Jesse Jackson Jr. Convention Video

Jesse Jackson Jr. has been a staunch supporter of Obama, often disagreeing with dad, Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jackson Jr. gave a strong speech last nigh.

Obama's Unforgivable Offenses

You know, stuff like inspiring people, giving awesome speeches, meeting with foreign leaders, conducting himself in a presidential way -- the nerve of that man!
Bob Herbert says it best:

Let’s see if I’ve got this straight. Barack Obama is a United States senator, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his party’s candidate for president of the United States — and yet it was somehow presumptuous of him to meet with foreign leaders last week during his trip to the Middle East and Europe.

I’ll say this about Senator Obama. He sure raises people’s hackles. I’ve never seen anyone so roundly criticized for such grievous offenses as giving excellent speeches and urging people of different backgrounds to take a chance on working together. How dare he? And 200,000 people turned out to hear him in Berlin. Unforgivable.

The man has been taken to task for promoting hope, threatened with mutilation by Jesse Jackson for suggesting that a lot of black fathers could do better by their kids and had his patriotism called into question because he wants to wind down a war that most Americans would dearly love to be rid of.

John McCain can barely stop himself from sputtering at the mere mention of Senator Obama’s name. He actually ran an ad blaming Mr. Obama for high gasoline prices. Even Republicans had a good laugh at that one.

And yet Mr. Obama continues to treat Senator McCain respectfully. As far as personal character is concerned, Mr. Obama has scored very well, indeed. read the rest cause it's good.

I have a theory about the Obama hate syndrome -- I'll post on that some other time.
Herbert also says that Obama's economic offense, key to winning, is coming. If the past two days are any indication, I'd say Obama will lay out the details in the coming days:

The word is that an economic offensive may finally be coming from the Obama campaign.

Anna Burger, the secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, was part of a wide-ranging group of advisers on economic issues who met with Mr. Obama in Washington on Monday. “He has very serious policies, not sound bites, for addressing the long-term and short-term issues that are having such a dramatic effect on people who are working and trying to make ends meet,” she said.

Translating those ideas into a compelling economic narrative for his campaign — something Mr. Obama has not yet done — is the key to defeating John McCain.

Spike Lee Predicting Obama Win

I know the republicans like to poke fun at the whole "change the world" notion but I believe Obama is the kind of leader who has exactly what it takes to do that if Americans have the fortitude to elect him. Let's hope.

Spike Lee says the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s crudely phrased criticism of Barack Obama won’t affect the Democrat’s campaign, which the filmmaker expects to succeed at bringing “seismic” change to the world.

“I don’t think his (Jackson’s) comments help anybody. It’s just unfortunate,” Lee said after taking part in a Television Critics Association panel.

Lee predicted Obama would be elected in November.

“When that happens, it will change everything. … You’ll have to measure time by `Before Obama’ and `After Obama,”’ Lee said during the panel. “It’s an exciting time to be alive now.”

The presidency of the first African-American will ripple throughout arts, sports and more, said Lee, whose films include “Malclom X” and “Do the Right Thing.”

Gramm Like McCain Not Up on Economy

Phil Gramm got hammered by Obama today (go Obama) for his stupid remarks, which he's trying to backtrack on. But the most clueless thing he said is the part about the media making the economy look bad. The economy is THAT BAD. I'm convinced that McCain hasn't an inkling either. 

If he did, he wouldn't keep the Bush tax cuts for the rich. If you ask me, John McCain is looking tired lately. I'm worried about his health. 

CNN: "We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline," said the former Texas senator. "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession."

Gramm also said the media was responsible for fostering unnecessary anxiety over the state of the economy. "Misery sells newspapers," he said. "Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day."

A McCain campaign source said that not only did Gramm not speak to the Washington Times on McCain's behalf, but the campaign also did not know he was doing it -- unlike Gramm's meeting Thursday with the Wall Street Journal, in which McCain staff were present.

McCain rejected Gramm's remarks and didn't even know he gave an interview.
In other dumb dumb news, Jesse Jackson's remarks are clearly jealousy. He apologized and Obama accepted.

Clintons Overplaying Their Hand

and getting deeper and deeper...
the clintons have been exploiting the race issue whenever it works for them, in ohio, in pennsylvania. bill just can't help himself. neither can hillary. it's a power thing.

nyt: The black leader, Representative James E. Clyburn, an undeclared superdelegate from South Carolina and the third-ranking Democrat in the House, said “black people are incensed over all of this,” referring to statements Mr. Clinton has made in the course of the heated race between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Black leaders widely criticized Mr. Clinton after he equated the eventual victory of Mr. Obama in the South Carolina primary in January to that of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the 1988 primary, a parallel that many took as an effort to diminish Mr. Obama’s success in the campaign.

In a radio interview in Philadelphia on Monday, Mr. Clinton defended his remarks and said the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me” by making an issue of them.

In an interview with The New York Times late Thursday, Mr. Clyburn said Mr. Clinton’s conduct in this campaign had caused what might be an irreparable breach between Mr. Clinton and an African-American constituency that once revered him.

“When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar,” Mr. Clyburn said. “I think black folks feel strongly that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation.”

Mr. Clyburn added that there appeared to be an almost unanimous view among African-Americans that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were committed to doing everything they possibly could to damage Mr. Obama to a point that he could never win in the general election.