The Candidate-Nominee Crossover
The first article in this series described how some of the most astute political observers were "blindsided by Hope" and Barack Obama’s historic victory, convinced America would continue to be ruled by Freak Show politics.  Eleven organizational principles guided Obama’s campaign for the nomination, which relied heavily on grass roots and community organizing tactics.  The successful "early states" strategy provided enough momentum to carry Obama over the finish line, a race he won by the only measure that counted: delegates.

This article offers a candid assessment of the campaign’s challenges as Obama goes from being a candidate to the nominee.  Obama will adapt his management approach to the general election campaign, internalizing electoral strategy as an important part of the corporate culture.  The internal challenge is melding a grass roots movement with the Democratic Party establishment and limiting expenditures on paid political ads and services.  The external challenge is to avoid inevitable

I got a cold chill, After watching "Primary Colors" Jack Stanton(John Travolta) meets with Gov. Fred Picker(Larry Hagman) and talks him into dropping out of the race because of his indiscretions. When Jack is talking to Henry Burton(Adrian Lester) he answers a question about how much is too far when discrediting someone, Jack answers "How Many Angels Dance On The Head Of A Pin". I wonder how many times Joe Klein heard that non-answer when following the Clinton Campaign and who actually said it.

in what i believe is glenn's first appearance on bloggingheads.tv, he takes on the politico's ben smith in a first-time-evah face-to-face match-up to debate the politico's place in the taxonomy of journalism.

The Politico's John Harris asks the question many Democrats are seeking an answer to nowadays: why shouldn't Al Gore run for the 2008 Democratic nomination?  And should we take Gore at his word when he says that he has "no plans to run?"

He has said repeatedly that he has no plans to run.  Shouldn't we take him at his word?

Not yet, we shouldn't.  The logic of psychology and even history suggests that Gore should run.  And if he should run, it is hard to believe that a man who has organized most of his adult life around public service and the pursuit of the presidency won't in the end actually do it.

The questions aren't likely to go away anytime soon since Gore is scheduled to testify tomorrow on Capitol Hill - House schedule here and Senate schedule here - before Congress in two high-profile hearings on Global Warming.

Well, OK, maybe that title is overstating the case.  But I did get to call in to NPR's "On Point" this morning and pose a question to Mark Halperin, co-author of "The Way To Win," his new book about running for President.

I'm posting the link where you can go to submit a question to the Washington Post's national political editor John F. Harris. He'll be online Thursday, Dec. 15, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest in political news - but I think he's going to get a triple helping of Froomkin questions.

At this point, there are many questions for John "whiny-ass-titty-baby" Harris. (Nickname courtesy of Atrios)

Ask your question and then tell us what you sent in so we can see tomorrow if he'll answer us.

[Get the Link to the Submittal Form on the flip]

John Harris may allege that the title of Dan Froomkin's washingtonpost.com column invites confusion, but when it comes to the Plame affair and the WMD scandal, it seems the Washington Post Political Editor either doesn't understand the basic issues or will not separate fact from spin.

Let's take first this shockingly casual shrug at the media's supine obsequiousness prior to the war. Embedded in this quote (from a Post online chat transcript on Oct. 20) is a misrepresentation of what journalism should be about.