Daily Tidbits: June 3, 2008

• Andrew Sullivan on McCain’s speech, spot on. His new slogan, “A Leader You Can Believe In” shows that, like Hillary, (1) he can’t seem to settle on a slogan and (2) he thinks we are stupid enough that transparently co-opting Obama’s message will fool us. He also continues to come across as a bitter, angry, condescending, sarcastic guy that can’t believe he has to campaign against this young whipper snapper.
• New York Observer, a small elitist newspaper, to “endorse” Hillary as Obama’s VP. Ugh.
• Hillary tells NY legislators that she is “open” to being Obama’s VP. Apparently, she brought the subject up. As in, “Hey, do me a favor, tell all your friends I’m open to being VP.”
• Hear an audio clip of the interview with Bill Clinton that elicited his angry response about the author of the Vanity Fair article about him. The interviewer, Mayhill Fowler, is the same person who wrote the biased article about Obama that resulted in the “bittergate” controversy.
• AP: Obama has effectively clinched nomination based on its own tally of superdelegates.
• Senator Feinstein, a major backer of Clinton, says it’s time for Hillary to concede.
• Montana’s superdelegates prepared to endorse winner of MT primary as soon as “he” is declared (Obama is expected to win). The governor and both senators are Democrats.
• Jimmy Carter to endorse Obama.
• Drip, Drip, Pour. Obama is withing approximately 10 delegates of the nomination, having just picked up 9 former Edwards superdelegates and two former Clinton superdelegates. At this point, he is close enough to suspend the endorsements, assuming he’d rather have the pledged delegates put him over the top to create his American Idol moment during prime time.
• AP: Hillary to concede tonight that Obama has enough delegates to secure nomination. She will suspend, not terminate, her campaign (like Edwards after Super Tuesday) in an effort to maintain some leverage to push for her pet issues, like universal health care, but she will let her campaign staff go and fold her campaign. UPDATE: McAuliffe is breathlessly telling cable nets that AP story is incorrect.
• WSJ: Leon Panetta, Madeleine Albright, Patti Solis Doyle, key Clinton campaign staff and major fundraisers among those expected to join Team Obama very soon.
• Chicago Tribune: At least 25 superdelegates poised to endorse in groups over the couse of the day in advance of tonight’s election results.
• NY Times/The Caucus – Clinton unlikely to challenge Michigan decision. Hillary’s speech tonight not expected to be a formal concession — but a bridge to such an event that could occur later this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.
• Dick Cheney cracks a West Virginia incest joke relating to the fact that he has ancestors named Cheney on both sides of his family history. His joke infuriates West Virginia state officials from both parties. Lost in the joke is perhaps some explanation for his aberrant behavior.
• Senator Claire McCaskill says she’s counted votes among the uncommitted superdelegates and confirmed that Obama will have enough superdelegates to give him the nomination Tuesday night.
• WaPo agrees that Obama should clinch the nomination Tuesday night.
• WaPo’s Fact Checker spots many of the flaws in Hillary’s assertions she made in her victory speech in Puerto Rico.
• NY Times explains Hillary Math:

  

• Clinton campaign privately telling donors that they will not quit before August and have plans to fight onward beyond this week.
• Bill Clinton is angry and lashing out. He also calls author of new Vanity Fair article about him “sleazy” and a “scumbag.” The author is also the husband of Clinton press secretary, Dee Dee Myers.
• Some advisers to McCain are arguing that he should follow the example of the late, great President Polk and declare that he will only be a one-term president. Of course, there’s absolutely no risk that kind of announcement will be construed as a lack of confidence in your own judgment and capability as a president in mid-70’s,
• NY Times: Obama made concerted effort to whip a sufficient number of superdelegate votes.