I liked this schtick much better when it was Donna Shalala in the mid-'90s.

'Yes, we realize the studies show that needle exchange does not increase drug use and is cost effective. But we're not going to let ourselves be accused of being soft on crime.'

Well, well, Mr. Fancy Pants Elitist Klein ain't none too happy with slammin' his head into a wall a good dozen times, or 20 times, no, he's got to show how 'litist he is with them big numbers like a 1,000 which no ordinary American could possibly count on any combination of fingers and toes.

I'm really amazed at what an infuriating turn the Clinton camp has taken with this issue. Seriously, if they can't realize how Bush-ian they're sounding right now, they need to take a step back and a deep breath. But hey, anything to win an election, right? That's what really matters, not dumb crap like good policy.

We're all stupid.

We all get this, right? That's their argument. We're all just stupid. That's really it. They are simply assuming that most people are stupid. They think I'm stupid, they think you're stupid, they think 50%+1 vote in Indiana is stupid.

My hope, perhaps in vain, is that the Gas Tax Holiday. Can be turned into a character issue, we seem to have the economists, the bloggers and the 'very serious' people all lined up on this one.

Now we need is a mocking viral youtube video set to Madonna's 'Holiday.'

To approve of the gas-tax holiday as a momentary pander is dumb and regrettable. To push it in ads and speeches is depressingly wrongheaded. To frame it as part of a wider suspicion of expertise more generally is downright bizarre.

AJ:
Well, that and a thousand replays of the O'Reilly "Rich People... God bless us!" clip.

I've said it a million times: The Clintons are only interested in making people think they 'feel' their pain. They are not interested in actually doing anything about it.

But I'm sure petey will find a way to tell us how this makes Clinton sympathetic to the plight for normal people. By lying to them about a plan they have no intention of passing, and that wouldn't do much good even if it did. I'm really poor, and an extra 9$ a month won't do much to alleviate that. Maybe I'd have enough money to go see Iron Man, but thats about it.

Curly, given that Clinton actually belongs to a religious group that teaches that the wealthy elite are chosen by god to rule over us plebs, is it any shock that she feels that way?

That this proposal is even being seriously discussed is depressing. How far behind the eight-ball are we?

So the government can't afford to lose 10 Billion while it is currently giving tax rebate stimulus to the tune of what 140 Billion??

"""Curly, given that Clinton actually belongs to a religious group that teaches that the wealthy elite are chosen by god to rule over us plebs"""

Someones been listening to Reverend Wrights sermons......

One can imagine that aside from the possibly self-image-degrading aspects of being a sexual prostitute (male or female), that a certain amount (your mileage will vary) of pride can be taken from making someone else feel really good, if only for a short while.

But I wonder if Wolfson,as a political prostitute, has some rationalization that allows himself to feel some self-good which offsets the rather obvious shit-baths he's forcing himself to take in defense of Clintonism.

Coming next from the Clinton campaign:

- gays and lesbians should repent from their self-chosen violation of nature

- non-white minorities are so dependent on government handouts that they shouldn't be allowed to influence public policy by allowing their voting.

- social security and medicare are socialism run amok and should be eliminated so we can return to people spending their own money instead of godless liberals jackbooting the majority of self-sufficent folks into paying for other's lazy and dependent lifestyle.

- Immigration should be halted except from those countries where English is the national language.

Then Wolfson can tell us why this has always been the platform of the Democratic Party.

Dirty little secret you probably have not heard from the mainstream media.

Obama is in deep doo doo. Reverend Wrights sermon clips were NOT out of context as has been claimed. Hearing his entire hour long sermons is a never ending diatribe of the sins of America and how evil the country is. Wright at times acts like a cult leader having his flock recite his 'truths' having nothing to do with his religion but with his view of America; then having the repeat his words to those sitting next to them.

This is not just recently, but going back at least a decade.

No wonder Obama dumped him from the begginning of his campaign...he has a huge problem. Copies of the sermons are being sent to the undercided superdelegates by undisclosed operatives.

The tapes alone wouldn't end his campaign, but tied to the fact he went to the church for 20 years, the guy is his self proclaimed mentor and the person he self proclaimed goes to for the 'TRUTH', and the statments about clinging haters, etc. puts the nail in Obamas political coffin in Ohio, Pennsyvlania, Michigan, Virginia, etc. etc.
But because he's black, the superdelgates will be forced by the party leaders to nominate him, already knowing he has no chance of winning and will hurt down ballot Democrats.

Hey, have they told us yet where we're all going on our Gas Tax Holiday?

Will there be Chevy Chase and wacky antics by some fraternity guys?

"Quote-unquote experts?"

And we wonder just why Hillary voted for the AUMF.

Yeah Anonymous, The Fellowship Foundation doesn't exist. Just like the Tuskegee Experiments never happened... Don't you ever get tired of lying? Wait! I forgot, you're a Hillary supporter. That makes lying okay!

Because history doesn't exist unless racist history deniers say it does!

Hey, Superdelegate, what effect do you think it's going to have on the Presidential election and down ticket races if the majority of black folks stay home?

I'd suggest you look at the exist polls of the last 10 presidential elections and see who actually votes for us. It isn't Southern white guys giving us our margins of victory. Without the black vote, we're a minor party at best unable to win in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, NY, Virginia, NJ, or Connecticut. But hey, who needs the Senate?

It would have been awesome if the reporter had just spontaneously slapped him after he said this.

Obama wants to shed the elitist image and say he's with the little guy...so the little guy says, GREAT! How about suspending that stupid gas tax so I can take the kids to Florida this summer?

Obama response is, FU, pay the tax sucker, I don't give a shit about your money problems, its the governments money, you should just be glad we let you keep some of it.

Good going Barack, way to stand up for the little guy.

How about taxing the private jet flyers to make up the money? Or would that hurt your friends? Think Bloomberg can't afford a little 2 dollar a gallon tax on his private jet?? Is he pinching pennies so he can take the kids on vacation this summer??

It's the anti-intellectualism, stupid.

'cause the gas tax suspension is totally going to be enough money to pay for a vacation in Florida?

Wow, Hillary is turning into George W. Bush.

Facts are for the French. We're Americans! USA! USA! USA!

Are these the same econ experts that predicted 9 of the last 5 recessions, and insist that free trade is sugar and spice and everything nice?

Are these the same econ experts insisting that the Fed needed to bail out Bear Stearns but haven't had anything to offer in terms of helping out home owners?

Are these the same tenured econ experts who have recently decided that John Yoo's tenure should protect his job?

expert : a drip under pressure.

Reading the preceding comments and seeing the dread words French and intellectual crop up, I'd like to point out that a better phrase would be "soi-disant experts".

It may puzzle all the knee-jerk quote-unquote haters

The denigration of people that actually study things, which began its latest renaissance with Reagan, and has exceeded all expectations in the current administration, is one of the major reasons that we're now in the mess we're in. For me, this marks a new low point in the Clinton campaign.

I think the elitism (of which anti-intellectualism is but a form) of that statement alone would nearly be enough to drive me from her campaign.

Obama response is, FU, pay the tax sucker, I don't give a shit about your money problems

You're receiving a refund check worth 25 times the worth of any gas tax holiday, most of which would be recaptured by the retailers and wholesalers. If you were really that concerned about have a gas tax holiday over the summer, you'd be lobbying the government to send you another check for $25-$40.

For me, this marks a new low point in the Clinton campaign.

The premise of Obama's campaign is that we need to radically shift the culture of electoral government. Give that here, Clinton is point blank offering more of the same of the very worst aspects of the bush administration mindset, it's hard to claim that Obama isn't calling for the exact thing that's necessary right now.