Obama is doing a good job of setting expectations in WV and KY, saying today that Clinton's lead in those states is "insurmountable." But he does have to go campaign there, and it's always a little bit awkward to try to exhort folks to vote for you when you have already admitted you're not going to win. Why not make the general election shift now, and change the target? The new goal is maximizing Democratic turnout.

The time is right to reverse the field. Obama has always been the one calling for a more positive campaign. If he ups the ante on this point right now, it will be both the right thing to do AND politically effective.

Not much here, I just wanted to comment on how refreshing it is to me to see Barack Obama make the wise choice, in the middle of a long and grueling campaign, to take a real vacation.

In Obama's speech on race yesterday, the comparison between his pastor and his grandmother seems to be a sticking point, at least for Joan Walsh and Mickey Kaus. I even heard Juan Williams on NPR this morning saying that this comparison was weak. I thought it was brilliant.

I never thought I would get here. I was once a (very minor and short-term) Clinton White House aide, I thought I was sophisticated and pragmatic and realistic about politics. I consider myself a staunch and devout Democrat with ideals, but a practical one. My position has been that I would have been ecstatic with any of the top three Democrats. Although I have supported Obama since he got in, I have watched all the heat on this site with some coolness, confident that after the dust settled we would have a fantastic ticket to win on in November. Until just this last week I have been playing my chips carefully, reserving my energy for the big game. But I am finally done. Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton have gone a step too far. I'm all in.

Just walk away. I don't care if her comments have been racist or offensive or ridiculous. There is no more dangerous narrative for Obama than the potent combination of "you are benefiting unfairly from affirmative action" and "you are playing the race card."

It's tricky. He doesn't want to revive sympathy for the Clintons as unfairly persecuted victims (which they in fact were), and he doesn't want to damage his own, uplifting and positive brand. Still, he has to punch back in order to maintain an image of strength and energy. Sometimes that calm, collected air comes off as passive. Here are three ideas:

OK, so I read that there's a county in Ohio that is flooded and they are extending the voting for 10 days. What happens if the vote is so close that those votes will determine the outcome? Both campaigns will descend on that community over the next 10 days like flies on a popsicle stick. If I'm living there, I'm, like, "well, I haven't decided who to vote for, but first I got to clean up this mess. Sure could use some help...."

Barack Obama is a bigger man than I. I had a visceral reaction to Bill O'Reilly's comments about Michelle Obama--that he doesn't "want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence..."

It's not political correctness to say that you can't responsibly talk about lynching an African American, even as a joke, even in the course of ostensibly defending her from warrantless attacks. Go here to see a picture of what lynching was. It is a graphic and upsetting photo, but it reflects a reality in American history.

NPR did a story this morning on the opening organizational meeting of the Clinton campaign in Akron, Ohio. This is in the liberal, Northeast corner of the state, about 40 miles south of Cleveland. They reported over 100 people showed up, the campaign is being run by someone very well connected to Akron democratic political circles, and Hillary has been endorsed by Don "Mayor for Life" Plusquellic (although he kind of bungled the announcement), in addition to the support of Governor Strickland and influential African American member of Congress Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. Chelsea is on campus at the University of Akron as I type this, and Hillary is in the area at events today through Friday. No sign of Obama yet....Update: 300 at organizing meeting for Obama!

I've been thinking a lot about this. I think it both frames the rhetorical debate that fuels the current campaign and it might forecast the kind of substantive policy achievements that will be possible under a future Democratic administration. I think the Clinton camp's essential argument is: "The enemy is real and will not go away. You cannot play nice with them or they will destroy you. Our sad experience over many years teaches us this. It won't be pretty, but it is necessary. You have to beat them." The Clintons themselves are the perfect embodiment of this argument. I think the essential Obama message, straight from the 2004 speech, is: "It doesn't have to be this way. There are no red states or blue states, but a United States. There is no enemy. We can find a way forward, together." Obama is also a perfect embodiment of this argument, which is what makes this campaign almost mythic. More after the fold...

Check this out: "Barackula is a short political horror rock musical about young Barack Obama having to stave off a secret society of vampires at Harvard when he was inducted into presidency at the Harvard Law Review in 1990. Obama (Justin Sherman) finds that he must convince the vampire society that opposing political philosophies can coexist or else the society may transform Obama to the dark side." Here's the link.