I suppose it had to happen, but who in America would want to sidle up to George Bush for an endorsement? Peggy Noonan put it best when she said he had to "get it over with". She notes that perhaps the President, (I would add: fresh from crowds who are thrilled to meet a sitting President,) has no real idea just how unpopular he is right now.

Peggy Noonan is wonderful at her craft and piercing with her clarity and honesty.  I wish there were a thousand like her.

sharp

McCain has had to answer questions about the "Keating Five" and probably will have to answer more.

Obama released his tax returns but Hillary Clinton has refused saying they are "complicated" if I understand correctly.  That's problematic for one who has also had complicated Whitewater dealings, cattle futures bonanzas and bimbo put-downs.

Hillary, however, has answered the questions and shows no fear of treading into the difficult.  That will serve her well if elected.

Obama has a big problem here.  One which has not been faintly discussed, but for which a day of reckoning is near.

Connections with a deeply corrupt Chicago political machine have him in bed with (or next door to, as it turns out) investigated, indicted and in some cases already convicted money men.  With what appear to be clear violations of Senate ethics rules and friends who have been tied to the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq that starved the poor and funded terrorism, Obama will have to give account. 

So far, he has stayed away from these direct interview topics and built his campaign on powerful, engaging stump speeches.  But he and his team should be preparing for the questions that neither the Democratic Party nor the press have wanted to believe should be asked.

And, for the candidate for change, that also means releasing his earmark records, which Hillary has done and which Obama has not.

sharp

I suppose it's the thing to do to let your morning show anchors choose their own questions for a Presidential candidate interview.  But things didn't go so well on Fox News Morning show on Wednesday.

Hillary had just had a monumental night with wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island and had turned the momentum back to, at the very least, even.

But the question referred back to the tears Hillary shed before a women's group in New Hampshire.  "Do things like that make you appear more human?"  was the awful, poorly-considered question.

Forget for a moment the missed opportunity to ask a meaningful question.  That will happen.

Forget the exceptional oddness of the choice of topics for that question. 

The sad thing was that the question was burdened with a heavy weight of inconsideration and glaring rudeness.

How would you respond if asked if you were now starting to look "more human"?

Hillary handled it wonderfully by mostly hiding her contempt for the inanity of the question and the questioner and then saying something like "well I have news that may surprise you.  I am human."

Graceful.  But so unnecessary.

sharp

I hope it's beautiful where you are. It's sunny and near 70 here today.

We've got great college basketball, a tremendously interesting political campaign (no one's complaining about the options this year) an awesome climate and the smell of baseball in the air.

By the way, next week we have the new, earlier time-change Sunday.  Don't forget.

Spring forward and enjoy this beautiful place.

sharp

Recent statements about:

• desperate troop situations in Iraq that an MSNBC (the news station to the left of CNN) Military analyst and a former general said were nonsensical
• sending troops into Pakistan to initiate hostiliy - which caused our current administration to have to reassure the Pakistani government that it wouldn't really happen 
• returning to Iraq if Al Qaeda in Iraq establishes a base there - after surrendering quite clearly right in from of Al Qaeda bases

make Obama seem like he might have no real clue about what to do

Or how to do it.

Or even why to do it.

When the media and the American people begin to look closely at this guy and what he says, then I think we may witness what would have happened in 2004 if the Democratic Party had nominated Howard Dean.

sharp