EVENING UPDATE,  JANUARY 31,  2008

•   Gallup reports rising support for both John McCain and Barack Obama.  The rise for Obama is especially strong, with Clinton showing only a four-point lead nationally.  There's a Democratic debate tonight which could have a crucial impact on Super Tuesday, now only five days away.

The momentum is with Obama.  He's raising wads of money - those guilt-ridden liberals like to write checks to cleanse their souls after knifing each other in the back in business - and he now has the Kennedys behind him.  What's more, as noted in this space earlier, the Democratic leaders know that their party can exist without the Clintons, but can't exist without the black vote.

At the same time, don't minimize Hillary.  Among other things, mostly negative, she's a fighter, and there could be a backlash against a certain smugness in the Obama campaign.  And remember, she's still ahead, not behind. 

By the way, if I were Hillary tonight, I'd make use of a fact that slipped right by in the reporting of Ted Kennedy's blessing of Barack Obama.  It's traditional for a major figure to call both candidates before announcing an endorsement.  Well, Teddy certainly called Barack.  But, according to reports, he called Bill Clinton, not Hillary Clinton.  Hillary is the candidate.  This is something she can use without seeming the complaining feminist, and it's something with which women will identify, and rightly so.  She can also diminish the Kennedy endorsement.  In the debate tonight she can say:

You know, Senator Obama, I noticed something in Ted Kennedy's endorsement of your candidacy, for which I congratulate you.  When Ted called to inform us of his endorsement, he called my husband, he didn't call me.  I'm the candidate, Senator.  I'm running for president of the United States.  My husband is retired.  I think I speak for many women when I say bluntly that this was an inappropriate snub, and is unacceptable in this age.  It reflects, I'm sorry to say, a certain attitude toward women that the Kennedy men have shown over the years, and it doesn't reflect well.  We will not be marginalized or trivialized.  I wish you'd pass this on to Ted.  Frankly, you should have already told him, but apparently you haven't.  He needs the message.

Believe me, that will work.  It will show spine, and, at the same time, remind voters that the Kennedy legacy involving women is not a badge of honor. 

Now, I stress, I'm basing the above on news reports that Kennedy called only Bill Clinton.  If he did in fact call Hillary, my advice is moot.  But it sure is fun.

•   Regarding the Kennedys, some writers are raising questions about the comparison - ridiculous, in my view - between John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama.  Cybercast News Service quoted an Investor's Business Daily column on the subject:

On Monday, the conservative editorial page of Investor's Business Daily was quick to point out the contrasts, with a variation of a line made famous in the 1988 presidential race.

"We knew John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama is no JFK," the editorial said.

Reminding its readers that Kennedy blockaded Cuba and demanded the Soviet Union withdraw its nuclear missiles from Cuba, the paper also referenced President Kennedy's inaugural address: "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, and oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty."

The paper then contrasted JKF's comment with Obama's belief that "it's a disgrace we haven't talked to" the leaders of state sponsors of terrorism such as North Korea, Syria and Iran.

Expect more analyses like that should Obama get the nomination.  Republicans will pounce, and should.  I worked in the 1960 campaign, and saw JFK many times.  I was in the hall on November 4, 1960, when he proposed the Peace Corps.  Kennedy had his own set of defects, but was a giant compared to Obama, who doesn't seem to know the difference between a sermon and a policy address.

•   On the GOP side, Daniel Henninger of The Wall Street Journal analyzes the appeal of John McCain in a perceptive column.  I am aware of objections to McCain, and share some of them, but he will probably be the nominee.  What I get from Henninger is that he can give Barack Obama quite a run in the inspiration business.  The key quote:

When Mr. McCain took the stage in Sun City, the applause was polite. When he finished, he got a standing ovation. He has been at this game a long time, and his ability to sense and ride the emotional flow of an audience is astonishing.

And this:

Retail politics still matter, and in an era of terror, war and loss of national self-esteem, John McCain is a retail politics powerhouse.

Right.  Advice to McCain:  Don't surrender the youth vote to Obama.  Young people may not listen to their parents, but they listen to their grandparents.  You're granddad, and they will listen to you. 

•   And now for a bit of contrast:  The powers that be in Berkeley have told the Marines to get out of town.  They want the Marine recruiting station closed.  It apparently offends their sensibilities and their commitment to peace, justice and Marxism throughout the world.  Here is the brilliance:

Hey-hey, ho-ho, the Marines in Berkeley have got to go.

That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 6-3 Tuesday night to tell the U.S. Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

In addition, the council voted to explore enforcing its law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against the Marines because of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. And it officially encouraged the women's peace group Code Pink to impede the work of the Marines in the city by protesting in front of the station. 

Well, I don't know how the United States Marine Corps can possibly battle that.  I mean, what did the Japanese defenders on Mount Suribachi have that the Berkeley City Council doesn't? 

Oh, I checked.  I could find no resolution from Berkeley condemning Osama bin Laden's attitude toward women.  I'm sure the Solons of the town would consider such a resolution an offense against another culture, and an oppressed culture at that.

I'd love to know how much Federal aid Berkeley gets each year, and what it would take for Congress to cut it off. 

•   Along the same loopy lines, George Clooney is now a player in international diplomacy.  This is what it's come to.  Clooney was recently named something called a Messenger of Peace by the UN.  I guess you get a pin and a membership card.  He visited UN headquarters to argue for peace in Darfur:

OSCAR-WINNING actor George Clooney today appealed to Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir to allow the full UN-African Union peacekeeping force into strife-torn Darfur.

"These peacekeepers are not an occupying force, they are not there to spread democracy or infringe on religious belief," he said on his first visit to UN headquarters since UN chief Ban Ki-moon appointed him Messenger of Peace earlier this month.

Gee, I'm glad to be reassured that the UN isn't trying to spread democracy. 

By the way, how many years has this conflict been going on?  Is George Clooney the answer?  A quote further down in the story:

"I am proud to be here as a messenger of peace," said the Hollywood heartthrob, who earlier was mobbed on his arrival by dozens of excited female UN employees.

Well, that's progress.  At least they don't see him as a spy for the arrogant American imperialists and their Zionist lackey friends.

•   As a service to George Clooney, we present here a list of the ten most dangerous travel locations in the world, as compiled by Forbes.com.   The story is reported by Reuters, which informs us that "the list is not endorsed by Reuters."  Don't want to see those foreign bureaus go up in smoke.  The story also tells us:

People are opting for more unforgettable holidays but some countries can be risky even for the most adventurous travelers.

If I hadn't read it, I never would have known.

•   Finally, to show our continuing concern for our readers, we have the answer to a question that has been on all your minds since childhood.  It is profound, it has mystified scholars.  Why, pray, does scratching bring relief?  Researchers have actually looked into this.  You know, it could change your life.

Be back tomorrow. 

Posted at 6:38 p.m., January 31, 2008.