AddieStan

He didn't do us much by way of favors, as the sage Hans Johnson points out: Let it not be lost in his death that Buckley, like most in the right-wing cohort he anchored from mid-century onward, was quite familiar and at times reliant on gay people in his career. He wrestled with homophobia. Mostly he lost. CLICK HERE TO READ JOHNSON'S ESSAY ON BUCKLEY AND GAYS

When your blogstress was a little girl, her father would make her read a newspaper column that ran regularly in the Elizabeth Daily Journal , the afternoon paper then published in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The column was called "On the Right," and it was written by one William F. Buckley, Jr. "Good for your vocabulary," said le père de votre net-tête . The veritable inventor of the the modern conservative movement, Buckley delighted in penning arguments in the code of the erudite; so much so that for a child who crawled out of the primordial ethnic soup that is New Jersey, a dictionary was a mandatory companion to Buckley's weekly reader. The Buckley exercise missed the desired effect: Your Webwench forgot most of the words she learned from the columns and became a liberal. However, she cannot discount the influence of Buckley on your cybertrix's ambition to become a columnist . CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARY

By the traditional rules of debate, Hillary Clinton won this debate on substance. But Barack Obama doesn't play by those rules. He plays by the rules of the Taoists, whereby victory goes to the one who yields. Tonight he proved the point.

He's using the present tense in talking about himself as the nominee. She's using the past tense in talking about it having "been an honor" to have campaigned with Obama . And he did the same in talking about the campaign. But in justifying her candidacy, Clinton said, "I think it's time we had a fighter back in the White House."

"There's a difference between rejecting and denouncing," Clinton said, appearing to try to make it seem as if Obama was trying to split the difference by not strongly enough disassociating himself from Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright .

Tim Russert is questioning Obama 's stance towards Israel and the Jewish community -- because of Louis Farrakhan 's endorsement.

In asking Obama if he will hold to his promise, as Tim Russert cast it, to hold to only accept public campaign financing (in the general election), Russert said, "You seem to be waffling." Russert used the terms set by the Republican nominee apparent, John McCain, effectively making it seem as if Obama's nomination is a fait accompli .

That's Obama 's response to a video showing of Clinton 's critique of Obama's oratory, in which she mocked him, saying, "celestial choirs will sing..." Clinton laughed heartily. A welcome moment of levity in a very tense debate.

Huh? Tim Russert wants to know if Obama "reserve(s) the right" to go back into Iraq "with sizable troops" (as opposed to short people, one presumes) after having pulled out if the situation warrants. Huh?

He's getting centered on national television while being castigated for being inexperienced in matters of foreign policy. Hands pressed together in front of his face, eyes lowered, he seems to be bringing himself to the middle path. Whoops -- now he seems to have remembered that he's supposed to be staring down his opponent.

NBC's Tim Russert started out going hard after Clinton on her previous support of NAFTA, trying to push her to say she would pull out of NAFTA. (She says she'll renegotiate.) Now Russert is accusing Obama of having been ambivalent on the issue, even though the Illinois senator has been sending out mailers in Ohio accusing Clinton of being a NAFTA booster (which she was, at one point). Tactically, Obama seems to be seeking to disarm Clinton by saying her answer to Russert's NAFTA question was correct.

Hillary Clinton made a point of noting, when asked the next question, that in the last several debates, she's always gotten the opening question. "I'm happy to answer," she said, but just wanted to make the point. She then made a reference to a Saturday Night Live segment that your blogstress did not see, saying that " Barack " should be asked if he's comfortable; if "he needs another pillow." Obama did not take the bait. He did not even acknowledge the insult.

Having started off the debate with a question on Barack Obama 's disputed healthcare mailers, moderator Brian Williams unleashed Hillary Clinton 's inner wonk on the topic she most cares about. The result, by Williams' own measure, was "a 16-minute discussion of healthcare."

You'll recall, mes amis , that when last we saw our Democratic presidential rivals debate each other before the television cameras (less than a week ago), Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York fixed her gaze, quite constantly, on Sen. Barack Obama , a tactic that was noticed by commentators. Obama tended to write on note cards and issue wry smiles while looking down during Clinton's speeches. So far the Cleveland debate has been a mutual stare-down contest. He does learn quickly, non ?

At her first glance at Tilda Swinton tonight on the small screen, your blogstress's first thought was, that woman's stylist should be shot. Shapeless -- in a weird kind of way -- black dress, haphazard orange air, missing eyebrows. Then, called to Oscar's mic to accept her best supporting actress, Mlle. Swinton, kicked butt, by turns gracious and audacious. Humility with swagger. A woman after your cybertrix's own heart.

At a presser today called in response to Hillary Clinton 's accusation that the Obama campaign has misrepresented her health care program and trade position in mailers sent to Ohio voters. "He is continuing to send false and discrediting mailings...," Clinton said. "He says one thing in speeches...this is not the new politics that the speeches are about..It is not hopeful; it is destructive." "Shame on you, Barack Obama ," Clinton said. At issue was a mailer whose imagery appeared, according to Clinton, to echo the " Harry and Louise " campaign launched against the plan Clinton tried to get through Congress as First Lady in the 1990s. Here's Harry & Louise: And the Obama flier: See the rest of the flyer at Ohio Daily Blog At Obama's rebuttal media op, he remained cool, and accused Clinton of having subjected his campaign to all manner of attacks, "except when we were down by 40 points." He ably rebutted the particulars...

I had the privilege of appearing on Bonnie Erbe 's groundbreaking show, To The Contrary . Subject: the state of feminism and the Democratic Party after the Clinton-Obama showdown. In some viewing areas, the show airs on Saturday; in others, it's a Sunday show. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHEN YOU CAN SEE 'TO THE CONTRARY' IN YOUR AREA.

Alas, mes amis , your Webwench feels compelled to follow a trail of tissues back to her sickbed. You'll have to comment amongst yourselves.

John King , sensing a lack of drama in the proceedings, decided to kick things up a notch by asking Clinton to address her criticism of Obama as "all hat and no cattle." She smiled sweetly and said something nice that your blogstress, plagued by a runny nose and a mal à la tête . Obama responded with a great speech. Volley on Clinton's charge of plagiarism, which she has accused Obama of doing for using a few very good lines from the speech of one his supporters, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick . "If you're going to base your campaign on words," she said, "they ought to be your own words." She went on, "That's not change you can believe in; that's change you can Xerox." It came across as too cute by half. She did not deliver it with conviction.

Excellent! Both candidates think we all need to speak two languages, mes amis . Well almost all of us. Hill says she hasn't ever been able to get the hang of that second-language thing -- but you should!

CNN's John King asked about the border fence, noting that Hillary Clinton voted for it. Hillary Clinton was quick to note that Barack Obama voted for it, too. She appears to be backtracking, noting the concerns of Americans who actually live in border areas.

Asked a question on whether or not she would end the current practice of deportation raids of illegal immigrants, Hillary gave a full-blown stump speech on immigration, beginning with her support for ending the raids, and ending with her belief in "comprehensive immigration reform." Barack does her one better before this Latino audience by talking about how anti-immigrant sentiment results in hate crimes against Hispanics. Made a good point about fixing the backlogs in CIS, so that people actually can apply to be here legally.

With this week's announcement from Fidel Castro that he is at last stepping down after decades as his nation's strongman, the candidates were asked, before a television audience on Univision that is mostly Latino. Both said they would talk to the new Cuban leaders, with Obama first to answer the question. CNN's Campbell Brown nailed him for an apparent change in his approach; he was not jumping in this debate to say that he would end the embargo of Cuba. Apparently there was a time when he stated his desire to see that embargo end. Clinton made the point of saying she would talk to Cuba's new leaders only after a great deal of preparation, and only with bipartisan delegations behind her.

Clinton lost the coin-toss and got to go first. (Interesting that Obama did not want the opening speech.) She opened with a statement that was energetic, stating her bona fides in Texas by saying the Lone Star state was where she worked her "first political job" -- registering voters in South Texas. Then she invoked the memory of Barbara Jordan , whose birthday Clinton said is today. Next invocation of strong, Texas women? "My great friend, Ann Richards ." Hill went on to give a decent speech about discrimination against sick people, and how her health care program would elimate that. Obama seemed a bit lethargic; he sounds congested. His opening statement was boring, until he got to this line: "What's lacking here is not good ideas...," Obama said. "Washington is a place where good ideas go to die." He did seem to be trying to shine a light on similarities between his opponent and him more than differences.

For the last 30 years, the strength of the Democratic Party has risen and fallen with the health of the women's movement. It's been 24 years since a woman last appeared on the party's presidential platform. Whether or not the nominee is Hillary Clinton, a woman must grace the Democratic ticket. For the sake of the party. For the sake of the movement. If there's one thing you can say about the modern women's movement, it's that it is not, nor has it ever been, a monolith. Though sometimes derided as a white woman's movement or an upper-middle-class diversion, the feminist movement, in reality, encompasses women across race, class and even national divides. So it comes as no surprise to most that opinions on matters of strategy, or any other manner of things, should diverge widely at times. For weeks now, a heated debate has taken place between feminists who see an onus to support, based on her gender , the presidential aspirations of Sen. Hillary Clinto...

While feminists in the U.S. pursue an argument over whether one can vote for the man in our current presidential contest and still be a good feminist, women poll workers risked their lives in Pakistan to oversee an election in which women were threatened with death for voting. Women's turnout was exceptionally low in yesterday's national election in Pakistan. Great piece in today's New York Times that features interviews with women poll workers in Peshawar, capital of the volatile Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP).

Echidne of the Snakes, a goddess to whom your blogstress pays homage , has, on her most excellent blog, herself taken on yesterday's perplexing column by the New York Times 's Maureen Dowd: Dowd In A Feminist Coma Don't you think that Maureen Dowd has been hit by that large truck which says "feminist anger" on the side and that as a consequence she realized that a different way of mocking Hillary Clinton was called for if the important job of grinding Hillary into little bits under that red Prada heel was to be completed? CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF ECHIDNE'S POST Has Maureen Dowd stolen the pope's shoes ?

From the redoubtable Linda Hirshman , who usually blogs at TPM Cafe , which is today plagued with some technical ailment, comes this response to today's Maureen Dowd column, "An Imperfect Feminist Test," and your blogstress's assertion that, in it, Dowd makes a valid point or two: Whaddaya know? This morning, as a thought experiment, Maureen Dowd contemplated a woman making a successful run for President. She’d like that, she says. She even hopes the "male reporters" in the media would behave if it ever happened. Presumably she includes herself in that group. Dowd’s candidate would have an easier time than the real female candidate running, because Dowd’s candidate is not a real person, but one of those women on the internet pornography sites. Maureen’s candidate has no brain, no record, no history, no family, no past statements, no existence except in her overheated imagination. The internet porn candidate would be perfect, because, having no brain she co...

If there is another American writer as maddening as Maureen Dowd , your blogstress has yet to find her. While your cybertrix is hip to her own inner sexist, she winces when Dowd reveals her own, as she so often does when writing of Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton . Your Webwench has, by turns, both defended and derided Dowd, who holds court twice a week on the op-ed page of the New York Times . Today Dowd offers quite a good essay on her piece of NYT real estate about why Hillary Clinton's candidacy offers a less-than-perfect feminist test case for a female presidential contender (because of Bill , of course). But Dowd being Dowd, she can't help lay a few mines in her narrative landscape, as she does when she repeats, acknowledging its offensiveness, a heinous joke from a Penn Jillette routine: In a webcast, prestidigitator Penn Jillette talks about a joke he has begun telling in his show. He thinks the thunderous reaction it gets from audiences shows tha...

That's what Air America host Rachel Maddow just called John McCain , who attempted to pour water on Barack Obama's "rhetoric of hope."

At The Atlantic , Joshua Green raises the curtain on the career of Clintonista Patti Solis Doyle , the Clinton campaign manager who was canned on Sunday.

Fresh on the heels of is sweep of this weekend's Democratic caucuses, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) tonight added to his column overwhelming victories in three mid-Atlantic entities: Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. His victory speech, before what appeared to a vast crowd in Wisconsin, where Obama's next big contest will take place, was typically inspiring, though not quite as extraordinary as those he's given before. That's probably just as well; he needs to look a bit more human than he has of late, and lay off the messianic theme. Preceding Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) addressed what appeared to be a large rally in El Paso, Texas, with a high-energy speech, well-delivered and complete with a list of policy changes she hopes to initiate. Clinton is in Texas because she's all but conceded next week's contests in Hawaii and Wisconsin to Obama. (The Texas primary is on March 4.) To his detriment, Sen. John McCain (D-Ariz.), the likely R...

If you thought the sexism and outright misogyny expressed by men opposed to Hillary Clinton 's run for the White House had reached its depths before Super Tuesday, you'd be wrong. For today brings word that MSNBC reporter David Shuster accused Hillary Clinton of "pimping out" her daughter, Chelsea. Into what mode of prostitution has the mother sold her girl? Why, politics, you fool! Your blogstress finds it absolutely amazing that Shuster should use the language of prostitution to describe Chelsea Clinton 's work on behalf of her mother. Over at Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh states the case : this should be Shuster's Imus moment. This is the kind of crap that's adding fuel to the fires dividing feminists right now. The more misogyny of this order that's heaped on the Clinton campaign, the greater some feel an imperative for feminists to vote for Hillary. I don't agree that there's an imperative, but I do find myself more inclined to pul...

WESTFIELD, N.J.--Well, Barack Obama may not have won your blogstress's blessed native state, but he has succeeded in shaking up state politics here, luring support from such establishment political leaders as state Senate leader Richard Cody (who briefly served as governor, filling out the term of James McGreevey , who resigned after revealing a gay affair) and Congressman Steve Rothman . But it wouldn't be New Jersey without a bit of voting intrigue, as your Webwench has been reporting for TAPPED: JERSEY CITY, WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM UPDATE ON JERSEY'S VOTING WOES Also got some response to Hillary Clinton's pitch to queer voters from Stampp Corbin , who runs the LGBT outreach team for the Barack Obama campaign: DEMS VIE FOR GAY VOTES On my way back to D.C. -- whoa, whoa, baby, back where I belong.

Well, she calls us by the more politically correct term, "LGBT Americans." Here's a blog post signed by Sen. Clinton, posted on a gay site: LGBT Americans: "I Want to Be Your President" by Senator Hillary Clinton As I have traveled around the country these past twelve months, what I sensed in my heart has been confirmed – America is embracing its LGBT sons and daughters with an acceptance and understanding as never before. On the campaign trail, a father of a gay son will ask about ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. A woman will ask why she can be discriminated against just because of who she is. Sometimes they wait furtively for the crowd to thin and then whisper their confidences in a soft voice and sometimes they stand up proudly at town meetings and want me to share my views on how I will help lead the change to assure that this country fulfills its promise to everyone. Let me tell you what I have been telling voters across America. I am fully committed to the f...

WESTFIELD, N.J.--It was not your blogstress's intention to abandon her devotees on Almost Super Monday, indeed it was not, mes amis . However, your cybertrix found herself with a sketchy internet connection inside the Izod Arena (renamed twice now, a terrible disservice to the memory of the governorship of one Brendan Byrne). When did Izod rule Jersey? I thought we were more a "Members Only" sort of crew. So, please accept the apology for the lack of original material for today on AddieStan, but do take a look at your blogstress's offerings on TAPPED: DE NIRO SENT TO MEADOWLANDS TO WHACK HILLARY WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN

If you've been living in a cave, or away from a computer or BlackBerry or some other tethering device, you may not know of this brilliant piece of music by Will.I.Am, which is based entirely around the oratory of one Barack Obama. It's breathtaking. But don't take my word for it. Check it out.