Four years ago finding anyone willing to publicly admit to being a Democrat was a rather formidable exercise here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.  Republicans controlled state government, with Gov. Craig Benson flitting about the state in his uniquely plated Hummer, a suitable symbol of his disdain for the people of New Hampshire and their fundamental ideals.

Senator Rob (I can’t hear you, and even if I could I wouldn’t listen so just shut up and go away!) Boyce of Alton, whose most memorable legislative initiative was an attempt to make it legal for high school students to bring firearms to school, was cruising to an easy November victory over a far more qualified and energetic Democratic candidate, Beth Arsenault of Laconia.

And here in Laconia, all five of its seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives were easily captured by a covey of stalwart Republicans more known for their longevity of service than for advocating for their constituents.

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) addressed a crowd estimated at 700 at the B'nai Torah Synagogue in Boca Raton, Florida today.  

According to the Washington Post blog The Trail:

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Sen. Barack Obama was greeted warmly at the B'nai Torah synagogue here, although his so-called "Jewish problem" did flare up once.

Pressure is building on Hillary Clinton to suspend her campaign. In a story published today in the Cincinnati Enquirer, "Ohio Dems wish Clinton would exit" reporter Howard Wilkinson writes that at the Ohio Democratic Party convention held Saturday in Columbus, even super delegates pledged to Clinton are asking her to step aside.

"It bothers me that she won’t give it up," said former state representative Catherine Barrett of Forest Park, a delegate pledged to Clinton from the 1st Congressional District. "It’s exasperating."

Obama's super delegates chimed in as well, including Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory who endorsed Obama in February.

"It’s mathematically impossible for her to win," Mallory said. "Obama’s picking up two, three, five superdelegates a day. It’s time we got on with the real election."

No, I don’t have any photographic evidence to prove that Satan’s inferno suddenly has been transformed into a winter wonderland, nor am I meaning to suggest that the threat of global warming has abated.  But it’s evident to me that there has been a climate shift of cosmic proportions.

Let me explain.  My mother, an octogenarian who’s voted Republican her entire life except in 1960 when she elected to support JFK because he shared her Roman Catholic faith, revealed to me on the telephone yesterday that she’s voting in Kentucky’s upcoming primary for Barack Obama!

This is no minor transformation, and it began as a direct consequence of the Bush administration’s war policies combined with the emergence in power of the evangelical community.

Again today we're reminded of why Sen. Joe Lieberman (Idiot-CT) should be reviled by everyone for being a lying traitor committed to an unending war and the destruction of the progressive movement.  In a column he penned for Time Magazine's fifth annual list of the world's most influential people to be featured in its upcoming issue, Lieberman worships at the alter of Senator Walnuts McShame:

His personal values, strength and experience in war and peace prepare him well to protect us from the Islamist terrorists who are today's greatest threat to our freedom and to build bridges to the rest of the world that will secure and improve our future.

Besides all that, John likes to laugh—often at himself—which is another kind of courage not found in all politicians. John McCain's life has earned him a place on the TIME 100 list and has prepared him to be America's next great President.

All day I've been reading on the Intertubes, including here on the Daily Kos, that Obama's campaign is in a meltdown, that maybe we should be looking to draft Gore, or launch a third party, or just give up and huddle in a corner.

It gets tiresome, and yes, worrisome hearing the doom and gloom, not from the MSM, where we expect such crap, but from so-called progressive bloggers who are proving to be as spineless as jello.

And yes, even I found myself on the verge of panic, wondering if maybe Obama's campaign was suffering a meltdown. So I decided less than an hour ago to telephone an Obama staffer in Indiana to see what the hell is going on.

A scathing article in Canada's National Post on Thursday blasts the Democratic Party for being "the Nervous Nellies of U.S. politics."

Noting the criticism of Obama for being unable to "close the deal", it points out the real irony of Hillary's continued presence in the race.

Somehow, it's entirely his fault Hillary Clinton is still kicking around, telling tall tales about Bosnia, airing Armageddon ads and chugging Crown Royal like she was Faye Dunaway in Barfly.

What began as a joyous primary season has turned into a nightmare of bitterness and invective, promulgated largely by Senator Clinton and her campaign.

Sadly, her campaign has become less of a pursuit of "solutions" than a mission to destroy her opponent, no matter what the cost to herself or to the Democratic Party. She's redefined the term ambitious to mean "eagerly disingenuous, destructive, calculating, avaricious, dismissive and arrogant in the pursuit of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc."

It's time that either she gracefully step aside, or that party leaders escort her off the stage. She's become a parody of a bad vaudeville act, and someone needs to give her the hook.

The New York Times is reporting that key Bush cabinet officials have joined with top oil company executives in an effort to absolve Libya of damages it owes to victims of terrorist attacks authorized and funded by Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The move comes as ConocoPhillips, Hess, Occidental, Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Dow Chemical warn that "a law that Congress passed in January that is intended to ensure that victims of terrorist attacks are compensated......threatens to disrupt commerce that the United States is trying to encourage."

Joel Tannenbaum, who writes for the Philadelphia City Paper, a free weekly newspaper that claims 383,700 readers, offers a detailed analysis of why he believes Obama is going to win Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary by five points.

Last night George Stephanopoulos effectively destroyed any credibility he had as a fair or reasonable moderator of political discussions.

As if people aren't struggling already, there's more news coming out today of pending layoffs that will touch virtually every community in America.

From today's NY Times:

The consumer spending slump and tightening credit markets are unleashing a widening wave of bankruptcies in American retailing, prompting thousands of store closings that are expected to remake suburban malls and downtown shopping districts across the country.

I must concur that some of the adjectives used to describe Hillary and her supporters are offensive and somewhat juvenile, and I can understand why terms such as liar, racist, arrogant, Hilbot, bitch, Clintonista, etc., incite so much anger.

So perhaps we should all endeavor to be just a tad bit kinder and more "politically correct" in our comments. Personally, I do try very hard to live up to the maxim that "If you don’t have something good to say about someone, you shouldn’t say anything at all."

Admittedly, I don’t always succeed, finding myself caught up in the passions of the moment and anxious to counter the outrageous distortions and disingenuous discourse emanating from the black hole from which Clinton’s campaign seems to be operating.

But make no mistake, there are ways to convey truth without using any of the aforementioned, offensive adjectives, as I illustrate below.

Southern Baptist leader supports "pre-natal" treatments to steer gay fetuses to a life of heterosexuality.