We are taking time off from blogging and will return when... well, when we return. But we can't resist reacting to the press's reaction to the Hillicide that took place yesterday. The New York Times grudgingly reports a miserly "convincing" win on the part of Obama. The Washington Post dodges hyperventilation caused by Obama's high-margin wins and focuses on the accumulation of delegates, a less dramatic sign of Obama's preeminence.
So where does a truthseeker go? Well, Canadian Broadcasting reports "landslide" and "rout," while at home we still have McClatchy. One of its three front-page headlines today reads "Obama overwhelms Clinton." That's more like it, given the percentages associated with Obama's wins.
Obama enjoyed the same 2-1 margin in Nebraska. The Omaha World Herald predicted he would receive 16 of the state's 24 delegates. Thousands more voters than expected turned out, and school gyms were filled to overflowing with caucus attendees. Traffic jams were common near caucus sites.
In Louisiana, Obama won by 57 percent to 36 percent with all the votes counted. How many delegates Obama will receive won't be known till later this week; 37 of the state's 67 delegates are awarded based on the vote, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The remainder are chosen by state party leaders.
Hillary Clinton looks and speaks like someone who feels overwhelmed. We should expect long knives to be drawn now. Watch for behaviors from an angry Bill. [Later in the day it was announced that the Clinton campaign's director is being replaced.]
Another reason to crow is headline #2 from McClatchy: "House Republicans approach record departures."
In the last week of January, five members of Congress joined the hottest demographic group on Capitol Hill: Republicans who are heading for the exits.
Reps. Tom Davis of Virginia, Kenny Hulshof of Missouri, Ron Lewis of Kentucky, Dave Weldon of Florida and James Walsh of New York are among 25 Republican members of the House of Representatives who've announced their resignations or retirements. The party is closing in quickly on its record of 27 House retirements, set in 1952. ...
... So far, only five House Democrats have announced that they're leaving, either to retire or to run for Senate seats.
The dramatic attrition rate is not limited to the House. The Senate, according to McClatchy, is losing some key Republicans (though not, unfortunately, that pestiferous Lieberman). Some of us wish Warner and the others would take some Dems with them -- like Jay Rockefeller and Harry Reid. After the votes to allow greater secrecy, a pass for telecoms, and unlimited waivers on accountability, many Americans are finally ready to smash the untruth machinery set up by their own representatives.
During all this turmoil, real world problems aren't getting much play. Except maybe at McClatchy where headline #3 reads: "Pakistan's 'mad scientist' keeps mum on nuclear riddles." After squandering all those lives, billions, and international support in Iraq, George Bush is skidding downhill out of office. He leaves behind his failed relationship with a failed state -- Pakistan. These guys have real nuclear weapons and a black market in WMD parts. Just exactly what Pakistan been marketing elsewhere we could learn from A.Q. Khan, the famous wheeler-dealer in nuclear materials. But Khan remains under guard and it's unlikely he'll ever be allowed to speak publicly.
For the past four years, Khan has been under house arrest for confessing to selling nuclear-weapons secrets. Some Pakistanis, who revere Khan as a hero, say it's time to let him go free and recover from his recent prostate cancer in peace.
Khan still holds the solutions to many riddles of an increasingly alarming global nuclear age. Some of his knowledge could embarrass Pakistanis in power, but also could shed light on the extent of nuclear programs and weapons dealers in the world's dark alleys.
Some things about Khan's life also remain mysteries.
Whom are the sentinels outside his villa guarding against? Are they protecting Khan from foreigners who might abduct him to jump-start their own nuclear programs? Do some former colleagues want to do him in? Or are the guards there to keep a lid on Khan, who reportedly boils at allegations that greed — not loftier goals — drove him to sell nuclear secrets, and now may want to spill the beans?
Someone like Benazir Bhutto could have sprung Khan. Another Musharraf opponent might let Khan speak publicly. Not holding our breath, though.
Back here at home, it's beginning to look as though there are two important battles Americans are engaged in, battles are obscured by the dust and smoke of the campaigns. We are fed up with Bill Clinton's war on democracy and we're beginning to see the outlines of a mini-war between Democrats and their national party, a battle which may only be won if super delegates are seen to allot their votes fairly.
The other battle has to do with the media's efforts to direct our choices. Obama's numbers in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington may indicate a citizen rebellion against the media's predictions and their efforts to tailor reporting and analysis to predictions. The votes that gave Huckabee the win in Kansas also signaled a victory over media predictions and "conventional wisdom" no less than were Obama's spectacular shares in the votes in three states. We may finally be winning a battle with punditry and taking our independence -- and our self-government -- back from both the media and the two major national political parties.
