Obama Promises a Forceful Stand Against Clinton - Ungawa Black Powa Part 2

David Ahntholz for The Pic

Story by ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY
* Editor's Notes by VillagePeeps (in Italix)

Published: October 28, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 27 — Senator Barack Obama says he will start confronting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton more forcefully, disputing and challenging her views on key policy issues. Mr. Obama’s offensive comes just over two months before the first votes are cast for the Democratic nomination, and amidst concern by his aides, donors and other supporters that he has not exhibited the aggressiveness demanded by presidential politics, and that his lack of aggresiveness has allowed Mrs. Clinton to expand her lead in the presidential race.

* Obama the change candidate, as the JFK/Camelot 2 candidate, is fading fast. For one, he is having trouble sustaining the "safe" message (the "safe message" is vital to hold as it is the core of his popular appeal) as well as the charismatic change message a la John F. Kennedy did to a new generation of a modern, post WWII/Depression era young people? Today's young and anti-war crowd is really not one that has survived a real economic or political turmoil conflict, unless you just came over recently from a few places, or you count Paris Hilton's 47 hours in jail (HORRIFIC!) - yehm they just haven't been through it. It's a long race for him to sustain his message. But it's also a long race for him in experience. He's never run or been on a presidential campaign before, running all around the country, knowing the key stops. The stamina involved. The experience with the machine/apparatus/system of modern political campaigns. HIllary, as first lady, is uniquely above virtually all of them in experience with campaigns, save for Edwards, McCain and Kusinich. Richardson has national and international experience which gives him experience with a cross-country campaign schedule. The rest don't have experience running in a presidential campaign.

For months, Democrats, including some within Mr. Obama’s campaign, have questioned whether his promise to pursue a brand of politics that transcended partisanship had so handcuffed him that he could not compete in the most partisan of arenas.

Alan D. Solomont, a former contributor to both Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton who is now raising money for Mr. Obama in Boston, said there was a growing consensus that Mr. Obama had to ratchet up his intensity and draw sharper distinctions with Mrs. Clinton, of New York, and other rivals. “The only way that he’s going to be able to be clear with the American people,” Mr. Solomont said in an interview, “is to draw a distinction between his candidacy and his ideas about change and those of other candidates.”

In the interview, Mr. Obama, of Illinois, acknowledged that he had held back until now, though he asserted it was a calculated decision to introduce himself in early voting states before engaging opponents. But Mr. Obama said the plan had always been for him to take on Mrs. Clinton more directly in the fall. He glared and said no when asked if he lacked the stomach for confrontational politics. He'll get his first big test of his stomach this Tuesday night, when the Democrats meet for a nationally televised debate in Philadelphia.

There are growing signs that Mr. Obama is looking for a fresh start for his campaign after 9 months in which his aides said they were startled by the effectiveness of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, and worried that her support was not as brittle as they had once believed. Donors and other supporters are asking why Mr. Obama was not challenging Mrs. Clinton more forcefully and warning that he could cede the role of the main anti-Clinton candidate to former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who is running an aggressive campaign in this area. Typically, one aide said, the supporter asks some version of the same question: “What happened to the Obama we saw at the 2004 Democratic convention?”

* what happened is simple. this brotha tryin' to stay alive! he don't need nor want to get out there too aggressive. he knows and we all know that a carbine will be pointed (if not one is already always pointed) at the back of his head somewhere below the ear lobe and temple, ready to take our this squire of America, this Black Man our savior, who would save you and be your champion against the robber-barons, someone who would, as McCain has now capitalized on phrasically, give us "Straight Talk" about what's really going on and how we're going to solve and deal with our people's real and immediate problems, who would find peace on earth of which we could be a part. But that is not to be. By the powers that run us, we need someone who will Caeserize the world in the name of democracy and freedom, and keep the system of America going. so that very few will make very many dollars. Until there's a collapse. The powers that be know this, and that's why they can't have an Obama in the White House too long. I assume Obama, at 45 and with a young child, wants to live and enjoy life for a while, a couple of decades at least, without worrying about meeting his fate while serving his country.

But here's Obama's turn of the heel...

Though Mr. Obama’s criticisms of Mrs. Clinton are getting sharper, they were still somewhat restrained, certainly when compared with the criticisms that have been voiced of Mrs. Clinton by Mr. Edwards and much of the Republican field. Mr. Obama rejected the suggestion that he had been constrained in taking on Mrs. Clinton more forcefully because of his promise, at the start of the campaign, to avoid the bitter partisanship of past campaigns. “I’ve been amused by seeing some of the commentary out of the Clinton camp, where every time we point out a difference between me and her, they say, ‘What happened to the politics of hope?’ which is just silly,” he said, laughing. Asked why it was silly, he responded: “The notion that somehow changing the tone means simply . . . . that we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’ is obviously not what I had in mind and not how I function. And anybody who thinks I have hasn’t been paying attention.”

* Ouuuoohh! is that a threat? hope so. Obama needs to get up there and bitchslap her, cuss her out, call her a liar or link her to one of the GOP lies about her, jump on top of her and tell her you'll have wild estacy-laced axphysiatic sex with her until she chokes & passes out and stays out until after January 4, the Iowa Caucus. That is, if he has the fuckin' balls for it. I have my doubts.....

what!? O.J. Simpson gets to keep his fake Rolex! Whuuuuuutt!? Ask the Judge!

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - O.J. Simpson is getting his watch back, because it's a fake.

The timepiece in question had been seized by attorneys for Fred Goldman, the father who won a multimillion wrongful-death lawsuit against Simpson.

But a judge says the watch, a fake Rolex, has to go back because it's worth only about $100. The judgment against Simpson exempts jewelry worth less than $6,075.

(Niiicce the judgment was tailored to the value of the real Rolex)

Goldman's lawyer had told the judge that he had a buyer willing to pay $10,000 for the watch anyway because it's Simpson's. But Simpson's lawyer argued that didn't mean Simpson is obligated to let his watch be sold, and the judge agreed.

(contract Law: you can't force a sale because of an offer to buy, especially if it wasn't the item you originally bargained for at the time the offer was still on the table. oh well, we now know that fake rolexes don't count, evidently.)

Goldman's lawyer says his client is disappointed with the ruling but will comply with it.

(LIKE HA! - like he had a choice)

Simpson's lawyer says if Goldman's attorney had been permitted to sell the watch, he might have gone after other possessions of little value and tried to sell them at a huge markup.

(which IS the PLAN that is held by all the vultures swirling around the corpse formerly known as O.J. but even in desert death he thrives and survives, playing golf and dining with his friends, oh well, nice try goldman - better luck next time)

(how did Gil-Scott go in that song "We Beg Your Pardon, America"? "..and all is quiet and tranquil and nice on the shore and white sands of San Clemente..")

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thi material maye not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(then learn how to spell, bitches)

Yahoo! "News" can DIE IN A FIRE!!

Philadelphia is home to the least attractive people in the United States, a survey of visitors and residents showed on Friday. The city of more than 1.5 million people was also found to be among the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldly, according to the "America's Favorite Cities" survey by Travel & Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News.

About 60,000 people responded to the online survey -- at www.travelandleisure.com -- which ranked 25 cities in categories including shopping, food, culture, and cityscape, said Amy Farley, senior editor at the magazine.

For unattractiveness, Philadelphia just beat out Washington DC and Dallas/Fort Worth for the bottom spot. Miami and San Diego are home to the most attractive people, the poll found.

But Farley pointed out the results don't mean people in Philadelphia are ugly or the city is a bad place to visit.

"We were asking people to vote on attractiveness, not unattractiveness. Travel & Leisure editors believe there are a lot of attractive people in Philadelphia," she said.

"The relative attractiveness of its residents is only a minuscule factor in evaluating a city's merit."

Philadelphians' self-esteem has been undermined by national surveys showing they are among the fattest people in the United States. The American Obesity Association ranked the city in the top 10 for overweight people every year between 2000 and 2005.

And sporting pride in a city known for the fierce loyalty of its fans has been hurt by not having had a national champion in any of its four main sports since the 76ers won the National Basketball Association title in 1983.

Um ... No.

Eagles Pull It Off While The Jets Do Some Soul-Searching

Scorecard: Eagles 16, Jets 9

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington was 11-for-21 passing for 128 yards with an interception on Sunday.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 14 — It was a situation that seemed to play to Chad Pennington’s strengths: the Jets were inside the red zone, with the game on the line, and Laveranues Coles, the receiver with whom Pennington has a telepathic connection, was streaking toward the end zone.

The Jets were trailing the Philadelphia Eagles, 16-9, late in the fourth quarter when Pennington lofted the ball to Coles in the end zone on a fourth-and-1. It was a timing play they have completed like clockwork many times before, but on Sunday, as has been the case all season, the magic was missing.

The ball fell incomplete and the Jets lost for the third consecutive week. The Eagles, meantime, improved to 2-3 — and 9-0 after a bye week under Coach Andy Reid.

The Jets’ defense gave up some big plays — running back Brian Westbrook finished with 120 yards rushing and 36 receiving yards. But it was the offense, which has seemed strangely anemic under Pennington’s command, that drew boos from the Meadowlands crowd.

Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets’ offensive coordinator, had vowed on Friday to get the running game going. Sounding like a mechanic fresh from tinkering under the hood of a stalled car, he talked about identifying the problems and fixing them.

Whatever adjustments Schottenheimer made during the week looked like genius when Thomas Jones peeled out of the gate. On the Jets’ first play from scrimmage, he burst through a hole opened by left guard Adrien Clarke and sprinted 36 yards. It was the Jets’ longest run from scrimmage, far outdistancing Jones’s jaunts of 12 yards in three of the first five games.

The Jets rushed for 55 yards in the drive — 47 by Jones and 8 by Leon Washington — to set up a 30-yard field goal by Mike Nugent. They had 94 yards on the ground by the end of the quarter, which was 17 more than they were averaging per game.

Along with not being able to run the ball consistently, the Jets had not been able to tackle with any consistency. After missing 14 tackles in the 11-point loss to the Giants, the Jets incorporated one-on-one tackling drills into their practices last week.

It looked like a lot of wasted effort when receiver Kevin Curtis caught a short pass from quarterback Donovan McNabb on the Eagles’ opening series and shrugged off tackles by Andre Dyson and Eric Smith to turn a gain of a few yards into a 75-yard score.

A wicked wind made kicking into the east end zone an odyssey for both teams’ place kickers. Nugent missed wide right on a 44-yard attempt in the first quarter and the Eagles’ David Akers, who has converted 81.8 percent of his tries in nine years in the league, missed wide right from 41 yards twice in the second after making one from 22 on the second play of the quarter.

Akers’s first miss from 41 had the power to take the air out of the Eagles, coming as it did at the end of a 17-play drive that chewed 8 minutes, 18 seconds off the clock. But Pennington could not get the Jets’ offense rolling no matter how hard he cranked his arm and threw.

Pennington’s strong point has always been his accuracy and game management, but for the third consecutive week he made questionable decisions. He threw into triple coverage in the end zone early in the second quarter, trying to loft a pass to Jerricho Cotchery when the circumstances called for a dart. The pass was nearly intercepted and the Jets settled for a field goal.

In the third minute of the second half, Coles ran a crisp route to get open along the sideline but Pennington misfired on the throw. On the Jets’ next possession, he was intercepted by cornerback Sheldon Brown on an underthrown ball that was intended for Brad Smith.

Pennington was 11-for-21 passing for 128 yards but the only number that really matters is this: 1-5, which is how far the Jets have fallen from their 10-6 season of a year ago.

Best part though was the Jets wearing those cool New York Titans uniforms in remembrance of their roots. The Titans was the forerunner name of the New York Jets during its first two years when they were part of the old American Football League (AFL).

Perhaps the DC Metro should grade the subway like New York's MTA does theirs...

	Straphangers Give 4 Train A "C"
The 4 train received average marks from riders in the latest round of subway rider report cards. Straphangers gave the 4 line an overall grade of “C,” finding the line satisfactory, but not exceptional. The highest grade was “B minus“ for a lack of graffiti in stations and subway cars. The lowest grade was "D plus" for informative and audible station announcements. ("Stand clear of the closing door, please") As far as improvements, riders top priorities are more room during rush hour, fewer delays and shorter wait times. Yeah, it'd be nice to catch the first train instead of the third train because the first two were so damn overcrowded I couldnt get on!

Speaking of Bullies and Thugs.....

The previous article about Kerik and Guiliani just reminds me about the result of something that starts early in life. That something is the idea that being a bully and "tough" is something good. Only an asshole can really believe that. Sure, nice guys finish last, but what's so good about finishing first as a bad guy? It's a disease in our country that needs some Tylenol.

Here's something I wrote to a reporter at the Philly Ink today in response to that article about the 'crazy' kid who was about to do a Columbine at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School and the 'crazier' one at that Cleveland Magnet School. This is dedicated to all of these 'crazy kids' and many more who are the victims of an arrogant culture, formerly known as the United States:

To: Dan Hardy
Philadelphia Inquirer
RE: Your Article on Bullying in Schools 10/12/07

Dear Dan,

The level of ignorance and denial in American society these days just
amazes me.

When I hear irresponsible politicians like Guiliani refute claims by
responsible politicians like Ron Paul that "blowback" is a root cause to
the rise in terrorism against the West, it reminds me of what "bullying"
and putting down others not as fortunate as ourselves have done to cause
violent outrages that result in the killing of lives, innocent or not
innocent.  We see it more and more, when people come back and shoot former
coworkers, when rebuffed lovers lose it and pump rounds from a carbine into
them at a pizza party, when students all over the country are trying to
commit Columbine-styled killing sprees at their schools.  Columbine itself
was the result of such root feelings.  And then to hear the arrogance of
some who feel those people are "crazy", or "jealous" and laugh it off as
"too bad", or "they just hate us but we did nothing wrong", just cements
the ignorance or denial that something is really really wrong in society if
we have to put down others to prop ourselves up, or we have to hate others
who think differently than we do.

Of course the root cause was bullying.  We can't stop all people from being
stupid, and the First Amendment is what it is.  But we can do something
about people verbally abusing one another, and try to change bad and
anti-social behavior that invariably will lead to just such outcomes.
Schools and responsible adults need to step up and call it what it is -
wrong to do - and stop denying it's there.  When denial is the way it's
handled, you get to write these stories because that will always be the
eventual outcome.

The Backweb of Rudy Guiliani is His Record!

..... the ugly side of Rudy just continues to show its skin. despite his status as the GOP front-runner, more and more bad stuff comes out on him every month. the firefighters who are swift-boating him on his hyping of his 9/11 record, his apparency as a one-issue candidate (9/11, since 'law and order' is now lost to fred thompson after all), his phony-baloney "hi honey" phone call stunts at fundraisers and stump speeches, his fucked-up marital and family life, his on-the-video-record as pro-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-gun control, talk of the GOP right-wing base defecting to a 3rd-party candidate because of the dissatisfaction among many Christian Right-wingers with his record - the list of we-barf-when-u-say-Rudy items just keeps growing.

..... but now, one item comes out that could well be totally toxic - like Larry Craig toxic - to his campaign. the news? behold:

( MUG SHOTS FOR LOVERS )

Bernard Kerik shortly after his arrest in 2006

Federal prosecutors have told Bernard B. Kerik, whose nomination as homeland security secretary in 2004 ended in scandal, that he is going to be charged with several felonies, including tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wiretapping.

Kerik's indictment could set the stage for a courtroom battle that would draw attention to Kerik's extensive business and political dealings with former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who personally recommended him to President Bush for the Cabinet. Giuliani, the front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination according to most polls, later called the recommendation a mistake.

Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, right, with former police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik in November 2003. (By Shirley Bahadur -- Associated Press)

Kerik rose from being a warden and police detective to become Giuliani's campaign security adviser, corrections chief, police commissioner and eventual partner in Giuliani-Kerik, a security arm of Giuliani Partners, which Giuliani established after leaving office in 2001. Kerik resigned his positions in Giuliani's firm after he was nominated to the homeland security job.

The former mayor is not in any legal jeopardy, according to legal sources directly familiar with the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing. He and his consulting firm have cooperated in the FBI's long-running investigation of Kerik.

During a recent meeting, federal prosecutors told Kerik's attorneys that they are preparing to charge Kerik with filing false information to the government when Bush nominated him to the Cabinet, according to the legal sources.

Prosecutors are also prepared to charge Kerik with violating federal tax laws, alleging that he did not declare on his tax returns gifts he received while serving as New York's corrections commissioner, including costly renovations to an apartment he had bought, the sources said. The FBI is investigating loans Kerik received while he was in private business with Giuliani, the sources said, as well as information Kerik had omitted from a mortgage application.

The case against Kerik that federal prosecutors are preparing could generate uncomfortable political attention for Giuliani because it focuses on Kerik's activities while the two men were in government together and were jointly running Giuliani-Kerik, which was paid millions of dollars for advising upstart companies, doing federal work and consulting with clients overseas.

Kerik's legal troubles could damage the law-and-order image that is the bedrock of Giuliani's campaign, said Republican political consultant Nelson Warfield, who is not aligned with any 2008 candidate. "Kerik has potential to undermine his image as a competent leader and someone best fit to fight terrorism," Warfield said. "Either he had fundamentally bad information about Kerik, or he was reckless in not knowing enough about a man who was that close to him."

It all raises issues about the man who would be king of the free world and champion America into the next phase of the War on Terror, who will make major geopolitical decisions like waging war with Iran and much more during the rest of this decade and perhaps beyond. At worst, you might be electing a thug, a crook, or one who associates with criminals, who will bring your world down in ways Bin Laden could only dream of.

Do you even want to consider taking that chance?

Stupid, but true (for someone) stories on the Metro

Since I spend a good deal of my life on the Metro - riding the Metro, waiting for the Metro, stuck in a tunnel on the Metro - here's a little anecdote I wrote to pass the time in the office. See and Saw, and So Done:

Red line to Shady Grove (Shady Grove!), and the car was uncrowded for 8:35 in the morning. Maybe I am one of few, but I always wonder where the person sitting next to me, or who I'm standing next to, is going. Where are they going to get off, and how far will they have to travel to get to their destination? Will they have to take the dreaded Metro bus that never runs on time? Will they have to walk 14 blocks in those incredibly painful, but cute, stilettos? Are they really that interested in the Express columns? Who can stand reading those things anyway?

Even worse, what if they have to transfer, and their connecting line is experiencing "residual delays"? RESIDUAL DELAYS. The horrific, dreaded fear of the daily commuter, who half the time doesn't even know what "residual" means, but they know that their asses will be late. They hurriedly pull out their blackberries (if they are fortunate to have underground service) and phone the office, letting their superiors know that they are suck waiting for this damn train. Those of us that don't have expensive communicative devices don't freak out, because we know that our bosses won't be in until noon, where we can fool around on Livejournal until lunch time.

20 minutes later, the train still hasn't arrived. People are packed like sardines on the platform, some of them standing dangerously close to the edge where one little slip would send them plummeting face first onto the rat-infested tracks. The trains are single tracking, and four Orange line trains in the direction of who gives a fuck passes on the wrong side. People are starting to complain. Metro service men in orange and yellow jackets maneuver through the crowd, calling out incoherent directions to the crowd.

I would bet 50 bucks that if someone would've fallen into the tracks, the train would have been there 15 minutes ago. But that matters neither here nor there for me, because I am already at my destination on the upper west side of the Red line (to Shady Grove!), thankful that I don't have to deal with the headache of Metro Center getter-offer-transferee's.