Barack Obama stopped by the Capitol today to vote for the reconditioned FISA bill.  Regardless of his explanation and the defense he offered for his vote to give the telecoms immunity from prosecution, it was a sad day for those of us who still believe in civil liberties.

Only 28 senators voted against the FISA bill that passed the Senate today.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who was Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, voted against the bill.

Senator Dodd fought a valiant fight right down to the end.  And, if I may interject one single thought, it is that among the Democrats in Congress Chris Dodd has been one among the few who have continually fought for citizen rights.  Senator Patrick Leahy commented that the passing of the FISA bill slammed the courthouse door on American citizens.

There were some powerful comments before the final vote, including a final attempt to urge the Democrats to stand their ground.

“I urge my colleagues to stand up for the rule of law and defeat this bill,” Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said in closing arguments.

The battle had dragged on for months and when it seemed that the Democrats had reached their stride in Congress, once again they failed us.

The arrogance of the Republicans showed in the following comment:

But Senator Christopher S. Bond, the Missouri Republican who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said there was nothing to fear in the bill “unless you have Al Qaeda on your speed dial.”

My personal opinion is that Christopher Bond made the dumbest comment of the day.  The FISA bill is not limited to Al Qaeda surveillance.  For Senator Bond to provide us with so smug a comment is ridiculous.  We all know that given an inch the White House will take a mile and more if possible.  Unfortunately, that does not only apply to the Bush White House.  We have seen it happen time and again.

While Barack Obama offered his opinion on the FISA vote to his constituents and likely voters, I am still uncomfortable that he didn’t join the 28 who stood up for the rights of the American citizens.

However, John McCain didn’t find the vote sufficiently important to return to Washington to cast his vote for it.  Perhaps, his vote was not necessary, since the overwhelming majority voted to support it.  He had said he would vote for the bill if present, but he wasn’t present.  That says something.

Perhaps we should all check our phones to make sure we don’t “have Al Qaeda on your speed dial.”  (How insane a comment!)

ABC News and Politico are reporting that Hillary Clinton will drop out of the presidential race on Friday. Yeah… right!  I’m going to wait to see that happen.  We expected her to gracefully drop out of the race last night and give a speech uniting the party.  Instead, she claimed 18 million Americans as hers.

Much like the superdelegates, the voters have a right to change their minds.  It was nothing short of mental masturbation on the part of Clinton to think that she could control those who voted for her yesterday or the day before or the month before to stand by her now instead of Obama.  One, two, three… rock, paper, scissors.  Hillary is out of the race.  And, according to the latest “breaking news” she will admit it on Friday. 

Again, I’m not going to hold my breath.

Well, my mother always told me if I couldn’t say anything nice, not to say anything at all.  But….

Hillary Clinton has seen her dream turn into a nightmare.  Her defeat is going to play in her dreams and restless sleep for days and weeks to come.  The only way she can possibly feel vindicated is if Barack Obama loses the November election.  After her speech last night, the only thing she can hope to say is “I told you so.”  That’s the truth of the matter. 

It has to be disheartening to see your ambitions shattered with the entire world watching.  We have all suffered those moments… at least most of us have.  It is humiliating and in some ways embarrassing, especially when the expectations have been so high.  But, it’s life.

Clinton, in fact, did enter the race with what seemed to be a sense of entitlement.  After all she is a Clinton and the wife of a President.  She knew all the right people.  She had her machine well oiled for the race.  But, if her campaign showed one thing, it showed that she is a member of the old guard.  She selected campaign advisers who still believed that it would be politics as usual.  It’s not.

When Bill was elected in 1992, the Internet was beginning to evolve.  When Bill was elected, every move a candidate made was not made visible to the world.  Back in the day, candidates vied for “face time” on the national media scene.  And, the media did a fair job of airing exactly what the candidate wanted aired.  Donations came from names and faces known personally to the candidates.

But, the times have changed.  The Internet is a tool that is predominantly “owned” by young, tech savvy souls, who have found a voice in politics and everything else.  Barack Obama surrounded himself with those people who knew how to use the Internet to work the masses.  He has realized that while his supporters may be scattered about the country, the voices can be raised in unison and in support.  It was masterful. 

The bottomline is simple.  Clinton’s campaign was old school.  Obama’s was cutting edge.  Clinton took so much for granted.  Obama left no stone unturned.  While Clinton dismissed the caucus process, Obama took advantage of it.  Clinton was outmaneurvered, pure and simple.  The style of Obama’s campaign represented change and showed all politicians to come, at least in the near future, how it is done.

All that said, Clinton still doesn’t seem to get it.  There are no smoke filled rooms in the back of the convention halls.  There are masses of people texting one another on the scene, taking pictures with cell phones, communicating well beyond the confines of the “here and now.”  And, nothing goes without notice or being recorded.  Nothing!  And, as we have seen what is noticed and recorded is played over and over again on the Internet, whether the broadcast media chooses to share it or not.

Clinton lost because she didn’t keep up with the times and the technology.  But, no matter the shortcomings of her campaign or the astuteness of Obama’s, it is over.  The fat lady has sung, even if the the lady in the pantsuit hasn’t.

Now, to my point.  I understand disappointment.  Been there, done that.  But, I also understand grace under fire.  I understand that sometimes you can wear out your welcome.  I understand that no matter how much one loves chocolate candy, sometimes enough is enough.  And, no matter how much some people love Hillary Clinton, it’s over for her.

Until last night I would have welcomed her onto the Obama ticket.  Given the chance to make the speech to insure party unity, Clinton failed miserably.  I could only think of the poor housewife whose husband had cheated on her, yet she begged him to stay, to love her.  Well, I learned a long time ago that you can’t make someone stay and you can’t make someone love you.  Sure, it’s painful to let go.  But, it isn’t worth losing your dignity over.  Last night Clinton lost her dignity.  It’s over.  Period. 

And, the one thing Clinton did, at least for me, was to show that she has no place on the ticket or setting foot in the White House unless she pays for the ticket and stands in the line.  Of course, there’s the possibility that Obama could ask her to join him on the ticket and that would not deter me from supporting him.  But, there’s also the possibility that I will have the winning lottery ticket this coming Friday night.  I’m not going to hold my breath.  Clinton shouldn’t either.

Well, as expected Hillary Clinton just can’t let go of the dream. In fact, she as still the warrior who can’t admit defeat.  The bitterness was in her voice and her eyes.  Unfortunately, she has not faced reality.  And, unfortunately, she missed the best opportunity of this campaign to show grace and bring about unity.

On the other hand, Barack Obama gracefully accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party.  He began his speech by trying to make peace with Hillary Clinton, his speech coming just minutes after hers.  He praised her tenacity and her capacity.

Of McCain, Obama said that he was more than willing to recognize all the good John McCain has done during his life, unlike McCain who can find nothing of quality about him.  That was the dig of the night heading into the general election.

Apparently, everyone knows it is now a two man race to the White House…. everyone except Hillary.

Well, it isn’t quite a concession, but the latest from the Clinton camp is that she is open to being in the #2 slot on the fall ticket.  Actually, that would please a lot of people.  But, would it be workable for Obama?

As the day has progressed, quite a few superdelegates, including former President Jimmy Carter, have announced that they will commit to Barack Obama tonight as soon as the polls close.

So, we may hear a concession speech…. or not.