Jason Linkins of The Huffington Post writes a short article... with huge ramifications for the General Election here in the US and the Iraq War...

... and why the HELL is this not being reported anywhere else??? If it is... it must be on the back page.

I know we've been caught up in in the hard-fought primary battle, but this is everything that Bush is currently trying to bypass the House and Senate in order to set up permanent bases.

This is against the McCain/Bush/GOP argument that have been using for years.

As a young 22 year old this is what I have to say

A message from Rodney King about this year's Democratic nomination process?

Bill Clinton still campaigning in the California primary in June of 1992 wasn't the only thing going on that year. The police were caught on camera brutally beating Rodney King. In his 15 minutes of fame, he uttered these words regarding the national anger that erupted over this event:

"People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?...It's just not right. It's not right. It's not, it's not going to change anything. We'll, we'll get our justice....Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we're all stuck here for a while. Let's try to work it out. Let's try to beat it. Let's try to beat it. Let's try to work it out."

Well, it's all come down to the "psychology of the Clintons" -- or so goes the conventional wisdom of the punditry over the past few weeks. Hillary has "earned the right" to get out on her own terms in a manner in which she's comfortable. Don't worry, it'll happen. Just give her time and space.

Hogwash.

On the surface of it, catering to the "psychology of the Clintons" may seem like a humane thing to do, but this is a bit like saying we should cater to the psychological processes of presidents (say Johnson, Nixon, or Bush) whose wars are going horribly wrong -- why not give them the personal space to wrap things up on their own terms?

I hear -- and see -- rumblings and signs indicating Hillary may be considering unlocking her jaws off the Presidential nomination she presumed was hers. Did the SNL skit finally get through to her when no one else could?

Take a look if you missed it -- http://youtube.com/...

If you like this theme, please share it with any undecideds you might know.  First, the short version:

No matter what you, I, or the most hawkish neocons think of our involvement in Iraq, withdrawal from Iraq is probably going to get onto the national agenda under the next president, whoever it may be.  

In order to leave Iraq in the most stable condition possible, we are going to need other countries to contribute.  The next president should be one most capable of recruiting that help.

Right or wrong, Barack Obama did speak out more forcefully than the other candidates against invading in the first place.  For that, he is the most likely to command the international respect and goodwill necessary to help Iraq find stability.

As November nears, I think it is important for all of us to examine the IR aspect of an Iraq withdraw. I don't think it's going to be pretty, regardless of who's in charge....

It isn't the quantity of campaigning that matters but the quality. The Obama campaign and its supporters (and I am one of them) should not advocate a quick end to the campaign but instead insist that HRC abandon her infamous "kitchen sink" strategy in order to allow the democracy she is now touting to work.

As if you needed any further proof of how divided this Party is right now, it's glaringly displayed in the Rassmussen Poll of Democratic likely voters.

22% of Democrats Want Clinton to Drop Out; 22% Say Obama Should Withdraw

Twenty-two percent (22%) of Democratic voters nationwide say that Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination. However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that an identical number—22%--say that Barack Obama should drop out.

A solid majority of Democrats, 62%, aren’t ready for either candidate to leave the race.

And this statement pretty much sums up sentiments on KOS:

Forty-seven percent (47%) of Obama supporters think Clinton should drop out. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Clinton supporters say Obama should drop out.

It’s the media Stupid

The only people that have the ability to convince a candidate to withdraw from a race, in this case Hillary Clinton, are the media and their political pundits.

You might recall the way the pundits on almost all the cable stations had Hillary ‘ready to quit’ after she lost Iowa.  They talked every day about her chances being slim of winning in New Hampshire after losing Iowa and now she’s even crying about it.  She ended up winning New Hampshire voters hearts.

I was a John Edwards supporter from the earliest stages of this campaign season, because I felt that Senator Edwards brought the best qualities of policies, integrity (no corporate money at all), electability and outlook to the presidential race.  When Senator Edwards suspended his campaign before my local primary (New York), I had to make another choice.  At that point, given everything, I chose and voted for my senator, Hillary Clinton.  There too, of the remaining choices, I felt that Senator Clinton on balance brought more to the table than Senator Obama, although I was happy to vote for either in the fall.  I contributed (a small amount) to her campaign, advocated for her here and elsewhere, and discussed my choice with friends and family members.

In the past two weeks, I have changed my mind once again.  Today, I urge my chosen candidate, Hillary Clinton, to drop out now.

would have still switched from HRC to him because of what he is running on and what he is asking from us... had nothing, nothing to do with race and that is what bugs me the most about H and Gerry...That they dared to insult my intelligence just like Bush has, but in this case, went further by saying people like me support Obama out of "emphaty" or pitty or novelty.  

I still can't believe Hillary went for the "masses propaganda" at this time. It would have worked few years back, but right now, we are all alert because we are in great need of help...Our pockets are getting empty and when people's pockets start to hurt, people pay attention.

 $12B spent a month in Iraq, destrying people's lives, and little spent home, destrying people's dreams, that is more than enough to wake the masses up.  She missed that reality and tried to make up a different one...and incites us to fight among ourselves.  Minority fighting minorities...bad strategy.

What more is there to say Senator Clinton.

The world now knows, beyond any reasonable doubt, who you are.

Hint: Withdraw or you will truly experience what it's like to be a candidate in a Nation that is sick of war-mongering, corporatist-infatuated and subservient, liars.

The Tennessee Republican Party has written a press release entitled "Antisemites for Obama" decrying Obama for being praised by Louis Farrakhan, for wanting to withdraw from Iraq, for having "anti-semitic" advisors, and for "pledg[ing] to hold a Muslim Summit to determine Middle East policy with the very leaders that have as their goal to remove Israel from the map, referenced Jews to be 'dogs' and 'pigs.'"  This press release is offensive, inaccurate, and makes a mockery of Jews' REAL fight against anti-semitism.  While synagogues burn, suicide bombers attack, and neo-Nazis deface Jewish graves, the Republican Party falsely accuses one of our strongest allies, Barack Obama, of being an anti-semite!!  Obama has repeatedly stood up for Israel and against anti-semitism, including blacks' own prejudice.  Look below for how you can help combat the hate!

After quitting the presidential race yesterday, former Republican candidate for president Fred Thompson landed on his feet by signing on to star in a Golden Girls reunion movie.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) attempts to sugarcoat the truth about Iraq.  It's like a game of telephone.  He goes on a "dog-n-pony" show and sees what the Gen. Petraeus wants him to see so it appears that the US is doing better than it really is in Iraq.  He then comes back to the States and we hear what Norm wants us to hear because he wants to win reelection.  Hardly the unvarnished truth.  Our state's newspapers then provide their stenographic services so that we hear exactly Norm's version of the truth without the slightest bit of analysis.

"The surge has created some possibilities, but I left with the sense that the gains are still fragile," he said on a conference call with reporters.
(Mankato Free Press)

Kucinich has long been the only candidate saying that the "Occupation is fueling the Insurgency" and that the first step in stabalizing the region is withdrawing all of our troops, contractors, etc.

If the recent withdraw of British troops from Basra is any indication, then he's dead on. From Associated Press:

Hey everyone.
I was quite busy yesterday, so today, it's Two cartoons for the price of One... FREE!

Anyway the first involves the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and is called
"Breaking Up With Britian"