A bipartisan bill in the House is scheduled to take up next week would require the Secret Service to protect Vice President Dick Cheney for six months after he leaves office. The Homeland Security Department would be authorized to determine if additional protection is necessary after the initial deadline ends.

This bill would insure even more tax dollars will go to the benefit of Dick Cheney and I say a big HELL NO! Let Dick Cheney hire Blackwater and pay for it out of his own Halliburton deferred compensation.

According to the CBO, it would cost the US about $4,000,000 to provide him six months of Secret Service protection. And I say given that Cheney and his Republican buddies are all about privatization, and small government, how about they pick up the tab for him. But not us.

The bill (H.R. 5938) was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), ranking member of the committee. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), the chairman and ranking member of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security subcommittee, are also co-sponsors of the bill

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While the pundits ponder over what Hillary Clinton wants as she continues to withhold her endorsement of Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic party nominee, many of her strongest supporters are losing patience with her.

As has been diaried, Hilary Rosen has already moved on, endorsing Obama amid pique at Hillary's claim to be holding her voters hostage to her whims.

And Charlie Rangel, a most ardent and early supporter, told Andrea Mitchell that he will be conducting a private call with Hillary to find out what she is thinking. His tone and expression signalled he is displeased.

And let's not forget it. Tonight the first African American ever will be nominated by his party for the office of President of the United States. This is an historical moment in the United States and sends a message to the world that only in America can the son of a Kenyan goatherder and a young girl from Kansas reach such heights.

So tonight it is Barack Obama's night. And while I respect Senator Clinton's historic campaign, had things been reversed, had she won the nomination, I believe that neither Senator Obama nor his supporters would be trying to rain on her parade.

All the handwringing over Hillary taking this to the convention is futile. If the Party hasn't made clear before June 16th who the Democratic nominee will be, it is unlikely that the party will get the cash needed to even hold a Convention.

Currently, the Democratic Party needs $15mil by mid-June to fund the August Convention in Denver. Major donors are unwilling to commit the cash until it is clear who the party's nominee will be.

There has been a lot of speculation over who Obama will choose as his running mate. And of course many, including the MSM, are pushing the "Dream Ticket" of Obama/Clinton. More than one talking head, and a few on this board, have even cited Obama's comment regarding Doris Kearn Goodwin's book "Team Of Rivals" as proof that he is considering her for VP, ignoring the fact that what Obama said was that Lincoln gathered his opponents into his "Cabinet". He never said anything about Hillary being his VP, rather he specifically used the more general, and accurate term, "Cabinet". The truth is that Lincoln chose first Hannibal Hamlin and then Andrew Johnson as his VPs. Neither opposed him in the election and, in fact, both had started out as Democrats, later joining the Republican party. So to insinuate that Obama was was indicating in any way that by citing Lincoln Obama was talking about the VP slot for Clinton isn't following the historical accuracy of the statement. Obama may very well offer Hillary Clinton a place in his cabinet. I seriously doubt he will ask her to be his running mate.

According to war hero John McCain, his military experience, age and experience make him more qualified to be President than Senator Barack Obama. In fact, McCain is repeatedly attacking Obama for his youthfulness and, despite saying earlier it shouldn't be a factor, his lack of military service.

So according to John McCain, in order to be President you need to be both a war hero and someone with years of national legislative experience.

Someone, perhaps like Randall "Duke" Cunningham.

Duke Cunningham

Terry McAuliffe was just asked by Norah O'Donnell on MSNBC about the campaign's $31mil debt and he did not deny the amount, despite the LA Times correction saying that the debt was actually $20mil. The truth is that the Clinton campaign has fudged their budget numbers so much even they can't keep track of just how bad things are. Sounds not unlike the way the Bush Administration deals with the budget.

I was disappointed O'Donnell didn't question Terry Mc about the claim they raised $10mil in 24-hours after their Pa. win. It would have been interesting to see him spin that lie. But then, it would probably be just another page from the Bush playbook on deceiving the American people.

Anyone who still doesn't get the difference between "change" espoused by Obama and "same old" politics as practiced by Clinton and McCain, can have no better example than to look at the way they handle the transparency in their campaign financing.

And we need to push back.

The more it sinks in that Obama will be the nominee of the Democratic Party, the more we are hearing from Hillary supporters and surrogates that Obama needs to put her on the ticket.

Today, Ed Rendell is the latest to join the call for Obama to make Hillary the Veep. Terry McAuliffe is on MSNBC dropping the meme in between attempts to keep the idea of a nomination alive. And even Jerome at MyDD has front-paged the idea that Obama needs her to win.

The MSM is pushing this as are all the Republican pundits, all for the same reason I suspect. Nothing will be more divisive and give them more print and powder than keeping Hill and Bill in the spotlight.

But it's a really bad idea and most everyone without an agenda knows it.

The bloodletting is over. It is time for us to kick Mayhill Fowler Off the Bus, and blowout the tires on the Staright Talk Express!

Repeat after me: John McCain lost more than 20% of the vote in both the North Carolina and Indiana primaries and he IS already their presumptive nominee!!!

Record numbers of Democrats have been registered in every state in the union!

McCain needs public financing because Republicans will not invest in their own candidate!

And McCain's CD of Top Twenty gaffes will be dropping soon!

This guy is ripe for the picking and I say we ignore all this background noise and stick a fork in the old buzzard.

Many, like myself, have said if Hillary Clinton steals the nomination from Barack Obama we will hold our nose and vote for her. And many on Hillary's side have said the same.

However, I have heard far too many also say they would either vote for John McCain or sit this one out. I am hoping this will change your mind.

This link will give you a chance to see just what a game of Russian Roulette you'll be playing if McCain gets elected. Because these are the people he has assigned the task of selecting his judicial appointments.

national journal

Today I walked five miles to vote early for Barack Obama.  And I saved more than 18 cents a gallon. No fossil fuels were burned. In fact the only thing burned was my skin as it is nearly 80 degrees here.

The good news is the election site was packed and the lady who waited on me said it has been increasing every day as May 6th approaches. They have been very busy. And if demographics mean anything, Barack Obama should be pleased. (Of course, one would suspect I am for HRC as I am clearly in her demographic.)

However, I got a strong feeling that a lot of people had Barack's back today. This is especially important as I live in a small city in the heart of Nascar country. It is not uncommon to see pickups flying the Dixie flag. People here eat What-A-Burgers and drink Cherry-Lime Sundrop. And as I passed the county Courthouse there was a prayer circle taking place on the front steps. Hillary has an office downtown here. Obama doesn't though one of the local restaurants holds meetings for Obama supporters.

But Reverend Wright? Not so much.

It should come as no surprise that on Morning Joke this morning, even sans Joe Scarbororugh, they are playing sound bites from Reverend Wright's speech last night at the NAACP and spinning everything as negatively as possible. I mean c'mon, they even claim Wright was "mocking" former Presidents! It is clear they assume no one actually saw the speech broadcast in its entirety on their competitors CNN and FOX last night.

And out come the ususl biased and uninformed troop of characters to be suitably "aghast" at the effect this will have on Obama's candidacy! There's their token black "reverend: Eugene Rivers, the former Bush sycophant who turned to Hillary Clinton when Bush cut off his Faith Based Initiative cash tap (something he no doubt expects HRC to turn back on).
And then there is Pat Buchanan of "black hustler" fame, and, of course, a phone in from Tweety Matthews who obviously didn't see the speech but when has that ever stopped him from having an opinion. None of this is new, we have seen it all before.

More below the fold..

We've all heard ad nauseum the guilt by association outrage of Republicans over Senator Barack Obama's minister Jeremiah Wright. But is Rev. Wright a criminal? Has Reverend Wright been convicted of felonies against the governement of the United States? And has Senator Obama ever said he intends to appoint Reverend Wright to a position in his government if he is elected President of the United States?

Preposterous, you might say. Unthinkable! Who in their right mind would ever even consider such a thing?

Well George Bush not only thought about it---he did it.

More below the fold...

Unlike many who have diaried and posted on this site since last night's ABC debate, I thought it was a very important exercise. I, personally, feel I came away far better informed about the things that matter to Americans.

I learned that because Barack Obama doesn't wear a flag pin on his lapel and knows some people who had checkered pasts, he hates America. This means that because of his long association as an employee of Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos cheats on his wife and lies to America every time he looks into the camera. Oh and I, by virtue of being a Catholic, must be a pedophile.

More after the fold.

This diary's title was not chosen to be provocative. Instead it is a truth most know and only a few refuse to acknowledge. They would rather focus on reasons why they believe Barack Obama cannot be elected. And maybe they are right. Maybe Barack Obama won't be elected, but he has a far better chance than Hillary and that is an inescapable truth they don't want to discuss.

However, it is time we discuss it. It is time we realize that it isn't all about race and gender. It is far deeper than that and it is the proverbial 800lb gorilla in the room.

More below the fold....

From WaPo:

"I haven't paid for lunch in 30 years," Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is struggling a bit to adjust to life as a lobbyist.

Life in the private sector isn't as cushy as Lott thought it would be. No more free lunches, no more taxpayer-funded car and driver, no more overprotective press secretary guarding him from the pesky media.

Lott really had no idea how to even go about taking public transportation. He didn't know how to use the Metro fare card machines, or how much money to put on his trip ticket, or how to add money to one of the fare cards his wife gave him. Truly: clueless.

In a conversation with Greg Sargent at TPM, Joe Trippi commented on Hillary Clinton's proposal to create the position of a "Poverty Czar", an addition to her cabinet.  

According to Joe:

"That would absolutely be something Edwards would welcome," Trippi says. "As someone close to him, a cabinet level position on poverty is something he would support 100 percent."

I sincerely hope Joe is kidding.

Like many here, I have been both dismayed and inflamed by the ramped up rhetoric between Democrats and the splitting of the once unified forces of Kossacks and MyDD-ers. I confess to having gotten into the fray myself on a few occasions. And then hated myself for becoming that which I despise.

However, there is change in the air thanks to the cross-posted diary of Angry Mouse and the recent decision by the moderators at MyDD to ban some of the most inflammatory diarists. Suddenly, more Dkos posters have joined forces to check the anti-Hillary posts here.