After reading some of the posts over the past few days regarding the FISA bill and the huge outrage over Obama's "lack of leadership" on the issue, a thought occurred to me.

Do we have posters and diarists on here that are "sleeper cells", Republican plants lying in wait pretending to be on the liberal and progressive side of issues but merely a hair trigger away from creating hate and disconnect when the ideal issue comes along that could fracture the party?

Excuse me but I'm just aghast at all the vitriolic rage aimed at the entire Democratic Party today and particularly Obama because they "caved" on the FISA bill or didn't come out strongly enough against it.

Maybe I'm just not tuned in but wasn't our primary concern with being against immunity for the telecoms not because we cared about punishing those companies but to ensure instead that we'd be able to use the cases to establish evidence of the administration's guilt in breaking the law?

I screamed at my television set.  There was Keith Olbermann, the one beacon of truth in this whole mess, talking on the top of the screen as the vote and delegate totals appeared on the bottom.  It was so reassuring seeing the total number of delegate, the committed ones, the super delegate counts, and then.......

People seem a bit testy here.  Can't imagine why.  So here's the challenge for today.  

I hope I don't have to tell the intellectuals and chess players on this site what's coming prior to November but I think it's absolutely obvious.  We even saw the primer to it in the 2006 elections.  I'm curious just how accurate my "Spidey-sense" is here.

Regular and super alike.  It is now time to state publicly and loudly that if one shred of harm is done to Barack Obama between now and the convention that you will unequivocally not nominate Hillary Clinton and find some other candidate to become the nominee.

teacherken is one of my favorite diarists on DK for a number of reasons.  First of all, he (like my wife) is actively involved in the education of our youth, a task which is the mainstay of our democracy and secondly, he seems to have his finger on the pulse of American society.  He shows a good balance of indignation when necessary and an ability to brainstorm to solve problems.

His diary today I am a liberal because is a wonderful look into the basic tenets that define liberalism.  However, I think he left out a few things that always come up in me when I try to define my own personal political slant.  I began to respond in his diary but found myself long-winded enough to rate a diary of its own.

As much as I'd like to believe that a President Obama will move our country onto a new path, there's this lingering fear in me that our next leader will be challenged unlike any other in our recent history and some of those challenges might be more formidable than any mere mortal can handle.

We need to resolve right now that, assuming Barack Obama becomes our Commander In Chief and he doesn't morph into the Anti-Christ as the wackos predict, that we will not succumb to fear should things go terribly wrong.

I'm old enough to remember the civil rights era, the riots, the murders, the marches of the KKK, the images in the magazines of signs over drinking fountains that shouted out "Whites Only".  At the time, you could have walked through the streets of most Southern towns and pretty much known that nearly every white person you passed had bigotry embedded firmly in their psyche.  Most felt no guilt about the trait.  After all, their mothers, their grandmothers, their slave owning ancestors all accepted it as a way of life.

I apologize in advance for this very short diary rant but I only have a few minutes before I have to hit the road.  I just read about Hillary's gas tax cut bill before the Senate and her "with us or against us" bullying.

This is going to be a short and sweet diary but I'm just not reading this simple message in all the outrage I'm seeing.

This is a tale about an air conditioning system and a little insight into some of the fundamental problems facing our climb out of the economic chaos we face today.  My recent experience trying to make my life more energy efficient is an excellent look into the complexities of our modern lives.  

Ah, here we are again in that same situation as we were decades ago when the outrage was building over the Russians brutalizing the Afghanis and heading towards some sort of political boycott of the Olympic games.  

I'm here to tell you that although we did the noble and feel-good thing back then by staying home from Moscow, Jimmy Carter, a man I have great respect for, might have made a mistake with the boycott and it seems possible we could make the same poor choice if we allow emotion and protests to keep us away from full participation in the upcoming games.

This is not a full-fledged diary but a primer on one I'll be writing as I compile all the facts on this topic.  However, this one's burning in me and it's worth getting some light shown on it right now.

I've had it.  After reading the diaries and news today about Senator Clinton's latest dirty politics and the number of very quality people that are actually saying they could never again vote for her even if it meant McCain wins the White House, I've come to this conclusion - it's time for a voter intervention.

First, let me state categorically that I still am firmly in support of Barack Obama becoming our next President but, after watching this morning's news on MSNBC before heading off to work, I'm seriously concerned about the damage the airplay of the rantings of Reverand Wright are going to have on his campaign.

Not only were they there in all their glory on TV but the audio of those same vitriolic outbursts were being played over and over again on talk radio (including Air America) as I drove in.

These must be addressed now and with conviction or Obama will be as damaged as Howard Dean was when his "Yee haw"s knocked him out of contention.  Here's the response I think will blow it away.

I'm truly sorry if I'm going to offend any Hillary supporters out there that are outraged over the outrage coming out of diarists, media personalities, and bloggers but there is legitimate cause for concern that the Democratic Party has truly entered circular firing squad mode....and for good reason.  

In my opinion Hillary has crossed the line where people on here are actually talking about staying home for the general election or committing the abominable "sin" of voting for Nader.  How absurd.  Even in my wild nightmares of Hillary being a person that transforms into a vampire at midnight would I ever consider throwing away that tiny little bit of power we have to use right now that will push the Republicans out of the White House and send them packing for the pits of Hell.  

Ok, this is a long shot but, after reading a diary that wanted our opinion on the merits of an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket, I had this epiphany.

Obama could secure the nomination and run away with the remaining primaries if he makes a committment right now to choose a woman as his running mate.  (other than Hillary)