[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass will have the honor of introducing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama tonight at a gala in Los Angeles. Senator Obama will be appearing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of The Los Angeles Music Center.
 
Bass was an early supporter of Obama, and is helping coordinate his general election efforts in the U.S.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Clint Reilly
The front page headline of a recent New York Times article read, “Worries in GOP About McCain Camp Disarray.”

A more apt headline might have been reorganized to declare: “Worries in McCain Camp About GOP Disarray.”
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama inherits a resurgent party that is far stronger than pundits or party insiders ever could have predicted just four years ago. After marching back from their nadir of 2004, Democrats enter the presidential cycle with enormous advantages.

International adventurism has run its course. Americans now wonder how we can afford to police the world when recklessly flexing our military superiority provokes guerilla armies, incites terrorism and fans the flames of anti-Americanism. On the home front, dark clouds lingering over the economy have sapped confidence in the Republicans’ laissez-faire economic policies.

by Nate W [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Cross posted at myDD.

CQ Politics is reporting on the Democratic leadership's desire for a second package to strengthen the economy that largely lines up with Barack Obama's plans. But are Congressional Dems omitting aid to state governments, one of the key planks of Obama's plan?:

EDIT by Brian: more in the extended.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Norman Solomon
Elected California Delegate
Sixth California Congressional District

Barack Obama's triumph on May 6 was a victory over a wall that pretends to be a fly on the wall.

For a long time, the nation's body politic has been shoved up against that wall -- known as the news media.

Despite all its cracks and gaps, what cements the wall is mostly a series of repetition compulsion disorders. Whether the media perseveration is on Pastor Wright, the words "bitter" and "cling," or an absent flag lapel-pin, the wall's surfaces are more rigid when they're less relevant to common human needs and shared dreams.

"We've already seen it," Obama said during his victory speech in North Carolina, "the same names and labels they always pin on everyone who doesn't agree with all their ideas, the same efforts to distract us from the issues that affect our lives, by pouncing on every gaffe and association and fake controversy, in the hopes that the media will play along."

And how, they've played along. From the front pages of "quality" dailies to the reportage of NPR's drive-time news to the blather-driven handicapping on cable television, the ways that media structures have functioned in recent weeks tell us -- yet again -- how fleeting any media attention to substance can be.

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

An article from the Associated Press via the Sacramento Bee which takes a look at the delegate math and the role that superdelegates will likely play in deciding the Democratic presidential nominee:

Hillary Rodham Clinton won't catch Barack Obama in the race for Democratic delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses, even if she wins every remaining contest.

But Obama cannot win the nomination with just his pledged primary and caucus delegates either, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

That sets the stage for a pitched battle for support among "superdelegates," the party and elected officials who automatically attend the convention and can support whomever they choose.

Danny
Communications Director

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Australia:

HILLARY Clinton staged a remarkable comeback yesterday to win the key battleground states of Texas and Ohio over Barack Obama, meaning the race for the Democratic presidential nomination could now drag on until August.

India:

 With the three wins on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton's campaign has got a fresh lease of life. Political pundits and even some of her beleaguered campaign staff had indicated that if today went off badly, it would have been all but over for her.

By her wins, she broke Barack Obama's momentum of 12 straight victories.

United Kingdom:

Hillary Clinton has revived her campaign for the White House nomination, winning primary elections in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island and seizing back the momentum from Barack Obama.

South Africa:

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Joe Conason has an interesting take over at Salon on Ralph Nader's presidential campaign:

Nader's proclivity to boost Republicans and blast Democrats has been a matter of historical record ever since the Florida debacle eight years ago, when his 97,000 votes probably deprived Al Gore of victory in that crucial state. Although the consumer advocate and his supporters continue to deny any such culpability, Republicans clearly feel that his presence on the ballot works to their advantage. As Mike Huckabee noted on hearing of Nader's impending announcement last week, a Nader candidacy tends to siphon votes away from the Democratic presidential nominee. "So naturally," said Huckabee bluntly, "Republicans would welcome his entry into the race."

Danny
Communications Director