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And We Thought Hitchens Was Tough on Kissinger

On a slow, rainy Friday in Washington, when all eyes are on presidential politics, this little gem arrived over the ticker courtesy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Speaking at the Brookings Institution Monday, Gates said:

Obama Picks Up Seven Supers

Bloomberg reports that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has picked up seven super delegates today, including Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) who switched his endorsement from Clinton to the Illinois senator. By MSNBC's tally, this bring Obama's total to 269 to Sen. Hillary Clinton's 273.5. Clinton has netted zero for today, having lost Payne and gained the endorsement of Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.).

The Unending Campaign Trail

THE JAUNDICED EYE

How to Manipulate the Press

Want to see a great example of the arrogance of power? Digging through the Pentagon document dump covering its manipulation of the media, Cernig unearths the following truffle:

Exclusive: New Mexico Super Supports Obama

Sen. Barack Obama picked up the support of another superdelegate Friday when Laurie Weahkee, a Native American voting activist in New Mexico, threw her support to the Illinois senator. "We need to get on with the campaign against McCain," Weakhee said in an exclusive interview  with our sister site, The New Mexico Independent. She praised Clinton but said Obama's nomination was now inevitable. "Throughout Obama's campaign he's proven to be an honest and genuine leader and to me that's key to improving relations between tribal nations and the U.S. government," she said.

Emanuel: Obama 'Presumptive Nominee,' Doesn't Endorse

Rahm Emanuel -- the usually outspoken Illinois congressman who has remained oddly quiet during the Democratic primary contest -- is causing a bit of a stir.

"At this point, Barack is the presumptive nominee," Emanuel said Friday at a conference organized by The New Yorker.

US Health Care: When Is a Crisis a Crisis?

A piece we ran this morning examines the current crisis in health care and the political barriers to fixing it. As the story points out, the U.S. spent about 16 percent of its gross domestic product -- or $2.1 trillion -- on health care in 2006. That raises the question: What do comparable countries spend on the same thing?

The quick answer: Not nearly as much. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents 30 developed-world democracies, Switzerland is second behind the U.S., spending 11.5 percent of its GDP on health care in 2004, the last year when comprehensive data are available. (By comparison, the U.S. spent 15.2 percent of GDP in the same year). Japan and the United Kingdom spent about half of what we did in 2004: 8.0 and 8.1 percent of GDP, respectively.

(Some) Supers Stick With Clinton

Despite the widespread notion that the race for the Democratic nomination is over, 16 members of Congress penned a letter to their colleagues today urging them to support Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). The letter highlights Clinton's argument that she is the most electable candidate in November because she has won more big rural states that, the argument goes, a Democrat must win to get to 270 in the electoral college. Here are highlights of the letter, which is available here.

Bye-Bye Free Ride?

The Washington Post has a tough story Friday about moves by John McCain that helped a big fundraiser. As the Post put it (above the fold, for people who care about that kind of old-media thing):

GI Bill Progress Snagged

House Democrats hoping to expand education benefits for post-9/11 war vets face a tough road ahead after the cost estimate became public yesterday, revealing a 10-year cost of $51.8 billion. Chamber leaders had hoped to attach the proposal to the emergency war spending bill set to hit the House floor next week. The education amendment would update the current GI Bill to provide Iraq and Afghanistan war vets with full state-school tuition after three years of service.

But conservative Democrats -- the so-called Blue Dogs -- are balking at the costs, which are not offset by increased revenues or cuts to other programs. (Emergency bills are exempt from pay-as-you-go budget rules, meaning the increased costs would be covered by money borrowed from overseas.)

Happy Mother's Day, Roberta

Sure, it's a bit yucky to use Mother's Day as a fund-raising gimmick.

But that's what John McCain's campaign is doing this morning. And the attached video, which Cindy McCain calls "a special Mother's Day message from our family to yours" in an email introduction, features the candidate's 96-year-old mother -- and somehow makes it OK.

I just can't figure out which segment of McCain voters it's aimed at. The men-who-were-out-drinking-when-their-wives-gave-birth crowd?

What Did Edwards Say?

Former presidential candidate John Edwards still hasn't endorsed a candidate in the Democratic primary.

But he voted in his home state of North Carolina on Tuesday -- and that may offer a clue about who he prefers.

Check out this clip from a conversation Edwards had Friday morning on MSNBC, courtesy The Page.

What do you think? Did Edwards say he voted "for him," or was it "for 'em," in that folksy Edwards way?


 

Hezbollah On The Verge Of A Coup In Lebanon

While you were sleeping, Hezbollah basically took over Beirut. My friend Chris Allbritton, until very recently a reporter based in the city, blogs from Dubai:
 

Health Care Reform Waits

Former Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson urged action this week, saying 2009 brings a perfect storm to sweep through change.

Nagris and Katrina

United Nations relief workers are slowly gaining access to victims of Myanmar's catastrophic cyclone, as the ruling junta took a small step in accepting foreign aid today. Cyclone Nargis killed at least 22,980 people in Myanmar over the weekend, although some are putting the death toll as high as 100,000. Around a million people have been displaced from their homes.

Will Democrats Unite?

As the primary drags on, some Democrats grow more concerned about the health of the party.

Prospects Bleaker for Kids Already Left Behind

One consequence of the new restrictions on international adoption that we wrote about Wednesday will be longer waiting times for older children languishing in orphanages.

The Berkeley Tempest

For one Berkeley professor, a recently released torture memo authored by Yoo raises questions about the meaning of academic freedom.

Bush's Nose Grows

Over at Economist's View, Mark Thoma points out that the placement of the play button on this video of President Bush (at the bottom of the post) makes him look like Pinocchio as he argues against plans to limit foreclosures.

You, Too, Can Suckle the Government Teat

Senate Democrats yesterday unveiled an energy reform proposal that would eliminate roughly $17 billion in federal subsidies to the nation's largest oil companies and apply a 25 percent "windfall profits" tax to companies not invested in renewable energies.

The bill arrives as gas prices are hitting record highs and the big oil companies -- including Exxon-Mobil, BP and Shell -- are recording record profits.

Republicans are howling, wondering why in the world we don't just open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling. They need not worry. Even if the Democrats' proposal sneaks through the Senate, it has no chance of becoming law (the White House threatened to veto a similar House bill in February).