Read the whole thing.

The Obama campaign, and the Democrat party itself, is awfully sensitive these days:

Democratic House leaders are calling out President Bush for a speech in Israel in which he seemed to suggest that Sen. Barack Obama wants the United States to "negotiate with terrorists."

In his speech, Bush said: “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along."

The White House insists that Bush was "referring to a wide range of people, not any single person." But Obama's campaign says it appeared to be a swipe at him, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Bush's remarks were "beneath the dignity of the office of the president and unworthy of our representation" at the celebration of Israel's 60th anniversary.

Referring to Sen. John McCain, Pelosi said: "I would hope that any serious person that aspires to lead the country, would disassociate themselves from those comments.”

As Pelosi was speaking, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel issued a statement in which he said: "The tradition has always been that when a U.S. president is overseas, partisan politics stops at the water's edge. President Bush has now taken that principle and turned it on its head: for this White House, partisan politics now begins at the water’s edge, no matter the seriousness and gravity of the occasion. Does the president have no shame?”

If the shoe fits then wear it, and it seems that the shoe that Bush designed for the Democrats fits very well. The Democrats are not going to win over the electorate needed for a White House victory in the fall by crying like little babies whenever someone takes a political swipe at them. If they are going to cry foul, rather than address the substance of the attack, they are not likely to convince voters that they are deserving of having the White House back.

Oh, and note to Rahm Emmanuel: Many in your party have taken countless swipes at George W. Bush when he he has been overseas during his presidency.

Thomas Edsall:

*Praying for a devastating anti-Obama story -- Jeremiah Wright-Tony Rezko squared - to surface and turn the Illinois Senator into an unacceptable candidate in the eyes of the media and convention delegates. This is clearly a long-shot, and presumably her aides have no such story in reserve or it would have already seen the light of day.

*Convinced, correctly, that after running a lousy campaign she has finally hit her stride as reflected in her solid victories in Texas, Ohio and, on Tuesday, in West Virginia. These victories, in her eyes and in the eyes of many of her aides, demonstrate that Obama is an empty suit weighed down with general election liabilities that are only coming to light at the close of the nomination process.

*Psychically unable to accept defeat -- after first believing she was the anointed candidate, and then, after losing her superstar status, clawing her way back into contention in an extraordinary display of grit.

Heh:

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn, an Obama supporter, compared Clinton to the Glenn Close character in "Fatal Attraction" -- a spurned woman turned stalker who was apparently drowned in a bathtub only to jump up one more time to be shot dead.

"Glenn Close should have stayed in that tub, and Sen. Clinton has had a remarkable career and needs to move to the next step, which is helping elect the Democratic nominee," Cohen said during a local TV interview.

Eugene Robinson:

Clinton's sin isn't racism, it's arrogance. From the beginning, the Clinton campaign has refused to consider the possibility that Obama's success was more than a fad. This was supposed to be Clinton's year, and if Obama was winning primaries, there had to be some reason that had nothing to do with merit. It was because he was black, or because he had better slogans, or because he was a better public speaker, or because he was the media's darling. This new business about white voters is just the latest story the Clinton campaign is telling itself about the usurper named Obama.

"It's still early," Clinton said Wednesday, vowing to fight on. At some level, she seems to believe the nomination is hers. Somebody had better tell her the truth before she burns the house down.

Hillary would still like everyone to believe that she has a fighting chance, but the almost universal belief this morning was that it is indeed over.

With Obama winning handily in North Carolina, and a nail biter in Indiana with a possible Obama shocker there, the options are running out for Hillary. Apparently, she has canceled her appearances on the morning shows in the morning, and has reportedly canceled public appearances.

Hillary has to ask herself what the rationale from here forward would be for her candidacy. It would certainly appear more so after tonight that the only thing she could hope to accomplish would be to damage Obama's chances against John McCain in November.

Stomping on the American flag.

Newsweek:

The outcome of this November's election may hinge on a single question: which presidential candidate will prevail among the "Reagan Democrats"? Those traditionally Democratic voters made history—and a place in the political lexicon—in 1980 when they bolted their party's disarrayed ranks to swing the polls in Ronald Reagan's favor. Until recently, however, few liberal-leaning historians took a respectful look at the Reagan phenomenon. That's finally changing, with the publication of Sean Wilentz's new "The Age of Reagan," even as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama—and John McCain—seek the support of that crucial bloc. NEWSWEEK's Evan Thomas moderated a conversation about the Gipper between Wilentz, a professed liberal, and NEWSWEEK's George F. Will, a longtime Reagan admirer.

Read the rest here.

ABC is planning on having George Stephanopoulos host a Clinton "town hall" on Sunday. How could the network even think of having the guy who was so close to Clinton and her husband moderate this event? Appearances alone will be bad enough, but after the debacle of a debate that Stephanopoulos was involved in last month one would think ABC would get a clue and find another person to host her appearance.