Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH or is that D’OH?) has dropped out of the running for the White House in order to defend his seat against four challengers in the March 4^th Dem primary. For some unfathomable reason, the presidential hopeful’s quixotic (by which The Stiletto means “doomed”) campaign just did not resonate with moonbats the way putative Republican Ron Paul’s equally quixotic campaign resonated with ronbats (second item). Reports CQ Politics:

Kucinich was … 0 percent in Iowa’s caucuses, 1 percent in New Hampshire’s primary on Jan. 8, and 0 percent in Nevada’s caucuses on Jan. 19. An average of surveys in South Carolina indicated Kucinich would garner between 0 and 1 percent of support in the state, which holds it primary on Saturday.

With these numbers, it doesn’t much matter whether Kucinich endorses Hillary Clinton (D-NY) or Barack Obama (D-IL), seeing as he has no convention delegates and no political suasion. But in debate after debate (at least, those in which he was allowed to participate), he held Hillary’s feet to the fire about her Iraq War vote (third item), so he’s not likely to lift a finger to help her win the nomination.

Kerry’s Showboating Over Swiftboating

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) still hasn’t moved on, and remains fixated about the legitimate questions raised about his four-month tour of duty at the helm of a Navy patrol-boat in Vietnam by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential race. He has since leaped to the defense of any fellow Dem who he thinks is being “swiftboated,” including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA), her colleague Rep. John Murtha (PA) and now, presidential candidate Barack Obama (IL).

Reports The Boston Globe:

Kerry's latest mission: taking on what he calls the "disgusting lies" on the Internet and in the right-wing media questioning Obama's patriotism and faith. Kerry, who recently endorsed Obama, vowed yesterday to use his unique experience to defend the Democrats from the same kind of "swift boating" tactics that Republican operatives used to help sink his presidential campaign. …

A chain e-mail falsely reports that Obama is a Muslim who was indoctrinated as a youth in a radical Islamist academy when his family lived in Indonesia. It also incorrectly alleges he was sworn in as a senator using a Koran and is anti-American for refusing to put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. …

Though the rumors have repeatedly been debunked, the e-mail that spread them has reportedly shown up recently on a Republican Party website and has been widely distributed in South Carolina, where Democrats vote in a primary Saturday.

“Reportedly” is a weasel word that means the reporter either didn’t want to contradict Kerry’s unfounded assertion that Republicans are swiftboating Obama or was too lazy to substantiate the claim that the anonymous e-mail has been posted on a Republican Web site. To be sure, GOP pundits and strategists, such as Karl Rove and Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, are already giving thought to how to beat Obama, should he be his party’s nominee, but to date no Republican campaign has gone after Obama.

It wasn’t a Republican who slammed Obama for his association with a slumlord. It wasn’t a Republican who suggested Obama “doesn’t take responsibility” (is that code talk for “shiftless”???) It wasn’t a Republican who suggested Republicans would insinuate that Obama was a drug user and dealer in his misspent youth. In fact, many Republicans and conservatives have gone on record stating that they find Obama’s candidacy inspiring.

So Kerry should be directing his outrage towards Bill and Hillary Clinton, and their surrogates.

My Celeb Can Kick Your Celeb’s Ass

Much has been made of martial arts master/movie star Chuck Norris hitting the campaign trail (and anything else he wants to hit) for Mike Huckabee (R-AR). Now, in a form of testosterone-fueled one-upmanship, John McCain (R-AZ) has Sly Stallone watching his back.

Forget primaries and stump speeches. The Stiletto wants to see Chuck and Sly go mano-a-mano for their respective candidates to find out once and for all whether flying fists and feet can defeat fearsome firepower. The winner gets to find out how tough Oprah really is.

Did You Know LA Holds A Caucus And A Primary?

You think it’s hard to understand Cajun? Try understanding how LA’s 105 Republican convention delegates are chosen (a caucus was held Tuesday, January 22^nd; the primary is on Saturday, February 9^th). The final caucus tally was still in dispute as of this writing – this is LA, after all – but it appears that most voters picked a pro-life uncommitted slate, with John McCain getting the second highest number of delegate candidates, followed by Ron Paul and Mitt Romney a distant fourth.  Do you care? Neither does The Stiletto.

The Stiletto Scoops Talking Points Memo

[T]here’s only one rational response to being accused of playing the race card: Hillary should cry her eyes out. After all, this is Dem politics and historical victimhood is the ace that both she and Obama have up their sleeves – and that’s the card she needs to play. 

- Protected Class Warfare, The Stiletto Blog, January 14, 2008

One of the central struggles between the Obama and Hillary campaigns right now is this: Which of the two can successfully persuade voters that he or she is the fair-fighter being victimized by the other's out-of-control aggression? … Big Dog's entry, whatever its upsides, has made it far easier for Obama to carve out the role of victim for himself.

- Obama Winning Spin War Over Who's Victim In Campaign, Talking Points Memo, January 24, 2008