Bob Dole unloads on McClellan  —  Bob Dole yesterday sent a scalding email to Scott McClellan, excoriating the former White House spokesman as a “miserable creature” who greedily betrayed his former patron for a fast buck.  —  In an extraordinary message obtained and authenticated by Politico …

Ickes At The Alamo: Clinton's Delegate Counter Warns Of Defections At DNC Meeting  —  stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust buzz up  —  The major dispute over the Florida and Michigan delegations to the Democratic convention in Denver has now boiled down to Hillary Clinton's demand …

Thank You, and Goodbye  —  My name is Andrew Exum, and for the past year and a half, I have had the great pleasure of editing this blog under the ridiculous pseudonym “Abu Muqawama.”  —  I started this blog as a joke - hence the tongue-in-cheek name - and have been shocked to discover …

Clinton is top candidate for Dems  —  EDITORIAL BOARD  For the first time in memory, every state will play a role in choosing a nominee for the nation's highest office.  —  Some of those parts are small, but not ours: as one of the last two primary elections, South Dakota Democrats suddenly …

White women cold toward Obama  —  Barack Obama's favorability ratings among white women have declined significantly in recent months, particularly among Democrats and independents, presenting an immediate obstacle for the likely Democratic nominee as he moves to shore up his party's base.

Pfleger warned about pulpit politics.  Pfleger stepped down from “Catholics for Obama.”  —  WASHINGTON — The Rev. Michael Pfleger mocked Sen. Hillary Clinton from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ — earning him a reprimand Thursday from Sen. Barack Obama as his comments threaten …

U.S. Cites Big Gains Against Al-Qaeda  —  Group Is Facing Setbacks Globally, CIA Chief Says  —  Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia …

The right-wing Politico cesspool  —  Politico reporter Mike Allen, formerly of The Washington Post and Time, appeared yesterday on the show of right-wing radio host Mike Gallagher.  The two of them guffawed together at how absurd are Scott McCellan's claims that the media was “deferential” …

Don't Link Obama to Former Radicals  —  Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, best known recently as friends of Barack Obama, disappeared in 1969 after two of their colleagues in the Weather Underground died while building a bomb.  Ayers and Dohrn spent 11 years setting off bombs and putting out statements threatening violent revolution.

Healing the wounds of Democrats' sexism  —  LAST YEAR at the beginning of the presidential primary season, Democrats were giddy with excitement.  Not only did we have an embarrassment of riches in our candidates but we had two historic candidacies to enjoy.

THE POLITICS OF MASCULINITY.  —  I've been sort of struggling with whether to write this post, but after Daniel Larison and Matt Stoller both toed around the point while offering their takes on Webb, I guess it's worth doing.  Let me start by saying that this isn't really about James Webb.

The Obama Gaffe Machine  —  For months, Barack Obama has had the image of an incandescent, golden-tongued Wundercandidate.  That image may be fraying now.  —  As smart and credentialed as he is, Sen. Obama is often an indifferent speaker without a teleprompter.

How Governor Set His Stance on Gay Rights  —  When David A. Paterson was growing up and his parents would go out of town, he and his little brother would stay in Harlem with family friends they called Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ronald.  —  Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ronald, he said, were a gay couple …

GOP has more time to drink at convention  —  Last call should arrive two hours later for Republicans than Democrats at their national convention, giving GOPers more time to celebrate or down their sorrows.  —  Minnesota's legislature has approved a bill allowing municipalities in the Twin Cities …