It was bad enough that Barack Obama failed to mention Hillary Clinton’s debt at a Manhattan fundraiser Wednesday night. Only after an aide reminded him, Obama had to climb back on stage, quiet the music down, and ask the crowd to reach under their chairs for an envelope and put “something” in it. Now, via Politico’s Ben Smith, we learn that Sen. Clinton is not even receiving the courtesy of being vetted for the vice presidential slot:

On Fox, former Clinton chief strategist Howard Wolfson indicated that Hillary Clinton is not being formally considered as Obama’s running mate, in that she has not been asked to undergo the formal vetting process.

“Not as far as I know,” said Wolfson, who remains close to Clinton, in response to a question from Sean Hannity.

Wolfson, a new commentator for Fox News, gave the report a positive spin:

He continued to say that the lack of formal vetting wouldn’t necessarily rule out the possibility that Obama would choose her.

“There is more information available about Hillary in the public record than just about any other public figure in America,” he says, citing in particular the tax returns that Obama’s campaign demanded she release.

Smith speculates what the report might mean about Clinton’s standing apart from Obama:

Wolfson’s words, along with Obama’s so far anemic fundraising on Clinton’s behalf, seemed to indicate Clinton’s willingness to stand apart from Obama — as a separate power center within the party if he wins, and as an instant rival for the next nomination if he loses.

But he suggested she’d clearly also like to be Obama’s running mate.

“I think she’d be a huge asset to the ticket. I think she’d be a great addition,” he said.

Hillary would be a far better addition to the TOP of the ticket, particularly given Obama’s increasing alienation from his base and the dramatic drop in visits to his Web site .

Then there is that, for the first time, his donation receipts in May were exceeded by his expenses, and the lack of any report, as of yet, on his total donations received during the month of June — during which month John McCain brought in at least $22,000,000. This trend, like his dropping Web visits, signals a dramatic lessening in enthusiasm for Mr. Obama.

It is up to the Superdelegates to nominate the candidate who ended the primary season on a high note — with growing donations, a series of victories in key swing states, and an increasingly enthusiastic crowd of passionate supporters who have yet to leave her side.

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Memeorandum.com today’s latest news on the veepstakes. Among the reports: Chris Dodd has volunteered to the media that he has been asked for background information.

In preparation for Marxism and rudely demanding to know “What is the value of this?” and “What’s the point?” MSNBC now thinks that, considering  they are all in the tank for Barack Obama, and in lieu of the possibility that they will ever actually report anything real about their Baby Jesus, they should also get to decide whether or not people have the right to assemble if it doesn’t benefit their special-case candidate.

[VIDEO NOW BELOW THE FOLD.]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOJnsFe0b9s[/youtube]

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Now, I used to be a Deaniac. What in the hell was I thinking? What a huge relief he didn’t get nominated. John Kerry was a piss poor candidate too with a nutjob wife. Dick Gephardt had the charisma of dry toast.

But NOW we do have a real candidate with REAL experience who KNOWS the score, knows how the games are played, knows how to fight, and NEVER GIVES UP.

And most of Obama’s supporters do NOT count as REAL supporters. Most of them are so young they’re still having temper tantrums unless mommy and daddy vote the way they want them to. And if the Democratic party think that those young uns are gonna stick around and do the hard work of running a party, they’re idiots.

Unless Donna and Howard decide no. And apparently they get to choose, and the millions of the rest of us can just go screw ourselves.

Then, we — particularly those of us (ahem, like me) who don’t know hip-hop music and culture — learned about another gesture Obama made in the same speech, when he swiped his hand over his shoulder. Laluchasigue’s fascinating article here at No Quarter explained the gesture, and its origin: “Obama Invokes Jay-Z: ‘Stab the Ladies…Middle Finga To The Law’.” Laluchasigue quotes Jay-Z’s lyrics:

[Chorus: Jay-Z]
If you feelin’ like a pimp nigga, go and brush your shoulders off
Ladies is pimps too, go and brush your shoulders off
Niggaz is crazy baby, don’t forget that boy told you
Get, that, dirt off your shoulder

Now, get this Obamabot’s reaction to the gesture:

Dude, I nearly swooned — SWOONED, I tell you — when I saw that. That’s one of my fave Jay-Z joints of all time. HUGE SWIRLING VORTEX OF LOVE. I could not pink-fuzzy-heart Barack one iota more.

Violet Socks posted a diary about that “swooner” over at the terrific new blog, HillarysVoice. She found the report at Corrente Wire, another excellent blog (and refuge where they haven’t drunk the KoolAid).

So I popped right over to Corrente Wire, and checked its “Department Of The Missing Media Critique.” First, the writer Lambert cites the delusional Obamabot reactions:

Of Barry’s latest awsum speech, full of “pretty cool” “dogwhistles” [SEE VIDEO BELOW] — one of which was giving Hillary the finger — Spencer burbles:

Starting at 2:20, bear witness to perhaps the coolest subliminal cultural reference [to this extremely presidential Jay Z tune] in the history of American politics.

Then Corrente Wire’s Lambert hits a home run with this quote from — guess who — at The Manchester Guardian:

interestingly, there’s been a version of what Spencer’s saying out there for some time, albeit a longer one. The source will surprise you:
From the Manchester Guardian:

In the words of that Clinton adviser: “If you have a social need, you’re with Hillary. If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you’re young and you have no social needs, then he’s cool.”

Well, that Clinton adviser (Howard Wolfson?) turned out to be right on the money, didn’t he? Because I don’t really know how to categorize what Obama must be to Our Spencer, and his swooning acolyte, than an imaginary hip black friend. Of course, in reality, he’s a Chicago politician with one national election under his belt where his opponent imploded. But let that pass. Ponies for everyone!)

But at the time, Oh the humanity! …

I’ll leave you hanging. Go read the rest at Corrente Wire — in Lambert’s “Can We Say “Imaginary Hip Black Friend” Now? Since The Boiz Just Did?.”

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Here is Vet Hill’s “mash-up” of Obama’s post-debate whining and excuse-making:

If you missed Obama’s sorry performance and his whining about the debate, here’s the video, which his own campaign put up at YouTube:

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P.S. That bitter columnist at the NYTimes has written about the shoulder brush-off today.

Dear Exceptional Hillary Supporters,

You’re an important part of our team, and I want to know what you think.

You’ve probably heard about some of the big changes going on in Hillary’s campaign lately. My name is Geoff Garin, and along with Howard Wolfson, I’m now leading the campaign’s strategy team. My job is to plot the path to the nomination and lay out the strategy that will get us there.

There are two reasons why I said yes immediately when Hillary asked me to do this job. First, I believe that the Hillary Clinton I know will be a great president who will do great things for our country. Second, I am confident she can win.

Let me lay out for you the situation as I see it right now. The Pennsylvania primary is approaching — just four days to go — and a win there will do two things: give us momentum that will carry us through the races that follow, and show that Hillary is still the best choice to beat John McCain in the big, competitive states that will decide the race in November.

The Obama campaign is outspending us three-to-one in Pennsylvania. But I’m confident we can win in Pennsylvania, and I know Hillary is too. She is campaigning hard and really connecting with the voters there.

The voters in Pennsylvania know that she is the candidate who understands their lives and respects their values, and that every day she will be a president who stands up for them instead of looking down on them.

If I had to point to two of our best weapons in this campaign, one would be the incredible strength of our candidate, and the other would be the phenomenal role people like you have played in sustaining this campaign, even through some pretty tough times. Everyone from Hillary on down has made sure I know about the vital role her online supporters have played in this race.

I made a personal commitment to Hillary that her campaign would be as good and as strong and as smart as she is. And I want to ask you a favor to help me keep that commitment. In the days and weeks (and hopefully months) ahead, I want to know what you think — about the state of the race, our campaign strategy, or your ideas for doing things differently. You’ve made an investment in this campaign, and I want your input as we plan the days, weeks, and months to come.

I can’t promise that I can reply personally to every single message — but I can promise to read them all.

Click here to send me your comments, thoughts, and ideas about our campaign.

I’m really looking forward to reading what you have to say, and to working with you to help Hillary win!

Thanks,
Geoff Garin

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