I watched the Bartoshevich advertisement this morning, and something about the closing really concerned me.

In addition to addressing women, and particularly, purportedly, former Clinton supporters, this ad is a play for undecideds in general or for people who are planning on voting for Obama, even though they may have reservations they can't quite put their figure on.  White women, it would make sense, represents a demographic the McCain campaign knows they need and they think they can sway, to some extent, with this kind of permission to vote their prejudice coupled with a non-argument argument.  

It's like, "It's okay, you don't even need a real reason to vote for McCain, and there's no reason to feel bad about it.  Come on...everyone's gonna do it."  

And by "do it", I mean, be racist.  

Assuming Obama wins, what happens to Bush, where will he go, what kinds of public appearances will he make, what will he do in the interest of some kind of post-presidency legacy, or will he do anything at all? Curious to see what peoples' thoughts, best guesses, etc., are...  

  I know this is not going to come close to three paragraphs of original content so I'm not going to kid myself or any of you by trying.  I also like leaving the question as open-ended as possible, etc.  It just kind of occurred to me that, given that it's likely he will with increasing candor and volume be considered the worst president in US history, and given his demeanor, phobias, interests, etc., background, there could be all kinds of wholly unusual ways in which Bush may change our perception of what an ex-president is and does, or needs to pretend to be or do.  What will they do right away, where will W and Laura be in five years? Ten years?

   Hopefully people will post responses...serious and silly and everything in between.  

If this gets some interesting comments or discussion going, go ahead and Rec so more people can chime in on our question:  

What will Bush do when he leaves office?

http://www.motherjones.com/...

We can all use a one-minute news vacation...thankfully someone drew one for us.

Seriously, this animated cartoon has got some good ideas going on.  I was particularly struck by the image of the guy sitting in the tree.  Remember climbing trees?  That was the best.  

Check it out, you will be so glad you did.  

And if you're so moved, be sure and Rec this so others can benefit, too.  It's just too easy to just spend huge chunks of your lifetime going from headline to headline....

http://www.motherjones.com/...

This wasn't included in the review summaries posted already, and I think it's damn good.   Says David Corn of Mother Jones in his commentary, 'Black and More Than Black': Obama's Daring and Unique Speech on Race,  

"This is as sophisticated a discussion of race as any American politician has sought to present to the public."    
and

"He is E Pluribus Unum ."  

Try saying that out loud twice without getting hardcore shivers up your spine (or up your leg if you're Chris Matthews).  

Seriously, everyone, check out this fine analysis.  Corn lets Obama's words speak for themselves a lot, too, which I appreciate, which is unfortunately so RARE, and which effectively underscores just how damn good those words really are, and just how powerful it is when Obama isn't having his words or actions or message rerouted by the bad habits and even worse ulterior motives of corporate hacks (see TocqueDeville's diary, "This isn't a controversy, it's a full-scale attack by the media").  

Apparently (just saw this on MSNBC) during a Q&A session this afternoonin Pennsylvania, some guy in the audience raised his hand to offer his praise of the Clinton presidency, his support of Hillary's candidacy, and articulate his hope that if/when that 3 a.m. phone call comes in, Bill will be there to advise and/or take that call.     Bill said he'd do 'whatever [he's] asked'.    I'm sorry I don't have a real quote here, but the 'whatever I'm asked' part is from MSNBC's direct quote.  Just wanted to get this up here and see what thoughts people have. I'm an Obama supporter.   Seems like a fruitful topic to me - and clearly one that the Clintons think is effective with many voters, but it's also clear that the more we get attention on what Bill's saying, particularly when it comes to his talking about himself,  the more he exposes some of the unsettling and sometimes horribly offensive undercurrents of their campaign strategy.   And what kind of message is he unintentionally reinforcing about Hillary's lack of experience/his tendency to dominate, etc.,  by assuring voters he'll be part of those phone calls, and everything else, for that matter...

http://www.motherjones.com/...

this smear includes some very intense and egregiously unsubstantiated claims about an anti-Israel speech he gave at his also-often-unfairly-smeared churchsome entirely unsubstantiated discussion of a 'anti-israel' speech he gave at his church, and other items that could be of interest.  

" Will Barrack's [sic] Muslim roots cause him to favor the Palestinians against Israel?  Because he's a "person of color," will Obama be more sympathetic to 3rd World Peoples' struggles in that they have "darker skin" like him?  Does Obama distrust the lighter-skinned, more "European"-looking Israelis and tend to favor the "darker complexioned" Palestinians and other Arabs (al Qaeada? [sic]) because his Muslim African father and cousins?"

The John Edwards Endorsement: A Last Chance to Prove He's No Phony

..."He Cannot Support Hillary Clinton"

http://www.motherjones.com/...

Dear Kossacks --  

Given the hubbub about Barack's meeting w/ Edwards, I thought I'd provide a link to a great analysis of what is at stake, in David Corn's opinion, and in the opinion of many, for Edwards w/r/t the endorsement. A lot of good content and questions, implications, etc.   The article is titled, The John Edwards Endorsement: A Last Chance to Prove He's No Phony...and includes some great thoughts and comments about Wellstone's legacy.  

It's well-written, not long, thought-provoking even after all the talk on the subject.  Uplifting in reminding us why, if Edwards endorses Hillary, it would signal that his endorsement wasn't one we wanted, anyway, as it turns out.  I am an Obama supporter who has faith in Edwards and his intentions...and who is looking forward to Edwards getting his butt to Ohio to stump for Barack and for their shared values.    

here's a link to a pretty brilliant cartoon that effectively lays out the issues at hand with FISA... with the help of "snuggly the security bear," who asks,

"Do you ever feel alone or unloved, like nobody listens to a word you say?  Relax.  You can feel secure with the spies who love you..."

hysterical.  and horrifying.  and definitely worth a look-see.  

PLEASE REC this if you think it's worthwhile!

http://www.motherjones.com/...