More Obama news:

New Orleans' football season is all but over.

That's the message Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has for Saints fans when their team comes to Chicago for Sunday's NFC championship game.

"The Bears are going to the Super Bowl," a gleeful Obama told reporters Monday outside a church in suburban Chicago. "I am happy for New Orleans. I think it's a wonderful story for their city, but this fairy tale ends when they come to Chicago."

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Oh, Barack Obama, why did you have to do that?

t sigh

I fall a lot. But I never injure myself seriously. For which I'm grateful, but I have no desire to try to continue my streak.

I've always felt he was almost a man without a good time to run. 2008 does seem too soon, but I really can't entertain the idea of a non-Dem winning in 2008. If a Dem does win, and it's not Obama, we're likely looking at 2016, and by then, the country might be hankering for a Repub.

And? I want some hope. I just want some hope. It can get dashed. Whatever. I understand that's a risk with (as connie so aptly puts it) that bitch, hope. But I want some. I'm tired of having none.

I don't want Hilary to run. I know she probably will, and I even like her, but I can't bear even the thought of what the public discourse will be, for the time she's in office. The hate from the opposition will be roughly equal to all the Bush hate + all the Bill Clinton hate, and a good dose of misogyny, besides. I don't want it.

I want some hope.

Flat has new iron, ironing board, hoover, cutlery, pots, pans, bowls, cups, plates, fridge, freezer, oven, sofas, lights, tables, chairs and bed covers & sheets. Is pretty standard for city letting in UK.

Wow, that's so interesting. So different! Even when I moved into a furnished place here (in the US), I had my own sheets and iron.

I want some hope.

That's audacity.

I've always felt he was almost a man without a good time to run. 2008 does seem to soon, but I really can't entertain the idea of a non-Dem winning in 2008. If a Dem does win, and it's not Obama, we're likely looking at 2016, and by then, the country might be hankering for a Repub.

Yeah, I figure that he figured now is his best shot....

Top ten breeds by registration of litters:

1. Retrievers (Labrador)
2. Yorkshire Terriers
3. Dachshunds
4. Poodles
5. Shih Tzu
6. Chihuahuas
7. Beagles
8. German Shepherd Dogs
9. Retrievers (Golden)
10. Boxers

The linens might be the most surprising thing of all. Wow. Actually, I'd want my own sheets, because they're sheets. But still. Wow.

Yeah, it makes me wonder how do landlords inventory all that and check for damage, excessive wear, etc? Checkouts must be a bitch.

Obama's statement (it's so well written I had to post it):

As many of you know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008. Running for the presidency is a profound decision - a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone - and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country.

I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago. But as I've spoken to many of you in my travels across the states these past months; as I've read your emails and read your letters; I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics.

So I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need.

The decisions that have been made in Washington these past six years, and the problems that have been ignored, have put our country in a precarious place. Our economy is changing rapidly, and that means profound changes for working people. Many of you have shared with me your stories about skyrocketing health care bills, the pensions you've lost and your struggles to pay for college for your kids. Our continued dependence on oil has put our security and our very planet at risk. And we're still mired in a tragic and costly war that should have never been waged.

But challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions.

And that's what we have to change first.

We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans.

This won't happen by itself. A change in our politics can only come from you; from people across our country who believe there's a better way and are willing to work for it.

Years ago, as a community organizer in Chicago, I learned that meaningful change always begins at the grassroots, and that engaged citizens working together can accomplish extraordinary things.

So even in the midst of the enormous challenges we face today, I have great faith and hope about the future - because I believe in you.

...

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