Pun Salad

Barring surprises, we're left with our three November candidates:

• I'd like to say that Hillary went out on top, but in fact she slipped to 217,000 hits this week, which would have put her in second place. I know we're gonna miss her. At Wizbang!, Cassy Fiano notes the particular phoniness of her "exit" speech:

  First of all, let's be clear about everything here. Yes, Barack Obama is the nominee. However, Hillary didn't actually concede. I don't know what the point of that move is, as we all know that Obama's the nominee, but I guess she's hanging on to one tiny thread of hope that she might still get it.

  Well, we'll see.

• In probably the second-best news for Obama this week, he seems to be on the verge of losing his support from the incarcerated rap star demographic. Namely, Prodigy (half of the hip hop duo Mobb Depp):

  "I wanna like Obama, but he's all about the world government, world banking, war and stuff like that. You know what I'm sayin'? He's a phony," P told BallerStatus.com. "I wish nothing but love and happiness for him. But he's either gonna be assassinated to create chaos and bring about Martial Law or he'll live and then years down the line, at the end of his term everybody will see that he's just like the rest of these plastic Presidents, who does absolutely nothing good. Just another puppet for the Royal family."

  For those of us who find it difficult to keep up, the article helpfully points out that "Prodigy is currently serving a three and a half year prison term for a gun charge dating back to 2006." He expresses fondness for Ron Paul, but the "Royal family" comment might indicate that he's been spending some time with the Lyndon LaRouche gang at the pen.

• Over at Counterpunch, Tim Wise employs his vast knowledge of feminine psychology in an article headlined (and I am not making this up) "An Open Letter to Certain White Women Who Are Threatening to Withhold Support from Obama in November: Your Whiteness is Showing".

  Yes, Tim knows why Certain White Women ("You know who you are.") are shying away from Obama, and he'd like to tell them about it.

  If it were gender solidarity you sought, you would by definition join with your black and brown sisters come November, and do what you know good and well they are going to do, in overwhelming numbers, which is vote for Barack Obama. But no. You are threatening to vote not like other women--you know, the ones who aren't white like you and most of your friends--but rather, like white men! Needless to say it is high irony, bordering on the outright farcical, to believe that electorally bonding with white men, so as to elect McCain, is a rational strategy for promoting feminism and challenging patriarchy. You are not thinking and acting as women, but as white people. So here's the first question: What the hell is that about?

  And you wonder why women of color have, for so long, thought (by and large) that white so-called feminists were phony as hell? Sister please...

  Calling people racist phonies is … an interesting strategy to get them to vote for your guy. Who knows, I suppose it could work.