This is a longshot but I'm writing this diary in hopes that the DNC or Obama's campaign will read it.  It's a how to diary on running against negative campaigning.  I know, I know... I'm being presumptuous, naive, etc. But give a listen.

We've seen, not a day goes by when McCain or his surrogates are not attacking Obama.  And now they are stooping to ridiculous baseless attack ads. Some pundits are saying this might backfire against McCain. It might. But here's how to be certain of the backfire... after the fold

A few weeks ago, the California Nurses Association asked me if I'd be willing to attend the insurance industry's version of Netroots Nation (AHIP) and do what I do... capture bad guys being deceitful, bad and ugly.

I, of course, leaped at the chance.  (Shout out to nyceve – without her, I wouldn't have gotten the gig).

To get to San Francisco, I had to fly from my home in Charlottesville, Virginia.  The 7 hours spent in cramp-inducing airplane/airport seats surely contributed to a key issue that comes up later in this narrative.

So I arrived Wednesday afternoon and met up with nyceve, the activist crew of CNA, and all the nurses that flew in from hospitals around the country.  We had a nice dinner buffet and heard from several people that have really been screwed by health bottom-line care corporations.  Nataline Sarkisyan's mother and cousin spoke; the cousin left us all speechless and teary.

Did hell just freeze over?  I'm watching former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) speaking on MSNBC right now with Andrea Mitchell, and the first thing that came out of his mouth on energy independence sounded like one of us talking!!

He didn't say the words "Apollo-style program", but he did say we needed to invest in all types of renewable energies, including nuclear (which is something we do need to do, folks, like it or not).  He admitted that Congress had only been "nibbling" around the edges in combating our addiction to oil, and that we needed to go big to really become more energy independent.

And then, you had former Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) diss Obama's idea for a windfall profits tax on the oil companies.  Of course, given that it's Louisiana, I'm not sure you could find a current or former statewide elected official in that state come out in favor of a windfall profits tax on Big Oil.

Oh, then the discussion turned to evangelicals, and Lott reverted back to what we're accustomed to.

At the end of November, Trent Lott sadly informed his colleagues that he would be departing.

Lott announced a week ago that he's vacating his U.S. Senate seat this month, ending his 35-year congressional career representing Mississippi. He said he wants to do something else after working so long in one place. ... A year after being re-elected to his fourth six-year Senate term, Lott announced Nov. 26 that he wants a different job and to spend more time with his family.

His friends in the Senate gave Lott a rousing send off, interrupting a critical legislative session to say their farewells.  It was clear that Trent was aching to see that family, and would not hang around DC

Lott said last month that new restrictions on lobbying that take effect after Dec. 31 "didn't have a big role" in his decision to retire. ... Lott said he wants to spend more time with his family and to pursue other job opportunities, possibly teaching.

And today, Trent Lott announced that he had found that education job and his long-missed family. Turns out they were living on K Street.

Putting weeks of speculation to rest, former Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and John Breaux (D-La.) confirmed Friday they plan to file paperwork next week to form a powerful lobbying partnership called The Breaux Lott Leadership Group.

It's always touching to see a man spending his golden years with those he loves.

(Cross-posted at my blog, An Enduring Democratic Majority.)

Today I thought I'd take a look at the happenings in the Lousiana Governor's race from the past 7 days or so. This seat, currently held by Democrat Kathleen Blanco, is easily the most endangered, prominent Democratic office to come up for election in the last two years. Speaking of which, here's an interesting fact:

However, that may all change come November of 2007 in Louisiana. Let's take a look at the timeline and the players:

I sure hope this one isn't true. According to the Advocate, Governor Kathleen Blanco is thinking about unretiring and getting back into the Louisiana governor's race.http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/7241306.html

After learning that John Breaux would not run for Governor, I was understandably dismayed.  I set out to look for a new candidate.  Somebody who is a dedicated progressive.  Somebody who would make the Democratic Party proud.  And, most of all, somebody who could win.  No, I'm not talking about Mitch Landrieu.  I'm talking about State Senator Edwin Murray.  Who is Edwin Murray?  Let's find out...

Breaux is out.

Former U.S. Sen. John Breaux said Friday that he will not be a candidate for governor this year.

Breaux made the announcement just hours after Attorney General Charles Foti declined to issue a legal opinion on Breaux's qualifications to run. A spokeswoman for Breaux said the lack of a definitive ruling persuaded him to back away from a campaign he has flirted with for weeks.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, most recently seen losing a race of New Orleans mayor, is interested in running. Former Democratic Rep. Chris John, most recently seen getting crushed by now-Sen. David Vitter, is as well.

This governorship is likely going Red.

Update: Great numbers analysis on the potential alternatives to Breaux from the Daily Kingfish -- a new Louisiana group blog.

(Cross-posted at Daily Kingfish)

Edited to flesh out party affiliations and enter more analysis

Update [2007-4-13 17:3:58 by DailyKingFish]: Further analysis thanks to questions and for Breaux statement

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti (D-New Orleans) has declined to issue an advisory opinion on whether or not former Senator John Breaux would be considered a citizen of Louisiana under our Constitution.

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti has decided against issuing a ruling on whether former U.S. Senator John Breaux can run for governor.

Analysis Below the Fold

This afternoon the Lousiana Attorney General Charles Foti is set to announce whether or not former US Senator and Congressman John Breaux is eligible to run for Governor of Lousiana this November.

From KPLC-TV:

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti will release his opinion today on the question of whether former U.S. Senator John Breaux is eligible to run for governor.

Foti's spokeswoman, Kris Wartelle, says the opinion is undergoing some minor legal changes.

Lost in all of the brouhaha over the fired US attorneys is the dog that didn't bark.

We all know about the prosecutions US Attorneys were pressured into accelerating, or charges they were tasked with bringing against Democrats in the last election cycle.

Things are getting crazy in Louisisana. First of all come report of a "poll" that gives Bobby Jinal an unlikely 55% to 26% lead over the popular fomer senator John Breaux. Secondly, and more significant, popular Congressman Charlie Melancon is thinking about jumping in.

In Part 1 of this diary, we looked at the state in terms of four regions:  North, Central, Southwest, and Southeast.  That leaves Metro New Orleans for today.  

Metro New Orleans consists of three sections.  There's the original "tri-parish" area, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, then there's the Northshore (St. Tammany), and the extended metro area, which includes St. Charles, St. John, and parts of St. James and Tangipahoa.

Yesterday's announcement that Governor Kathleen Blanco has announced she won't seek a second term, everyone is re-analyzing and re-handicapping the race for La-Gov.  The conventional wisdom is that the big winner today is former US Senator John Breaux, and the big loser is Congressman Bobby Jindal.  The problem is quantifying just how much each man has won or lost.

To fully understand the dynamics in play here, let's review the playing field.  There are basically four regions in Louisiana that are significant in statewide elections, North, Central, Southwest, Southeast, and Metro New Orleans.  Some thoughts on each region below the fold.

A ticker at the top of the WWL-TV website says:

Governor Kathleen Blanco has requested television time tonight for a gubernatorial address that will be carried live on Eyewitness News at 6 p.m.. Sources tell Eyewitness News that Blanco will announce she is not seeking re-election.

Coupled with the sort-of launch of John Breaux's website (just harvesting emails right now), it's clear that Breaux is 1) running, and 2) has muscled Blanco out of the race.

Republicans are already attacking Breaux on his residency issues. That might suggest, among other things, that the state GOP isn't confident they can legally keep Breaux off the ballot.

Breaux remains one of the state's most popular politicians. To have a shot at beating him, Republicans will have to sell voters in the state on the notion that Breaux abandoned them for Maryland. It'll be interesting to see how effectively Breaux's operation can refute those charges and turn the spotlight on the GOP's golden boy's (Bobby Jindal) congressional record (or lack thereof).

Crossposted toBlueSunbelt.Com the Southern netroots site.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco has signaled she will not drop out of the race for Governor in Louisiana even if former U.S. Senator John Breaux enters the race. Many political analysts see Breaux as possibly the only chance Democrats may have to hold the state's highest office. GOP Congressman Bobby Jindal has so far been outpolling Blanco by landslide proportions.

• LA-Gov: Breaux to decide soon whether to run for governor. And the citizenship requirement?

  Breaux said there's no question that he meets the state Constitution's requirement of being a "citizen" of Louisiana for the past five years, even though he changed his voter registration to Maryland in 2005.

  "I don't just own two lots in Crowley. It is my family home. When my mama died, I inherited half of it. My dad lives there. We pay taxes on it. My wife, Lois, owns property in Louisiana," Breaux said. "I never revoked my citizenship in Louisiana."

  Lawyers have looked at the constitutional requirement and determined he meets the citizenship requirement, Breaux said.

• The Washington Post's Dan Balz writes:

  Edwards also has wooed the Net-roots activists on the left.

  "Net-roots"? What the heck is that? This reads like something by the Onion's Herman Zweibel:

  My nurse informs me that it is now the autumn-time, which to every red-blooded American boy means the season in which the professional base-ball sporting clubs vie for a berth in the great Championship Series of the World. I predict that the Knickerbockers will give those accursed Red Stockings a sound thrashing. Of course, we can't count out the great Pie Traynor and his Philadelphia Peglegs.

  Time for the Washington Post to update that style guide, lol.

• Glenn Greenwald on the Kagan brother's "surge" monopoly and Howie Kurtz's refusal to highlight the potential conflicts of interest.

  New York, N.Y.: Frederick Kagan is one of the primary architects of the so called surge in Iraq. His brother, Robert Kagan, wrote an op-ed in yesterday's Post about how great the surge is working and how the media is covering that up. The Post never informed its readers about the relationship between the two Kagans. This is incredibly dishonest.

  Howard Kurtz: I don't know -- Robert Kagan has been such a strong supporter of the war on his own that I don't think there's any doubt where he is coming from on this issue [...]

  Washington:"Robert Kagan has been such a strong supporter of the war on his own that I don't think there's any doubt where he is coming from on this issue."

  And here we have one of the primary problems with the MSM. The assumption that the general public (i.e., me) knows more than we actually do. I had never heard of Mr. Kagan, and his connection to the other Mr. Kagan would have certainly given his opinion some much-needed context.

  Howard Kurtz: I have to think about that. I don't know if it's fair to hold someone responsible for a brother or sister's views. Bill Bennett (Reagan Cabinet member and talk show host) and Bob Bennett (Clinton's impeachment lawyer) don't agree on many things. It would be different if Fred Kagan were a Bush administration official, but he works at the American Enterprise Institute and as far as I know was informally consulted by the administration on Iraq.

• Ha ha -- Nebraska Democratic response to Hagel's useless press conference today:

  “I think it is extremely disappointing that Senator Hagel would bring the entire state of Nebraska to a screeching halt by holding an elaborate ceremony to announce absolutely nothing.”

• Giuliani in 1989: "There must be public funding for abortions for poor women. We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources." And it's all on YouTube and being circulated by the wingers.