I’d prefer for this mess to drag on but Russert is probably right. It certainly is looking pretty hopeless for Hillary:

Late Tuesday, Clinton canceled her morning talk show appearances for today. She was expected to meet with superdelegates – top Democratic officials who can vote for whomever they want at the convention.

George Stephanopoulos and others are weighing in with the same verdict:

“This nomination fight is over,” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said on “Good Morning America” Wednesday. “More superdelegates will come out today for Barack Obama –they will come three, four, five at a time, and this nomination will be locked up. . . . People close to her say that she’s more likely to stay in if she feels cornered in by the party leaders.”

Thomas Barnett from this year’s TED:

In this bracingly honest and funny talk, international security strategist Thomas P.M. Barnett outlines a post-Cold War solution for the foundering US military: Break it in two. He suggests the military re-form into two groups: a Leviathan force, a small group of young and fierce soldiers capable of swift and immediate victories; and an internationally supported network of System Administrators, an older, wiser, more diverse organization that actually has the diplomacy and power it takes to build and maintain peace.

That seems to be the case if these updates from Tonykatz on Twitter are accurate. The latest status on USAIR flight 66 seems to show a departure delay:

Flight # 66
Depart Los Angeles, CA
Date 4/8/2008
Gate 10
Scheduled 9:10 PM
Actual 9:45 PM
Status Estimated Departure

Arrive Las Vegas, NV
Date 4/8/2008
Gate A22
Scheduled 10:17 PM
Actual 10:50 PM
Status Estimated Arrival

Update:
Tony Katz has more to say about this event on his blog and via audio on Utterz.

I’m just posting this because I know that you can’t get enough of the McCain girls. What’s that? You’ve already had too much? Sorry, I’m posting it anyway.

This is not good:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that her passport file was breached in 2007.

In a statement from her Senate office, Clinton said she had been contacted by Rice. The State Department plans to brief Clinton’s staff Friday about the unauthorized breach.

The development came just hours after the State Department fired two contract employees and disciplined a third for inappropriately examining the passport file of Clinton’s Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama.

It’s still quite possible (I’d like to think likely) that we’re dealing with “imprudent curiosity” here. However, it will get more difficult to stick with that story if news of additional cross-party breaches does not follow.

Update:
McCain’s file was breached as well. I bet he’s actually relieved:

The passport files of presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, a Republican, were improperly accessed by State Department workers, a U.S. official said on Friday.

Let’s see if this one lands with the usual, low impact, thud:

“SITE Intelligence Group has learned that a new message is forthcoming from the head of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, entitled: ‘The Response Will Be What You See, Not What You Hear’,” SITE said.

The announcement of the upcoming message was posted today by the administrator of al-Ekhlaas, a password-protected al-Qaeda-affiliated internet forum, SITE said.

I have no clue what’s up with the title. Maybe it’s to cover for the fact that he’s dead, can’t talk, and some young jihadist will be hiding behind the body waving its arms around Weekend at Bernie’s style while the music wails.

Tibet’s leader in exile, the Dalai Lama, has continues to point to the inevitable failure that all who rule by force must eventually face.

I am deeply concerned over the situation that has been developing in Tibet following peaceful protests in many parts of Tibet, including Lhasa, in recent days. These protests are a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people under the present governance.

As I have always said, unity and stability under brute force is at best a temporary solution. It is unrealistic to expect unity and stability under such a rule and would therefore not be conducive to finding a peaceful and lasting solution.

I therefore appeal to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence.

Their situation is nearly hopeless but many Tibetans seem willing to sacrifice themselves to draw attention to their plight and to show the world the brutality of the Chinese government.

The protests, sparked by the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising that sent Tibet’s Dalai Lama into exile, are the latest embarrassment to hit 2008 Olympic-host China, which has attracted international criticism over its human rights record.

Quoting the Tibetan government, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said 10 were killed in Lhasa Friday after police blocked a march by monks, sparking the violence.

“The victims are all innocent civilians, and they have been burnt to death,” an official with the regional government told Xinhua.

Tibetan exiles in India meanhwile cited unconfirmed reports that at least 100 people were killed and many more injured.

Video broadcast on China’s CCTV Saturday showed flames and black smoke rising the market, where hundreds of rioters used hands, feet and sledge hammers to break down doors and shatter windows.

One of the targets of their violence was a Bank of China branch. Protesters, including some monks dressed in red robes, could be seen overturning cars and throwing rocks to chase away other people. There was no sign of Chinese police in the video.

The protests in Tibet began Monday when hundreds of monks rallied on the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Beijing that forced the Dalai Lama into exile.

Police used gunfire and tear gas to quell the Lhasa protest, according to witnesses, human rights groups and Xinhua.

Demonstrators set fire to vehicles and shops. One source said late Friday that up to a third of the city may be on fire and that power lines had been cut.

Tibetan Uprising has more information, including photos.

She wants fame - she just got it. The NYT broke the story and surfaced her Myspace page. Don’t pass up the relationship advice in her most recent blog entry:

The past few months have been a roller coaster with so called friends, lovers, and family…but its something you have to deal with and confront in order to move on…

I stepped away from each situation that happened and asked myself…

1) What is this person doing to make my life better? (financial, intel, drive, networking etc.)

2) How does this person make me feel? (happy, sad, motivated, depressed, constantly doubting, drama, etc.)

3) How is this person a positive influence in my life? (do they share the same interests, same dreams, does that person make me better when i am with them, or when they are in my life…i would be the same person if they werent in my life, but its just better with them in it…is my best interest always number one in their head AND heart, etc.)

from all this, i mean…

*Does that person make you feel good?

*Does that person drive you to be better?

*Is that person right there behind you when things arent that good, or even if they are??

*Will that person be an asset to your life…(will that person have value): doesn’t have to be financial, i am talking respect, courage, and umm RESPECT.

Oh, and does that person have $4300 in cash? Can’t forget that one.

Jim Ogonowski does the viral/web thing right with his clever, low-budget, everyman approach. I don’t know if it will be enough to challenge Kerry but Ogonowski has a few other things going for him:

For the past 28 years, Jim Ogonowski served in the Air Force and Air National Guard. When the Air Force transferred its Tanker Task Force Mission, a global air refueling mission, to the Air National Guard in 1995, Jim readily accepted the leadership role as the Commander, responsible for planning, coordinating and executing the transatlantic movement of Air Combat Command fighter aircraft into and out of all of Southwest Asia and Europe. This role became increasingly mission-critical during operations following September 11, 2001.

Through Jim’s leadership, the office became the role model of the air command’s rapid response team. His outstanding performance led to his promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2000, as he deployed to virtually every corner of the globe during peacetime and war. In 2005, Jim was one of the organizers of the largest airlift in New Hampshire National Guard history, deploying 1,000 soldiers and airmen to provide relief during Hurricane Katrina. Upon his retirement, Jim was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding service to his country, marking the third time he received this prestigious award.

Service to country has been an Ogonowski family tradition. Jim’s two grandfathers were in the military. All his uncles, his father, brother and sister all served in the service. Jim’s son Charlie, a junior at UMASS – Lowell, is in ROTC and he too will one day be a military officer.

Jim Ogonowski believes that Washington has become too big, too corrupt and too partisan. Washington is broken and that the time has come to end the partisanship that is hurting our nation. Jim wants to return the government to the people. It is time we send someone to Washington who will stand up to the Washington insiders and special interests. Jim Ogonowski wants to go Washington to work with BOTH Republicans and Democrats to fix the mess, bring new ideas to the table, and make helping Massachusetts his top priority.

Jim has two children, Charlie and Catherine, and lives in Dracut, Massachusetts with his wife Kathy.

I should also add:

1. He’s not John Kerry (big plus)
2. He looks sort of like William Shatner
3. He has a sense of humor (This is really #1a)
4. He’s a Republican
5. After his brother, pilot John Ogonowski, was killed on 9/11 Jim worked his farm and helped the family save it.

There’s more at JimOgonowski.com. Send him a few bucks while you’re there. He’ll need a ton of money to challenge Kerry.

(H/T: TechRepublican.com)