Senator Hillary Clinton ripped George Bush and the republicans Saturday in a speech before 3000 delegates at Chicago's American Federation of Teachers conference on Saturday.

Could it be that Hillary was showcasing her ability as a vice-presidential attack dog with this speech, especially her quip calling on the republicans to apologize to America? It also may be significant that the speech was in Barack Obama's backyard in Chicago.

She seemed to be in very good form, ridiculing George Bush on global warming, and then reminding everyone about Dick Cheney shooting someone in the face. It was vintage Clinton and if this was an audition for the VP spot, she gave a nice preview of how she can help the democratic ticket in November.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108772/Gallup -Daily-Obama-Holds-6Point-Lead-Over-McCa in.aspx
The Gallup tracking poll had been trending towards an even split, as John McCain had pulled to within 2 points, 2 days ago. However today's poll shows Obama once again moving out to a 6 point lead 48-42. This is very much in line with a newly released Pew poll which gives Obama an 8 point lead 48-40. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/ 2008/latestpolls/index.html

Undoubtedly the polls will be all over the place as this campaign continues. There will be bumps and valleys for both candidates. However a few things seem very interesting already. Obama appears to lead in virtually all the national polls released in the last month. And furthermore in just about all of them, Obama appears to be in the high 40's, while McCain seems mired in the low 40's.

This is a nice trend, but don't start popping the champagne corks just yet. We have a long road ahead, and Obama needs whatever we can bring to the campaign in terms of money, time and energy. We can't allow the republicans to even entertain the thought that they have a chance this November. We can keep those poll numbers right where they are and even improve them for Obama, but it's going to take one big, united effort.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080705/ap_o n_el_pr/obama

There has been a lot of media hoopla concerning Barack Obama's recent comments on Iraq. There are those that would like people to believe that Obama has somehow flip-flopped on the issue, and that he is no longer committed to ending the conflict and bringing our troops home safely. Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth. In his own words Obama has now made his policy on Iraq very clear:

"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," he said. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."

On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after an upcoming trip there. With a promise to end the war the central premise of his candidacy, the Obama campaign has struggled over the past two days to push back against Republicans and others who say his recent statement could be a softening or change in policy.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/ 2008/latestpolls/index.html

In a flurry of polls released today, Barack Obama has had a great day.

First off there was Quinnipiac which surveyed the three most important battleground states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and in each Obama lead. In Florida it was Obama ahead 47-43. In Ohio it was 48-42, while in Pa., Obama had a 12 point edge 52-40. Winning at least one of these three is crucial for Obama, while taking two of them is pivotal, but capturing all three pertends visions of a landslide in November.

If that's all there was today it would be good enough, but a new national Reuters/Zogby poll showed Obama up 5 points 47-42, confirming almost all the recent national polls showing McCain mired in the low 40's.

I still see too many Clinton supporters who have not yet joined forces with the Obama campaign to elect a democrat in November. We are now just a few short months from the convention, and less than five months from the election. In other words the general election campaign is on. We need the help of all our allies. We need your energy and your vote.

Please look at the alternative, and if you can't yet do it for Obama, then could you do it for our troops stuck in an endless hell in Iraq? We have sent them into a war that should have never been started to begin with. Still, however, they have done everything we have asked of them. Over 4000 have lost their lives there, and 10's of thousands more have lost limbs and suffered brain injuries, and likely will never be the same. How many more have to suffer these fates? Isn't it time we let them come home?

Bumped from the diaries -- Josh

I've been a Hillary Clinton supporter right from the start of this campaign. I have lived and breathed this campaign since it's inception. I have followed every word and every poll. I have cheered and cried and whinned and everything else that happens in a race like this one. I have made all the arguments about electability, and experience, and the meaning of hope and change, and Florida and Michigan. By now I could probably recite it all in my sleep. I have waited anxiously for each Tuesday, and watched each result with anticipation. It has been quite a ride.

I believe now that it is all over, we are better off as a party because of it. We are better off as a nation because of it. After all, even with it's flaws, we have had a chance to be part of a democratic process in action. Yes, this is certainly what democracy looks like, and I am very grateful to have played a part in it.

Now we have come to the midway point in this marathon, and it is said that when you reach the 13.1 mile point in the marathon, you really have just begun. And it is the same in this political marathon, we have just begun.

I found this at a new Democratic Unity 08 site http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/thread.php? forumid=154972&threadid=1842442. It is apparently a copy of an email from Thom Hartmann of Air America Radio.

Obama - Ask Hillary First!

Air American:

The issue at hand for the Democratic Party for winning in `08 is not losing to McCain but losing to a divided Democratic party. The first thing Obama should do if nominated is put Hillary on the ticket. Will the Republicans have a field day with her on the ticket? Yes! Is their some bad blood in the water due to some negative campaign strategies on the part of the Clintons? Probably. Can Hillary be a tough fighter able to play tough allowing Obama to stay higher above the fray? Yes!

Howard Dean said a few months ago that the loser will be the most important person in the Democratic presidential run this year. Hillary's legacy in this 08 election could place her as the healer and bring together a united Democratic party. As a winning ticket they also move this country closer to healing the racial and misogynist undertones that still have roots.

There has been a lot of discussion, here, about trolls recently. There are those that believe they are unfairly singled out for troll ratings, and there are those that believe that their ability to troll rate was unfairly taken away. I would like to make a few suggestions regading this issue of trollism.

At this point, I believe that any posts that are made for the sole purpose of keeping us divided deserve, in the least, to be troll rated.