Joe Biden speaks at Maple Point Middle School in Lanhorne, PA.

At their convention, the Republicans spent more time attacking Barack and sneering at community organizers than talking about solutions.

Donate To The Obama | Biden Team

Popularity: 6% [?]

Writes: Ruben Navarrette Jr.

   Luis Ramirez in his death bead [Enlarge Pic]
A 25-year-old undocumented immigrant, Luis Ramirez, from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania suffered head injuries after he was viciously beaten July 12 by a pack of at least six teenagers. Ramirez was left in convulsions and foaming at the mouth. His attackers stomped him so hard that an imprint of the Jesus medallion he wore was embedded on his chest.

Authorities now allege that the thugs who beat Luis shouted racial and ethnic epithets. They’ve charged 16-year-old Brandon J. Piekarsky and 17-year-old Colin J. Walsh as adults with homicide and 18-year-old Derrick M. Donchak with aggravated assault. All three were charged with ethnic intimidation. Another juvenile, whom police haven’t named, was charged with assault, and police are continuing to investigate……..[MORE >>]

REFERENCES:

SANCTIONED IMMIGRANT HATE — VIA CABLE NEWS

Popularity: 15% [?]

“Republican Mike Huckabee responded to a sharp offstage sound during his speech to the National Rifle Assn. by suggesting that it was Barack Obama diving to the floor because someone had aimed a gun at him.

Hearing a loud noise, Huckabee interrupted his speech to say: “That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He’s getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he — he dove for the floor.”

There were a few murmurs in the crowd.

The Obama campaign had no comment.” — Quotation from the Los Angeles Times

Mike Huckabee is one of the few politicians who can ad lib quips that haven’t been written, vetted and analyzed by campaign staffers. His jokes were a breathe of fresh air in the Republican presidential debates, but he really stunk up the joint with this clunker.

Perhaps Huckabee thought he could get away with a crack about gunfire at a meeting of the NRA, but even that crowd of troglodytes was appalled at his insensitivity.

Huckabee’s quip must have gone over like a lead balloon in the Obama camp, the presumptive Democratic nominee has received numerous death threats.

Obama is a charismatic, eloquent and intelligent statesman who transcends race and politics, he has united people of all races, colors and creeds.

But there are always the loonies who can’t stand the idea of a black president, and they don’t need Huckabee planting any ideas in their heads.

Maybe if Huckabee were black, he wouldn’t have made that offhand wisecrack. But Huckabee is a hillbilly and we’ve already had a hillbilly president. There isn’t any nut who would have killed Huckabee to prevent a country bumpkin from inhabiting the White House.

Could Huckabee Be Wishing Obama — Assassination?

“Later Friday, Huckabee issued an apology: ‘During my speech at the NRA, a loud noise backstage that sounded like a chair falling distracted the crowd and interrupted my speech. I made an offhand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama. I apologize that my comments were offensive. That was never my intention.’” — Quotation from the Los Angeles Times

Huckabee conducted himself like a gentleman during his presidential run, he never resorted to name-calling or dirty politics. I believe he is truly sorry that his witticism backfired, and I don’t think he meant to offend Obama.

When Huckabee heard that chair falling he should have made this one-liner:

Fellow NRA members, relax, don’t reach for your assault rifles. That was just the sound of a drunk NRA member out in the parking lot shooting himself in the foot.

REFERENCES:

1. Mike Huckabee Is Seriously Deranged
2. For Assassination Joke, Huckabee Should Be Off TV

Popularity: 36% [?]

Obama Faces Racism in West Virginia - video powered by Metacafe

….Red State Update

Popularity: 37% [?]

It’s Time For Hillary To Quit!

Barack Obama celebrates with wife Michelle
Sen. Barack Obama won North Carolina’s presidential primary by a wide margin Tuesday, while Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly won in Indiana.

“We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be,” NBC’s Tim Russert declared on MSNBC last evening. The Meet the Press host was referring to Barack Obama, who won a decisive victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton in today’s North Carolina primary and is within just a few percentage points of her in the Indiana vote count.

The network’s Chuck Todd ran through the math and calculated that Obama now leads Clinton in the “popular vote” by about 710,000 — and by 200,000 if the disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan are counted. He also leads by about 160 Democratic convention delegates, Todd said.

Obama, according to Todd, can now make the case “that no matter how you do the math, I’m still ahead.”

The Politico’s Ben Smith reports that Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said this evening that the campaign is going to spend some time over the next few weeks campaigning in states that will be critical in the fall election. “I don’t think we are doing to spend our time solely in primary states,” Axelrod said. There are six primaries left on the Democratic calender; in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

Barack Obama is 200 delegates away from the nomination, two weeks after a decisive defeat in Pennsylvania. Last night Obama sounded increasingly like he was looking forward to the fall campaign.

In a raucous rally in Raleigh, N.C., he congratulated Clinton on what he said “appears to be” a win in Indiana.

But he told the crowd, “Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from winning the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.”

“This primary season may not be over, but when it is, we will have to remember who we are as Democrats,” he said, “because we all agree that at this defining moment in history — a moment when we’re facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril — we can’t afford to give John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush’s third term.”

| …More Barack TV |

MEANWHILE: Clinton vowed at a late-night rally in Indianapolis that her campaign would continue at “full speed” — then made an appeal for money to fight on in the face of a fund-raising disadvantage.

Despite the uncertainty of the outcome in Indiana, Clinton staked a claim to victory there.

“Not too long ago, my opponent made a prediction,” she said at the rally, joined by her husband, Bill, his face sunburned after hours spent campaigning in small-town North Carolina, and their daughter, Chelsea. “I would win Pennsylvania, he would win North Carolina and Indiana would be the tie-breaker.

“Well, tonight we’ve come from behind, we’ve broken the tie, and thanks to you it’s full speed on to the White House.”

Report: Adopted From USAToday.com | MSNBC.com

Popularity: 28% [?]