Hhaing The Yu, 29, in rain falling on the ruins of his home, in a township outside Yangon, Myanmar.

This is not about politics; it is about saving people’s lives. There is absolutely no more time to lose.

— United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, pressing the military junta in Myanmar to accept international assistance as hundreds of thousands of its citizens reel from the effects of a devastating cyclone earlier this month; May 14.
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As the Colorado Senate campaign starts to hot up, GOP hopeful Bobblehead Shaffer has launched a new TV ad telling us how he’s the change Colorado needs. It’s a pretty spot, which features this scenic shot of Mt. McKinley towering majestically over … ummm, hold the phone… Full Story »

Jane Harman, who represents California’s 36th District, may be the wealthiest member of Congress. She may also be running second as the member of Congress who has seen the greatest accretion of net worth since attaining her House seat in 1994.

According to an analysis by the Sunlight Foundation called Fortune 535, Rep. Harman’s net worth in 2006 may have been $409,426,887, up from $241,334,326 in 2000. (Sunlight bills itself as “a catalyst to create greater political transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government.”)

The site allows inspection of each member of Congress in terms of net worth. Tabs lead to “Wealthiest,” “Greatest Change,” “Started with $0 or less,” and “Ended 2006 with $0 or less.”

It’s great fun. But Fortune 535’s worth is not its revelation of congressional wealth; rather, it demonstrates the weaknesses in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 that requires financial disclosures by members of Congress. That’s why “may” is the operative word regarding Rep. Harman’s wealth.
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Got hot links if you want ‘em!

In “Mr. Cool’s Intensity” in the Washington Post, David Ignatius writes of Obama’s reluctance to write off Rev. Wright. There’s “an instinctive American fondness for people who don’t rat out their friends, even when their friends are creeps. That’s why a Wright-based strategy may backfire for the Republicans, just as it did for Hillary Clinton.” Full Story »

If our profits are taxed, that means we’ll have less capital to invest in new production.

— John Hofmeister, president of Shell U.S., to CNNMoney.com; May 6.

These companies are spending a very small amount of their operating cash flow on exploration. They are spending the majority of their funds buying back stock.

— Amy Myers Jaffe, a fellow in energy studies at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, discussing results of her just-finished a two-year study looking at oil companies and how they spend their money; May 6.
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Damn, Mike Gravel is the most interesting thing in this campaign so far. He’s a better rapper than singer, though.

The results of the most recent S&R poll are now available.

Which of the following statements best reflects how you feel about the candidate you plan on voting for in November’s presidential election?

1. I genuinely believe in my candidate. (39)
2. Presidential politics is inherently dirty. I believe my candidate is the best I can reasonably hope for, given our current system. (33) tied with;
   I’m not happy about my choices, but my candidate is better than the alternative. (33)
3. I’m too disgusted to vote. (12)

Our new poll, which asks you to predict the November election, is now posted in the column to the right.

by Lee Camp

With McCain likely to face Obama in the general election, it appears his staff has realized they have an uphill marketing battle ahead of them. Obama has some of the best marketing money can buy. He has a brilliant logo, multiple slogans, a pretty face, and he’s even laid claim to the words “change” and “hope.” The following memo by a high level McCain staffer was accidentally leaked to the press. It shows the McCain campaign’s struggle to find the perfect slogan. Full Story »

by Djerrid

On April 16, 2008 ABC hosted the 20th Democratic debate in Philadelphia where the infamous “pin question” came up. In an alternative reality, this was Obama’s response.

_____________

NASH MCCABE (Latrobe, Pennsylvania): (From videotape.) Senator Obama, I have a question, and I want to know if you believe in the American flag. I am not questioning your patriotism, but all our servicemen, policemen and EMS wear the flag. I want to know why you don’t.

MR. GIBSON: Just to add to that, I noticed you put one on yesterday. But — you’ve talked about this before, but it comes up again and again when we talk to voters. And as you may know, it is all over the Internet. Full Story »

Q: How can you tell when politicians are lying?
A: When they say they aren’t.

As we wade deeper into the silly swamp that is Electoral Trainwreck ‘08 I realize that most nights I wind up giggling myself to sleep. My old friend Disraeli famously observed that people tend to get the government they deserve, and as I’ve noted before, the average US citizen is barely smart enough to come in out of the rain, and under no circumstances should be entrusted with something as important as the franchise. Stupid is as stupid votes. Full Story »

Oh, my. This is … uhhmmm … I guess this what happens when a crew of Obama’s kids gets a little punchy after watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode #107 ten times in a row.

Thanks to Jim Gilliam for pointing this out. I think.

First, some recent history. Unfortunately, a familiar pattern has emerged.

The Clinton campaign was afraid she’d lose, so they went negative in New Hampshire, and it worked. Then it was Wisonsin, where they went negative again.

It was much of the same in Ohio and Texas.

She ran a television ad suggesting that the youthful Obama could not be trusted if a world crisis forced the president from bed in the middle of the night. She questioned his ethics by repeatedly raising questions about his relationship with a disgraced supporter who, by the luck of the draw for Clinton, is the target of a federal corruption trial that began Monday in Chicago, where Obama lives.

And, highlighting a meeting between a top Obama aide and the Canadian government, she painted him as a typical, two-faced politician who told the voters one thing about his intention to change the North American Free Trade Agreement but with a wink and a nod assured a foreign government he would not follow through.

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Especially at a time when the recent release of photographs of Hiroshima’s aftermath by an unknown Japanese photographer reminds us anew that nuclear weapons are not intended for use on another state’s military, but its people.

“‘Everywhere you turn, you hear it,’ said Savannah businessman Ed Feiler.”

What, that Clinton will pull it out? That we’ll attack Iran? No, think local. Turns out that Georgians are speculating whether Sam Nunn, their Democratic senator for 25 years, will be invited to join a Barack Obama ticket. Full Story »

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If you’re following America’s electoral theater at all, you know that we have a candidate with a preacher problem. And that the candidate in question has been put in the uncomfortable position of having to repudiate some of said preacher’s remarks (while not alienating those voters in the flock who actually, you know, agree with what the Reverend was saying). In case you haven’t been paying attention, the controversial cleric has pronounced God’s doom upon certain of the nation’s citizens, and the backlash against him and his favorite for the White House has significantly damaged the candidate’s chances.

Of course, I’m talking about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama. Errr, wait … that’s not right. That’s not who I’m talking about at all. Full Story »

Got hot links if you want ‘em!

Headline of the week: CLINTON CHALKS UP KEY MEANINGLESS VICTORY. At Asia Times Online courtesy of Muhammad Cohen. (Yes, that’s his real name.)

In her Los Angeles Times column, “My Winning Strategy,” Rosa Brooks writes of Hillary Clinton: “But they said I had to win by double digits to keep my campaign alive. . . . And I am alive! And kicking! And punching and biting and kneeing my opponent in the groin!” Full Story »

by Josh Nelson

In what will perhaps become Chris Wallace’s proudest moment, yesterday’s interview of Barack Obama offers a glimpse into the subtle efforts FOX makes to frame the debate.

In the first 9 minutes all of Wallace’s questions and comments were about race.

9:03 A.M EST: WALLACE: But some observers, and some liberal observers say is that part of your problem is you come off as a former law professor who talks about transforming politics when the lunch bucket crowd really wants to know what youre going to do for them. Bob Herbert, columnist for the New York Times, happens to be a black man, says that Hillary Clinton seems tougher than you do. Full Story »

Don’t tell me you haven’t fantasized about it. HilRod. BaRock. John Dubya McCain (one-half of the Double Talk Express). Three-way dance inside a STEEL CAGE for the USA Heavyweight Title. Yeah, I’m feeling ya. We’re getting there, too. This past Monday night on WWE Raw, all three candidates ran some lame smack for the national cable audience. In case you missed it:

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You get used to listening to that Alvin and the Chipmunks voice.

— New York state Gov. David Paterson, who is legally blind, on the special tape recorder he uses to listen to long articles or books played “at speeds so fast, it is difficult for others to comprehend”; April 21.

We shouldn’t have to give employers complete control over our private life so they can save a few dollars on medical care.

— Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, which advocates for employee privacy, on a report that Whirlpool Inc. “suspended 39 workers who signed insurance paperwork claiming they don’t use tobacco and then were seen smoking or chewing tobacco on company property”; April 23.
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by Rich Herschlag

Senator Barack Obama’s recent comments regarding bitter Pennsylvanians clinging to guns and religion were personally offensive to me, even before I took the time to consider how spot on they really were. My first instinct was to hunt him down, but I was fresh out of ammo and late to church. This is particularly vexing for Jews who don’t own a gun.
Upon deeper reflection, however, I realized my personal holy war was actually the result of Senator Obama’s flagrant omissions. Truth is, there are many other things we Pennsylvanians cling to. Some of us cling to crystal meth.

Unfortunately, there was recently a massive raid in the Lehigh Valley on a sprawling crystal meth ring, and now the stuff is harder to get around here than 87 gasoline for under 3.26 a gallon. Full Story »