Hillary Guerrillas

The candidate herself has conceded, firmly and graciously, but the diehards at "Hillary Is 44" are fighting on to the last ounce of purple type and pink background in their arsenal.

Their reaction to Sen. Clinton's support of Obama: "(A) few words of advice to Hillary: If you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas."

"Action Item 1," reads the next day's call to arms: "First thing for everyone to do Monday morning: Contact every superdelegate, everyone you met during the Hillary campaign, every fundraiser, every Hillraiser, every endorser, every friend, every relative...and let them know--I will not vote for Obama nor any person who endorsed Obama before June 3, 2008 when I vote during the general elections in NOvember. Obama is NOt qualified to be president. I reject NOw and in NOvember the Obama race-baiting, gay-bashing, woman-hating campaign of division and distraction."

Today they stopped mincing words: "Democratic Latinos, White Working Class voters, and women, will not come home in NOvember. Women will NOt vote for race-baiting, gay-bashing, women-hating Barack Obama in NOvember...Democrats Are Not Coming Home In November...Only The Chickens Are Coming Home...To Roost."

The site is still selling "Hillary Is 44" (for 44th president) T-shirts and buttons while emphasizing: "We are not affiliated with the Hillary For President Exploratory Committee, or any official Hillary Clinton organization in any way."

No word where the sales proceeds will go, but they may well be cranking up for "Hillary Is 45." A better investment would be tranquilizers for the operators of the site.

McCain's Surge in the Polls

Suddenly public opinion results show John McCain leading Barack Obama as well as Hillary Clinton, and they recall the numbers of a year ago when Rudy Giuliani was beating every Republican in sight and Clinton was on her way to a coronation on the Democratic side.

In this long, long pre-election season, the pollsters and pundits should try harder to distinguish between near-term sentiment and electoral viability. Last year's wide Giuliani and Clinton leads turned out to be more about name recognition and TV-like familiarity ratings than serious thought about who would make the best president.

Isn't the current McCain bounce more about the fallout from the Obama-Clinton mud-fighting than about a sudden desire on the part of voters to see McCain in the White House? Have they fallen in love with him or are they just irritated by super-delegates, Michigan, Florida and other Democratic follies? Do these figures mean anything more than last year's did?

The polls we might want to pay attention to now are those that show Americans unhappier about the economy, the war and politicians of both parties than at any time in memory. In November, they will be deciding who has the best answers for their fears and doubts.

Meanwhile, the candidates are making pitches on "American Idol." Fascinating but, as Dick Cheney might say, so?