ALBANY—David Paterson appeared on CNN this afternoon to talk about—well, it wasn't clear.  read more »

Jimmy Carter is still on his book tour, and still hinting at support for Barack Obama without saying it directly.

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer taped for The Situation Room, Carter said that if superdelegates overturn what is nearly certain to be a majority of pledged delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver (the only way Hillary Clinton can win at this point), it would be "uncomfortable." Carter, while admitting to having a favorite, still refuses to say who he voted for in the primary, or who he plans to support at the convention.

Carter is one of the Democratic Party elders, along with Al Gore, who could conceivably play a role in tipping the nominating process towards one candidate by weighing in at some point. In Carter's case, at least, that candidate would probably be Obama. (Carter previously told a Nigerian newspaper, "My children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama.")

Here's the transcript of the exchange, sent over by the CNN:  read more »

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama got their digs in, but both candidates took pains on Thursday night not to appear hostile or mean-spirited in what was their only one-on-one encounter before Super Tuesday.

Instead, the two surviving Democratic contenders spent close to two hours—the debate at the Kodak Theatre wrapped up a few minutes earlier than planned and included three commercial breaks—aiming most of their attacks at John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, and engaging in lengthy, painstaking and rather dispassionate discussions of policy.

From a civics standpoint, the debate was something approaching a triumph. But in terms of political theater, it didn’t even begin to approach the tension and pique that defined last week’s debate in South Carolina.

Both candidates had good reason to play it this way.  read more »

Why, given the endless supply of eager political pundits who are unaffiliated with the Clintons and every other campaign, did CNN ever offer such a prominent spot to James Carville and David Gergen?  read more »

In sharp contrast to the Clinton campaign, which is showering Wolf Blitzer with praise this morning for his performance moderating last night’s debate, David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s senior advisor, thinks he failed to ask the hard questions.

“I thought it was odd that the moderator didn’t follow up,” Axelrod said.  read more »

LAS VEGAS—Tonight, Hillary Clinton hit back.

After weeks of withering attacks by her Democratic rivals, political missteps by her own campaign and a seeming inability to give a straight answer on the hot-button issue of driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, Ms. Clinton took the platform at a debate at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, pointed to her charcoal jacket, and said “This pantsuit—it’s asbestos,” suggesting she was ready to withstand any onslaughts.

And they started right away.  read more »

The sparring between Michael Moore and CNN is starting to sound like a playground fight.

On Saturday, Mr. Moore published an "open letter" to CNN on his web site, introducing complaints about his treatment at the hands of interviewer Wolf Blitzer with some crazy-talk:

"I bet you thought I was just going to go quietly away. Think again. I'm about to become your worst nightmare. 'Cause I ain't ever going away."  read more »

The sparring between Michael Moore and CNN is starting to sound like a playground fight.

On Saturday, Mr. Moore published an "open letter" to CNN on his web site, introducing complaints about his treatment at the hands of interviewer Wolf Blitzer with some crazy-talk:

"I bet you thought I was just going to go quietly away. Think again. I'm about to become your worst nightmare. 'Cause I ain't ever going away."  read more »

I bring this up because we are nearly five years into a war—an amorphous one against shadowy enemies within and without, including, principally, a country that never attacked us—and the president has never tried to rally the country to any measure of real sacrifice. Notwithstanding the fact that the hostilities began with events that in horror and magnitude eclipsed Pearl Harbor. If that war were properly defined, I'm sure Americans would willingly sacrifice. For instance, if Roscoe Bartlett's ideas gained greater circulation.

America is not, never has been, and never will be what the songs and poems call it, a land of plenty. Nylon, meat, gasoline, and steel are rare. There are too many jobs and not enough workers. Money is very easy to earn but rather hard to spend, because there isn't much to buy. Trains are always late and always crowded with 'servicemen.' The war will always be fought very far from America and it will never end.

When Bartlett made his first speech on the topic a little over a year ago it felt like something of a watershed. However, I'm in no position to judge how influencial he has really been. Apparently, George Bush has thanked him for his leadership on Peak Oil however what's needed in response is a much more tangible effort than that.