Miscellanea of the Week

Here’s a roundup of happenings from this past week:

• Tavis Smiley wants Barack Obama to address his “State of the Black Union” conference in New Orleans and is upset that Obama turned the invite down to campaign in Ohio and Texas. Reasonable people everywhere attempt to show Smiley how stupid he is being, while Smiley rejects an offer for Michelle Obama to address the conference. Hillary Clinton is attending, though; presumably in an effort to continue to rebuild bridges with the community should she win the nomination.
• Clinton started her Wisconsin tour today; she’s already made the decision to cut it short, touting surrogates like Wesley Clark.
• Michelle Obama predicted victory in Ohio. The last time she did that, if I recall, was in Iowa. Bold move, for sure. I’m going to go ahead and say it’ll be an uphill climb at best.
• Hillary Clinton launched an attack that “speeches don’t put food on the table” and Matthew Yglesias argues that it’s a false distinction between the ability to give speeches and having good substance, citing some examples. The line of attack here from the Clinton campaign is definitely meant to prey upon some people’s suspicions that Obama is all talk and no substance. We blog these speeches and these debates and what not, but it’s important to realize there’s more out there; both candidates have extensive plans online that are available for all.
• Western Democrat extraordinaire Brian Schweitzer is telling superdelegates to stay out of the way for the time being.
• Rich Lowry at NRO is bewildered more Democrats are not making the pragmatic vote for Obama to just get the race over with and avoid a nasty fight. Honestly, I don’t think many Democrats think that far in advance; and if they do, it’s only about the general election.
• Mike Huckabee dares me to compare him and his futile campaign to suspected terrorists. Haven’t we reached the point where his jokes are no longer refreshing but are just generally worrisome in terms of him being the Commander in Chief?
• Hillary’s gone hunting before, and has shot a duck.
• Obama is off to Texas immediately after Wisconsin.
• Everyone is speculating about McCain’s running mate. We won’t, at least much.
• Interesting thoughts on the dynamics of the media in the Clinton-Obama race.