Per the BBC.com front page.  I didn't see this on the lists so I figured I'd throw it out there:

"Democratic hopeful Barack Obama has had an unannounced meeting with his defeated rival Hillary Clinton....  A spokesman for Mr Obama said the two former opponents met to talk about bringing their campaigns together and uniting the party."

Howard Fineman dropped a bombshell tonight on Countdown.  On the lead story, about Hillary Clinton's decision to suspend her campaign, Fineman reported that figures in Hillary's campaign reached out to strong Clinton supporters in the Senate to talk her into dropping out!  

Fineman didn't identify his source, other than to say it was someone inside the campaign "who would be identified as a hard-core supporter."  People inside Clinton's campaign arranged an intervention by her peers to get her out of the race, knowing she had lost and apparently also knowing that she didn't know it.

Stunning.  Fineman's words below the fold.

"Unless she has some good reasons-- which I can't think of-- I really think we ought to get on with endorsements (of Obama) and dealing with what we have to deal with... so we can move forward," Rangel said.

This is going to be short, but it's something that's been buzzing around in my head all day.  (Yes, bad pun intended.)

FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. (AP) - Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records reviewed by The Associated Press.

A while back, Sandy Sand wrote at OpEdNews:

“When is the press going to put the obvious large lumps in McCain's left cheek under the scrutinizing microscope of their probing cameras and questions?”

I have found no mention of Senator McCain's facial bulges in the coverage of his medical records. In “WikiAnswers, I found this:

John McCain was diagnosed with melanoma (malignant skin cancer) on his cheek 5 years ago which he says has left his cheek puffy looking.

In the run-up to the war in Iraq, President George Bush lied to the nation in making the case to go to war. I say "lied" although he might claim that he was just putting out his version of reality, that there was a vague possibility that Saddam Hussein had some kind of chemical weapons so he could claim that Saddam had WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. If people somehow thought that means he meant nuclear weapons (however pronounced), then he was willing to let them make that mistake in service of his larger purpose (to line the pockets of his friends).

So it grates on my nerves when Hillary Clinton claims that Barak Obama needs 2200 or so delegates to win the nomination. Sure, it’s possible that in some universe (probably parallel) various decisions will be made that at some point in the future seat all the delegates from Florida and Michigan in a way that would give her the nomination. But, I don’t think anyone paying attention (least of all the superdelegates in this universe) would confuse this to mean that Obama needs these extra delegates to win.

And I would have to ask if we want someone to be President who would fudge the facts in order to get their way, given recent presidential history.

"There is one man who knows that knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up. There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two ... and that man is Barack Obama, " John Edwards told a fired up crowd in Michigan, as he endorsed Barack Obama for President.

Appearing on Face the Nation, this morning, John Edwards stated, "It's important we get united as a party."

Edwards responded to Schieffer's question regarding Hillary's "hardworking white Americans" comments noting that likely she feels it was a poor choice of words. Edwards furthered discussed how "Hillary needs to decide as she makes her case for herself...she has to be very careful she does not damage our prospects for the fall."  Edwards believes that it is not possible for Hillary to win the nomination at this point, based on the math.

Watch John Edwards on FTN-May 11, 2008 Here

Pressure is building on Hillary Clinton to suspend her campaign. In a story published today in the Cincinnati Enquirer, "Ohio Dems wish Clinton would exit" reporter Howard Wilkinson writes that at the Ohio Democratic Party convention held Saturday in Columbus, even super delegates pledged to Clinton are asking her to step aside.

"It bothers me that she won’t give it up," said former state representative Catherine Barrett of Forest Park, a delegate pledged to Clinton from the 1st Congressional District. "It’s exasperating."

Obama's super delegates chimed in as well, including Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory who endorsed Obama in February.

"It’s mathematically impossible for her to win," Mallory said. "Obama’s picking up two, three, five superdelegates a day. It’s time we got on with the real election."

No, I don’t have any photographic evidence to prove that Satan’s inferno suddenly has been transformed into a winter wonderland, nor am I meaning to suggest that the threat of global warming has abated.  But it’s evident to me that there has been a climate shift of cosmic proportions.

Let me explain.  My mother, an octogenarian who’s voted Republican her entire life except in 1960 when she elected to support JFK because he shared her Roman Catholic faith, revealed to me on the telephone yesterday that she’s voting in Kentucky’s upcoming primary for Barack Obama!

This is no minor transformation, and it began as a direct consequence of the Bush administration’s war policies combined with the emergence in power of the evangelical community.

According to Webster, the definition of the word 'racist' is

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

For all intent and purposes, many of the arguments used in accusing Presidential Candidates of "racist behavior" do not pass this litmus test.  There IS real racism that exists, but throwing the term around recklessly serves no one.

Even the term 'race baiting' according to the Webster means:

: the making of verbal attacks against members of a racial group  

Is this what we really mean when we use the terms?  I've used the latter and after looking it up, I'm not sure that's even what I wanted to express.

Look....

I live in a strange sort of world.  This isn't MY particular world of choice, just the one that I happen to inhabit, here in Western Kentucky.  There are some things that I like about living here, some that I don't.  The aspects of life here that I don't like aren't something tangible, solid, but you can feel them if you stay here long enough.  

The people are predominantly working class, religious,family oriented - and predominantly white.

I live in a world where i've heard the phrase, "I'd never vote for a ni**er or a woman."  I live in a world that had provided prosperity to families through companies like Peabody Coal, Goodyear, York, and General Electric.  And that same world that saw it's jobs move south-of-the-boarder, overseas, or disappear all together.

The world I live in loved Fletcher and can't stand Beshear.

It's complex, frustrating, and scary all at once.

I'm from Madisonville, Kentucky - I'm going to vote for Barack Obama - is my vote even going to count?

-----------> more thoughts below the fold

Rumors persist about one last piece of truly nuclear opposition research the Clinton campaign has held back about Obama. It could release some such thing; the only danger is that if Clinton does not win the nomination, the Democratic nominee may be fatally wounded. But wounding the nominee is obviously not a concern if the Clinton campaign chooses this option, anyway.

Mother Jones.

Crossposted from BlueNC

I have joined the ranks of a number of other Edwards supporters for Obama, including numerous top advisors of the Edwards campaign and yesterday, here in the Great State of North Carolina, I voted!

Obama at the NC JJ Dinner: Stand Up!

We, as rational individuals, surely, surely, do not allow the possibility that things can be rigged by people and that our media is being taken over by the right-wing. Surely. That is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out there- so impossible, like UFOs or Bigfoot being real. It could never ever happen that anything could be corrupt, or anyone could scam anybody, infiltrate an organization, or that anybody could be bribed, intimidated, or blackmailed. It's not like it's happened before! But, as open-minded individuals, let's just preserve our reputations as thinkers for a sec by going through the motions of examining the unusual events of the Kentucky Derby. Our kids will thank us for phoning it in like this.

 This thought occured to me quite some time ago.  The real adversary in this election is not Hillary, it's the Media.  All of you know what I'm talking about.  The media is obviously slanted away from Senator Obama, and toward Clinton, so what do we do about it?  How far are you willing to go?  I'm willing to go all the way.
 It's time, no past time we doled out a dose of their own medicine.  Anyone with any dirt on any News Media staff, come on with it.  Lets barrage the Jack Asses.  We can start with, I heard Anderson Cooper is Fucking someone on the CNN staff which he's not supoose to be doing.  Anyone got anything tangible on this?  If so lets have it, I also heard Lou Dobbs house isn't in order either.

see updated diary at
http://www.dailykos.com/... covering Saturday

Early voting in North Carolina is through the roof. As of close of business Friday, there had been 326,341 Democratic ballots cast (275,329 Democrats + 51,012 Unaffiliated), 72,280 GOP ballots (63,863 Republicans + 8417 unaffiliated) and 912 unaffiliated voters just voted the nonpartisan judicial ballot.
Based on the state maintained early voter database, of the Democratic ballots, 39.3% were cast by Black voters and 57.3% by whites.  The cumulative black turnout rose by 0.5% yesterday, meaning the one day rise was far sharper.

I've said many times in previous diaries (and other folks on DK have said the same) that the cities of Indianapolis (Marion County), Bloomington (Monroe County) and Gary (Lake County) will be allllll Obama.

Check out the story from Yahoo today:

I just wanted to add my contribution to discussions of a couple of things I have seen on the blogs recently.

UPDATE: I added a paragraph to the Coulter part.