Senator Clinton reflects on the road ahead.

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If you have never heard of Transdniestria, you’re probably not alone. Transdniestria is a sliver of land with separatist aspirations inside the Republic of Moldova. Moldova itself is a small country wedged between the Ukraine and Romania. Unlike South Ossetia, it does not border Russia but like South Ossetia the history of the region is complicated. Moldova is ethnically Romanian and speak Romanian but people of Transdniestria are largely Slavic and speak Russian, a Slavic tongue.

Moldova was once an independent principality, the Principality of Moldavia but fell under the sphere of the Ottoman Turks during the 1600s. In 1812, most of the Principality of Moldavia was taken by Russia and about a third incorporated into the Austro-Hungarian province of Wallachia which would become the independent Kingdom of Romania in 1848. As part of the Russian Empire, the area was called Bessarabia. It is during this time that ethnic Russians began migrating to the rich soils of the Dniestria river valley.

Moldova would succeed in breaking away from the Russian Empire during the turmoil of the 1917 Russian Revolution to join Romania. The area would fall to Nazi hands in 1940 and by liberated by the Soviet Army in late 1944. After World War II, the Soviet Union reclaimed Moldova and its territory was split between the Ukrianian SSR and new smaller Moldovan SSR. Moldova regained its indpendence in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Despite signing international obligations to withdraw, Russian military forces have remained on Moldovan territory. Since 1993 they have been stationed in the breakaway territory of Transdniestria against the will of the Moldovan Government. Moldova is somewhat ambivalent about nationhood. Many of the people in Moldova would like to join their kin as part of a greater Romania, a move that Russia opposes. (more…)

Notably absent from the festivities in Denver at the Democratic National Convention is Senator Edwards who finished third in the race and is the former Vice Presidential candidate from 2004. This is a loss for the Democrats for Senator Edwards was a leading spokesman on issues of healthcare and income inequality. He has now sidelined himself from the national discourse.

The New York Daily is today reporting that Senator Edwards has been calling his supporters and his former team of advisors and asking for “forgiveness.” It is not being well-received. From the New York Daily News:

John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair – but hearing their rage instead.

As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party – or a political future – trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls.

It’s proving a hard sell with onetime true believers.

(more…)

Here’s the last part of Senator Clinton’s speech to the New York State delegation from earlier today calling for unity. It’s likely to fall on at least six million pairs of deaf ears. For starters, she’s wrong on the cause of the division of the Democratic Party. It’s not John McCain dividing the Democratic Party with his ads, it’s Barack Obama with his persona. For this former Democrat, Senator Obama is a persona non grata.

This second clip from the Associated Press has more highlights from the entire speech, not just the last three minutes, and includes the last zinger from Senator Clinton.

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The National Organization of Women (NOW) is calling for the resignation of the Illinois State Senate President, Emil Jones, after he called an African-American Illinois delegate for Senator Clinton an “Uncle Tom” for supporting her candidacy over Senator Obama’s. You can view the video here. Emil Jones is Obama’s first political mentor and his comments are yet again another demonstration how the Obama campaign and those closely associated with it continously play the race card.

The story from the Chicago Sun-Times:

The chief of Illinois’ National Organization for Women chapter today called on Barack Obama’s “political godfather” to resign immediately from the Illinois state Senate for calling an African-American Hillary Clinton delegate an “Uncle Tom.”

“That was a pretty horrible comment,” said Illinois NOW president Bonnie Grabenhofer, also a Clinton delegate, who issued the demand for Senate President Emil Jones’ resignation.

Feminists who make up the Illinois Clinton delegate contingent at the Democratic National Convention were outraged to learn of today’s exclusive Chicago Sun-Times report about Clinton delegate Delmarie Cobb’s accusation that Jones directed the racially loaded slur at her.

(more…)

Senator John Kerry is up for re-election this Fall but he is facing his first primary challenge in 24 years. Ed O’Reilly is the progressive Democrat taking up the challenge to unseat John Kerry. O’Reilly challenged Kerry to a series of town hall debates. Kerry declined the invitation. O’Reilly has opened campaign offices across Massaschusetts. Kerry doesn’t have a PO Box west of Boston. Some people think they are just entitled to a Senate seat. I say otherwise.

But given the Kerry ad above, I’d say Kerry is pretty desperate. Bringing in Al Gore for a primary fight.

If you’re gay and live in Massachusetts, Ed O’Reilly deserves your support. He will do what Kerry won’t and that is stand up unequivocally for full equality under the law for gays and lesbians.

For more on Ed O’Reilly please visit his website.

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A report from Al-Jazeera on Colorado which in this election cycle is one of the critical swing states. The other swing states include Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, Virginia, New Hampshire and Florida. Per the latest poll, Obama leads in Pennsylvania and Michigan and is tied in Colorado and Virginia. McCain leads in Ohio, New Hampshire and Missouri. The Obama campaign has hopes of making Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina into swing states but at the moment those are trending GOP.

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Earlier this month the Italian edition of Vanity Fair ran a story on George Obama, the youngest of Senator Obama’s half-brothers, who lives in a Nairobi slum in a shack and earns less than a dollar a day according to the article. The Republican Party of Texas is responding to the Obama attacks on McCain over the number of homes the McCain have (eight, all in Cindy McCain’s name though the Kerrys have five, the Kennedy’s six and the Gore’s three) by alledging that if Obama doesn’t care of his family, how can we be sure that he will take care of yours?

The ad is a 30-second spot running Internet-only ad running largely on conservative blogs and sites. It is an ad put out the Republican Party of Texas. More from Fox News.

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As the McCain campaign is trying to make this election a referendum on Obama (successfully so far), the Obama campaign is trying to make the election a referendum on Bush by tying Senator McCain to President Bush. While this tactic may yet resonate, the polls so far seem to indicate that the McCain camp is winning the framing battle.

This is a new 30 second ad from the Obama campaign. It will be running nationwide during the Democratic convention.

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The hits keep on coming! The Republican National Committee released today a new ad featuring Senator Clinton’s comments on Senator Obama’s lack of experience from the primaries. The McCain campaign and the RNC by extension are making this election a referendum on Barack Obama. If they can keep this theme going it is likely that come November, McCain will carry the day.

The ad is a 30-second spot and is set to run during coverage of the Democratic National Convention. The RNC’s independent expenditure arm is going on the air with their second ad of the cycle, resurrecting one of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s sharpest critiques of Barack Obama from the primary.

Brad Todd, the GOP adman who is heading the IE effort, said that it will be up in “major markets in Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and western Pennsylvania” through Sunday.

Included in that is a broadcast and heavy cable buy in Denver, Todd noted. The total ad buy is between $2 million and $2.5 million. The McCain had made $6 million ad buy during the two week long Olympics. This is almost half that amount for four days.

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