The Hollywood Liberal

Hey HL here, how you all doing? This is the guy that should be the nominee. I voted for him in the primary, why didn’t you?

Just like the one the Republicans had in New York in 2004…

How Biden Got the Nod
The Wall Street Journal has the must-read piece of the day on how Sen. Joe Biden lobbied to become Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate.

“When the Obama campaign’s vice-presidential vetters sought financial statements, political speeches and medical records, Sen. Biden’s team turned the grueling task into an opportunity to sell their man”

Kennedy Will Appear at Convention
“In a moment that is sure to bring down the house,” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) “is expected to attend the Democratic National Convention, most likely to deliver a speech tonight,” according to the Boston Globe.

“Buzz has built among Massachusetts politicos that Kennedy would come, and yesterday a Bay State Democrat close to the family confirmed that Kennedy has decided to travel to Denver, probably for an opening-night address.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirms to Time his uncle is in Denver and will at least make an appearance at the convention.

And Ben Smith confirms Kennedy will speak to the delegates.

Bobby Kennedy Jr. Talks about Media
Christy asks Bobby Kennedy Jr. about the problems with the media.

Christy and I managed to get a few minutes to talk to Bobby Kennedy Jr. Here’s his answer to Christy’s question about the media.

Sorry about the audio–we were in a hallway!

End
No more foreign presence.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Prime Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday that an agreement had been reached in negotiations on a security pact with the United States to end any foreign military presence in Iraq by the end of 2011.

“There is an agreement actually reached, reached between the two parties on a fixed date which is the end of 2011 to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil,” Maliki said in a speech to tribal leaders in the Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

Growing Industry Helps Moms Relaunch Careers
Women reentering the workforce after taking time off to care for their families are getting help from career counselors and staffing firms.

Adversity and Reckoning
The Springfield prologue to the Obama-Biden show has the beat. I hear a particular note, a leitmotif. Obama: “overcome the adversity of the last eight years.” Biden: “The next president of the United States is going to be delivered into…

Obama Camp Responds to Spakovsky’s Hiring at Civil Rights Commission
The Obama camp has issued a statement calling the hiring of voter suppression guru Hans von Spakovsky at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which we first reported yesterday, “unbelievable.” From Obama spokesman Michael Ortiz: “Given Hans Von Spakovsky’s controversial…

Saudi child ‘files for divorce’
A court in Saudi Arabia is reported to be preparing to hear a plea for divorce from an eight-year-old girl who has been married off to a man in his 50s. The Saudi newspaper al-Watan said the girl had been married off to the man by her father without her knowledge.

ThinkFast: August 25, 2008
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will speak during tonight’s opening of the Democratic National Convention, NBC reports. A convention tribute to the senator “will include a film by documentary producer Ken Burns, along with remarks from Caroline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy’s daughter.” “Tax and accounting loopholes that largely benefit rich taxpayers and companies cost the U.S. […]

“Tax and accounting loopholes that largely benefit rich taxpayers and companies cost the U.S. government $20 billion a year even as the pay gap between chief executives and employees has widened,” according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies and the group United for a Fair Economy.

“Americans who lack health insurance will spend about $30 billion out of pocket on medical care this year, according to a new report from George Mason University and The Urban Institute. At the same time, “others — mainly the government — will end up covering another $56 billion in costs.”

The Financial Times writes that McCain’s inability to recall the number of homes he owns “makes the choice of Romney more risky.” Taunts could be leveled against “Mr Romney, who owns a mansion with tennis courts in Massachusetts, a lakeside house in New Hampshire and a cabin in Deer Valley, a posh Utah ski resort.”

On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at a fundraiser in Sacramento. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be in Davenport, IA for a townhall event. Tonight’s Democratic convention schedule features remarks by former Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Obama’s sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, and Obama’s wife Michelle, among many others. (more…)