Tim Russert 1950-2008

Tim Russert died today as a result of heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. He collapsed while he was preparing for Sunday’s upcoming broadcast of Meet the Press. In spite of immediate attempts to resusitate him, Russert never regained consciousness.

The Confluence wishes to express our sympathy to Russert’s family on their sudden loss.

Some other folks who didn’t get the memo…

So Hillary is out of the race now, supposedly. I have no idea where she is. I hope she is on vacation somewhere far away, completely insulated from the media’s continuing attacks. And they are continuing, even though the media and the DNC have supposedly ended Hillary’s presidential bid. Here are just a couple of examples.

A couple of days ago, the lovely and talented Monica Crowley of MSNBO, while she was guest-hosting The Laura Ingraham Show. talked about what Hillary would do to political enemies who backed Barack Obama.

You know, if you’re backing the “hope” guy, well, that’s too bad for you, and it will be too bad for you because girlfriend will cut you. She will strap you into the electric chair. Then she will waterboard you. Then she will slowly and methodically pull off each one of your toenails. Then she will deprive you of sleep by blasting “The Best of the ’80s Hair Bands” at you, and then she will cut off your manhood, and then she will throw the switch. This is what Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Bill Richardson, Oprah, and Maria Shriver all have to look forward to. None of them should be starting their personal cars in the morning.

There is lots more of Crowley’s rantings against both Clintons at Media Matters.

And then there’s this charming column from long-time Clinton hater Sally Quinn. Quinn advises Hillary to go away for awhile (one gets the feeling she would like it to be a very long time) on a mindfulness retreat where she can find herself, which Quinn condescendingly claims Hillary has never had the chance to do.

She gave up a promising career as a Washington lawyer to move with him to Arkansas. She changed her name. She married him knowing about the other women in his life.

She helped him run for president, first as the “buy-one-get-one free” co-president who wasn’t going to spend time having teas and baking cookies, then as the “stand-by-your-man” little woman on “60 Minutes” after the Gennifer Flowers story broke.

Once in the White House she changed her hairdo, her style of dressing and her mannerisms so often that it seemed to some that she was suffering from multiple personality disorder. She was the health care maven, then the hostess, then, after Monica, the victimized wife again, standing by her man.

When she ran for Senate and won it was largely because of her marriage to Bill Clinton. When she ran for President she had the same problem. It was never just Hillary Clinton.

The incomparable Bob Sommerby eviscerated Quinn here.

If you have other examples, please share them in the comments, or use this as an open thread.

Friday: Free For All

State of the race: CNN has a new poll with Obama up a measley 5% over McCain at 48% to McCain’s 43%. 9% are unsure. Unsure of what?

Hmmm, maybe here is a hint: McCain targets message to Clinton backers. “Mm-wha, Mm-wha, oh, mon cherie, we will make beyootiful museeck together! Have some chocolates and flowers.” Ok, I still think that friends don’t let friends vote Republican but I’m not averse to a little flirtation. Go ahead, make The Precious jealous, a little nervous. Not even all of those unsure voters need to sidle into McCain’s column to upset Obama. Just a majority of them will do.

Paul Krugman tells us about the perils of deregulation in Bad Cow Disease. I guess you never realize how important the FDA is until you get a bad tomato. Or realize that the side effect you got from the last drug you took was noted by doctors over the past couple years but that the FDA didn’t have the resources to sort through the adverse drug reaction reports and enter them into a database.

Ladies and Gents, I know that we’re all getting a little testy this week. It’s maddening when the country wants the one candidate it can’t have. This political stuff would be so much easier if the parties would just get out of the way. But let’s not slip into rumormongering or character assassination. You may loathe Obama with evry fiber of your being but don’t spread rumors about him being a Muslim, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Besides, I have it on good authority from my contacts in the evangelical movement that he’s the anti-Christ. So, get it right.

And it’s not right to pick on his wife either or wish the same plague of sexist locusts on her as descended on Clinton. Turnabout may be fair play but that kind of karma never goes away.

And let us not jump to conclusions that Obama is a corrupt Chicago politician, even if there is mounting circumstantial evidence that suggests that he is. Without proof, we would just be dragging his name through the mud and that would be wrong.

Let’s keep it clean, people. Make Hillary proud of you. Repeat allegations only when you have solid evidence to back them up.

So, what’s up?

Late Night Dead-Enders

So.

What do these two have in common?

Open thread.