Oooh, nuance!

With the dust settled on the primary season, one thing is clear: Obama is the presumed nominee thanks only to superdelegates. He never did win enough pledged delegates to reach the winning number, falling about 350 votes short. His expected victory stems from beating Clinton among superdelegates 463-257, according to a tally on Real Clear Politics.

All the more reason for Obama to make sure that there is no roll call including Clinton's name on the ballot at the national convention -- which a few die hard fans of the former First Lady are still clamoring for.

Why highlight just how close the Democratic contest really was? And there is certainly no gain for Obama in dwelling on how he had to depend on superdelegates to win the nomination. [emphasis mine]

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile — who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and is herself a superdelegate — says she will quit her position within the Democratic Party if her superdelegate colleagues decide the party's nomination.

[snip]

As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to run neck-and-neck in amassing the total delegates needed to win the nomination, some have suggested that the party's superdelegates — comprising party activists and high-ranking officials — could make the deciding vote.

But Brazile says the superdelegate vote "should reflect the will of the people."

MoveOn.org and the Obama camp argue that the elected delegates should vote in line with the will of their constituents. Earlier this week, MoveOn sent a note out to its 3.2 million members asking them to sign a petition to that effect. It's the first time the public has lobbied superdelegates to a convention, says Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. "The public has never had reason to lobby them before."

Joyce Susick is the type of voter who might carry Barack Obama to the White House - or keep him out. A registered Democrat in a highly competitive state, she is eager to replace George W. Bush, whom she ranks among the worst presidents ever.

There's just one problem.

"I don't think our country is ready for a black president," Susick, who is white, said in an interview in the paint store where she works. "A black man is never going to win Pennsylvania."

Susick said her personal objection to Obama is his inexperience, not his color. "It has nothing to do with race," she said.

If Susick is right about Pennsylvania voters, it presents a major hurdle for the presumed Democratic nominee. Democrats have carried Pennsylvania in the last four presidential contests, and Obama would have to offset a loss of its 21 electoral votes by taking Republican-leaning states from John McCain.

"He just doesn't appeal to me, and not because of race, definitely," she said in an interview in which race had not been mentioned.

Such comments are all too familiar to Richard Akers, who phoned dozens of prospective Pennsylvania voters as an Obama campaign volunteer in April. Democrats often explained their opposition to Obama with "excuses that were not rational or valid, as I saw it," said the retired bank director from Johnstown, another hotbed of Clinton support.

"To me, it was almost a code," Akers said. "'He doesn't wear a flag pin.' It seemed like code for 'He's not one of us.'"

YINGXIU, China (Reuters) - More than 80,000 people are dead or missing from China's worst earthquake in decades, the government said on Thursday, as concerns rose that disease, the rainy season and aftershocks could bring yet more pain.

Previously, authorities had said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000.

Ten days after the magnitude 7.9 quake rocked the mountainous southwest of the country, relief efforts focused on the 5 million homeless and the millions of others facing disease and possible "secondary disasters."

The government implored the international community to provide more relief aid, saying they needed more than 3 million tents and that just 400,000 had so far reached the disaster zone.

Hospitals in Sichuan were overwhelmed by the nearly 300,000 hurt, prompting the government to put on extra train services to ferry the injured to other parts of the country, state media reported.

Heavy rain, snow and aftershocks have exacerbated the dangers faced by more than 100,000 troops assisting in the relief effort.

"There have been constant aftershocks and the rainy season starts in June ... the earthquake has loosened the mountains," said Yun Xiaosu, Vice Minister of Land and Resources. "It is very likely to cause frequent geological disasters and to once again bring major losses to the quake area."

We, Democrats and Hillary Clinton supporters, refuse to accept the forthcoming nomination of Barack Obama.

We see an immense injustice being done in the way Barack Obama has been pre-selected as the nominee. The DNC has done everything in its power, including deliberately inventing rules to disenfranchise two of the biggest swing states in America, to make this happen.

It is a reprehensible misuse of power by the Party elites.

We the people understand that Barack Obama has a narrow base of support that will not allow him to win the Presidency in November. He gained that support in an unforgivable manner, by smearing Bill and Hillary Clinton as racists while you stood by and did nothing.

You have also allowed the media and Obama's campaign to promote rampant and disgraceful misogyny in his pursuit of the nomination.

These racial and sexual games will haunt the country for years to come, and do not represent the Democratic Party I thought I knew and loved.

We also feel that Hillary's broader base of female, Democratic and Independent voters are being taken for granted, since there is a determined and concerted push to tell us we should shut up and vote Obama in November.

You and the SuperDelegates must nominate Hillary Clinton after she wins the popular vote, since Barack Obama's delegate count lead was obtained in a fraudulent and despicable manner. Otherwise, a large portion of Hillary's voters will desert the Democratic Party, and John McCain will become the President in November.

Hillary or McCain - it's your choice.

Critics of a permanent presence in Iraq blasted Bush’s effort to cut Congress out of the process, saying the President had “absolutely zero credibility” to “unilaterally negotiate an agreement with Iraq on security.” Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate that would bar the White House from making any such deals without Congressional approval.

[snip]

UPDATE: During a Senate hearing today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed that “any strategic framework agreement” with Iraq “will not contain a committment to defend Iraq.”

After the Democratic Party regained control of Congress, many – myself included – thought that it might be possible to meet President Bush half-way on the large issues facing our nation. Unfortunately, Bush has been nothing more than an ideological obstacle. He has vetoed stem cell research. He has vetoed efforts to bring our troops home from Iraq. He vetoed children's health care. So, the idea that we are somehow inhibiting Congress from passing our agenda by holding impeachment hearings – unfortunately – is a false argument.

Instead, I believe that we can both live up to our Constitutional obligation by holding hearings and pass a Democratic agenda. If President Bush perceives that the Democratic Congress is weak and unwilling to aggressively push our agenda – he will continue to veto legislation, such as children's health care – that is supported by a majority of Americans. The only way to move a progressive Democratic agenda is by acting through strength and following through on our core principles. A Congress willing to stand up to the abuses of the Bush Administration through impeachment hearings will demonstrate a strength of will that will more likely convince Bush to accommodate on issues such as Iraq, health care, and energy and environmental issues.

To the Chairman and Members of the Judiciary Committee,

If you are really interested in stopping the bombing of Iran, you will consider this impeachment resolution without delay. There is nothing more important than stopping the lawless warmongering of this out-of-control Executive.

Thank you.