication.”

This is such a bizarre presidential election. It's Twilight Zone weird.

Anyway, I think McCain handled the question very well.

If ever there was a moment when McCain might have gone ballistic in public on the campaign trail, it was when that guy ambushed him like that.

He maintained his composure. Impressive.

I guess McCain's explosive temper isn't all that uncontrollable after all.
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Video here.