In an unannounced visit to Netroots Nation, Al Gore received a standing ovation as a welcome to the conference.  

more....

(Proudly cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama)

You know what? I'm really starting to get sick & tired of all the hubbub about "PUMA". I'm sick of the attention the right-wing noise machine is throwing at them. I'm sick of their use of ugly right-wing smears to attack Barack Obama, his family, and all of us Democrats (now including Bill & Hillary Clinton!) who are supporting him.

I'm so sick & tired of the "PUMA" fraud, but I don't know what to do... Or wait, may I? Yes, I think I do know what to do.

(Follow me after the flip to find out...)

Sorry for this diaries brevity, but I really wanted to share this gem from Ambinder:

This could be one of those unexpected events that forever changes the way the world perceives an issue. Iraq's Prime Minister agrees with Obama, and there's no wiggle room or fudge factor. This puts John McCain in an extremely precarious spot: what's left to argue? to argue against Maliki would be to predicate that Iraqi sovereignty at this point means nothing. Obviously, our national interests aren't equivalent to Iraq's, but... Maliki isn't listening to the generals on the ground...but the "hasn't been to Iraq" line doesn't work here.

. . .

(Via e-mail, a prominent Republican strategist who occasionally provides advice to the McCain campaign said, simply, "We're fucked." . . . - http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/arch ives/2008/07/mccain_campaign_responds_to _al.php

I just saw CNN report on the White House email "accident" that was mentioned in the rec list, and I thank them for turning this into a story that could dominate news cycles through Monday. Usually weekend stuff can die a quiet death, but this statement by Maliki can really help frame Obama's trip in a positive light, and put McCain on the defensive.

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley flew out to Austin Texas to meet with bloggers from all across the country. He was very excited about the event as was I. Follow me below the fold to find out about Jeff Merkley's visit to Netroots Nation....

Full disclosure; I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

(editor's note: I tried for almost 30 minutes to get a series of YouTube videos on here to go with this story, like I did at another site, but to no avail.  MyDD really needs to work on making it easier for diary posters to put up stuff.)

What can I say, I like this guy. No, I'm not crazy, nor have I suddenly sold out to the gang at Swindlers' Inc (aka the current Republican Party).

Strange things are happening, president Bush may turn out to be a secret Obama supporter. The white house sent out an email referencing an article in which Iraq prime minister agrees with Obama timetable pullout

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/ 2008/07/white-house-acc.html

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanma rtin/0708/White_House_blasts_out_Maliki_ proObama_story.html

This election isn't about Obama. It isn't about Hillary Clinton, either, or the lack thereof.

Its not about your hurt feelings, your sudden devotion to all things female-equality (even though apparently symbolic support is more important than legislative), your foot-stomping toy-throwing threats to take your vote and go home lest your demands are met, or your quixotic quest for attention (sorry, "teaching the Democratic party a lesson").

Its not about your liberal ideals, the voice of the netroots, the ideology of the left, or withholding your donation until the nominee jumps as high as you want him to (I'm looking at you, Kos).

America has had a culture of extremes for so long I'm beginning to think that moderation (especially in the political process) is something that we just can't recognize when we see it.

Our country and our economy is crumbling around us. But that's not even the real reason for this diary.

The rest of the world is depending on us to realize that the planet's most vulnerable moment is not the time to start gasping in hysterics because Obama left his magic problem-solving wand back in Fantasyland.

Its your choice to determine if you care more about the ability of a politician to stroke your ego, or about what happens to our country (and by extension, the world, since we're doing a great job of messing it up far beyond our reasonable sphere of influence). And frankly speaking, none of us really have the luxury of deciding our principles are more important than our economy, the war, the environment, and the lives of Iraqis and Iranian civilians.

Maybe you honestly think that Obama's going to be just as bad as McCain (despite any evidence to the contrary, like actual policy). Vote for him anyway. Hedge your bets. The world is full of choices between options you probably aren't completely in love with. Learning that is a skill most people get comfortable with before they're out of high school - election years aren't a free pass.

If you want immediate, complete reform, take it to the streets. Light up that Molotov cocktail, strap on your AK and overthrow whatever you need to overthrow.

Or, work within the system with what we have. What we have is a perfectly good, centrist candidate who can at least approach complex issues with a sharp stick and poke at them, and who's savvy enough to take advantage of the anti-Bush sentiment to gain some extra seats in the legislature at the same time. There's not a damn thing wrong with that and in a lot of ways its better than other election years. Because a sympathetic legislature is how things get done. Not voting third party to make a point, not holding your breath until UberLiberal McCandidate rises from the Potomac River, and not clinging to a candidate that didn't get the nomination.

So the concern trolls, the ones who flock to any diary asking "well, what has Obama done/said about X?" like you're making some kind of point - you should really put up or suck it up. I expect to see your keyboard commando butts out there leading the the revolutionaries in the charge to storm the White House, or voting for Obama in November.

Obama's comments about Suharto demonstate a sad lack of understanding about the Suharto years, his war crimes, and American complicity.

In 1960, during Sukarno's rule of Indonesia, he allowed the PKI, the Communist Party, to participate in the government and took a neutralist stand during the Cold War.  Neither of these positions sat well with American leaders who decided to suport General Suharto in a bid to seize power from Sukarno.

The U.S. supplied arms and advise and by 1965, Sukarno had been pushed into the background and Suharto became Dictator of Indonesia. After Suharto took power, he decided to eliminate the PKI and the Chinese living in Indonesia.  Over 600,000 people died and the slaughter is an act of genocide.