Andrew Delbanco, the distinguished critic and biographer of Melville, gives Barack Obama two thumbs up in The New Republic (www.tnr.com), explicitly allowing his favorable literary judgment on Mr. Obama’s two books to shade into a political endorsement ("this man—to my ear, at least—is the real deal"). It’s a strange, leapfrogging idea, to think that a politician’s prose opens a window into his heart. "It is hard for any writer," says Mr. Delbanco, "no matter how selective his memory or guarded his words, to conceal himself in his writing. I suspect (I’ve never met him) that the weaknesses and strengths of Obama’s writing reflect those of his character—a virtuosity that tempts him to be pleased with himself and impatient with others, but also an awareness of human complexity.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion will host Barack Obama and John McCain at a national conference of Latino elected officials meeting in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 28.

Some Democratic officials, like Representative Nydia Velazquez, have said Obama has a problem connecting with Latino voters, and argued McCain's immigration policy is viewed so positively among Latinos that some may decide to vote Republican.

In a public statement, Carrion, who is president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said, "Latino voters are going to play a decisive role in the general election and the community is ready to hear both candidates make their case."

Also attending the four-day event are Bill Richardson, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

A Kos commenter notices that Ted Kennedy, among other leading Democrats, is denounced in strong terms in this post from a Clinton supporter on Hillary Clinton’s campaign web site.

The notice, posted earlier in the month for a demonstration at D.N.C. headquarters when the Rules and Bylaws Committee meets over the fate of the Florida and Michigan delegates, includes this line:  read more »

As reported, Hillary Clinton is calling for George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer.

Nancy Pelosi, who has taken an active role in the fight over remaining uncommitted superdelegates, made the same public demand earlier this month.

The statement just released by the Clinton campaign:  read more »

A reader sends over a letter, dated today, from some of Hillary Clinton’s top fund-raisers to Nancy Pelosi. They’re responding to Pelosi’s recent comments in an ABC News interview advocating the Obama campaign’s line on superdelegates, which is that superdelegates ought to follow the lead of the pledged delegates. (If they do, Obama wins.)

The fund-raisers note, in a passively menacing way, that they are “strong supporters” of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, before urging Pelosi to “clarify [her] position on superdelegates and reflect … a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August.”

The letter is signed by Marc Aronchick, Clarence Avant, Susie Tompkins Buell, Sim Farar, Robert Johnson, Chris Korge, Marc and Cathy Lasry, Hassan Nemazee, Alan and Susan Patricoff, JB Pritzker, Amy Rao, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Haim Saban, Bernard Schwartz, Stanley Shuman, Jay and Tracy Snyder and Maureen White and Steve Rattner.

UPDATE: The Obama campaign responds after the jump.  read more »

Whatever her official posture, Nancy Pelosi is not neutral in the Democratic primary.

Typically, for instance, someone who is neutral wouldn’t say that victory by one of the candidates would be “harmful.” That’s essentially how Pelosi, the supposedly impartial House Speaker, has characterized the prospective nomination of Hillary Clinton.

“If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what happens in the elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic Party,” Pelosi said in an interview for ABC’s “This Week” that was taped late last week.  read more »

Gullible voters keen to treat the onset of the 2008 primary season as a hale sign of life in the American democratic system had best avert their gaze from Capitol Hill this week. For as Congress winds down the year’s business with earmark-laden appropriations bills and unsightly cave-ins to Bush prerogative after Bush prerogative, the governing metaphor is not the campaign scene’s notorious horse race—something that, for all its by-the-numbers familiarity, at least connotes forward motion.  read more »

Last evening, as the writers' strike got into full swing and late-night talk shows halted production, one comedian found a venue for his work. Stephen Colbert was tapped to introduce House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Glamour's Women of the Year awards, where she received special recognition from the Conde Nast title. So for one night, the only people watching Mr. Colbert were in the packed Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. To read the text of Mr. Colbert's introduction--in which he displays a suspiciously comprehensive knowledge of current women's fashion--click through to the jump.  read more »

The last two times Democrats enjoyed untrammeled dominance in Washington, the consequences for the party were catastrophic. But there's hope if the fates align in 2008.  read more »

It can often to seem to rank-and-file Democrats as if the Republicans are still in charge of Congress: Nearly a year after their party picked up 31 House and six Senate seats, the war in Iraq still rages, with tens of thousands of more troops deployed now than then. This failure to force even a beginning to the end of the war accounts for the painfully poor poll standing of the Democratic-led Congress, with the party faithful even more restless and frustrated than independent voters.  read more »