Quotes From Around Yon Blogosphere

John McCain says it's too soon for Barack Obama, Obama claims it's too late for McCain and Hillary Clinton is still insisting, against all odds, that the time is just right for her.

-- ROBERT STEIN

If you genuinely believe in your heart that Obama is too green to be president, and that the person with more Beltway experience belongs in the White House, then by all means keep saying that stuff but if you would prefer Obama over McCain if Clinton can't get the nomination then you do need to consider what the impact of having high-profile Democrats going on record claiming that the likely Democratic nominee can't do the job is going to be. That's a different kind of thing than hitting him on his health care plan, or pointing to his sometimes off-base environmental record in the Senate.

-- MATTHEW YGLESIAS

To be clear, the McGovern comparison has nothing to do with Obama's liberalness. I don't think he's a liberal. The comparison has to do with the result in November if the bubble bursts on his message of hope and change and if the right wing successfully smears him with it. In that event, I'm asking whether the results in November will resemble those of the McGovern race.

-- JERALYN

I have no animus against Hillary Clinton, and I don't believe that Barack Obama is the chosen one who can bring balance to the Force, end the war with the machines, and destroy all of Voldemort’s horcruxes. But Hillary really is surrounded by the gang that can't shoot straight, and for some reason I've grown leery of politicians who don't fire incompetents.

-- MICHAEL BÉRUBÉ

Do you really want Obama in the White House dismissing criticisms from women as just being hormonal? Because I can assure you that that's a recipe for disaster.

-- AVEDON CAROL

The Clinton camp has spent days trying to undermine Obama's chief asset, the elegant language that has sparked a generational boom.

"We’re seeing a pattern here," Hillary enforcer Howard Wolfson said, in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. Yeah, we are. She's losing, and looking for anything to bruise Obama.

-- MAUREEN DOWD

This election is certainly important. But based on the historical record, it isn't likely to result in a major swing in economic policy. Fundamentally, democracy is not a finely tuned mechanism that can be used to direct economic policy as a lever might lift a pulley. The connection between what voters want, or think they want, and what ultimately happens in the economy, is far less direct.

Voters may be concerned about the economy, but there is little evidence that the electorate, as a whole, really wants to engage in close consideration of economics.

-- TYLER COWEN

The competition for the next phase of the campaign started as soon as the results were in. Clinton, speaking in Youngstown, Ohio, launched a string of attacks against Obama that didn't seem to stir the audience. It is often the custom for the winner to wait for the loser to finish speaking, but watching Clinton's attacks on television, the Obama camp sent its man out a little early. The cable channels switched to his speech and dropped Clinton, as Obama's people knew they would. "I guess cable just likes winners," said a top Obama aide, coyly.

-- JOHN DICKERSON

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich/Atlanta Journal Constitution