The Jed Report presents A Don't Throw Stones Production:

In the thirst for power, patriotism was their weapon -- but they could not meet their own false standards. They were the legacy of Karl Rove and George Bush, and they trapped themselves in a glass house of their own making.

Change is coming November 4, 2008.

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Digg the video on YouTube | Also posted: Direct link | on my blog | Daily Kos

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I would be remiss if I didn't note that this is my first diary posted at MyDD in a long time -- and it's good to be back among old friends, together again.

MSNBC's David Shuster has earned an appropriate dose of condemnation and outrage for his disgusting assertion that Chelsea Clinton had been "pimped out" by her parents for political purposes.

Now is a good time to remember that before there was a David Shuster, there was John McCain.

Ten years ago, McCain told a cruel joke about Chelsea to a group of Republicans:

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."

This joke is vile in more ways than I count. Chelsea is and was beautiful -- not that it should even matter. It's never acceptable to make a joke like that, but the fact that Chelsea was a teenager at the time makes it even worse.

The joke wasn't merely sexist and mean, it was also homophobic. It is a brutal indictment of John McCain's personal character -- and the character of those who laughed along with him.

And the media let him get away with it.

This is a post about electability, but I'm not going to argue that either Obama or Clinton is more electable than the other.

Rather, I'm just going to offer a comprehensive review of available polling data, allowing you to draw your own conclusions.

Moreover, instead of zeroing in one one specific poll or polling organization, the data in this diary is based on averages of 62 different national polls and 20 different state polls.

One of the concerns about Barack Obama is that he's said that if his Republican opponent agrees to public financing and the associated spending limits for the general election, he would too.

It's a concern no longer because today John McCain announced he would abandon the public finance system and it spending limits.

No public funds for McCain
By: Jeanne Cummings
Feb 4, 2008 08:47 PM EST

With the Republican presidential nomination within reach, John McCain is reshaping his campaign to press on without public financing that could limit his spring spending, senior advisers say.

I don't know if Obama's people read this blog, but in case they do I have a favor to ask.

There's a part of Obama's stump speech where he seems to be mocking John Edwards for having answered a question from Tim Russert about his greatest weakness as follows:

EDWARDS: I think weakness, I sometimes have a very powerful emotional response to pain that I see around me, when I see a man like Donnie Ingram (ph), who I met a few months ago in South Carolina, who worked for 33 years in the mill, reminded me very much of the kind of people that I grew up with, who's about to lose his job, has no idea where he's going to go, what he's going to do. I mean, his dignity and self-respect is at issue. And I feel that in a really personal way and in a very emotional way. And I think sometimes that can undermine what you need to do.

Snubgate.

What a tremendous embarrassment for the Democratic Party.

How could we let this become an issue when men and women and boys and girls are dying in Iraq, when our economy is on the brink, and when our planet faces an unparalleled environmental crisis?

I fully realize that this diary will seem like a hit on Barack Obama, and there's no escaping that.

However, I wrote it more as an exercise in political analysis than as an advocacy piece.

My central claim is that Hillary is methodically destroying Barack Obama's campaign, and that he can't fall back on Edwards supporters like me to bail him out because he hasn't run as an economic progressive.

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts, particularly from Obama supporters. If you think I'm wrong, why, and what is he going to do to win the nomination?

Are there three people in this debate, not two? This kind of squabbling...how many children is this going to give health care, how many people are going to get an education from this, how many kids are going to be able to go to college because of this. We have got to understand, this is not about us personally. It is about what we are trying to do for this country, and what we believe in. -- John Edwards, during last night's debate

Last night, while Barack Obama was going Wal-Mart on Hillary Clinton, and while Hillary was going Rezko on Obama, and while they were both looking for more ammunition to use in yet another personal attack, John Edwards did something extraordinary.