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I step away for a few days and look what happens: gas prices spike again (a Kaiser Foundation survey found that 44 percent of Americans are being increasingly hurt by this); it was bloodiest month for American troops in Iraq since last September; Congress can't pass a new GI Bill for the soldiers doing the fighting and dying in George Bush's war; and consumer confidence takes another dive (no doubt encouraged by another drop in home values) and the campaign headlines are focused mostly on...
...Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

I know, I know: we are watching the political theatre of the absurd and Rev. Wright emerged from a publicity-free hiatus to show himself to be slightly crazy like a fox, tremendously self-centered and more comical (and less threatening) with every appearance. I mean what relatively well-balanced and rational person can be scared by what Wright says -- especially when compared to John McCain's equally comical spiritual advisor John Hagee who is a passionate advocate of Israel for the sake not of Israel itself or the Jews who live there but to hasten the coming battle of Armageddon (though a strong case could be made for his penetrating diagnosis that Hurricane Katrina was caused by...gay pride parades.)

But we must bow thoughtlessly to the willy nilly media oracles who are spooked by the manufactured (right-wing created) issue of Barack Obama's patriotism or some vague notion of anti-Americanism (My god, as a child he lived in Indonesia!). Even Salon has taken the bait and formed a virtual panel to figure out what Obama has "to do" with Rev. Wright.

My solution: The Obama folks should turn this into an inspiring musical beginning with a rousing chorus (a la "The Sound of Music") of "How do you solve a problem like Jeremiah?" (UPDATE: After a town hall meeting today in North Carolina, Obama had this to say to reporters: “I’m outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday,” Obama said, according to the AP. “I find these comments appalling. It contradicts everything that I’m about and who I am.”)

Hillary's latest dream ad
Hillary Clinton has a new ad on the air in Indiana, seven days before the latest all-important primary showdown.
Titled "Dreams" and in her own voice, Clinton Hillary says:
My father served in the Navy and ran a small business. My mother taught Sunday school and took care of us. I come from Park Ridge, Illinois benefiting from all their hard work and sacrifice. I carry with me not just their dreams but the dreams of people like them all across our country, people who embrace hard work and opportunity who never waiver in the face of adversity, who never stop believing in the promise of America.
It's a promise I intend to keep.
I'm Hillary Clinton and I approved this message.
You can see the photo album dream here.

On the superdelegate front, Clinton offically added two-term North Carolina Governor Mike Easley who said “I am supporting Hillary Clinton because she has a passion for improving the lives of all Americans. She will be a president who stands up for people across North Carolina – and this country – every day in the White House,” said Governor Easley. “I know she will get to work immediately making education and the economy her top priorities for our nation. She is ready to lead our country and has the ability to deliver.”

Obama's 'gas holiday' slapdown
In a speech in Winston-Salem, N.C. today, Obama offered his take on the federal gas tax 'holiday' pander offered by Clinton and GOP sometimes straight talker John McCain:
One of the things folks are struggling most with in this economy is the price of gas. Right here in North Carolina, a gallon of gas has never cost more than it does right now. So at the same time you’re trying to figure out how to pay your insurance premiums, and your kids’ tuition, and your mortgage, you’re also wondering how it is you’ll pay seventy, or eighty, or one hundred dollars to fill up your tank once a week. I actually met a man the other week who lost his job, but couldn’t afford to drive around and look for a new one because the price of gas is so high.

Well let me tell you – this isn’t an idea designed to get you through the summer, it’s designed to get them through an election. The easiest thing in the world for a politician to do is to tell you exactly what you want to hear. But if we want to finally solve the challenges we’re facing right now, we need to tell the American people what they need to hear. We need to tell the truth.

On the superdelegate front, Obama added two more on Tuesday -- Iowa farmer Richard Machaceck and Kentucky congressman Ben Chandler. According to Obama campaign calculations Obama is "now 288 delegates away from winning the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination."

Shaheen's 'smart' national security approach
In a speech on national security yesterday at Saint Anselm College, Democratic U.s. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen called for smarts, toughness and less partisanship -- along with a desire to figure out who and what our greatest threats are (hint: they aren't in that growing graveyard of ambitions called Iraq). here's an excerpt (you can read and watch the whole speech here.
"We need new leadership in Washington that understands national security is not about politics. National security cannot be about politics. When it comes to national security, we must put aside partisan differences," said the former New Hampshire governor. "Today, I’ve outlined some of our most daunting national security challenges: we need to redeploy our troops from Iraq’s civil war and ask the Iraqi government to step up, both militarily and financially; we need to refocus our efforts on defeating al Qaeda and other terrorist cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan; we need to strengthen our military to respond to new threats around the world; we need to support a new energy policy that will break our dangerous addiction to foreign oil; and we need to rebuild our international alliances by leading with our values once again."
The NHGOP was not so impressed. They immediately sent out a press release that noted what I might call the Hillary trap.
SHAHEEN’S SMOKESCREEN
Earlier today Jeanne Shaheen made what her campaign billed as a major policy address on national security. However, no amount of rhetoric can mask her blatant, politically motivated 180-degree turnaround on the war in Iraq.
“To succeed in the ongoing struggle against organized terrorism, we need experienced leaders in Washington with principles and vision,” said Mike Moffett of Concord, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.
“John Sununu has shown that he is a steadfast senator whose commitment to our national defense is strong and unwavering. This is in sharp contrast to Jeanne Shaheen, with her reputation for expediency and for following the political winds. Her equivocation doesn’t inspire confidence and doesn’t represent the kind of leadership our servicemen and women expect and deserve.”
“While Shaheen seeks to distance herself from her own earlier positions on the Iraq conflict, John Sununu is consistently working to make sure our men and women fighting the war on terror have the tools necessary for victory.”

Gotta like that continuing sleight of hand that changes the conversation: Iraq isn't really Iraq -- it's really the "war on terror."