First Off, I am truly hoping that this is the absolute LAST Diary I write about the Clintons.

Next

-- I don't care that she didn't concede
-- I don't care that she wasn't magnanimous
-- I don't care that she wasn't concilliatory
-- I don't care that she didn't congratulate Obama on his win
-- I wouldn't have even cared that much about her coming out and making her false arguments

I, like many, am growing somewhat tired of watching a race that is all but over.  That in itself has not pulled my patience to the breaking point though.

The way that Hillary Clinton has run her race since March of this year, where she essentially lost the nomination, is what has been stretching very thin my patience.

Watching her so called victory speech last night has nearly permanently ended any sense of admiration that I could have possibly ever had for her.  Make no mistake, after Kerry's loss in 2004, I was well prepared to support Hillary Clinton for President, but that intention is being pulled as close to the breaking point as I can imagine.

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UPDATE -- Apparently, there is some confusion over the title.  The title, while 'snarkish' is a response to my absolute irritation at the "Obama fails to win over White Working Class Voters" theme that has been going on.  Whether or not that was an issue, THAT was not THE issue at hand in Tuesday's election.
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I have to admit that I awoke today to some surprise at the results in West Virginia.

I had only 'one ear to the ground' so to speak leading up to the contest and heard that it would be a blowout, but I have to admit that I didn't think it would be as bad as it ended up being.

Anyone trying to spin this as good news for Barack Obama is REALLY trying -- I applaud their efforts, but, please, lets be realistic about this.

Ok, I know the title is slightly misleading -- Gravel isn't even on the ballot in West Virginia.

Perhaps, at this point, a better analogy would be Mike Huckabee, but that wouldn't be as funny.

But seriously folks, who is going to be voting for the Clintons in any of the upcoming primaries!?

Only 2 Groups of People will make up her constituency in the upcoming primaries, and they aren't the traditional demographic type of voters.

Ok -- so, the ABC Debate last night sucked.  Hillary, Charlie and George (Channeling Sean Hannity) were mean to Barack Obama.  Enough -- I get it!  And, to paraphrase Barack Obama, he expects these kinds of attacks and is prepared to take them on -- It is nothing new and 'fair' within the frame of the 'politics is a contact sport'

How many more Diaries on ABC Sucks? Who knows, but I sincerely hope that they stop soon so that we can look at some of the substance of the Debate.  Slight as the substance was, means that the tiny bits of information that did come out of the Debate should get at least some airing.

But, before I get there; I want for all of You Obama supporters to watch the following video during which Obama deals with the "Obama Bin Laden" gaffe.

I am an Obama Supporter -- Seems it is neccessary these days to give this qualifying statement

Another Day, another series of prostrating comments In the Corporate Media and Outside the Corporate Media about some made up controversy.

Yeah -- I know, Jeremiah Wright --- blah blah blah

Geraldine Ferraro -- blah blah blah

Samantha Power -- blah blah blah

Bill Shaheen -- blah blah blah

Jesse Jackson Jr -- blah blah blah

Eliot Spitzer -- blah blah blah

WHAT THE FUCK is WRONG WITH US!!!!!!!

Upfront - I am a Barack Obama Supporter

Like many of us -- the tizzy over Michigan and Florida has lead to a "what the fuck to do"

None of us want to disenfranchise these VOTERS ... so what to do!

As for Michigan, I have no freakin clue, and I am not even going to pretend that I have any idea whatsoever on this one.

But Florida -- I think I have come up with an idea.

The 'Dream Ticket' narrative only works for Senator Clinton.

It allows people to think that they can vote for Clinton and still get Obama  on the ticket.  And the possibility to vote for him after he has "seasoned" after 8 years of Clinton tutelage.

My advice to Barack Obama, The worst possible political job in the world will be the VP to a Clinton II administration.  That is a political cesspool stench that wouldn't come off even after a Robert Byrd length tenure in the Senate.

The up side to You of allowing the Dream Ticket Narrative to continue has negligible advantage compared to the considerable political gain that You can make of this NOW.

NOTE- This is a Pro-Obama Diary But NOT an ANTI-Hillary One

Like many around here, I am tired of the infighting, but the issue of Dream Ticket is laying out there almost unchallengeable.

First off, as many believe rightly, it is very unlikely to happen.  And it would be made of the same substance as "dreams are made of"

Secondly, the Dream Ticket meme works solely to the advantage of Hillary Clinton.

It allows people to vote for her while Preserving the fantasy that they are getting Barack in 8 years.

First off -- Some Demographics; We are a 'barely 40's' (I am just a couple years past 40, and my wife has yet to step over that mark)couple with 2 kids; single income with a median income of considerably less than the 60% of median income for the state we live in (Virginia)

We live in a central VA suburb with what would probably be considered pretty middle class/median income types.  I am sure we couldn't really afford to live here unless we scrimped and saved like crazy.

I absolutely HATE the idea of bring religion into politics.  But, since this seems to be a part of the recent discussion, I am going to throw my 2 cents into this.  Part of it too is being driven by the many headed hydra of none other than ...

Donnie Mcclurkin: This whole thing irritated me too.  But, I have actually seen people declare that they are not supporting Obama based on this episode.  I find this a tad hypocritical since I failed to see to much support for Dennis Kucinich on this site, who, after all was the only candidate supporting fully the LGBT community.

Hopefully though, that isn't what this diary is about.

Let's face it -- the Junior Woman Senator has far more experience than either Barack Obama and John Edwards.

And all things being equal (which I believe they are NOT -- the Junior Senator I believe has a long progressive history that outshines the two men running for Office), shouldn't we seriously put some thought and weight to the idea of electing the first woman President of the United States.

Well ... I am guessing that each and every one of us feels this deep need to write a diary today.

Many of them are good ... but, mostly, a tremendous number of bad diaries are up today as well.

I suspect that this one will trend toward more of the irrelevant type of 'personal writing' diaries that deserves as much as any -- to just drift down and off the diary list.  So be it.

I am going to try and stay on Barack Obama with only (hopefully) the slightest references to any other candidates.

The State Department and the Iraq War

On Thursday at 10:00 a.m., Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will testify at an Oversight Committee hearing focusing on the State Department’s performance on several significant issues relating to the Iraq war, including the impact of the activities of Blackwater USA and corruption within the Iraqi ministries on the prospects of political reconciliation in Iraq. The Committee may also discuss with the Secretary allegations of wrongdoing associated with the construction of the new U.S. Embassy Compound in Baghdad, as well as other matters under investigation by the Committee.

I want to start off with a couple of apologies.

First off, I want to apologize for the 'piling on' of this subject of the Obama/McClurkin controversy.  I imagine some of You are saying then, well, don't pile on and write something else instead.  Fair enough criticism, and while You have a point, I do have something to say on this that I don't want just inserted as a comment on somebody else's Diary.  Hopefully, it will be valid enough to stand on its own for some of You.

Secondly, by using Obama's name in the title, I have teased out an interest on an issue that is more immediate in Our collective minds, but I believe that the 'advice' is applicable to all of the Democratic Candidates.

One thing though -- PLEASE read through the entire Diary before jumping in with a comment

Hearing: Assessing the State of Iraqi Corruption

Reconvenes approximate Noon ET

Maggie Mae Covering PartII --
Go to Part III --- AND RECOMMEND IT DAMNIT!!!!!

On Thursday at 10:00 a.m., the Committee will hold a hearing to evaluate the status of corruption in the Iraqi government and whether U.S. government efforts to address this continuing problem have been adequate.

Oversight Video Here

CSPAN 3 Video

Believe it or not, this is NOT a Meta Diary.  Well, it isn’t a Meta-KOS diary anyway!

While I personally have some disagreements with Troll Ratings and what often falls into the Realm of Troll Rating abuse through little more than ideological differences shared between people that are generally on the same side of many issues.  It seems that the level of discourse can devolve simply through a disagreement of tactics.

On the plus side though, I think that Troll Ratings, when not abused (and this is truly hard to define I admit) do serve to keep this place from deteriorating into chaos.

But this isn’t about Daily KOS.

Maybe I am naive.  Or maybe I am just not really paying that much attention to the party politics.  I haven't really thought this was the case, I thought I was reasonably informed.  But if You have heard all this before, please let me know.

This is about the debate last night in New Hampshire.  Only, it isn't.

It is more about the events, or more accurately, the coverage, surrounding the debate.

And to me, this was THE NEWS of the Debate more than anything said in the debate ... more than the 2013 NEWS