I was kinda interested to see the electoral maps that NBC/MSNBC put up and what they consider solid McCain and Obama states.  They are as follows:

Obama vs. McCain
Base Obama: CA, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NY, RI, VT, WA (168 electoral votes)
Lean Obama:  NJ, MN, OR, WI (42)
Toss-up: CO, IA, MI, MO, NV, NM, NH, OH, PA, VA (112)
Lean McCain: AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, MT, NC (81)
Base McCain: AL, AK, AZ, ID, IN, KS, KY, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WY (135)

Clinton vs. McCain
Base Clinton: CA, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, RI, VT (172)
Lean Clinton: AR, MN, OR, WA, WI (44)
Toss-up: FL, IA, MI, NM, NH, OH, PA (101)
Lean McCain: CO, LA, MO, NV, VA (47)
Base McCain: AL, AK, AZ, GA, ID, IN, KS, KY, MS, MT, NE, NC, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WY (174)

I have a feeling that while Hillary's map is fairly correct, Obama has the appearance of being able to put even more states up into play than NBC thinks.  I'll tell ya why on the flip.

In This Issue

   * Thursday: Join Democrats in SW Florida – Chairwoman in Naples, Ft. Myers
   * The Tragedy of the Touch-Screen Voting Machine
   * J-J Tickets Are Selling Fast – Don’t Miss Your Chance to Join the Excitement!
   * Rep. Klein and Sen. Nelson Make Hurricane Tracking a Priority
   * Building the Netroots: Blogger Lunch at the J-J in June
   * Become a Delegate to the 2007 Florida Democratic Party State Convention

I spent most of the weekend in Detroit at the Michigan Democratic State Convention and the rest of it catching up on lost sleep.

In a nutshell, parties hold conventions in August because our state constitution requires them to nominate candidates for the following 13 offices:

Three statewide offices: Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State; and

Two seats for each of the Supreme Court of Michigan, the University of Michigan Board of Regents, the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the Wayne State University Board of Governors, and the State Board of Education.

I have no idea why the 1963 Constitutional Convention came up with this Rube Goldberg contraption, but that's what we have to work with.

This weekend's Bloggers Caucus at the MDP Convention just got better--we'll be joined by Michigan's most prestigious blogger, Juan Cole.

As a reminder, the details are:

When: Saturday August 26, from 10-12
Where: Room D01-A (note this room may be a hike from the rest of hte events), in Cobo Center, in Detroit
Why: To meet other MI bloggers and talk about ways to increase the profile of blogging within MI politics

In related news, there will be a bloggers row on the Convention floor--so bring your laptop to liveblog all the excitement of a floor vote for the AG race!

Just another blurb to alert all MI Kossacks that we'll have a Bloggers Caucus at the MDP Convention this Saturday.

When: Saturday August 26, from 10-12
Where: Room D01-A (note this room has been corrected from yesterday), in Cobo Center
Why: To meet other MI bloggers and talk about ways to increase the profile of blogging within MI politics

In related news, there will be a bloggers row on the Convention floor--so bring your laptop to liveblog all the excitement of a floor vote for the Attorney General's race!

Please join your fellow MI blog community members at the first ever Bloggers Caucus at the MDP Convention. It's a great opportunity to get to know MI bloggers better--and to explain to the MDP why we're all angry (or not). Details:

Date: Saturday August 26
Time: 10 AM - Noon
Place: Room D01-A [note updated room number]

Also, there will be a bloggers row on the Convention floor, so bring your laptop and liveblog our rockstar Governor's Convention speech!

For most Michigan Democrats, today was district and county convention day. The new party rules are weird--only precinct delegates elected earlier this month could vote today, but any paid-up party member can vote in next weekend's state convention--but it still was an interesting day.

Below the fold, my report on the 11th District Convention (western Wayne and western Oakland County)

If you went to convention, let us know what happened. Yes, we say "to convention". It's Canadian English that's leaked across the border, along with Tim Horton's and Hockey Night in Canada.

Traditionally, our political parties nominate candidates for statewide office at the August convention after the primary. But this year, the Michigan Democratic Party has moved up the schedule. Candidates for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Supreme Court will be nominated at the state convention in Lansing on February 18.