Long Democratic Race Coming to Rapid Climax

AP: Obama clinches nomination. "Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, becoming the first black candidate to lead a major party into a campaign for the White House. Vanquished rival Hillary Rodham Clinton swiftly signaled an interest in joining the ticket as running mate. Obama arranged a victory celebration at the site of this summer's Republican National Convention — an in-your-face gesture to Sen. John McCain, who will be his opponent in the race to become the nation's 44th president."

Clinton said to be open to VP slot. " Rep. Charles Rangel, a senior member of the New York Democratic delegation, also told CNN, 'I have reason to believe she is open to the [vice president] slot.' One of the sources added that former President Clinton has been privately pushing for a couple of weeks for his wife to be No. 2 on the ticket."

Jimmy Carter to endorse Obama after polls close. Carter: "I'm a superdelegate. I think a lot of the superdelegates will make a decision quite, announced quite rapidly, after the final primary on June 3...I have not yet announced publicly, but I think at that point it will be time for her to give it up."

Earlier: Clinton campaign denies report she will concede tonight...

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #286

JIMMY CARTER: A clip of last night's appearance on Tavis Smiley's PBS show.

MCCAIN'S OTHER PASTOR: John McCain has another pastor problem — Rod Parsley.

OBAMA GIRL: Mike Gravel tries to get in on the action.

MONICA CONYERS: Wife of congressman John Conyers and President Pro-Tem of the Detroit City Council gets owned by a 4th grader over calling the Council President "Shrek".

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Carter Calls His Criticism of Bush Administration "Careless"

Jimmy Carter sharply criticized the Bush administration in an interview published over the weekend in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, calling the Bush administration "the worst in history":

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history. The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me...We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered. But that's been a radical departure from all previous administration policies....The policy from the White House has been to allocate funds to religious institutions, even those that channel those funds exclusively to their own particular group of believers in a particular religion. As a traditional Baptist, I've always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one."

The White House responded on Sunday, as spokesman Tony Fratto replied, "I think it's sad that President Carter's reckless personal criticism is out there. I think it's unfortunate. And I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments."

This morning, on the Today show, Carter backtracked on the comments, saying he was answering a question comparing the Bush administration's foreign policy to Richard Nixon's:

"They were maybe careless or misinterpreted. [I] certainly was not talking personally about any president. I think they were [careless], yes, because they were interpreted as comparing this whole administration to all other administrations." (video)

Careless or not, I'm sure Carter could find plenty of people to agree with him.

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Former President Jimmy Carter: Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Noting that over 25 nations have ended bans on gays in the military, former President Jimmy Carter has released a statement to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network calling on legislators to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly.

Said Carter: “It is my long-held belief that every human being deserves dignity and respect. I often heard that phrase during my years at the United States Naval Academy, I carried it out as Commander-in-Chief, and it continues to animate my human rights work around the globe today. The nation’s commitment to human rights requires that lawmakers revisit ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ the current policy that prevents lesbians, gays and bisexual from serving openly in our armed forces...'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’' is the only law in America today that regulates a group of citizens then prohibits them from identifying themselves and speaking up on their own behalf. Gay soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are unable to tell their Member of Congress or their commander that the policy is an abject failure and they are living proof because they will face discharge. Those who defend our liberties and freedoms deserve better.”

Download a PDF of Carter's statement here.

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Former President Gerald Ford is Dead at 93

Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States and the only president to have never been elected, has died at 93. He will most likely be remembered for reuniting a country ravaged by the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam war.

Sworn in just minutes after Richard Nixon was airlifted into exile, Ford told the country, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule."

Ford's later pardon of Nixon is widely thought to have cost him the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter.

Said Ford: "The political lesson of Watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant, elite guard of political adolescents to by-pass the regular party organization and dictate the terms of a national election."

Ford was also the first unelected vice president, chosen by the man he would replace after Spiro Agnew left office in disgrace over tax evasion and money laundering.

Allow me to digress for a moment, for although this might be a footnote in his general biography, it should certainly be of interest to readers here.

Ford might have died on September 22, 1975, when an attempt was made on his life by Sara Jane Moore outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, less than three weeks after a similar assassination attempt was made by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in Sacramento.

This time Ford's life was saved by Oliver Sipple (see photo), a former Marine who lunged at Moore, deflecting the intended bullet. Sipple was instantly commended but the incident inspired curiosity about the former soldier and it was revealed by Harvey Milk that he was a gay man, a fact that was not known by either his employer or his family. The resulting attention (Harvey Milk, who wanted to show that gay men were not all child molesters and perverts, anointed him a gay hero, inspiring a widely-syndicated write-up from noted columnist Herb Caen) freaked his mother enough to cause her to disown him. At the time Sipple pleaded with reporters: "I want you to know that my mother told me today she can't walk out of her front door because of the press stories...My sexual orientation has nothing to do with saving the President's life."

Sipple battled the "outing" in court for the next nine years, a battle that was never won. It may have cost the man his sanity. Sipple was found in his San Francisco apartment in February 1989 next to a bottle of booze. Alcoholic and obese, he had been dead for two weeks.

Gerald Ford did not attend the funeral and instead sent family and friends a letter of condolence. He was criticized by some who said that were Sipple heterosexual he would have been treated differently. Ford told journalist Deb Price in a 2001 interview: "As far as I was concerned, I had done the right thing and the matter was ended. I didn't learn until sometime later — I can't remember when — he was gay. I don't know where anyone got the crazy idea I was prejudiced and wanted to exclude gays."

ADDENDUM: A reader sent in this snippet, clipped from another Deb Price column on Ford, written five years ago:

"Former President Gerald Ford believes the federal government should treat gay couples the same as married couples, including providing equal Social Security and tax benefits. Ford's views, expressed in an exclusive telephone interview, make him the highest-ranking Republican ever to endorse equal treatment for gay couples. 'I think they ought to be treated equally. Period, Ford declared. Asked specifically whether gay couples should get the same Social Security, tax and other federal benefits as married couples, he replied, I don't see why they shouldn't. I think that's a proper goal.' Now 88, Ford was a longtime Michigan congressman and Republican leader of the U.S. House before being appointed vice president and then rising to the presidency in 1974 after Richard Nixon's resignation. From his office in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Ford comfortably discussed a range of gay issues. He said he supports federal legislation to outlaw anti-gay job discrimination: 'That is a step in the right direction. I have a longstanding record in favor of legislation to do away with discrimination.'"

Ford was only in office for 895 days, but lived longer than any U.S. president. His wife, Betty, issued a brief statement from their home in California: ''My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country.''

Former President Ford Dies at 93 [nyt]
Former President Gerald Ford dies [ap]

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Brad Pitt: Wearer of Many Hats

When he's not standing under rain machines posing for unauthorized Vanity Fair covers, Brad Pitt can be found in India helping former President Jimmy Carter build houses with Habitat for Humanity. Such a renaissance man. And the hottest construction worker we've seen since the New York modeling contingent made its trip to New Orleans.

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