See previous: 2007.04.21 Decision '08 Roundup

Hillary's Southern accent comes back!
Michelle Malkin

Like all the other Democrat presidential candidates, Hillary paid homage at Al Sharpton's demagogue-a-thon this week in NYC. Her made-for-black-audiences accent, which first surfaced in Selma in March, is back. It's quite a drawl, y'all:

Partial transcript via the NY Observer: ...

[Update: For some unknown reason (I really can't imagine why!) YouTube has pulled the video. Fortunately, Hot Air located another source for it and posted it where YouTube can't touch it. See my excerpt and link below the fold.]

Below the fold:

• Edwards: Iraq war is a "bleeding sore"
• Video: Kentucky Fried Hillary, part deux
• Gore To Run For 2008 Nomination
• Gore Planning to Run?
• Give 'Em A "Hot Damn," Hillary 

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Edwards: Iraq war is a "bleeding sore" 
Michelle Malkin

Well, this will get people to forget about his $400 Beverly Hills haircuts...

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards told Michigan Democrats Saturday night that the United States must quickly get out of Iraq, which he called a "bleeding sore."

"America needs to be leaving Iraq, this is very, very simple," said Edwards, a 53-year-old former U.S. senator from North Carolina, making his second bid for the White House.

Edwards was the keynote speaker at the Michigan Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. More than 2,000 Democrats packed a ballroom at Detroit's Cobo Center. They each paid $150. The proceeds go to the state party.

Edwards said that the war has already cost this country more than $500 billion. He also said President Bush's plan to increase troop levels won't work.

"We have had multiple surges, none of them worked," he said.

First, Harry. Now, Silky. The Middle Eastern media sends its thanks and praise. ...

Don Surber: Edwards raises money for 750 more haircuts

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Video: Kentucky Fried Hillary, part deux
Ian Schwartz

Hillary’s southern drawl is back and it’s better than ever! Speaking at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention, Hillary told an overwhelming black crowd she’s going to “reform our government” and find all the “abuses” that happened during the Bush administration:

“We have to reform our government,” she said. “The abuses that have gone on in the last six years — I don’t think we know the half of it yet. You know, when I walk into the Oval Office in January of 2009, I’m afraid I’m going to lift up the rug and I’m going to see so much stuff under there.”

…”You know, what is it about us always having to clean up after people?” she asked. “But this is not just going to be picking up socks off the floor. This is going to be cleaning up the government.”

Here’s a southern fried clip.

If you’re actually coming back to the White House, it might be best if you brought back all that stuff you stole when you left last time.

Michelle comments here.

Dan Riehl: Give 'Em A "Hot Damn," Hillary

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Gore To Run For 2008 Nomination 
Ed Morrissey

Al Gore has insisted that he has no interest in returning to electoral politics and wants to focus on his media interests and on solutions to global warming. The former Vice President has shown no inclination to run against the wife of his former boss, at least not publicly. However, the London Telegraph reports that Gore has secretly begun to recruit a campaign staff and will challenge Hillary Clinton for the nomination:

Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.

Two members of Mr Gore's staff from his unsuccessful attempt in 2000 say they have been approached to see if they would be available to work with him again. ...

Gore has run in the top tier of Democratic candidates without having announced any intention to run. Thanks to the buzz from his Oscar-winning documentary, Gore has not needed to eat up resources for traditional campaigning. With a new book coming out this spring, Gore will have even more free media access, expanding his reach and making him seem even more presidential than ever.

After jumping into the race, though, Gore has to win it. He has proven himself rather wooden on the stump in past campaigns. He has improved during his global-warming tour, but that may not equate to the kind of speechmaking that a presidential campaign requires. It will also task his ability to project a warm and engaging personality, rather than the cold scold of 2000.

A Gore entry will probably prove fatal to the ambitions of Barack Obama and John Edwards. Both have run on Gore's turf so far, and neither will outshine him with party donors desperate to find a credible alternative to Hillary Clinton. Gore has a great deal more substance than both candidates put together and will almost immediately be the chief challenger on Hillary's left, once he formally enters the race. ...

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Gore Planning to Run?
See-Dubya

The Telegraph says he’s getting together a secret team…or, more correctly, he’s allowing a team to assemble “secretly” on his behalf but not telling them not to do so.

That’s leadership.

Apparently he thinks that the endorsement of the Hollywood glitterati at the Oscars will translate into national acclimation, because America loves getting moral advice from Hollywood. He would basically be running on the notoriety generated by his environmental finger-wagging, too, so his grumpy-nerd negatives from the 2000 campaign would still be front and center. But also in his favor–and they may have a point here–his advisers suggest nobody really likes Hillary and she can’t win.

If he plans to run, he’ll probably get a lot more tactful advice like this: ...