Midday open thread

How did you guys like "2008 day" on the site today? These will eventually become weekly affairs (with the straw polls and cattle calls). Luckily, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. So as heated and attention-grabbing as the presidential sweepstakes might become, don't forget to organize for your local candidates.

• Maybe some of that early "impeach Gonzales" talk is getting to the Justice Department. Gonzales now says that the NSA's domestic surveillance program will be subject to FISA court approval.

  That's mighty magnanimous of him to follow the law, and all. What's next? They'll respect the Constitution as well?

• This little tiff in the progressive blogosphere over the wanker "intellectuals" who think bloggers suck because they don't read "Marx" (snort) is pretty ridiculous. While I think Hunter delivered the definitive smackdown, it continues.

  Here's my take on the whole matter -- "intellectuals" who'd rather read books and measure purity are next-to-useless. I prefer people of action, not of elitist academics. And I say that as someone who collected degrees as a hobby. What did all those Marx readers deliver the country? Nixon. Reagan. Bush. Bush II. Not to mention the DeLays, the Scalias, and the long national nightmare that is just now being stemmed.

  That's not a knock on people who've been fighting the good fight. Just on those who think the intellectual circle jerks of the 60s are superior to what we're building today.

• Zogby, who I don't trust as a pollster, has an Iowa poll that nonetheless looks about right: Edwards 27, Obama 17, Vilsack 16, Clinton 16, everyone else insignificant. Keep in mind, however, that caucuses are terribly difficult to poll, so the various polling outfits, with their various voting screens, will have varying results.

  But my sense is that 1) Edwards is tops. He never stopped building on his excellent 2004 operation; 2) Obama gets regional boost and his national star power doesn't hurt; and 3) Vilsack is a native son, governor of the state. Hillary is actually a bit higher than I'd expect (I see New Hampshire as her first friendly state).

• From the subscription-only Roll Call, Baucus will be helping raise money for Tim Johnson, who is still recovering from brain surgery.

  Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is up for re-election this cycle, has formed a special fundraising account to help Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) raise money for a prospective 2008 bid while recovering from emergency brain surgery.

  Baucus, the newly minted chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, on Tuesday finalized the creation of the Baucus-Johnson Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that allows Baucus to simultaneously raise money for his re-election as well as Johnson’s.

  All funds collected through the committee would be divided equally between the Western state Senators, Baucus’ office said.

  "Max believes Tim Johnson is a national leader," said Baucus’ chief of staff, Jim Messina. "Max wants to make sure that the last thing Tim is thinking about is raising money.

• So you know those dead-enders who insist they still approve of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq? Even their hero president disagrees with them.

  "I am frustrated with the progress. If you were to take it and put me in an opinion poll and said do I approve of Iraq, I'd be one of those that said, no, I don't."

  -- President Bush, in an interview on the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer.

• TN-Gov: Frist is considering a 2010 gubernatorial bid. His 2008 presidential ambitions were cut short after he lost the Senate in spectacular fashion last year.
• Glenn Beck and ABC -- it's a sordid tale.
• Hey, don't look now, but the Iowa caucuses -- on 1/14/08 -- are less than a year away.
• If you've worked with campaign or non-profit software tools, you know one major drawback is that different packages from different vendors usually don't work with each other. While we expect an email sent with one program to be readable in another, it's another story (usually not a happy one) when you try to move data from, say, your fundraising software into, say, your mailing-list software.

  Fortunately, a new group of activists, users, and creators of these types of software are taking up the mantle of interoperability and have issued a call-to-arms:  the "Integration Proclamation." Right now this nascent organization is just getting geared up, but check out this article to find out more about what's at stake and what's going on. (MissLaura)