Thanks Marc Ambinder!

For scaring the crap out of me. IFFFF Obama wins Ohio, it's likely a moot point, but a 2000 multiplied, with Obama CLEARLY (at least 1-1.5 mil, though, under this scenario, perhaps 3-4 mil) winning the PV but McCain getting the Presidency is... frightening. I know you'd see activism. Beyond that...

The Difference

From Tuesday:

Obama-


McCain-

Obama and Trinity

As we all know, Barack Obama's membership in Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and his relationship with Jeremiah Wright has been a significant issue in this campaign.

Why, many ask, would the Senator join a church that, even when the pastor doesn't carry on about "G-D America" and the like still has "black nationalist" leaning.

Writing, online, for the WSJ, Steve Waldman gives a very insightful piece.

In that sense, neither Obama-the-candidate nor his critics have fully articulated the real reason Sen. Obama stayed with the church as long as he did. It was not because he’s a secret Black Panther (he’s not), and if anything he gravitated to Trinity because of his own fears that he was too white. It’s also not because he was shocked – shocked! – to learn of the church’s radicalism (he wasn’t). It’s that Sen. Obama treasures unity above other values, and marveled at Trinity’s capacity to tie together disparate, often hostile groups into a single community.

What has changed is that Sen. Obama is now focused on a different, larger community. Whereas Mr. Wright was a unifying figure in one community, he and Trinity Church are powerfully divisive in the much larger community.

Sen. Obama’s racial journey – landing him as it did in Trinity Church — has surely caused him problems politically this year and will in the general election. But at the end of the day, Sen. Obama’s multiracial family is at the heart of his continual emphasis on unity – and his formidable skill as a politician

Read the whole thing. I'll simply say that Obama's complex racial journey is, in the end, quite moving, but, perhaps too complex for some voters to understand.

So many thoughts

One day after the inevitable happened, there still is a lot to chew on. One, OK, I DID watch Obama last night, and echo Sullivan's thoughts. Win or lose come November, I know I made the right decision, oh, 18 months ago to support Sen. Obama.

Clinton refusing to concede isn't just typical. Its also remarkably comical. The jig is up, Senator. Time to admit that.

Finally, one of the more astonishing aspects of Obama's speech was the lack of reference to the historical nature of what this means. Obama just doesn't think along those lines. But, others have (and should). 150 years ago, Americans with Obama's skin color would have been held in bondage. Fifty years ago, Jim Crow ruled the South.

Now, history has been made, and the future awaits.

Because Others Are Smarter than I Am

I'll let them speak for me.

Sully:

Since I was among those who raised the option of an Obama-Clinton ticket, and aired the debate for a while, I should say that I hope at this point that Obama has the strength to turn her down - gently. He should bring in former rivals into his cabinet and should offer Clinton a cabinet post, on the Lincoln model. But to have endured the kind of campaign the Clintons ran and concede to her wishes now would be an act of weakness that the Clintons would exploit were he to become president.

Obama needs to regain the momentum and clarity of his early insurrection. He would not do that by adding Clinton to his ticket.

Yes, right on.

I'll simply add that I will NOT be watching the victory speech tonight, given the praise, while politically necessary, of Sen. Clinton we'll hear tonight.

Goodbye to all That

And say Hello to your Democratic nominee: Barack Obama. Say hello to the future, whatever it may hold.*

*Unless crap like this actually isn't crap.

Milwaukee Redux

It was a day of redemption for Ryan Briscoe at The Milwaukee Mile, in front of a larger crowd than recent years.

Understand, it isn't just his coming-together with Danica Patrick at Indy that has given him a reputation for poor driving. In truth, since coming to IndyCars in '05, Briscoe had earned a reputation for being quick, with an uncanny knack of crashing.

On Sunday, Briscoe showed solid speed (he started 11th) and poise. In so doing, he put to rest, for now, all of the speculation on his future. Make no mistake, it was a deserving win.

It was also pretty entertaining. 26 cars at The Mile just felt right, and while some say there wasn't enough action for the lead, the battles for every other position throughout the field was great to watch. Also encouraging were the solid runs from Champ Car "transition" drivers Oriol Servia, Justin Wilson, and EJ Viso, finishing 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively.

Graham Rahal crashed out for the second week in a row, and whined about it in the process. Still, he's 19 and has shown himself to be quick.

Texas coming up this Saturday.

Milwaukee TV ratings

Actually slipped a bit. Even though it was a decent-good race, with a nice front row, no one still cares. I'll go big picture on this... tomorrow ;). I'll also go in-depth on the race.

Fire Ryan Briscoe!!!!

Uh, OOOOOOOOOOOPS!

So, how do you deal with internet calls for your job? Do what Ryan Briscoe did: Win.

I'll say more tomorrow, but it was a compettitive, compelling race, with a good crowd.

The Difference

On ESPN, and in NASCAR generally, young phenom Joey Logano is being celebrated. Fomer American F1 driver Scott Speed won his first NASCAR Truck race on Friday.

Meanwhile, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal qualify 1-2 in Milwaukee and :crickets: on SportsCenter. NASCAR has captured the public's imagination. Can IndyCar ever make a dent?

Batshit Crazy

How else to describe the Clintons and their supporters?

From the TNR piece:

Of the eight Hillary supporters I quiz at the protest (six of them women), only one says she'd even consider voting for Obama in the fall. "It's sad. I'm a lifelong Democrat and the party's been taken over by these Obama people who say they want 'change,'" gripes Linda of Horseheads, New York, outside the Marriott as a honking car decorated with a painting of Hillary, a glued-on bust of Cleopatra, and a tampon drives by. Linda, she says, has already gone to the state Board of Elections to learn how to write Hillary's name in in November. "So much has been stolen from her."

Hey Linda, you're damn right we're taking over! We want no more of these corrupt sociopaths.

If y'all (Hillary fanatics) give us Pres. McCain, so be it. Don't look at us Obama folks when we go into Iran in a McCain Administration.

Milwaukee starting grid

In PDF. Andretti-Rahal front row. Back to the future, minus the fans, ratings and interest.