Cross-posted at MyDD.

One of the issues that people who oppose Barack Obama's election to president like to trot out is the issue of his experience.  I plan to take on the qualitative argument in a future diary, but first, let's put away the exceptionally silly historical quantitative argument based on age, number of years in office, and tenure at different levels of office.

Only three men in the history of the United States, Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, and Franklin Roosevelt, have won the popular vote in three elections.  Two of these men, Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, failed to achieve a majority of the votes in the Electoral College in one of their three popular victories, and therefore served only two terms as president even though they won three popular elections.

A number of people have proposed that Barack Obama's years of experience in elected office are not suitable to election to the presidency.

The Internet is a place where people can find like-minded persons and share one's thoughts.  There are many things about it that recommend it as a way to organize and commiserate, but I have discovered it also has a downside in a closely contested nomination battle.  In the final analysis, this diary is about that, but let me make a few points about who I am.

My credentials as a Hillary supporter are elegant.  It's possible that I was the only recognizable blogger on the World Wide Web who stood with Hillary for the first three months of her campaign.  You cannot imagine what that was like.  It was pretty awful.  I went from being DCDemocrat of the golden Democratic credentials to being troll-rated on a regular basis. There was so much enmity towards Hillary in the early months of the campaign that the bloggers who now continue to fight to make Hillary the nominee (even after Hillary has endorsed Obama) were no where to be found, and the people who didn't stand up in those months included the names of all the bloggers who became Hillary's most ardent defenders and now are being sung in diaries in the progressive blogosphere.  

I truly was alone.

I have wanted to wait to write this.  But I think it is time in the name of party unity to say that I stand with my party, and I will vote for the nominee of the party.

I have stood with Hillary since January 2007.  I have given a lot of money to her.  I have made a lot of calls for her.  I have fought for her on the blogs.  I love her dearly, and I would like her to be president.

But facts are facts, and there simply is no disputing the delegate count we have tonight.  Even if we change the rules and seat all of Florida and Michigan's delegates just as the votes were cast, the superdelegates are going to give the nomination to Barack Obama.

Some of you might have caught Alegre’s write-up of last night’s debate, where Hillary showed us just how passionate she is about continuing to serve her country as our next Commander in Chief, and of how ready she is to lead.  Toward the end she used a very common phrase - whatever happens, we’re going to be fine.

Now come on... admit it – you’ve used that sort of phrase when trying to reassure a loved one, friend or colleague during a tough patch right?  It’s not like John Edwards is the only person who’s used language like this before.

And yet in their desperation to negate Hillary’s amazing closing comments in the debate last night, they’re doing exactly what they’ve accused Hillary of doing – finger-pointing over what they’re calling plagiarism.  Thing is... there’s no there there.

Hillary’s campaign just released something that points out just how common this phrase is in our lexicon.  As Alegre likes to say, "Make the jump for more."

People have their dander up about this story from Politico that says that Hillary will fight for Obama's pledged delegates in the event neither candidate has obtained a sufficient number of delegates to receive the nomination.

A Clinton campaign spokesperson has said the story is false.

On February 6, Barack Obama made the following observation:

I think those superdelegates and elected officials and party insiders would have to think long and hoard about how they approach the nomination if the people they represent have said that Obama is our guy.

Let me heartily concur with the Senator’s sentiments on that matter.

There's been a lot of smoke from the Obama campaign about how well Barack Obama did in "besting" Hillary in delegates on Super Tuesday, but truth always gets its day:

Delegates Won on Super Tuesday

Clinton 784
Obama 758

I learned fairly early in an excessively long education that 784 is greater than 758 by 30.  Let's put it plainly, Hillary won 30 more delegates than Obama.  (I do appreciate the breathtaking significance of Alaska, Utah, and Kansas, but I grew up in California and went to school in New York, so you can understand my bias about their importance.)

I used my blogger identity to wiggle my way into a conference call with some Clinton campaign officials a little while ago; I was upfront about my status as a blogger, and the operator didn't seem to mind my being on the call.  Mark Penn and Howard Wolfson made certain points to representatives of the media on this eve of Super Tuesday, and I would like to throw out a few observations that impressed me about their take on where the race will be on Wednesday and where it will go for the weeks after Super Tuesday.  First of all, here is Penn's and Wolfson's very good news for Hillary supporters:

1. Though clearly we all, Hillary and Obama supporters alike, are aware now that February 5 will not decide the race, Penn and Wolfson are very confident that when we wake up on February 6, Hillary will have a lead in the race for delegates.

More of their thoughts below the fold.

The Florida primary is now history, and it appears that twice as many Democrats turned out in 2008 than 2004. What did they tell us and how loudly did they say it?  Any analysis tells us that Florida Democrats wants Hillary Clinton to be the nominee, and they said it with persuasiveness loudness.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that federal agents arrested Tony Rezko this morning for an apparent bond violation.  The Tribune reported:

Investigators had in recent weeks become concerned about the movement of some of his finances, a source said.

I think there is a seriously important thing to keep in mind about Michigan.  Even though the Democratic race was not contested (and might not even count), the number of Democrats who voted was not so far behind the number of Republicans who voted a seriously contested event that does indeed count.

Now, let me suggest why I believe this is really, really important, Hillary received almost as many votes in her non-contest (328,151) as Mitt received in his real contest (337,847).  That is good news for Democrats.  We don't even have to throw a "real event," and people are showing up in numbers on a par with the Republicans.

Cross-posted at MyDD

Yesterday, I published a diary on Daily Kos and cross-posted it at My DD. My diary congratulated Hillary Rodham Clinton for her fete as the first woman ever in American history to win a presidential primary.

The press hasn’t noted it, so I thought I should write a diary to celebrate that a first has occurred in the history of our republic.  An event without precedent in American history, a woman has won the first primary in the nominating process for her party.  The woman who shattered that glass ceiling, of course, is none other than Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I never dismiss a poll out of hand.  I think every poll has something to tell us.  The results of the Des Moines Register poll have been widely noted here and throughout the blogosphere.  Obama has a seven point lead:

Obama 32
Clinton 25
Edwards 24

This poll, the Register reports, has a +/-3.5% margin of error; it was conducted December 27 to 30.  The model, according the The Washington Post, assumes that more than half of Hillary's and Edwards's support will be from first time caucus goers and that 72% of Obama's will come from that group.

One of the great advantages that Barack Obama has in the race for Iowa is the shared border between Illinois and Iowa.  That border should make it a cake walk for Barack Obama to take the Iowa caucuses on January 3.  Iowa has a long history of supporting favorite sons from Iowa and neighboring states.  Let’s review the history and see why it is so advantageous for Barack Obama.

When I was about four-years-old, my mother purchased swimming lessons for me.  There I was in the locker room getting ready with my bathing suit when I saw him, a boy of maybe 13 or 14 standing naked.  Everything in my four-year-old body wanted to go and hug him, but somehow or other, I knew it wouldn’t be permitted.  I can recall thinking to myself, "When I grow up, I’ll hug him."  It was another 16 or 17 years before I would call myself an out gay man, but that’s what I have been for more than a quarter century.  I suppose on Daily Kos, it’s no secret that this out gay man is for Hillary.

There are lots of metrics we use to define the contours of the race for president: the content of the candidates' speeches, the impact of those speeches, miles traveled, sizes of crowds, political donations, and of course, polls.  But the most meaningful metric is the delegate count.  In the race for the Democratic nomination, the first Iowan caucus goer has yet to raise her voice, but the all-important delegate totals for the Democratic nomination already are beginning to mount.  The New York Times has a story up about a poll of the super delegates who will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver next August.

I know many of my fellow Kossacks have been mystified at Hillary's enduring and even growing strength in national and state polls.  I wish I could convey the feeling about her that her supporters have.  But there really is a reason why people are growing in their support and trust of her, and a new video out of the Clinton campaign captures some of this feeling.  If you want to see the faces of Americans who support Hillary, join me below the fold.