Politico.com: “Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November..”

YES HE COULD AND YES HE DID: OBAMA WINS NORTH CAROLINA
WHEW: HILLARY WINS INDIANA BY TWO POINTS
LAST WORDS OF DANIEL PEARL UNCENSORED

I have just heard Barack Obama give a stemwinder of a speech after sweeping the primary in North Carolina. His win was called “convincing” on Politico.com after a day of my reading stories about screwed up counts and problems at the polls.

The people behind him on the stage were all middle aged women, mostly white waving American Flags. Take that Hillary. No doubt his confidence is back and seems to already be starting running in a general election.

The fact that CNN and others couldn’t call Indiana at 12:30 AM suggests that her hoped for sweep, “game changer,” never happened. It was 51-49 the last I looked, and only a 3 delegate difference. CNN called it at l:14 AM with Hillary ahead by two points.

This prolonged primary express now chugs on, with more contests to come. Some of the “experts” say it is over, that Obama can’t be beaten; others say, never say never, and point to upcoming races in West Virginia and Kentucky et.al, some said to favor Senator Clinton and, of course, the big unknown, the so-called “super delegates”

The “Math” according to David Swanson: “Obama now has 1,592 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1,419. There are 217 delegates remaining to be pledged. Of those 217, Clinton would need to win 196 to beat Obama, or a victory of 90 percent to 10 percent.”

The Clinton campaign will soon put on a full court press to insure that the votes in Florida and Michigan, both pro HRC, will count in the final totals. Writes Roger Simon on Politico.com: “To get superdelegate backing, Clinton needs three things: Momentum, spin and fear.”

Its not over yet.

THE CRISIS IN BURMA

How many have died in Burma since the cyclone/tsunami struck? . We don;’t really know. Milena Kaneva who made the outstanding film TOTAL DENIAL about the fight against a US-French pipeline in Burma told me she thinks the official death toll is still, and sadly, low, very low.

The Washington Post this morning agreed:

BANGKOK, May 6 — The number of dead and missing in the Burma cyclone soared past 60,000 Tuesday amid signs the toll will rise even higher, as much of the disaster zone remained flooded by seawater, threatened by disease and out of reach of an international relief operation that is taking shape.

EARLIER: Here’s what we knew as of last night.

AID TRICKLING IN

Wires: International aid began to trickle into Myanmar on Tuesday, but the stricken Irrawaddy delta, the nation’s rice bowl where 22,500 people perished and twice as many are missing, remained cut off from the world.

In the former capital of Yangon, soldiers from the repressive military regime were out on the streets in large numbers for the first time since Cyclone Nargis hit over the weekend, helping to clear away rubble. Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns wielded axes and long knives to remove ancient, fallen trees that were once the city’s pride.

Disease stalks survivors of huge Myanmar

ALERTNET: WATCH VIDEO ON DOUBTS RE AID PLAN

US CARRIER HEADS FOR BURMA

From Sam Gardiner: The carrier group Nimitz left Guam 9 days ago and had not been heard from; it turns out it was steaming west. In the announcements for possible assistance to Myanmar, a Pentagon press person identified the Nimitz as one of the ships within reach of that country.

POLITICAL RESPONSE

As headlines have told us, Cyclone Nargis has hit Burma hard. 22,000 to 60,000 have passed and tens of thousands are missing….the Junta is doing nothing to help the people.

fortunately, timing proves to be on our side, as we are in the midst of a month-long campaign to help the people of Burma.

HRAC, US Campaign for Burma and Fanista.com have organized a 30-day video campaign to educate Americans and others around the world about the military regime in Burma. Our goal is to mobilize 1 million people to sign up to take action. Just as the world came together to help free Nelson Mandela and South Africa in the 1980s, we are now organizing an effort to help Burma’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.

view the spots here… Today’s spot with Eddie Izzard was directed by Anjelica Huston.

Iran: Will it be jaw-jaw or war-war?

By Pat Buchanan

“It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capacity,” Mullen declared. A second U.S. carrier just entered the Persian Gulf.

ICH: Doubting the “Evidence” Against Iran

By MARK KUKIS AND ABIGAIL HAUSLOHNER/BAGHDAD

For years, U.S. officials have aired accusations against Iran, insisting that Tehran is stoking Iraq’s violence by keeping up a flow of money, weapons and trained fighters into the country. The Iraqi government, however, remains unconvinced - with good reason.