According to the Associated Press, Sarah Palin switched colleges 6 times in 6 years before getting her degree in journalism with a concentration in sports broadcasting.

Federal privacy laws prohibit the schools from disclosing her grades, and none of the schools contacted by The Associated Press could say why she transferred. There was no indication any were contacted as part of the background investigation of Palin by presidential candidate John McCain's campaign.

"Our office was not contacted by anyone," said Tania Thompson, spokeswoman for the University of Idaho in Moscow.

So apparently "vetting" Ms. Palin didn't include looking up her academic record? Remind me not to hire McCain's vetters for my HR department.

Also, maybe Ms. Palin is counting Moscow, Idaho as foreign policy experience? (Just kidding.)

Here is the rough chronology:

I heard about Tim Russert's passing this afternoon as a radio person cried while I listened in my car. We lost a great voice of truth today. Meet the Press has become part of my Sunday habits in the past year, and now I wish I'd started watching earlier I would have been better informed.

I haven't been online much of today, but upon coming online tonight, didn't I know that the a#@holes over at HillaryIs44 would have a listing of negative Russert articles, while touting their restraint.

http://www.hillaryis44.org/?p=655

Anybody who continues to be associated with that site is below pond scum in my book.

Sorry for the short diary. Busy night, but I needed to vent a bit.

So the long bitter primary fight is at an end. We have a nominee. This morning I watched the video of Obama talking to his staff after winning the nomination. It brought out an angle that I hadn't really considered as starkly before, namely that before now, it was OK for Obama to lose. Up until now that meant we'd get another Democrat, and any of the bunch would have been an improvement over what we had. Now we either get Obama or McCain, and if Barack loses, we make no progress on the issues we value. If Barack loses, we get 4 more years of effectively a Bush administration. If Barack loses, the country we love goes further down the tubes. That's not acceptable. So what did I do? Did I sit down and write a thoughtful diary comparing and contrasting the positions of Obama vs. McCain? No. I went shopping!

Hillary Rosen, a Clinton supporter of the highest level, is saddened by Hillary Clinton's performance last night. You know Ms. Rosen. She's often seen on TV supporting the point of view of the Clinton campaign. Today, in an article in the Huffington Post Ms. Rosen expresses her profound disappointment in Hillary's speech last night.

I know she is exhausted and she had pledged to finish the primaries and let every state vote before any final action. But by the time she got on that podium last night, she knew it was over and that she had lost. I am sure I was not alone in privately urging the campaign over the last two weeks to use the moment to take her due, pass the torch and cement her grace. She had an opportunity to soar and unite. She had a chance to surprise her party and the nation after the day-long denials about expecting any concession and send Obama off on the campaign trail of the general election with the best possible platform. I wrote before how she had a chance for her "Al Gore moment." And if she had done so, the whole country ALL would be talking today about how great she is and give her her due.

Instead she left her supporters empty, Obama's angry, and party leaders trashing her.

This is a brief note to my fellow Obama supporters.

I've noted in the last day or so a rising tone of panic and dread in some of you. "Hillary's going to take it to the convention!" you exclaim. "She's going to cost us the general election!" you lament. This weeping and gnashing of teeth has been exacerbated by an increase in Republican trolling on this site in the last couple of days, with truth-free Obama hit pieces coming at a more rapid pace.

To these Obamaniacs I say, "Chill!"

For all of you Monty Python fans:

Customer: "He's not pining! He's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! He's expired and gone to meet his maker! He's a stiff! Bereft of life, he rests in peace! . . . His metabolic processes are now history! He's off the twig! He's kicked the bucket, he's shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible! This is an ex-parrot!"

What has this got to do with the primary election? For that you'll have to wander over to the Washington Post and read Dana Milbank's latest column. Mr. Milbank tells of his experiences yesterday in the Clinton campaign press entourage.

I'd like to offer this diary as a place for Obama supporters to congratulate Senator Clinton and her supporters on their big victory in West Virginia tonight. They've worked really hard and this should be a time of celebration for them.

I'd also like to suggest that Obama supporters on this site pay them the greatest respect that we can, and leave the site for the the rest of the day. I hope that most Obama supporters will agree with me that this is their time. I fully expect things to be said that Obama supporters may disagree with, but let's not make this a night to engage in arguments. I think we should all go elsewhere for a while, and return maybe tomorrow afternoon.

I offer this as a sign of respect to our fellow Democrats in the Clinton camp, and I hope Obama supporters will rec this diary, add a comment with their congratulations, and then disappear for a while.

Former Bill Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, interviewed on a local California TV affiliate, had this to say today.

"It's pretty clear unless there's a bolt of lightning, Barack Obama is likely to win the Democratic  nomination," Panetta says. "She's put up a good fight and put up a good race, but I think there's a time now where she needs to concede and unify the party."

Here's the link.

I think this may be a case of a few Clinton insiders at a time trying to send a message.