Carville: If this party has a message they did a hell of a job hiding it

While we get news from Riverdaughter’s night at “The Beautiful Protest and Rise” and Gary & Mawm’s PUMAmobile adventures, here’s this:

UPDATE (h/t MadamaB!)  James Carville’s full quote per Jake Tapper/ABC News:

On CNN this evening, Clintonista James Carville voiced his displeasure with tonight’s proceedings as having no theme, no message.

“James Carville seems the least satisfied Democrat in here right now,” noted CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “What’s going on James?”

“Well if this party has a message it has done a hell of a job of hiding it tonight I promise you that,” Carville said.

“How do you mean?” asked the anchor. “You haven’t heard about Iraq? You haven’t heard about John McCain?”

“…George W. Bush, you haven’t heard any of this,” said Carville. “I mean we are a country that’s borderline recession, 85% 80% wrong track country, people, health care, energy, I haven’t heard anything about gas prices, I mean maybe we are going to look better Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but right now like I say we are playing hide the message pretty good.”

“David Gergen said this a short time ago, that in the first two hours what is the message?” said Cooper.

“And you know what? David didn’t get to where he was in life because he’s stupid  He was exactly right. I look at this and I am about to jump out of my chair…There’s no message coming out of here, there is no sense that the party has a sense of urgency, and we’ve only got four nights this is 25% of the whole thing.”

But, but James, it’s important for people to get to know the REAL Barack.  Besides, Democracy is so 90s. 

Dealmaking and drama lead up to Clinton speech – By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

The Clinton and Obama camps agreed to limit Wednesday’s divisive nominating process for president, allowing some states to cast votes for both Obama and Clinton before ending the roll call in an acclamation for the Illinois senator.

In one scenario, Clinton herself would cut off the voting and urge the unanimous nomination of Obama, according to Democratic officials involved in the negotiations. They discussed the deal on condition of anonymity while final details were being worked out.

But some Clinton delegates said they were not interested in a compromise, raising the prospect of floor demonstrations that would underscore the split between Obama and Clinton Democrats.

“I don’t care what she says,” said Mary Boergers, a Maryland delegate who wants to cast a vote for Clinton.

“There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is Barack Obama‘s convention,” Clinton told reporters. And yet, she said, some of her delegates “feel an obligation to the people who sent them here” and would vote for her.

As part of the deal, Obama and Clinton activists teamed up and circulated three petitions on the convention floor Monday night — supporting Clinton, Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden. Each needed 300 signatures.

Clinton said she wouldn’t tell her backers how to vote, but she told them she would cast her own vote for Obama. “We were not all on the same side as Democrats, but we are now,” she said.

The lineup for the second day of the convention features 11 governors and prominent House and Senate leaders. The convention’s keynote address will be given by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a former supporter of Hillary Clinton‘s.

James, you didn’t get the memo?  The message is “destroy all things Clinton.”  So what if she won the popular vote with 18 million votes and was the candidate that won the most votes in primary history.  Hogwash!  She needs to go to the back of the line and make room for Gov. Mark Warner!  But what is the presumptive presumptuous Preciouzzz doing to smooth any differences?

Obama has taken the minimum public steps necessary to accommodate the Clintons, including giving them prime-time speaking spots. 

But he has taken few of the extra steps that Clinton allies say would have gone miles toward fostering goodwill.

He did not work hard to help her retire her $24 million campaign debt.

He did not make a high-profile statement repudiating any suggestion that Bill Clinton played “the race card” in the nomination contest — an allegation that the former president considers grossly unfair and that continues to infuriate him.

Just as significant, Obama has maintained a certain cool diffidence toward the former president. They spoke by phone last week. But for weeks before that, associates said, Clinton had heard nothing and did not even know when he would be speaking at the convention. The Obama campaign’s only communication was a form letter sent to all delegates.

Clinton loves to offer advice to fellow Democrats. But even in their conversations, Clinton friends say, Obama shows little deference or signs that he thinks Clinton, the only Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win two terms, has any special wisdom to offer.

“There is a lot Obama could have done to unify the party, and basically he hasn’t lifted a finger,” said one Democratic operative who is close to the Clinton team.

Do you think that the press is finally getting it? 

¡Que viva los PUMAs! (Long live PUMAs!)